Volume 3 Chapter 45 – Dark Cathedral (Patreon)

Through all the chaos going on in front of the cathedral, Morrigan with Galandir in her shadow form, and Deziara with her blinding speed managed to get inside the cathedral unnoticed by the guards outside. They stuck close to the shadowy walls by the entrance and saw there were four guards stationed inside. 

The guards consisting of two tall, bulky drow men and two vampire women stood in a circle around a pedestal, watching everything around them with sharp gazes. Obviously, they had noticed the commotion outside, their eyes darting around and searching, but nevertheless, none of them moved away from the black orb that sat on the pedestal like an ominous offering to some dark gods.

"I can feel it draining my magic," Deziara said in Morrigan's mind. The effect was indeed much stronger than the orbs Morrigan had dealt with before. Those only lazily sucked up whatever magic circled around them. This orb felt like it was deliberately going out and searching for live creatures to drain the magic from.

"We need to destroy it as soon as possible, but what do we do about the guards? I could easily get rid of them with my magic, but I'd like to save as much of it as possible. Not to mention that flashy attacks might alert the guards outside and force them to rush in here," Morrigan said in Galandir's and Deziara's minds.

"It's obvious, isn't it? It's my time to shine." Deziara smirked, silently put down the bag of painting supplies, and rushed at one of the bulky drow guards at lightning speed. They barely had time to register what was going on when Deziara had already unsheathed her short sword and plunged it deep into his chest. 

For a split second, the remaining three guards stared at the scene in shock, watching their comrade fall to the ground, his blood oozing on the dark marble floor. Then they all rushed at Deziara, weapons unsheathed. One of the vampires got to her first, slashing at the princess with her daggers, but Deziara backflipped out of the way and threw a small dagger which embedded itself straight between the woman's eyes. She too fell to the floor.

The remaining drow and vampire ran towards Deziara with their swords out, but she jumped and weaved out of their way, making it seem like her body naturally repelled the deadly blades. But at the same time, the two worked together so well that there was no chance for her to counterattack. The drow attacked Deziara from above while the vampire kept low, trying to cover for her partner's weaknesses.

"She needs our help!" Morrigan said, ready to jump into the fray, but just as she and Galandir materialized, Melanos appeared right next to the enemy, slashing the drow's neck with one swift motion. It looked like the vampire woman was about to scream, but then Deziara took her moment of distraction and swiftly cut her throat.

"That was brutal," Galandir said, looking at the corpses. Morrigan looked at the scene with a cold gaze. It was by no means a pleasant scene—she didn't enjoy looking at brutality like this. But they were the ones to invade their home. It is only natural that she and every other demon would defend it.

"Get rid of the corpses. They are going to make repainting this place even more difficult and magic-intensive," Morrigan commanded. Melanos got to the task immediately, dragging the bodies away. 

The scene before Morrigan was most unpleasant—an old, dark cathedral with broken stained glass windows, half-rotten benches and the sinister black orb in the middle. It truly was like a tribute to the most evil of gods. A thing to drain life and magic away from demons and make them weak.

"It's time for you to disappear," Morrigan whispered as she set up the canvas and got out her painting supplies. "Galandir, could please provide me with some light? Just enough so I could see the canvas."

"Of course," the boy said and conjured a tiny little light orb right above the canvas. It was enough to illuminate what Morrigan needed to see, but not enough to attract attention from outside. The fighting was getting more intense, and she feared that the few guards who came along with her might soon be overwhelmed.

"Melanos, go get reinforcements. Our men require help," she commanded, her hand already guiding the brush across the canvas, spreading generous amounts of gray color across it.

"Your Highness, I shall remain here to guard you," the spymaster said stubbornly.

"Do you believe that the enemy will just allow themselves to get picked off one by one? They will surely send more soldiers to this place—they know if this orb is destroyed, they lose. Or are you arrogant enough to believe that you can hold them back on your own?" Morrigan snapped, washing off the brush and dipping it in black paint.

"Understood," Melanos replied and was gone. The clang of metal against metal outside intensified, and Morrigan's heart was beating like crazy as she painted the broken shards of glass. Not a single pleasant color made its way to the canvas—it was all gray, black, and red from the blood of the dead enemies.

"They won't notice us right?" Deziara whispered, her bloody sword clutched in her hand.

"It's not a matter of them noticing us or not, it's a matter of when they'll notice us," Galandir said, his eyes darting from one place to another, watching out for danger.

"There's light inside the cathedral!" A loud voice resounded from somewhere behind one of the broken windows.

"Shit!" Galandir cursed and raised his hands, ready to cast magic at any moment. Morrigan's heart beat like crazy, as she slowly recreated the dark pedestal which held the orb. She wanted to rush it, to complete the painting as quickly as possible, but she knew that if she started to cut corners, the magic would not work properly. She had to do this right the first time.

A duergar slammed the cathedral's door open and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Princess is inside! Get her before she dest—"

He never managed to finish the sentence as a sharp icicle impaled him right in the chest. But even though the duergar was out cold, his allies had already been alerted.  Some of them began rushing inside, demon guards unable to hold back a large number of enemies. 

Galandir instantly conjured a large wall of ice to block off their advance, effectively sealing off the entrance. Unfortunately, it did not hold them back for long, as one of the duergar smashed the ice with a heavy hammer, effectively pulverizing it.

"Protect Morrigan!" Deziara yelled and jumped at the closest enemy, kicking them in the chest then grabbing them by the arm and hurling them at enemies trying to make their way inside. Meanwhile, Galandir unleashed a merciless gust of wind at them, pushing them back and sending broken ice shards in their faces.

Morrigan's hands were moving at lightning speed, adding shadows and highlights, to make the painting look like the actual cathedral, but she felt herself rushing. Some things were out of place, so she had to go back and fix them. But her hands were trembling and making everything even more difficult. 

Everything depends on me. I have to destroy this thing. The longer I take, the longer both Deziara and Galandir will remain in danger.

But the blood stain on the floor turned out too dark, so she had to go back and mix the red paint anew and repaint it. Then the pedestal came out looking too wide, so she had to fix that as well. She wanted to start repainting it as soon as possible, but her senses were poised on the ongoing battle behind her—her sister and friend desperately trying to protect her.

"You little pipsqueaks will not stop us!" The duergar with the large hammer yelled and then threw his hammer straight at Morrigan. She did not see the incoming attack, but Deziara did.

The older princess swiftly jumped at the flying hammer trying to intercept it. It hit her with incredible force, sending her flying across the cathedral and crashing her into the far wall.

"Deziara!" Morrigan screamed out and dropped her brush. She launched a blue flaming fireball at the duergar incinerating him in a matter of seconds. Then she and Galandir ran up to Deziara who laid limp of the floor, the giant hammer next to her. Panic began to overtake her being as she watched her sister lay in her blood.

"She's alive! Don't worry!" Galandir rushed up to Deziara and instantly began healing her. Morrigan saw her sister's bleeding stop and wounds close. "She can't continue fighting! We have to leave."

Morrigan watched Galandir lift unconscious Deziara in his arms and then looked at the unfinished painting. More enemies rushed inside the cathedral, their weapons poised and ready. She didn't want to retreat. 

If I don't repaint this orb, then the city will remain under siege and eventually Linberor will fall. My family will be killed. But if I remain here now then I'm endangering both Deziara and Galandir. Should I just use my magic to attack the enemy? Perhaps I could even break the siege before my magic runs out.

But… what afterwards? There's no guarantee that more of them won't come and replace those that I would slay. Whatever damage I do to them might just be a drop in the ocean.

Suddenly a loud crash echoed just outside the cathedral, making the whole ground rumble and shake from the intensity. For a moment, Morrigan feared that the enemy had fresh reinforcements, but then she heard a familiar roar outside.

"I will protect you, Morrigan!" Haku's voice resounded in her mind, and then the dragon's giant head appeared inside the cathedral and mercilessly bit into the enemy. One was swallowed whole right away, while another one lost their arm. Whoever else was close by, instantly moved away and out of the cathedral.

"Thank you, Haku!" Morrigan sighed in relief and smiled at the dragon. He gave her a curt nod and then proceeded to rain hell on the enemies outside.

"How'd he get here?" Galandir asked suspiciously, but then Azrael, dressed in all white strode into the dark cathedral with a smug smile on his lips.

"Anyone order a dragon?" 

"Azrael?" Morrigan looked at the mage in shock.

"How long did you think Viana could keep me distracted?" he shook his head, and then his eyes went to Deziara. "Is she alright?"

"She should be fine. I healed her, but we need to get her someplace safe," Galandir said.

"Give her to me. I'll take her back to the castle," Azrael said and took Deziara from the elf. "Princess, since you made your way here then you must continue the painting. We need that orb destroyed!"

Morrigan looked at her limp sister for a moment, then nodded firmly. She could stop now—this was the only way to save the Demon Kingdom.

"I'll do it!" she said firmly.

"Good. I'll be back in the jiffy, meanwhile, I'll trust that Haku and the elf boy here can keep you safe."

"I'll make sure that not a single hair on her head is harmed," Galandir said firmly.

"Protect her with your life if you must!"

"Of course," he nodded. But Morrigan didn't hear them, her focus completely on the painting. With immediate danger over, her mind felt more clear. She could see the mistakes she had made and with a few swift strokes of her brush was able to correct them. Magic began to vibrate within her—it was ready.

Morrigan glared at the black orb in her painting, cleaned her brush and after dipping it in grey paint, mercilessly colored over it, erasing it from existence. Large chunk of her magic instantly drained away from her and she smiled, confident in its work. But when she looked beyond her painting, she saw that the black orb still sat there.

"It didn't work…"

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