The Crimson Fang
Chapter 14 - The Return to Arms

The giant mass fell into the fireplace, immediately igniting. The flames spread throughout the room, trapping Joseph and the weeping, terrified Freya inside. Joseph looked around and saw an open window. “Miss Freya, I do not mean to be insensitive, but you never gave me your answer.” She looked up at him, through her tears. “I truly have nothing left. Those creatures have killed my father, and my home is going up in flames. I accept your offer.” Joseph smiled and turned around. “The get on my back and hold on tight.” She did as instructed, and Joseph leapt out the open window, scaling the wall of a nearby building and running across the rooftops. Freya looked back, seeing the remains of her home going up into cleansing flames. I will miss you father. May you rest in peace, father. She knew this was the end of the Drexel family.

They arrived at Blood Crimson manor a short while later, having taken the rooftops all the way there, allowing them to avoid alleyways and turns, as well as the possible foolish thief attack. Freya was impressed by her lord’s ability to jump from roof to roof, even with her on his back. I have decided, mother. Even if I cannot have him for my own, I will serve him until my dying day. If he had not rescued me, I would be dead by now. My life belongs to Lord Joseph. The Crimsoni family was leaving as they arrived. Freya was shocked. This was the first time she had seen them all together, and she realized they look extremely close in age. “There you are,” Geoffrey Crimsoni said. “How did it go?” Four sets of eyes turned to Freya, causing her to feel a bit of panic. “It went better than I had expected. What remains of Allison’s human soul now resides in Hell, where it shall be tormented by her memories. Also, the head butler was an Altros, as well. He was known as Gourmanthos, the Glutton. That High Lord has also been dealt with.” “And, this girl? Why is she here?” “She assisted me, and has made the decision to join us, in return for her services. Even had she not decided, she has nowhere left to go. The Drexel manor has burned down, and the family line has ended with her. Nobody will go looking for her, either.” Geoff looked at him, discerningly. “How is it that you can guarantee this?” “I altered Allison’s human body to resemble hers. If anything remains, the humans will believe it was a botched assassination attempt, since they will be unable to tell that it is not Miss Freya. They will believe that Jenkins, the butler, and Allison were working together to kill the Drexels, which would not be a lie. Allison killed Frederick Drexel, and Gourmanthos devoured his body. Now, shall we report to King Albert on the deaths of three High Lords, or remain out here, discussing the matter, where passersby can hear us?” The Fang nodded and they entered the manor. Geoffrey turned to Joseph. “You should turn the girl before we leave. It will be harder to do so later, once his majesty has his say.” Joseph nodded, leading Freya into a room. The others heard a scream, followed by silence. Moments later, the two emerged from the room and Freya’s eyes were completely crimson. The Fang looked back and forth at each other, none of them having seen this before. They had seen newly turned Crimson Nobles before, but their eyes remain mostly unchanged, apart from the iris. Freya’s eyes had completely changed, leaving pure, blood red eyes in her sockets. They decided to ask Elder Simon about it, once they returned home. “Home! I have longed for this day,” exclaimed Draken. “It has been quite educational,” Sakura added. Geoffrey laughed, “I’m going to miss this place.” The six of them walked through the Conduit.

There was no greeting party when they arrived on the other side. Outside the Mirror room, they could hear the sound of battle. “Well, that explains why the messenger never came back.” The Fang readied their weapons and moved to the door. “Freya, stay here. Go hide somewhere in the room, while we go investigate.” They slowly opened the door, exiting one after another. They heard voices and saw two shadows approaching, so they jumped into the rafters above. They drew their weapons, as the pair of vampires belonging to the shadows turned the corner. The vampires had their own weapons at the ready, and they seemed to be looking for something. “What about these rooms?” The tall vampire, with curly brown hair was moving toward one of the closed doors. The shorter, blonde vampire smacked his hand away from the handle. “They have been checked already, you fool. What are the odds of the Crimson Nobles being stupid enough to hide in empty rooms? There ain’t even anything to hide behind in there.” The Fang silently dropped down behind them, causing the vampires to jump when they heard Joseph speak. “Since when are the Nosferatu brazen enough to attack the Crimson Nobles?” They turned and faced the Fang. “Surely, you jest? How could your kind not expect an attack? Especially after the declaration of war has been issued.” The Fang looked at the vampires, confusion crossing their faces. “When in the Hells was war declared. What scale has this war reached?” “You mean, you don’t know?” “They’re lying. They want us to drop our guard, that way they can attack us by surprise.” “First of all,” Draken began, offended, “we can kill you easily, even with your guard up.” “Secondly,” Sakura added, “the Crimson Fang does not stoop to small-minded tactics.” The vampires exchanged terrified glances at the mention of the Crimson Fang. “Thirdly,” Geoff continued, “I we wanted to kill you, you would have been dead long ago, instead of giving our position away by speaking to you.” “And lastly, we have been hunting Altros for the last few centuries. We’re a little, shall we say, out of the loop on current events.”

The two groups stood, staring each other down, for several minutes. Eventually, one of the vampires spoke. “We believe you. I am not certain why, but I at least believe you won’t attack us unfairly. A few weeks ago, there was a Gathering. It was the largest Gathering since the one long ago, when the decision to allow humans to learn more technology was made. Every species was there, save for the ones that have been destroyed or enslaved by the Altros. Even the demons sent a representative, fed up with the way the ancient ones were treating them. They were discussing what to do to deal with the great evil. It was mentioned that a group of Crimson Nobles were hunting the Altros leaders, which was sure to cause the rest to surrender, but there was a great deal of dissatisfaction, regarding how long it has taken. How many are dead, by the way? I’m assuming that you are the ones hunting them down.” “Five have been slain, half of them remain.” “That is excellent progress! We must inform our lords! The declaration of war was announced, due to the lack of progress, with many of the races joining the side that opposed the Crimson Nobles. Once they have been made aware that half of the Altros leaders have been wiped out, they will surely end this war and join forces, providing their assistance to the cause!” “Who has been destroyed and enslaved, up to this point?” The vampire gave Joseph a look as if he could not believe he was serious. “Again, we have been out of contact for quite some time.” The vampire’s shoulders sank. “Sorry, I forgot. Last I heard, the Golems, Minotaur, Centaur, Sprite, Nekoite, and Water Nymph races had been enslaved. The Unicorn, Harpela, Pegasus, Sahagin, and Wood Faerie races have been destroyed, as they had not been considered useful enough to enslave. There is a slim possibility that there may be some remaining, but in hiding. It does not look like there are, though. Currently, the Goblins, Witches, and Warlocks have joined together to defend against an assault. They will most likely end up the same way, though. The Goblins do not possess the strength to keep the Altros at bay, and the Magus require a great deal of time to prepare spells powerful enough to fight them off.” Joseph looked at his companions. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing. He turned back to the vampires. “Give us the coordinates, and return to your lords. Inform them of the progress that has been made. We will go to the aid of the defending races. The Altros will not have their way, this day.” “Five of you are going to provide them the assistance they need? I mean no disrespect, but I highly doubt that will be enough to turn the tide.” Flames burst to life in Joseph’s hands, wind swirled in Sakura’s and Ami’s, orbs of water floated an inch of Draken’s and the pebbles around Geoff began to tremble. “I beg to differ,” Draken stated, through a wide, toothy grin. The vampires smiled back. “Perhaps you will prove me wrong. Good luck.” “To you, as well.” The vampires gave the Fang the coordinates of the battlefield, and went to inform their leaders.

Freya’s heart nearly jumped out of her body, as she watched the door. Relief washed over her when she saw the Crimson Fang enter the room. “Freya, I want you to come with us. We have had no contact with King Albert, so for the time being you are in my charge. We are going to go play war.” Freya was astonished by the smiles across the faces of her lord and his companions. They walked to the Mirror “I am afraid I do not know how to fight, my lord.” “That’s okay. Just stay in the back, with Ami.” The six of them passed through the Mirror.

They exited the Mirror into a cave. Outside, they could hear shouts from the Goblin forces, as they attempted to mobilize their defenses for another attack. The Crimson Fang left the dark cave, and entered a forest. It was a fairly small forest, based on what could be seen from the cave mouth, and an army of Goblins could be seen. Nearby, the Magus were preparing their spells. The Fang ran to the Goblins, and were met with several crude spears aimed at them. “Oi! We’re under attack from the woods!” A sentry was alerting the rest of the nearby forces of the Fang’s approach. “Lower your weapons! We are here to help!” “Six unarmed humans are supposed to help? I don’t see how that’s…” The sentry noticed the red eyes. “Crimson Nobles? Not to offend, but six unarmed Crimson Nobles ain’t much better!” “Not even the Crimson Fang?” Sakura asked, sarcastically. “The Crimson Fang? The ones sent to hunt and destroy the very creatures that are attacking us?” A Warlock approached the group. “We’ve no use for any aid that those who failed in their mission can lend us.” “We’ve slain half of the Altros High Lords. We have failed nothing. How many have you destroyed, Mage?” He looked thoughtful. “If what you say is true, then we welcome you to fight at our side. I am Orca.” He extended his arm, taking Joseph’s hand in his.

“They’re beginning another assault!” A sentry’s cry alerted everyone, causing them to spring into action. Ami stayed, with Freya, just ahead of the Magus forces. Her bow was ready to be fired for the first time in centuries at her enemies. She just hoped that she hadn’t lost her touch over the years. She looked over the battlefield, trying to gauge how the battle would proceed. Sakura, Draken and Geoff are mixed in with the Goblins. They’ll make sure that they protect as many as possible. They’re smiling, which means they’re excited. Joseph is off in the front of the armies. He’s by himself on the field. He’s ready to make sure nothing gets by him. This battle might be over before it even begins. Wait, what is that I’m feeling? No! There’s a High Lord mixed into the enemy lines! I hope Joseph notices. Oh good, he does. Where is it, though? None of them are issuing any commands. They are just marching toward us from the mountain. The mountain! It cannot be! Joseph, open your eyes!

A yell sounded from across the plains, where the Altros army was amassed. “Let their blood soak the Earth! Take no prisoners!” Joseph opened his eyes to see the High Lord, or rather the mountain, standing fifty feet tall! He lowered his gaze and grinned. This one looks like it could be fun. A goblin standing besides Draken looked up and laughed. “Never thought I’d have the honour to fight beside a Crimson Noble!” “I never thought I’d take up arm with a Goblin!” They laughed. “Name’s Hobble. Hobble the Gob.” “Draken, the Crimson Wolf.” “Let’s have a little game, shall we? Whoever slays the most, wins. Loser buys tonight’s meal!” “Agreed!” “Wow, you’re practically a Giant!” Geoff turned to the Goblin next to him. “You’re pretty big, yourself.” “Yeah, well, the bigger we are…” he replied. “The harder they fall,” Geoff finished. They clasped hands in respect, turning to the enemy. Sakura heard a voice beside her say “Gods, you’re beautiful! But are ye deadly?” She turned and smiled at a Goblin holding two daggers. “As deadly as I am beautiful.” She winked as her own daggers appeared. The Goblin smiled at her. A hand was placed on Ami’s shoulder. “Let us hope that your warrior friends possess enough power and ability to bring us victory.” Freya’s voice rang out, “Nobody can match my Lord Joseph in battle!” Ami nodded in agreement.

The Altros army was roaring with excitement. Not only were they going to obliterate the Goblins and enslave the Magus, but they were going to enslave some Crimson Nobles. Their excitement died down however, when the foolish Crimson Noble standing by himself raised his hands into the air, as their eyes followed them to the sky. It was filled with Dragons! “So,” the Mountain roared, “the hunter has decided to grace us with his presence! I expected someone taller! I, Gigantuthos, shall dine upon your bones tonight!” The Altros army began to roar again, until, “Funny! I’ve heard that before! Now, who said it? Of course, every Altros who has ever underestimated me! And where are they? That’s right, they’re dead! You’d think with a reputation to be known as ‘The Hunter’ that you filthy creatures would stop underestimating me!” The Alliance army began to cheer. Hobble turned to Draken. “What are they doing? Why are they exchanging words instead of weapons?” “The beginning of any battle is used to raise your army’s morale, as well as lowering the enemy’s. The side with the higher morale tends to fight harder than the broken army. They are not exchanging taunts, so much as boasting for the sake of their own forces.” “Has he ever led an army?” “Technically, no. He has led the Crimson Nobles in a defense of our home. Plus, he’s pretty much become the unofficial leader of the Fang. We would follow him into the jaws of Cerberus, if he were to ask us to. He never would give us that order, though. He would sacrifice himself, before allowing harm to befall any of us. Hence being on the front line of the battle.” “He’s that good?” “Without a doubt.” “Good, I’ll follow him too, then. Hopefully, our trust is not misplaced,” Hobble added with a wink.

“Enough of this foolishness! Attack!” Gigantuthos saw that he had obviously lost the battle of wills, and was now ready for the real battle. The Altros charged at the excited Goblin army, which was met with a counter-charge. Altros tooth and claw met Goblin steel and enchanted flames.

Before long, the Altros had begun to gain ground. Draken and Hobble had become completely surrounded. “Well, wolf-boy, any bright ideas?” “I may have one.” Draken’s eyes began to glow, as water began to form around the duo. Hobble’s eyes widened, as the water solidified and became a pack of wolves. “A summoning! The Crimson Nobles are far more resourceful than I had heard.” “That was a simple spell for temporary creation. I wanted to try something new. Those,” Draken pointed to the Dragons in the sky, “are summoning. But we can talk more about that later. We have company!” The Altros surrounding them closed in, and the ice wolves fought to protect them.

“That’s another one!” Geoff and his compatriot were clearly enjoying themselves. Gibbles, as he had introduced himself, had an enchanted hammer, which created a shockwave on contact. “Not bad,” Geoff praised as the Earth around them began to rumble. Several fissures opened, dropping groups of Altros into them, crushing them as the Earth closed back up. “Show off,” Gibbles laughed.

Sakura and her admirer, a young Goblin by the name of Dax, weaved through their targets with grace that would cause the fairies to grow green with envy. Occasionally, an arrow would fly between them, piercing an attacker. Sakura would nod up to where the Magus were, in response, before continuing her dance.

Ami was firing to keep her friends safe. This battle had also been a learning experience for her. She would have to remember to inform everyone somehow that she had discovered that piercing an Altros’ eyes caused their life force to leave their body. Freya’s role in the battle was to inform her when another Fang was in trouble. The only Fang that had yet to receive her assistance was the Dragon.

Joseph calmly made his way through the sea of Altros, keeping his eyes on his target. The Altros made several desperate attempts to attack him, but Joseph was focused. He quickly dispatched every would-be assailant, before they had even realized that they had failed. He was making his way toward his target, and no amount of nobodies was going to stop him from achieving his goal. As he got closer, Gigantuthos became larger and larger. He was now standing in the shadow of the Altros High Lord. “So you finally made it to me. It took you long enough. I started to become bored. Imagine my disappointment, when I learned that the stories of the Hunter that has slain so many of my brethren were exaggerated. I suppose you were just scared and not too eager to die!” Joseph looked up and grinned, slashing his blades to remove the viscous black liquid that covered them. “I guess it’s time to play,” he responded. “Don’t cry too much when you lose. Not that you’ll have the opportunity to.” Further enraged at the insolence Joseph showed, Gigantuthos slammed a giant fist into the ground, right where Joseph was standing. He grinned, lifting his fist to inspect the damage he had caused. “Well, that was short-lived. Let this be a lesson to all who oppose the Altros!” His smile left his face, as he looked down and saw a hole, instead of the crushed remains of his opponent. Twenty feet away, another hole appeared, as Joseph rose from the Earth atop an eyeless creature’s nose. “What in the name of all that existence is that hideous thing?” “Do you truly believe that all Dragons are fliers? I suppose this is why you are going to fail, pitiful fool. Your lack of knowledge disappoints me. How could one of your limited intelligence possibly become one of the High Lords?” Gigantuthos roared in anger, as another fist came crashing down. Joseph leapt onto this one, quickly making his way up the Altros’ arm. He dodged, as the other fist was flying toward him. Gigantuthos screamed as his arm ignited into a blazing flame. He looked at the warrior, now standing on his shoulder beside his head. The Crimson Dragon’s eyes were glowing bright red, his blades igniting into orange and blue fire.

The battleground became silent, as Altros, Goblin, Magus, and Crimson Noble alike stopped to watch the duel. Nobody dared move, for fear of missing something. They all knew that only one would walk away, and when they did, the battle would end in the victor’s favour. They cringed as two giant fists pounded the ground, gasped as the Crimson Noble rose from the Earth and ascended the giant’s arm, and they stared, astonished, as the Mountain’s arm was set alight. When the Crimson Dragon’s blades burst into flame, it was as if time resumed, and sound could once more be heard. Hobble turned to Draken and asked, “That new to you?” Draken nodded, unable to take his eyes away from the blades that glowed, one orange and one blue. “He must be really pissed off,” continued the Goblin. Geoff had managed to fight alongside Gibbles to Draken’s side, as well had Sakura and Dax. Geoff shook his head and said, “He doesn’t look angry. He actually looks kind of…bored.” “He must have expected more of a challenge.” Everyone nodded as Sakura added, “Especially since the battle to reach his target took longer.”

“Do you have any last words, Altros?” “You may kill me, but you will not end me. You can never end the Altros!” “You know, it’s funny. I’ve heard that before, too. You have been sentenced to death, etcetera. Goodbye, Altros. Permanently, I assure you.” Joseph’s fiery blades cut into the Mountain’s flesh. Gigantuthos could feel the heat of the Dragon’s fire as it engulfed him on the inside. His body began to turn to stone, as the flames travelled through his veins, solidifying them. Joseph jumped from the shoulder as it solidified, turning the Mountain into a statue, never to walk again.

Joseph turned to the remainder of the decimated Altros army, as his army of Dragons swooped down around them. He raised his voice so that the terrified Altros could hear him. “Hear my words! I am Joseph, son of Reinhardt, the Crimson Dragon! This,” he yelled, pointing to the statue, “marks the sixth Altros High Lord that I have personally slain! If any of you still believe that you have what it takes to defeat me, you are more than welcome to come forward and try! However, know this; you will all die, this day!” Ten of the remaining two hundred Altros walked forward. Immediately, the rest were torn apart by the Dragons.

Joseph walked to a wide open area, and motioned for the challengers to come forward. They wasted no time in surrounding him, believing that they would be able to overcome him, if they attacked all at once. Their prey, instead of being afraid, smiled. This confused them, causing them to hesitate. “Are you fools going to just stand there, or are we going to play?” The Altros, rage overcoming their confusion, made their move. With a single flash of the Crimson Dragon’s blades, their lifeless bodies fell to the ground.

The Dragons vanished, one by one, into the sky, as Joseph rejoined the alliance army. The battle had been won; a feat that many believed to be impossible. With the Altros army destroyed, cheers filled the air, as the Goblins and Magus celebrated this great victory. The Fang ran over to congratulate Joseph. As they approached him, however, he collapsed. They rushed him to the Conduit, worried looks across their faces, accompanied by Hobble, Gibbles, Dax, and a Magus by the name of Gerald. Gerald had been sent as an ambassador for the Magus, while the Goblin trio had expressed their desire to become Crimson Nobles.