The unending horde of undead abominations continued to swarm the graveyard, threatening constantly to overwhelm Jude and the forces stuck with him. With complete dismemberment being the only way to defeat their foes, each engagement dragged on, in which time two or three more would climb out of the ground or wander off the streets.

Jude continued to chop and hack away at the incoming monstrosities, much as he would have preferred to use his bow and arrows. His arms ached from the strain of the heavy axe in his hands, and any moment, he expected his shoulders to pop from their sockets, but he'd been deprived of the luxury of choice.

He ran up on a walking corpse, hooked its shield with his axe blade, and yanked it away, exposing its ragged flesh to be chopped up. Jude did just that, paring down the undead warrior's form until it could do nothing but squirm on the ground.

Kyle sprinted over with smoke pouring from the muzzle of his thunder lance, motioning for Jude to take cover behind one of the gravestones. Though confused, he complied and crouched down behind the slab of stone.

"Dozens of them back there comin' this way with crossbows." Kyle explained, "One of them grazed me."

Jude's eyes tumbled down Kyle's leg, and indeed, midway down his calf, the cloth had been torn away, and a deep scratch parted the flesh. He'd seen worse wounds over the course of the war, to be sure, but this was Kyle.

"Let me see that thing." Jude said, reaching for Kyle's thunder lance. "How do you use it?"

Kyle handed over two pieces of flint and a short length of rope. "Cram the rope down the hole, make a spark, set it on fire. It'll spit the ball out in a few seconds."

Jude nodded and followed the directions. While the fire burnt through the rope, the entire wooden chamber quivered in his hands. Undead warriors began to appear from behind a cluster of tombstones just in time as the fuse had almost expired. He braced himself for the thunder lance's earsplitting roar and aimed its nose at the approaching monstrosities.

Sure enough, the lance thundered, and it retched a metal ball at the corpses. Ripping straight through three in a row, the projectile chinked off a stone afterwards and lodged itself into a fourth's skull. Jude couldn't decide whether Kyle's self-made weapon made him feel powerful upon using it or quite the opposite.

Either way, he turned to Kyle with a smirk. "You ought to make me one of these."

"Thought you'd never ask. Once this is over, I'll get started."

"Won't need it then."

"That's true. I hope Dustin's doing alright in there."

Jude stared thoughtfully at Kyle before hefting the axe into his hands again and preparing to face the undead. "I hope so too."

****

Dustin regathered his wits just in time to leap up and interpose his weapon between Tanuk's sword and Paulo's neck. He blocked the attack with such force it caused Tanuk to stumble back, and in that time, Dustin landed a deep cut on the sorcerer's thigh.

Tanuk hissed. His cloak returned to his shoulders, and he took to flight, hovering above the two while he regathered himself. He twitched his fingers, and the dagger extricated itself from Paulo's hand. The sudden removal caused him to gasp, and his bloodflow only accelerated.

Dustin winced to see the man in so much pain, but he helped him back to his feet. While Tanuk still reeled from his own wound and levitated out of reach, the two exchanged a glance.

"I'm gonna die today...I feel it." Paulo grunted, "Let's make it worth it."

"Endless assault until we bring him down." Dustin agreed, "No matter the cost, we shall defeat him yet."

That said, they moved into action. Dustin snatched a throwing blade from one of the undead, unmoving guards that had been standing at attention the entire time, and he tossed it up at Tanuk. Still somewhat delirious, he jetted up and smacked his head against the roof.

Tanuk clumsily floated down after that, and then the two set upon him. Dustin rained blows from up high, while Paulo used his good hand to threaten the sorcerer constantly with thrusts at various organs. Though he managed to keep up, it appeared to be a losing fight on his part.

Growing desperate, Tanuk threw all his might into smacking Paulo's sword aside, and indeed, he managed to shatter the blade into dozens of pieces. He stared down at the stub of jagged metal in his hand, clearly pondering of the significance of his father's prized weapon destroyed by the very man who had shattered his family in like manner.

Dustin didn't pause, however. He ducked around Tanuk and thrusted with all his might. His slender blade found a path clear through the sorcerer's body, impaling his heart and emerging out the other end covered in blood. Paulo immediately followed suit, plunging his splintered fragment of a sword into Tanuk's belly.

"You've failed, Lord Tanuk." Paulo hissed, twisting the metal in his flesh and causing the fallen sorcerer to drop his own weapon, "Now I'll meet my father at the furnace of the great ones, and I'll tell him what you did. I'll also tell him...how I prevailed despite all you did."

"You're nothing like your father...you'll be lucky to attain to the outer court."

"Maybe so. But he'll catch wind of it eventually. He'll know you betrayed him and I brought justice."

Dustin bent his lips down near Tanuk's ear. "Farewell, Lord Tanuk. Your reign is over, short as it was."

Both men snatched their blades from Tanuk's body, accelerating his blood loss. A listless look crossed his face before he dropped dead on the carpet mere feet from the throne. Just a second passed before the undead guards fell limp just as he had.

Dustin gave Paulo a grave nod. "You've accomplished a great work this day, Sir Feliz. I know your father would have been proud."

"Sure...hope so."

Paulo succumbed to unconsciousness, and Dustin caught him. Despite the soreness of his body, he managed to hoist his unconventional comrade over his shoulder, gather their weapons, and lumber down the length of the throne room to exit the palace. Leaving death, carnage, and treachery behind him, he anticipated enjoying the rest of his life, a life that would hopefully be full of peace and joy.

****

Covered in sweat, melted snow, and a little blood from the warriors he'd been slicing apart, Jude had just about grown weary of the fight against the undead. His comrades' numbers had begun to dwindle, while their enemies' ranks had only swelled. Some moments, he despaired of Dustin ever prevailing against Lord Tanuk. Other moments, he feared the worst, that he'd perished in the fight against the cursed sorcerer.

The undead had begun to close in on Jude, and his weary body hardly cooperated anymore. He held them at bay as long as he could, but they were many, and they didn't tire as he did. Jude removed one warrior's head and another's arm, but those grievous losses were nothing but scratches to them.

He frowned when he raised his axe to strike another down, but the body toppled over in the snow before he could follow through. All around him, the skeletons and carcasses dropped, returning to their natural state and posing no further threat.

Jude's eyes found Kyle's from a distance, and with gladness growing in their hearts, they exchanged a nod. Dustin had done it. Lord Tanuk had been defeated, and his reign over the dead had ended. Surely the emperor would surrender now, and the war would be over.

Partly out of exhaustion, partly out of joy, Jude dropped to his knees. He praised God for deliverance, and his mind pored over thoughts of the future.