Hearts of Malice Ch. 07

Chapter 7: True Divinity

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"Bow down to my glory or cower in fear of my wrath!"

Urilesh was hovering a few inches above the floor, her arms wide open in a grandiloquent gesture. Behind the fallen goddess' back, four wings of purple crackling flames languidly flapped and on top of her borrowed head stood two curved horns made of swirling, writhing shadows.

"Enough with the decorum!" The azure glow of Sir Reinhold's sword grew brighter and a wave of energy swept the room, snuffing Urilesh's wings and forcing the demon to land. "We both know that your powers are useless against my Goddess'!"

"With each of our encounters I grow increasingly tired of you, human. Let's end this." Urilesh's grip on her sword tightened as her signature smirk faded in an angry frown.

"Gladly."

Loretta simply watched, dumbfounded and unable to act, as Reinhold and Urilesh rushed toward each other. When they met, their indomitable will clashed as much as their sword did.

The knightess was a great fighter and she knew it. She had been able to stand her ground even against the most renowned fighter among the Order of the Moon during her training. But despite being decades older than her, Reinhold was on a whole other level.

He was moving so fast that Loretta's eyes struggled to keep up with him. He swung his sword faster and stronger than any men in their prime Loretta had seen. He was a relentless attacker always on the offensive and yet somehow always defending as well. Loretta wondered how much of his fighting prowess he owed the Mother of All and how much came from his life of training and diligence.

And so, as impossible as Loretta thought it, Urilesh was floundering. The knightess had no doubt that Urilesh at her full potential would be a ridiculously terrifying opponent from what she had seen first hand, but here the demon was severely handicaped.

Her magic was apparently powerless against the protection offered to Sir Reinhold by the Holy Moon. Her mastery over bladed weapons was limited by the strength and stamina of Elisa's body. Despite the rage that animated her, Urilesh was slowly but surely losing her fight.

"Loretta!" Reinhold roared as he deflected a strike from the demon. "Destiny awaits! Together we send this creature back to the unholy abyss she crawled from!"

"If you think this human can even point her sword against my host, you're even more dense than I thought, Reinhold."

"Don't listen to her Loretta! This fiend is nothing but lies and deceptions! The Princess you cared about is long gone, only darkness remains now!"

"I-I... can't... I don't know..." The knightess slowly raised her sword without much conviction.

"Then stand aside as I claim the victory that shall be ours!" Reinhold had no time to think much of Loretta's passiveness, busy as he was fighting Urilesh.

Blocking Reinhold's sudden heavy strike put Urilesh off-balance, Elisa's frail arm unable to withstand the power of Reinhold's aggression. The old knight pushed his advantage, and Urilesh only barely managed to dodge a swing that would have severed her right arm and it instead left a large bleeding gash on Elisa's upper right arm.

The sight of Elisa's wound pulled Loretta out of her stupor. Her heart was thundering in her chest, the knightess' mind torn apart by what was happening. She knew what she had to do, she knew where her loyalty stood, but she couldn't resolve herself to act.

With a masterful parry followed by a counterattack, Reinhold managed to send Urilesh's sword flying, disarming her. "This ends now!" He roared, sure of his imminent victory.

"Noooo!" Loretta lunged forward, blocking Reinhold's sword with her own.

"What are you doing?!" Reinhold snarled, his focus suddenly returning to Loretta as their swords against each other.

The knightess had no time to answer. The hilt of a flying sword roughly hit Reinhold's temple. Staggered, the old knight stumbled backward then a powerful blast of focused energy hit his breastplate. Reinhold was launched up in the air then heavily crashed back down on the floor.

"W-What have I done?!" Loretta's gaze repeatedly went from her sword to Reinhold's immobile body.

Clutching her bleeding arm, Urilesh intensely looked at Loretta. With unsteady steps, the demon slowly made her way to the shaking, whimpering knightess. Standing right in front of the knightess', Urilesh fixed her gaze on hers.

"Strike me down."

Loretta broke down crying. Unable to handle the Princess' eyes staring at her, she averted her eyes. Urilesh grabbed the knightess' right hand which was still holding her sword and moved it until Loretta's blade was resting against the Princess' neck.

"Strike me down. I'll die, be gone for good. The bards will sing the praise of Loretta the Godslayer until the very end of this world. You'll be the hero you always aspired to be."

The knightess blubbered even louder and more messily. Her hand slowly opened and her sword harmlessly fell to the ground. "I can't... I can't hurt her... You know that I can't..."

Urilesh let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. "Good. Now that this is settled, I have an offer for you. One last task. Help me, and I swear I'll be out of your life before sunrise."

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With eyes red and puffy from her recent outbursts of tears, Loretta had followed Urilesh through the maze of corridors and stairways that led down to the dark, ancient foundation of Kaedon Castle. The two women were now walking down the same dank tunnel that Loretta had explored earlier with Sir Reinhold.

Urilesh glanced behind her to face Loretta, an amused smirk on her lips. "You're not surprised by the existence of this place. The old man brought you down here before, didn't he?"

"He did." Loretta's tone was as neutral as a voice could be, the knightess too out of it to feel anything. "And I can even guess why we're here."

"Really? Can you?"

"You want to open the Vault. The royal blood of Kaedon and the blessing of the Moon."

Urilesh chuckled, neither confirming nor denying the knightess' conjecture.

Without warning, Loretta stopped. When Urilesh finally noticed that the knightess was not following her anymore, she flipped around, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Can I ask you to be honest with me, Urilesh?" The knightess asked, gathering what she still had of confidence.

The demon rolled her eyes. "This is not the first time I'm asked something like this, and that question puzzles me every time. I've done things to you and Elisa that are objectively evil, and I can't say that I feel any remorse for that, but have I ever been dishonest? And if I was willing to lower myself to the likes of Sofia and her clique, I would just lie and you would not be further on."

The knightess wasn't impressed by Urilesh's tirade. With her arms crossed under her chest, she waited for a real answer, the flickering light of her oil lantern barely lighting her expressionless face.

"Yes." Urilesh sighed. "I'll be honest with you. As long as you keep walking."

Satisfied, Loretta resumed walking, passing by Urilesh without as much as a glance.

"Is Elisa still there, somewhere?" Loretta asked when the demon caught up with her.

Urilesh seemed genuinely surprised by the question. "Yes, of course. Why would she not?"

"Then why did Sir Reinhold say the opposite?"

"Because Reinhold is a zealot who's tremendously out of his depths!" Urilesh's contempt for the old knight was clear in her voice. "Besides, if you had believed him, you would have been more inclined to help him kill me instead of stopping him. He had every reason to gaslight you."

"So do you, right now. I want to talk to her."

"How will you know that I'm not faking it, if you believe me willing to lie?"

"I will know." Under her facade of confidence, Loretta was on the verge of breaking down, holding tightly to the faint hope she had of freeing the Princess from Urilesh.

Urilesh looked hesitant as she lowered her gaze. Pensively, she put the back of her hand against her mouth and stayed silent for a minute. "Very well." The demon finally declared. "But no lengthy, tear-jerking scene. I'm in a hurry."

Loretta nodded promptly. She would have obliged much more constraining conditions just to be able to talk to the Princess once more. When Urilesh finally closed her eyes, the knightess held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, Elisa's eyes fluttered open and the Princess began to sob messily.

"I'm s-sorry! She... She's too strong, I c-can't..."

Loretta planted a quick kiss of Elisa's lips, silencing the Princess and wrapped her arms around her. "None of this is your fault." The knightess whispered gently in Elisa's ear. "You'll be fine, I swear on my love for you. The next time you open your eyes, you'll be free."

The knightess let Elisa cry against her shoulder for a minute, gently rubbing the Princess' back. When Elisa grew quiet and her breathing steadied, the knightess knew that her time was up. She let go of the Princess and took a step back. Loretta watched bitterly, unable to stop Urilesh from seizing her lover's body once more.

Urilesh's smirk appeared on her lips before she even opened her eyes. "Are you happy now?"

"No. But you appear to be somewhat honest." Loretta admitted, nibbling on her inner cheek.

"Perfect, now let me get daring and guess your next question. I have no intention to hurt your Princess in any way."

"Experience makes this hard to believe." The knightess let out, unable to stop herself from lashing out at the demon.

Urilesh frowned angrily, stomped her way to Loretta then locked her eyes in the knightess. "You won't get any apologies out of me, human. I am above. But circumstances change. Appreciate the luck you have and don't dwell on the past. I'll do the same."

The knightess silently held the demon's gaze for a minute. Loretta usually loved to get lost in Elisa's wide blue eyes, but right now they felt foreign, threatening, dangerous. A cold anger burned behind them. Yet, Loretta couldn't see any malice in Urilesh's eyes and her words. She swallowed her saliva and her hateful words, then nodded firmly. Without another word the knightess began to walk forward again, towards the deepest part of the underground.

The two women walked in silence for a while, Loretta's deduction about Urilesh's end goal apparently correct as the demon never made the knightess alter her course through the maze of tunnels. The quasi-silence that surrounded the duo allowed Loretta's mind to wander. The knightess began to doubt her each and every choice she had made that had led to this exact moment. So, when Urilesh's voice echoed in the dark, Loretta felt somehow relieved.

"My turn to ask you a question, knightess." Loretta could feel Urilesh's gaze on her back as the demon spoke. "All those words and acts to make sure your dear Princess is safe, and yet not once you cared about your own safety? Is your life so pointless that it's not worth fighting for?"

Loretta chuckled somberly and nervously played with her ponytail. "I betrayed Sir Reinhold and, if at least half of what he said was true, mankind as a whole. Be it by your hand or not, my life is over."

"Selflessly walking towards your own demise then. That takes a lot of resolve."

"Let's get this over with." Loretta cut short her conversation with Urilesh, the demon words too sharp for the knightess to handle.

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With every step she took towards the Moon's Vault, Urilesh grew more excited. She had longed for this very moment for far, far longer than her young host had lived and now that it was close at hand, she could barely believe it. Yet, she feared that one last obstacle may stand in her way, and not the easiest one to deal with.

Suddenly, the knightess walking a few steps in front of Urilesh stopped and froze. The distracted demon bumped into the armored woman then, confused, she took a step back. "Why are you stopping?"

Loretta jerkily turned around and faced Urilesh. The knightess' eyes were entirely blue, pupil and sclera combined in a turquoise sphere. Wreaths of blue smoke rose from Loretta's shoulders and arms. "This is as far as you will go." Loretta's voice, but not her words.

Urilesh let out a short burst of laughter then smirked menacingly. "Tell me Gaelach, do humans call you the Goddess of half measure? Because everything you've done so far to stop me was half-assed at best. Even now, as I stand next to my victory you seize this poor knightess' body instead of coming down yourself! She had a lot on her plate recently, you know."

"And whose fault is that, Urilesh? Your meddling with mankind led you, me and both those humans to this exact moment. This is all your doing."

"Don't even think of lecturing me! You lost that right long ago!" Urilesh took a step forward, threateningly pointing her finger at Loretta.

"All I ever did was to get you back into line. You are waist deep in quicksand and the more you struggle, the more you sink, Urilesh."

"If you had cared so much about stopping me, you would have done the deed yourself, instead of throwings away thousands of human lives."

Loretta's possessed body huffed. "Humans are inconsequential, expendable. They are countless, we are few. Exalted ones shall never fight one another."

"That's too bad, because I won't go down without a fight."

"Then you leave me no other choice." Loretta put one of her hands on the side of her forehead and the other under her chin, the toned muscles of the knightess at the ready. "One more life you wasted."

"Oh no, you're not!" Urilesh snarled as she lunged forward, sending both her and Loretta tumbling down on the ground before the knightess could snap her own neck.

Urilesh straddled the knightess who was laying down on her back, her armor weighing her down like a turtle. The demon held Loretta's arms above the knightess's head with her hands and while Loretta's legs were flailing freely, the knightess was thoroughly immobilized. Urilesh grinned meanly as she defiantly looked Loretta in the eyes.

"I am the eldest! I am the strongest! Why have you never accepted it!" Loretta spat, trying her best to free herself.

"Ha! Keep spouting that nonsense if it helps your ego but it won't make it true! Maybe in our shard you would have been able to match me, but in this realm, you are but a newborn, barely able to efficiently control this stolen body!"

"You cannot defeat me! Nor now nor ever!"

"I'll kick you out of this body and hurl you back to your castle of lies! I'll have my victory!"

The air around the two women was crackling with magical power as the two creatures of incommensurable power fought not with the muscles of their borrowed body but with the tremendous power that their souls wielded. A storm of pure energy swirled around them, slowly grinding the walls and ceiling of the tunnel up. Time was meaningless, the seconds of the Goddess' showdown seemingly lasting forever. Until drops of blood began to pour out of Urilesh's nose.

"I. WILL. NOT. YIELD!" Loretta shouted above the ruckus of magical chaos.

Powerful shockwaves were repeatedly flung against the walls, dislodging head-sized carved stones that were promptly pulverized by the intense whirlwind of energy. Urilesh's nosebleed had intensified, and she was now also bleeding out of her ears as she frowned out of anger, disgust and exhaustion. Until finally, everything stopped, calm returning to the tunnel. Both women went limp, laying on top of another. The silence was only broken by Elisa's ragged, pained breaths.

Loretta's eyes slowly opened and the knightess noticed Elisa laying on top of her. "Elisa?" She asked quietly.

"Not... quite." Urilesh difficulty lifted herself off Loretta's body then rolled down on her back, laying down next to the knightess.

"What the hell was that? That voice... it... took my body..."

Urilesh fit of laughter quickly turned into a pained cough. "That was your delightful goddess, the Holy Moon, Mother of All or something. I saved your life by the way. Don't make that a habit."

Tears were beading in the corner of Loretta's eyes as she gazed at her shaking fingers. "She was willing to... to sacrifice me..."

Smirking, Urilesh straightened and sat on her butt. "I really hope you heard her words. Inconsequential. Expendable. That's what she thinks of you."

Urilesh slowly rose to her feet, wincing painfully. When she tried to take a step, the world began to spin and her wobbling legs almost gave up. The demon had to lean on the nearby wall so as not to fall back down.

"Are you alright?" The knightess asked as she stood in turn.

"I am fine. I recover quickly."

"My concern wasn't for you."

Urilesh chuckled. "Of course. She'll be fine."

After catching her breath with her back against the wall for a minute, Urilesh successfully took a few tentative steps then turned to face the knightess. "She won't try such a stunt again. Let's hurry now." The demon began walking, turning her back to Loretta. "... before she tries something else." She added under her breath.

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"Sir? Sir, can you hear me?"

Reinhold's eyes opened slowly as he regained consciousness. His bruised ribs were painful, but it was very far from the worst pain he had ever felt. As the last moments before he had passed out came back to him, he wordlessly thanked the protection that the Holy Moon was granting him. Without it, his chest would have been torn apart by Urilesh' attack.

"Sir? What happened?"

The old knight felt a hand on his shoulder. He was still laying down on the floor of the throne room, but Urilesh was nowhere to be seen. A knight wearing the golden armor of the Royal Guards was crouching next to him, a worried look on his face.

"The Princess..." Reinhold's throat was dry and talking was painful. "...Is she in custody?"

The golden knight frowned. "No. I'm sorry Sir, Princess Sofia slipped through our fingers. We don't know where she is. "

"Not her! Elisa!" Reinhold growled, furious.

"We... We haven't seen Princess Elisa either." The Royal Guard seemed truly confused. "We have been focusing our efforts on finding Sir Wilhelm and routing his influence."

Sir Reinhold grabbed the Royal Guard's offered hand and got up. He took a tentative step, assessing his injuries then, satisfied, he turned to face the golden knight.

"Gather as many men as you can. We have to stop them."

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"What even is behind those doors?"

Loretta was standing as far as she could from the large doors of the Vault, a hand on her hip. Urilesh was already right next to the right panel, Elisa's royal blood making it shine with a crimson glow. The knightess knew that she only had to take a few more steps and the Vault would open and for the first time since she had stopped Sir Reinhold, she was hesitating.

"Does it really matter?" Urilesh shrugged, hand-waving the question. "We both know you'll do it regardless, for the Princess."

The knightess let out a quiet chuckle and half a sad smile appeared on her lips. Urilesh was right. In the end, all that mattered was freeing Elisa from Urilesh's grasp. Loretta would have burned the entire world if she had to. Despite knowing that it was a mistake, the knightess took a step forward, then another until she stood next to the demon, right in front of the blindingly glowing doors.

Suddenly, the powerful dual-colored light went out, and a deep rumble echoed against the cold, damp walls of the tunnel. Slowly, as if they were waking up from an agelong slumber, the doors began to open, letting out a gust of hot, stale air.

Urilesh was ecstatic, visibly unable to contain her jubilation. The demon was grinning from ear to ear, her whole body quivering excitedly. As she observed Urilesh, a cold sweat ran down Loretta's spine.