Life calls. :'(

On the bright side, I've gotten as far as the start of the battle. I haven't yet figured out how to illustrate the teamwork issues between Astran and Eva, though.

Eva grabbed Astran by the shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Astran, where and how did you learn that?" Eva demanded. He just stared back at her wide-eyed and shrugged. "I-I don't know! I have no idea!" She shook him and leaned closer. "I have to know. This is important, dang it!" But all he could muster was something that sounded like, "I had it all along."

Seeing as she would get no coherent answer out of him, Eva let him go. "I wish you'd talk to me sometimes. Let's go." She began down the road, followed by Astran and a delighted Elesis. "OH MY GOSH THAT WAS SO AWESOME I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!" Elesis exclaimed to Astran while dancing and skipping around him (much to Eva's annoyance). "CAN YOU DO THAT AGAIN? YOU CAN DO THAT AGAIN, RIGHT? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I WANNA SEE YOU DO IT AGAIN!!"

And it looked like she was going to get her wish.

If the environment could get any darker, it did. A towering figure clad in the signature armor of the angels plummeted to the ground and cratered itself into the road ahead of them. Darker than any angel they had ever seen (and a good deal handsomer *whistles*), it casually strode up to them and mock-bowed to them. "Hello, humans. Funny how you made it this far. Mind if I monologue for a bit before I destroy you?"
Astran shrugged. "Sure. Let's have it."
The creature smiled, a really creepy, rapeface kind of smile. "Excellent. My name is Amadeus Grimmoire. Have you heard of me?"
Astran nodded. "Yup. My mission is to kill you. I'm Astran Valderis, by the way, and my friends here are Eva Sintaris and Elesis."
Amadeus waved to them. "Hello there. We'll be saying our goodbyes in a few moments."
Eva rolled her eyes and said nothing. Elesis waved shyly and giggled like a schoolgirl.

She stopped giggling when a giant three-headed monster phased into view. It wasn't nearly as large as the golem they'd seen earlier, but it was way, WAY more imposing. It had the body and tail of a black dragon, with three identical heads that were clad in glowing metal armor. The claws on its feet were each as long as an arm and sharper than any knife. Its growls shook the ground, and its roars...well, nigh-indescribable.

They looked upon it with a mixture of horror, amazement, and amusement. Three heads? Pbtbth- bwah ha ha ha! It's the funniest lookin' critter- *ahem* Anyways, suffice it to say they were suitably scared. With that, Amadeus waved dramatically. "Goodbye, little children. Enjoy this little warm-up game I have for you."

They expected him to disappear or something, but instead he ran off down the road. Oh well. The beast reared its heads and roared, seeming to shake the entire world with its anger and causing anything unlucky enough to be standing nearby to crumble and fall to the ground.

Astran, Eva, and Elesis simply plugged their ears, which worked surprisingly well.

Astran tried to bring down the same lightning he'd used earlier. "BEGONE, FOUL BEAST!" And lightning struck it, but it just seemed to tickle the monster, which made an odd-sounding roar that could plausibly have been a laugh. He frowned and glanced at Eva, who charged out with her blade in hand. "HyaaaaAAAAH!!" she cried as she smote the monster with her Divine Avenger and plunged it through the beast's scaly skin.

Or at least, tried to. It only went in halfway. She pulled it out and tried again, and got exactly the same result. The beast nudged her aside, knocking her to the ground, and attempted to stomp on her. She rolled aside, now fearing for her life, and darted back to Astran's side. "Got anymore magical powers I don't know about?" she puffed, already quite out of breath from her escapade. Astran threw his hand forward and shot out a burst of fire at the beast, which might have been effective had it been aimed at the head rather than the chest. Instead, it just gave the dragon a nice sauna.

Now it was the dragon's turn to show off its stuff. It reared its starboard-side head and blew out a gust of hot, smelly breath. "Ew, smells like flatulence," Astran commented. Eva was too busy plugging her nose to reply. They stepped away just before it detonated in a bright orange fireball.

Time to get this party started.

Derpy double post. Maybe I'll use this space for later.

Wut?

He has the King's permission to kill me!?

"Surprised?" Valvius cooed. "You failed to kill me. You failed to kill Amadeus. You failed your mission. So you must fail to live."
"Impossible! The King would never betray us like that!"
"Do you really think so? Maybe you'll think differently when you see THIS!"

He held up a golden helm, stained with blood and matted with golden hair. "This is the helmet of your beloved. Look upon it and weep!" He tossed it to Astran, who caught it and examined it.

It was Evaria's.

No! NO!! He dropped to his knees in complete and utter shock, staring into helmet in the hopes of finding some clue that she was alive. How could I have failed you so badly? I'm so sorry. I'm sorry Evaria! He held it close to his chest and shut his eyes. This is all a dream. It has to be. The King wouldn't let her die.

Valvius chuckled cruelly. "Awww, who's a sad boy now, huh? Who's a sad boy?" he mocked.
You will pay.
"You worthless piece of scrap. You're not worth the dirt you stand on, boy."
Give me a reason to kill you.
"You cannot defeat me. I am invincible. Come on! Test me! Show me what you and your magical sword can do!"
Thanks for giving me that reason.

Astran slowly stood up and drew Aurora. Calm yourself, Astran. Revenge does not belong to you. But you are still the arm of justice; slay him for justice's sake. He pointed Aurora at Valvius and said flatly, "Apologize."
Valvius stepped back, his eyes wide open with amusement. "Ap-apologize!?" he sputtered. "BWAH HA HA HA HA!! How funny! How childish! How totally, utterly stupid! Seriously! Apologize? You don't want me dead? You want me to apologize? You are SO funny! Bwah ha ha ha ha!" He keeled over, slapping his knee and laughing his head off.

Astran frowned. I don't see what's so funny about it. Aurora hissed in the air as he took a step forward. Valvius composed himself and drew Malfeasance. "Boy, you humor me to no end. It'll be a shame to kill you, really it will," he remarked sadly. Astran gripped the hilt tight and braced himself for the onslaught.

Suddenly, with the force of a hurricane, mighty blows struck at him from all directions. He struggled to block each one, sweat pouring from his forehead as the deadly edge of darkness aimed to cleave his soul in twain with every strike. He leaped back to give himself a little space to think. How do I stop this guy? He's a frikkin' Valkyrie for goodness' sake! He shut his eyes to imagine how to come out of this alive.

Mind games.

I think he's been bluffing this whole time. Maybe if I keep pretending to be weak and shocked, he'll get cocky. Best not overdo it, though, or he'll get suspicious. Then at the last minute, throw him off his guard with something eery. He opened his eyes in time to deflect another swift attack. He deftly twisted it away and threw a hook. Valvius blocked it and kicked Astran in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"You're no match for me, boy. Give it up already!" he taunted. Astran allowed himself to sweat a little, and gripped the hilt of his sword hard enough so that his knuckles would noticeably whiten. "N-no!" he stuttered. "Never!" He crawled away and stumbled to his feet, pretending to wipe the sweat and tears from his eyes. Valvius bought the act and flourished his sword. "Do you fear me, boy? I can smell it from a mile off! You can't hide it forever. Maybe if you indulge me in some begging and pleading, I'll make your death swift and painless."

Like that's gonna happen. He began to back away in the direction of the railless bridge overlooking the chasm. "What have you done with Evaria!?" he cried. "Give her back, you monster!" Valvius slowly advanced on him, following him onto the bridge. "What have I done with her? Whatever do you mean, boy? Perhaps I should ask what you have done with her! Did you not abandon her in her hour of need?"
Hahaha nope. That was her doing, genius. Unless you mean how I missed the bomb throw. My bad. He widened his eyes in pretend shock. "No! I would never!"
"Oh, but you did!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!!"
"Yeeeeeessss!"

"NO!!" he screamed, and jumped at Valvius with his sword raised high. He brought it down with all the fury of righteous anger. Their ears rung with a resounding clang as Aurora and Malfeasance clashed and sputtered, edge to edge. Glinting shards of broken steel split off in all directions.

Aurora had snapped.

Silence fell over the both of them as the repercussions of this unexpected disaster dawned on them. Astran drew back and laid his broken blade between his hands, staring in disbelief at the remains of his mighty blade and trusted friend. This can't be happening to me! He angrily shook the tears from his eyes, trying to make sense of it all. Why!? WHY!?

Even Valvius had the grace to acknowledge his opponent's dire situation. "Truly it is a sad day when one's sacred blade breaks before a mighty foe. Such a shame." He flourished Malfeasance and brought it to Astran's neck.

"Yes, so sad."

Astran closed his eyes.

Does no one else have anything to say about my last story post? I worked hard on that!