Wrath of Silver

Tyra looked around and saw stars collapsing and forming all at once. Then, she focused on the present and looked upon Bellbraun. He was large in size, but looked so small in the grand scheme of the universe.

Tyra's body felt cold, but she didn't care. She charged in directly at Bellbraun knowing exactly what she needed to do. Everything was going cold, but she continued to concentrate on what she wanted. And she wanted to destroy the monster that Bellbraun had become.

As she charged in, a sliver of silver shot out of her hand. It twisted in on itself and moved like liquid until it formed a sturdy, yet thin silver blade.

Bellbraun didn't know what she had become. He could only assume that it was the work of some kind of magic. As Tyra shot up right in front of him, he quickly defended himself with his warhammer. As he did so, Tyra's blade struck it with such force that the ground shook and Bellbraun was pushed back. His confidence turned to fear and amazement. And his amazement made him grow a smile.

Tyra stood there trying to maintain control of her body. It was so hard and so cold. Her body felt like it was being ripped apart. Her vision became blurry, but it was clear enough for her to see who the enemy was.

Syren had no idea what he was looking at, but he couldn't do anything about it as he was already pressed into a corner by the golden-robed knights.

And Ira watched Tyra with surprise and astonishment. He continued to watch that battle with such intensity that he no longer cared about Syren's own struggle.

Bellbraun laughed as Tyra stood silently.

"The Golden Garden. The Silver Order. Both of them are just the same in the end. I was foolish to think that the Silver Order could have defeated monsters without the use of their own. Humans never had a chance against such cruel malice," Bellbraun said as he began to wind back his warhammer. His muscles grew and the armor expanded itself with them. "And in the end, you knew the only way to defeat a monster is to become one. You and I are not so different after all. Now that I know this, I will not hold back. This is no longer the battle between men, but a battle between monsters."

He swung his warhammer directly at Tyra with all the force and power he could muster. It came at her from the side. The wind broke apart. The ground was uplifted without even being touched. And it headed straight for Tyra. Yet, she wasn't afraid.

Tyra quickly took her silver blade and struck down at the neck of the golden warhammer. A sound propagated in the air completely destroying any and all glass nearby. The golden-robed knights and Syren were pushed away by the mere force. The houses were obliterated. It was as if a hurricane immediately swept the land on that one spot.

And the warhammer was stopped dead in its tracks. And not only that, but it bent the hammer. Bellbraun was astonished. He didn't even think that his warhammer given to him by Avaritia would have bent as such.

And Tyra wasn't done. She immediately jumped up without a second though and struck down at Bellbraun. He quickly blocked the strike with his warhammer, but it broke right throw shattering the weapon in two. The blade plunged right onto Bellbraun's shoulder going through his armor like cake. Blood and gold spurted out as he pushed Tyra away. He couldn't believe his eyes. His power wasn't even close to Tyra's.

And Ira smiled ecstatically at the power he was witnessing.

That silver armor truly turned her into a monster. And her control was slowly fading.

Everything began to feel so far away. Pieces of her were being dragged away into nothingness. But she continued to hold on at least for a little longer.

Bellbraun took a couple steps away.

"Such grace in your blood lust and power," Bellbraun said as his entire body began to grow, "But I am not done. I am not done. Avaritia has given me much more. And he expects that loan to be paid back."

His gold armor began to encompass every inch of Bellbraun's body. It devoured him whole and grew larger and larger until he didn't even resemble a human being. He was on all fours. Giant spikes of gold grew on all sides. His fingers and toes grew out claws in their place. He looked more reptilian than anything else. Each of his scales were diamond, but gilded with gold. A long tail shot out from inside his body. The tip of it was a large, spiked diamond. And finally, his head grew out like that of a lizard. He looked as though he was a towering turtle with the body and face of a drake.

Bellbraun roared spitting out liquid gold and revealing rows of diamond teeth.

"Tyra. Now, witness the power of a dragon - unholy and destructive," Bellbraun said as he was about to strike Tyra with his tail without holding anything back.

Tyra looked at him, but was unimpressed and unafraid. As his tail struck Tyra, she stood her ground blocking it with the palm of her hand. Her legs cracked, but she didn't feel a thing as she still stood tall. The whole town shook as though it was an earthquake, but she didn't care.

Tyra lifted the tail up and looked directly at Bellbraun's eyes as though he would be able to see her eyes in the void.

"Impossible. Impossible," Bellbraun exclaimed. He just couldn't believe that Tyra had obtained such power.

Tyra's legs began to reform and before they fully fixed themselves, Bellbraun struck her with his claws. She was blasted away into one of the houses completely destroying it, but she came out of it. Her whole body looked as though it was twisted up. She was limping as one of her legs had bent backwards. Her left arm had almost been torn off and was just dangling there. But she didn't care.

Her leg twisted back into place. Her left arm reattached itself. There was no blood. There was just nothing. It was as though nothing had happened to Tyra.

Bellbraun didn't know how to defeat such a monster and felt only fear.

Tyra's silver blade was still in her hand. And she charged even faster than before leaving behind only dust. The destroyed house behind her had been completely eviscerated by just the force she left behind. Bellbraun couldn't react at all. Tyra's blade struck him right in the chest cracking his shell. He was completely stunned, but he managed to push her away once more with his claws. But this time, Tyra was barely pushed away.

Bellbraun looked at the damage that was caused. He didn't know what kind of monster would be able to penetrate such armor made of gold and diamond. He stood there not knowing what he could possible do against such a foe.

And her power was still growing. With such a small fragment of the silver knight, she had become more monstrous than any other.

She roared once more with such uncontrollable hatred and rage. Soon, Tyra was no longer going to be there.

But as her mind was still present, she tried to remember what she was fighting for. She didn't want to fight with hate in her heart. She didn't want to be the same person that once killed as a mercenary. And when she looked back at Bellbraun, all she could see was a blur. Everything seemed to fade.

And then she looked towards Syren. He was struggling to fight against the golden-robed knights, but was still on his feet.

She remembered why she joined the Silver Order. It wasn't to destroy monster like so many others in that group. It wasn't to kill. It wasn't even because the silver knight was affiliated with them. It was penance.

Tyra couldn't close her eyes or blink, but when she looked upon the stars, she saw a life where she and Bellbraun had settled down. They had children - a boy and a girl. They had a dog called Gold. It wasn't perfect. There were still plenty of problems - the occasional bandit raid or not being able to pay off a debt. But she was happy.

However, Tyra just couldn't accept her own happiness as she's taken away the happiness of others. She just didn't feel like she deserved it after the sins she's committed.

So, with the remaining control she had, she groaned and looked towards where Syren fought. She couldn't see him properly. He was like a blur, but she could tell how the golden-robed knights looked. They gave off a sinister, gold aura that filled the air. Syren's was dark, but not sinister. But there was one more. She saw one more among the crowd of fallen. One more presence that wasn't Syren nor the golden-robed figures. It was just a civilian.

It felt like centuries to Tyra, but in reality it was only a second. She saw the options. There were only two that mattered to her. She saw the consequences. In the end, she knew that she would fade away.

Bellbraun was completely frozen. If Tyra had chosen to continue to fight, she could have easily killed him. One more strike to that cracked area, and it would have been over.

But she chose a different path.

She dashed away from Bellbraun to his surprise. She grabbed the fallen civilian and pushed the golden-robed knights away with such force that their bones broke. She then grabbed Syren to his surprise. And she dashed away leaving nothing behind but dust.

Bellbraun watched as Tyra escaped. He knew that he couldn't defeat her and ordered the other golden-robed knights to let them leave. It was not a fight they could win. Bellbraun began to morph back to his human form. He had no idea what kind of monster he fought, but knew that Tyra was still herself in the end. He truly wished that Tyra would stay with him. After his debt to Avaritia, he though he would ask again.

Bellbraun checked up on his shoulder. It was still bleeding, but he didn't care. The armor on his shoulder had been shattered, but it was something that he was sure can be fixed.

He walked away towards the mayor's castle with whatever golden-robed knights were left. After all, he still had a job to complete.