The War of Gods and Kings (Part 2)

~~~

Back in the mortal realm the two kings were facing off in a fierce battle. Darius who wielded the gilded sword disappeared and reappeared behind the injured Rolfgar. Rolfgar had seen this trick being used on his men and blocked the sword with his giant axe. Although he was injured he wasn't any worse than Darius. In fact Darius was actually weaker than Rolfgar. If not for Rolfgar's injury he would have had no chance of winning this battle. Now there was a chance, though it was still not looking too great for him. "You're weak! Weakness is a disease! I can't have you spreading it around anymore. It's starting to affect the people of my kingdom." Rolfgar laughed while he viciously cleaved and cleaved with his axe, barely missing every time. "If wanting to live a life free of the hardships brought on by rotten nobles and an honorless king is weak, then I'd rather have my people be weak all the time!" Darius retorted. In truth anyone could tell that Darius was losing this fight. Even with his opponent already being injured, he was being pushed back more and more as time went on. Even though Darius was aware of his situation he still decided to not give up on hope. After all, if he did then his people would suffer. He was known as the brave for this reason. He'd never give up on a battle if his people were at risk. A few more moments of sword and axe colliding passed and Darius was getting more and more worn down. He had gotten hit a couple of times now. His injuries weren't as bad as Rolfgar's, but they still started to restrict his movement. Rolfgar swung his axe in an arc. It was a hit. Darius was sent flying backwards into the side of the stairway leading up to the inner castle where the civilians were hiding and started bleeding badly. "Do you know why you are so weak?" Rolfgar asked. Darius didn't reply. He stared at the ground with eyes full of hatred. "You're weak because you rely on others too much. If it wasn't for that low-ranked boy you sent my way, I wouldn't have even broken a sweat dealing with you." Rolfgar was smiling sinisterly. Darius looked up wondering what he was spouting. When Rolfgar saw the confusion in Darius' eyes, his smile grew wider. "What? Didn't you know? A boy no older than sixteen winters injured me. Truthfully the little rat surprised me. I didn't expect for someone so young to be so formidable. Too bad he won't be able to see his next spring." Rolfgar laughed and pointed at the headless corpse of the boy. As Darius' gaze met the boy his heart shattered. Tears started coming to his eyes nonstop. It was the crown prince, his son, who had given his life to save him. Darius was broken. Rolfgar noticed the sad and pained expression of Darius and looked back at the boy. As he was looking back he came to a realization as Darius started getting back up. Darius' blood was boiling. He was flooded with emotions. He originally couldn't move his legs after the hit he took. He was out of stamina, but his rage allowed him to stand again. Rolfgar was surprised but he wasn't worried. After all, he beat the man in his prime. How could he lose when he's injured? "What, is the kid important or something? If I hadn't been so busy trying to reach you I would've loved to slowly break his spirit before sending him on his way! Guess the gods will have to take care of that for me." Rolfgar taunted Darius. Darius charged at Rolfgar with fire in his eyes, screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't care anymore how much pain he had to endure, nor whether he died or not. He was a man with nothing else to lose.

Rolfgar swung his axe, shattering Darius' sword into pieces. Darius, now unarmed, tried to tackle Rolfgar but the giant of a man didn't budge. Instead Rolfgar dropped his axe and smiled before cupping his hands together and slamming them into Darius' back, knocking him to the ground. Darius tried to get up but couldn't even move his arms. He was too fatigued and had been too injured. Rolfgar walked a few steps away, picked up his axe and started walking back towards the king of Drogmar.

The King of Stolace raised his axe in the air above his head and swung it. The axe cut Darius' left leg off in one motion. Everyone stopped and watched the scene with horror. Some cheered while others cried. The soldiers of Drogmar couldn't do anything. They were surrounded and couldn't make it to save their king. Everyone watched as Rolfgar raised his axe again. Darius was laying on the ground with lifeless eyes, barely breathing. As Rolfgar was about to swing his axe again dealing the finishing blow, the stormy sky grew more intense and several lightning bolts struck Rolfgar who dropped his axe and fell to the ground charred. A mage flew towards Darius and started using healing magic on him immediately. The soldiers of Drogmar rejoiced as they had just officially claimed victory. The troops of Stolace all fled or surrendered.

The court mage had arrived back to the city to witness the scene of his brother, the king, on the verge of being executed. He was away on an errand to deal with bandits in the outer area to the south of the Kingdom. As he finished dealing with them he realized upon interrogating one of them that they were merely a distraction so that the Stolace kingdom could invade. He rushed back as fast as he could but it took him a few hours at top speed. He just barely made it in the nick of time. He dreaded thinking of what would've happened had he been a second later. "Max…" Darius said very faintly with tears running down his cheeks. "Be quiet. You need to rest for now. I've healed your physical wounds but you're still mentally exhausted and not in very good shape." Max picked up Darius and returned to the castle. "Max… He killed him" Darius said. His eyes were still lifeless. Max saw this and immediately understood what happened. He hugged Darius until he fell asleep. After Darius fell asleep Maximilian left the castle and went to look for the boy. "Atreus…" Max saw the headless body and clenched his fists trying his best to keep a commanding appearance. He ordered a couple of guards to carry the remains to the castle so Atreus could take his spot in the family tomb.

Meanwhile near the southern border of Drogmar, a bright golden streak could be seen falling towards the earth, the light growing dimmer with every second.