Reasons of Evil

by Dennis Jode

  He had no strength left to stand. The light from his sword protected him from the black smoke, and the golems that were approaching him seemed to have been incapacitated by the flames that came from Gallohall.

  Jason leaned on his sword, which he planted on the ground. His body was trembling from the excruciating pain that he had just experienced. His left arm hung from his body, completely lifeless. He put his right hand on the sword’s handle and rest his head on it.

  As he was about to close his eyes, he started hearing the sky rumbling. He looked up and saw a large magic circle. Another bolt of lightning was about to descend.

  With the last of his strength, Jason pushed the sword back, causing him to lose balance and fall on his back. The impact from his back hitting the ground was painful. His back was still in pain from the earlier incident.

  The lightning struck his sword. Jason remained lying on the ground. The pain from his back was slowly subsiding.

  More and more black smoke continued to ooze out from the darkness that surrounded Gallohall. It swirled around Jason, being just out of reach from the sword’s light.

  It didn’t take long before the pain that Jason felt had completely disappeared. As he continued lying down, his strength was quickly coming back to him. Although he still couldn’t feel his left arm, the rest of his body felt invigorated, but the light from his sword became dimmer. The light from the sword seemed to help him recover.

  The black smoke quickly made its way towards Jason, since the light from the sword no longer covered him. Jason quickly summoned the sword to his hand as he got up and swung at the black smoke in front of him.

  It was the same situation he was in on his first battle.

  As Jason struck the black smoke in front of him, the rest would attempt to attack him from behind, but Jason would turn around in time to react to the attack.

  Jason continued swinging at the black smoke, trying to make his sword regain its former glow. Even though Gallohall was within his sights, he did not want to enter while the light coming from his sword was dim.

  While battling the black smoke, lightning continued descending upon Jason one by one, but he was able to avoid taking damage by using the maneuver he used earlier.

  After fighting for a few hours, Jason was finally satisfied with the sword’s brightness. He cautiously moved towards Gallohall. The black smoke could only move away from his path in order to avoid being eaten by the light.

  Finally, he was in front of the darkness that covered Gallohall. He plunged his sword towards the darkness, instantly eradicating the parts that the light hit. He moved his sword around, creating a hole in the wall of darkness, big enough for him to fit in.

  He finally made it to Gallohall. After a long, arduous battle, he finally made it inside.

  The world inside the dome of darkness looked incredibly… normal. The buildings in the kingdom looked untouched, and there were multiple pastures where crops and livestock were being raised. If he didn’t know about Gallohall being invaded, he would think that nothing bad had happened to the kingdom.

  But the place was completely empty. Aside from the livestock, nothing else moved in his vicinity. There really was no other human except for him.

  As he cautiously walked towards the castle, he looked around and saw black smoke lingering around the area. Whenever he moved forward, the black smoke would follow him, as if it was watching his every move.

  He ignored the black smoke, since he knew that it couldn’t get close to him as long as he had the sword, which was still glowing brightly in his hand.

  He continued walking while examining his surroundings. The entire kingdom felt peaceful, making him feel like an intruder. He barged in the kingdom, through the Harbinger of Death’s defense, with a sword in hand. Despite the kingdom being uninhabited, he felt that he shouldn’t be there.

  As he continued walking, he became further engrossed in his thoughts. Stories of the Harbinger of Death reached all throughout Gladmont. He was known to be a tyrant who murdered countless humans, but he has never heard any stories of him invading other territories other than Gallohall.

  Why didn’t he take over other kingdoms? Jason experienced the Harbinger of Death’s power himself, so he knew that the man could easily swallow entire kingdoms whole with his power. The only people he killed were the ones that dared to venture close to Gallohall.

  The peaceful surroundings made him doubt his intentions. It seemed as if the Harbinger of Death was only protecting the peace in his kingdom.

  Just as Jason’s determination began to waver, his sword started glowing brighter. His thoughts were once again filled with revenge. The scene of Arthur being devoured by the black smoke continued replaying in his head over and over again, slowly filling up his heart with rage. It was as if his thoughts were being manipulated by something.

  Once again, he was overcome with anger. It was the same feeling that he felt when he walked out of Ravengard. His earlier thoughts were erased, as if it was never there.

  Through the peaceful land, Jason continued walking until he reached the castle gates.

  Unlike the walls of Gallohall, which was covered by a thick layer of darkness, the castle was only covered by a thin layer of black smoke. Jason simply walked through the cover.

  His sword easily dispersed the smoke that came in contact with its light.

  The large door that served as the castle’s entrance was wide open.

  The interior was pitch black. All sources of light were removed inside the castle.

  Jason clenched the sword in his hand. He knew that there would be no more turning back the moment he sets foot inside the castle. He took deep breaths, trying to condition himself mentally. He knew that all of the dangers he faced in his entire life would be nothing compared to the one that he’s about to face.

  As soon as he felt that he was prepared, he stepped inside the castle.

  The pitch black interior was illuminated by the light radiating from his sword. There was no sign of any black smoke anywhere in the castle. He looked around cautiously, thinking that it might be hiding in the corners of the room, but as he illuminated every nook and cranny in the area, he saw nothing.

  Compared to the area outside the castle, the interior seemed unmaintained.

  Cobwebs could be seen in every corner. Dust piled up all over the area, and moss grew all over the walls. It looked as if no one lived in the castle, but he could feel a powerful presence somewhere in the castle.

  Jason remained vigilant. Even though the black smoke was nowhere to be seen, he knew that his opponent was able to use powerful magic.

  As he continued walking through the corridors, the powerful presence felt closer and closer, but it did not move. It seemed as if it was waiting for him.

  Jason braced himself. He had to prepare for the worst. He was mankind’s best shot at defeating the Harbinger of Death, who was feared all throughout the world.

  At the end of a long corridor, he finally came face to face with a large door. He could feel the powerful presence behind it. The air coming from the room felt significantly colder compared to the other parts of the castle.

  He felt intimidated by the aura emanating from the presence inside the room, but his thoughts of revenge gave him enough courage to face his opponent. He put his palm on the door and gave it a small push.

  The door creaked open. The room was incredibly large. The interior was pitch black, just like the rest of the castle interior. Jason put his sword in front of him, illuminating the dark room. The room looked well maintained. It was incredibly clean. There were no cobwebs or moss on the walls. Jason couldn’t even spot a speck of dust.

  In the middle of the room, a man sat down on a throne. He had an ominous appearance.

  Black smoke covered his body as if it was an article of clothing. The man’s skin looked to have been peeled, revealing the red flesh underneath. His face was covered with a thin layer of skin, revealing his skull. A bloody crown sat on his head.r />
  “The Harbinger of Death.” Jason muttered under his breath. He couldn’t help but let his thoughts slip through his mouth. The man looked just like how Arthur described him, but he looked like a mannequin. Ever since Jason opened the door and illuminated the room, the man did not move an inch.

  The air was filled with silence, but Jason knew that the battle could commence at any time. The man’s aura made Jason hesitate.

  “Why do you disturb my peace?”, the man’s voice echoed throughout the room. Jason was caught off guard. He didn’t expect the man to speak.

  “You are a threat to humanity. As long as you live, mankind will never come to know peace.” Jason replied.

  Jason thought he heard the man laugh, but the man’s expression remained still.

  “It is because I live that mankind is at peace.” the man responded to Jason.

  Jason felt angry at the man’s reply.

  “You’ve murdered countless people, yet you think that the world is a peaceful place?!”, Jason couldn’t help but raise his voice.

  “I have only taken the lives of humans who were consumed by their own greed.”, the man responded.

  “Greed?!”, Jason’s anger couldn’t be restrained anymore. He thought of his comrade who died protecting him. He was not a person that moved for his own self benefit.

  With his sword in hand, Jason charged towards the man on the throne. The man simply waved his hand, and a huge wall of earth erupted from the ground, blocking Jason’s path. Jason tried to maneuver around the wall, but as soon as he got past it, a huge burst of flames greeted him.

  Jason was forced to retreat. The fire was not something that he could withstand. As soon as he took a step back, the wall of earth moved towards him at incredible speed. He continued moving backwards, but his back suddenly hit something hard.

  Another wall of earth was waiting for him. He was about to be crushed by the two walls colliding.

  He quickly rolled towards the closest open space, which was to his right. Unfortunately, he didn’t move fast enough. His left arm was crushed between the two walls, but he did not feel any pain. After all, that arm was already dead.

  Another burst of flames started moving towards him. He immediately decided to force his body to move, ripping off the arm that was stuck between the walls.

  Jason flinched. He felt a surge of pain as a part which was not decayed was ripped off along with his left arm. Blood poured out from the wound at an alarming rate. He looked at the fire that was moving towards him and decided to cauterize his wounds before he lost too much blood.

  He swayed his body, dodging the flame that approached. He then put the open wound in the flames to stop the flow of blood.

  The pain he felt was excruciating, but he bit his lip and to prevent himself from losing his composure. As soon as he saw the wound fully close, he moved back to stop the pain that surged throughout his body.

  The Harbinger of Death’s attacks suddenly stopped coming. He was looking straight at Jason.

  “For what cause do you put yourself in so much suffering?”, the man’s voice echoed throughout the room once again.

  “As I said, I have come to bring peace to humanity.” Jason responded with a shaky voice.

  He was still trembling from the pain that he felt earlier.

  They sat in silence for a while. Jason used this time to catch his breath and stop his trembling.

  “You are fighting for naught.”, the man responded as he waved his hand.

  A large magic circle appeared in front of Jason. He clenched the sword tightly in his hand, preparing for what was about to come.

  EPILOGUE

  The magic circle was big enough to cover the entire room.

  Jason braced himself.

  He felt immense danger as he faced the magic circle.

  Suddenly, multiple sparks of lights started shooting towards Jason.

  The sparks looked like arrows that are traveling with incredible speed. Jason was caught off guard. He knew he couldn’t move in time to avoid the projectiles, so he deflected those that were about to hit him with his sword.

  The projectiles cleanly pierced through the walls. If Jason gets hit by those projectiles, he would quickly become riddled with holes.

  Jason continued deflecting each and every projectile that is being shot in his direction. The magic circle was shooting the projectiles with incredible speed, giving Jason no space to breath. If Jason tried to move forward, the projectiles would be moving too fast for him to react. The only way to ease his situation was to move backwards.

  He was slowly getting pushed back by the sheer force of each projectile he deflected. The magic circle showed no signs of stopping the assault any time soon, and so, Jason slowly moved backwards in order to give himself more breathing room.

  There was now a considerable distance between Jason and the Harbinger of Death. The Harbinger of Death didn’t give Jason any space. As soon as he noticed that Jason was making space for himself, the magic circle that shot the projectiles suddenly closed. Another magic circle appeared beneath Jason.

  Jason quickly tumbled out of the way, trying to move out of the circle before the spell came out. Fortunately, he was able to avoid the large pillar of flame that suddenly erupted from the ground by the skin of his teeth.

  As soon as the pillar of flame dissipated, he quickly charged towards his opponent, who was still sitting on his throne, completely expressionless. He thought that this was finally his chance to be on the offensive. He moved as fast as he could towards the Harbinger of Death.

  A large cloud of darkness suddenly hovered above his opponent. A large magic circle suddenly appeared, covering the entire room’s ceiling.

  Jason had to quickly retreat. The area suddenly started raining projectiles identical to the ones that were being shot earlier. The man who sat in the middle of the room was completely safe. The cloud of darkness that was hovering above him devoured every shot that was about to fall on him.

  Unlike the Harbinger of Death, Jason was having a difficult time. He had to deflect the projectiles while retreating. He had to get out of the magic circle’s range as soon as possible.

  The rain of projectiles showed no signs of stopping, but fortunately for Jason, he was now near the room’s exit.

  He attempted to move out of the room, but before he could take a step outside, the magic circle that encompassed the entire ceiling suddenly disappeared. The rain of projectiles suddenly came to a halt. Jason took this chance to quickly move out of the room in order to catch his breath, but a large wall of earth suddenly erupted in front of him, blocking the room’s exit.

  As soon as the wall fully covered the exit, the large magic circle on the ceiling reappeared. The rain of projectiles was about to start once more.

  Jason had to quickly think of a way to get out of this situation. He looked around the room, trying to find things that could salvage his dire situation.

  Fortunately, he managed to spot a solution right away. Jason threw his sword towards the cloud of darkness that was hovering above his opponent, causing it to disperse. The Harbinger of Death immediately cancelled the spell that he was casting, giving Jason an opportunity.

  Jason recalled his sword and sprinted towards the Harbinger of Death. He thrusted his sword forward, attempting to stab his opponent.

  His focus was completely locked on his opponent. He dropped his guard, losing sight of what was going on in his surroundings.

  The distance between Jason’s sword and his opponent was only a hair’s breadth away.

  Jason thought that he was finally about to land a hit on his opponent, but he was too naïve.

  A pillar of earth quickly moved towards Jason, hitting him from the side.

  The impact caused his body to roll sidewards.

  Jason definitely felt that impact. Some of his bones were broken from the sheer force of the hit. He cursed himself for being too conceited.

  His instincts suddenly started screaming for him t
o move away. He quickly rolled backwards, which was a decision that saved his life. A pillar of earth suddenly fell from the ceiling, landing on the spot where he was just in.

  Jason started running in random directions as fast as he could. Pillars of earth started descending towards him. His speed was barely enough to outrun the assault, but his opponent quickly made a move.

  Black smoke started oozing out of the Harbinger of Death. The black smoke surrounded Jason, slowly covering the area around him while avoiding the light from his sword. It didn’t take long before Jason was completely encased in a sphere of darkness.

  He was now unable to see anything outside the sphere, but he could still feel the earth rumbling from the impact of the pillars that were falling from the ceiling, so he knew that he had to continue running. He could only count on his instincts to guide his movements.