Chapter 30- The Final Battle?
The is the chant she uses in the battle, I have a translation below!
The last few days had been a whirlwind of training and preparing for Loki to come, none of us were entirely sure of when it would happen, but for all of the three days, I was just hoping that it would happen soon. I created charms and taught the Dryads the spell they needed to know, I refined my song, preparing to fight an undetermined amount of souls.
When the chasm opened, it was like a powerful explosion occurred, and the entire area was washed in a pale green light, which nearly frightened away some of the Dryads until they realized what it was. We waited with bated breath for anything to happen, but when there was no activity in the first hour, we relaxed enough to prepare the final touches to our welcoming gift before anything happened with the tear.
The moment the first souls began flowing through the tear in realms, I dropped to my knees and had to force back nausea; if I had thought that the feeling here was bad before, it was nothing compared to this. Pure and unadulterated malice followed the first waves of souls into the land of the living, spreading through the air like a disease. If I hadn't had put up those wards, the people who were here would only have lasted a few minutes before needing to leave.
An arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to my feet, dragging me back into the fight; I looked up and saw that Ban was the one who had helped me, and while he sported a carefree smile, his eyes showed me that he was completely serious. "Ah, is the little banshee being taken down already? Keep your chin up little one, if you drop now, we won't be able to fight against this army; this whole fight has only been made possible because of you."
I nodded weakly and shrugged his arm off me, though he stayed nearby to make sure I didn't fall again.
"I know, you just focus on what you need to do, and we might make it out of here alive." I took another step away from Ban and began the chant I had practiced earlier. It was written specifically to calm rouge souls, so they could be sent to the Necropolis without doing even more damage; I had changed it up a little so that instead of just calming the soul, it would immobilize it entirely.
(This is the translation for the chant which is the video!)
Love, let me home to my mother
Love, let me home to my mother
Darling, let me home to my mother
Love, let me home
to my mother
I only came for the cattle.
It was only last night
That I heard that my love was herding
And though you found me at the perimeter of the cattle fold
Love, let me home as you found me.
I was clambering up the dykes
And descending the ridges
When a friendly lad met me
And he did not enforce his friendship on me.
Though you were to give me cattle and sheep
Though you were to give me tethered horses
Though you were to give me that and men
Love, let me home as you found me.
My mother and father will chastise you
My clan and my relatives will chastise you
But my three brothers will kill you
If I don't return home as I came.
My mother promised me a gown
Decorated with the newest of ribbons
And she promised me a new plaid
If I return home the way you found me.
As I sang, my muscles began to protest because of how many souls I was attempting to freeze, I was strong, but this whole battle was already pushing me to my limits; the only reason I was able to keep going was noticing that the souls had begun to slow considerably, and they had even condensed slightly so the people on our side were able to weave their way through without being affected.
Everything seemed to be going well; Merlin had made her way to the tear and was beginning the process of closing it, the dryads were using the spell I taught them to banish the souls back to the Necropolis, and the other sins were dealing with the horde of reptilian creatures that had started streaming through along with the souls. A smile made its way to my face and I allowed some of the tension to ease out of my shoulders as I saw the success we were having; I should have known that this fight wasn't going to be finished that easily.
"You've put so much effort into welcoming me to your realm, my dear, I almost feel bad to destroy all of your friends." The shock of hearing Loki's deep voice whisper this against my neck nearly made me stop singing; he must have transported himself here specifically because he knew it would unnerve me. "Do keep your composure, I would hate for the battle to be finished before I was even begun." A glare had made its way onto my face and I flinched as I felt something warm touch the crook of my neck... What that, his nose? As if to prove my point, he inhaled deeply, "Ah, my dear, meeting you in your dreams did not do you justice; you are far more, succulent than I could have hoped."
I clenched my fist and summoned Durendal, to heck with the battle, this man had tormented me more than enough, I would take him out myself if I needed to. "The lady doesn't look like she wants your attention, you should leave her alone." Ban's voice cut through the air like a knife, it held an anger that I had never heard from him; what was weird though, was how I reacted. As soon as I heard his voice, the tension that had built up evaporated and I almost smiled in the middle of the battle; stupid, I know.
Loki must have noticed my reaction because he was silent for a moment before stepping away from me; I whipped around to watch the confrontation between these two, trying my best to keep singing as I did so. At first glance, it seemed as though there was nothing out of the ordinary about these two men, they both had relaxed stances and calm expressions, they could have been meeting to discuss business; it was only when I looked in their eyes that I saw how dangerous these two men were. Ban's glare could cut glass with the murderous intent it held, it also held something I couldn't place, jealousy? Possessiveness?
Loki's eyes were a different story, they were filled with a sadistic glee, he was enjoying this fully, "Well, who do we have here? Could I possibly be in the presence of Ban the Undead?" His voice was mocking Ban, trying to provoke him into attacking first, "I have heard much about you, not only from the world of the dead but also from our dear Janis' mind." Loki stepped towards me and grabbed a strand of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers, yanking my hair harshly when I tried to brush him off.
A growl erupted from Ban and he took a threatening step towards Loki, "Take your hands off her," I looked between them again and this time, instead of seeing two me, I saw a ferocious white fox with blood coating it's muzzle and a large black cobra facing off.
I wasn't sure who made the first move, but the next thing I knew, the two were locked in battle, flashing across the small clearing that had been made around us; the strikes of their weapons vibrated in my ears and I watched them trying to decide who would win this match. They seemed to be evenly matched in skill, and with their less than human constitution, it was anyone's guess as to who would win this fight.
Before the fight could progress too far, I was swept from the battlefield into a dark room with one window, my death omen room. I approached the window and looked onto a familiar scene; in front of me was the battlefield I had been on only moments before, Ban and Loki were still fighting, but everything was eerily silent. In a move quicker than my eye could follow, there was a splatter of blood and the vicious fight stopped, drawing the attention of every eye in the vicinity.
Ban lay on the ground choking on the blood that was spilling out of his mouth as he looked in surprise down at Loki's scepter, which was protruding from his chest. I waited for him to pull it out and get up while making a joke like he always did in situations like these, but that didn't happen; instead, his arms gave out from under him and he grew even whiter than he already was.
"I almost didn't expect that to work," My gaze jerked to Loki, who stood over Ban with a triumphant smirk, "You see, I laced my staff with mistletoe wood, which is said to have the ability to kill immortals. It was a long shot, but I see that it's working." He pulled his staff out of Ban's chest and walked away, leaving the death omen me standing near Ban with my hands over my mouth. I, or rather, she rushed to Ban and dropped by his side, holding him in her arms while speaking quietly to him; I couldn't hear the words, but I knew basically what I would tell him in that situation, "You better dang well not die on me; it's okay, we'll make sure you get through this; ect."
Ban smiled and reached up to touch her face with a gentle smile before his hand grew limp and his eyes lost their light; the death omen darkened, and I was left standing in the darkness with wide eyes and a single tear running down my cheek. Interfering in this omen shouldn't have been an option, I had already stopped one death from happening, and the consequences for stopping a second would be eternal torment at the hands of Fenris, the sadistic brother of Hel chained to the Yggdrasil. I knew that, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to talk myself out of doing something stupid.
Before I could come to a decision, darkness was replaced by color and I was back where I was before, watching Loki and Ban fight; time slowed for an instant and I found myself lunging towards the fight, desperate to change what was planned. I could clearly see Loki swinging at Ban with a dagger which distracted him from the staff that was being thrust towards his chest. Somehow, I was able to push Ban out of the way and take his place; the spear pierced my skin right above my heart and the battle stopped, Loki's eyes widened with surprise and time resumed its normal pace.
As in my omen, the battlefield was silent as everyone watched what would happen now, Loki recovered from the shock and smirked at me, "While this is unexpected, I can't say that I am surprised my dear, but I am curious, what did you think this would accomplish?"
It was at that moment that the pain hit me fully and I hissed out a breath trying to find the ability to speak through the burning pain, "Thinking... wasn't really... part of this," I managed to get out
"I can tell," Loki flashed me a smile, "It really is a shame though, I had planned to use that on your beloved over there, it is, after all, one of the things that is rumored to be able to kill an immortal like him. I suppose that there is still time to do that. After all, now that you're out of the picture, the souls I command can neutralize everyone else; you've handed me my victory on a silver platter." He pulled me closer to him, "It really is a shame that you won't be alive to see the punishments I have planned for your friends, it will be so much worse than your dreams."
When he said that, something inside me snapped and I pulled his face closer to me so that he wouldn't be able to tell that I had summoned Durendal, "Listen closely Loki," I growled as best I could, allowing my magic to surround us in a powerful cloud, "I don't care if I die, I never have, but you had better believe that I won't let you hurt anyone else. If I have to go to Hell, you had better believe that I'm taking you with me." With that, I swung Durendal and caught his side, embedding the mist blade deep in his stomach before twisting it, causing him to howl in pain. My other hand groped at my side for the horn given to me by Heimdall, bringing it to my lips and using the last of my energy to blow it for as long as I could. Durendal dissipated and I collapsed to my side, watching as a golden beam enveloped Loki; when the light disappeared, the God of magic and trickery was gone, the battle was won.
Ban's POV
I watched in horror as Janis slumped to her side, barely breathing; somehow Loki was gone, but I couldn't focus on that right now, I ran to her side as quickly as I could and dropped to my knees, examining her wound, "You idiot," I muttered as I jerked the scepter out of her chest and used what was left of my shirt to stop the bleeding, "Why did you push me out of the way? You know I can't die."
She coughed weakly and her eyes rolled open, "You can die..." She stopped to breathe for a moment, "I saw it... I saw you die." I didn't acknowledge the other sins as they gathered around us, my focus was completely on Janis.
"How could you have seen it happen, Janis?" King's voice inquired, and she reached up to tap her head.
"Death omens," Her answer must have satisfied King, because he didn't ask any more questions.
"It was laced... with mistletoe... it can kill... an immortal," she managed to get out and while I knew I would need to look more into this fact later, I shook it off for now.
"Shh, save your energy," I whispered and leaned in to kiss her forehead, "We'll get you better, I promise." I smiled reassuringly at her, but the worry in my chest was growing, it was a bad wound, right above her heart; normally I wouldn't be too worried, since she is immortal as well, but the scepter was supposedly able to kill an immortal, so she might not make it.
A hand was placed gently on my cheek and I saw that tears were filling her eyes, "Okay Ban, thank you," Now her eyes weren't the only ones filled with tears, she paused, then asked, "Have you shaved? Your face feels kinda... scruffy."
A grin snuck its way onto my face as I remembered a similar conversation we had before, "Well, it certainly isn't a decade worth of growth, but I was thinking of growing it out."
She laughed quietly, which turned into a coughing fit, a trail of red seeped out of her mouth as she recovered, bus still she smiled, "No mustache."
"Why not? I think I would look smoking with a mustache." I said and cupped the hand on my cheek, squeezing it gently.
She spoke in short segments, "Smoking as in... how it will... smoke when I... burn it..." She trailed off before her statement was finished and I watched as the light faded from her eyes, her mouth was curved upwards slightly in her last smile, and her hand fell from my grip limply.
"No, Janis, come on," I spoke almost as weakly as she had at the end, "You can't leave me yet. Please, Janis, you have to laugh with me just one more time." I gathered her limp body in my arms and began to rock it gently, "You can't go, please, I never told you how I felt about you." The words were finally out there, they should have been said months ago, but it just never happened, now it never would; a sob broke from my throat and then time shattered.
Pain filled me and though I couldn't focus, at some point, Janis' body was gone, making me break even more. I remained in that state for an undetermined amount of time until three little words broke me out of it, I don't know who said them or when, but at some point, I regained some semblance of hope.
"She's not dead."
Hey guys! I promise to you that this isn't over quite yet, though it is getting close; sorry if any of you had heart attacks, but this chapter has been one of my favorites to write so far! Just in case anyone was wondering about the mistletoe thing, it came from an old myth that I found that stated that Loki would start Armageddon by killing one of the gods who was said to be unkillable. He was apparently blessed by someone at birth to be impervious to all kinds of harm, but Loki circumvented that by creating an arrow made out of the woof of a mistletoe plant, knowing that the blessing wouldn't register such a menial plant as a threat. Sorry if that wasn't well explained, but it was my whole basis for that! Let me know what you think!
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top