Victory and Defeat

Graul races across the clearing on all fours. He got what he wanted, but...that bastard is gonna get what's coming to him... He hears a whizzing in the air, and jumps up just in time to avoid an arrow. Ignoring the source, he dives into the hive.

The wolf climbs the tunnels, smelling more people now than he did when he left. They move fast, but not fast enough! Within less than a minute, the therian catches up to a small group of humans and snarls. Can't ignore these ones. He pounces on the one in the rear, and based on the sounds of cracking bone, his spine is broken. Now that they're aware of the beast, they turn around, raising their blades, but it's too late. With deadly speed, Graul takes the next nearest human by the throat and tosses her forward, knocking down two others. A fraction of a second later, his claws cut into another, shoving them into the wall. Not even a second passes before he reaches the leader, a woman who surprisingly takes a hit from Graul's sweeping claws and doesn't go down, using a familiar-looking shield to block the brunt of the strike.

She steps back before swinging her also-familiar sword.

You recoil from the Empress' latest strike. Her **** has been relentless, and she takes advantage of the lightening and darkening of the room to blind you periodically. It'd help if you could cast recompense on every attack, but it's not sustainable to let yourself get hit just to deal some damage back. Avoiding getting hit in the first place is the priority.

"Where's all that arrogance, you heretic? Where's that foolishness that led you to challenge a goddess?" Her face is contorted with rage, and her attacks reflect that. Even when you're parrying or blocking, you can feel heavier strain on your arms, as if you hit a ball with a bat and weren't holding on tight enough, magnified several fold by the repeated strikes.

"Arrogance?! You're the -uhn!- insect calling her -uhn!- herself a god!" You continue parrying her swinging sword as you taunt, not able to do much else without getting hit. Even that though, doesn't seem to actually do much to slow her down. Get here soon, Cammy!

Eve rushes through the tunnels, Torch just behind her holding a flame. "Yes, I know, it doesn't make sense, but give me a minute to look through the nursery, okay?! Chief wanted something from there and asked me to find it!" Torch grunts, and by Eve's guess, she doesn't quite believe it. It doesn't matter whether or not she believes me. Chief... Dusk wants my help, and I'm going to give it to him.

The pair, along with a handful of orcs and goblins, cut through another hornet, finally approaching a vast chamber, filled with various alcoves in the walls, each filled with a large grub. Eve turns to the goblinoids nearby. "Two of these will look very different from the others. Find them!" They spread out, searching the room.

Moments later, Eve is notified of not one, but both of the...babies? She lifts one of the sleeping infants out of their personal alcove, this one with purple skin, black hair, and horns. This one... If it weren't for the tiny insectoid wings, antennae, and... This is...Dusk's child? With the Empress? The former elf was speechless...and hurt.

"Eve!" The ranger was snapped out of her daze by Torch's panicked speech. She turns around, just in time to dodge a goblin being thrown at her.

A larger hornet, standing on two legs and wielding a delicately crafted sword and shield, has entered from the other side of the chamber, and its bug eyes stare straight at Eve...

Camilla stares in shock at her wounded allies. Why wasn't Graul already up there?! The therian lunges again, and the captain is lucky her shield isn't man-made. A hornet queen's shield is much more resilient than even a steel shield, and fetch a high price in novice adventuring communities. But Camilla wasn't stupid enough to get rid of one of her best advantages in a fight. She thrusts forward, but before her attack hits, the wolfman ducks to the side and swings his mighty fist, slamming her into the wall. Without giving her a second look, the therian rushes past.

He must be trying to help the Empress, but why wasn't he helping her before? The captain shrugs off the attack, looking to her wounded team. She rushes to give minor healing of any of the wounds she can see, first. "How many of you can walk?" Half of the group raise their hands, albeit weakly. "Alright, you two take the others to Kris. I'm heading up further."

Jeff raises his voice. "Cap, that's suicide! You saw what that beast did to us!"

Camilla finishes healing the claw marks on Jeff's chest. "Did to you. You've been training a couple days, while I've been training for over a year. I may not be able to hold my own against that therian, but Dusk can. And someone needs to keep the Empress off his back while he does." She stands up, picking up the sword that clattered from her grasp when she was hit. "Get down to Kris. That's an order."

You deflect another blow, but the Empress' rage seems limitless, while your stamina can only last so long. "C'mon, Em! You really think this is enough to beat me? I'm not the same as those queens you conquered. I'm not the same as Graul, either! That dog would probabl-oogh!" You're knocked into the wall by a sudden hit from the side, leaving a decent-sized dent and even more dust flying through the air.

"Go ahead and finish that, beta." The therian himself stands tall where you once were, walking toward you slowly.

You cough, from the pain, dust, and smoke. A twinge of anger goes through your mind, some combination of your own dislike and apparently Kara's? I guess she doesn't like Graul... "I doubt you'd let me finish that, bitch."

His growl intensifies, and just as you are able to stand up, he charges, swinging his claws at you. You feel him slash into your raised arm, and a moment later, the dark energy of recompense bursts forth. He takes a step back to stabilize himself, but otherwise seems largely unfazed, a stark contrast to the last time you hit him with the spell. He steps forward and strikes again, delivering an uppercut, mitigated by your slimy chestplate. Not waiting for the recoiling blast again, he swipes again with his other hand, this time blocked by your dark blade. He recoils doubly this time, holding his hand as another burst of recompense hits him. The therian hops back to the center of the room, glaring at you, analyzing you.

You smirk, before beginning to rush at Graul. Unfortunately, you momentarily forgot about the Empress, and she thrusts into your side. When you sidestep to remove the blade, Graul takes the chance to strike again, using his meaty arm to grab your own and fling you into the other wall. This time you can feel the pillar crack from the pressure, and rocky dirt spread around you.

Eve takes the bug-like child and dodges to the side, avoiding a thrust from the queen. "Everyone retreat! Torch, burn the place down!"

The hobgoblin smirks, a second ball of fire appearing in her other hand. "With pleasure." With both, she reaches forward, spewing flames across the room. The queen is in the line of fire, but so is a wall of cells holding a host of hornet grubs. The queen then turns to the pyromancer, recognizing the threat, and closes the distance, quickly swiping her sword. However, Torch has learned from her experience fighting the Chief. She lifts her legs up, using the thrust from her flames to push her just out of the way of the swing.

The former elf takes hold of the second sleeping baby, this one with flawless white skin and a head of blond hair, but otherwise quite similar to the darker one, also having antennae and insect wings. She rushes to the entrance of the nursery, but hesitates before running further. She turns to Torch, struggling in melee with the queen. It...It doesn't matter what she did before... W-we're working together, now! "Secure the exit!" She sets down the stirring babies gently before redrawing her bow. Quick as the wind, Eve takes one of her remaining arrows and fires it at the queen. It flies true, hitting the hornet's sword arm and shoving it to the side, once more just missing the hobgoblin.

Torch takes the chance to incinerate the queen, the combined effort causing the hornet to stumble back. Her wings have long since burned away, and while the chitinous exoskeleton doesn't burn, it can't be comfortable in the flames. The hobgoblin steps back, trying to keep some distance between herself and the queen. With another arrow getting thunked into the queen - this time in her head - the duo seem to have properly killed the...leader? Wait, what was a queen doing down here? Did the Empress need a regular queen to make more hornets waiting for the hybrids? The tyrant goblin looks to the hybrid children, the horned one having woken up and beginning to cry.

Eve lifts up the crying child, holding them to her chest. "You'll be okay... Your Daddy's going to take care of you when this is over, okay?" Without waiting for any kind of response, the former elf sheaths her bow and lifts the other hybrid infant, turning her head to the pyromancer. "Torch the place. We've got what we came for."

You're slammed into the wall again, once more after being stabbed by the Empress. You cough as you stand up again, healing your bruised - if not completely broken - ribs. Blobby doesn't seem to be doing so well either, and you've been alternating between healing yourself and the slime between Graul's tossing you around. "You two really don't like me, huh? It's a shame you have to work together to have a chance. Look at me, superior to both of you and standing on my-owhh!" You taunt just before Graul grabs you again, seemingly finding a loophole around recompense and exploiting the hell out of it. He throws you into the wall again, this time pulverizing one of the pillars and causing you to start falling.

This, I can deal with. You spread your pained wings and swoop back up. You look down below, spotting two green flares at the base of the hive. Good, backup is getting close. You fly a bit up and away from the tower before turning back and diving down, picking up as much speed as you can. You fly into the Empress' chamber, looking to stab into either her or Graul at full speed, only to find it seemingly empty. You spread your wings wide to slow yourself before you hit the wall (again), only to feel three stingers lodge into your wings. You turn, just in time for Graul to grab you again, his claws digging into the sides of your head. You cast recompense, but not in time to prevent your head being slammed into the wall.

You try to stab him as you flail about, but he catches your arm and you feel a crunch in it. "AAhhh!"

"You really think you stood a chance, beta?" The one eye uncovered by Graul's hand witnesses the therian smirking. He releases your arm and sinks his claws into your wing. You scream as he cripples you again. "I think your friends down below should get a good look at their leader..." He begins walking you over to the hole he had tossed you through before. "Maybe then they'll think twice about attacking us."

You look to the side as you struggle, finding the Empress with a similar smirk. "Thanks for giving me your offspring. I'll take good care of them after you're gone."

"Think again!" Graul suddenly releases you as he howls in pain. When you land on your rear, you spot him reaching to a sword lodged in his shoulder, and before you can react, Camilla shoves herself into him, taking them both out the hole...

...and over the edge...

Badum

Time slows as you reach out, but you can't react fast enough.

Badum

Cammy turns her head and smiles at you.

Badum

And everything goes white.

The student looks to her mentor. "This has to be it, right? He's crippled and the Empress is still more than capable to continue."

He leans in, staring closely at the vision between them. "No. He's a nephilim, after all, and with Final Form, and the kitsune's influence...I'm thinking he'll become a seraphim."

"Ah, I forgot about Final Form...and what would being a seraphim help him with?"

"That alone, would give him a holy aura that passively harms nearby monsters. However, combined with Dark Lord...everyone under his edict will be stronger, if I recall correctly. I doubt the Empress' advantage of having an army will last long, at all... And on top of that, the kitsune will evolve, as well, lending him even more power." He smirks. "Dusk. The first nephilim since the Ancients...you are certainly an interesting one... I'm glad I chose you..."

"Halt!" Roger looks up to the sky, stunned. A bright light shines from the top of the tower before dissipating. It can't be... That bastard... "Break formation! Surround the hive!" The troops spread out immediately, fighting off the hornets as they come in. Father won't like this...

Eve continues to grip the two babies tight to her chest, the darker one still crying. They're nearly out, now; she can see the light from the entrance.

"Eve, your bow...my hands..." The tyrant goblin turns, seeing a white glow from not only the pyromancer's hands, but from the weapons of every goblinoid there. Turning her head, she spots her own bow glowing in the corner of her eye.

...Chief?... "Don't worry about it. Just focus on killing as many hornets as you can!" Eve turns forward again, finishing her ascent from the depths of the hive, and spots the weapons of...every goblinoid glowing this same white light. Definitely Chief's work...but since when could he do this?

I can't believe I just did that... Camilla pushes away from the therian as he swipes at her, both of them now in freefall. Suddenly, a bright light shines from above and behind her. Lucky for the captain, only Graul was looking upward. As he's blinded, Camilla takes the chance to glide around him, pulling out her sword. As she grips it, the blade glows bright white. "Heh. You're still with me..." She looks down. Not long to go. Back to Graul, she swings her sword, knowing she won't be able to do much with no stance behind it, but swinging anyway.

He dives to the side to avoid the strike, not quite getting his bearings yet. Camilla decides to take advantage of that. She may not have much experience fighting in the air either, but right now, it feels like she's been doing it for ages. When Graul swipes, she rolls to the side and stabs into his extended arm. He recoils, and glances downward.

I'm gonna die with her if I don't do something! In a last ditch effort, Graul dives forward. The human stabs into him, and it burns, but it's a price he's willing to pay. He wraps his arms around the woman, starting to crush her with his strength. The ground is moments away, but... Did her eye just change? Before the wolf knows it, instead of him holding her down, she's broken free of his grip, now grabbing him by his neck. An ethereal black wing stretches from her back, but she's not slowing down!

Graul quickly feels the pressure of being crushed into the ground. An eternity later, he opens his eyes as he rolls onto his side to cough up blood. "Stand down, mortal." He looks up, seeing this woman... Is she even human?! She barely looks like she has a scratch on her, and points her glowing sword at him. "If you surrender now, you could be of great use to-" She blinks. She holds her head as the black wing dissipates from her back. Her legs buckle, and she collapses onto her side, seemingly ****.

I...I need to get out of here... Barely finding the strength to stand, Graul does so. Screw this. I got what I needed. He limps his way out of the tiny crater the two were in, before limp-jogging away from the hive, back where he had gone when the the fighting started.

Kristhyra saw someone fall, and immediately rushed over to help, despite one of the humans assisting her yelling for her not to leave the safety of the hive. She ran over, only to spot a grey-furred man limping away. Having been told to watch out for a therian, she stepped back, but realized he wasn't a threat anymore. Looking into the crater, she sees Camilla on her side, ****. Rushing to her side, Kris notices the tears into her shield, blood seeping from them, and how her arms and legs seem to be bent oddly. "Don't worry Captain. Help is here..." I hope... I've never healed someone this injured before...

The Empress steps back, blinded by the sudden light. What is this trickery? Her skin burns, her wings moreso, and she folds them back behind her in an attempt to shield them from the light. When the light fades, albeit it doesn't seem like much, the man she sees before her...is nothing like the one that walked in. Sure, he still has his horns and purple skin, although it seems a few shades lighter, now. His wings, though. Now there are three of them, the third one glowing a brighter white than the sun. Behind him, three furry tails seem to appear and disappear, and any wounds he had now seem faded. His eyes burn just as bright as his third wing.

"I won't be beaten by some cheap tricks!" The Empress shoots forth, swinging her sword at the still-prone monster.

He catches her blade with his good hand. "Cheap? Is that how much a life is to you?" As she tries and fails to pull it away, he stands. "That woman is worth far more than this." He glares at the hornet, his eyes piercing her very soul. "And far more than you."

You yank the blade from her hands and toss it to the center of the room before conjuring your own light blade. You don't remember when the old one disappeared, but it doesn't matter now. She steps back, you step forward, tears streaming down your cheeks. "I am going to destroy you, you worthless hag!" You swing your sword, and when she raises her arms to defend, your blade passes straight through them, deep burns marking the trajectory. She recoils from the strike, using her wings to push herself away from you.

The rage and fear in the Empress' eyes is obvious. "You can't stop a goddess!" She shoots a trio of stingers at you as she dives for her sword. You dodge the volley, sending a light bolt in return. It connects as she picks up the blade, singeing her shoulder.

"Good thing you're not a god, then." You close the distance to her and add that momentum to swinging your sword. She reacts quick enough to parry it, but it's clear that even being close to you is burning her. Smoke rises from the ends of her hair and her eyebrows, even as she ripostes, but you're easily quick enough now to deflect the blow without worry.

The Empress attempts another strike, but you deflect again. And again. And again. It's not like before, where you were on the backfoot as she attacked. Now, you press up as close as you can to her, and she needs to back away to make decent swings. Her stingers aren't much good either, and when she attempts to make such an attack in such close melee, you easily push her hand to the side, launching the stingers far away from their target. This goes on for some time, as you continue to pluck at the thread connecting you and Camilla. She's still alive. Badly hurt, but even now, she's getting healed, no doubt by Kris. You glare at the Empress as you continue deflecting every attempt to strike you. Your whole world is going to come crumbling down.

With a nudge of confirmation from Kara, you step to the side, using your magic to leave behind an illusory doppelganger of yourself. It's not as taxing on your mana as you'd expect, and so you do it again. And again. Three copies, plus yourself, now surround the Empress. Including smell, too. You and your doubles smirk. "The sooner you surrender, the better this ends for you."

The Empress' head darts between your duplicates, and as she backs up, she bumps into the real you. She turns again, and her eyes tell you all you need to know. "I'll never surrender to a mere mortal!"

"I thought so."

Eve rushes forward, spotting Shadow leaping off of Og and taking down another hornet, his daggers glowing this same white light. "Shadow!" With Torch running behind her, they meet up with the assassin, each catching their breath.

"What's the- What are those?" Shadow stares dumbfounded at the babies Eve carries.

"Chief's kids with the Empress. We need to keep them safe while we're fighting, and I can't fight no-handed. Torch, you take this one and stick by Shadow. Do not let anything happen to her!" Eve thrusts the golden-haired child into the pyromancer's arms. "Stick together, protect the kid. We've still got hornets to kill." Eve takes out a dagger from Shadow's 'harvested' belt, now glowing in her hand, and runs toward the ogre towering over the battlefield, nearly three times her height.

Everything's going according to plan, right Dusk? She looks up to the top of the tower, only to see something fly out, followed closely by a bright light. Her gaze lowers to the dagger in her hand. We've got this...

You chase after the Empress, matching her speed. As she zigs and zags through the air, regular hornets come flying at you. You can't help but chuckle. These regular hornets are mincemeat, now. They don't have a chance to catch up if I don't let them. For the hell of it, you slice through hornets coming from ahead instead of rolling to the sides. The Empress races around above the tower, seemingly not willing to find out what happens if you catch her on her own. You slowly catch up, even as the lancers continue to **** you, and within a minute or so, you dissipate your light blade to grip her by the ankle, your other arm still being broken. With strength somewhat new to you, you yank her down and toss her into the top of the tower.

You land opposite the prone Empress and slowly walk toward her as you re-conjure your light blade. "It's over, Em. You've lost." As a lancer tries to come at you, you slice it in to, its momentum carrying it off the platform. "Surrender now, or things get ugly."

The Empress pushes herself up a bit and scowls at you. "I...will never... I won't!" She flicks her arm in an attempt to shoot you with more stingers, but after you step to the side to avoid them, you swing your blade. "AAAHH!!!" The womanly hornet holds the stump that was once her arm - cut off just below the elbow and already cauterized due to the heat of your sword.

"I told you." You sneer. Seeing her in pain like this, after what happened to Cammy, feels good for your...for Kara's soul. The Empress glares at you, breathing through her teeth to deal with the pain, when you see her antennae twitch. "I don't think you'll be needing these, either." Another swipe of your sword, and alongside one human-like arm on the ground, rest two antennae. The Empress screams more, rolling onto her back. You walk over to her side to face her head on. "I don't know if you can hear me at this point, but I'm just going to put you to sleep, now. It'll be easier for both of us, that way." You stab your light blade into her, through her, piercing the rock below, and kick her head, her neck snapping to the side. Any normal person, with the strength of that kick and where and how it hit, would be dead on the spot, but through God's Eye, you confirm that she's just ****.

You take a deep breath, looking to the hornets still airborne. Their numbers have substantially dwindled, and by now, many of them seem to be flying off. I wonder if there's another hive nearby for them to regroup at... Shaking off the thought, you address the passenger in your body. "Alright, Kara. I know you want to check in on Cammy, but she's fine, I promise. We'll see you back in town." Feeling a bit of ****, you push away the kitsune, sending her spirit back to her own body. Now, while seemingly left to your own devices, you touch your good hand to the Empress' stomach and begin the ten-minute ritual you've been looking forward to.

. . .

Sometime during the casting, you must have reverted back to your regular form. You stand back, admiring your handiwork. The mark glows for a moment before settling into a red, the same as the markings she already had on her waist. Taking the final flare from your side - and you're surprised it's still there - you walk over to the edge of the tower and awkwardly light it with your one hand. You set it down on the edge, making sure the troops down below can see it. Wait...what's going on down there?

You heal as much of the damage as you can in your broken wing, making it at least usable as you trot over to where your newest underling resides. You heft her over your shoulder and begin jogging back, taking another look at the ant-sized people down below. Why are the goblin-... "Fuck you, Roger." You jump off the edge, using your wings to glide down.

Not quite a minute later, you descend upon the goblinoids surrounded by the humanoid troops from Recuan. You land between your underlings and the captain, having spotted him from a few dozen feet in the air. "You'd better have a good explanation, Captain."

He glares back at you. "You're coming with us. In exchange, we're letting your...'friends' go." He says the word with disgust.

"I told you before, I'm taking custody of him." You look up, seeing Citrinas float in on her pillow. Does she go anywhere without that? She shortly stops at eye-level with the captain.

Roger holds his hand out to the side, and one of the guards hands him a piece of paper, which he then holds out to the mage. "All due respect, Arch-imago, but I have a written order from the duke himself to take this monster into custody. I've been assured you will still have full access to him, but that he will be within a secure location while observations are underway. I do believe that this still falls within your arrangement with the crown." The corner of his mouth curls up a bit as Citrinas takes the letter and reads it.

After she finishes, she sets the letter in her lap. "This is unfortunate. I will need to discuss this with the king. Dusk, please go peacefully. It would be a shame to have you die or go into hiding."

Roger turns to you. "Good. Now, you can come peacefully, like you claim to be, or we can start killing the goblins behind you."

You glare at him, before turning back to your troops. It's difficult to spot a single one without injuries. You barely see Eve, huddled in the center of the group with Torch and Shadow, the two women each clearly trying to hide something from the humans. You turn back to the army. "First off, Captain, fuck you. You and your dad are lucky I actually care about people other than myself. However," you pat the rear of the **** Empress on your shoulder, "I also have some collateral." You begin stepping back to your tribes.

He steps forward. "That thing's coming with us, too."

"I don't think so. Just think how badly you'd have to mess up to have me in your grasp only to lose me at the last minute. I don't think Citrinas would be much of a fan of that, and the duke wouldn't be either. Oh, imagine how the king would react when he hears of your glorious fuck-up. I'm keeping my collateral, or you're losing not one, but two unique monsters. Your choice, Captain." You confidently turn your back on him, passing through the goblins and orcs that make up your combined tribe as they let you pass, then moving behind you to block you from the humans' line of sight. You kneel down next to the former elf and look her in the eye. "Look, I'm gonna be counting you a bit more than I expected, okay?"

Eve looks betrayed as she grips your more demonic child. "What?! You're giving yourself up just like that?! What about ou- your kids?!"

"I don't have a choice right now. I'll check in when I can, but don't be afraid to ask for help, okay? Ask Torch or Shadow, or Kris, Camilla, or Kara. I'll make sure the Empress will help out, too." You lay down the **** hornet. "I'm sorry, okay?"

You can see her eyes growing wet. "No, don't do this..."

You lean over the Empress and hug the goblin. "I promise I'll be back. In some ways, sooner than you think." You let go and begin whispering some orders to the hornet below you. When you finish, you stand up, giving the tyrant goblin a final headpat before you turn away.

Hey guys! A little (a lot) later than I had hoped, but here's the 2022 finale of Dusk's journey! We're going to be taking another hiatus now, but just as our nephilim said, in some ways, we'll be back sooner than you think! I don't have a definitive date for when the 'actual' return will be, but I have a few interim chapters I'm going to be releasing before then. Thank you all so much for a great 'Season 1' of Dusk the Nephilim, and Happy New Year!