Through the plated metal of her shield, Greidus’ arm ached from withstanding blow after blow, and though it provided a comforting barrier between herself and her attacker, it was evident the burden of its weight was wearing on her. Raising it alone was now cumbersome, and if her arm wasn’t broken already, one more deflection might shatter it. All she needed to do was buy some more time. A few seconds, a minute, anything to keep her enemy focused on her and allow reinforcements to arrive.
As she loosened the straps of her shield, a sense of calm washed over her. It landed on the ground with a dull thud and a plume of red dust, its once glimmering, blinding facade dulled, seemingly incapable of reflecting light anymore. A dark bruise spanned across the length of her forearm, and the swelling in it and her wrist all but assured it’d be useless for however long she could withstand. Still, despite the pounding of her chest, her ragged breaths, and blurred vision, with everything in that moment all too telling of her demise, she stood steadfast. While her place in this war may not be as one of its victors, being a factor was enough.
Ziegledas tilted her head to the side, baring her teeth with a fiendish grin, which the maw around her midsection seemed to mimic. “It’s that moment,” she cackled and stepped forward, the edge of one of her blades dragging along the ground while she held the other toward Greidus. “When spirits fade, when one realizes they lost the fight long before it ever began, when acceptance of one’s ultimate fate seeps in…” she stopped, raising the edge of her blade to Greidus’ chin. “When the light leaves their eyes. That’s the moment that keeps me going.”
The pungent odor of decay emanated from the maw where her waist should be, and between the gnarled, crooked teeth were chunks of flesh from battles past. It opened in time with her speech, adding its own droning growls to each word. With those growls, too, came faint screams, as though those she’d consumed still resided within the pits of her demonic stomach. “I’d say you should be proud of how well you’ve held up, but there’s no pride to be had in this idiotic defiance.” She stepped back and gestured around them. “Was it worth throwing away so many lives? Half of your soldiers lived comfortably before you conscripted them. Now they’re all going to die, and it’s your fault. All because some defector convinced you that humans were capable of handling one of our legions, and somehow, the might of our entire army.
And where is that defector now?” She laughed and dropped her voice to a near whisper. “Nowhere to be–” Greidus lunged toward the commander, attempting to catch her off guard. Her blade was beaten aside by one of the commander’s own as she stepped to the side, but as they faced each other once more, a trail of fresh blood trickled down Ziegledas’ chest. In an instant, she retaliated, leaping back while throwing one of her swords before another appeared in the same hand.
Greidus ducked beneath the hurtling blade and sprinted forward, weaving between a flurry of weaponry that sunk deep into the earth behind and beside her before disappearing and coming at her again. Each step she took to close the distance was matched by another leap backward by her target and another storm of weaponry, but the longer she pursued, the more a pattern began to emerge: sword, axe, scythe, spear.
While the way she threw them was chaotic, the pattern remained the same. The moment Ziegledas hurled a spear mid-leap, Greidus heaved her own sword toward the commander before plucking the spear out of the air. As predicted, when she landed, Ziegledas jumped out of the path of the sword, but before she could continue her flurry of attacks, the spear pierced deep into her stomach, skewering her for a brief moment before dematerializing.
Compendiums Unlocked:
Amethyst Commander
Essence of Hope
Battle of Ash Canyon
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