Fortune Favors the Courageous

Chapter 23: Reset

reset
v. to revert back to an original or prior state
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When its red glow shines upon the land, the aimless spirits of monsters return to flesh.   

It was the middle of the night, but you wouldn't know it by the striking luminance, a scarlet spotlight showcasing the fear on their faces. The despondent lines were drawn as clearly as if the court artist had taken their portrait. Titled Visages in Blood.

The black and magenta wisps swirled like snowfall in reverse. Behind the partition of oil paints, it'd be beautiful. But, alas, they were not protected by the buffer of artistic interpretation.

As malice filled the air, Makar woke with a fright. Then, with a shrill shriek and a low poof, he fled, leaving Link and Zelda to fend for themselves.

The princess remembered how her entire entourage of knights could not stop the waves of monsters during the first Blood Moon. Even if Link possessed more skill than all of them combined, there was an undeniable disadvantage in number. The best knight in all of Hyrule could only fend off so many monsters at once. So, as Link drew his sword, Zelda hastily snatched the small cooking knife. Then they were on their feet, back-to-back, trying to shield the other from any threat that might manifest. Although they both held weapons, only one was properly equipped to fight, and they both knew it.

"Put that down," Link hissed over his shoulder.

"I-I can't let you fight alone—" she riposted even as she trembled from limbs to larynx.

"You're better off with the mind to dodge than a—"

A screech, a whistle, an aerocuda hurtling towards them. They ducked, and Link sliced upwards as it passed over them. The creature split in two, spurting bits of malice onto him and the princess. She screamed, dropping the knife in a knee-jerk reaction and swiping at the black gristle splattered on her clothes before it evaporated on its own. As more screeches sounded, she jerked and fell on her butt. Link stood over her and slayed every aerocuda that dove their way. Black and magenta detritus showered down on them before dissipating into the air.

Zelda stopped worrying about trying to brush it off and fumbled around in the grass for the dropped knife. Though she stayed away from his feet, Link glanced down to watch his step anyway, and that was all the distraction it took. The next aerocuda barreled in quickly, and he could only block it awkwardly with his sword. Instead of a clean slice, he shoved it away, but he was off balance now, and the next diving aerocuda made him stumble again. One after the other, Link was on the defensive, fighting just to keep his balance against the onslaught. Zelda found the knife, but as she wrapped her fingers around the handle and tried to rise to her feet, her vision threatened to go black. Whether it was due to the weapon in her grasp or Link getting pummeled remained unclear, but one thing was certain. She was as uncoordinated and irresolute as the day she drove her shank into Nasally's ribs.

There wasn't even a chance to redeem herself now, because she was pathetically knocked over by the first aerocuda that darted at her in a whistle of wind. Link, who had managed to stay on his feet somehow up until now, tripped over the princess at his feet and crashed down on top of her. She was making everything worse—

With the duo on the ground, however, the remaining aerocuda stopped diving and started circling instead, screeching bloody murder.

Then, a battle horn. Could the Hylian Army have found them? That didn't make any sense...

Link shifted into a crouch over Zelda as a new kind of screeching joined the shrill cries overhead. Zelda wiped the dirt from her face and saw—not one, not two, but eight red bokoblins in a line, headed their way. At the front of the line was a boss bokoblin, ten times the size of the others. In one hand was a claymore, the other a war horn, and at its second blaring, the bokoblins started to sprint. The screeching above grew, too, as the swirling formation of aerocuda became agitated.