Book 3, Chapter 59 - A Furious Battle (1/2)

Ravenous Tiger betrayed his master. It had always been just a matter of time.

This rapacious man had no space in his ambitious heart for faith or loyalty. Men of different paths cannot share similar schemes, betrayal was the destined end to their union. The Crimson One knew this, yet no matter how strong one’s desire for treason, one would not throw themselves willingly to the fires. Despite the potential for trouble, however, Ravenous Tiger was useful. His connections with the elysians and the information he could provide was value enough for the risk.

Anyway, the fat governor also thought too highly of his own abilities and machinations.

You are a clever tiger, aren’t you. Wise not to act rashly while your life was pinched between my fingers. It is indeed true that the covetous and faithless cherish life more than believers.

What had happened up to now was a series of exceptional circumstances. He had not expected the one who could summon the Call of Shepherd would appear in Fishmonger’s Borough. The Valley’s resources were integral to his plan to join the wastelands and Skycloud. This frail little girl was the key.

The normally prudent and astute bishop had thrown himself in the path of danger. He did not pause to consider Ravenous Tiger’s mental state and pushed him farther than he was willing to accept. In the face of his immanent acquisition of the Valley, the governor did not seem important. Fishmonger’s Borough was a means to an end, nothing more. With its value lost, what did Ravenous Tiger mean to him any longer? Govern the Millennium Vale? Even if the Crimson One were serious, Ravenous Tiger would never believe those words.

It only served to intensify their conflict.

Yet even after such insults the Crimson One could still maintain control of his fat henchman. After all, the gulf of power between them was too great, and Ravenous Tiger would never do something rash that might result in his death. His one miscalculation was that Cloudhawk might run into an old friend out here in the wastes. The sudden reappearance of this talented young woman, and the power she now wielded, was beyond expectation.

He had also not foreseen the Highwaymen’s interference. Nothing indicated that this recent player in the wastelands would be lying in wait in the middle of nowhere. Blackfiend’s meddling shifted the balance of power, keeping the Crimson One busy and leaving an opening for Ravenous Tiger’s betrayal. Logical – everything that led to this moment made sense. He merely hadn’t seen it coming.

At present most of the settlement was consumed by fire. Selene was high above with her crossblade ablaze, awash in majestic power.

With his cane in hand the old cripple’s fighting abilities were greatly enhanced. The unassuming staff was flashing with internal light, releases pulse after pulse of energy. He lifted it and pointed first at Selene above, then at Blackfiend nearby. Rays of morning light erupted from his relic and enveloped both his allies. The power not only gave them a major shield, but also improved speed and power.

This left Cloudhawk startled. What an incredible relic!

He didn’t think that dawnguard would be a support relic. It was barely passable as a combat weapon, but it was capable of empowering a whole squad. It was rare to encounter a relic of its like. With it in hand, their small team enjoyed a formidable upgrade.

Yet they would not allow the sudden change in circumstance to make them complacent. The Crimson One was a cunning and mysterious foe, who even up to now had not revealed his full strength. His relic was a strange and terrible one – Castigation was by no means ordinary, practically unrivaled. It was a legendary force passed down from the war that conveyed their planet into ruin. Even Slene dare not risk the briefest touch of its flames.

The Crimson One did not let Ravenous Tiger’s sudden betrayal throw him off guard. He calmly turned his gaze to the other one, graceful as a cloud dragon. He looked at her almost in a trance, a complex combination of emotion. “It is not strange that you shook seek me out. I am not upset. On the contrary, your arrival brings me great joy. These years of training have made you strong, and in that time you’ve peered behind the veil to the truth of our existence. Yet it is not enough. You are still too young.”

Selene’s aloof facade adopted a dark chill. “If you knew I would come for you, then you must know why. I need an answer.”

The Crimson One waved his fist, and the surrounding fires burned with fresh intensity. They kicked and danced like boiling waters. Amid their searing light he had no answers for the girl, instead turning his attention to Blackfiend. The green fires that had consumed it were almost spent, yet Blackfiend still was not dead. “I can understand why they would choose to ally against me. But I cannot fathom why the Highwaymen would chose to muddy these waters. I do not know who pulls your strings, but perhaps we can come to some agreement in our exploitation of the Valley.”

A thick, murderous sense gathered around Selene. Very well – if he wouldn’t provide answers, then she would put him in a position where he wouldn’t have a choice.

Selene reached over and wiped her hand along the pure white light of the crossblade. The power of her burning angels flowed into her weapon, turning its pure white light to an angry red. Its crimson glare was so intense that the air around its borders warped dramatically, a weapon of the angels capable of laying low whole hoards of demons.

The bishop knew this once-in-a-generation talent from the elysian lands was preparing to throw everything she had at him. His tattered robes once more began to flutter though there was no wind, and his rough hands stretched toward the heavens. The fires responded, shooting skyward at his command and swirling around their master. A nightmarish tempest of hellfire began to brew.

The scene was unforgettable;

A beautiful woman floating in air, bearing a sword of holy fire.

A monster with eyes of green flame enveloped in terrible power, calling forth a storm of apocalyptic proportions.

“Show me how strong you have become!”

The Crimson One’s deep and thunderous voice spread far and wide across the wastelands. Yet even in the face of this monstrous presence Selene did not back down. She had changed in the years since meeting Cloudhawk, but the passage of time had only made her more determined. She was one of the greatest warriors the world had ever seen – she would not retreat. No matter how strong or how frightening her enemy.