The battle is growing fierce. I can see balls of dark energy barrel towards us and barely manage to dodge them. This mad woman has no idea who she is messing with.
My name is Klaudius, member of the paladins of Cheydina and servant of the Chief God. Under the gaze of her holiness I smite the enemies of mankind and destroy any kind of darkness on this world.
And that is just what I was planning to do when another one of these plagues set up shop near Cheydina. One day, and for no explicable reason our countryside got flooded and creeping vines overtook our fields. Basically, the land around our city turned into an expansive swamp that was swallowing the fertile fields.
At first, we thought it was the witches of Sabbath announcing their arrival but it was in fact something much, much worse. It was a dark mage expanding her influence from her remote tower in a distant forest. We didn't see her as much of a threat, in fact at first, we didn't even think she was a dark mage at all but just a wizard practicing her arts away from the eyes of the public.
But now... something had possessed her to claim more land which drove away more and more people to flee to Cheydina.
And that's where we come in. The paladins of the Chief God. We are a troop of 5 elite soldiers with holy powers granted by our goddess herself.
Consisting of me, Klaudius, Grindel, Hila, Nathaniel and Gregor.
I was the troop leader and the life of my comrades depended on me. I was on the forefront of any battle we got into.
Such was the case today when we attacked the wretched swamp of this monstrous mage. Almost as soon as we arrived in the thicket of the flooded countryside, we get bombarded with massive balls of slimy dark matter. It was as if it was alive and even if it missed us, the expanding puddles almost grabbed onto us like hands that tried to pull us into it. We've lost no one so far, but just when we thought we had gone through the worst, we met the head bitch herself.
We hold our ground, approaching her in a V formation and holding up our shields and maces in preparation for her attacks. But we were not prepared for this amount of power.
"Fall back! Fall back!" I yell to my comrades.
"Did you really think you could just barge into my lair and I wouldn't fight back!? It's ridiculous how foolish you imbecilic humans are." The woman raised her staff, the end of it loading up with energy, ready for another blast.
The woman herself stood in front of her tower, dressed in a surprisingly clean black dress with purple linings and frills. The same pattern extended to her wide, pointy witch's hat out of which long, voluminous purple hair pooled out.
She wore her clothes in a way that was extremely exposing with her dress only barely covering her voluptuous breasts and freely showing her long and curvy, legging-covered legs.
Her staff was crooked and looked like it had liquid dark matter pulsing through it. And for some reason, whenever she attacked us with it, despite her menacing and mocking words, she always had a maniacal smile on her face as if she was enjoying, to see us struggle to keep our position. Like the mad monster that she was.
"Hila, can you create another barrier? We're going to get pushed back if we lose footing now!"
"I have no more holy water! I'm all out!" She cried out in a panic.
"Gregor?" I turned to the other half of my squad.
"Nothing, sir!"
Just as we try to figure out our next step, a volley of spear-like magic projectiles hammer into our shields.
She didn't even leave the little island of her tower to wage a siege on us from a distance. Her voice was booming throughout the swamp as if it would carry and echo her words.
"Cute! At some point, you have to make a move as well, you know. You're not making any progress hiding behind your shields. I'm waiting." She said as her staff flew out of her hand and hovered behind her so she could sit on it. She did not take us serious at all.
My comrades were panicking, doubting if we could win this fight. I was the only one left with some holy water, the source of our power.
I check the pouches of my armor and find that I have only one vial left. One vial that is barely enough to protect me. But certainly not my comrades.
I glint at the dark mage through the slits of my helmet. There she sat, all smug and haughty. A provoking smirk crossed her face as she noticed that we had been beaten.
I wouldn't let her take this victory so easily.
I clench the vial of holy water and look over my shoulder. "Head home, men. This is not your battle anymore."
"But sir!" Nathaniel wanted to rebuke me.
"You can't possibly take her on your own!" Grindel added.
"But at least I can survive another attack!" I yell at them in frustration. I see the dark mage listen to us intently with a devilish smile and her chin resting on her hand.
"*blows air* Run home... you have lives to return to. If I should fail... you can fight another day."
The four of them looked at each other and then at me, giving me a deep bow before turning heel and bolting out of this swamp.
"Aren't you the brave leader?" I hear the woman call out to me, sitting up from her staff.
"I won't put their lives on the line for a pointless fight with a harlot like you." I grip my mace tightly, staring daggers at her.
"Pointless, is it? Then why are you trying so hard to take me down? Quite the contradiction. *snickers*"
"You have been a mere nuisance to us. And nuisances need to be eradicated." I pull out my vial of holy water and pop open the cork before drinking it. I feel a surge of energy jolt through my body and bolster myself. I crack my neck and knuckles garnering the interest of the arrogant mage.
"Hmm... what's your name, paladin?"
"What do you even care?"
"I want to know the names of my opponents. At least the ones worth remembering." She twirled her staff into a ready fighting stance.
"Klaudius! Klaudius of Cheydina!" I proclaim proudly and aggressively.
"Klaudius, huh? I'm Maliana. Let's make this interesting." She leans on her staff, taunting me. "You win and I leave you, your city and your people alone forever. But if I win... you're mine. Deal?"
"If it means that you finally shut up and we get to your defeat already." I roll my eyes slowly walking towards her, my body pulsing with power.
"Show me what you got then, human." She smiled, loading her staff with dark energy.
My mace glows with golden light and I swing my first strike at her. She dodges it with almost no effort. The spot where she stood before is now broken earth and steaming smoke.
I feel her staff hit me in the chest and along with a blast of magic, I am flung through the air until my body crashes into the muddy ground.
I look up, seeing her approach me with an overconfident smile and her staff loading up again. I try to get up, but the vines held me back. She was coming closer and closer. But just before she could launch another attack, I siphoned my power into my shield, creating a holy barrier around me that cut off any vines connected to me.
I sent a blast of that energy in every direction in a massive pulse and even though she was shielding herself with a magic seal, she was pushed back several feet with her feet getting no hold.
She was clearly surprised by it. I stood up, wiping the dirt off my armor. "You gotta give me more than that."
After the initial shock, she suddenly flashed me an adoring smile with a hint of... lust behind it? "*sigh* You are so adorable. You thought I was giving it my all yet. I admit you are a strong and... resourceful man. I could just eat you up." She giggled with a toothy grin.
"Are you mocking me, Maliana? You don't just brush off a disciple of the Chief God like that!"
"Tsk, serving the Chief God. Please." She scoffs dismissively, combing a lock out of her face which quickly drops again and covers one of her magenta-colored eyes.
I clutch my fist and dash towards her. She looks unimpressed and doesn't even act on my upcoming attack. She's right there. I just have to land this one hit and she'll be history.
My arm looms over my head.
She snaps her finger.
Excruciating pain surges through my body and my muscles stiffen up. A dark aura surrounds me and I'm no longer able to move. My mace and shield fall into the dirt, sinking and disappearing into the mud. I am forced onto my knees, barely holding myself up.
"Haarrghhh! What's happening to me!? You bitch! That was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Quick on the uptake, Klaudius. Haaaa, maybe now we can finally get along a bit better. All that resistance was so annoying." She says as she seems more interested in cleaning her staff than actually facing me.
