Zarco stands up calmly, as he starts talking while slapping his clothes to remove some of the dirt.

-Oh! Would you look at that! They are almost killing each other, how much incompetence.

Zarco

-You know, I could have cut off your heads, but I didn't, so stop this nonsense before I kill each one of you

Soldiers

-He… just didn't kill us because he didn't want to?

Apis thought

-He's underestimating us, underestimating me...

Zarco continues to stare at them with a proud expression and a huge smile on his face, all this added up to him making an idiotic expression that emanated prepotency.

Zarco

-That's right! To me, you are all just insects! Dirty insects who I don't want to dirt my soles by crushing!

Zarco proceeds by just walking away while talking.

- Goodbye, worms!

All the soldiers do not but stand there, flying in the air while watching him walk away.

Well, all except Apis, who advances to pierce Zarco's back.

Apis

-AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Zarco reacts but not in time, the sword passes causing a grazing cut, tearing his clothes and part of the surface of his chest.

He reacts by jumping back, trying to gain some distance, but Apis still hits with a diagonal slash across her target's chest with the tip of her rapier.

Zarco

-Urgh!

Apis turns her wrist trying to make another cut.

But Zarco blocks the blow with the bracelet on his wrist, making the rapier sweep past him.

Zarco then tries to punch Apis in the face, but she dodges and retaliates by kicking Zarco in the stomach.

Zarco is thrown back due to the hit.

Apis proceeds trying to take advantage of the opening by attacking him, with a lunge aimed at his belly.

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Zarco, in a desperate attempt, tries to block the blade by holding it with both hands, his blood running down the metal.

Apis keeps putting pressure trying to pierce Zarco, he in turn takes the opportunity to release the blade as he moves to the side, leaving the trajectory of the attack and causing Apis to throw herself forward, losing her balance.

Seeing him dodging, Apis spreads her wings and beats them, throwing herself backward hoping to regain her balance, Zarco, in turn, seeing a possible opening he tries to hit her. But only manages to give a very clumsy kick hitting her hand causing her to accidentally drop her weapon, though, it also makes him lose balance and fall.

The rapier falls to the ground.

Apis keeps flying further back, waiting for a chance.

The soldiers, seeing the scene, finally gather enough courage to advance.

Zarco notices it and quickly puts his hand next to his bracelet to threaten them, they suddenly stop in fear.

Apis screams.

-What are you doing?! It's our chance!

After screaming, she advances completely unarmed against Zarco. He reacts by catching the rapier with his injured hand and pointing it into the air.

As Apis approaches, Zarco attacks with a lunge, but Apis with a flap of her wings and a quick movement of her body throws herself to the side and dodges. Zarco then makes a horizontal cut and the blade grazes her, making a cut in her face.

Next, Zarco starts shaking the rapier desperately, in a completely random way to try to scare Apis away, while he starts to get up awkwardly.

He then held his empty hand close to his chest, his blood ran down the cut, his hands aching, the blood was already bathing his clothes and the rapier.

Apis

-Look! He's almost dead! He can be defeated!

The soldiers barely react.

Apis screams angrily.

-WHAT ARE YOU COWARDS WAITING FOR?!

The soldiers widen their eyes at her burst of rage.

Apis

-Are you going to stand and fight? Or are you going to cower and bring the shame of running from a mere child back to your families?!

The soldiers muster their courage, and at last, they advance to attack Zarco.

Zarco thought

-Great, exactly what I needed! The pigeons are getting brave now!

But suddenly, one of the soldiers fell dead on the ground, with a blade stuck on his back. The blade was attached to a young man's wrist, who was supporting his entire body with just one arm against the soldier’s body.

He proceeds by throwing his body forward and ends up landing on his feet.

Apis

-What?!

The soldiers raise their weapons against him.

Soldiers

-Where did he come from?! From the sky?!

-But he is one of the inferior beings!

Young guy

-The only inferior here is you, you can call me “demon”.

Apis

-What are you doing here?

“Demon”

-Me? I came here with a single goal...

The young man speaks showing the blade attached to his wrist, the blood flowed giving it a beautiful scarlet tone.

-Kill as many angels as I can.

Zarco thought

- Where did this plague come from?

Apis then notices something in the distance, several soldiers who were chasing the “demon” coming towards them.

And quickly after that, she notices a dark figure flying over her, and upon close inspection, she notices it was a black pegasus, who landed close to the “demon”.

The “demon” runs towards him, and all the soldiers do the same.

Zarco gets distracted by the scene and Apis takes advantage of this distraction to come up behind him, catching him off guard and making an arm lock around his neck.

Zarco starts to desperately struggle for air.

Zarco thought

-I can't breathe… damn it…

Zarco faints.

The “demon” circles the area mounted on his pegasus fighting the angels, till he notices Zarco passed out in the distance.

Apis lets go of Zarco's inanimate body and go towards her weapon.

The “demon” approaches, attacking her, but she is quick enough to dodge. He uses this opportunity to grab the inanimate body of Zarco. Zarco’s weight makes him lean almost falling off his pegasus as he takes him, dragging him down before he gathered the strength to put him on top of his mount.

But he quickly realizes that the extra weight makes it difficult for the pegasus to fly.

“Demon”

-Great, now I have this sack of meat weighing.

<--------------// ~ // ------------->

Basilius walks alone down a dark hall of stone walls.

Basilius mumbles to himself

-So, the day has finally arrived...

Basilius

-I just assumed power and in such turbulent times. We barely have an army, we have lost all our lands in the lower islands, without the crops, herds, and mines my people face beyond the horrors of war, famine, and poverty…

Basilius

-And to add to my poor luck, misfortune never goes unattended, what I and everyone feared happened...

Basilius opens a secret entrance by pressing a stone into the wall and then going through.

Basilius

-The being described in the old prophecy supposedly appears...

He approaches an altar with a crystal similar to the one Zarco wears on his wrist but of a different color and shape, this one was yellowish, smooth and spherical.

He places his hands near the altar and says.

-Looks like the time has come.

The crystal shines.

END OF THE EIGHTH CHAPTER.