MLII C2, P8- "Iron Will"

"Iron Will" is the eighth Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's second Chapter. It was released on 07.11.2020.

## Plot

While his friends are teleported somewhere else, Jared is teleported right near the center of chaos- Fort Darkside. He is alone, severely outnumbered and unsure what to do next.

However, this does not mean that he will surrender. If he has to die in this situation, he will do it bravely, taking down as many of his foes as he can before succumbing to the pressure of their attacks.

It is time to be heroes, although Jared will be on his own in this fight. *Onward!*

## Story

Jared opens his eyes and finds himself laying on the ground... somewhere. He touches it with the palm of his hand- it is icy cold.

Shivering, he gets up.

"Ugh. My head."- He mutters and looks around- "Where... am I?"

He feels a pain in the back of his head. When he touches it, he feels something.

When he pulls his hand away and checks it out, he sees that it is stained with a viscuous liquid.

***Blood.***

He gasps.

"Did I... hit my head somewhere?"

He touches the back of his head again. More blood comes out.

He wonders how he can stop the bleeding before he dies from blood loss. He searches his pockets and finds a headband in his left one.

Remembering how his sister stuffed it in his pocket last month, he smiles.

"*Even when she is not here, she makes sure that I am safe and sound.*"- He says to himself- "*I love her so much.*"

He wraps the headband tightly around his head. Although it hurts at first, he quickly forgets the pain and focuses on thinking about what to do next.

Moments later, he feels the bleeding from the back of his head stop. This means that Jared has one less problem to worry about.

However, there is still the initial problem- the fact that he is in hostile territory, teleported against his will. Alone... but unafraid.

Jared blinks a few times and stares ahead. He sees a fort in the distance, illuminated by the glowing moss on the ceiling of Avernum. He sees soldiers standing on the walls, ready to shower anyone who tries to attack them with a tornado of arrows.

Diplomacy is not an option in such a risky situation. The Darkside Loyalists are too stubborn to deal with peacefully and too powerful to deal with alone. Thus, this makes them very dangerous for a lone adventurer like Jared.

Although he is outnumbered by his enemies, he does not want to show weakness in the face of danger. Instead, he wishes to fight and die a hero.

He notices a band of hunters approaching him from a distance. Wary of who they might be, he draws his sword and watches them closely.

Unfortunately, it turns out the people who are approaching him are not who he expected them to be. When they see him, they draw their weapons and point them at him.

"Jared Kaos! What a pleasant surprise!"- One of them says.

"Dorikas will be very happy when we deliver you to him."- Another one adds- "He will be *thrilled*!"

Jared smiles and shakes his head, pointing his sword at them.

"So, you really think that you can catch me alive?"- He intimidates them- "Then how about you show me how you can fight? You are members of the most elite army of Empire soldiers, after all."

The loyalists decide that words mean nothing against a hero like Jared. They simply draw their weapons and attack.

Jared doesn't think twice about what he must do. He nimbly evades the attack of the first loyalist and strikes back, stabbing him in the chest with Demonslayer.

The second loyalist manages to stab Jared in the arm. He winces a bit, but does not show other kinds of weakness. Without wasting time holding his energy back, he pulls out a knife and unleashes the rage within his body by angrily charging at the loyalist and stabbing him in the side of the head, continuing to stab him a few more times even after he is dead.

Preoccupied with unleashing his rage on the loyalists, he pays no attention to his friends who are preparing to avenge their comrade. However, he soon realizes this and manages to evade the attack of one of them, barely escaping the clutches of death once again.

A few minutes pass. Jared continues to fight the hunters, endangering himself by possibly giving away his position to the guards on the walls ahead. Fortunately, he manages to slay the last of the loyalist hunters before the guards realize what is happening near the fort.

One of them spots Jared and whispers something to the others. Moments later, Jared hears a horn sound in the distance.

"Oh no."- He says to himself- "Looks like I won't get away from this predicament without another fight. Or maybe... "

Reluctantly, he decides to run away from Fort Darkside, in the hopes of getting help from the nearby city of Spire. Staying here while a huge army of loyalists is quickly approaching him is very dangerous, even for a skilled warrior such as himself.

While running away from the approaching loyalists, he sees someone approaching him from the way forward. It takes him only a few moments to realize that they are not Avernite forces who were sent to help him.

They are Darkside Loyalists, called by the horn. Quickly advancing upon the enemy.

Jared freezes. He has never seen so many enemies before. He draws his blade and looks around, realizing that he has been bottled in. Trapped in a small passage with no way out.

The loyalists stop, making sure that he has no way to escape from this fight.

"It's over, Jared Kaos!"- A loyalist from behind our hero yells- "Dorikas has decided that you shall die. And we shall carry out his command. So, prepare to meet your doom, hero!"

Jared stands perfectly still while listening to what the loyalist has to say. Then, he shakes his head.

"Listen here."- He says- "If I am going to die here and now, I am going to do it only after I have killed many of you. Not a moment before that."

He stares at all of them, both in front of him and behind him. He fails to hide his disappointment after seeing their weapons and armor.

"I thought that Dorikas would send more... powerful warriors than you."- He says- "What a shame. Once again, he is showing himself to be an incapable leader. And of a hostile force, no less."

The loyalists in front of him smirk.

"We'll make you swallow your words back! Master Dorikas is one of the most powerful leaders to have ever existed!"- One of them yells at him- "If it wasn't for him, we would still be in the prisons above. But he gave us guidance, assured us that we can win against the weak and unjust Empire... and the Avernite fools below! We shall show you that the Darkside Loyalists will always win, no matter what tricks you pull on us!"

They prepare to attack.

Jared angrily holds Demonslayer in his left hand. He is quivering with rage, barely able to restrain himself from charging at them immediately.

However, he soon decides that speaking to those hostile warriors is of no use. There is only one way he can speak to them- with his sword.

He shakes his head.

"Words cannot convince me that the one whom you call your leader can defeat the combined forces of Avernum and the Surface, even when he sends all of his Loyalists against us."- He says stoically- "We shall see if this force is really as powerful as he claims it to be."

The loyalists have had enough of Jared's talking. They charge without saying another word.

This battle proves to be too much for Jared. Although he manages to kill a handful of them, he is soon overwhelmed by their numbers and shot in the leg.

He stumbles back into a corner, dazed. He tries to fight back, but even someone as trained and skilled as him can easily be outnumbered by such a huge force.

One of the loyalists approaches him and points his dagger at Jared's neck.

"This is the last mistake that you'll ever make."- He says and prepares to stab him- "Your journey is over, hero."

Suddenly, an arrow flies from a distance and lands right into the back of the loyalist's skull. He fall to the ground, dead.

The loyalists stare at the direction where the shot came from, shocked. They see someone aiming a bow at them and gasp.

Jared immediately recognizes the person and gasps as well.

"J-John!"- He says.

John smiles. Then, he angrily points his bow at the huge band of loyalists who are staring at him.

"The only mistake that is being made right now is the one that will cost you your lives!"- He yells- "You came out here just to hunt a single person! My dearest friend, Jared! And now, we are going to make you pay for trying to kill him!"

The loyalists stare at each other for a few seconds. Then, they laugh in unison.

"Make us pay, eh? And how are you gonna do that?"- One of them says.

"Yeah, you're the only one who is helping your friend right now!"- Another one exclaims- "We don't see anyone else behind you!"

John grins and continues pointing his weapon at them.

"So, you really think that I am foolish enough to come out here alone? How foolish of thee!"- He yells.

Then, he puts two of the fingers of his left hand in his mouth and before the loyalists can realizes what he is *actually* doing, he whistles.

It is at that exact moment when the loyalists finally realize that there is an army of soldiers not very far away from them. Hearing John give the command to attack, they stare at each other for a few moments and nod.

"The enemy is in position. Looks like this is the perfect time for us to strike."- The captain of the army says.

He points his blade at the loyalists and yells:

"Let's do this, my friends! It is time to win this war once and for all!"

The rest of the soldiers lift their weapons in the air.

"For Avernum! For the Surface! *For the safety of the world!*"- They yell in perfect unison.

Before the loyalists can have the chance to prepare a defensive stance for this unexpected attack, the army of well-trained soldiers charges at them, intending to take all of them down.

As the soldiers and the loyalists fight against each other and the guards at the nearby fort watch helplessly as their comrades are mercilessly slain by this elite army, John grabs Jared's arm.

"Come with me."- He says- "We still have some final preparations to make before joining our allies in assaulting Fort Darkside."

Jared looks at John, surprised.

"How did you get here? How did you know about Fort Darkside?"- He asks him- "And where are we going?"

John smiles and shakes his head.

"Now, it wouldn't be wise to start explaining when we're still in danger out here, would it?"- He says- "As for the location where we're headed to, it's the city of Spire. There are some people there who will help you recover from the battle and get ready for another."

Jared nods.

"I am eager to get away from this carnage, at least for a while."- He says, assured that he truly wants that- "Let us get out of this mess."

Jared and John get away from the battle, the soldiers protecting them from the loyalists while they do. Soon, they are out of sight, far away from the outskirts of Fort Darkside.

A few minutes later, they arrive at the gates of the city of Spire. An elderly person welcomes them.

Jared looks at him and gasps.

"Grandpa?"- He says, barely believing who he is seeing.

Lethal smiles.

"Welcome to Spire, child."- He says- "I'm glad that you survived."