Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

The Hunter and the Templar	By : BurneHazard Category: +A through F > Diablo III Views: 6473 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Diablo III (3) and all content therein is the property of Blizzard Entertainment. This story is for entertainment purposes only and I make no money from writing it.

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
            The air in the stairwell was thick and Eirena began to murmur constantly as they climbed the steps of the tower. Every so often her magic would flare and a barrier that had been invisible would shimmer then vanish. With each barrier to fall, the scent of blood grew stronger. There was also a growing darkness and taint the higher they climbed that made Killashandra's guard rise in full as her eyes narrowed and muscles tensed with readiness for another fight.
            "We stand on the edge of a darkness beyond measure,"(1) the enchantress said from behind her.
            "How can you be certain?"(2) Kormac asked.
            "I witnessed the beginning. I saw some of the first daemons who were summoned into our world."(3)
            "Well, we shall see to it that these are the last!"(4) the templar said confidently.
            "I hope so,"(5) Eirena murmured.
            Lyndon remained quiet as he brought up the rear, bow still ready.
            She heard the voices before they reached the open doorway leading to the tower's top. Even hurrying, she knew they were too late as the howling wind carried the words down the stairway to them.
            "Adria, when did you decide to betray us?"(6) Tyrael asked.
            There was a surge of darkness and a different voice cried out in pain, silenced abruptly.
            "Twenty years ago a great and terrible power drew me to Tristram. But Aidan, Leoric's eldest son defeated that power and sought to contain it within his own flesh,"(7) Adria called over the wind.
            "The Dark Wanderer,"(8) Tyrael said, voice suddenly strained as if he were fighting against something.
            "It was Diablo I saw within him. And I pledged myself to his service. Now, at last, his grand design comes to fruition."(9)
            They were just two steps from the doorway when Tyrael cried out and the wind suddenly jolted as if a great explosion had shaken it. Magic flared in the open doorway, barring their exit. Killa threw herself backward to try and stop, crashing into the templar's chest. His shield arm went around her to stop her from falling as Eirena immediately brought her staff up to work a counter-spell. Lyndon crashed into Kormac's back trying to avoid interrupting the enchantress.
            "Dear Leah..." Adria said again and they were close enough to hear it clearly. "Deckard always suspected...your true father...was Diablo himself!"(10)
            Killa felt her heart skip a beat as things suddenly made sense. The sense of unease around Adria, Leah's power, the oddness of the girl, the way Cain had acted about his niece by constantly pushing her to believe the Horadric teachings and guide her path toward a specific goal. So many small signs that she should have picked up on, so many little warnings that she had overlooked.
            "And now, my daughter, you shall serve as his vessel!"(11) Adria cried.
            "Eirena!" Killa shouted as a foul power grew. She sensed its demonic taint and found her rage and hatred rising with it.
            "There!" the enchantress cried as magic flared and the fiery barrier vanished.
            "I LIVE!"(12) came a powerful voice both masculine and feminine. It was Leah's voice, but it was not. It burned and crackled with unimaginable evil. And Killa felt her heart sink even as she raced through the doorway into the icy blast of the winds whipping around the tower.
            "But I am more than I once was. The seven Evils are now one within me. I am...the Prime Evil!"(13)
            Ice made the last two sets of stairs treacherous. The hunter's boots helped her maintain her footing but the wind still tore at her and slowed her progress as the three behind used the wall to try and keep up with her without being snatched away by the weather itself.
            "Well done, faithful Adria. Go now, until I call upon you again."(14)
            The corpses of soldiers barred their way, strewn across the steps and providing further obstacle to the climb. Regardless, the hunter stepped on the pliable corpses and continued to climb without hesitation. The dead would feel nothing. And she had no time to consider softer sentiments about them with the newly-spawned demon lord ahead of her.
            "Now, at last, to my true goal, the one that has always eluded me: the utter destruction of the High Heavens!"(15)
            Heat suddenly exploded from the tower's top just as the hunter gained the last step. The carnage of numerous guards surrounded a demonic circle drawn with their blood and the severed limbs of other soldiers. There was no sign of Adria but Killa did see Leah--or what had taken her body. It stood before a fiery portal with a seething black heart. Even as she brought her crossbow up to aim, it stepped through. Her bolt followed it through the portal but gave her no indication whether it struck or not.
            Tyrael was struggling to rise from where he had been thrown hard against the stone guard-rail. Several cuts marked his face and blood had trickled from his lips but he seemed to be able to move. Just as she started to turn toward him, the mortal angel's eyes hardened and he raced for the burning portal left by Leah.
            "Tyrael!" she shouted.
            Not even giving her a glance, the ex-angel leapt through the fiery ring into the darkness. And just as she had done once before with the portal the witch had made, the hunter raced forward to follow him. She sensed rather than saw the other three following her before searing heat consumed her, enveloping her in pure darkness--and she felt something yank her upward so suddenly it left her winded.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
            Killashandra slammed into something solid so hard it jolted every bone in her body. Had she not already been winded, it would have done so again. Instead, it shocked her lungs into expanding. Coughing as she choked on the sudden breath of air, she pushed herself upward onto her hands and knees. Staggering forward, she found that although her entire body rang with the force of her impact, she was unharmed.
            The sounds of other bodies striking the ground made her turn as her vision cleared. Sure enough, Kormac had landed a moment after she had moved. The force of his impact sent him rolling out of the way for Eirena--and Lyndon. The two fell in a tangled heap with sharp cries of surprise. Absently, the hunter found herself wondering if the fall was typical of portals taken by those uninvited or if it was just their luck.
            Groaning, the templar managed to rise after several false starts. Lyndon and Eirena faired a little better since they had far lighter armor to contend with. As the others collected themselves, Killa found her attention drawn to the foul taint marring what should have been sparkling white marble edged in gold. The architecture had been lovely once, but was desecrated by demonic stains. And it was the spoor of more than just one demon.
            Already a vicious wound had been delivered in the ruins made of a beautiful place. And while she felt a natural pain at the view, she only used it to focus her hatred for the demon they now pursued.
            "This devastation defies all reason!"(16) Kormac said as he caught up to her.
            "This can't be the end... Can it?"(17) Lyndon asked as he drew near the two, eyes wide as he surveyed the damage. "I don't know if I've ever felt this awful before. It's like losing her all over again." (18)
            "Losing who?"(*) Kormac asked.
            "Damn, did I say that out loud?"(19) the scoundrel muttered.
            "The Heavens... What have we done?"(20) Eirena gasped, tears falling down her cheeks. Lyndon turned to catch her as she stumbled over the uneven ground.
            Killa was the only one of the party that did not comment about the state of the heavens. She kept her focus on her hatred and the goal ahead. Turning to move down the once-beautiful steps, she hastened to where two figures stood. It was easy to recognize Tyrael. But he stood facing another being clad in armor of gold against shadowy black. It burned like a sun and the great ethereal wings rising from the back to surround it in a corona of glorious holy flame.
            "Imperius, you cannot mean to face Diablo again! Your wounds are barely healed!"(21) Tyrael was saying.
            "The Heavens burn," the angel--Imperius--said. His voice nearly shook the ground with its power and majesty. "This is your fault, Tyrael!"(22)
            Just as she drew up beside the mortal angel, Imperius took notice. A golden polearm bleeding lethal power rose to jab toward her chest. Kormac was suddenly there, placing himself and his shield between the archangel and the hunter. It did not come to blows, but it did give her a moment of alarm and worry at the templar's foolishness.
            "And you, nephalem! Look below and see what your kind has wrought!"(23) Imperius growled before flaring with light and becoming a beam of golden flame rising upward to arc and head somewhere else within the heavens.
            "Well, someone's not happy to see us..."(24) Lyndon murmured where he was trying to appear like he was not cowering behind Tyrael.
            "The Aspect of Valor condemns us... This will be difficult,"(25) Eirena said as she regained her composure despite the sheet-white of her skin.
            Kormac only sighed, "I know how he feels, but we have to keep going!"(26)
            Tyrael had bowed his head. All of them went silent when his tormented voice emerged. "The Diamond Gates have stood since the light first broke over the High Heavens. Now they lie in ruins." He paused to take a deep, trembling breath. "Imperius is right. I am the cause of this."(27)
            "Don't let his words deceive you. Diablo planned it all from the very beginning. You are not at fault,"(28) the hunter said.
            "Long ago, my brethren and I voted to decide the fate of man. I cast the final vote that spared you from extinction. Now...humanity has birthed the Prime Evil."(29)
            It stung like another betrayal to hear Tyrael speak in such a manner. And Killa immediately reacted to the barb. "No--we were betrayed. And now we must make amends... We must stand and fight. Isn't that why you became mortal? If you will not join me, I shall go on alone."(30)
            Eirena swiftly caught Killa's shoulder and leaned in to whisper near her ear, "Be gentle with Tyrael... He will not understand at first. He needs time."(31)
            The mortal angel did not hear the enchantress's words. He did lift his head finally to look at the hunter's glowing eyes. "But you don't understand. Hope has been silenced."(32)
            "What does that mean?"(33) Lyndon asked no one in particular.
            Tyrael's last comment only made her eyes narrow as she turned away from the sight before her. Rage burned bright within her as she turned her attention away from the figure that had often reassured her. She knew nothing of how to return the favor. All she knew was how to act to correct the problem. It was the only thing she knew, and it was all that she could do. She could and would bring death to Diablo and his minions for this.
            Screams, roars, and the sounds of battle were filling the air along with the scent of smoke and demonic magic. Nowhere could she see a hint of sunlight save in flashes where angels battled the dark host. It made her choice easier.
            "Eirena, Lyndon, stay with Tyrael. He will be of no use to us like this. Help any angels that require it but be careful."
            Her gaze went toward Kormac, inquiring silently. He merely nodded once and stepped toward her. Turning, the two moved to enter the High Heavens and follow Diablo's unmistakable trail of devastation.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
            Diablo's voice thundered through the air, searing their ears and making both hunter and templar pause as they set foot on another tainted patch of ground. Before them were multiple holes in the platform as if they were passages for creatures unbound by the ground to transverse from one area to another.
            "Gaze upon the destruction I have wrought. It will be the last thing you see. Iskatu, destroy the nephalem!"(34)
            Suddenly, a strange yellowish green demon leapt from one of the gold-ringed holes to land in their path. It was a strange mix of insect and demon with great horns upon its head and a bony, vaguely humanoid face. Kormac raised his shield, sword at the ready at his side. Killa simply stood beside him, crossbows resting at her sides, aimed for the floor as if utterly unconcerned by the new obstacle.
            "I do not fear you, nephalem. You'll find only death in this eternal realm."(35)
            "Those are your first and last mistakes, demon," she answered calmly with shadow lacing her words.
            Roaring, the demon attacked them. It was extremely fast and agile. The powerful blows drove Kormac back and around as the hunter moved to circle for a clearer line of fire. The bat she had conjured screeched warning as shadows boiled in the holes that had filled with darkness like pools.
            "The armies of Hell will trample your corpses! The shades will devour your soul!"(36) Iskatu roared as he tried to get past the templar to strike at the hunter.
            "Shades, hm?" Killa mused as she turned her attention to the mass of black things crawling across the floor toward her like some twisted swarm of insects. Not even pausing, she flipped a small switch on the crossbows that loaded multiple bolts at once and began to fire. The wide spread struck the semi-substantial creatures. Even as they screamed, light flared as flame spread in arcs where the bolts struck, annihilating the shadows and dissolving their bodies.
            Turning back to their main foe, she dropped one of the crossbows against the quiver, reloading from the pre-set bunches of bolts there. She reloaded the second while firing with the first. Iskatu was fast but not fast enough to evade all of her shots. Roaring and screeching in pain as several bolts drove through his exoskeleton, the demon slammed into the templar, sending him backward. But Kormac was swift to recover his footing and charge back, slamming into the demon again and knocking him off his path to the hunter.
            "You believe you can defeat me, mortal? Our armies are endless!"(37)
            Killa was smiling as she lowered her head and sighted along one of the crossbows. "Good. I'd hate to get bored waiting for more of you to pop up."
            Iskatu roared again as more shades surged over the floor from the black pools. Bringing her other crossbow up, she simply moved her arm in a sweeping arc, releasing another wide sweep of shots at the approaching shades. Kormac released a battle cry as light spread over the ground beneath him and seared the skin of the demon he was blocking. One more bolt was loosed. Its fiery red shaft struck the open mouth, slamming through the back of Iskatu's skull only to arc in the air and drive through his back into his chest.
            Thrashing as it screamed, the demon staggered backward as its body broke apart, burning away as the magic that had coated the arrow devoured it from the inside out. Paying no mind to the kill, Killa turned her focus to the shades still swarming toward them as Kormac began to strike at them with blow after powerful blow.
            "Is there no end to this vile horde?"(38) he spat.
            "Everything ends. Have a little patience, or is your arm tired already?" she teased with dark humor.
            Kormac snorted at that and drove his blade through another shadowy body. It dissolved with a screech as another took its place. The hunter was correct though. Every shade that pulled itself from the pools diminished them until finally, there was no more boiling blackness and no more shades swarming toward them. Panting, the templar straightened and caught his breath. Killa was hardly winded and took a moment to reset the switches on the crossbows and reload them properly.
            As one, they moved forward again. Both kept an eye on the openings in the floor but nothing more came from them. Climbing the stairs, they continued forward--only to halt as a shining figure descended from above to hover over the ground atop the dais leading even deeper into the heavens. The angel looked different, the wings shaped and colored quite uniquely as was the armor. It was not Imperius and in place of a weapon, it held a scroll in one hand like a shield.
            "I am Itherael, archangel of Fate," the angel said in a voice that was somehow soothing. "It is my duty to record what is and what will be within the Scroll of Fate. But you, nephalem--you are not in the scroll. Your fate is unwritten."(39)
            "Then I shall try to make the best of it. Will you help me? Or stand and watch while the Heavens fall to darkness?"(40) she asked, tired of challenges by those who did nothing.
            The white and gold hood tilted to one side as the black maw taking the place of a face regarded her. "Perhaps...fate can be changed," he mused. "Quickly, then! Auriel, archangel of Hope, has been captured by Rakanoth, the Lord of Despair."(41)
            Suddenly, Tyrael's words made sense. If the archangel of Hope had been captured, it meant the embodiment of hope had been silenced. And by Despair itself? Killa's eyes narrowed as she regarded Itherael. He was turning to unlock the doors barring their way.
            "I will free her. That should restore the faith of your brethren."(42)
            As the doors opened, Itherael rose and flew forward as his wings pulsed with light. Following, the two companions broke into a jog to keep up with him. But they could not fly as the archangel could. He rose and the scroll he held suddenly unfurled into something of a weapon as several airborne demons attacked him. Leaving him to his fight, the two ran on.
            Kormac did not hesitate to charge into the fray when they came upon a small group of angels falling back before giant brutes of demons with great wings. Once she had a clear shot, Killa unleashed another rapid volley of bolts into the heads and chests of the towering demons as the angels spread out to flank the beasts. It took a handful of seconds before the demons fell, crumbling to putrid ash and chaff on the wind of the angel wings.
            Several of the angel warriors turned to regard them. None attempted to impede their path as they spread their wings to take to the sky again. One, however, nodded to the hunter and templar before following his kin. Killa merely moved onward. As more of the strange demon oppressors landed to attack them, she saw a sight that drove a sudden lance of pain through her heart. It was a good thing they were able to finish off the last attacker swiftly because neither could move for several moments given what they saw.
            Before them, were the bodies of angels. Each body was sprawled like some depraved sacrificial offering atop a festering altar formed by blackened disease and smoldering corruption from the Hells themselves. Wickedly barbed spikes rose from these altars to impale the shining armor and trap the fallen beings to the cursed things. But what struck both hunter and templar was that the glowing wings of the angels...were still moving and darkening.
            "The souls of these angels are trapped here. Such a horrid fate,"(43) Kormac finally choked out.
            It snapped Killa from her shock and caused her eyes to narrow. Turning, she fixed her glare on the templar and brought both crossbows up toward him. He stepped back in surprise but then relaxed when he saw her fingers were not on the triggers.
            "Bless the bolts," she commanded in a tone he had not heard before.
            Surprised, he shifted his sword to the hand of his shield arm and reached out. His gauntlet came to rest lightly across both weapons as he bowed his head and began to murmur a prayer. Light rose from his hand, flashing and pulsing as it wound around the weapons and shimmered along the bolts. She felt the warm caress of sunlight and let it push away the lingering chill the vision of the tormented angels had given her.
            When he withdrew his hand, she turned and brought both weapons up. As the holy light danced along the bolts, she took aim and fired. The shafts became pure white as they flew, striking the festering nodes and exploding into golden white showers. The demonic taint was burned away, crumbling upon itself as the angelic bodies sagged then rose slightly into the air. Gaping holes were left through their torsos as their bodies began to crumble into shards of light rising into the air until nothing was left.
            "The angels' spirits are free now. May they be at peace,"(44) she said as she moved forward, reloading.
            Kormac was silent as he followed her, treading around the spots where the gristly things had been. Under his breath, he prayed for exactly what the hunter had said, that the angels might find peace. Ahead of him, Killa was steeling herself and letting more of her hatred bleed through her rage at what she had just seen. Diablo would pay for this utterly senseless act. She would make sure of it. But first, Hope had to be restored.
            "The High Heavens really are lost without Hope. How can one being hold such influence over so many?"(45) he asked.
            "My feelings are my own; I need no being to keep me stable,"(46) she snapped.
            Even Kormac could tell the lie in her words. For his part, he chose to say nothing, turning her words over in his mind as they continued. There was that sudden weight present once more, lingering over both of them like something they refused to acknowledge. Soon, she knew, he would want to talk again. She was not yet ready for it. And there was a fight to focus on here and now.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
Author's Note:
            Due to the HUGE amount of character quotes in this chapter, I chose to break it into two parts so...here you are. I think I managed to number them all correctly but let me know if I missed any!
            Again, numbered lines are directly from game, the (*) in this instance is a line said in the game but it was not said by that specific character.
- 36
- 37
- 38
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Hunter and the Templar