Becoming Legend

Edok shot bullets of air magic as he wades his way through the waves of undead elves. Across him were Jack and Captain Creft, each fighting their own battle of the undead.

Flashes of light were extending from Edok's left side to where the high-elves were flanked.

The humans' approach eases the high-elves, giving them enough time to assemble formation. High-elves in front with their kite shields blocking the undead, while blades slashed nothing but air. Wood-elves behind them, conjuring spells that aided the high-elves' formation: roots sprouting on the ground, pinning the undead.

Yet, they were not killing them.

It may seem stupid to Edok and the rest of the humans, but not to the elves. It was their race, their kin. Edok now understood the reason why Prince Aesril commanded them to save the elves. The prince knew that they would never kill their fellows.

Edok felt a heavy burden soaking his very existence. His heart throbbing and heavy as though he was carrying the burden of the world. He never felt it before. He was a hunter trying to live day to day, deceiving other people for his own gains. He never cared about other people, not even his sisters, or brothers. Especially not elves. Those damn elf, and their damn—

Edok fell and stayed frozen. Red clay pressing his face. His eyes went wide as soon as he heard the prince's voice. He did forget that his thoughts, feelings, and emotions were also sensed by the elf. Green light crawled on his body as though chains were locking him. Cursing the elves seemed not a great idea, especially since his life literally belonged to the Prince of Elves.

Green light evaporated like steam and Edok gained control of his body. As soon as he did, he grabbed the pair of daggers lying on his sides and pushed his body up.

Even if the elves combined, they were still outnumbered. Too much that each of them was fighting a dozen undead elves.

Edok sucked air, steeled himself, and rushed toward Jack and Captain Creft. Not more than a meter away from his initial position, an undead elf grabbed his arm and pulled him while its mouth was on the way to bite his neck. What's with them and the neck? Edok gritted and planted his dagger down to the undead's eye. Though feeling nothing, the undead stopped and stumbled backward, crashing with the other undead. Edok then rushed to conjure bullets of wind magic and braced that the Prince's lifeforce would amplify it. It did after a single bullet of wind the size of a fist passed through the undead's chest in front of him, then another, and another, until it exploded. Not waiting for the aftermath to end, he brandished his daggers and marched to reconnect with the two humans. Not feeling exhausted or feared, he left trails of bullet magic as he took the advantage of the lifeforce and focus the elf was giving him.

***

Jack slashed the neck of the undead to his side, its head rolled and for a moment he heard a short gasped from the other (living) elves. Uncaring about them, he raised an arm to block the undead's bite. His forearm locked the neck while he repeatedly stabbed the undead's stomach. Entrails exited its stomach and liquid, sticky as pus, was splattering all over the ground. He wore a black leather smudged with pusses and dried blood. Although none-magical capabilities, or Hollow, as what the humans called them, Jack could sense nothing from the undead. Nothing sort of intent to kill them, no magic that could bend space when conjuring. They were simply elves walking in a dead, and borrowed body. Yet, he could feel the existence of life inside them. Life not of their own but life that of the Prince of Elves but more robust, expanding, and hungry.

Jack had no time to fully comprehend the force making the undead walk past their death as he rammed his shoulder toward the female undead, pushing it towards the silvery shield the elves positioned as a shield wall. Once the undead was pressing against the shield, the elves stabbed them. Yet, not killing it.

Behind Jack, battling not for his life, but from the elf's command was Captain Creft.

Prince Aesril wanted to teach them how it was to feel pain by injecting his lifeforce into the humans and controlling them. Yet, as though found a good specimen to examine, Prince Aesril was getting fond of the humans he caught. Will Elder Calanye agree to study them?

Captain Creft, another Hollow with much more control of his own lifeforce, swiped three undead elves to their stomach. The group of undead fell and Prince Aesril could even hear bones breaking. One single swipe from the human with his iron rod coated with his lifeforce broke them like sticks.

The link of his lifeforce was so precise, Prince Aesril could feel nothing from Captain Creft, as though his life has lost all the purpose to love. And he enjoyed it. To be walking the lands of Earflgard without any purpose. Not even living gave Prince Aesril the exact joy he wanted. He needed them to feel what it meant to be trapped in their own world.

The three humans felt a chilling aura rushing their spines. It was weirdly likable yet disgusted by it at the same time.

"I'll have your ears!" Jack said, his voice rang the cavern that the listening elves almost felt the chill of great animosity directed towards them.

Yet, the prince's response was otherwise. Green light exploded from his chest. Jack wasn't proficient as Captain Creft in control of his lifeforce. But after the light wrapped his body, his senses went off his limit. His senses rippled all over the cavern that he could pinpoint each and everyone inside it.

"72" Jack murmured. "72 more undead."

Captain Creft put a hole in the undead's head and looked over his shoulder after sensing a lifeforce surpassing his. "71," he said, then like Edok and Jack, a green light came rushing off his chest.

The light wrapped his arms until they turned black and was physically obvious that if a Hollow would look at it they would think that they were iron melted to the captain's forearms.

"How was it?" Prince Aesril's voice rang in their heads that the three humans almost jumped off their feet. "I gave you strength. "You have all the strength no human could, but do you have the guts to do it?"

"Watch me," Jack said and saw Gadsi pinned against the wall near the entrance with her eyes shifting left and right, and wide open.

Jack wasn't fast. A simple wind spell imbued on an elf's leg could beat him a dozen times. Yet, to common eyes, he moves as though he and the wind were the same. No. He simply had the sense to avoid the undead elves with ease that none of them touched him, not even a strand of his hair. He reached Gadsi with so much ease he had the time to grab her by the collar of her semsmir's clothing, tore them and wrapped his free hand to her chest, and fiddled them like it was his. He swiftly shifted his feet behind Gadsi so that instead of her against the wall, it was now Jack's turn. He leaned closer as he sniffled the dark elf's neck. Half of his face smelled burned flesh.

For whatever reason Gadsi could barely move. And it took Prince Aesril a moment to sense and sense what had happened inside the cave. His voice rang to their heads and it almost exploded their ears. Then the green light wrapping Jack's body coiled back to his chest then up to his neck—

"You won't let me die," Jack whispered, smelling the stunned dark elf's neck. His hands shifted between her breasts. "But how about her? Can you save her?"

Silence.

Nothing they heard from the prince.

Undead elves limped towards Jack and Gadsi. Bars of light came flowing down at them as the sun shifted from noon to almost dusk. They must have been stranded inside the cavern that they lost their presence to the time outside.

"Your girl's unmotivated to kill these damn undead?" Jack said, now staring at the undead elves approaching them. He grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her towards the undead. Tanned skin glittering of light reflecting against her sweat. She was exposed from above, waiting to feast by the undead. "If you stop me from moving, she will die. It will be too late for you and the others to save her."

Silence.

Prince Aesril doubted that the high- and wood-elves could make it to save Gadsi. Unless they killed the undead elves, all together. Which he again doubted. Sending a command to the two humans to rush seemed pointless as they were also surrounded by the undead elves themselves.

Nothing the prince can do, unless Gadsi snapped out of her trance. She could easily apprehend Jack.

Prince Aesril gritted his teeth while Gelethorn shouted at him he could barely understand with his mind focused on Jack.

It was his fault that he left Gadsi with the humans. Now he knew how the elves lost to the humans. Elves were not cunning as the humans were, and are. Humans had always been miserable, and cunning, which forced them to be dangerous. Now, it felt like Isashil lost all her Light to the elves, left to die and be devoured by Moraki. He could not blame the humans if indeed they lost. He could only blame himself for not being as cunning as the humans were. He was a fool. No. Elves were fools from the very beginning.

Jack switched his hand to Gadsi's ear and used the blade to cut it. He wondered if it would be painful if the chipped edges be used? Perhaps it would grate like a saw against her ear. Would she bleed blue? Green? Or red? Jack couldn't wait any longer as he pushed the edge of his blade. She bled red and Jack couldn't control himself that he smiled as he pushed further his blade w—

Captain Creft appeared without a hand, and without a rod, but his eyes flared silver and pushed Jack with his remaining hand by the throat by the wall and deeper cracks appeared, outlining the merchant's body. Blood sprinkled from Jack's mouth.