His legs wouldn’t move anymore. Panting, Alexis stood at the top of the Fawksmarch castle. The threat was unfathomable. The most dangerous thing he’d ever seen were burglars and petty criminals.
In his 80 years of life, there was no war or turmoil in Palojia. So while his magic capacity was quite high, he never mastered utilizing his magic.
Abandoning the city was a horrible thought, but that was the only thing that could be done now. Reluctantly, he held his palms open, pointed them straight at the ground, and began to chant.
“O’mighty flame, let me take to the skies!”
As soon as the chant was finished, fire blasted out of his hands, shooting him up into the air. He took in the sight before him. Fawksmarch was lit ablaze. The architecture that they prided themselves on was unrecognizable. What used to be a city of new technology, where innovation and great minds gathered, was desecrated beyond recognition.
A strange organism roamed the streets. It resembled that of amorphous ooze, sliding around, consuming, and seemingly growing larger as it ate. It was black in color, and there was no light reflected off of it. It was as though one was looking down at a void. The ooze flooded the hauntingly silent streets of Fawksmarch.
There were no living beings in sight. Alexis had nothing left to protect anymore. The best he could do was warn the capital city about the attack.
Fawksmarch was a coastal city and was the first one to be attacked by the sudden presence of the Demon King. Of course, it wasn’t the actual Demon King of old, but it was fearsome enough to gain that title.
Alexis floated upwards, preparing to boost himself out of Fawksmarch, when he heard a chant.
{“May this breeze guide you back to me.”}
The voice was gentle, barely heard amid the chaos. As soon as the chant was finished, a strong gust of wind pulled Alexis back to the top of the castle, and his neck into the small hands of the Demon King.
The Demon King was dressed in dirty gray rags, with a black beret atop his head. He stood short, standing about 150 centimeters tall (4 '9), had long white hair tied black in a ponytail, a soft, innocent-looking face, stunning blue eyes, and looked to be around his early 20s.
Despite looking weak, the Demon King’s grip on Alexis’ neck was tight, and even with both of his arms trying to pry the Demon King off of his neck, he was unable to do so. Alexis had expected the Demon King to look much more fearsome, but he looked feeble. Was he really to die by the hand of someone like this? Was this frail, weak-looking man, who was so small it seemed as though a small gust of wind would blow him away, going to be the cause of Alexis’ demise? He couldn’t accept this.
But the most infuriating thing for him was that the Demon King’s eyes were sad. As if he had some regret for destroying countless innocent lives. It was horrible to think that the monster that gripped his neck was just like him. Someone capable of emotion, someone that was capable of empathy, had done this. As Alexis gasped for air, the Demon King spoke.
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{“You may resent me for this, child, but know that it is nothing but mercy that brings about my hand. This island is too good for this world, and I am only freeing you from it. This place must be removed before it is exploited by this world; this world that knows nothing but war, these people that know nothing but hunger, as they take from the world until there is nothing left to take but lives. People who deserve everything are left with nothing but scraps, as those in power grow in the most vile of ways, and are left unpunished. Peace will never be known if we are to let the hand of fate continue its work, so I will blow the hand away. I will give the world what it deserves, the everlasting peace that is death. Nothing but the end of all life will truly create peace.”}
What the hell is this guy on about? Alexis thought. Choking, but also annoyed somehow, he retorted.
“H-how does this… even matter? I don’t even know who you are.”
{“Then let it be known to you! I am Orphée, the one who will bring the day of reckoning! The one who will save the world from its miserly existence. I will bring retribution to-”}
He started talking again. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Alexis placed his hands on the Demon King’s torso.
“THE FLAMES OF THE FALLEN WILL DRAG YOU DOWN WITH THEM!”
Reacting quickly, Orphée threw Alexis high up into the air, and a huge flurry of flames swirled down. Alexis had put almost everything into this attack. It had to do something.
{“Take some time to rearrange the dizzy, swirling mess in your mind.”}
Unfaltering, Orphée flicked his hand upwards at the flame, and a tornado sprung forward from his fingertip, redirecting the fire back upwards, and engulfing Alexis in his own flame. Then, closing his hand into a fist, the tornado condensed until it was a contained, swirling sphere of fire. He brought it down to converse one last time his face now twisted with displeasure.
{“Well, I would’ve enjoyed talking to someone for a bit longer, but it doesn’t seem as though you were in the talking mood, now were you? I was actually having quite a good time talking. Just know that you, no, everyone will die in vain. Your efforts will bear no fruit, as I will have uprooted the tree. Now then, you better start brainstorming final words, reeaal quick, elf.”}
Unfortunately, Alexis neglected to listen to the Demon King’s speech while he was burning alive.
Orphée opened his hand, releasing the whirlwind, and Alexis fell off the side of the castle and onto the streets, disoriented.
As he hit the ground, he heard a crunch, but no pain set in, due to shock and adrenaline. As he heard groans approaching him, he cast one last spell.
“B… barrier.”
An airtight bubble appeared around him and blocked anything heading in. As the pain started setting in, the agony of it made him delirious. He started seeing things, and his chest started getting tighter as he lost his breath. His vision doubled, and as he drifted away, he saw something strangely familiar. A stark white room with clean, shiny walls. A woman lay upon a strange white bed atop a metal frame, with wheels on the bottom holding it up. Despite the identity of the woman being unknown to Alexis, it stirred an emotion of nostalgia. He wanted to call out to her.
But he had no energy left to speak, or move. And so, he closed his eyes.
This world's Alexis had passed away.