The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 82 - The Way Ahead

Link spiraled back as he brought a hand to his cheek, feeling the glistening beads of blood dribbling down his face from the gash. Thanan had not lost his edge with the sword and was as deadly as ever, a grin was perpetually displayed on his face the entire battle. Cayla surged in as Link recovered. Thanan countered her downward strike with a flick of his rapier before swinging forward with his fist to crunch the bone of her elbow. She lurched to the side of the thrust before letting herself fall to the floor, deftly rolling out of the way of the descending thrust of Thanan's steel.

Link rushed forward with a feint to his side before swinging his sword in an upward arcing motion to decapitate Thanan's head. The man jerked his head back before batting the weapon sideways and crouching low to deliver a sweeping kick to Link's legs, knocking him off balance and onto his rump. Thanan leaped onto his prone form and attempted to dive the rapier into Link's chest before his hands went numb around the hilt. The man looked down to see Cayla's hand encased in a steel-encrusted glove bursting through his abdomen.

Jerked the man off of Link with a firm grip on his spine, Cayla tossed Thanan to the floor with a squishing pop as her hand emerged from his entrails. Guts and intestines slowly oozed out of the open wound as his rapier clattered to the stone floor. He looked up in disbelief, "Still having a bitch distract me long enough for you to strike the finishing blow. You haven't changed one bit Link." Thanan mocked heartily.

Not wasting time, Link bounded himself off the floor before ramming his sword deep into Thanan's chest where the Defiler would be. He could hear squealing chitters from within the man's torso as his weapon dove further into the soft flesh. Thanan could only gurgle on the blood frothing at his mouth.

"As long as you are defeated, then I don't care how it happens!" Link shouted, mere inches from Thanan's face.

With a heave, Link swiped the sword out of Thanan's body before wiping it clean on the man's clothes. He looked over at Cayla with a smile before turning to Zelda. She had just begun to stir. There was some faint red flecks in her hair, it appeared Thanan had caught her by surprise while she was in the room with her father. With a start, he stood up and walked over to the entrance of the chamber and looked in, he grimaced at the sight of gore and splatter permeating the room. Harkinian had died a rather horrible death, indeed, there was barely anything whole of him left.

A sickening moan emerged from the corpse of Thanan. Link tilted his head back in exasperation, "You've got to be joking me." He pivoted to stare down at the reanimating carcass of Thanan as it clumsily pushed its innards back into the body cavity.

A croaking laugh heralded the rasping voice, "You forget, this body has the ability to regenerate itself! You cannot kill me, no matter how many times you try!"

Cayla swiftly brought her baton down on the man's head with a crack, the body crumpled to the ground from the force of the impact. Thanan merely chortled at the vain attempt to dispose of him. "Dear Goddesses," Cayla whispered, "this is why the Defilers want the bodies of the Nevachreans who can revive: they'd never die!"

"Oh ho...you are only half right my dear Sheikah!" Thanan sniggered, quickly closing the hole wrought in his stomach. "Our goal was far grander and ambitious in scope but with Hylia within my grasp, things have gotten quite simple."

His beady eyes locked onto Zelda's before staggering forward to make a grab for her. She twirled away before swinging around with her own spiked baton in her hand, raking it across the cheek drawing red lines down his face. He roared with pain as he bent low to pick up the rapier once more. Without looking behind him, he swung it backwards to ward off the oncoming blow from Link who had moved forward to pierce the man's heart. Link jumped back startled as a demon burst through Thanan's back, reaching out with its hooked forearms to scratch its assailants.