The Crimson Fang
Chapter 9 - The Serpent Lord

King Albert and Davinthos rushed into the Mirror room. They seemed excited and panicked at the same time. “We have good news, but we also have bad news,” King Alberta explained. The Fang looked toward him, turning their attention away from where Ami should have been. “Give us the good news first, I suppose.” “The good news is we have pinpointed the location of one of the ten Altros Highlords, who control the movements, as well as lead, the other Altros!” “Well, that’s wonderful news! What’s the bad news, though?” Davinthos looked disheartened. “The bad news is Ami is being held captive by him.” The Fang’s faces went completely serious. “Where is the target?” King Albert point to a large land mass on the map he had brought along. “He is on the Eastern continent. I believe the Humans refer to the land as ‘Asia,’ or something along those lines. He is somewhere on this little island here, but that is as close as we could get. Your primary objective is the elimination of the Altros Highlord. Your second objective is the rescue of Ami, the Crimson Hawk. You are dismissed. Good luck.” The four remaining members of the Crimson Fang bowed their heads, and turned to the Mirror. They focused their thoughts on the location given, proceeding through.

They came out of a Conduit into a small house. The walls were not built of stone, as they were used to, but of a round wood and straw. Through the small windows, they could hear the sound of a battle outside. Once they had made their way out of the small house, what they saw was not a battle, but a slaughter. Men with long, two-handed blades were cutting down helpless townspeople and farmers, without showing a single shred of mercy. They were wearing strange, metallic clothing and helmets with masks that made them look like animals and demons. A large group of the murderous band turned their attention to the Fang and ran over to them, weapons drawn, and began shouting at them in an unfamiliar dialect. Joseph turned to Sakura. “You’ve studied many languages; do you recognize the one they’re using?” Sakura nodded. “What are they saying?” “Surrender.” Joseph laughed. “They wish to surrender? Very well, I accept, as long as they throw down their weapons. That was easy,” he joked. Sakura laughed, “No. They are saying that we will surrender to them, or forfeit our lives. Apparently, they think that we’re unarmed, like all these innocents.” Draken and Joseph smiled at each other and readied themselves. “We shouldn’t disappoint them, then. Show us what you’ve got!” the warriors, seeing that the two targets raised their hands, not in surrender, but in an aggressive stance, charged. The Dragon and Wolf made quick work of them, bringing them to the ground in disgrace. Sakura began speaking with them, sharing her knowledge with the others, through her blood. “I would have to highly recommend to you that you surrender now. Otherwise, I cannot and will not be held accountable for the actions of my two friends.” The attackers bowed their heads, signifying their compliance.” Why have you openly attacked these innocent, unarmed people?” “Our lord told us that if we did not destroy the village, and all who inhabit it, that we would never see our women and children again.” “Who is your lord?” “We do not know the name by which he goes. We know him only as the Serpent Lord. He attacked our land, killing our previous lord, kidnapped our women, and subjugated our armies, along with his generals. They were all grotesque creatures, who resemble the Oni. Any who defy their command dies. They do not kill them quickly, either. It is a slow, excruciating process.” The warriors looked up, confused as the Fang were smiling. They took this to be good news. “Where are they located?” The warriors gave the Fang the location of the palace. “Now that we know where they are, we don’t need to go searching for them. The hunt has begun. It is time to increase the body count.” Joseph turned to the warriors. “If we assist you in the rescue of your women and children, will you aid us in return?” The warriors looked at each other in disbelief and then raised their heads to look at Joseph. ”What is it that you would have us do?” “Gather your brethren, and tell them to stop attacking the villagers. You will provide a diversion, whilst we strike directly into the palace.” “Consider it done. Where is your army, so that you may attack?” “You are looking at it,” Draken grinned. “There are but four of you. How exactly do you plan to defeat the Oni?” Joseph nodded at the others, and they produced their weaponry. “With finesse,” he replied. The warriors’ eyes went wide, as they watched the weaponry materialize. “Why are you doing this? Have the mystics decided that we are worth aiding?” Joseph smiled, as he placed his hand on the lead warrior’s shoulder. “We have our own reasons for wanting to deal with this threat. Now go, prepare your forces for battle.” With that, the warriors bowed their heads, left the Fang and sent word to their allies to cease the assault.

The Fang and the leaders of the warriors, who called themselves ‘Samurai,’ spent the rest of the daylight hours plotting their plan of attack. As night fell, the attack began, with the Samurai creating a distraction by attacking a storehouse. It was a lightly guarded, albeit important facility, which minimized casualties, while maximizing the attention it gathered. This allowed the Crimson Fang to move into the castle, completely undetected. They climbed the walls, and moved along the rafters though the building, as to avoid confrontation with any human guards. As they were looking down, they noticed a pair of Altros walking beneath them. They were talking loudly, which made their conversation extremely easy to overhear. “The stupid humans are revolting,” one of them stated. “I agree,” replied a particularly hideous Altros. “They are rather ugly.” The first Altros backhanded him across what appeared to be his face. “I mean they are rebelling, you idiot!” The ugly one held his face. “Oh. I agree with that too.” “Serpenthos says there is no way that the pathetic creatures mustered up enough courage to do this on their own.” Joseph dropped silently behind them, blades at the ready. “Who in all the Hells would be stupid enough to think that sending the humans to their deaths would accomplish anything?” “Us.” The Altros turned around, just in time to see the blades strike to their necks. Joseph flung the blood from his blades, and made his way back up into the rafters. The Fang continued their search for the throne room.

They were passing by a door, when it flew open. Several Altros ran through frantically, with a voice shouting behind them. “Find the intruders and kill them! Whoever they are, they managed to kill two of the others!” The Fang dropped from the rafters, right in the middle of the Altros, making short work of their targets. Just as the door closed, it was kicked open again, as the four of them made their way into the throne room.

Once inside the Fang found the kidnapped women. They were in various places around the throne room, but there was no sign of Ami or the Serpent Lord. As they began helping the women out of their chains, the throne turned around, revealing the two. Ami, bound, was forced to sit on the arm of the throne, like some kind of trophy, while the Serpent Lord had his arm wrapped around her. “You must be my uninvited guests,” he said, grinning. “The Crimson Fang, was it?” The four of them smiled. “Obviously, our reputation precedes us. Serpenthos, I presume?” The Altros Highlord, known as Serpenthos, grinned and nodded. “It appears as though I may have underestimated the resourcefulness of the Crimson Nobles, or perhaps overestimated their sense of honour. I never thought you would use humans as a means to an end.” “It was necessary to help in carrying out our mission. Besides,” Joseph nodded toward the captives, “we are freeing their women in exchange for their assistance.” The kidnapped women seemed to be excited by this news. “The question I have for you is what is the best method one may use for the cooking of a giant snake?” Ami was giving worried looks toward the Fang. “Shall I tell them, my dear? I am no ordinary Altros, you poor, deluded fools. I managed to bind this Crimson Noble woman with little, if any, effort. I am one of the ten terrors that strike fear into the hearts of the peons you have been dealing with. I am Serpenthos, of the Altros Highlords!” Joseph yawned. “Yes, yes. We are aware as to who and what you are. It is part of the reason we so readily volunteered for this hunt, to be completely honest with you. After all these pushovers we have been facing, we were hoping for a real, challenging battle, like the one I had with Zalterosand,” he replied, grinning back. “So, you are the infamous Slayer of Zalterosand. Then it appears that I, too, have finally met somebody who can pose as a challenge to me. Very well, Son of Reinhardt. I propose a one-on-one duel between the two of us. There shall be no interference by your allies, as there will be none from the several guards I have approaching this room, as we speak. If you are victorious, I will release these pathetic creatures that you have so willingly agreed to free. However, if you should fail,” he began, shaking some more chains, “then I shall add you and the rest of the Crimson Fang to my ‘collection.’ You will make me the most powerful of the Highlords! You will do as I say, when I say it, no matter what the order is. Do you agree to these terms?” Joseph laughed, thinking for a moment. “Agreed.” Ami’s expression turned to one of despair.

The two charged at each other, meeting in the middle of the throne room. Joseph hadn’t drawn his blades since the confrontation in the hallway, and they were fighting hand to hand. The onlookers could see Serpenthos leading the Crimson Dragon in a circle, allowing his tail to wrap around the unsuspecting warrior. The Altros cheered their lord on, and the Fang silently urged Joseph to be careful. The Serpent Lord struck, tightening his tail to constrict his prey. The battle was over, and he had won. Or, so he had thought. As his tail tightened to the point of bone crushing pressure, Joseph leapt out from the middle of the trap. He now stood a short distance away, with his hand to the sky. Serpenthos laughed. “The sky is hidden, poor Dragon. You cannot use your fancy little light trick.” He became aware that, despite this news, Joseph was smiling at him. He shouted “Dragon’s Wrathful Strike!” and charged straight into Serpenthos, sending him sailing across the room, crashing into the throne. When the Altros opened his eyes, he found two blades crossed directly over his throat. The last thing he heard was “you lose” before the blades cut through him like a pair of shears.

One by one, the bound women were freed. What remained of the Altros forces rushed into the throne room, only to meet a swift, and untimely death. Joseph sent Geoff to spread the news of the deaths of the Serpent Lord and his generals, signifying their victory. Ami’s binding was the last to be severed, and she immediately jumped to Joseph and threw her arms around him. He noticed the Hawk was shaking. “Were you scared?” She nodded. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” She pointed at him. “You were scared for me?” She nodded again. “I appreciate the concern. But, I am not about to let some second rate, scaly freak get the best of me,” he laughed.

When everyone walked outside, Geoff’s voice could be heard from the roof of the palace, shouting about the victory and the newly attained freedom for the humans. Cheers rang out as the news was received. The group that had attacked the Fang ran up to them. “Thank you so much! If it weren’t for you, we would have most likely been killed by the Oni, even if we did as they ordered!” ”How many casualties were there in total?” “We managed to convince the guards to join us, so there were not very many at all. How did your mission go?” “Enter the palace and see,” Joseph replied, smiling. “Again, we thank you so much! What will you do now Mystic warriors? Where will you go?” “We will return home, to our own land. I doubt we will return in your lifetimes, so good luck.” “Oh. We were hoping you would lead us, now that the Serpent Lord is defeated. When he killed our lord, he also murdered his heirs.” “You do not need a lord. You can rebuild your lands and run them as a collective council, making decisions together, instead of having one person make all the choices for you.” With that, the Crimson Fang turned and walked away, returning to the Conduit. “Was it a good idea to tell them that, Joseph?” Sakura asked. “It is interfering with the Humans’ way of life.” “It will be fine,” Joseph replied. The Crimson Fang returned home, reunited, through the Conduit.

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