บท 23: Rise, Beast of Destruction
-Corundum - Bossprinz Kingdom
"Was my son's head not enough for you?!" Heinrich Bosspinz roared as he crossed swords with the King of Vienerstien.
Less than a day ago, Vienerstien forces had rushed the capital city of Bossprinz Kingdom unprovoked, breaching the castle during the chaotic bustle of the weekly market. It had taken the Bossprinz Kingdom's soldiers utterly by surprise—their prince's rotting head had been delivered to Heinrich Bossprinz mere hours before the assault, a grotesque prelude to the devastating attack. The message was clear: surrender or face annihilation.
"We don't want your son's head," barked King Alphonse of Vienerstien, panting from the exertion of the duel. "I want your land and the rest of Corundum! After that, I will take the rest of the world!"
That was when Heinrich saw the other king's eyes. The irises were blood red, and not the sparkling blue he had remembered. "Alphonse! You are being possessed!" He tried to say but the Mad King just kept attacking.
"I am possessed by the urge to rule the world! I have ambitions, clearly unlike you. My men had no problem cutting their way through your castle, proof that you are not fit to rule!" Alphonse sneered, and then laughed maniacally, a cruel sound that resonated through the stone halls of the besieged castle.
Heinrich gritted his teeth, disbelief and rage fueling his swings as steel met steel with violent clangs. His heart ached for his lost son, a pawn in a game of power he hadn't even known they were playing—sacrificed for a madman's ambition.
"You've been deceived, Alphonse!" Heinrich managed to thrust the point home between heavy, labored breaths. "No man in their right mind would wage such bloodshed for such a twisted desire!"
But King Alphonse continued his relentless offense, the sword in his hand an extension of his crazed pursuit of power. His movements were precise, almost inhuman as if guided by some otherworldly force.
The duel became a harrowing dance of death within the grand halls that had seen many great times. Now the place was covered in the bodies of those King Bosspinz had respected and loved. 'Why was this happening?' he had to wonder, but that thought cost him his hand.
In the momentary lapse of concentration, King Alphonse's blade came down hard, slicing through armor, flesh, and bone with an inhuman strength. With a scream that echoed off the high walls, Heinrich watched in horror as his hand, still gripping his sword, fell to the blood-stained floor.
Panic and pain threatened to cloud his senses, but the survival instinct of a seasoned warrior kicked in. Heinrich Bossprinz, with his remaining hand, fumbled at his belt for the small hidden dagger he always carried. He knew this was probably his last stand. He would not let this madman tarnish his family name any further.
"Your reign ends here, Alphonse!" Heinrich roared through gritted teeth, launching himself towards the possessed king with a desperate energy fueled by pain and adrenaline. The king's sword came slashing down towards him again, but Heinrich managed to dodge and plunge the dagger deep into the mad king's thigh.
Alphonse's face contorted in pain as he stumbled back, the red glow in his eyes dimming for a fraction of a second before blazing up again with intensified fury.
"You will not survive this, Bossprinz," King Alphonse hissed, ignoring the wound as if it were a mere annoyance. Adrenaline surging through his veins, Heinrich didn't relent, pressing his attack with the skill and ferocity of a cornered beast.
But as their weapons clashed, the manic strength of the possessed king became overpowering. With each passing second, the duel felt less like a battle between monarchs and more like a mortal struggle against a malevolent spirit.
The two kings, locked in their deadly ballet, became the center of a maelstrom of violence as the battle for the Bossprinz Kingdom raged on around them. Heinrich Bossprinz, maimed and losing blood, fought with the tenacity of a man defending his home against an undeniable evil.
The possessed Alphonse, for all his inhuman power, began to show signs of wear from the deep wound Heinrich had inflicted. The fervor in his eyes began to flicker, the tempo of his offense slowing. Heinrich, sensing a shift in the duel's dynamic, pressed on with renewed vigor despite the pain that screamed through his body.
With a mighty effort, Heinrich Bossprinz lunged, burying his dagger deep into King Alphonse's side. A guttural scream of both pain and rage tore from the possessed king's throat as his knees buckled and he fell backward.
The Bossprinz soldiers, sensing the tide turning, rallied to their king's side. Swords drawn and faces set in grim determination, they descended upon the weakened Vienerstien forces.
In the moments that followed, Heinrich Bossprinz collapsed to the ground, his strength finally failing him. His vision blurred at the edges, yet his mind was clear. He had defended his kingdom, if only for one more day. As darkness pulled him under, he prayed that his people would remember him not as a victim of possession and madness, but as a ruler who stood his ground to the very end.
"My, My! You are much tougher than I would have given you credit, King Heinrich."
The king looked up, and any hope that he had once held was ripped away as his tired eyes fell on the monster that was walking into the great hall in the guise of a human. But this creature was no human, and Heinrich could see the massive shadow that she cast.
"How long do you plan on lying down? RISE!"
The body of Alphonse Vienerstien screamed out as red light burst from his wounds, searing them shut. Heinrich watched in horror as the man he had just killed slowly got up, but screamed the entire time. The scene before Heinrich Bossprinz was something out of the darkest corners of a nightmare. He struggled to understand how this could be happening, how the dead could rise and scream, how such malevolence could exist.
King Alphonse seemed as much a puppet as a man, his limbs jerking unnaturally as the sinister creature forced him upright. The red light that burned from his wounds was like nothing Heinrich had ever seen, and it filled him with a deep, unsettling dread.
All around the great hall, the battle paused as friend and foe alike watched the spectacle in horror. Swords lowered and breaths held, as though even the act of breathing could bring about some further evil from this dark enchantress.
The creature approached Alphonse, placing a delicate, almost tender hand upon his bloodied and seared chest. She whispered in a language that made Heinrich's ears ring with its otherworldly cadence.
"Ah, you're back with us, my puppet," she cooed, her voice like silk and arsenic. "Now, let's finish what we started. Destroy them all. Your pain will subside once you embrace the darkness I offer."
Under the creature's maleficent power, Alphonse's screams turned into groans of acceptance. His eyes, once a bright blue, burned with an unholy crimson light as he raised his sword once again, this time with the fluid grace of a predator.
Heinrich felt the last traces of his strength leaving him as he watched the once-noble king become a vessel of destruction. In his heart, he knew his kingdom would never be the same. The price of this war would be higher than any could have imagined.
As darkness closed in, and his consciousness waned, one thought crystalized within him—his people would need a light to hold back this emerging darkness. They would need a hero from beyond their borders, someone untouched by the malevolence that now corrupted their world. His last hope, as the shadows took him, was for a savior to rise and answer the call of the desperate.
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