Ashes of The Peninsula

Chapter 13: The Wedding – Part 2

Elyas raises his sword toward Ishtar as she prepares to unleash more of her illusion magic!

He leaps toward her and pushes her out of the room into the corridor. Ishtar pulls out a thin, sharp knife and slashes Elyas across the face, then jumps and activates her illusion magic. The corridor flips upside down, rooms begin to shift, rocks move — and Elyas starts dashing in spiral paths, trying to break the spell. He advances toward Ishtar, who attempts to flee, then swings his sword at her face. She creates a wall with her illusion magic. Elyas smashes through it — it's not a real wall — only to find Ishtar suddenly behind him.

They clash weapons amid the chaos of deep illusion magic. Ishtar stabs Elyas in the side, but he punches her hard in the body, sending her flying and forcing her into a defensive stance. Imran rushes toward Elyas.

Imran: What the hell is going on, Elyas?! Who is she?

Elyas: Some call her the goddess Ishtar — goddess of love, beauty, and war. But to me, she's nothing more than the embodiment of sorcery and seduction in this world.

Elyas pushes Imran back with his hand, then charges forward at high speed to continue the close-range fight. Imran suddenly finds himself surrounded by three dark warriors and is forced to fight. He slowly draws his sword and begins swinging it with deadly skill, using everything he's learned.

He blocks the first warrior's strike and defeats him with a single blow. Two remain. Under heavy pressure — as he's not that powerful — Imran struggles. Suddenly, a powerful burst of energy erupts from beside him, piercing one of the remaining warriors and killing him. The last one is stunned by the blast, and Imran seizes the moment to finish him — but not without hesitation in that final strike.

Imran turns to see that it was his uncle who fired the energy blast.

Imran: Uncle!

Sameer: Are you alright?

Imran: I'm fine… Elyas is fighting alone! He's fighting a woman named Ishtar!

Sameer: Do you know who she is?

Imran: No, but he says she's the same one we read about in the books… the goddess.

Absi suddenly appears and tackles the third dark warrior — the one Imran knocked down earlier — just before he could slash Imran's leg.

Absi: Whew! That was close!

Sameer: Did you get the sword?

Imran: Yes!

Sameer: Then let's get out of here — stay alive. Elyas will handle things!

Imran: But Uncle! She's strong!

Sameer: Don't worry. Riyad will back him up.

Elyas and Ishtar continue their brutal fight, destroying the Umayyad Palace like giants crushing everything in their path. Servants and guards are slaughtered, the concubines flee in terror. Ishtar pulls back to catch her breath. Two more dark warriors block Elyas's path. Elyas, exhausted, looks down at the ground… then suddenly slices them both in half before they can react!

He drinks their blood… rips out one of their hearts and drinks directly from it! The power surges through Elyas. He charges toward Ishtar, grabs her shoulder with lightning speed, and slams her into the ground, breaking through the floor into the level below. They clash with full force!

Suddenly, they find themselves in the wedding hall. They kill guests and civilians. Screams erupt everywhere. The Caliph is frozen in shock.

Caliph (thinking): My son's bride is fighting like a demon… and who is this man fighting her? What is happening?!

Ishtar stands in the middle of the hall and says to Elyas:

Ishtar: Well… it's been a long time, Elyas.

She grins wickedly.

Then Khaled, the groom and the Caliph's son, approaches her.

Khaled: Hadil! What are you doing?!

She grabs his neck, chokes him, then crushes his throat and kills him without hesitation. She charges at Elyas and punches him hard — both of them fly out of the palace, destroying everything in their path!

She lands heavy blows on Elyas, who can do nothing but defend. There's no opening for attack. She's fighting like a lunatic. She's completely insane. She wounds Elyas in the stomach, then hits him again and sends him crashing into the ground!

She raises her thin sword to finish Elyas — but suddenly, an arrow pierces her hand from afar!

It's Riyad!

Riyad: I didn't think you'd fall so easily, Elyas.

Riyad smiles.

Meanwhile, Sameer, Imran, and Absi flee the palace amid the chaos — only to find a group of dark warriors blocking their path!

One of them steps forward:

Warrior: Do you remember me, old man? Hahaha!

It's the same warrior Sameer fought in the khan!

Sameer raises his sword and prepares to fight — Imran and Absi do the same.

End of Chapter.