Chapter 5 Allies

The Orc encampment was larger than what HQ had shown him, Xenon was pretty sure about this. It expanded across the entire Forest of Death, starting from the riverbank and fanning out to an open field to the centre of the forest, large enough to fit an entire city, and ends across a mountainous creek of land known as the Geffen Ruins. Within those ruins lie the most feared demons, sealed within it duringthe Great War by the Scholar Merlin. Xenon checked his surroundings, careful not the step on the dry twigs scattered across the pavements leading to an abandoned house. His arm held his bow tightly, its silver husk glistening in the rays of the sun, and at the centre of the bow, was a silver crest, with the shape of a lion.

Behind him, Lucifier and Crepe edge forward carefully, Lucifier holding on to her as she limped. ‘We need to get you some medication, fast. I can only heal your wounds as much.’ Lucifier’ tried his best to hold back his laughter, but at last a small pfft escaped his lips. Crepe stared at Lucifier. ‘Yea.. yea… I get it. U can stop laughing now.’ Lucifier swallowed. “Ahem hem.. okay okay… Heh.. Btw what the hell were you thinking sending her out like that Xenon? She’s not ready for an Orc Hero yet, and what happened back there proves it.’

Xenon turned back, revealing himself in full height. He was slanky, yet an aura of reassurance surrounded him. On both his shoulders was silver plates connecting to a suit of red and brown. Only few snipers in the village of Payon donned such armor, the majestic Sniping Suit. Forged by the dwarves of Mjolnir themselves, it allowed its user to focus tremendous power on the arrows it shoots, without taking any of the painful backward force that snipers receive when they use too much strength in war. Xenon glared at both of them for a while, then continued to walk. ‘She has to learn… I was… disappointed by the way, Crepe. You could have done better.’

Crepe kept her head down. ‘Yes.. yes sir.’ Lucifier shouted ‘Now wait just a second. She almost got killed back there!’ Xenon stopped in his tracks, and turned to face Lucifier. ‘Lucifier, this has nothing to do with you. We archers have an Honour Code we must uphold, and its not something a monk like you can comprehend! She failed her wuest, and that is that!’ Lucifier came forward, ‘Bullshit! She’s still a kid goddamit! For a sensei you’re pretty much of an ass…’ Crepe, ‘Guys, enough! Sensei, I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time.’ Xenon looked at her. ‘You better.’ He then turned and continued walking. Lucifier was furious, ‘Tsk! Arrogant son-of-a….’

Xenon stopped in his tracks. ‘Did you hear that?’ Lucifier shot upright. ‘What? You cant hear me calling u a son-of-a…’ Xenon uttered ‘Shh… not that…’ Crepe and Lucifier looked around. Crepe said ‘I don’t hear any..’

Just then, the floor below them erupted, sending dust into the air. Lucifier and Crepe shielded themselves, while Xenon was already battle ready, aiming the bow at source of the commotion. The dust began to settle and the rumbling stoped, and a large hole appeared in front of them. ‘Lucifier said ‘What in the world….’ Suddenly, a boy and a woman walked out of the hole. The woman was obviously bleeding in the chest, as though she was stabbed. The boy yelled out, ‘Help.. help me!!!’ Lucifier looked behind the pair. The ground began to tremble again. The boy continued ‘They.. they’re.. coming…’ and he passed out. Crepe held him as he was just about to touch the ground. Behind the pair, true enough was more rattling of the ground. Something was coming through.

Xenon stood up, aiming at the tunnel. ‘Take the boy and find a safe position. Lucifier, guard them.’ Lucifier looked up, ‘what about you?’ Xenon looked back ‘What about me?’ Lucifier smiled. ‘One of these days…’ then he nodded. He turned back, grabbed hold of Crepe and the boy, and said, ‘Alright, lets go.’

The rattling grew louder and louder, and Xenon could finally make out what was trying to come through the tunnel. It was a huge insect-like creature, and on its head was what looked like an oblonged headgear that curved upward. In front of it were two large scythe-like claws. It wasn’t the size of tbe thing, however, that Xenon was worried about. It’s the number of the same creatures coming out of the tunnel towards him. ‘Maya Purples…’ He dodged quickly, as the first creature dashed at him and stabbed where he was at, missing. Xenon recovered to firing position in a split second, and pulled out 2 arrows from his quiver. ‘Double Strafing!’ The two arrows glowed, and as they left the thimble, they split into four, charging towards the maya purple. The arrows hit the creature in the head, and it fell backwards. It screamed a high pitch noise, and suddenly began to combust into dust, and vanished.

The other Maya Purples looked at their fallen comrade, and began to screech, their sights never leaving Xenon. Xenon drew 2 more arrows. ‘Come and get it…’ He pulled the string all the way back, and the arrow shot out again….

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… and it missed. Lucifier dodged another one of the arrows shot at him. Crepe was still limping, but she carried the boy tightly in her arms. ‘Luci!! Watch out!’ Lucifier turned to his left, and narrowly dodged another arrow shot at them. The arrow swerved past Lucifier, missing his left shoulder by inches, and jammed deep into a nearby tree. Crepe shouted ‘So when you said “lets go’, I assumed you knew where the hell you were going!!’ Lucifier looked at her, and blushed.’ Look.. now its not the time to..’ He was caught in mid sentence, dodging another arrow as it whizzed past ‘…talk about this.. okay?’ Crepe ignored him ‘You said follow me, So I though, ‘Hey, let’s follow this big, strong hell of a man whose suppose to protect a frail little angel like me.’ ‘Oh, and we have a wounded child, so it’s the safest to just follow… YOU WALKED RIGHT INTO THE ORC VILLAGE YOU DUMBASS!!!!’ Lucifier replied, dodging two more arrows. ‘Hey, the sign said Way out, didn’t it? SO I just did what it told me to do!’ Crepe screamed at him ‘Its STAY OUT!! STAYY!! Learn to read!!!!’ Lucifier stopped in his tracks, turned around, and with one swift movement, catches an arrow shot at him with blinding speed, breaking it in two. His face was stern and serious. Crepe looked scared. ‘Er… Luci.. Heh… You know I was just .. err.. joking.. right? Hehe?’ Lucifier turned towards her. Crepe jumped up. ‘Okay okay!!! I’m sorry! It was a mistake!!!’ Lucifier’s body began to emit a very strong energy, and began to glow red. ‘Crepe.. go.. now!’ Crepe looked at Lucifier, and realized he wasn’t angry at what she said. She could see it. It was huge, and approaching them, from beyond the shadows of the Orc Archers pursuing them. Its large body and headrest was unmistakable. ‘Crepe, take the boy, and go! Now!’ The thing was getting closer, and closer. Crepe nodded. ‘Stay safe’, and limped ahead.

Just as Lucifier saw Crepe limp out of sight, he shouted ‘Steel Body!’ A huge fist bashed him just in time, but Lucifier managed to hold the impact with both his hands, but not all of it. ‘Gurhh!’ A trickle of blood trickled down the sides of his lips. Lucifier stared at the huge Creature. The Orc Lord stared at the monk, amazed that he managed to take his punch full blow and not die. ‘Human… ‘ Lucifier let go of the huge fist, and dashed backwards. The Orc Lord was monstrously huge. It was almost twice the size of the Orc Hero they just fought. He heard about the King of the Orcs, who preferred to attack with no weapon or wield no shield. True enough, a normal blow already pierced the Steel Body technique he took 10 years to perfect. Lucifier wiped the blood off his lips. ‘We mean no harm, let us past.’

The Orc Lord stared at the monk. In an instant, he vanished. Lucifier quickly turned behind him ‘What the.. Its fast!’ It appeared just behind him, and another blow came from it already. Lucifier managed to dodge only half of the impact this time. ‘Uwahhh!!’ The blow was too strong, and Lucifier was sent flying backwards, collapsing into a pile of rocks, breaking them as he landed, hard. He slowly got up, his body covered in bruises. The Orc Lord came closer. ‘Human… Come at wrong time… You must die.’ Lucifier looked up at the huge beast. Behind the Orc Lord, dozens of Orc archers surrounded Lucifier, their bows already aimed at his chest. ‘Tsk… this is bad.’ The orc archers fired the arrows. As they did, Lucifier raised his right hand. A holy symbol of a cross began to glow on his skin. It grew brighter and turned green. ‘Pneuma!’

The arrows were instantly repelled. But as they did, the Orc Lord was already in mid stride dashing towards Lucifier. He didn’t have enough time to counter the blow, as the Orc Lord’s punch sent him flying backwards summore, crashing once more on a pile of rocks. ‘Arghhhh!’ The Orc Lord vanished once again, and appeared just above Lucifier. It came crashing down on the monk with full force. Just before it came into contact with Lucifier, a blinding white light appeared around Lucifier. ‘Kyrie Erisson!’ The blow was repelled, and the Orc Lord backed off. It lifted its huge head and glared at the newcomer, whose cloaked fluttered in the wind, the Holy symbol of the Prontera Church in the middle of the robe. Behind the holy figure were seven others dressed just like him. ‘Orc Lord, we come not to fight. Leave the monk alone.’ The Orc Lord stood upright, towering above them, casting a huge shadow that almost blocked out the sun. ‘You humans.. promised to never enter here again… You break the promise!’

The Head Priest came forward and stared at the Orc Lord face to face. Lucifier tried to stand up, but his limbs were broken. He looked up, and say the Head Priset speaking to the Orc Lord. ‘We humans are foolish creatures, Orc. Yet we are all God’s creation. There is no need to kill him over his mistake, his folly. I apologize on the behalf of the Church of Prontera.’ The Orc Lord seemed unsatisfied. ‘He… killed my … Hero!’ The priest looked at the Orc Lord, unfazzled. ‘Your Orc Hero, dear Orc, was seen terrorizing a small village near Payon. Lord Argon sent them to hold the beast back. It was in rage, and it didn’t seem to listen to any of our.. persuasions.’ The Orc Lord growled. ‘Nanjima would never attack human! Nanjima is my youngest son! He brave! He courageous!’

The priest still gazed at the Orc Lord. ‘Nanjima was not acting himself. We realized that his eyes.. Orc, were not the usual yellow of your tribe. It was black. I fear, dear Orc, that someone is controlling him.’ The Orc Lord looked at the Priest. ‘You lie! Nanjima is good kid! You make up stories! You want war!’ The Priest signaled to one of his men, who came forward. He was smaller than the Head Priest, and wore a different attire. Two long scarf-like ends clung to his robes. He drew out a wooden wand, and tapped the ground. ‘Memorize!’ The Orc Lord flinched at what he saw. A fuzzy image of a memory began to unravel before them, a first person view of what seemed to be unusually tall a view. It was surrounded by screams and howls of terror. The huge beast was destroying everything in its path. A battalion of knights were before him, shouting’ Fall back, Nanjima! Your destroying the village! Get back before we… Arghh!!’ The huge beast lifted the human up in the air, and with his bare hands, crushed his skull, and the image ended there. The Head Priest looked up at the petrified Orc Lord, and spoke, slowly.

‘I fear there is a more sinister plot at play, dear Orc. My Lords have chosen not to investigate the destruction of the human village, not yet, until a more crucial matter is solved. Orc, we need your help.’ The Orc Lord finally sat down on the ground with a huge thud. The ground trembled as it did. ‘What you need me do? I sorry… for Nanjima’s action. I don’t understand why.’ The Head Priest came forward, and help out his hand to touch the Orc Lord’s. ‘Neither do we, but we might have a clue. But we need your help. Your friend, Merlin, is missing, Orc. The king has been kidnapped, and a Baphomet is at our city gates. We need to locate your missing friend, but we cant stop the Baphomet alone. We need your help to stop him.’ The Orc Lord stared at him. ‘Merlin… gone missing? Why? Where is he now?’ The Head Priest shook his head. ‘We don’t know either. But he is alive, that I can tell. His magical defence around Prontera is still active, but its weakening. He must be not far away from here.’ The Orc Lord stood up. ‘I help you find him. I send Orcs to find him.’ The Head Priest bowed. ‘Thank you. About the Baphomet?’ The Orc Lord suddenly shook his head. ‘Tell humans in Prontera to go… Baphomet.. too strong. I not match for him.’ He turned to walk away. The Head Priest was about to utter something, before the Orc Lord continued. ‘But I owe Merlin. He saved me. I want you find him. I can do not much against Baphomet. But I can buy your humans time. I take my armor, and we go. You lead me.’ It took a long, good look at Lucifier, then walked away.

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Over at the end of the dirt road, Crepe held the boy close as they hide behind a mulberry bush, just off the road. She looked around, and realizing that the Orcs were no longer after her, let out a sigh of relief. The small boy suddenly held her close, and tightly. She began to blush. ‘Mama… ‘ Crepe looked at the poor creature. ‘He must have lost so much, she thought.’ Slowly, She pulled his hair backwards and smiled, as a little warm ray of sunlight beamed through the trees. She patted him slowly, and she could see that the boy was no longer trembling, but fast asleep.

There was a sudden rustle of leaves behind her. She quickly pulled out her dagger, and held the boy closer to her chest. ‘Who’s there?’ Xenon jumped down from a nearby branch. ‘It’s me. Lower your weapon.’ Crepe sighed in relief. “Sensei…’ Xenon looked at the boy in her arms. ‘He must be tired.’ Crepe smiled at those words. She always thought of Xenon as a cold hearted, ambitious archer. Yet uttering such words suddenly made him warm, although he didn’t show it. Xenon looked at Crepe with his binoculars. ‘Keep him alive. He knows whats going on.’ Crepe asked, ‘What happened?’ Xenon replied ‘I drove them back. I killed only six of those things. But something was different about them. They don’t attack in the open, and definitely not in groups.’ Crepe looked concerned. Xenon replied. ‘Nevermind that. Wait, wheres Lucifier?’

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Lucifier tried to get up, but his legs hurt like hell. As the shadow of the Orc Lord disappeared behind the trees and into the village, the Head Priest immediately came to his side. ‘Are you alright, young man?’ Lucifier coughed a few times, before replying him. ‘I think so, I must have broken a limb or two.’ He coughed again. The Head Priest smiled. ‘Not to worry, you’re lucky we ran into you. I am High Counsellor Pure, the Head Priest of the Church of Prontera.’ Lucifier smiled at the man. ‘I know who you are… Heh. If you don’t mind, can you help me up?’ The Head Priset slowly let Lucifier up in a sitting position. ‘Much better… argh… ‘ Pure looked at his knee. ‘Its badly wounded. I’ll heal you right up.’ He lifted his hands and placed it on top of the wounded knee. ‘Heal!’ A warm green light glowed, and Lucifier slowly felt life force beginning to seep in thorugh the wounds.

The pain was slowly fading. He turned to look at the Priest. ‘The one they call the Hand of God. Is it true you need no wand or catalyst to perform a spell?’ The Head Priest smiled. ‘Its God’s gift to me, my child. You are no ordinary feat yourself, young monk. No one can withstand the Orc Lord's blows full force, and survivie. You withstood three, and here you are. Here, let me see your arm. ‘ Lucifier held it out. Pure stopped short at the holy cross carved into his skin. ‘This symbol… where did you get it?’ Lucifier realized it too late. He pulled his hand away from Pure, and stood up, slowly. ‘I thank you, Head Priest, but I must be going.’ Lucifier walked quickly away from the group. Pure quickly recognized the holy symbol of Zen Master. ‘Prince Lucifier! Wait!’ Lucifier was already sprinting away. ‘Your father.. has gone missing too!’ Lucifier stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at Pure. Pure nodded in reassurance. ‘We’re looking for him too.’