12 The Alfa Faery’s Defeat

Ulmir's Domain, Faery Plains: First day of the Hunt. 

Zedd ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The swarm of faeries seemed to have all caught his scent. They flew around him and plunged as soon as they came within attacking distance. Zedd dodged and killed every creature who dared come close to him, but there were always more who were willing to challenge him.

He found himself surrounded. Faeries flew above his head while others ran toward him at breakneck speed. He had killed more than two dozen before they'd finally decided to reconsider their approach. 

Out of breath, Zedd urged his familiars to show him the way to the vein once more. An image reached his mind immediately after. He was close, but he wouldn't be able to open the entrance with all the beasts surrounding him. 

He took the diamond in which he'd stored the dark substance and strapped it to his belt. He drew an arc in the air with his sword, then held it high with both hands. He looked at the creatures surrounding him. "Be it airborne or on the ground, none of you shall catch me," he said under his breath. 

He squared his shoulders and spread his legs a little further apart. He screamed "Discord!" then the dark substance flew out of the diamond and into his sword. The previously silver blade turned obsidian. It looked like shadows danced around the flame, making it look like a curved sword, rather than the straight one he held in both hands. 

He swung the sword in a swift, vertical motion. A shockwave, shaped like a crescent moon, shot out of the sword. It collided with the swarm on the ground. The faeries screamed in unison. Earth broke beneath Zedd's legs. All the creatures that were in the vicinity fled the Faery Plains that day. 

Zedd drew one more arc in the air then screamed "Discord!"

More dark energy flowed and coated the sword. He swung it at the faeries above him. Another scream ensured. Then the creatures crashed onto the ground. The sky above Zedd had cleared. He'd bought himself some time before more of them arrived.

He made to run for the vein's direction when he noticed something peculiar in the distance. A three tailed fox eyed him with its crimson eyes. It blinked at him once, created a hole in the ground then disappeared inside. 

At that moment, Zedd heard a voice echo through the plain like thunder. "Who dares disturb my Lord's lands?" 

"That must be the Watchdog..." Zedd looked behind him. The creature was miles away from him, but he could sense its strong presence. He had to disappear before it reached him. "It's not time to fight you yet." 

He ran until he reached the stream his fairies had shown him. As soon as he stopped, he activated his third eye and inspected the place. He spotted the entrance and began chanting in a rough, ancient language. He drew complex shapes in the air. Each of them solidified as he directed his energy toward it and chanted. 

Soon after, he motioned his arms downwards and the stream immediately dried up. A hole opened up in the ground, and Zedd disappeared inside. The hole closed once more and the stream resumed its usual flow. 

The Watchdog appeared right after that. It looked at the stream. It could sense the murderer's aura but it couldn't pinpoint its exact location. Then it saw the grass around the stream slowly withering. 

It roared, and the heavens shook as it did. All the faeries in the plains screeched in unison then flew toward the Watchdog. 

Near the Four Seasons, Brahms and his company heard the Watchdog's roar. The lieutenant ordered the pilot to stop. "That's the Watchdog's roar," he said as he shot a look behind him. 

"What's that got to do with us?" Gavin, the pilot, asked. His eyes were quivering while he nervously tapped his leg near the throttle. 

"It means someone beat us to the vein," Brahms said. He clenched and unclenched his hands as he looked at Zedd's direction. "Turn the Mobeel around. We can't fail our mission." 

Gavin reluctantly obeyed. He turned the Mobeel and drove his leg through the throttle. "Buckle up boys, this will be a bumpy ride!" 

The Mobeel rolled through dirt, grass and rocks as it made its way toward the Watchdog. The swarm of faeries intensified as they advanced. It was so dark they had to activate the Mobeel's nocturnal lights when they got closer to the epicenter. 

As soon as they were close to the stream, the silhouette of a giant creature materialized before them. It was as big as a two storey building. Thin veins scattered through its wide leathery wings. 

The creature turned to look at the Mobeel, its oblong eyes glowed in the darkness. Brahms's men gasped. Even Brahms felt his knees grow weak. He gulped and recollected himself. "Get ready to deploy," he ordered in a raspy voice. 

"This is insane lieutenant. Even with our weapons, can we truly defeat something this big?" one of the soldiers asked. 

"Why haven't they attacked us yet?" another asked. 

"Stop bickering and get to work!" Brahms said in a tone that brooked no argument. 

The men snatched their weapons and left the Mobeel in an orderly fashion. "You wait for my signal. Then you give him hell!" Brahms told the pilot before joining his men in the battlefield. 

The Watchdog spoke and its voice echoed inside the imperials. "None shall harm my lord's domain," it said in a terrible, hoarse voice. 

Brahms was holding a lance taller than he was. He pointed it at the Watchdog and screamed "Bhola!" A blinding light ensued, and the beast covered its face with its leathery wings. 

"Chains!" Brahms screamed. 

Two of his men were holding crossbows that were half their size. They pulled the trigger but no bolts came out. Instead, small round marbles flew at the beast. They split midair and thick chains rattled as they spread from within. The Watchdog howled as tiny bolts penetrated his hide. 

The chains were attached to tiny bolts made out of diamond. They pierced the beast's legs and chained him to the ground. 

"BLITZ!" Brahms screamed. 

It was Gavin's turn to unleash hell. He directed the Mobeel's cannon toward the beast and shot red spheres, the size of an orange, at him. They exploded upon contact. Fire engulfed the Watchdog, and the latter howled and screeched. 

Brahms and the others hurried back inside the Mobeel as the beast fell on its knees, then face first into the ground. The Faeries above him screamed in unison. Then a golden spherical screen surrounded the Watchdog. 

Brahms watched, mystified, as the Faeries began dying one after the other. A dark substance oozed out of them an poured directly into the beast. "It's evolving," he said under his breath. 

"Brahms, we should go. We've lost the element of surprise, this thing will obliterate us when it evolves," Gavin urged the lieutenant.

"We are not going anywhere," Brahms said through clenched teeth. 

"It's suicide," one of the soldiers protested. 

"We can always come back tomorrow, or the day after that," another put in.

"Or next year," Gavin added. He looked at his lieutenant, pleading. "General Flavius will understand." 

"Someone's already beat us to the FUCKING PUNCH!" Brahms yelled at the top of his lungs. "We're not going!" 

By the time their conversation had ended. All the faeries in the sky had fallen down. The previously colossal creature was slowly changing. Brahms watched as its size shrunk and its hideous hide transformed into glistening skin. The creature that stood before him looked humanoid, with silver wings and an angelic face. 

"Get ready to deploy!" Brahms shouted. He looked around only to see that his men had deserted him. "Oh, fuck me!"