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Chapter 11: Final Battle

Nergal was waiting for them.

'So you have come, Eliwood of Pharae. Is your heart so cold that you do not grieve for your beloved Ninian?' he taunted.

'It is for her that I am here,' Eliwood answered stiffly. Nergal grinned evilly before shifting his gaze to Hector.

'Pah...you are here. But it is too late. The Gate is already opened. I will claim the mighty life-essence of dragons and become stronger. Moving closer to perfection.' Nergal said as Hector set his jaw tightly.

'You're through here!' Hector snapped back at him. 'You sacrificed people like they were nothing! What does power mean if it comes at such a cost?'

Nergal looked unfazed. The little lordling could never understand the beauty of perfection.

'I am who I am,' he replied simply. 'The pain of others I do not feel. The sorrow of others does not touch me. Death feeds me. Death pleases me. I am the essence I consume. You fools will become corpses here, because I wish it. Rise and come forth my servants!'

With a blinding flash of light their previous and most powerful enemies stood before them.
Uhai
Linus
Lloyd
Jerme
Kenneth
Ursula
Darin
and the former Black Fang leader Brendan Reed.

The group looked in horror at the sight before them. Surely they were dead!! Many of them fell by Hector and Lyn's hands! Hector narrowed his eyes, taking in their pale pallor and stiff movements.

They were dead. Nergal somehow reanimated them.

'This...' Hector said mostly to himself, but Nergal heard him.

Nergal smiled. 'You seem impressed by my work. Or perhaps it's just that you've seen a familiar face?'

'Marquess Laus and the Black Fang knaves...' Hector hissed. Disgust dripped from every word. Behind him the group shifted warily.

'These morphs you see before you...I have given them the abilities and appearances of the people whose essences I used to craft them. Do you understand? I have power. Power to preform miracles...' Nergal said sweetly as he saw the crack in Hector's defences.

'Oh, yes...Hector. Your brother, Uther, the marquess of Ostia? He's dead, is he not?'

Hector's eyes widened but he remained silent.

'If you would like I could make a morph of your brother. It would be well suited for a fragile human such as you. Perhaps a heartless puppet could ease the longing in your soul.' Nergal's words sounded honey-sweet tempting all who listened to him.

'Shut up.' Hector growled. He was surprisingly calm. 'Heartless puppet? That's you, monster.'

'What...' Nergal whispered to himself. Darn his spell never failed before...unless...

'Athos!' he nearly screamed when he saw the old man at the rear of the group. His flowing white beard and blue robes gave him a kingly appearance.

'After all these years you have not changed at all.' Athos said calmly.

'I've learned only one thing from you, Athos. Trust brings betrayal, my old friend! Now die.' Nergal hissed and teleported away, leaving his morphs behind to do his dirty work.

The eight morphs surrounded Mark's group. The tactician quickly thought up a strategy.
'Athos, use your magic to keep them away from us and heal our wounds! We have no choice but to face them head on!'

Nills played his flute, producing a high and sweet sound from it that served to lift the spirits of all who heard it. Courage filled the hearts of the brave warriors and they no longer feared death. They would fight like demons as long as Nills played his flute.
Lyn and Eliwood faced Linus and Lloyd. Hector fought Brendan and Raven dealt with Darin. Kenneth met his death at Rebecca's bow and Pent dispatched Uhai before nomadic trooper could do any damage. Ursula dodged and fought robotically against Louise, but she was no match for the lethal beauty.
With one last great release of magic Athos destroyed the remaining morphs. Ash filled the air as their bodies disintegrated.
Mark arched a brow. The battle went surprisingly fast. He chose his warriors well.
Pent and Athos healed the wounds. Soon the company pressed on to the back of the large chamber.

'So you have made it past my morphs...' Nergal said, sounding genuinely amused. His gaze fixed on Nills. Something at the back of his mind nagged at him, but the dark druid chose to ignore it.

Chanting fervently he unleashed a flurry of dark magic attacks on the small group. Nills could not dodge in time and was severely wounded. Mark quickly ran to the dragon boy's aide and scooped him away from danger. The boy was unconscious and bleeding.

'No flute...' he mumbled as he did his best to stop the bleeding. The group would have to defeat Nergal on their own.

Lyn lunged towards Nergal, wielding her trusty Manni Katti. Nergal placed a barrier of dark magic around him, causing Lyn to scream in pain as the magic ripped through her body, tearing her clothes and skin. Blood spewed from her wounds, but still the swordswoman did not give up.
Her attacks were supported by Raven, Eliwood and Hector. Each trying to break through the dark barrier.

Rebecca and Louise wanted to fire their arrows, but Athos and Pent stopped them.

'Wait. Negal's barrier can't last long.' Pent whispered. Both snipers nodded in understanding.

Rebecca watched in horror as Raven tried time and again to break the magic barrier that surrounded Nergal. Various deep cuts crisscrossed over his body. The look in his eyes was stony. Rebecca's heart froze. Raven fought like he had nothing to loose.
Tears came to her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. She did not want to loose Raven. At the very least she wanted to explain to him why she'd avoided him...

Nergal's barrier broke and like lightning Louise and Rebecca fired several silver-tipped arrows at the druid. Athos struck down his former friend with a powerful form of light magic: Aureola...once used by St Elimene herself.

Nergal did not know what hit him, but he knew that he could not defeat Athos. So he did one last act of abomination. Sacrificing the last of his life he called forth dragons from the Gate.

'Tremble in despair!' his last words lingered in the air like a foul odour before the earth shook.

'What was that?' Lyn asked. As if in answer a terrible series of cries filled the air. The Dragon's Gate, located at the very back of the chamber, became enveloped in searing flames as a Fire Dragon came forth. Its terrible cries shook the earth and froze the hearts of all humans present.

Slowly its mighty form emerged from the Gate. Scarlet gold scales adorned the bulky body. Wings of fire flared out into the air and scorched the ceiling. But most terrifying of all was the dragon's eyes: golden, gleaming and hell-bent on killing.

Lyn gasped and seized Hector's arm. The blue-haired noble only stared dumbstruck at the awesome sight before him.
Rebecca gave several steps backwards in terror, finding her back against the wall. Fear filled her heart and tears streamed from her eyes. Now she'll never get the chance to tell Raven.
Her terrified gaze drifted over to Raven only to find that he was staring back at her. Their eyes locked and in that moment they understood that both of them were equally terrified.

The dragon gave another roar and moved to attack the terror stricken humans. Athos intervened, having dealt with dragons before; he knew the extent of their power and did not fear them as much.
Flashes of fire and light magic filled the chamber as Athos fought the dragon with demonic ferocity.
Slowly the group came to their senses again. Athos could not defeat the dragon alone. He needed all the help he could get.
Pent and Louise distracted the dragon long enough for Athos to land a decent blow with his magic. A deep cut opened up on the dragon's throat. Blood the colour of coal dripped from the wound in thick drops.

'Keep it up! More distractions!' Mark yelled. He had just rejoined the battle and was carrying Nills in his arms.

Lyn danced dangerously between the dragon's feet as the beast snapped at her heels. She slashed its underside, leaving only a small scratch.

Hector and Eliwood chopped at the dragon's tail. By now the dragon was so confused and enraged that it did not know where to attack. It reared up on its hind legs, exposing the weak spot. Athos took the opportunity and used all his magical energy to strike the spot located just under the dragon's throat.
A terrible cry filled the air as the dragon fell to the ground. Violent movements rocketed through the beast's body then all was still.

The dragon was slain.

Athos was spent. He used all his energy in his fight against the dragon. The lords rushed to his side as the Archsage slowly died.

All the while Rebecca and Raven's eyes never left each other. Slowly Raven walked towards Rebecca where she stood with her back still against the wall.
His hand gently wiped away her tears before dropping back to his side.

'Why?' Raven asked softly as his gaze bored deeply into Rebecca's emerald eyes. The sniper knew what he meant.

'I need to talk to you...but not here...' Rebecca said softly.

Raven nodded and stepped away from her. His gaze now drifted to Pent healing Nills.

The dragon boy's eyes fluttered open. Upon seeing the Dragon's Gate open he gasped, but quickly realized what had to be done.

'I have to go. I have to seal the gate from the other side...' Nills said sadly glancing at Eliwood. It was only now that he realized that he did not hate Eliwood. He regarded the red-haired noble as a big brother.

'Let me come with you,' said Eliwood to the astonishment of all.

'But you'll never be able to return.' Nills said warningly.

'I know. I do not want to return. There is nothing left for me here. My father is dead...I killed the only woman I loved...No. There is nothing left for me here. I need to leave this place. Perhaps I will heal if the horror of my deed does not travel with me.'

Eliwood now turned to Hector. 'Hector, you understand, right? I am leaving the rule of Pharae to my mother. She'll make a better leader than me. If she wills it Pharae can be abdicated to Ostia. Either way it will be in better hands than mine.'

'Eliwood...take care.' Hector said the men embraced.

'I'll miss you,' Lyn said as she hugged Eliwood in turn.

'Take good care of Hector,' Eliwood whispered in her ear. 'He loves you dearly but is too foolish to admit it.'

Lyn looked at Hector and blushed deeply.

'Lord Eliwood...we can't delay any longer. We have to go through the Gate before more dragons come. I can sense two approaching from the other side.' Nills warned as he rushed to the Gate followed closely Eliwood.
They vanished like ghosts in the night. The group watched in silence as the Gate sealed itself. Never to open again.

'Goodbye Eliwood. May you find your peace,' Hector whispered.


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So what do you think of my alternate ending for Eliwood? Not what you expected, huh?