"Magic doesn't work!" Gabriel yelled. "Blades only!"
Another soldier thrust a spear toward the Vorrak's chest, but it bounced off with a sharp clang. The Vorrak didn't even flinch. It grabbed the man by the head and slammed him into the ground like a rag doll. Blood pooled beneath him instantly.
Gabriel charged, dodging its axe that sliced through the air. He swung at the creature's side, but the blade barely left a scratch. The Vorrak turned its helm toward him. Its eyes burned brighter.
Then it occurred to him, he had read from the mythology book. The eyes were the only weakness of a Vorrak.
"Go for the eyes!" Gabriel shouted. "Only the eyes!"
The few remaining men closed in. One jumped on the creature's back, trying to reach the head, but the Vorrak reached behind and yanked him off like plucking a leaf from a branch. His scream ended with a sickening crunch.
The captain took a running leap, slashing upward toward the face. The blade glanced off the helm. He tried again, but the Vorrak grabbed his arm and twisted it. The bone snapped loudly. Then it drove the axe straight through his chest, pinning him to the ground. The captain gurgled from his own blood, he didn't even have the time to scream. Slowly his eyes grew vacant.
Gabriel's breaths grew heavier. Fear crawled down his spine, his men were dying fast. Their cries echoed through the burning village.
He gritted his teeth and rushed forward again, trying to draw the creature's attention.
The Vorrak turned toward him, raising its axe high. Gabriel tried to dodge, he was fast, but not fast enough.
The axe came down with a terrifying crash, slicing across Gabriel's chest. His armor cracked like brittle glass. The metal tore open, and the blade cut deep into his flesh. Blood poured from his side. The force of the blow threw him backward. He crashed into the ground, gasping.
Pain exploded through his chest, but he forced himself to move. The thought of his family flashed through his mind, the promise he had made to his wife, he cannot die here. He will not die here.
The Vorrak came again with the speed of lightning. Gabriel raised his sword to defend, but the next blow wasn't aimed at his chest.
It came for his head. He ducked, but he wasn't fast enough.
The edge of the axe caught the side of his face, slicing through his helmet and tearing into his eye. A hot flash of pain shot through his skull, followed by the burning sting of blood pouring down his cheek.
He screamed.
"AAARGHHHH!"
He dropped to his knees, one hand clutching the side of his face.
His vision blurred, the world spinned for a moment. But he didn't stop. Through the haze, he saw the Vorrak lift its axe again, towering over him like death itself.
He rolled to the side, barely dodging the strike. The ground cracked beside him. His body was failing. And His strength was fading. But he still had one shot left.
He blinked through the blood, he saw the Vorrak's glowing eyes. Then the Vorrak moved closer towards him. Its feet dug into the snow, its axe patting the snow.
'Just a little closer…' he muttered.
He grabbed the dagger from the fallen soldier's belt. His other hand still pressed against his wounded face.
As the Vorrak raised its head. Gabriel threw the dagger with everything he had left. The dagger sliced through the air, then It struck the creature's left eye. The blade sank so deep that only its hilt was visible.
The Vorrak let out a roar, its body jolting from the impact. For the first time, it stumbled back.
Gabriel used the moment, not wasting the golden opportunity. He staggered to his feet, ignoring the pain tearing through his chest and face.
He leapt onto the creature's arm, pulling himself up toward the head. His vision flickered, one side of his gaze was completely dark, but that didn't deter him. With a final cry, he plunged the second dagger into the other eye.
The Vorrak howled.
Its arms thrashed wildly, but the light in its eyes flickered… then died, black blood oozed out from its sockets.
It stumbled back, dropped the axe, and collapsed to the ground like a falling mountain.
Gabriel was thrown from its body, landing hard on the crimson ground. His shoulder twisted painfully, and he lay there, gasping, unable to move. Blood dripped from his ruined eye, soaking into the earth beneath him.
Around him, only silence remained, except from the crackling of the fire and the sound of the Vorrak decaying.
He dragged himself up, he needed to leave the place and he also needed to warn the Emperor that these creatures are back. He halted when he stumbled into something. He looked down, his eyes saddens at the sight of the captain. His chest was torn open, Gabriel bent down, and swept his palm across the captain's face, closing his eyes. "Rest well, my brother."
Beside the captain a black box laid on the ground. He picked up the box, before pushing himself to his feet. He dragged himself to where his horse was. He groaned in pain as he threw himself on the horse.
His hand tightened on the reins. "Take me home, wind." He muttered, slouching over the horse.
................
(Back to the present day.)
Gabriel finally succumbed to darkness.
The air in the hall room stilled, as if anyone who dared to breathe would die. Dimitri's hand halted midway from opening the box.
The silence in the air was so palpable that a knife could slice through it. The high mages eyes widened, their spine unconsciously straightened at the dread that the vorrak were back.
"Wh… What did you say?" High mage Orion was the first to break the silence. His hand grabbed Gabriel's shoulder, shaking him.
But Gabriel didn't utter a word. His consciousness had already slipped away.
Agnes, who had remained calm all this while, had a fearful look in her eyes. She walked closer to Gabriel's unconscious form.
"I'll treat him." she said, squatting beside Gabriel. She muttered some words, sweeping her hands through his brother. A white light cocooned around him.
"The Vorrak can not come out now, it is not yet time. The millennium span had not been completed." One of the high mages cried.
Dimitri swallowed, before opening the box. His heart thudded in his chest when he saw the white hair in the box.
"At least, we have only one problem to deal with now. The demon child is dealt with." he took the hair from the box, raising it up to prove that his decision was the right one.
Agnes' jaws tightened, but she breathed out in relief. At least she had finally had them off Kaelith's trail.
The high mages lowered their heads in defeat. "Could this be done by the demon child, as revenge for killing him?" another mage asked.
"No matter what caused it. At least one of the threats is gone. If I hadn't sent the squad to kill the child, we wouldn't have known that the Vorrak are back."
"So what do we do now?" Artherine asked, standing beside Dimitri.
"We wait for Gabriel to wake. Only when we get the full details can we act."
Meanwhile, a toddler hid in a narrow tunnel, eavesdropping on their conversation.