Servants of the Eternal Emperor

She rolled once and then stood, gingerly. Her feet that had entered the Lictor's aura when she first jumped off his axe were purple and tingling with sharp stabs of pain. She shook them out, feeling a worse burning sensation run through them, but after a few moments, the pain lessened and the color started to return to normal. She walked up and stepped on the Lictor's shoulder, now devoid of any dangerous, flaming aura. With a firm yank, she withdrew her blessed sword, stepping away to avoid the spurt of smoking ichor that shot out of the dead Eidolon's neck. The sword's light was dim, until she flicked it through the air and removed all of the black blood that clung to it. It brightened again, although not as blindingly bright as before. She felt the warm blade with her fingers, noting the start of a fracture near the tip, hidden in the blade's white light.

Satisfied that the sword would last two more fights, as long as she used it carefully, Yuri turned and looked off into the distance, where Katia and Lucy watched her atop the safety of their faraway hill. She waved at them, and they waved back, their faces illuminated by a ball of fire hovering in the air above them. Yuri could just barely make out the concern in Katia's taut lips, and the approval in Lucia's wide smile. Katia was worried, but she hadn't fired a flare yet, so Yuri turned back to the approaching horde, aiming to finish the job.

The decaying had shuffled off the road, slipping into the surrounding forest and spilling a little closer to Kendar, but not so close that Yuri was worried about them getting there before she could stop them. Behind them, the longdead approached. Six organized columns of armored skeletons, carrying all sorts of rusty weapons. The longdead were a bit more selective compared to the decaying, formed of exclusively humanoid skeletons. They were not, however, more threatening to Yuri.

Yuri dove into their formation with another great leap. Accurate, skillful stabs and swings from all manner of different weapons came at her from all angles. Just like the hands, claws and fangs of the decaying before them, the weapons of the longdead inevitably missed the mark, stabbing the air or twisting off of Yuri's blade or bracers to strike another skeleton in the frenetic melee. The snapping of breaking bones rang out repeatedly, loud and discordant, amidst the ranks of silent skeletons.

The second futile fight lasted a few minutes longer than the first. A couple hundred sizzling, broken skeletons lay scattered in a wide circle by the time the longdead fell back. Yuri watched as the remaining two Eidolons made their way into the ring formed by the skeletons.

"Ha! A lone, heroic amazon, armed with a blessed sword. Well done, defeating Gall like that. I'm sure he'll be pissed when the Emperor calls him back." A giant, smiling, glowing-green-eyed man carrying a long spear, and wearing nothing but a black cape clasped around his neck, entered the ring and stood, relaxed. Yuri lunged with her sword, aiming to surprise him with a sudden strike, but he reacted quickly and ducked, scrambling to the other side of the ring. He laughed, clutching his neck where Yuri had given him a shallow cut. Black ichor flowed over his brown skin, but he seemed unconcerned. "So bold! So fast! She reminds me of my living days, don't you agree, Terri?"

The third Eidolon, another giant, rode forward into the ring upon an armored, skeletal warhorse. She wore black armor, like the Lictor before her, fully concealed. Instead of an axe, she carried a thick lance, with one hand resting against the vamplate, keeping the point leveled with Yuri's head. "Enough, Petrus," she replied, irritation clear in her voice. "Kill her and be done with it. Do not underestimate her like Gallo did."

"Who's to say he underestimated her?" asked Petrus. The third Eidolon clicked her tongue, refusing to answer, and Petrus turned to Yuri instead. He ran his unbloodied hand through his curly black locks and smiled again. "I'm sorry, miss. We've forgotten to introduce ourselves, haven't we? I am called Warmaster Petrus, once a hero to the forgotten people of Irago, now an immortal Eidolon officer serving the One True Grandmaster, He who **** Holds No Sway Over, First Lich, Eternal Emperor, Primus Vincentius Maximus. And my esteemed compatriot over there is General Theresa, Eidolon Commander of the Empire's Fourth Legion. May we have your name, milady?" Petrus held his spear ready, still grinning, but on guard, just in case Yuri lashed out again. The wound on his neck was already clotted; his muscled, ethereally glowing body tensed. He looked mostly ready for a fight, albeit devoid of armor, and openly sporting an erection nearly large enough to rival Yuri's when she was fully aroused. Almost, but not quite.

"I'm Yuri. Can we fight now?" Now it was Yuri who looked unguarded, standing light on her feet between the two Eidolons, unable to face one without turning her back to the other.

"Finally, some sense," Theresa called out, pressing her legs to signal her mount forward. The skeletal horse performed a powerful standing long jump, its bony legs mobilized not by muscle and sinew, but carefully channeled necromantic energy. It closed the gap to Yuri in a heartbeat, and Theresa pointed her flame-wrapped lance down toward Yuri's chest.

Yuri swerved, the Eidolon's flames singeing her cheek, and then struck, her sword cracking off one of the horse's front legs. Theresa fell with her lamed mount, taking a few seconds to kick the horse aside and climb to her feet.

While Theresa recovered, Petrus struck, thrusting his spear. Yuri parried the blow easily, and followed up with a quick riposte. Petrus leapt back again, still grinning even as more ichor spilled from a deep wound on his chest. "Flawless technique," he shouted. "I admit it. I was never as good as you, in life."

He darted forward, sending a flurry of quick thrusts at Yuri. She blocked them all, and her awareness helped her sense Theresa's thrust coming from behind. She dodged at the last second, avoiding being skewered, but gaining another light burn on one shoulder. Her cheek was already throbbing, and the pain was spreading to her eye. The Eidolons' green-flame auras seemed to carry more than just heat, but also something like localized decay. Where it touched her, she felt pain and weakness, her muscles slackening and refusing to respond properly.

The Eidolons refused to let up, coordinating with one another to keep Yuri constantly moving, dodging, and deflecting. Lunarra's blessing reinvigorated Yuri's body even as she pushed it constantly to her limit, but the sword's glow grew dimmer each time it touched the Eidolon's auras.

Despite being outnumbered, Yuri still held the advantage in terms of skill and power. Petrus's wounds continued to grow in number and severity, and his thrusts began to slow, even if his raging hard-on remained firm. Theresa was harder to harm, but Yuri was carefully placing blows around her neck, aimed to separate her helm from the rest of her armor. If she had tried the same technique that she used to fell Gallo, the battle might've been won shortly after it started, but Yuri was too curious to see what Theresa looked like before doing her any actual harm.

Her efforts were rewarded just as her sword's blessing faded. Theresa's helm tore away after a precise and particularly powerful sword strike. Her curly, black hair puffed out around her dark-skinned face, and her unnaturally green, glowing eyes widened in surprise. She took three quick steps back, readjusting her lance with both hands, and giving Yuri plenty of time to admire the smooth, attractive lines of her lovely face. Definitely harem material, Yuri decided.

Petrus tried to stab her while she wasn't looking, but she simply batted his spear away with the bracer around her right hand. The flames hurt, and the bracer crumbled and fell apart, but Petrus's stab missed her. Yuri lunged toward Theresa. Her target braced herself, trying to keep the point of her lance in Yuri's way, but Yuri slapped the weapon aside with a stroke of her dulled sword. The sword began to crumble, from the tip down. Before it could turn completely to dust, Yuri stepped past Theresa and smacked the back of her head with the flat of her blade, near the crossguard. Theresa's aura licked at the fingers of Yuri's left hand, and she dropped the now useless weapon she was holding. Then, Theresa collapsed, knocked ****, and her aura dissipated.

Petrus readied his spear. He'd lost his smile at some point, while trying to harry Yuri and minimize the damage he took in response, but now he grinned triumphantly at his disarmed opponent. "Don't fear, Yuri. I'll make your **** quick. I'm looking forward to working with you after the Emperor binds your soul."

He thrust forward. Yuri kicked the lance out of Theresa's loosened grip, hooking her feet under its handle and tossing it up into the air. The heavy weapon was unwieldy in her hands. She was tired, and her palms were slick with sweat. Several parts of her body were still suffering from weakness, after coming too close to the Eidolon's flames. One of her bra straps had torn and her right boob was almost spilling out. Ultimately, fighting with a stupid lance just wasn't the same as using a trusty sword. It wasn't Yuri's Way.

Petrus skewered her left shoulder, causing both of her breasts to spill out of her torn bra, while Yuri shoved the lance through his abdomen. A terrible burning sensation blossomed in her pierced shoulder, lessening slightly as Petrus slowly died and his aura diminished.

"Ah… nice, rack," he muttered, spitting more black blood, and then for some inexplicable reason, ejaculating. Yuri yelped, yanking the black lance out of the Eidolon's gut and hopping out of the line of fire. Petrus fell, his seed spilling into the dirt, and then the green light emanating from his body went out for good.

Off in the distance, a loud boom sounded. The road, that had become rather dark after Yuri's sword stopped radiating white light, was illuminated in a brilliant shade of orange. Yuri looked up at Katia's explosive flare, shining in the night sky. Without removing the black spear still lodged in her body, Yuri hefted Theresa's massive, armored frame over her good shoulder and started walking home. The longdead in her path began to collapse, the necromantic energy holding their bones together beginning to unravel with the loss of the Eidolons' control. The decaying similarly returned to the dead, although they continued to stink something awful.

Katia and Lucy ran down the hill in a hurry, guided by the light of Katia's floating wisp of flame. Yuri hung on, dragging herself and her captured Eidolon along, until she felt her lovers embrace her. She fainted, listening to their worried cries and feeling their wet tears against her face as fatigue pulled her under.