He firmly gripped Oblivion as he fell, slamming his weight against the crossguard with the other. The black steel sank into the goblin, cleaving through bone, flesh and sinew like fresh pork.
A painful shock jolted through his limbs the moment he hit the ground, but Luka bit down on his tongue and followed through.
He grasped the blade with both hands and twisted it.
The impaled goblin squealed. His brothers snapped out of their stupor and rushed him from all sides. Luka's pupils flashed with a blood-red light. He ripped the blade free with a twisted grin and cleaved in a wide arc.
A trail of purple fire trailed the tip of his blade, which cut their throats in a beautiful crescent arc.
[You have Slain...]
Blood rained down from the skies.
Experience and Sin flowed into Luka's body as he took several deep, anchoring breaths.
He glanced at the distant riders who glanced back, their bodies still. Then, with the leading goblin's cry, they formed a small wedge and rushed at him.
"Grriii!"
"Phew, it really doesn't get better than this!" The rain almost drowned out Luka's raspy voice as he lifted Oblivion and pointed the tip at the oncoming goblin riders.
His chest fluttered, pounding faster and faster with each life he took.
'Ah... I have truly changed.'
He thought while relishing in vulgar bloodshed.
A dozen direwolves raced at him with sharp fangs and deadly claws.
"My Lord!"
A shout came from behind him, then a bang!
The eastern gates slammed open.
More than fifteen mounted hunters and knights rushed from within the gate. Loudly crying and shouting his name. The mounted force raced past Luka in a flash, led by Galatea. She held a lance couched in her armpit, she lifted onto the stirrups, her hips rising in sync with the charging horse, readying her strike.
"Giriririk?!"
The makeshift cavalry trounced the goblins.
Galatea's body jolted the moment her lance impaled the leading rider. Her body flung back, yet she used the momentum to draw her blade. Then slashed at another goblin, filthy green blood spraying her beautiful face.
Vaun, wielding two long daggers, deflected a goblin's strike and lunged onto the wolf. He stabbed the goblin's eyes, gouging them out with a twist. Then, he tossed the corpse and took control of the raging direwolf.
"For Lord Luka!"
"For Babylon!"
The men who followed Vaun shouted, their spirits high despite their low skill.
While the knights who followed Galatea focused on the fight, their skill and brutal strikes did all the talking.
Luka stood in the rain, lowering Oblivion.
The battle ended in a matter of minutes because of Galatea's charge, her bloody figure atop the white horse a monument of beauty. He stood watching, unable to remove his gaze as she turned and trotted over to him.
Her face was pale with rosy cheeks, breath disorderly as she panted.
'She's quite upset...'
However, Luka didn't believe what he did was wrong. Thus, he placed two fingers in his mouth and blew.
Whistle~
The loud sound summoned Furia, who rushed to him through the open gates. She came straight to him, galloping at full speed. Her hooves slammed into the mud as she greeted him with a powerful nudge and soft neigh.
"My Lord," Galatea called out to him, her voice cold and lacking her usual tone.
Luka turned to her. He stared into her eyes, watching how her pupils shrank and dilated, as if a battle was occurring inside her mind. It wasn't like he knew much about men and women, or the difference in their thoughts.
So he threw everything aside and remained true to himself.
He brushed his long black hair back and smiled brightly. "As I thought, without you, I am lost. Galatea." Luka observed her reaction, how her shoulders shook ever so slightly, the subtle change in her lips as they pressed tight.
She huffed, her cheeks puffing as if ready to shout.
However, Galatea turned her head to the side and mumbled. "...Don't ever do that again."
'Hmmmm?'
Luka expected a small scolding, if not a full-on fight.
The sudden change took the wind from his sails, but the situation didn't allow for them to linger. He averted his gaze to Vaun and five hunters who all now sat atop the ferocious direwolves with their bows drawn.
"Taking a liking to them, have you?"
"Yes, Sire... their movements and stability are superior enough that I can aim a light bow like this with relative ease."
Vaun's expression remained that of a stoic old man, but the true elf, only a young man at heart, showed his delight through speech.
"Then take them as your prize. We have much to do, though if they cause trouble... I'll be serving wolf stew."
"Wuuu!?" The wolves shivered, lowering themselves.
'Can these beasts understand human language, or is it because of my soul?'
When his father created the Archangels, he gave them a unique ability to communicate with all creatures placed in Eden. From the goblins to the strange beast races who communicated with a series of clicks and tongue sounds.
Though he wouldn't know for sure, he pointed at the leading wolf... enjoying how it bowed to him like a servantile dog.
"We must support the frontlines." Galatea's crisp voice broke his line of thought, but when Luka glanced at her, she avoided his gaze.
Despite this, she still spoke to him directly. "My Lord, what do you need us to do?"
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to focus his mind. The enemy at the front gate was the biggest issue; the black wolf and hobgoblin needed to die. 'Only Gerard, Galatea and Vaun stand a chance against him.'
Luka shifted his gaze across the knights and hunters who eagerly looked to him with bright, yearning eyes. The situation became clear in an instant. He wouldn't put their lives in needless danger.
"Vaun, Galatea, Zack. You three will come with me to the northern wall. The rest of you, seal this gate, and guard it with your lives!"
"My Lord?!"
"Have we done wrong, My Lord?"
The men told to stay question him. This couldn't happen, and just as he was about to discipline them, Galatea slapped one of the knights, making a fuss. A bright red mark appeared on his cheek.
"Do not question your Lord; this is the basis of being a knight."
Everyone seemed shocked by Galatea's sudden action and became quiet. Luka watched her fleeting glance at him and shook his head. 'You didn't have to become the villain for my sake, Galatea...'
To quickly remedy the situation, he kicked Furia's sides and came before them.
"Do not mistake your thoughts. Those of you who believe that only by fighting on the front line will you gain honour. Do you not realise what would happen should enemies break through this gate, this wall?!"
Their eyes widened.
They swallowed their words.
"I am not blaming you for this. But this is your first and final chance. I only need men who will follow my commands to the letter, nothing more." He paused, then glanced at the hunters who watched him with fearful eyes. "You have greatly surpassed my expectations already... don't rush into the fire so soon."
The hunters nodded, and smiles returned to their faces.
Their lack of experience gave them reason to act this way. He just wanted to stop them from becoming overconfident and dying.
'Humans are quick to become carried away, after all.'
He thought of his own actions, the sudden desire to leap from the wall and that burning, heat... that overwhelmed his logical thought the moment his blade sank into the goblin's flesh.
'I too... might become human one day'
While lost in his thoughts, Luka smiled.
His men gasped.
While Galatea snorted, picking her lance up in the distance, "Peh, what's so good about that radiant smile..." Yet her gaze remained locked on his face.