‡ Promise 38: Battle Til Death ‡

-As told by Keith-

olmir." smiles Sylas, "It's about time, that you've-" I wave my hand, silencing the demon, with my sudden gesture. "Let's not do the talking thing." I sigh, taking a quick glance towards Lily, "With one opponent exchanging chatter with the other, before battle. It's too cliche. Let's just start." "Fine." says Sylas, giving a light shrug, "We should be in our true forms, for this one." "I agree." I nod.
The room echoes with sounds of ripping clothes and flesh, as both Sylas and I shed our human shells, like snake skins. We both stand before each other, of twisted horns, dangerous sharp claws, and huge dark feathered wings. Lily doesn't make one sound, not even a gasp, towards my true form. She looks like she's fading fast, hanging from the far wall, slowly bleeding to death. I want to lose my head and try to rush in to free her, but I know I have to keep her out of my mind, if I have any chance of saving her tonight.
"It's your move." I say, in my true demon voice, my concentration resting on Sylas. "I never knew a demon," he grins, "So eager to die." "You're talking, again." I remind him. In a flash, he swings across the cement floor, his clawed hand reaching for my face. I duck quickly, just narrowly escaping it, and counter with a swift kick towards his legs. He hops into the air, missing the connect, and then bears down for a hit towards my skull. I move quickly, sliding across the room in the opposite direction.
"Not bad," huffs Sylas, "For a half-breed." "Still talking." I frown, getting to my feet "I'm sorry," he shrugs, "I have a huge ego. It makes me feel good, when I taunt my prey, before killing it." While he's stating that, I ram into him, sending him into a stone wall with a crunch. "See?" I sigh, popping my shoulder back into place, "Chatting can get you into trouble." Sylas hops back to his feet, a little bruised, but not seriously damaged. "Okay," he frowns, now angry, "My turn!" He rushes towards me, but I swoop into the air, over him. While in mid-air, he suddenly appears over me and slashes into my chest.
As I hit the cold floor, I realize this isn't going to be so easy. This demon is much faster than I am and twice as resilient. I get to my feet and his claw rips through my left breast. I push him away, growling in pain, and try to get my footing back. "You can't win, Rolmir." Sylas laughs, "I'm much more stronger than you. I'm much more faster. My blood isn't poisoned with that of humans!" I grab his face with my claw and dig in. He grabs my wrist and shatters it, causing me to let go instantly. And he adds another wound to my chest. I slide away from him, feeling myself getting tired and weak already. Sylas lets out a maddening laugh, which echoes around us.
I know that I must get a hold of Sylas' vital points; the head, the neck, the heart, if I'm to take victory of this fight. But he moves so fast and he's well guarded, as if sensing that I'm aiming for these points. "You know," he says, circling me in speeds I can't keep up with, "Your human is interesting. She cries a little, after I push the hot poker in, but then she stops. Then she talks to herself, sometimes. I think she's seeing ghosts, for it's not long until she meets them." My mind is swimming with rage, despite the fact that I know Sylas is doing this on purpose, to cloud my movements.
"She didn't think you were going to show." Sylas continues, slowing down to face me, "She cried over that. Thought you had abandoned her." "Shut up!" I growl, moving quickly. He expected my frontal attack, but he didn't expect me to abandon the plan in mid-movement, and swing around to his back. I quickly grabbed a hold of his wing and ripped it from his body in a frenzy. He laughs, instead of falling to the ground in agony, turning quickly to toss me into a wall. "How clever." Sylas grins, the missing half of his wings laying in a blood puddle on the floor nearby, "It was a nice try, but you'll have to do more than that, if you want to hurt me."
He moves in a blink, grabbing onto my horns and tossing me into another wall. Before I could move, he lands on me, plunging both claws into my stomach and twisting. I scream in pain and push him across the room, my blood and guts splattering to the floor. "Hmm," he frowns, a little annoyed, "That should have killed you. I'll try something else." It should have, but my resolve to save Lily was much stronger, keeping myself alive. Faldan's words ring through my head, "But that's because Lily was there!" And it's true. If Lily is threaten, my strength grows higher than it normally was.
I pull myself to my feet, holding my insides in with my only free claw. Strength or not, I could feel myself fading and I couldn't fight and hold in my guts too. If I didn't do something quick, both Lily and I would die here together, just like my father and mother had done. And I want Lily to live, with all of my heart, even if I had to die for it to be so. I made a fast decision, I rushed over to Lily and sliced through her chains, in one quick motion. She instantly drops to the floor.
Sylas tackles me away from her and the wall, the both of us spinning several feet, as I claw into his chest. "Moron!" he shouts, breaking my other wrist, "We're in the middle of a fight! There's no time to kiss your sweetie!" I look towards a weaken, but freed Lily, twisting my arms around Sylas, in a perverted hug. "Run, Lily!" I yell, trying to hold him, so she could get away, "Run!" But she just gives me sadden look and sit there. Was she too weak to move? Maybe I should have freed her earlier. Maybe it's too late now! "Oh, god!" my mind screams, "Someone help her!"
As if hearing my cry, Dore sweeps into the room and grabs onto Lily. "Hey!" yells Sylas, "Leave her alone! She's part of the show!" Lily pushes away from Dore, screaming, "No! I can't leave him! Stop!" Sylas laughs, pulling away from me, "The whore doesn't want to leave her guy! How sweet!" I wrap my arms around Sylas' legs, slowing him down a bit. "Get her out of here!" I shout towards Dore, "Move her now!" Sylas kicks me in the head, as if I was something unpleasant at the bottom of his shoe, the blow exhausting all of my strength. I let go of him and is now stuck laying face down on the floor, dying.
"Okay," sighs Sylas, "This has gone on long enough. I will kill the servant and then finish the girl." I can't move to stop him, my heart slowing. I can hear Dore, readying himself for combat. And then I hear the screams of Lily. Something inside of me snapped. As if some force was taking control, I was on my feet in a flash, both of my claws were painfully through Sylas' back and chest. He stands frozen, facing Dore and Lily, his back towards me. I can't see his face, but I imagine there's a look of shock across it, as he lets out a startled gasp. Dore doesn't hesitate, removing Sylas head with one quick swipe of his own revealed claw.
"Keith?" swallows Lily, her eyes full of tears. I collapse, with Sylas' headless body falling on top of me. Dore quickly rolls my dead enemy off me, as Lily scrambles to my side. "The threat is over." I breath, my eyes on Dore, "The Rolmir kingdom should be safe for now, which will give time for the new king to take over." "What?" sobs Lily, grabbing my arm, "What are you talking about?" "I'm sorry, Lily." I try to smile, "I am dying. But, at least I saved you. And that's all I care about." "That's crap," she says, shaking her head, "Dore can take you back and you'll get patched up."
She looks towards Dore, pleadingly. But he sadly shakes his head, knowing of the fatal wounds I have. "Just don't stand there, Dore!" she growls, "Pick him up and get him back home!" "I will." he nods, "But I think you should say your goodbyes first. You'll regret it, if you miss your chance." "He's not going to die!" she yells, squeezing my arm. I cough up a lot of blood, proving her words to be lies. She leans in crying, "Oh, no, no, no! You can't go Keith! Hang in there! We'll get you some help!"
"It's..." I gasp, wanting to hold her, but no longer able to, "Too... late. I... I'm going to die..." "No." she sobs, kissing my demon face multiple times, "You can't go. You can't leave me, Keith. I love you too much. I love you!" "I can't really help it." I grin, though I'm heartbroken inside. "Keith!" she sobs, leaning her face to mine, "Don't go! Please!" "Be good," I said, "And lead an exciting life. Just live, for me... okay?" She just sobs uncontrollably, still holding onto me. "Look..." I gasp, my lungs giving it their last, "You... have to go. You have... fatal wounds..."
"No." she whimpers, "I won't leave you." I try to argue, but my last breath escapes me. "Keith?" she whispers, "Keith?" But I feel myself leaving her side.