Dei leaped sideways, and the axe clanged against her armor. The sword nicked her hip, drawing blood. She spun, swinging her blade, and slammed it into the mimic's leg. She cut deep into its flesh, and when she pulled it free, bugs spilled. The mimic laughed, spraying saliva, and advanced toward her. It lashed all four weapons.
She ducked and parried, and the spear ran down her thigh, scraping skin. The warhammer hit her blade, shattering it.
Agnus Dei fell onto her back, staring up in horror.
She clenched her jaw.
Goodbye, Mother, sister, Kyrie. I love you all. Goodbye.
Its axe came down.
Agnus Dei screamed and raised her arm.
The axe hit her vambrace, shattering it. The blade cut her skin, but the armor had blocked most of the blow. It did not reach bone. I won't lose my second hand so easily.
She tossed the hilt of her sword. The broken shards of blade slammed into the mimic's eyes.
It howled.
Agnus Dei leaped to her feet, grabbed its axe, and pulled it free.
The mimic pulled the shattered blade from its face. It had pierced its forehead and right eye. The creature grinned, worms and drool dripping from its maw.
Agnus Dei swung her axe and cut off its hand—her hand. It landed at her feet.
"How does it feel, bastard?" she screamed and swung her axe. The blade drove into its neck, tore through the stitches that held the bull's head to the torso, and emerged dripping from the other side.
For a second, the mimic stood still.
Then its head slid off its body and splashed against the ground.
Agnus Dei swung her axe, opening its skull. Snakes filled the skull instead of brains. They fled. The mimic's body tried to keep fighting, but was blind. Agnus Dei hacked at it, screaming hoarsely.
"How does it feel, you bastard?! You will feel this too, Irae. You will feel my blade."
She hacked at it until it fell, cut to pieces. She grabbed a burning branch and tossed it onto the body. Soon it blazed in a pyre, drying her tears.
Her hand burned with it.
Agnus Dei wiped her eyes and spat onto the burning body. She looked around her, panting. Countless mimics still surrounded her. They howled, brandished their blades, and attacked.
TERRA
The battle raged around him, a song of light and fire in the night. Salvanae and mimic dragons battled above. Griffins and nightshades streamed at his sides. Beasts crawled and grunted below him, slamming against Lacrimosa and her troops. Everywhere he looked, he saw flame, smoke, and lightning.
The battle is lost, he realized. We are overrun.
He growled, remembering the war that had killed his people, that had shattered his family. His growl turned into a roar.
I am the last bellator. I will defend Requiem to my last breath. If we die here tonight, I die with blood on my talons, and the flesh of my enemies in my jaws.
He howled and dived, knocking between the hordes of flying mimics, and blazed fire across the ruins of King's Forest. Skeletons withered in his flames. Poisoned ran like living torches. And yet more kept coming, wave after wave of them, their ranks stretching into the darkness. Mimic giants, each limb woven of dead bodies, charged through the ranks of Earthen, tossing men and women aside, roaring to the sky.
Terra swooped toward one giant, readying his fire. Before he could reach it, squeals rose in the night around him. A hundred creatures burst from the shadows, shooting toward him. They looked like great bats, but they were mimics. Terra grunted with disgust. Dies Irae had taken men and women, stripped their bodies away below their shoulders, and left them with only heads, outstretched arms, and spines. He had pulled skin between their wrists and tailbones, crafting them wings to flap. They flew at him, biting, their eyes blazing red.
Terra blew his fire, spraying it in all directions. He fought down nausea; he had never seen anything so hideous.
They were people once. Stars, they were people. He clenched his jaw. But they are not people now. The only mercy I can give them is the mercy of fire.
He roared, summoned more flame, but had no time to shoot it. More bats emerged from the darkness, smoking and screeching, and flew onto him. They covered his back and crawled along his wings, biting and scratching.
Terra roared and flapped his wings, but the creatures clung to him. Their teeth bit, and he howled in pain. He shook and flapped his tail against them. They scurried across him, screeching.