Pt. X: Plague and Cure
by Vipers ©
This story
was split into 12 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12
Note: This story
was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 12 parts for faster page loading.
The blue flame flickered, revealing a face of a demon he knew as one of his loyal subordinates, wearing a long dark cloak. "Greetings, Supreme Commander Daemon."
"Report." The demon simply ordered.
"The assault was a success, my Lord." The demon hissed. "The Humans were caught unprepared of our attack. The town of Blackwell stood before us and Stromgard. The castle north of the town is lightly guarded and shouldn't pose any threat. Soon the puny Humans will fall."
"Excellent... And I must praise you for your finest selection. You know my taste."
"It's been my greatest pleasure, my Lord."
"I await for the news of your victory. Now do what you have to do."
The demon disappeared from the flame. The Dark Lord walked slowly toward the next room. He was in a good mood. For once his subordinate didn't screw up in his task. And his artisans had finished refurbishing the new room, his playroom. For once he was truly happy.
The room was exactly where the old throne room used to be. Replacing the throne was a high stone chair. Gaea, the Protector of the Realm was sitting there, dressed in majestic gown and crowned with a pretty golden headband. Yet one detail stayed the same. She was shackled to the throne. Her body shivered on contact with the cold stone. The shackles on the feet of the chair forced her legs wide open. The gown had open slits in certain places, revealing her breasts and bare pussy. She just sat there weakly, defeated and completely humiliated.
Before her stood a wooden table. A young girl was strapped into the table with various shackles. Her mouth was gagged with her own panties. She was blindfolded, and was struggling against her bondage. Two small pins plugged her ears, cutting her from any contact from the real world.
She was the only survivor from the last raid. Yet her life would not last for long. She would hope that she would have died in the attack. Now she would beg him to kill her.
"How... magnificent..." Daemon muttered.
"Leave her alone, Daemon!" Gaea cried. "She's innocent! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Why, it will make the matter more interesting, will it not?"
The Dark Lord touched her pert breast. Her protest came instantly. She squirmed and let out a muffled scream. The demon lord chuckled, satisfied with the reaction.
"Please... let her go!" Gaea begged. "Just... do me instead..."
"Ah... you're offering yourself?" Daemon sneered.
"Y...yes... Please let her go... You can do anything to me..."
Lord Daemon approached the defeated goddess, lifted her head and forced her eyes to look into his. Determination quickly vanished from her eyes, defeated by fear.
"You are getting meek, my princess..." Daemon said softly.
"Y...yes... whatever you say..."
"Whatever you say, what?!"
"W...whatever y...you say... Milord..."
The demon lord smiled. "That's right. You are weak. You're not worthy as the Protector of the Realm. You're just a slave!"
"Y...yes, Milord..." Gaea hung her head in shame. "I'm just a slave..."
"And you will obey me! You will observe closely as I rape her!"
Gaea's eyes flared in fear. "No...! Milord, please let her go!"
The discussion was over. Daemon approached the bound girl and undid his trousers. His raging hard member stood in attention. He roughly licked the girl's dry pussy despite both girls' protest. Then without warning he slammed his penis deep inside the girl's pussy, stretching it to the limit. The gag couldn't stop the shattering scream of pain from escaping her lips. Gaea could only watch in horror as the demon lord raped the innocent girl mercilessly. The wave of guilt swept over her mind. She was the Protector of the Realm, yet she couldn't do anything to stop the horror before her. She had failed to do her job. She had failed the Guardian. She was not worthy as a goddess. I'm just a useless, wretched slave.
And as the demon lord reached climax, three screams joined together to form a perfect chorus: pleasure, pain and despair.
Atrus sat on the smooth, white marble of the Inner Sanctum and slowly took off his armor. The once-proud leather armor he'd received from a good fellow back in Labrador was now decorated with dents and scratches. That armor had seen many battles before, and had seen many more with him. Now it was hardly enough to deflect an arrow. It's time to buy a brand new armor, he thought.
The thought of Labrador brought back the memory of his first battle. He remembered fighting the bandits that had been pillaging the towns around the border. He remembered the kind people who had helped and supported him in his journey. He remembered the faith they had put in him when they elected him, just a young naïve boy, as their leader.
The thought also reminded him of Anna. It was the first time that he'd met her. The first meeting hadn't been very pleasant, but he'd gained her trust and respect, through tough battles and dire dangers, many of which could have got either of them killed. By any chance, he'd almost always been there for her in times of danger. Now Anna was nowhere near him. He didn't even know what had become of her. He didn't even know whether he would ever see her again.
The thought of Labrador bothered him deeply. Roberto had just confirmed that the army of the undead had raged through the south countryside and had pushed through the Great Forest. Now the small town of Blackwell, Maya's hometown, was the only town standing between the destruction and the capital of the Human kingdom of Aragon, Stromgard. Knowing that the enemy had pushed so far into the territory, Atrus was sure that among all towns in the south that had fallen, Labrador could be one of them.
And right now they were defenseless. Heaven, the home of the High Fairies, had been ransacked. They had driven out all the Ogres, but the price was heavy. Many Fairies were gravely wounded in the assault, but greater wounds lay inside. The Ogres had raped many of them before the party arrived. Plus, their holy symbol, the Holy Fire of Love was gone. Their physical wounds could be treated, yet their honor and dignity had been seized from them. Now they're reluctant to offer their support for the alliance.
Right now Maya, Aurelia and Hawk were tending the injuries. The rest of the people helped rebuild the Gate of Heaven. The pitiful moan of pain and despair filled the air. If only Anna was here...
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, O Prophet of the Guardian..."
"Lynn, how many times should I tell you to call me Atrus!" He snapped.
"My fault, O... Prophet Atrus..." The Fairy cowered.
"Atrus!" He insisted.
"Atrus... I want to express my gratitude for your assistance to our race."
"Don't mention it." Atrus replied. "We have another important matter to attend."
"I agree, but as you can see, our home is destroyed. The enemies have... hurt us..."
Atrus stared at her. "What do you mean...?"
"I mean..." The Fairy couldn't look at him in the eye. "I'm afraid... we can't offer our support in your alliance..."
"What?!" Maya, who was tending a wounded Fairy nearby, couldn't help but cry.
I know this one is coming. "You know how important the alliance is for us?" Atrus asked.
"We understand, yet there is nothing we could do to assist. We've been... defeated..."
"No, you haven't!" Maya answered quickly. "We can still fight together!"
"Our purity has been robbed. The Holy Fire of Love from the Gods has been extinguished. We have betrayed our vows. It's only a matter of time until the Gods decide to punish us..."
"Nonsense!" Maya shouted.
"Is there anything I can do to prove you otherwise?" Atrus interrupted.
"You have passed our test by defeating the invaders..." Lynn answered slowly. "But we can't help you. We are sorry. Please understand..."
"But without your help, we all will fall!" Maya insisted. "Please help us!"
"Young lady, you don't understand what we've been through!"
"Yes, I do!" There was a hint of deep pain in Maya's voice. "I... I've been through things worse than this and I... I survived them!"
"I don't mean to offend you, young lady, but purity means everything to us..."
"So what?!" Atrus had never seen Maya so mad before. "What are you going to do right now?! Commit a mass suicide?!"
"Now, girls!!" Atrus finally decided to interfere. He looked at both contenders, then sighed. "There was a fight out there in Aragon and many innocent people were killed. Now that I'm sick of it, I don't want to hear another one happening here between us!"
When both girls finally settled down, he resumed, "Maya, I'm afraid she's right. We can't force anything from them after what they've been through."
"But, Master..."
"No buts!" Atrus said quickly. "And Lynn, I understand. We will do our best to defend the realm without your help." He stood up. "I believe my task is done here. We must go."
"Wait..." The Fairy hesitated. "I mean... you're just going to leave, just like that...?"
"I have done what I'm supposed to do." Atrus answered calmly.
"I... I'm very sorry." Lynn hung her head. "I really want to help, but..." She hesitated.
Atrus put his hand on her shoulder and gave her, despite the grueling feeling inside him, his best encouraging smile. "I know... Listen to your heart. That's what my father always says."
The party quickly regrouped at the temple courtyard. The repair of the Gate was halfway done, but they had to go. Another pressing matter was to be attended.
"Undead army had attacked Southern Aragon, destroying many towns in that area. We need to go and mount some sort of defense." Atrus said. "Roberto, I believe your kingdom needs you right now."
"Yes. I have to go home and rally the army. I would appreciate if Captain Hawk would come with me." The young prince said.
"No problem." Hawk nodded. "I'll go."
"Princess Aurelia, could you go to Elom and inform the queen about this" Atrus asked.
"Sure." The Elf nodded. "I'll rally the Elven defenders to reinforce your army."
"And I suppose I should inform King Hloffeth about this?" Holgreb asked.
"Please." Atrus nodded. "I can't come with you people, because I have another matter to attend. I have to go to the fifth and last race."
"Which is...?" Aurelia asked.
Atrus fell quiet for a while. "Good question. We've visited the Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Fairies. But there are supposed to be five races, or that's what Lord Guardian told me."
"Could it be the Gods?" Roberto offered.
"Nah..." Holgreb the Dwarf sneered. "Those stupid creatures won't even care!"
Everybody looked at the Dwarf for the moment. "Er... atheistic, I suppose?" Hawk asked.
"Very."
Maya spoke up for the first time. "Master, why don't you ask the Fairies? They said they have access to such information."
"Lynn...?" Atrus turned to the Fairy.
"I'm not sure that such information is... valid for you..."
"Well, I tell you this..." Atrus stared into the Fairy's eyes. "There's a war going on out there and people are being killed! Now I'm not going to sit here, wasting my time, thinking about where I'm supposed to go! Now if you really care about those poor souls, let me know where to go!!"
Silence covered them for a while. After being with Atrus for a while, everybody knew that no matter how a nice person Atrus could be, he was the worst person to be around with when he was in a bad mood. Especially when Anna wasn't around to counter his anger.
"All right, I'll tell you..." The Fairy cowered. "You've visited all high races in the realm and done what you have to do. The time has come for you to visit the last race, the race of the outcasts... the mages..."
"What?!" Roberto choked on himself. "Oh boy..."
"What's wrong?" Holgreb asked.
"Humans and Elves hated each other." Aurelia explained. "But they shared the same hatred against the mages."
"Why?"
"We thought that the mages were responsible for all the chaos that had been happening at that time. It was mostly political stuff. But an allied army of Humans and Elves really attacked the Great Temple of Magi in Northern Aragon, destroying the place. Now the Order of Magi settled down in far northeast of the land in a small peninsula bordered by mountains and the treacherous Northern Ocean."
"So I assume they won't be very excited with the idea of this alliance?"
"Definitely not." Roberto replied. "Atrus, do you want me to go with you to apologize?"
"That will do no good." Atrus answered. "If they don't want an alliance, they don't want it, even if you're there. I'll confront them. Now we'd better get going..."
"Wait...!" Lynn hesitated for a while. "I... I can help... I can open a set of dimension doors here to send you all to your destinations. I suppose that's the least I can do to assist..."
"Thanks." Atrus nodded. "Maya? Are you going with Prince Roberto?"
"No, Master... I think I'll stay here for a while to help... that is, if you don't mind..."
"Why, you're heroes!" Lynn answered quickly. "You're always welcomed in Heaven!"
"All right, people, let's move!"
Four magical dimension doors was opened before them. Prince Roberto and Hawk went in to Castle Stromgard to rally troops. Aurelia went back to Elom to prepare reinforcement while Holgreb proceeded to Castle Hloffeth to warn King Parson of the threat. Atrus faced the last dimension door that Lynn claimed to connect to the Land of the Magi.
"Be careful, Master..." Maya called.
Atrus gave her an encouraging smile, then entered the dimension door. The magical door was quickly closed behind him. He ran through the magical tunnel, ignoring various flashes and glows of the shrunk objects in the realm as he traveled through space and time. Everything flashed in bright light, signaling the end of the tunnel. Just in case, he reached out for his sword and prepared his fighting stance.
He failed. The ground wasn't there.
Atrus stumbled and fell instantly after going out of the dimension door. The door seemed to hover above the ground. He landed, thankfully, on a grassy ground. The height of his fall wasn't fatal, but the pain was enough to make him grumble. I'll deal with that Fairy brat later...
When he completely recovered from the fall, he knew he wasn't alone. In fact, he was surrounded by at least a dozen other men. They were all wearing long robes and high collars. Each of them held a long staff topped with a gem. They all didn't look very pleased with his sudden appearance. Atrus had heard stories about wizards. He'd thought wizards were just street magicians wearing long robes, thick beard and pointy hats. Now, facing a group of angry wizards, he knew he was in trouble.
His hand still rested firmly on his sword on his back. He could ignite his inner power any time, giving him an advantage in battle and offered partial protection against magic. But he knew he wasn't there to fight. He was there to plea for help from his race's greatest archenemy.
He put his hand down. "I surrender. Lead me to your leader."
(next)
This story
was split into 12 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12
Note: This story
was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 12 parts for faster page loading.