The Beast That was Promised ✔

THIRTY: The Final Battle

Getting to Ziya in the middle of a battle was easier than Nerin had expected it to be. No one was concentrating on a girl and a boy running far behind them, but on the countless soldiers in their midst, constantly threatening to kill them. There should have been an easier and less dangerous way to get in, but considering they had been behind Ishini lines the entire time, it could have been a lot worse.

He and Ashera had run hand in hand so they didn't get separated, darting through the snow towards the raging battle. The outer wall had completely crumbled and most of the fighting was in the north and south. If they came at the city from the west, where there were small pockets of battle, it would be easier to get in. After that, all they had to do was avoid being killed by the thousands of soldiers waiting with the walls.

It wasn't just them, but Ishin as well, who had just knocked down the outer wall and was heading into Ziya, not caring what stood in his way. When Nerin had last seen him, he'd thought him giant, intimidating, terrifying, but that had been nothing. Ishin towered over even the palace and one powerful move from him would send it tumbling to the ground. That was what he had helped unleash upon the realm. He had no chance of stopping it, but he could at least find a way to stop Harudan.

So, without a word, the pair of them ran and ran until they reached the fringes of battle, neither of them properly thinking about how they would survive. They had no armour, no weapons, no way to defend themselves. Bodies littered the ground and even though it was disrespectful, Nerin didn't want him or Ashera to join them. He grabbed what wasn't stuck under the bodies, a shield far too heavy and big, two daggers and a sword. One of the daggers, he hid in his belt, the other he gave to Ashera. They held the shield between them and in his spare hand, Nerin held the sword.

If they were stopped even once, he doubted they would be able to hold their own. Not even his training by Rina and Emrick would do much to help him. The one person he'd killed hadn't been facing him at the time, it hadn't been a real fight. The only way they would live was to avoid as many people as possible.

In the middle of a battle, it was impossible to avoid everyone. Inside the fallen walls, there were even more soldiers. He had thought all of them had been outside the city, but he'd been completely wrong. Even more of them waited between the buildings and in the courtyards, fighting and dying and screaming.

Nerin wanted to stop, his limbs slowly freezing up as they neared the wall. He could feel Ashera tensing next to him, her hand clenched tightly in his. They'd never make it through the wall, let alone to the palace, they'd be killed before they even set one foot on the crumbling stones.

But he couldn't stop, he needed to get to Harudan. "Come on, Ashera!" he yelled as the walls came closer and closer. Compared to the north and south of Ziya, the west was still mostly clear, but there was always a chance someone would see them, especially as the battle continued to spread across the fields.

With panicked breathing, he ducked and weaved between the nameless soldiers. Ashera yelped and gasped at his side but he couldn't spare a second to check on her; he had to make sure that they weren't running straight to their deaths. Not that he could tell what exactly was going on. It was a clash of metal and blood, of bodies falling around them, missing limbs. It was too much. He had known that a war was a gory affair, but he'd never expected to be in the middle of one. He shouldn't have believed that it wouldn't be so bad.

A body fell in front of them and he screamed in a way that would usually embarrass him. They skidded to a stop, their momentum gone as a soldier stepped over the fallen person to glare at them. The soldier froze when he saw them, surprise in their eyes and Nerin took the chance to ram them with the shield, Ashera stumbling after him.