Tales of Aerun: Liberty

The lord of the demons and devils was dead. Its guts split all over the room as the stench of a fresh kill made it into the room. I would have gagged at the smell at the start of our long journey, but for the three years from when we were first summoned to this world was all it took to become accustomed to death.

The exhausted smiles of my former compatriots would have made my heart skip a beat if I cared for any of them by this point. For me, though? The foe of evil which we faced was nothing compared to the darkening hearts of my companions.

I believed that all but one of them were going to launder their powers over others when they find out that we will not be returning back to our world. I look towards one man which I personally believed would keep their heart pure above all else.

That man's name was Owen Oldblack. He was a good friend of mine until we started drifting apart due to our ideals about a year ago. It made my heart hurt and ache at loss of such a naïve and tender-hearted person from my small collection of people who I thought I could trust.

A grim frown reached to my face as I watched my friends await for the sign of return. I gripped my mithril-steel short-sword with my right hand and reached out with my left hand. I made my hand into a fist as I heard my heart thumping in adrenaline.

A single breath was all it took for all but one of my companions to start looking pale. Another breath and those who were physically weak plopped to the ground. A final breath was all it took for Owen, the main protagonist I once jokingly called, to swish his head at me in surprise.

Those who were still physically strong soon fell to the ground afterwards with Owen being the last one standing. A sigh of relief left my throat as I slowly walked past the dumbstruck Owen and started to kill them one by one.

A whimsical tone reached my voice as my mithril-sword was stained red in the blood of my companions,

"Tell me, Owen. Have you heard of the story of Theseus?" I paused for a single moment in my rampage of death as Owen began to cry tears of sadness at his companions.

I heard his small little whimpers turn into sobs as he stood up behind me with the shock turning into sadness. I could feel the taste of my own defeat by his righteous hatred on the tip of my tongue.

A cumbersome smile had reached my lips as I did not dare to face the person I had once called friend. With a shuddering breath, I recounted the story of Theseus,

"Theseus was a man of great martial prowess as told by the Greeks. His country, city-state technically, was in danger, and he sent himself forward into enemy lines, he slayed the minotaur, and saved his city. And you know what happened to him, Owen!?"

I could only imagine Owen went ramrod straight as I called out his name. A grand smile reached my lips as I finally turned to see his lips tremble in agony,

"They exiled him, he died in disgrace, despised by his own people, that's what happens to heroes, Owen! The Greeks knew the score!" My voice vibrated throughout the rot and decay that the walls and floor were littered in.

I saw that Owen's mind eventually catch up to the situation which he was in with his eyes flickering to hatred. He puffed out his chest in a extreme rage as he asked a simple question,

"Why!? Why all of this? Couldn't you have talked- Your- Your issues with them like a civilized person, Alfie!? Why did you have to go to this- This extreme!? They didn't need to die!"

A mixture between a scoff and a laugh left my throat as I pointedly glared straight at Owen, "They would have been Tyrants, Owen! Tyrants! Tyrants like the king of Athens who banished Theseus! They would have lorded their own power when they realized they wouldn't be going home!"

My justified words rung throughout the chamber as Owen eyes sharpened in religious fury as he growled, "That's a load of bullshit, Alfie! And you know it. Sarah and Bentley would have used their power to protect the innocent!"

A deep, rumbling chuckle escaped my lips, "Innocents? Don't make me laugh. Really? Did you know that Bentley didn't like the beastmen that much when we protected them from the devils which had infiltrated their society? I could see it in his eyes, Owen! His eyes were full of malice and disgust as one of the World War 2 dictators! Did you not see it in his eyes? Did you!? DID YOU!?" I roared at him as he looked slightly off kilter as I continued,

"And don't get me started on Sarah! She is playing you like a lovesick puppy. Did you know that she was planning on dumping you and planned on turning the kingdom against you!? One of the heroes? Owen. You are Theseus! I saved you a fate worse than death! You would have been disgraced- Executed even." A snarl escaped my nose as I stared down at him as he gathered his wits.

"If that did happen, Aflie. That doesn't give you the rights to kill them! I- I would have been fine. I don't need your help! And I certainly don't need you to kill them like that."

A grim frown resurfaced on my face as I held out my sword in a aggressive positioning, "Is that so? . . . Is that so? That's fine ... That's fine. If you want to play the helpless hero . . . THEN YOU CAN DIE LIKE ONE!"

Thrusting my left hand forward, a magical wave pulsed from my hand as plants rapidly grew from the stone around me and were made into thick branches which snaked towards Owen. I screamed in the refined, natural fury which I commanded, "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! THE BLADE NEVER DIES!"

I raced forward towards at the Owen who looked spooked at my own calling card. A bloodlust-filled laugh escaped my lips as the foot-wide branches twirled around him, blocking his sight. "Alfie?! Alfie we don't have to fight- Please?"

A snort that inspired despondence came from my nose as I reached his position in the demon lord's throne-room, "Owen, you poor, naïve fool. We would have clashed in ideals for decades, or our entire lives even! There is only one way to respond to violence, which is more violence!"

I thrusted my short-sword between the branch's opening. This caught Owen off guard as he cried out when the sword impaled his main arm. I could see his face pale just as quickly when he just realized what my sword had been dripped in before the fight.

"Alfie? Alfie!? Why?" He croaked as his skin and fat began to shrink due to the poison which I had dipped my sword in, "I just wanted to play the hero, y'know? I didn't want this! I didn't- I didn't." Tears of shame and sadness trailed down his face as I shushed him,

"Shhhhhh. It'll be alright, Owen. Alfie is going to take care of everything, okay? You don't need to worry about anything. Just fall asleep." My façade that promised greatness slipped from my face as tears dripped down my face. I watched my friend's face droop into unconsciousness.

Removing my poisoned blade from his arms, I closed my eyes in grief as I heard his breathing slow to a creeping halt. Taking in a breath, I put my short-sword into its sheathe by instinct. Slowly breathing out a exhale of air, I opened up my eyes to still see the blood and gore which dripped onto the floor from my own machinations.

Small chuckles sung through the lonely, ruined room as my own mind came to terms to what had just happened. To my own surprise, a golden light had started to form around me.

"So- I was wrong about one part my master plan. I wasn't going to stay here in this world at least. Say, God or Goddess? What grand machinations do you have in store for me?"