It was a living hell. The sheer number of monsters overwhelmed the Lucitanian army in mere moments. All of Cole's carefully laid plans were useless. The battle inside of the city walls was nothing but a free for all. Back to back, Cole and Leeta cut down demon after demon. Goddess' Sword blazing with power, the Dragonmaster sliced a floating death knight in half. He looked over his shoulder and saw Leeta kill a goblin with a deft slash across the stomach. "Come on!"Êhe yelled. "We have to get back to the castle! That's where the troops will regroup!" She nodded and followed him through the madness of battle.
A rock golem made the deadly mistake of getting in the way of the Dragonmaster and Princess. Acting as one, Cole and Leeta attacked the living rock without mercy. A ball of lava flew from Leeta's hand and exploded against the golem's knee. The creature lost its balance, and Cole's Sword flashed red as he severed its torso. The two of them continued to fight through the streets in an attempt to reach the palace.
Cole risked a glance towards the roof tops to see if the archers were having any affect. He cursed as a group of giant cyclopes proceeded to knock down the building on which the archers were perched. The green eyed warrior decapitated a knoll and headed for the one eyed giants. As he ran, Cole realized that Leeta was staying beside him. Part of him wanted to get her away from the danger, but the other part knew that those cyclopes needed to be stopped. The Princess noticed his stare and gave him a brief smile before she stopped to kill a nergol attacking another soldier. Cole felt nothing but love for her at that moment, and he found himself wondering how he could have yelled at her earlier.
Unfortunatly, the Dragonmaster's brief moment of thought allowed a manscorpion to blindside him. Battle instinct was the only thing that saved Cole. He ducked just as the monster's stinger rushed by the spot where his head had been. Cole easily summoned his magic and released a ball of fire which incinereated the half man/half scorpion. Cole, his focus back on the giant cyclopes, signaled Leeta and continued ahead.
The two finally arrived at the feet of one of the giants. Mages were already trying to deal with it, but their magic was barely scratching the monster's thick hide. Suddenly, a bolt of fire pierced the cyclopes' eye and the beast collapsed on to a nearby building. Cole and Leeta looked up and saw Fox sliding down a drainpipe to meet them. Leeta released a chain lightning spell to clear the way for the Red Knight. "Nice shot," said Cole as the plainsman landed.
Fox nodded and quickly released a barrage of fire arrows at some charging mynotauroses. "Thanks," he replied. "That was the third one I killed. There are at least several dozen more like it through out the city. We can't hope to stand up to these odds for much longer."
Cole was about to answer, but a warning from Leeta forced him to wait. Another cyclopes had arrived and was going along crushing soldiers beneath its feet. Fox released a string of fire which wrapped itself around the monster's legs. Cole quickly chanted several words and cried out the activation words to the Plasma Shock spell. There was a brief flash of energy around the giant, and it was vaporized.
"We have to get to the palace," said Cole finally as they started to move again. "Our forces will regroup there and try to make a last stand."
No sooner had the words left his mouth, when a horrific roar split the air. All combatants looked to the air as two of the Demon Dragons soared above. One was covered in scales as black as shadows. A massive tail snapped in the wind behind it. No horns rose from its reptilian head, but it stared down with a pair of bright yellow eyes. The other Demon Dragon had dull gray scales on its body. Whisps of darker gray hair went up its back and formed a beard around its tooth filled maw. One lone white horn rested on its forehead, and its eyes shone with a sickly green. The behemoths roared again and steered towards the castle.
"They're heading for the palace!" she gasped.
"Don't worry," assured Cole. "Ruby's there. She can handle them until we get there." With that said, the three of them dove back into the battle which had resumed.
Ruby watched as the two Demon Dragons flew towards the palace. She chanced a look behind her to make sure that Carmen had a firm hold on the three Dragon Kids. Carmen gave the Red Dragon a reassuring node. Ruby gave the priestess a hopeful smile and jumped from the wall on which they stood. There was a quick flash of light, and the Red Dragon of Althena was hovering above the palace. At least two hundred feet of red scales and fur, Ruby gazed at the two approaching abominations.
The two Demon Dragons stopped and hovered not a hundred yards from Ruby. "So, the only Dragon of Althena left decides to show itself," rumbled the one Ruby guessed was the Shadow Dragon.
"She is only one, Thiss," said the other in a whispering growl. From its coloring, Ruby knew it to be the Pestilence Dragon. "We can easily overcome her."
Thiss nodded, and the two began to circle Ruby. She had expected this much from the two Demon Dragons. She risked a glance to the ground below and hoped that Mirage and Argile were still down there. She would only be able to fight the two Dragons for only so long. Thiss attacked first by spewing a gray mist from his maw. Ruby shifted her wings and dropped below the range of the breath weapon and countered with a blast of her fire. The Shadow Dragon easily swerved away from the cone of flame.
Remembering Scorn behind her, Ruby lashed out with her tail and snapped it across the Dragon's face as he lunged for her. The Red Dragon followed with another blast of fire which hit Scorn directly in the chest. The Pestilence Dragon roared and fell from the sky. It landed on the ground with a thundering crash. Ruby's maw spread into what could only be called a smile. Now the Dragon Knights would deal with the other Demon Dragon. Suddenly, Ruby remembered Thiss, but it was too late. The Shadow Dragon tore into her back with razor sharp claws. With every slash, Ruby felt a little bit of her energy drained by the Demon. Hot spit dripped onto the back of her neck as Thiss prepared to strike with his teeth. In a desperation move, the Red Dragon threw her head back as far as it could go. Her long neck arced backwards until the reptilian, yet feline like head, slammed into Thiss' lower jaw. The Demon Dragon roared in pain and released Ruby from its claws.
Blocking out the pain coursing through her back, Ruby spun around and drove her body at Thiss. The Shadow Dragon lashed his tail in defense, but Ruby banked to the left and released a stream of smoke from her mouth. Unprepared for this attack, Thiss caught the gust of smoke directly in the face. Unable to see or breath, the Dragon was unable to defend as Ruby slashed with her own claws. Black blood fell from the sky and rained down upon the battle below. Ruby thrust her hind legs into Thiss and propelled him back. As she watched him fall, suddenly Thiss was in front of her. The Red Dragon snapped her jaws at him, only to meet air. Ruby puzzled this over for a moment but realized to late that it was nothing but an illusion. Thiss caught her off guard and breathed a cloud of gray mist over her. Energy began to fly from her body, but Ruby could not escape the cloud. Thiss had wrapped his tail around her neck in order to keep her within the energy draining mist. The Red Dragon made a weak roar as the darkness started to overtake her.
Kole rode slowly through the carnage around him. Occasionally, he swung Kasra with deadly precision to kill a Lucitanian soldier here and there. As he watched the dragons battle above the palace, he briefly wondered if it had been a wise decision to send all the Demon Knights to Lunar with Vasen. As Thiss gained the upper hand over Ruby, the Demon Dragonmaster smiled darkly. He shifted his gaze and saw Arlax cutting a path through the pathetic human soldiers. "It seems that my dear Arlax has found his prey." He drove his heels into the horse and followed the Chaos Dragon's bloody trail.
The Dragonmaster, the Princess, and the Red and White Knights fought their way through the horde of monsters until they finally reached the palace. Connery's converted siege engines had been destroyed, so the thief had latched himself onto the other three as they had passed. Cole took a quick look around to see how much of his forces had made it back to the palace. He saw a good amount, but there were at least three times that number of monsters. And in the middle of it all were the two Demon Dragons.
Without a word, Fox stopped his run and fire into the air. A large fireball impacted against the unsuspecting Shadow Dragon. He roared and released Ruby, who vanished in a swirl of magic. Fox continued his barrage and forced the Demon Dragon to fall back. Connery added to the attack with a blast of ice from his Spear. Unable to get close enough to counter the attacks of the two Knights, Thiss gave one final roar and disappeared.
On the ground, Mirage and Argile were dealing with the Pestilence Dragon. Every time Scorn tried to swat the nimble Mirage, Argile charged in and cleaved massive gashes in the great wyrm's sides. And before the Demon Dragon could counter the Black Knight's charge, Mirage would dash by and leave more long gashes in the Dragon's sides. Unable to even lay a claw on the two Knights, Scorn gave a resentful grunt and teleported away. The Dragon Knights gathered together and stood by Cole as he in turn stood in front of Leeta.
The fighting continued around them, but there was a different feeling to it now. With the disappearance of the two Demon Dragons, the monsters of the Hades Army were somewhat demoralized. The Lucitanian army, now mostly gathered before the Royal palace, took advantage of this and started to pull back to more defensible positions inside the palace walls. Then something odd happened. Cole and the Knights watched as the enemy forces slowly ceased fighting and pulled back a little. The mass of monsters finally stopped and parted to allow a single figure through. Cole expected it to be his double, but instead it was a tall man with purple hair and a pair of shiny black orbs for eyes. He wore a mixture of purple, black, and blue leathers, and in his right hand he carried a deadly looking axe. The weapon's shaft was at least five feet long, and there was a giant, jagged, crescent shaped, three foot blade on one side. He lifted the weapon and pointed at Cole. "I've come for you Dragonmaster," he called in a raspy voice.
Cole shifted the Helmet on his head and stepped forward. "Well I'm right here," answered the green eyed warrior.
The other just smiled. Then he ever so slightly nodded his head, and the monsters behind him surged forward again. Although, not a single beast moved to attack the advancing Dragonmaster. Cole stopped several feet from his adversary. He reached beneath his cape and slid the Dragon Shield on to his left arm.
"I am Arlax, the Chaos Dragon," the other said finally.
Cole nodded. "I was wondering when the third Demon Dragon would make its appearance." He raised the Goddess Sword. "Shall we get on with it?" he asked, somewhat eagerly.
Arlax's smile grew larger and darker. "By all means," he returned with equal enthusiasm.
After that exchange, they wasted no more time. Arlax made a quick dash forward, making a slight slash with the axe. Cole deflected the blow with the Dragon Shield and countered with a thrust. The axe's shaft came up and batted the tip of the Sword away. The deadly axe blade swung at Cole's head, but the Dragonmaster ducked low and threw his Shield up. Sparks flew as the axe skimmed across the Shield again. Both combatants moved away from each other and started circling.
The Chaos Dragon attacked again. This time Cole leaped backwards and waited until he saw an opening. He deftly parried the axe's jagged blade until Arlax made a mistake. The Dragon became over confident and made a thrust instead of slashing with his weapon. Cole smiled as he lunged, and his Blade slipped past the axe and cut through Arlax's leathers. Unfortunatly, the Demon Dragon's deadly, black blood sprayed everywhere. A good portion of it landed on the side of Cole's left arm that wasn't protected by the Shield. The acid like blood melted through the Dragon Armor and seared the warrior's skin. Cole's left arm lost all feeling, and he was forced to drop the Dragon Shield.
Not hampered much by his wound, Arlax charged in as soon as the Dragon Shield hit the ground. Fortunately, Cole recovered enough to leap aside and parry the axe's descent. Using the strength of the Dragons of Althena, Cole feverishly tried to block every one of Arlax's slashes. In a final desperation move, Cole knocked the axe as far as he could, dropped into a crouch, and swept the Chaos Dragon off of his feet. Arlax hit the ground with a thud, but he wasn't as dazed as Cole had hoped he would be. The Dragon reached out and grabbed the green eyed warrior by the left leg and pulled him down as well. Cole cried out as his own back smacked against the hard stone.
Suddenly, an object shot out from beneath the Dragonmaster's cape. Both Cole and Arlax's eyes went wide when they saw what had fallen from behind Cole's cape. The Dragon Wings skidded across the stone pavement and came to a slow stop only ten feet from where the two enemies lay. There was a mad scramble for the Wings. Cole and Arlax traded blows, but the Demon Dragon got to his feet first. With one last burst of energy, Cole propelled himself at the Dragon Wings. But as his right hand clasped its fingers around the lower part of the artifact's shaft, Arlax's axe came down on the Wings. The jagged blade shattered the blue crystal in the center of the Dragon Wings, and the entire area around the palace was suddenly surrounded in a field of teleportation magic. As everyone within the magic's field began to disappear, Cole's eyes gazed up into the sky. As if answering to some unheard order, the dark clouds parted to reveal the floating orb in the sky that was Lunar. The Dragonmaster's eyes focused on the tiny planet, and the two armies and the palace disappeared.