by Luka Petrov
“I had to. Isn’t it common to save a friend.” Walter conveyed as he looked at me, there was more than just common loyalty seen in his eyes. There was also respect and pride directed to me. I could only believe that’s why he spent so long with me since he was a fan from the beginning and how it was transferred towards him.
My lips twitched into a lip with the kindness that Walter was giving me, and I knew that this person would be a lifelong friend that would always have my gratitude. I wasn’t sure how I would repay it, but I knew that I owed him my life. That was something that wasn’t easy to repay but I knew that I would be more than glad to help him any time he wanted for as long as possible.
“You’re too kind, Walter.” I relayed to him; unsaid words of gratitude was mixed into my tone. And perhaps he knew that because he smiled as if to ease the worries that remained lodged within my heart. And it worked.
Briefly.
But such a sweet moment was short-lived because we heard a rustle of movement that was not far from us. This brought fear upon us as we held our breath given the fact that there was one other being with us. Our gazes were focused towards the burnt body at the floor. At first, there was no obvious movement but then it appeared without a second thought. The Demon Lord was... alive?
He wasn’t dead.
We had all visibly paled at his sudden appearance as he stood from the ground which revealed the outline of the Inferno Pillar that had been cast. We could only gawk at the fact that he was able to regain consciousness. He had not died at all; he simply bided his time to find a way to escape to a place that would give him time to heal.
“You guys deserve something just as painful. Shall I make sure of that?” The Demon Lord seemed amused for a lack of better words. Yet the words were dripped with anger and hatred that made the room turn cold. This was not a joke or a pretense of threatening words, the Demon Lord meant it. This was a promise for them.
We all tensed up and paused, our attention had to be focused on him as his glare was all-seeing. We knew that if we made a slight movement, he would take note of that. Yet the pressure he gave off was enough for all of us to remain rooted beside Walter. As if we were incapable to throw a counter-attack towards him.
Were we weak or was he too strong?
“What do you plan to do—stop!” It confused me but then I saw the moment of clarity as soon as the Demon Lord raised his hand once more. This was a different stance, one that was unknown to them until I realized what exactly what the Demon Lord’s intentions were.
He wasn’t casting the orb of darkness again, instead; he decided to go for a something far worse. Darkness filled the room and formed dark arrows that were pointed towards us. However, it dawned to me that the Demon Lord was not aiming at me. But my friends, Yves and Cecily. No sooner did I realize this did he throw his attack.
The darkness-filled bolts hit both of them and pinned them to the wall. Blood oozed out of them and luckily enough it didn’t hit anyone or have the guts spilled. Instead, both the girls were rendered unconscious but the pain they felt was beyond comprehensible.
“Look, I was nice enough not to kill them.” The Demon lord smirked as he looked at the girls that were now unable to move because of his attack. However, the generosity that he displayed was one of cruelty. The smugness that emitted him proved that as he looked at them as nothing more than livestock for his entertainment and that only increased the anger within me.
The Demon Lord was obviously a petty man as he retaliated towards the girls since they had stolen his mobility and eventually rested their account. But before anything that could be said Walter had crawled himself towards them. His fingers doing the lowest grade heal that could at best just heal minor cuts.
“Yves! Cecily!” Walter yelled as he went to them, he was just recently as well but his mana was low. There was no cheap heals that he knew how to activate with the low magic that he had at the time that would be enough to heal them.
And right now my mana was at an all-time low unless I went far as to try to go for another burst attack. For the lack of better words, we were screwed but something deep within my mind told me that we would win. And I wanted to believe that because even the smallest bit of hope was enough so that we would be able to push to continue the battle against the Demon Lord.
“You’re truly unforgivable,” I said, but the voice sounded distance, anger had begun to consume me in more ways than one.
I knew that I should punish those who were guilty and not to let personal emotions get in the way. However, this was hard to keep in check as I had to see the two who had accompanied me this journey rendered into heaps on the floor left a sour taste in my mouth. Not only that I saw that Walter was worn down to the bone.
This journey was supposed to be of self-discovery, but this was nothing but cruelty for the children had joined me. A journey that was filled with the weight of a country’s future on my shoulder while those who were my comrades stood at a precarious spot of life and death. But now was not the time to dwell in dark thoughts that could not free me from the punishment I deserve. A man-made one that would be served for the rest of my life. Now it was time for me to use all the potential I had in order to make sure none of them feel regret in serving me.
I could feel vessels within me unlock as I had submitted into the warped feelings within my body. I knew that a new power was being unlocked that far succeeded my original magic prowess.
“Should I be afraid?” The Demon Lord laughed in a booming voice that had no kindness to be found. He seemed proud of what he had done against me. I could see the gleam in his eyes that reflected no remorse. No, there wasn’t an ounce of humanity reflected from them if there every once was. Which was a shame because they could lead this world split between the two but neither of you said anything?
I was only considered amusement that is as fickle as they come.
The question an obvious answer for the Demon Lord for him at least. And I had to use that to my advantage, so I let the magic within me begin to spread and bloom into one filled with endless power. My whole body felt light and glowed. And I could feel the pride within me as I realized how far I had come prepared to who I was before.
As if I had committed an achievement that was meant for myself.
Not that it mattered, right now, the only thing to do was to make sure that the future was secured with this Demon Lord gone for good. I began to channel the power within me to deflect it towards this person given the fact there was only so much time left. My Magi Staff extended once more this time my eyes were trained to make sure that the next attack would land on the Demon Lord who clearly felt too accomplished to even move.
He had to be gone. Now.
The room that we were in with the tower began to grow with an eerie light. Even the walls and flooring seemed to be washed out by the light that was seen. I began to lift from the ground as I let the powers read into my mind. Words that I had never seen before began to pass through my eyes as knowledge of unspeakable magic entered my mind. This would be the aid needed to defeat the Demon Lord. I could not deny this much as I continued to consume more of the power within my arsenal.
Soon.
The magic that burned within me was evident I excelled in magic more than I had previously thought. I allowed my anger to make the decisions for me as I felt my vision go white from the light that was beginning to shine towards the creature that had gone as far as to hurt his comrades again.
My lips began to move as if it had to mouth a spell that would consume whatever left of mana was left in me. However, I was rudely interrupted by the Demon Lord that would not die. The Demon Lord seemed to realize my intention and instead flew towards me but once more Walter proved to be loyal to the bitter end.
Walter used whatever magic ability he had left to deflect the attack that was directed toward me. Perhaps we were tied to a fate together. As if he was the shield, and I was simply the sword. I watched him chant a weak enough barrier skill around his body
as he took the brunt of the damage that was caused by the Demon Lord.
It was to no surprise that the shield broke as it absorbed as much of the damage it could, and the rest was distributed to the body that blocked the attack. There was a crunch of bone from the sheer impact and a cry heard from Walter. Despite his loyalty aspects one couldn’t help but wonder if this was his divine punishment for being the one by my side as he took the damage for me.
“Walter, go rest... and thank you.” My words sounded eerie as I still had the power within me and thus my words sounded almost celestial. Though it seemed that he was able to understand as he hid towards the corner with the unconscious girls and the archmage at hand. They were still covered in their own blood and carnage.
It was now time for the Trojan horse. “Abraxas, I’ll give you what you seek!” I shouted.
“About time. Your friends do not have much time left,” he taunted. I pulled from my Bag of Holding the replica spell book. The actual spell book I left back at the inn, where it was safe. I had already mastered the spells, and had my eidetic memory to rely on, so having the actual book was not necessary.
“You win. I cannot go on any further,” I stated as I slid the spell book across the tower floor over to the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord opened the book and began reading it. As the Demon Lord looked at the first page, happiness filled my body. “Ah! The first spell is written in Dethek. The ancient Elder language of Dwarvish. As a Demon Lord, I am fluent in all languages. I am going to try this first spell on you!” The Demon Lord shouted as he looked at me.
He read the spell out loud, and as he did, the runes detonated just as I had planned, dealing him damage.
Lord Abraxas is dealt 8d8 damage and cannot make a saving throw. The spell book disintegrates in his hands.
Falling on the ground, the Demon Lord becomes angry, “You tricked me, you fool! Now you will pay with your life!”
Just by that visual alone, I was able to grab the rest of the power within the palm of my hand. A counter towards the Demon Lord as the light began to form increasingly within my hand. A swarm of magic was now being created but everyone could only wonder if this was the end to come.
“Now that seems rather interesting, shall I counter that?” The Demon Lord asked with amusement stitched into his voice I had begun to become familiar with. My chants for this new spell was muttered under my breath as I repeated it over and over so that the Demon Lord would suffer under the grasp of my hand.
However, one could not ignore the fact that there was another dark orb that was coming from the enemy opponent. We knew that the Demon Lord could make it more powerful this time around. Or perhaps because of the wounds, he had withstood from the earlier fight would cause his attacks to be nothing more than weaker versions of themselves. This was the cruel world of the music industry that only asks for silence and favors.
I watched as he flung the dark orb towards me once again. There was evil darkness that emitted from him. That one could not ignore as much as one tried, especially since a darkness orb was thrown to me. Without a wasted second, I sent out my holy herb that was renamed as Radiance Descent.
“RADIANCE DESCENT!” My voice boomed as I threw the light orb that already destroyed the dark orb that was meant for me. There was an explosion as raw power was exchanged with another. I knew to some degree, but I did not expect for how quickly this placed opened up now.
The light orb continued to move as it tracked the Demon Lord much to his own horror. For the first time, one could see that there was actually fear reflected within his eyes. He realized that he was not the absolute power-based being within this world. There were times that combined forces could beat him and it helped that I just happened to be part of this combined force. I kept silent so I could watch without any distractions as the Dark Lord was consumed by the inferno-like power of the holy light.
“You got him, Edward!” Walter sighed in relief as I did too. We both slumped onto the floor, just a few feet apart as we finally were able to soak in the rest that we had needed this whole time. Relief continued to wash over me as I knew that Walter was by my side. I knew that I was allowing myself to get attached as I watched over someone to an extensive degree much to their own knowledge as they had yet to be realized they were being watched this closely.
A few seconds had ticked by of relieved breathing as we realized that once more, we could save the city that had requested for their help. Gilmore was a city that was filled with so many interesting things and wealth that even I could see the appeal for it since it was able to foster mages like them that were skilled with magic. Because of this, there was a scale that would always be held in favor of its destruction and its protection.
Now it was saved. But before I could even get a word in it seemed that that several voices had raised since the two girls had roused from their unconscious slumber that they were forced into. Because of this, which I was grateful for, it was hard to tell where to lay my attention towards.
“Ugh... why does this hurt?” Cecily groaned to herself as her hand touched the darkness-infected arm she had. Fingers gently rubbed the wound but not hard enough to irritate it, she just wanted to feel some sense of relief from her cool touch but that was not helping. At all. She looked down, and a frown began to form on her face.
Cecily had realized the extent of the damage she received from the Dark Lord. It was a miracle itself that she survived but that didn’t make the pain they suffered any less. Instead, she pressed her lips together and tried not to complain as she didn’t want to appear weak to those around her.
Though I could see why she didn’t want to be seen that way. She always had the personality that she wasn’t the emotional type, but it seemed obvious that she was at this time and moment. Instead, she got up stretching her limbs as she tried to bring back feeling towards her sore limbs.
She was not the only one to awaken, Yves got up as well. There was pain reflected in her clear eyes as she gently touched each area. Using whatever power she had left to heal her injuries or ease the pain she left. Her gaze flickered left and right to look for the Demon Lord, so she figured that he was gone. This gave her an excuse to talk finally without there being the Demon Lord to threaten her life with his dark magic.
“Wh-what happened?” She asked in a groggy tone and I couldn’t help but smile at her simplicity. She may have been similar to me in terms of personality, but I knew that she was more on the emotional end. The glassy eyes of her were proof of that along with the tremble of her voice as she realized that she was still scared because of everything that had occurred. “Cecily...?”
Yves called out to her but then our eyes met, and we realized that there was a sense of glee relayed to me without rods. Just silent words that were declared here.
“You two... are you okay?” I asked them, looking over their bodies that were covered in cuts and bruises, some burns here and there but nothing too extensive from them. I knew that now we were safe that I would be able to cure them of some of their wounds, however, their burns were something that we would have to see a healer that excelled in such arts.
Yet I was unable to make this recommendation. Before they could focus on their group any longer, they noticed that the Demon Lord had yet again to die. There was a movement in the dark pile that appeared to be burnt and smelled like rubber that had been set on fire.
“Careful, you fools, this will not be the end.” This was not a warning that was offered generously by the Demon Lord. No, this was a threat, and I was able to see through the words he had thrown at us with obvious hatred.
I was not the only one to take notice of this, the whole group was able to understand the severity of the situation. He was burnt to a crisp as if any moment he would become nothing more than ashes of an overly burnt food, but the Demon Lord never knew how to give. Instead, he snickered bitterly as he tried to keep himself together though I could easily that his body had already begun to fall apart before my very eyes. Now wa
s the time to rid the Demon Lord from this world so that peace may finally enter the new world.
“Die for the sins you’ve committed,” I said without a hint of irony in my voice, there was only the tempered down the anger that swirled within it. I still had remnants of my surge of power that clouded my vision to some degree.
I knew that I wasn’t power hungry if compared to other humans before me. With that in a mind, a part of me wants another pet. This would mean another life is within my hands, but I began to wonder if that was too much or too little.
My hand lifted to cast another spell despite there not being a single spell that was in the book that would be able to take down the person who tried to get rid of us time and time again. Now it was his turn to disappear into the nothingness we had come back too.
“As if, I’ll be back another time. And then my hatred will be spread.” The Demon Lord warned as he waved his head towards the empty space beside him, his hand had waved towards a rip in the space.
Edward used one spell and cast Disintegration Beam, narrowly missing Lord Abraxas before he jumped through a portal.
A portal or rather a gate towards the abyss that would allow him to heal in the darkness. And I knew if we had let him go in there then we would have to face him once more but my body and everyone else was too weak to stop him as we were out of mana. His body immediately crawled towards the gate that had appeared before he paused. A final gaze had been directed towards us as we were drained towards the massive amount of mana used.
To their surprise, the Demon Lord, Abraxas, was finally gone. We all looked at each other both in relief of the situation as well as an obvious disappointment that could be felt mutually between us. The surprise was for the mess he had made, and the disappointment was one shared to the team that was forged between them. The disappointment stemmed from the fact that the Demon Lord was able to hide away for more years to rest. The last image that was seen of the Demon Lord was when we saw was his body going into the space that would return in the future unless they would prepare themselves once more to fully rid him from the world.