The night was terribly dark and cold. In the sky above, the new moon was all but invisible, leaving little light. Darien had rested throughout the night on the city walls rather than in the city below. During the third watch, a deep sense of concern washed over him, rousing him from his slumber. Noticing Darien's scowl, Tobias asked, "My Lord, what's wrong?"

"I don't know yet. Something is off." Darien didn't dare hesitate as he rose to his feet and shouted, "Ring the bell!" A few knights and mages who had been dozing off shot to action like an arrow shot from a bow. All who manned the walls; quickly drew their weapons and prepared spells in the face of the pitch-black forest ahead of them.

Stones fell loose from the city walls as the earth began to tremble and shake. Monstrous pressure came from a spell made in the dead of night.

"Oh spirit of fire, let your presence be known to all! Let all shall gaze upon your light! Flare Burst!" Bright red flames shot into the sky and painted the darkness blood red. Red light revealed thousands of enemies crouched low to the ground and crawling towards the city wall from all cardinal directions. In spite of this, what really caught the attention of knights and mages guarding the city walls was the massive arm of pure darkness reaching down from above.

Darien roared, "Block it!" His hands came loudly together as though in prayer as he chanted, "I call upon the spirit of fire! Bring forth your arm of destruction" He reached out his right hand, "Arm of the Flame Giant!" and a giant flaming arm sprung to life.

Knights and mages flanked Darien's sides as they made walls of earth and ice to block the giant dark arm from coming closer. All of their spells working in tandem barely managed to stop the arm of darkness for a mere moment, but that moment was all Darien needed.

A radiant arm of pure fire met the inky black arm in the night sky.

"Crackkkk!"

The sound of the two spells colliding was akin to a thunderclap as shockwaves spread out, knocking several mages on their backs.

With a brow slicked with sweat Darien barely held back the massive arm in the sky at bay with his own. "Shit, it's a 5th Circle spell." Taking a deep breath, he clenched his hand and shouted, "Condense!"

The arm portion of Darien's spell coalesced into the hand itself. Rapidly expanding, the flaming hand gripped the arm of darkness tightly, locking it in place.

"Shhhwwww!"

A blade of darkness flew toward Darien's head while he was focused on the spell in front of him. Tobias shouted, "Ice Wall, three layers!"

Three perfectly uniform Ice Barriers grew behind the crenels as they blocked the spear of darkness. All three of the ice walls broke like glass, but Tobias stepped forward and swung his sword swatting the slowed spear to the side.

Face as stoic as ever before, Darien didn't even respond to the threat. He brought his hands together and said, "Explode!" The giant flaming hand in the sky shrunk rapidly before exploding, destroying Cole's spell in the process.

"Fire Arrow Volley!"

Over a hundred flaming arrows; were fired at the Black Tower Master before he had a chance to breathe. Thick bubbling darkness welled up from the earth and narrowly blocked the onslaught of arrows, but not without taking damage in return.

Darien barked, "Everyone! We are on the defensive! Reinforcements are arriving soon; our job is to hold on! Conserve your mana to the best of your ability and survive! Those are the only two things you need to worry about!"

Darien lept onto the city wall's crenels, with Tobias quickly following at his heels.

"Wall of Fire!"

His right arm swung from left to right as a massive wall of flames drew a line in front of the Castle's walls. Dozens of enemies were burned by the fire below the city walls. Black Tower knights and mages responded quickly, working together to help put out the fire he had made.

The defenders had ample time to recover. Darien clenched his fists before saying, "I wish I could do more."

Tobias smiled, "Tower Master, you already do more than you should."

It was Darien's job to counter the Black Tower Master. He couldn't afford to do much more than that. "Knights! Use enchanted arrows! Use up everything you can until help arrives!"

Knights on the top of the parapets drew their bows behind the crenels on top of the parapet while mages stood by their side casting 1st Circle spells to help support them.

"Fire!"

They unleashed a volley of deadly arrows onto the enemy. Enchanted arrows viciously exploded, killing multiple enemies at a time. There was a sudden change in the black tower mage's movements. Over a hundred mages in dark black robes chanted together in unison. Blobs of darkness rose from the earth in front of the black-robed mages as the dark spells formed into deadly spears of rot and death. They fired.

The first wave of dark arrows claimed several lives as people chose to dodge instead of blocking them. Like living snakes, the arrows changed their trajectory in midair, striking the head or chest of those who tried dodging. Red Tower mages wouldn't make that mistake again. Arrows of fire met the second wave of spells in the air creating explosions in the sky. The sounds alone were deafening.

Darius was woken from his trance as he suddenly felt the quality of the air change. Animal-like instincts warned him of a dangerous predator. He looked at his surroundings before staring intently in the direction his father had gone. A sound similar to a beast's roar assaulted his ears while the night sky lit up like a firework show.

Darius bit his lip before saying, "Something big is happening this time."

Displayed in the sky before him were spells, spells, unlike anything he had ever seen before. His father's 4th Circle Flame Serpent paled in comparison. Taking deep and slow breaths, Darius prepared himself. "I'll watch for now. My chance should be coming soon."

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Looking out at the chaotic battlefield, Tobias muttered, "I'm getting worried. Reinforcements should have arrived by now. We can't sustain the current situation for much longer." Darien grit his teeth.

More than half of the knights and mages who had originally defended the city's walls were dead. Due to an accumulation of bodies, knights were forced to throw them off the wall in order to make room for more reinforcements. The current stalemate was held together by a thin thread.

Tobias smirked as he parried an arrow that came his way, "At least this time, we know reinforcements are coming. Last time we didn't have that lux..."

Darien hushed Tobias and said, "Shhhh! Shit! What the hell is it this time?"

In a matter of seconds, three 4th Circle spells of the Dark attribute changed the tide of battle. Argon targeted three different walls simultaneously, making it nearly impossible to stop them all. "Flame Serpent!" Darien managed to block the flood of darkness heading toward the northern front with ease. Red Tower mages on the Eastern front managed to thwart a veritable battering ram of darkness, but the Western Front wasn't so lucky. A flood of inky black death and corrosion smashed straight through the western wall, leaving a gaping hole.

"Shit! Tobias, take care of the Western front!" Tobias wavered while biting his lip. Darien, screamed, "I'll be fine! Move quickly! There's no time!" He didn't want to leave Darien's side, but Tobias didn't have time to hesitate.

Tobias shouted while running, "Watch your back, and stay focused! I don't want to bury another friend!" He leaped off the back crenel towards the city proper and made his way towards the chaotic western front.

Darien could not afford to take his eyes off Cole. The gray-haired knight from earlier in the day ran from his position nearby to fill in the void that Tobias had left.

"Vince, who told you to leave your position!"

The gray-haired knight didn't bat an eye as he stood in front of Darien and calmly stated, "If you fall, Tower Master, we all fall."

Darien didn't respond as he glanced at the smoky red sky. It had the barest hint of natural light, slowly turning purple rather than pitch black. The sun would come, and it would come soon. When daylight arrived they might just be able to flip the battle on its head. If they lived that long that is.

Darien snapped back to attention when the space started distorting near the Black Tower Master.

Cole chanted something eery and powerful, and Darien responded in kind.

"I call upon the Great Spirit of fire! Manifest the Salamander, breathe into him your life and breathe out the spirit's flames! Salamander!"

Darien finished his chant first as a hyper-dense wave of white flames locked in on the Black Tower Master. No amount of defense could stop the deadly flames until the Black Tower Master finished his spell.

Dense green mist crashed against Darien's spell, starting a tug-of-war of sorts between the two mages. Darien's spell visibly dimmed and shrunk as they pushed against one another. The howling mist tried to travel down the stream of flames to its source. Like an eery green snake, it tried to wrap around the flames attempting to swallow them whole, but the heat coming from the potent white flames was so severe the mist began to evaporate with a sharp hiss.

Panicking, Cole brought the mist in front of his body as a last resort. It swirled in front of the Black Tower Master as multiple barriers of darkness began to form, swallowing the rest of the flames before fading. When the green mist completely evaporated a pain-filled shriek echoed in the sky.

Darien furrowed his brow, "The Black Tower Master is on a different level. Whatever that spell was, was dangerous. Fire fortunately has an advantage against the Dark." He took a breath before chanting, "Flaming Ballista!" A massive flaming arrow shot at the Black Tower master flying at a terrifying speed. The Black Tower Master used some form of enchanted item to form another massive barrier. It exploded, and the Black Tower Master flew in the opposite direction of the impact. "Got him."

A group of mages leaped into action and cushioned his fall. Pressing on his advantage, he cast a volley of hundreds of flaming arrows down at the army below. Hundreds fell to the exploding arrows as flames and smoke danced on the battlefield.

Knights and mages jumped to action as they began to regain control of the situation before Cole could recover.

Darien sat on the parapet below a large intact crenel as he tried to recover. "Vince! Guard me! I came away victor in that exchange, but the Black Tower Master isn't the only threat. We're barely holding on! I need enough mana to cast something big. I need to rest." Gritting his teeth he continued, "Inform me when I'm needed."

Vince stood directly in front of Darien planting down his large silver shield. "Yes, Tower Master!"

Darien, unfortunately, didn't have a lot of time to rest. The Black Tower Master was temporarily out of commission, but the western city wall had fallen. Hundreds of enemies flooded the city. Fire and death spread everywhere as the western front, was unable to regain control. Alicia's citizens rose up and began to defend their own homes, but even regular armored soldiers held a deadly advantage as they slaughtered their way through the city.

When the city fell into chaos, Darius began to move. Like a hunter looking for prey, he scanned the city, looking for anyone wandering alone. It wouldn't take long for the situation to devolve into madness as soldiers began to set fire to houses. A mage wandered past the alleyway he hid in, wildly laughing while throwing fireballs at residential houses. He was the first person he had seen alone. Probably too drunk on wanton destruction to notice that fact.

His chance had come. Darius churned Qi around his entire body as he slowed his heartbeat. A simple Windsteps spell propelled him forward while he made sure every step was as silent as possible. At the point where the alleyway met the street, his Qi exploded underneath him, shooting him forward like an arrow loosed from its string.

Shocked, the man in the black robe turned around with wide eyes as he hastily tried to form a barrier to defend himself. Darius reacted instantly, "Wind Blade!" He couldn't stop his momentum, so he did the next best thing.

Fluidly, in one motion, Darius covered his right hand with Qi and extended a wind blade from the tips of his fingers. His hand chopped down in a practiced manner, slicing down at a speed impossible for a 3-year-old to ever muster. His hand reached past the barrier and crossed the mage's neck. Blood spurted, bathing Darius before the mage fell to the ground, dead.

Darius froze.

It was strange. In his previous life, he had killed many times before. He remembered the battlefields. The blood was thick back then, flowing like an unending river. His hands had slain thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.

This should not have been anything new to him, but his body wouldn't move. It refused to obey. Shame, guilt, and repulsion flooded his emotions against his will.

Darius fell to the ground and vomited. Tears fell from his eyes, and emptiness settled in his heart. "Why?"

He grew angry. His body was acting foolishly and refused to listen. It was difficult to even move the Qi in his body; as his body was in a state of shock. His soul and body wrestled, struggling for control.

Before he could recover his faculties someone grabbed his neck from behind. "What the hell is this!? Some brat killed a mage!" A burly knight in inky black armor lifted him by the scruff of his neck into the air. Darius's mind quickly battled for control, screaming 'Move!' to every muscle in his body.

"A brat killing a mage is worth looking into. I'll take you to Master Cole and see what he has to say! Maybe I'll get something good out of you." Darius grew enraged at the ridiculous situation. His own body had betrayed him.

Darien could hear the chaos breaking out in the city behind him, but forced back his impulses. He needed to recover as much mana as he could. A few hours could refill his mana completely, but he only had twenty minutes.

Vince shook his shoulder. "Master Darien, the city is all but lost. I'm sorry to say, but if you don't do anything now, everyone here will die."

Darien sighed as he stood up. A wind blade flew right at his head from inside the city. Darien ducked, instantly dodging it before he sent back an arrow of fire striking the mage in the chest. It looked like the city was on the verge of being occupied.

"Shit!"

The situation had devolved far faster than he thought it would. "My hubris will be our downfall! I should never have rested!" Scanning the battlefield, he desperately tried to come up with a solution. More mages and knights were gathering behind the city walls, and attacks were coming from both sides. Desperation was slowly closing in.

His despair was short-lived when he noticed the Black Tower Master hurrying toward the city wall.

Knights riding Herals rushed into the battlefield targeting the Black Tower Master from behind the enemy lines. Lord Faircone had arrived.

Darien beamed his despair broken like useless glass as he readied his mana. He would take his chance when it came. "Flame whip! Flame Serpent!" Darien leaped off the wall riding atop a flaming serpent.

Darius was carried painfully from behind as the knight took him toward a group of black-robed mages. As he drew closer, and closer, his mind fought and wrestled furiously for control. His fingers started to twitch and move. A new emotion developed. Fear.

He could use it.

"I found an interesting brat! Master Darkbright will be pleased!" The knight shouted to the group drawing their attention while holding up Darius as though he were a trophy.

When he was only a hundred meters away from the group, Darius used fear to gain control. He slowly grabbed the knight's hand, acting as though he was struggling like a normal child. "Let me go!" The knight started to laugh, "Hah! Don't you dare try anything, brat! The moment I notice any mana coming from you, I'll snap your neck."

Darius' hands flooded with Qi in an instant. The knight's hand snapped like a leaf. "Aghhhh!"

A vortex of wind gathered underneath Darius' feet, carrying him upwards. Darius spun mid-air, stabbing the knight's neck with his index fingers. The knight didn't have time to recover drawing both of his hands to the hole in his neck. Darius grabbed the knight's shoulder using it as a jumping post. Wind gathered under his feet as he ran as quickly as his feet would carry him.

This time he didn't freeze. Fear carried him forward.

"Larson!"

"What the hell!"

The group ran to check on the knight before two broke away to chase after Darius.

Wind gathered at his feet and back, carrying him forward with every step. "Faster!" Concentrating, Darius, saturated his legs with Qi.

Once again, he pictured a certain white tiger as the wind grew turbulent underneath him. Darius' speed picked up as a shockwave was left in his wake. The mages chasing him had vanished as he scampered to an alleyway in the city center. Fear was pumping his body full of adrenaline, and his heart beat like a hummingbird in his chest. More annoying emotions slowly surfaced. He would need to deal with them, but... he had survived. His first battle ended in victory.