Chapter XCII: Fall of Volkihar (Part 4/ Guardians of The Dawn)
A splash of red flashes next to my right eye as I barely dodge the rapid swing of Harkon's blade, the damned thing easily cutting into my mask with barely any resistance. I channel a spontaneous blast of sunlight next to me but he is already moving on to his next target as he simply continues his swing, now aiming it at Valerica's neck.
Numerous iron spikes are risen from the ground with the barest twitch of the vampire matriarch's fingers, positioned perfectly for Harkon to barrel into them, her other hand already holding a fully charged chain of lightning aimed straight for his head.
As swiftly as the spell is actualized did Harkon turn himself into a could of bats, many of them getting completely destroyed in the ensuing explosion but a short moment later.
The vampire lord appears meters away, grunting in pain as the feedback strikes him, yet he still manages to duck as another sunhallowed arrow rends the wall behind him into purified Magicka.
He twists to the side just in time to reposition his blade and block Serana's flurry of claws, each connection of the two weapons shaking the increasingly structurally unsound chapel around us.
The rapid skirmishing battle continued for a while longer, none of us stopping our assault for even a moment as Harkon was forced on the defensive each time he tried lashing out against one of us.
Seemingly tired of being outnumbered he allowed Serana's strike to send him flying back and snarled "My lord, Molag Bal, I need more power!"
The Lord of Domination was all too happy to deliver as I felt his altar pulse with power, the strength of my blood lashing out against it almost on instinct as I forced Molag to expend more and more power to send his Dremora through the breach.
I share a quick look with my allies and as one we decide to have Valerica and my shades deal with that while Serana and I focus on taking Harkon down. The chapel is further ruined by the veritable sea of alterations and demons attempting to burry each other in their sheer weight.
Once again Harkon evades my point blank shot and lashes out with his sword, forcing me to summon my own blade and block the attack, allowing the strength of the blow to launch me away to gain some distance even as my fingers screamed at me due to the strain.
Serana was naturally not far behind as she immediately punished him with a slash to the back of the head, a slash that to my great annoyance healed nearly instantly.
Seeing as I would not be able to hit the motherfucker any time soon I eschew the bow and summon Magnus' staff, bombarding each and every spot he could ever have appeared with golden fire now that I was back in my element.
But the fucker Just. Wouldn't. Stop. Moving.
Each and every one of his wounds, even those caused by literal sunfire, was healed just as quickly as it was created, and as much as I tried dampening Molag's power it would not work immediately. Even if the rapist fuck would pay a massive price to Akatosh after everything was said and done.
Deciding to up the ante, I tapped into Azura's Star and started imbuing my attacks with soul energy. Harkon immediately turned more cautious and was even more reluctant to leave himself open for attack now that the damage I dealt actually stuck for a while.
He once again appeared right next to me, but the idiot forgot that he wasn't the only one with Daedric help on speed dial, as Mephys materialized next to him and I felt the Ebony Blade disappear from my inventory.
Faster than even Harkon could react, the Daedric incarnation jammed the blade into his neck, sucking out a damn near mountainous amount of lifeforce and tossing the knife at me before winking and disappearing, her nature not permitting her to risk Akatosh's wrath any further.
Harkon snarled in pain as he retreated to Molag's altar, a massive bubble of blood surrounding him as he attempted to recharge his strength straight from the source.
But in his panic, he left himself open to attack.
Serana was already slashing at his protection while using all manner of magic to try and penetrate it at the same time.
I had other ideas. Pulling power from both the lifeforce in the Ebony Blade and the light souls in Azura's Star, I channeled all of it into the bow that had once again appeared in my hands. With no further preamble, I yanked Serana back, my telekinesis long since usable without any gesticulation, and aimed the outright blinding golden arrow at Harkon.
He was already moving, even if the sudden cessation of his healing would backlash at him hard he would still be able to avoid the arrow and the death it brought.
Too bad I was not aiming for him.
My left hand lowered ever so slightly and I felt the Daedra watching from those cruel carved eyes tense, and then I loosed the arrow at Molag's altar.
The burning projectile practically teleported to its destination, the trail of gold behind it outright ending the numerous Dremora still bogged down by Valerica's masterful use of terrain. The moment it touched the altar, however, I heard the most beautiful sound of all.
Molag Bal howling in pain.
The altar held for the briefest moment, and then shattered into pieces, sending fragments flying in every direction as the explosion of power from within shattered the very walls of the chapel. Harkon was flung back and toward the sea while the rest of us found ourselves glued to the ground.
The impact rattled me so hard I could feel a number of my bones cracking as I slid head first toward the sealed gateway behind us, though I was thankfully saved from being outright skinned by the friction due to my armor.
Ignoring the searing pain and the sudden lack of control I had over the left side of my body, I flung myself up with telekinesis and smashed a potion bottle on a pillar next to me, forcing the fluid through both my mouth and nose.
It was one of the most disgusting things I ever experienced but I could at least stop limping by the fifth second as I searched for the others, Valerica and Serana already being long gone as they regenerated just as quickly as Harkon did.
By the tenth second, I felt a pop in my head and my sight returned as the concussion I didn't even realize I had was healed away. Immediately I summoned Scorch and jumped on his back, cursing the spike of pain in my leg as I did.
We flew outside at immense speeds, my right hand already moving as my left channeled the Staff of Magnus. The moment the light touched us I let loose a massive fireball, the very air burning in its wake as it struck a grinning Harkon in the back, blasting him into the water and muffling his scream of surprise and pain.
And just in time as well as I saw Valerica retreat behind me, both of her hands missing and her flesh already growing in a most disgusting manner as she focused on healing herself. Serana joined us not long after, her left wing having grown back in the past few seconds, but her contorted face showed just how much pain she was in.
"Any ideas on how to slow him down at least?" I shoot a quick question to Valerica.
She grunts, visibly forcing her voice to remain level "Even with the sun weakening him, the open air gives him even more room to maneuver."
I frown "TIID."
Time slows down as I watch the surface of the sea bubbling, Harkon's fully healed form already ascending from the depths and his furious eyes fixed on me.
My mind starts racing with possible plans of action, fucker was too fast for me to simply shoot him with the bow, and wearing him down could take anything between hours and days. I could always just delay him until the other archmages turn up or in the worst case scenario I could summon Krei-
'Juke his ass pops' Scorch chirps excitedly.
'What do you mean?' I fire back.
Instead of getting a verbal response, he sends me a mental image, and I grin.
Of bloody course the sun bird would think of that.
Time resumes its natural flow as Harkon bursts out of the water and speeds directly toward me. I feel him channel even more of his lifeforce into his body as he handily slams Serana out of his way, and outright ignores Valerica's lightning strike, simply firing a bolt of blood back at her and forcing her away.
I share my sight with Scorch and engage maximum precognition as he blurs in front of me, each of his increasingly furious strikes being redirected by my perfectly timed deflections. Finally he grows too furious and simply throws himself at me, Scorch being too slow to dodge as he positioned himself just right to catch us both.
Which was the exact moment I was waiting for "FEIM!"
Scorch is turned to mush of ethereal feathers by the flying vampire but his slash of both sword and claw merely flies through me as I allow his inertia to carry him away and summon Auri-El's bow once again.
Harkon sneers as my form turns corporeal once again "Foolish mortal, Auri-El was a fool to give you his bow. You cannot hit a tower, much less myself." He mocks.
"Ok." I deadpan and once again slam myself with telekinesis, twisting out of yet another lunge by the bloodthirsty maniac. The movement allows me to point the bow upwards and allowing my blessing to guide me I simply let the arrow fly.
Harkon stops moving as he feels a sudden sense of danger and turns around just in time to see a flash of gold pointed directly at the sun.
And then the sun pulses.
For the briefest moment, all sunlight is imbued with the blessing of Auri-El. Serana and Valerica look up in wonder at the fact they were not in pain, my heartbeat slows as I relax in the glorious embrace of its warmth once again, and Harkon... Harkon screams.
His skin burns as the very sun glares directly at him, soon his voice is gone as his vocal cords are boiled, the pained noise returning on and off as his regeneration attempted to save him from his end.
There is no hesitation in his once wife's heart as Valerica summons a spear of iron and turns it into pure silver, launching it straight into his heart and impaling him into the side of the castle.
Just where Serana was waiting.
She hesitates for the briefest moment but one quick look at us reminds her of what must be done as she closes her eyes and plunges her fangs into Harkon's neck, causing a gasp of genuine terror from the ancient man.
As Serana pulls back Harkon rasps "Your... own... father..."
"You brought this on yourself." His daughter mutters sadly "You allowed the prophesy created by a fool to take the reins of your whole life and destroy your family."
"So that is why he called me a puppet." Harkon, for the first time in millennia free from the madness of the blood coursing through his veins, sighs deeply. He looks up at the sun with a forlorn expression in his eyes "Isee..." He mutters "What a fool I was."
And then turns to ash.
Serana lands next to me and Valerica a moment later, unwilling to speak as she was currently going through her father's feelings and processing his immense power.
Still, I was petty enough to wait for the mother to start consoling her daughter so that I could spit on the ground in the direction of the fucker's ashes "Good riddance to bad rubbish." I curse and walk back to the pair of vampires.
"What now?" Valerica asks as she holds the almost asleep Serana.
"Now you make sure to be there for your daughter as she attempts to salvage your family's failure." I tell her bluntly and take a deep breath, my thu'um and illusion magic already flowing to amplify my voice "TO ALL THOSE WHO WOULD GUARD THE BRILLIANT DAWN, REJOICE! FOR WE ARE VICTORIOUS!"
I watch through my third eye as what little of the vampires still standing panic briefly before trying to surrender and immediately being cut down without the barest hint of mercy. A deafening cheer soon spreads through the castle as I can practically taste the righteous pride of the troops and their leaders.
Ah, how I adore the sweet taste of victory.
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A win for a stone.
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