Jane, Warrior of Decura Chapter 26

Hopeless Battle

Sigmund stared at Jane's motionless body, a large pool of blood slowly forming under the gigantic girl. “I wish you'd be the one to fulfill my wish and free me from this torment...” he sighed as the orange lines all across his armor faded away. “But once again, I got my hopes up prematurely.” Sigmund stared down at his weapon, which had also stopped glowing. “Nobody can best me thanks to these 'gifts' from Kip.”

Suddenly, two arrows pieced the back of Sigmund's armor at the same time, causing him to turn and spot Nate drawing another pair of arrows. “I'll kill you!” a teary-eyed Nate roared before loosing both arrows into Sigmund's chest.

After swatting the arrows away with his axe, Sigmund noticed the pouch in Emina's hand and started to approach. “Hand the kassi over” he said before blocking another arrow with his axe's huge blade. “Please, for your own sakes. Just give her to me and leave.”

“Like hell!” Nate snapped while continuing to loose more arrows at the approaching knight. “The only thing I'm going to do is kill you!”

Emina cuddled the pouch containing Nice to her chest. “Leave Nice alone!” she shouted before looking over to Jane's still body. “Big sis! Please get up!”

After swatting yet another arrow away, Sigmund got within arm's reach of Nate. Nate tried to aim an arrow up at Sigmund's head, but the huge knight quickly reached down and grabbed the reyn's bow. “Stay out of the way” he said before tossing Nate's weapon aside. “Please.” Nate ignored the request and readied his short swords, causing the imposing knight to let out a sigh. “Very well...” Sigmund quickly grabbed Nate by the front of his shirt and tossed him head-first into a nearby wall.

With Jane and now Nate down, Sigmund moved toward the terrified Emina. “Go away!” Emina shrieked while trying to shield the pouch with her arm and leg. Despite Emina's best efforts, Sigmund easily tore the pouch from the golem's hands. “Leave Nice alone!”

“I wish I could child...” Sigmund sighed. “I really-” Sigmund cut himself off when he realized how light the pouch was. Upon closer inspection, Sigmund noticed that the bottom of the pouch had been cut open. “Where did the kassi go?” Sigmund quickly glanced around, eventually spotting Nice trying her best to climb up Jane's pants and onto her enormous leg.

Despite missing two of her limbs, Emina managed to spring forward and grab Sigmund's leg. “Emi won't let you hurt anymore of her friends!” she roared. “Emi will stop you!”

“I wish you could” Sigmund grumbled before kicking her leg free from Emina's grasp.

As Sigmund started to approach the fallen giantess and the tiny kassi climbing her, Emina tried to stand, but a wave of Sigmund's axe caused a gush of air to blow her back to the ground. “Emi said go away!” the golem screamed while trying to lift herself up again. “Or Emi will make you sorry!” Sigmund ignored the golem's threats and continued to walk toward Jane.

“There he is!” a voice shouted, causing Sigmund to halt and slowly turn to find five more knights wearing the same attire as the three he had previously slain just moments ago. “That's the one lord Adam wants dead!”

“What the hell is that?” another of the knights asked while pointing at Jane's motionless body. “Is that a giant?”

“A giant?” another of the knights parroted. “You mean the ones the historians always go on about?”

“Cease your worthless babbling!” The central knight snapped. “We can worry about the giant after we slay the one in purple armor! Quickly! Surround him!” As the five Gigan knights started to encircle Sigmund, the imposing knight simply shook his head and casually walked into the middle of the road.

A few blocks away, William had finally pushed his way past the fleeing masses. “Miss Jane, Nate, Miss Emina, Miss Nice... Where are you?” he thought as sweat poured down his face. “Please be alright.” Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the streets, helping William pinpoint it's source.

After passing a destroyed fountain, William turned down a street and immediately came to a halt when he noticed Jane's enormous body blocking the street, a pool of her blood seeping into the stone road. William's heart stopped for a second, since he could only see Jane's feet and legs, he couldn't tell if Jane had merely passed out from her injuries or...

“Miss Jane?” was all he could muster as his eyes were attracted to the several large splatters of blood that covered the buildings around Jane's body.

Another scream drew William's attention to the sidewalk, where a towering man in spiky purple armor had just cut down his eighth Gigan knight for the day.

“Mr. Will!” Emina called out, William spotted the golem on the ground near the towering man. “Mr. Will! Help big sis! That man is trying to kill her and take Nice!”

William turned his gaze back toward the man in purple armor, who was staring back at him with glowing red eyes. “Are you going to throw your life away too?” Sigmund asked in a saddened tone. “Please reconsider. I've taken enough lives today.”

After gritting his teeth, William ignored Sigmund's suggestion and charged forward while letting out a fierce battle cry. Once he was close enough, William jumped as high as he could and tried to strike Sigmund's head with his maul. Sigmund was not impressed and used one hand to swing his axe up at William, striking the maul's handle with enough force to not only stop William's attack, but also send him tumbling back several yards and onto his back.

“Stay back” Sigmund growled while watching William start to lift himself up.

“I'm afraid I can't do that” William replied while readying his maul.

Sigmund let out a sigh and turned away from William. “Look, if you keep interfering-”

Suddenly a small cloud of black mist made it's way into Sigmund's helmet. “Kill him too” Hazel's voice echoed in his mind. “He seems to be a friend of Jane. Be sure to throw his corpse in front of her face before finishing the overgrown whore off.”

“Damn it...” Sigmund grumbled to himself before turning back to face William. “Alright warrior, prepare yourself” he said while raising his axe. “I can't promise I'll make this quick but...”

“Worry about yourself” William growled.

After taking a deep breath, Sigmund rushed forward at incredible speed and tried to drive his axe into William's side. Fortunately, William was able to move his maul fast enough to block the attack with it's handle. Despite the impact rattling William's bones, the old knight was able to hold his ground. Even when Sigmund unleashed several more strikes, William maintained his guard, blocking the next four blows despite their impressive speed and strength.

However, the next strike came from above and when William blocked it, the force caused him to drop to one knee. With his weapon occupied, William could do nothing when Sigmund send a strong kick into his chest that knocked the old knight onto his backside.

With William's guard now on the ground, Sigmund attempted to skewer his chest with his axe's spike. Fortunately, William was able to roll out of the weapon's path at the last second, the sharp spike piercing the stone road instead. Using what little time he had, William quickly got back on his feet just as Sigmund swung his axe at the old knight's head. While William was able to block the attack, he hadn't had enough time to brace himself for the blow and the impact sent him flying back into a nearby wall.

“I'm impressed warrior” Sigmund said as the blade on his axe started to glow a bright orange. “You've held me off with nothing but your skill.”

“Your praise is neither necessary nor desired” William grunted while getting back on his feet, his eyes focused on Sigmund's weapon.

“Mr. Will, duck!” Emina shouted just as Sigmund swung his weapon, sending a line of energy right toward William.

Thanks to Emina's warning, William was able dive under the energy attack a mere second before it collided with the building behind him, leaving a long gash in the building's stone walls. After rolling to his feet, William thrust his maul straight at Sigmund's chest, scoring a direct hit and knocking the towering knight back a few feet.

Hoping to strike before Sigmund could completely recover from his attack, William used a full spin to build up a lot of momentum and swung his maul at Sigmund's side.

Unfortunately, Sigmund was able to regain his footing in an instant and use his axe's large blade to completely block William's attack. Despite William putting everything he had into that strike, Sigmund barely seemed affected and pushed against William's weapon with enough strength to throw the old knight off balance.

Before William even had a chance to react, Sigmund thrust his axe's spike toward the old knight's head. William quickly threw his head back and managed to avoid getting stabbed in the head. His helmet wasn't so lucky and was knocked from his head as he fell onto his back. Not two seconds after falling onto the ground, William was forced to roll to the side to avoid Sigmund's axe cleaving him in half.

Sigmund seemed surprised when he spotted William's face. “You're quite agile for someone your age” he noted while slowly pulling his axe from the road. “Then again... I can't really talk, given my own situation.”

As William used his maul to lift himself back up, he noticed a small light emanating from atop Jane's huge body. “That must be miss Nice” he thought returning his gaze to his opponent. “I pray she can heal someone as big as miss Jane.” William readied his maul. “If she can, I need to do all I can to keep this guy distracted. That won't be easy... This man is powerful. More powerful than any opponent I've ever faced. I can barely defend myself and any attacks I do managed to sneak in barely seem to be doing any damage.” William quickly scanned his weapon and immediately noticed several large cracks starting to form on it's handle. “Speaking of damage...” William gritted his teeth and glared into Sigmund's glowing red eyes. “The worst part is... It feels like he's holding back. That's probably the only reason I'm even alive right now.”

Sigmund prepared to charge, only to stop when another cloud of black mist entered his helmet. “Sigmund, I changed my mind” Hazel's voice whispered in his ears. “I don't want you to just kill this old fool. I want you to make him suffer.” Sigmund tilted his head when he swore he heard Hazel's teeth grind in the message. “He's the one who killed poor Corax.”

“A deed I wished I'd witnessed” Sigmund thought while letting out a quiet snicker.

“Kill him slowly Sigmund” Hazel's voice continued. “Make him feel Corax's pain a thousand times over.”

“Something funny?” William asked after raising an eyebrow.

“Not at all...” Sigmund grumbled before bolting forward at lightning speed, getting close enough to launch another attack. William barely had enough time to block the incoming strike. “If you get a chance to run, take it.”

William struggled to push back against Sigmund's superior strength. “Never” he grunted through his teeth. “I'll never abandon miss Jane or any of my friends.”

“Noble, but foolish” Sigmund grumbled back before unleashed several more blows.

While William was able to defend himself, every successful block took its toll on both his body and weapon. Knowing he couldn't stay on the defensive much longer, William opted to duck under Sigmund's next strike. He was thankfully successful as Sigmund's axe passed right over his head. With only a second to act, William sprung up and tried to thrust his maul into Sigmund head.

Unfortunately. Sigmund was too fast and evaded the blow by shifting his entire body to the right. William tried to pull his weapon back but one strong downward cleave from Sigmund's axe sliced through the maul's handle, splitting it in two and leaving William with a headless maul.

Undeterred by his weapon's severe damage, William used what was left as a metal rod and struck the front of Sigmund's helmet. As a surprised Sigmund reeled back from the blow, William used the opening to not only dive away from his opponent, but also pick up his maul's head, that had crashed onto the road nearby.

By the time Sigmund regained his composure, he saw that William had positioned himself in front of Jane's body. In one hand, he held the top half of his maul like a hammer, and in the other he held a dark green shield shaped like a crest. “You truly are an impressive fighter” Sigmund said before readying his axe. “With your skills, escape wouldn't be too difficult. But you refuse to leave the girl's side. May I ask why? Is she your daughter? Or perhaps a student? Maybe you're fulfilling a fallen friend's dying wish?”

Despite his aching body and heavy breathing, William couldn't help but smile. “A fallen friend's dying wish?” he parroted before glancing back to the fallen giantess. “That is what I told miss Jane when I first joined her group. I was continuing master Albert's final desire; To keep her safe.” William let out a sigh as his gaze returned to Sigmund. “But honestly, the real reason I started traveling with miss Jane and Nate, was because it was merely something to do.”

Sigmund wanted to hear more, but Hazel's orders quickly overpowered his will and he rushed forward, swinging his axe down at William's head.

Even though his arms were aching, William was able to block to attack with his impervious jaelium shield, which absorbed the impact much easier than his maul ever could. “With no family, no guild and no home to go back too, I had no purpose, no reason to exist” William grunted while struggling to push back against Sigmund's overwhelming might. “I felt the weight of depression and self pity quickly weigh me down. But then I overheard miss Jane speaking to Nate about going on a journey and I eagerly offered my services.” Feeling that his aching legs on the verge of giving out, William knocked Sigmund's axe off his shield with a single strike from his maul. “I kept telling myself I was doing it to help miss Jane get home, but my heart knew the real reason... I was doing it to help ease my guilt over failing master Albert.”

Sigmund swung his axe at William again. The old knight managed to intercept the attack with his shield, but his sore legs couldn't handle the impact and he was sent tumbling across the ground and into a street lamp.

“Mr. Will!” Emina cried out.

The pain coursing through William's body forced him to use his maul to help lift himself back up. “At first, I wasn't attached to miss Jane or Nate at all” he grunted before almost collapsing. “They were just two traveling companions to help me keep my mind off my failures.” A smile appeared on William's face. “However, as the weeks went by... I started to see the truth.” William assumed a defensive stance and gave Sigmund an intense glare. “Jane, Nate, Patti, Emina and even Nice... They are my purpose! More importantly, they are my friends- No, my family, and I won't let you hurt them anymore! Even if it costs me my life, I will protect them!”

Hazel, who was still watching everything through Sigmund's eyes, buried her face into her palm. “Such sentimental nonsense...” she sighed. “Just kill him already.”

Sigmund reluctantly started to approach William at a slow pace, the blade on his axe beginning to glow a bright orange. “I'm sorry...” he mumbled. Suddenly, a loud whistle from behind Sigmund caused the towering knight to halt.

William leaned to the side just enough to spot the source of the whistle. A smirked appeared on his face when he spotted grand marshal Kiera, captain Lisa and at least twenty knights standing behind them. “Well, it's about damn time...” he snickered before dropping to one knee.

As Sigmund turned to deal with this new interruption, Kiera planted her sword in the road. “Well, well, what do we have here?” she asked in a tone so intimidating, Emina quickly crawled behind the closest set of stairs and hid. Kiera's eyes glanced around the street, becoming more fierce with every slain Gigan knight she saw. “You must be the one Adam warned me about” she growled while clenching her teeth. “I see you've already taken eight lives today. You're going to pay for that.”

“Grand Marshal, what about the giant?” one of the Gigan knights asked. “What are we going to do about her?”

“Focus on the man who took her down” Kiera growled while slowly drawing her rather large sword from it's sheath. “We can worry about the giant afterwards.” Kiera took two steps forward and pointed her impressive looking sword at Sigmund. “It's been awhile since I've drawn this sword. I do hope you're worth it.”

TO BE CONTINUED....