Arlag hovered so close that the heat radiating from it made Brill's hair stand up, and he could see the cracks in the wood where that awful mixture of gold and ash kept dribbling through.
"What are you doing?!" Brill yelled, his voice too loud for his small frame and jarring against the relative quiet of the clearing, too menacing to be coming from a kid standing under a Palta staff.
Silence came from all the Palta, they didn't even feel like answering.
Not so much as a peep, only the turning of multiple heads toward him simultaneously as if Brill had unknowingly volunteered to put himself on a scale.
Arlag didn't answer either, his features placid as always, his focus simply settled on Brill now.
Sinder hauled herself up behind him, her fingers digging into the dirt as though to stop her head from falling off entirely. "Brill...? Don't…don't fight them…!"
'He barely even knows me! Why is he doing this?'
Brill exclaimed, "She can't fight back and you're still trying to kill her!" he barked, raising his blade and letting the tip waver before a micro-adjustment of his wrist brought it steady once more. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!"
He then thought, 'She was the one dancing in the Holy Land, that dream we were in. I have to help!'
Arlag's face aimed at one of his kin, and that was all it took.
"Kill this brat."
One of them nodded and darted forward, chained blades trailing with him.
It uncoiled like a silver ribbon from his arm, the links whispering against each other, each link had a beveled edge along its length, blades that flashed as it arced through the air!
He moved fast, his feet light on the ground as he turned, arms swinging the chain in a looping swing that crossed and re-crossed over one another, then the chain shot forward.
SHIIIING!
Brill barely managed to get his blade up before the chain was wrapped around his neck, the cold metal biting into his skin as the sudden pull yanked his feet out from under him, the trees blurring past in a visage of brown and green until his back slammed into the first trunk with a crack that split it from top to bottom.
KATHOOM!
Wood splintered all around him, flying into his face and his arms, but before Brill could even take a breath the chain dragged him again, raking across the ground and grinding dirt into his side before lifting and slamming him into another tree, a banging thud resonating through his ribs until he was pulled up and into a third slam.
It never stopped, every tug of the chain was harder than the last, his body whipping from one solid object to another, his shoulder, then his spine, then the side of his head against the wood as the Palta's arms drove it in sickening synchronicity, the force pushing him toward wherever the chain wanted to send him.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Brill was bashed into another tree, the ground, and a boulder.
Sinder threw her hand forward, shaking. "N-No!"
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. 'Why are you trying to protect me? You'll die, Brill! These are adults! We're only children…weaker too!'
Another heave and Brill was slammed against the ground, the impact knocking the last remaining breath out of his lungs, and before he could even twitch his fingers, the chain pulled and sent him crashing through yet another tree which toppled behind him in a shower of splinters.
Brill's fingers wrapped hard on his sword hilt, and the next pull came. But something in him refused to go with it, and he twisted.
"Enough of this…" he said in a low menacing tone.
It wasn't a planned maneuver however, just pure instinct as he threw his body with the chain rather than against it, the world flipping with the rotation as his free hand snapped forward, driving his blade between the links of the chain.
The chain held for a split second, then he twisted again, faster this time, the sword caught in the links wedging them apart, his neck piece sliding down as the tension dissolved until it was loose.
A few of the Palta made short yelps of slight shock, their formation around him breaking ever so slightly. Brill landed on his feet and instead of backing away, he pulled, and the chain snagged, and Brill leaned into the momentum that had been pulling him, his feet skittering across the ground before he pushed off and launched himself toward the Palta holding the chain.
The distance evaporated in an instant, and the Palta's eyes widened as Brill closed in. The blade plunged through his neck, a clean incision and blood fountained out in a wide spray.
The body stood for a moment, then crumpled, its head tumbling free to fly through the air. Brill caught the head, his fingers tangled into the hair without thinking as he landed, his sword still in his hand as his knees absorbed the impact.
"What?!" someone yelled before they could even think.
"How?!" another demanded, their practiced calm shattered. "A mere kid…"
Arlag wasn't surprised in the same way, but he was genuinely amused; Sinder no longer in his field of vision, as though she'd already been accounted for.
Sinder stared at him, breath catching in her throat. "He... He actually killed one of them?"
BRACKKKK!
Branches snapped behind them, Idemay stepped into the clearing, an irritated expression already marring her face like she walked into a scenario she'd seen coming and still disapproved of.
Trailing her, Hellfrit entered in his massive wolf form, red and black flames blazing around him like a furnace, his presence drinking the very air from the space.
The Palta turned to them. "It's her! Knight Captain Idemay! What do we do?!"
"Well, look at this, a group of Palta trying to off innocent children," Idemay drawled, her voice carrying easily, completely unimpressed as if she'd already categorized them and dismissed them as not worth her attention.
Arlag said to his kin, "We do nothing but stay and hold our ground. In Hell, we were pushed around and treated like imps, our kin has made a vow to never run from anything else ever again."
Arlag inclined his head. "But yes, my mind was dim. That boy is Brill, and his mother is Idemay. It was perhaps foolish to think her child would not be a killing machine. His mother is after all; famous for 8,000 confirmed kills. No doubt her son's a monster."
"You were the one trying to kill him first, were you not?" Idemay countered immediately, looking over at Brill, taking in the blood and the way he stood, the severed head still clutched in his hand.
She swallowed, and said, "You won't have to worry about me as long as he lives. If he dies, I'll rip the entire world apart. Then myself right after. So to avoid all that, yeah I'll make him dangerous."
Arlag's attention returned to Brill. "How are you feeling, boy?"
FLASH!
Brill moved before the words left his mouth, he launched himself toward Arlag, the dismembered head in his hand swinging wildly as he brought it up and swung at Arlag's face with it.
'Interesting. Using a dismembered head as a weapon….' Arlag thought.
Arlag tilted his head just enough to avoid it and brought his leg up in a powerful kick that slammed into Brill's stomach. Brill folded midair, breath forced out of him in a rasp, but he grabbed Arlag's leg in his hand, digging his fingers into the Palta's flesh, and drove his blade into Arlag's thigh.
Arlag's controlled expression faltered for a second, his hand on the staff tightening as he swung it in a vicious way at Brill's face; Brill released the leg and rolled, kicking off the staff and landing crouched on the ground, his blade locked onto Arlag from his narrow position.
"RAGGHH!" He paced forward again, his blade slicing toward Arlag's face. A figure burst from the side, and a bow that looked more like carved night than wood and metal formed in their hand, lines of glowing orange magma and coal winding across it as the string pulled back with a crunching sound.
An arrow blasted out of the blow, a thin but dangerous shaft of dark energy wrapped in embers that fell off before it. It struck Brill in the shoulder, punching straight through, his body jerking with the impact as his balance broke and he fell from the staff, dropping the head only to snatch it back before it hit the ground.
Arlag looked down at him. "A well trained boy, he is."
Hellfrit snorted, flames rippling along his jowls, his attention now on Idemay. "So, are we going to beat these pricks up or not?"
"Yup," Idemay confirmed, already moving forward. "But he recognized the girl's scream, where does he know her from?"
Hellfrit replied, "Dunno. It's weird."
Sinder struggled to her feet, her arms trembling under the strain. "I'm going to fight too..."
Brill beat her to the punch, getting to his feet, the arrow still lodged in his shoulder, blood running down his arm. He grabbed the dismembered head again from the ground, holding his blade harder. "N-No! You can't! Come on, get on my back!" he snarled, already moving so she could reach him.
Sinder opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out and her body gave out before she could take another step. She fell to her knees, coughing, her hands leaving bloodstains on the dirt.
Arlag watched them with his neutral and uncaring expression. "I asked you a question, boy. How do you feel?"
Brill replied, "Unbreakable...!"
Arlag studied him for a moment. "Children are shaped to maturity early in this world. Some are taught to wield a blade before they can read. Others to delve into the written word, into the forge, or into the earth itself. All serve their purpose." His eyes looked toward the bodies lying behind Brill.
And he continued, "The Palta are no different. We were hardened by struggle long before we came amongst the surface dwellers. Everything we do now is a recompense for that suffering, a means to secure our rightful place." His attention returned to Brill. "Do you think interfering in our affairs will truly benefit you?"
Brill responded, "Yes! She's my friend! And Sinder is hurt, you look like cowards! It's only right that you be dealt with!"
Brill just blurted that out, he didn't really know what to say at that moment. He only knew Sinder's name, and that was it. They were leagues below calling each other actual friends.
Idemay then said, "I don't like people who try to kill innocent children either, whether they're your family or not."
Arlag sighed with frustration. "So be it then. I hate to fight against the world famous and somewhat beloved Idemay, but the Palta have taken a blood oath to never run, as I've stated before. So now it's time to demonstrate our oath in pure chaos."
Behind him, Sinder crawled forward, her fingertips drawing lines in the ground as she reached Brill and her fingers brushed his clothes. He knelt without thinking, bringing himself down just low enough for her to climb onto his back, ignoring the protest from his wounded shoulder as her body settled there.
He held his blade in one hand, the head in the other, his body crooked but upright and standing still facing forward as though to hold the world together.
'I'm unbreakable! I won't let anything stop me! If I'm unstoppable, I can be happy! Like that goddess said! I have to be prepared for the Holy Land, the place where I'll be normal…'
The thought slept there louder than everything and everyone else, also louder than the pain in his body and louder than the weight on his back, and finally louder than the way his legs felt like they might give out if he stood still too long.
Arlag's hands curled at his sides, and something in the atmosphere changed, not all at once, more like a pressure that kept building in small increments until it became impossible to ignore, and then the first drop fell from his eye, and it was black blood.
It ran down his cheek in a dreadfully slow line, then another following from the other eye, then more, slipping from the corners of his mouth, from his ears, racing down his neck in lines that didn't match the calm expression he still wore.
Then above them, the sky began to change. The blue sky consumed by a deep red and darker color that crawled over each other until the light itself was kicked out of the heavens.
The other Palta exclaimed:
"Arlag's doing it!"
"He's calling on Barzhabell!"
And they started dancing circles around Arlag.
Brill bent his knees, ready to move again, ready to throw himself forward before whatever Arlag was doing could finish—
But a hand caught him by the shoulder.
"No, son."
Brill jerked at the contact, turning his head toward Idemay, confusion flashing across his face before he could hide it. "I can fight! I'm… I'm gonna be unstoppable one day! I wanna start here!"
"Shut up and listen."
The words landed harder than anything that had hit him so far.
Brill's mouth stayed open for a second like he was about to argue again, but nothing came out this time. His mouth closed, teeth pressing together, his eyes dropping away from hers without him meaning to, his body going still.
Idemay watched him for a moment, then spoke again, her voice steadier now but not any softer. "I'm trying to be a good mother, okay? Not to sound racist or anything, but The Palta are an annoying set of species who will do anything to protect their pride and intelligent fucking arrogance. You won't beat them as you are now. But I trust you enough to fight on your own at times, don't I? You ran over here to protect this girl, you wanna throw all of that away with her on your back? You need to run away with her until I'm done slaughtering this thing."
Brill's cheeks heated, his head turning further away as if that would hide it. "I… it's not like that…I just kinda know her, that's all."
He didn't finish it, and Idemay didn't wait for him to. Idemay was more concerned that Brill knew this girls name, and Idemay never seen Sinder in the Town of Cassady before.
She looked past him toward Hellfrit, more serious settling in as she spoke. "I've seen how these Palta do their shit."
Hellfrit said, "What's their deal? Why are they going crazy?"
Her eyes flicked toward Arlag, then back. "They come from Hell, right? Whole bunch of them grew up kissing the ass of whatever demon was strongest in their corner. All Palta worshipped the family of Great Demons of Hell like they were gods. The more loyal they were, the more they got back. At some point, it stops being worship and starts being something else."
She let out a breath through her nose. "Official term is 'Demonic Vesselization' or whatever fancy name they cooked up for it. Means they let a Great Demon take a seat inside them. The ones who went the hardest with it…those are the Palta that sucked the most demon sacks. So they become vessels of the demons. Point is, once they use it, they don't come back from it. Mind's gone, and their body's just a container at that point." Her eyes locked on Arlag again. "So this bastard is doing whatever it takes to fuck us up. To uphold his oath of no surrendering."
"Like the warlocks and necromancers in your world, who sold their souls to make a Great Demon their patron and conduit of dark magic…"
"Yep. But the warlocks and the necromancers are to be hunted by the decree of the gods, to be hunted by the Caretakers for gaining dark magic outside of the gods intended magic system: Divine Beast contracts. Disobeying the divine deities is taboo. Me? I don't really give a shit about any of those divine monsters."
Then she looked towards a descending hill near them. "Go with Brill. I trust you'll lead these other Palta down the hill and get rid of them. I don't need any distractions. I want a 1v1."
Hellfrit's massive head dipped, flames trailing along his sharp mouth as his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Absolutely."
Behind them, Arlag's voice broke through with "happy rage."
The words twisted as they came out, speaking in Palta tongue called Paltnam.
"Grae'thal… ven'kora… ssel ithra…!"
His body began to change too, and Idemay didn't look away, her attention fixed on him even as she spoke to Brill without turning. "I always wondered if I was being a good mother to you, despite teaching you how to kill your enemies. And this shit right here is the reason why I taught you to defend yourself. And sometimes I think I might be an irresponsible mother for teaching you to take a life, when all I want is for you to live so I can live and finally free myself from my own crap."
'I'm a good mother… the more I realize that, the more I'll get back to my old self, right? The one that didn't sit there tearing herself apart every night… It was up until I lost my first child, that I'm in the pursuit of true happiness. Or maybe I just want to be content? What do I really want? So many wishes like contentment, and—.'
Brill nodded, quiet this time. "Okay…and you are a good mom. The best mom ever."
And Idemay stuttered a little, stuck in her tracks, and he lip quivered just a tiny bit.
Sinder clung to Brill more, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her hold on him weak but refusing to let go.
Then Arlag's body expanded, his bones cracked and stretched beneath skin that split and reformed in places, new limbs and body parts forcing their way out from his sides, then more, until they multiplied into a tangled mass that looked disgusting.
Two additional horns tore through his skull, curling and twisting in different directions, each one growing at its own pace and none of them matching.
Black wings burst from his back, feathers spilling out in clusters that shed small fragments as they spread, the span wide enough to block what little light still pushed through the red sky.
His lower half warped into something closer to a massive black widow spider, long legs stabbing into the ground as they took shape, each one ending in pointed tips that dug into the earth. His upper body remained partly humanoid, though stretched and distorted, shoulders widening, arms multiplying until several extended from his sides, each one gripping a weapon formed from that same brimstone-like material from hell, edges glowing with an oppressive heat!
At the center of it all, embedded into his torso, a pretty big pale white human-like face forced its way out, too smooth compared to everything around it, its mouth splitting open far wider than it should as rows of teeth pressed into view.
"This… is for the sake of our kin!" Arlag's voice came from multiple places at once like an echo in a cave. "That girl will die next! She will be hunted for the rest of her days!"
Sinder's fingers dug into Brill's clothing as her voice broke out in response, cracking under the strain of everything she'd already screamed through. "I'll hunt all of you for the rest of my days! I swear it!"
Brill jumped onto Hellfrit's back, landing awkwardly with Sinder still clinging to him, his legs adjusting quickly as the massive wolf turned and dashed down the slope, trees bending aside as he pushed through them, flames trailing behind.
The rest of the Palta blasted after them, their formation breaking as they gave chase, weapons drawn, their movements no longer as controlled as before.
"The dream we had… was it really real?" Sinder's voice came out quieter now, closer to his ear.. "Do you remember seeing me? I remember seeing you."
Brill tightened his hold on both the blade and the head. "Yeah, I remember it all. It had to be more than a dream…it had to be."
"I… don't want anyone saving me."
Hellfrit let out a short and amused sound as he ran. "Oh yeah? Brill, ditch the girl!"
Brill blinked, actually considering it for half a second. "I should?"
"N-No!" Sinder strengthened her hold immediately, her voice breaking again.
Back on the hill, Arlag's towering form stood high over the clearing, his many limbs flexing as the red sky churned above him.
Idemay stood there alone, a grin spreading across her face as red lightning crackled around her, crawling along her arms and across her shoulders. Her skin began to change, patches turning to stone, veins glowing beneath the surface in bright red lines that spread slowly across her body.
"This ass whooping is gonna make you cry out to hell itself."
Arlag roared, "The amount of faith you have in your son…is disgusting! I see the look in his eyes, he's gonna be a monster! Haha! He'll be the one to destroy the world! Unbreakable?! Oh yeah he'll be unbreakable alright! He'll be trapped in a coffin of chaos, a coffin that's also unbreakable! And he wouldn't want to get out!"
"Enough spouting out bullshit. Let's do this."