Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Final Conflict

Cronn lunges towards Belial, twisting his body to one side and avoiding the lashing claws that spring towards him. A horrible screech sounds out as the black nails grind against stone. Then, another. Cronn's ax slashes at the back of the attacking arm, severing two ends of a muscle from one another. Belial quickly rips his paw free of where it had been lodged, slinging debris towards himself and Cronn. With a diving roll, Cronn manages to slip between each of the largest chunks and comes out unscathed. He then looks towards his former partner, noticing the wound that he had cauterized and the singed fur surrounding it. Belial gives a deafening roar as he looks in Cronn's direction; Half his face still being made up of human-like features, which are lain out over blackened skin. The nightmarish beast gives Cronn a chilled spine each time he makes eye contact with it, but he shakes it off as best he can and continues fighting.

"Cronn.... Pureblood Cronn...." Belial's voice flows steadily from a mouth that seems incapable of speech. As if the man himself is somewhere behind curtains. "Leave this cursed monument of falsity. Lest you find yourself in a deluded grave."

"Speak not of the Purebloods, Belial!" Cronn commands, casting loose flames from his ax as he whips it to one side. "You lost that right when you attempted to murder Convener Achlys!"

The human eye displays a brief look of shock as Belial stands on his hind legs and glances towards Achlys' chambers.

"Attempted?" Rage boils up in the beast's chest cavity, showing itself through aggressive breathing and the snorting of flared nostrils. "Ah... I smell it now. The putrid ichor. It's... alluring." A low, menacing chuckle takes the place of Belial's words as he continues to sniff at the heavens. Dropping back onto all four legs, he presses his snout against the ground, blowing dust and pebbles away as he tracks Achlys' scent.

Noticing this, Cronn begins to quietly step further from the columns. Giving Belial enough room to move past him. Once the beast- completely distracted by a keen sense of smell- reaches the middle of the great hall, Cronn pulls a longbow from the limp hand of a deceased Nostrum, nocks an arrow, and fires. Just as Belial once again raises his head, the whistling arrow plunges into the back of his neck, right below the skull. Startled by the attack, he rips at the penetrating silver, throwing clumps of black and grey fur off his body as claws dig into flesh. Now having Belial where he wants him, Cronn sprints back to the rope and raises his ax, ready to strike. Angry, thundering footsteps sound out behind him, where Belial continues to make attempts at dislodging the arrow. Then, as Cronn drops his ax onto the soaked rope, he feels the wind get knocked out of him and his feet lift off the ground. A bare tail with fur tufts at the end collides with him. Cracking his head off a bench as he falls back to Earth, Cronn is left blind and struggling to catch his breath. All that can be determined from where he sits, is that Belial's motions are haphazardly coming nearer. Each vibration is stronger than the last, and his vision is only just beginning to recover. Blotches of black and white splatter the area around him, making it so that nothing is yet distinguishable. Looking about himself as best he can, he searches for the glow of a flame; His ax. Once the blurred light is spotted, he frantically crawls towards it. Rocks, chalices, and other small items clink and clatter around him as he tries to get out from under Belial, who continues to wail and claw at the arrow. A mess of soaked, matted fur covers where the arrow remains. Exposing just how much damage Belial has done to himself with each attempt.

"I must stop her. I MUST stop her! I MUST STOP HER!" Belial tears the arrow free and slams it down, snapping it in two. Growling and panting, he looks about his surroundings using only the human eye, as the beastly one does not seem to shift about so freely. Spotting Cronn, who stands in the corner, ax in hand, he lets out a grumble and hunkers down, ready to pounce at any moment.

With weak knees and shuddering gasps, Cronn stares at Belial. His blurred vision showing only an outline of the corrupt man he once knew. He watches carefully as it nears him at a snail's pace, but he knows he won't give Belial the chance. Winding the ax back with its handle still extended, he allows it to connect with the rope. Then, launches it forwards. As it spirals across the room, angled at Belial, Cronn feels a sense of satisfaction; Being confident that Belial did not see the fuse being lit. Taking advantage of the distracted state Belial remains in, Cronn sprints out of the great hall. His knees still weak and head throbbing from his previous fall, he peeks in from behind an archway. Just in time to see Belial swat the ax away and let out a roar.

Four almost simultaneous explosions interrupt the final bellow, greatly countering the initial sound. Noticing this, Belial jerks his head towards the pillars, where each base is engulfed in a fiery ball of gunpowder. Attempting an escape he rushes towards Cronn, but it's already too late. A stray piece of broken stone from one of the columns collides with Belial's front right elbow, buckling it inwards and forcing him to the ground. As he skids across the cold flooring, all of the columns give way, followed by the roof they had been supporting. Cronn watches as Belial looks towards the crumbling structure overhead, attempting to stop the blow with his broken arm to no avail. With a high-pitched cry, Belial's muscles become tense under the weight of the building before he lets his head fall limp. Each breath that follows the collapse is more shallow than the last, as the constriction keeps him from filling his lungs any further.

Cronn, seeing Belial's weakened state, cautiously edges his way back into the room, nearing the trapped beast. As he gets within an arm's length of Belial, he feels hot breath hitting his legs and once again, makes eye contact with the malformed creature. Belial attempts to reach out for Cronn, finding that not only can he not lift his arm, but Cronn steps back the moment he makes the effort. Accepting his defeat, Belial's aggression begins turning into remorse. Cronn watches a tear form in the beast's eye and allows himself a moment with his guard down.

"Cronn... I'm so sorry. Please, understand. I never meant for it to come to this. Please, I beg you... forgive me."

Saying nothing, Cronn places his pistol against the half-man, half-beast's temple, but struggles to pull the trigger. Knowing that there is nothing he can do to save Belial- if there ever was something- once he does so. A gurgling breath tells him that Belial's lungs have begun filling with fluid, and yet, his speech remains clear.

"Free yourself of this place, Good Nostrum. The truest of beasts are not those you've come to know." Belial looks about the many figures that have begun to gather around him and his old friend, with a heavy eye that now lets tears fall freely. "They hide... behind the face of man."

With these final words, Belial closes his eyes and exhales for the last time, just as Cronn finds his stomach and pulls the trigger.