4
It was no holy battle. Soldiers on both sides fell dead, one after another—pure, unending slaughter.
Two kobolds ran at Parn, half-crazed with fear. Parn crossed swords with them and dispatched the pair quickly. Looking down at their corpses, words escaped him despite himself.
“This is terrible.”
Parn and Deedlit dismounted their tired horses—they were panting hard and caked with mud and the blood of their enemies. Etoh and Slayn were still with them, but most of the battle-priests and mercenaries were scattered across the field. Even Parn understood that there would be no victor in this battle. Only Death would be left smiling at the end.
Dimly, he wondered when it would be his or Deedlit’s turn to fall, staining the ground red with their blood, just like those poor, pathetic kobolds. He shuddered at the hopelessness of it all. Even so, every time he spotted another enemy, his sword swung practically on its own, in search of fresh blood.
Just then, he caught sight of King Fahn from afar. The king had dismounted, and he and a few Royal Guards were facing a throng of goblins. Beyond him, Parn could see a warrior in red armor with the crest of Marmo emblazoned upon it.
The red-clad warrior was clearly no mere mortal.
“King Kashue, there’s King Fahn,” Parn called out.
Kashue had abandoned his wounded horse and was fighting with his longsword in both hands. There were only a few knights of Flaim left around him—some had surely been slain, and the rest had been separated from their master in the chaos.
Kashue followed Parn’s gaze. His stern expression softened for a moment at the sight of Fahn, but then his eyes widened in surprise.
“That red armor… That must be Beld,” Kashue muttered and ran toward Fahn.
Parn pushed past his exhaustion in desperation to follow the Mercenary King.
“King Fahn!” he cried, slashing through goblins and kicking them aside to reach the lord he’d sworn fealty to only yesterday.
“Parn! It’s good to see you safe—and King Kashue, as well.”
“I’ve survived, somehow,” Kashue answered, knocking down one of the hideous monsters. “I’m glad you’re safe, Your Majesty.” Kashue slew the last goblin, then drew near to Fahn. “Emperor Beld is over there.”
“I noticed.” Fahn replied, biting his lip as he watched the red shadow’s slow approach. There was a faint smile on Beld’s mouth—and for a moment, it seemed that even the black blade in his hand wore a satisfied grin.
“That’s…Emperor Beld?” Parn almost felt like he was being crushed by the Emperor’s menacing aura.
Beld was getting closer—close enough that they could have run over to fight him, if they chose. Parn considered it for a moment, but Deedlit blocked him and shook her head.
“Don’t get yourself killed. We don’t stand a chance against him.”
Slayn agreed—he urged the people around him to step back, and prepared some defensive spells.
Parn nodded, not because he didn’t think he could win, but because this was clearly a battle between kings.
“We finally meet, Fahn. I haven’t seen you since the end of the demon god, hm?” Beld’s voice was calmer and more refined than Parn had expected.
Fahn held up a hand to stop Kashue in his tracks. He took up his sword and stepped forward.
“I suppose not,” he replied, the holy sword in his hand glowing with a pure white aura, the shield carved with the silver cross held high. He closed slowly on Beld.
“Ever since we fought side by side, I’ve wanted to see how we would fare against each other. I feel lucky to be your enemy now. We can fight to our hearts’ content.” Beld edged closer to Fahn, swinging the tip of his great black sword back and forth to gauge his timing.
“I never felt the same,” Fahn replied. “It’s a strange twist of fate, facing you like this, and I wish it weren’t so. But I’ll accept the challenge anyway.” He pointed his blade at the sky and saluted Beld. “Nobody interfere!” Fahn shouted, then without a pause he leapt forward, swinging his sword sideways.
Beld saw the attack coming at the last moment and swung his sword from the shoulder like a bolt of lightning. The force behind his strike seemed like it would crack the earth—but Fahn simply blocked it with his shield, drove the blade back with a heave, and swung toward Beld’s torso once more.
With an eerie metallic sound, the blade struck Beld’s armor, making sparks fly. Beld let out a small grunt. Fahn’s sword tip had cut into the armor, but there was no way to tell if it had even reached his body.
“Not bad, old man!” Once more, Beld attacked with all his strength, the giant blade like a black whirlwind slashing through the air. But Fahn ducked right under, barely seeming to move.
As the duel progressed, loud murmurs erupted from both armies. The pair crossed swords over and over, the sound of steel clashing on steel resounding through the air.
Just watching was practically overwhelming for Parn. Their skills were well matched, and neither fighter seemed to hate the other. They almost looked like close friends sparring.
“King Fahn and Emperor Beld have always been opposites in action and philosophy,” Kashue whispered to Parn. “But I hear that they were once trusted comrades in arms. Fate may have made them enemies, but maybe those feelings haven’t changed, even now.”
“I agree,” Etoh said quietly. “Emperor Beld doesn’t seem truly evil to me. I believe his heart is pure—I can’t help but think that Karla is behind all of this.”
“Wort said that they both want to bring lasting peace to Lodoss, even if their methods are different,” Slayn murmured. “That vision of peace is a threat to Karla. If she’s the reason for this battle, that makes this an even greater tragedy.”
Even the slain goblins strewn at their feet were piteous. If they had stayed in their caves, they would never have met such violent ends.
The whole battleground was still—Fahn and Beld were the only things moving as far as the eye could see. Few had survived to watch.
Fahn was slightly more skilled with the sword, but he was an old man, and as the duel stretched on, he began to reach the limits of his endurance and strength. Beld, though, was kept eternally young by the demon sword. As Fahn started to slow down, Beld’s strikes began to get past his shield, hitting his armor with a dull clank every time.
“No…” Kashue groaned, and almost took a step.
One of Beld’s guards drew his sword and pointed it at him in warning. “Are you a coward, to interfere in a duel?!”
Kashue froze—King Fahn’s honor required it.
“King Fahn!” Parn cried in anguish. Kashue had glanced toward the guard, but at Parn’s cry, he turned back to the duel.
The sight was heartrending.
Fahn’s sword was deeply embedded in Beld’s left shoulder, the wound dripping red. Beld’s sword had pierced Kind Fahn’s breastplate so deeply it had speared the cloak on his back.
A moment later, Fahn pitched forward in a slow collapse.
“King Fahn!” Parn cried again and turned to the man in red armor with hatred in his eyes. “How dare you?!” he screamed, and ran at Beld with his sword in hand.
But the warrior who had stalled Kashue was in Parn’s way—otherwise, Parn would have been slain by Beld in one stroke. The other guards who’d been watching used Parn’s attack as a signal to rejoin the fray.
“I am Kashue, King of Flaim! Beld, Emperor of Marmo, I am your next opponent!”
Beld had been staring impassively at Fahn’s corpse, but at Kashue’s challenge, he turned to the man with a faint smile.
“I accept,” he said.
With no further warning, Kashue slashed shallowly at Beld’s red armor.
“Is that all?” Beld asked, ignoring the attack. He swung his coal-black blade down at Kashue’s head with ease.
Kashue dodged at the last moment and attacked again—his blade tore easily through Beld’s armor. Kashue felt his sword sink into the muscle of Beld’s left hip.
“That’s quite the enchanted sword,” Beld commented, with no indication that he felt any pain at all.
“Not as fancy as yours,” Kashue replied. His longsword had been forged in the days of the ancient kingdom and was enchanted to slice through armor like paper.
“To think that a man like you was Fahn’s sworn friend,” Beld snorted.
“You think you know me?!” Kashue said. “I respected Fahn, I cared for him. I couldn’t be a holy king like he was—just simply a king, going wherever my talent can take me. But I will never be a demon king like you!”
Kashue swung his longsword nimbly, putting pressure on Beld with his unending onslaught. Beld blocked each strike with his jet-black blade.