Chapter 34 - [Purple Lightning]

Tabitha looked over to Merrick with an expression that contained both pride and disapproval. For the first time, I noticed that Tabitha wore a single red earring on her right ear. It was a perfect match to the single earring worn by Armond. I was certain that the two earrings were paired. I did not, however, know whether the earrings served some magical property or if the pairing was merely for sentimental reasons.

The missed strike immediately forgotten; Merrick ran up to Tabitha with a wide smile on his face. “Did you see that, Mom? I almost hit Walter!”

“Merrick…” Tabitha said, “you’re not supposed to attack when your opponent’s not looking. Knights don’t do that.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Merrick frowned, “I forgot.”

“Just make sure not to do it next time.” Tabitha smiled as she knelt next to Merrick and placed a hand on the top of his head.

“I promise,” Merrick said. “When I grow up, I’m going to be Dad’s greatest knight! And when Thale’s in charge, I’ll work for him!” Merrick turned to me and asked, “Isn’t that right, Thale!?”

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A memory flashed through my mind: the original Thale’s death. In the dead of night, on the roof of an ancient castle, Merrick faced an entity clothed in shadow. The creature standing before Merrick had long since ceased to be a man. The only distinguishable features of this partially-corporal being held together by nothing but dark magic and the souls of the innocent were two glowing red eyes peering out of a cloak of darkness and a single thin arm holding a staff made of ancient black wood.

The other three adventurers in Merrick’s party had fallen to the ground and were near death. Even Merrick himself had sustained a laceration that had managed to cut through his enchanted armor. The legendary Cloudrazor trembling slightly in his hands, Merrick breathed heavily, though the entity standing before him showed no signs of injury or exhaustion.

“Surrender, brother,” a chill voice emanated from the undead creature. “Join me. Together, we can take over Etronia; we can make it strong enough to survive what’s to come.”

“After everything you’ve done, everyone you’ve killed, I would never join you!” Merrick shouted. His hands steadied as his fear transformed into hatred. Miriam’s blood still covered Merrick’s hands and arms.

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“So be it,” Count Thale Feldrast said. Somehow, his rasping, undead voice carried a hint of melancholy.

In an instant, a web of purple lightning filled the sky as one of the runic sigils on Thale’s staff was lit in a bright silver light. Wherever the purple lightning struck, the stone masonry was instantaneously transformed into molten rock. In a blur of motion, Merrick dodged out of the way of the magical fusillade, moving at a speed impossible to track by the human eye as he frantically dodged the arcane lightning.

The other three adventurers fled the fight as Thale’s arcane lightning reduced the castle below to bright orange magma. Unable to immediately kill Merrick, Thale supplemented the purple lightning with bright yellow Hellfire. It seemed as if all available space within thirty meters of Thale was filled with deadly, high-level magic.

Miraculously, Merrick was able to spot a path through the arcing lightning and melting rock. For a fraction of a second, there was a small hole in Thale’s defense. With perfect precision, Merrick crouched low to the ground and launched himself at Thale like a missile. Merrick landed a meter in front of Thale, and it was over with a single strike.

Cloudrazor struck the shadow creature in the chest, destroying the arcane orb that served as its core. The cavalcade of deadly offensive magic ceased, and the cloak of shadows covering Thale’s body melted away, revealing the thin humanoid form beneath. Though his cheeks were sunken, and his flesh was a pallid gray color, Thale Feldrast still appeared mostly human. He had only been a lich for a few months, and his flesh had not yet completely wasted away.

Slowly, Thale reached up and touched the long, deep cut that had formed in his torso. After a moment, he realized that his core had been destroyed.

Thale laughed. It was a cold, hollow sound. “You are strong, brother. Perhaps you’re strong enough to protect this world alone. Perhaps… perhaps none of this… was…”

The energy left his body, and he fell to the ground. Surrounded by a destroyed landscape, with his eyes pointed to the sky, Thale died.

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“That’s right, Merrick,” I said after a moment’s hesitation.

It would be no overstatement to say that my little brother was the “Hero” of the original Ferrum. After killing Thale, he went on to kill the King of Demons on the continent of Saxum. I didn’t know how my knowledge of [Ferrum Online] would change the world, and I didn’t know if there was anyone else like me running around. Either way, Merrick was an important piece on the board. He would either be an indispensable asset or a fatal liability.

“Hopefully, you won’t serve Thale until you’re much older, Merrick,” Tabitha smiled.

“It’ll be fun, though, won’t it, Thale?” Merrick asked me, wide-eyed. “You’ll run the Realm, and I’ll protect you.”

I gave a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “I sure hope so.”

A moment after I spoke, a man’s voice called out from the garden’s entrance. “Hello? Excuse me, is Count Armond Feldrast here?”

I turned toward the source of the sound. There, I saw the approaching form of Beltane Ostara.