章 60: Wraithful Distraction
As Akai lost control of his dark stallion, they strode the darkened forest haphazardly. Maggots continued to gnaw at the horse's feet. Akai tried to keep control of his horse, but to no avail. He was getting further away from either the rest of his dragonslayers and King's City.
Eventually, Akai had no choice, but to give up his horse. He jumped off of his horse and landed on the black mud below. He looked back at the flailing horse, but there was no stopping it. Eventually, the horse fell to the ground glued to the black mud. It neighed in pain, but Akai could do nothing to help it. He pitied the creature and wanted to end it's suffering. He unsheathed his blade and walked forward towards the horse watching his step. He wanted to finish the horse quickly and move onto the city. He knew that the dragon had to be there.
Akai felt a chill in the air and froze. He looked around him and among the dark forests, three creatures faded into existence from the corners of the rotten trees.
They were floating in the air covered in black sheets. Their elongated grey arms and long red claws. A dark cowl over their heads hid their faces, but revealed large, white human-like teeth. Akai recognized the monsters. They were wraiths, but their existence so close to the city made Akai question how long they have resided there. It was a surprise that nobody has reported that the nearby forests had monsters. The forests never had any dangerous creatures like the ones in front of him before.
The Crimson Black Knight had no choice, but to ignore the horse's painful cries, and readied himself for a fight. He lifted his green blade and stood his ground, waiting for a good strike.
The three wraiths raced around Akai leaving behind a thick black smoke behind them. The dark cover surrounded Akai in a torrent of hatred. As the wraiths charged forward, Akai sliced down at the coming specters, but each one dodged every so slightly from the blade and straight through Akai. He felt a cold chill throughout his body as the specters traversed through Akai's body and out of his back without actually causing physical harm. As if it was just a projection, but Akai knew the three were real. He has hunted the same kind of creatures, before, and knew that they fed on others' fear before killing them.
As they came out of his body from behind, they circles around him. The three wraiths began to morph and change. Their forms turned into spectral projections of three different dragons. Akai recognized the three. Aquis, Azor, and Kytlmyne. The three ancient dragons of the ocean, sky, and forests, respectively. The same ones he killed, but Akai didn't stagger. Their size and form were as accurate as they could be. However, they were only the heads of them. The rest of their bodies were hidden behind the black smoke. Their misty heads stormed around the Crimson Black Knight, as he waited for another opportunity to attack. They began to speak from their faded mouths. Aquis, Azor, then Kytlmyne.
"Murderer."
"Killer."
"Traitor."
Those were the words that the three spectral dragons said in succession.
"Akai, slayer of all dragons."
"Bringer of death upon all dragons."
"Bringer of death to your own kind."
They breathed heavily with evil intent.
"You're taunts mean nothing to me, wraiths. Face me," Akai said, but they didn't listen.
"You believe you changed the future," they said in unison, "Changed fate. But fate cannot be changed. You will live in failure. All of your work. All of this genocide for nothing."
The three giant heads with necks made up of black smoke came up above Akai as storms of lightning appeared from above. A number of hands grabbed Akai's legs. He looked down and saw a number of skeletal dragons the size of babies grab at his armored legs. They clawed to rise higher, but at the same time, dragged Akai down into the mud. Akai took his blade and cut down below him, striking at the skeletons away as their bones clacked between their crying jaws.
The spectral Aquis coughed out, "You will endlessly drown in the oceans."
"You will be rejected by the heavens," Azor said.
"Your body and soul fertilizer," Kytlmyne said.
They charged down at Akai all at once, but Akai wasn't afraid. He made one clean strike at the three dragons. Their heads turned to black smoke and covered Akai for but a moment. Akai cleared away the smoke and looked around. The environment changed into a dark wasteland.
Akai looked in horror. In front of him was the dead body of Jezeboyah. His scales stripped from his body. He dropped to his two knees and lowered his head. Akai remembered how he failed Jezeboyah. How he couldn't save him. How he couldn't stop him, before it was too late. Akai murdered him in cold blood.
A singular voice from the darkness surrounded Akai.
"In the end, you couldn't save him. No matter how hard you pleaded, he was gone," it said.
In an instant, the corpse of Jezeboyah arose with ferocity. Akai jumped back as the red dragon thrashed at him. As Akai looked into who he would consider a father's eyesockets, maggots crawled out with the speed of cockroaches. In that instant, he remembered. Remembered what Jezeboyah wanted Akai to do him. What had to be done. And it was his inaction that destroyed Butterton Town and it's inhabitants. A chill was felt on his neck and Akai struck behind himself slashing against the surrounding darkness.
Akai remembered the reason why he was hunting dragons. Not for any personal reason. Not for himself. But for helping all life. A needed sacrifice for all others to live. If he wouldn't do it, then the future would be set in the ashes.
Akai's slash a cut an opening through the darkness like paper. And from that, the dark fog faded from existence. He looked over and saw the three wraiths all cut in half. Their fading spirits being dragged back into the black mud. It was nothing but an illusion, but it reminded Akai of his purpose and he thanked the shadowy creatures for it as he sheathed his blade.
As he stared at the three, he realized what kind of creatures they once were. Their original form was that of nymphs. Spirits of the woods. They would usually heal the forests, but the three in front of him seem to have been corrupted.
As their spirits faded away, he remembered the suffering black stallion sinking into the mud. He looked back towards the horse. If it hasn't died yet, then he would give it a quick death.
But something else emerged in his line of sight.
The horse was alive, but different. It's face contorted and looked almost human. It maintained it's long neck, but it's eyes and mouth felt like staring at a person's. It's mouth drooled constantly with a never ending supply of saliva like it had rabies. The rest of it's body looked like a normal horse. It bowed it's head staring straight into Akai's own eyes. As if it could see behind the red dragon-scale helmet. Akai stood shocked and disgusted. It opened it's long mouth with hoarse breath.
"Oh, prophet. Dog of death to the Gods above," the horse said.
Akai thought that it must have been another illusion brought forth by a fourth wraith. He held his hilt in preparation of battle. Though, the feeling was different. It didn't feel like an illusion like the spectral ancient dragons. Instead, it actually felt like a real creature. He stood his ground in wait for an attack.
"Do not be alarmed. And do not be insulted by what I'm about to do. I only follow the master's commands," it said with a hoarse voice while continuing to make eye contact no longer bowing to Akai.
"Your master? So, this is the work of some mage?" Akai asked while not letting down his guard.
The horse didn't reply to Akai's meaningless questions. Instead, it's body began to convulse. It broke it's own bones and grew to triple the size of Akai.
Over the hundreds of years, he had never fought or seen a monster like this, but didn't show any sign of fear. He unsheathed his blade and prepared for battle as it's unblinking wide eyes stared directly Akai all while morphing it's body.
The horse stood on two legs and it's arms twisted into that of a human. The eyes were erratic for seconds, but then focused back towards the black dragon. It's bones sharpened through where the horse's heel used to be and pierce through it. It's forearm and elbow grew with muscle along with the chest and hind legs. It's continuous stream of drool fell to the ground. It's spine grew out of it's back and grew out spider legs made of bone.
The monstrous human-like horse stood tall over Akai, but he didn't waver. For him, the bigger the monster was, the easier it would be to hit it.
The unknown abomination charged forward with it's sharp bone-like pincers in front. As the monster approached closer, Akai slid his blade under the two sharp bones and he moved forward. He cut the the monster's two arms clean off. Blood and insect fell out.
The creature staggered back and said, "Impressive. As expected from our foretold -"
In a moment, Akai grew out his black wings and tail. He flew up face-to-face with the monster and grabbed it's neck. Akai's yellow eyes glowed behind his visor as it seeped through. His heavy grip held the creature's neck. One drop of sweat fell down from it's head and just like that, Akai knew that he had won.
With one hand, he snapped the monster's neck and pushed it to the ground. It's tongue stuck out as maggots, spiders, and other various insects crawled out of it's mouth.
"I don't have time for this," Akai said as he hovered above the black mud. He turned his back thinking that it was dead. He sheathed his blade and began to fly over to solid ground.
"You are just as promised, my lord," it said and Akai quickly turned back to the monster with his red blade in hand as it sank below the black mud, "Thank you for bringing us out of the rot..."
The creature only needed to distract Akai for a couple of seconds. That was it's purpose and now it was fulfilled. Akai watched as it slowly sank away lifelessly to make sure that it wouldn't attack him by surprise, and as soon as the body disappeared, he relaxed himself. He hovered above the black mud and dropped himself off on healthy sturdy dirt beyond the patch of black mud.
He looked back at the black mud as the trees around it rotted away. He wondered what kind of dark magic was affecting the forest, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. He brought his attention back to the dragon. Akai wondered whether he should notify the inquisitors of the black magic that was occurring in the forest, but knew that meant burning down the whole forest. He would decide what to do with what he found for a later date. To him, it wasn't a need for immediate concern.
He retracted his dark wings and tail. Akai covered his blade with his cloak and walked away towards King's City. The bright moon overhead was all the light he needed as he traversed the forests, but the forest had many shadows. Within them, more eyes locked themselves upon Akai and he knew it.
Shadowy creatures that hid themselves within the dark crevices between the trees lunged at Akai. In response, he unsheathed his blade and sighed, "I don't have time for this."
For a moment, Akai felt that his green blade was heavier, but rather be distracted, he focused his attention towards the monsters.
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