Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 132: Into The Heart Of Darkness
The metal doors groaned as Harry pushed them open. They were massive and reinforced with enchanted steel, but Excalibur made short work of the locks.
The doors swung inward, revealing a long, dark corridor that sloped downward into the earth.
Morgan stepped beside him, her staff glowing with a faint silver light. "This place feels…old."
Harry nodded. The walls were not made of modern concrete or metal. They were stone…ancient stone, carved with symbols that predated even Merlin's previous era. Torches flickered in brackets along the walls, their flames burning with an unnatural purple hue.
"The Argent Flame didn't build this base," Harry said quietly. "They must have found it and adapted it for their needs."
"I have to say," Morgan started, "for an organization that seems to be bent on exterminating every magical creature in the world…they sure use a lot of magic."
"Yes, the hypocrisy is not lost on me either," Harry muttered.
They walked forward, their footsteps echoing in the silence. The corridor opened into a massive cavern, a natural chamber that had been expanded and shaped over centuries.
Harry could see levels upon levels...walkways and staircases carved into the rock, leading deeper into the earth.
And everywhere they looked…there were soldiers.
More Argent Flame troops than Harry had seen in all the previous bases combined. They poured from side tunnels, from upper walkways, from behind barricades. Rifles raised. Goggles gleaming.
"Contact!" someone shouted.
The firing began.
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Harry and Morgan moved as one.
Morgan took point, her staff sweeping in wide arcs that sent waves of silver light crashing into the soldiers. The light would cut, burn, and throw bodies against the walls.
Harry covered the sides, Excalibur's golden waves clearing entire squads with single swings.
But the soldiers kept coming.
"There are too many!" Morgan shouted, parrying a rifle butt with her staff and shattering the weapon.
Harry looked up. More soldiers were descending from the upper levels, rappelling down ropes and firing as they fell. Behind them came the rumble of engines…more tanks, smaller this time, designed for the narrow corridors.
"We need to keep moving!" Harry replied. "The heart of the base is below us. If we stop, we'll be buried!"
Morgan gritted her teeth. She raised her staff high, the moonstone blazing like a second sun. "Lux Aeterna!"
The silver light exploded outward, blinding everyone in the cavern.
Harry shielded his eyes while the soldiers cried out, clutching at their goggles.
The tanks veered wildly, crashing into walls.
"Now!" Morgan grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him forward.
They ran through the chaos, dodging blinded soldiers and disabled vehicles. A staircase led down. They took it, descending into darkness.
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Level after level. Corridor after corridor. Each one looked the same…ancient stone, purple torches, and more soldiers.
Harry lost count of how many he had cut down by now. His arms ached, and his magic was starting to feel like something being stretched to the breaking point.
But Excalibur kept him going. The blade seemed to drink from the purple mist that hung in the air. The sacred blade could purify the corrupted energy, convert it into pure golden light, and channel it back into his body.
'Thank you,' Harry thought. The runes pulsed warmly in response.
Morgan was flagging too, though she would never admit it. Her vampire stamina was immense, but even she had limits. Her movements were still fast, still deadly, but there was a tightness around her eyes that Harry had not seen before.
"How much farther?" she asked, kicking a soldier off her staff.
Harry closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. The corruption was thick here…a purple miasma that clung to everything. But beneath it, he could feel something else…a terribly familiar presence.
"Not far," he said. "We are almost there."
They emerged into a wide antechamber. At the far end, a huge door loomed over them...carved from black stone and covered in runes that pulsed with sickly purple light. The door was easily twenty feet tall, and before it stood two figures.
Two knights.
The first was tall and broad-shouldered, clad in silver armor that had been stained purple by the corrupting mist. In one hand, he held a massive kite shield; in the other, a longsword that gleamed with an unnatural sheen. His helmet was open-faced, revealing a gaunt face with sunken eyes. Those eyes glowed purple.
The second knight was smaller, leaner, dressed in elegant chainmail. He held no shield…only a rapier-like sword, thin and deadly. His movements were fluid, almost dancer-like, as he turned to face the intruders.
Harry gasped. He knew these faces. He had seen them in Camelot's halls, centuries ago.
"Gareth," he said, looking at the taller knight. "Cousin of Lancelot. Master of sword and shield."
His gaze moved to the smaller knight. "And Lucan. Arthur's personal butler. The man who could kill you with a smile and a cup of wine."
The two knights did not respond. Their purple eyes simply stared, empty and waiting.
Morgan stepped forward, her staff raised. "The corruption is coming from behind that door. I can feel it so clearly now. Whatever Arthur is doing…the feeling is getting more intense."
Harry nodded. "Then we don't have time for a prolonged fight."
Morgan looked at him. "Go. I'll hold them."
Harry hesitated. "Morgan—"
"I said go." Her voice left no room for argument. "You have Excalibur. You're the only one who can stop Arthur. I'll deal with these two and catch up."
Harry looked at the two knights…at Gareth's massive shield, at Lucan's deadly rapier. He knew Morgan was strong, but these were not ordinary enemies. The purple mist was empowering them, just as it had empowered Mordred.
"Don't die," Harry said.
Morgan smiled. "I'm hard to kill…remember? Now move."
Harry ran.