Taking my first step, Thanatos disappears instantly in the blink of an eye.

"Behind you!"

Luke's voice alerts me. I rotate my blade along with my body, slashing in an arc. Our blades clash, his scythe is caught by my blade by a hair inch to my neck.

"Quick instincts. Very versatile for a young man such as you."

He departs from me, jumping backwards as Luke cleaves downwards with his blade, dividing us.

"Your friend is quite nimble as well."

With more rambling, Thanatos dashes forward, leaving a pile of dust in his wake. He attacks with a swipe of his scythe, extending it so that the blade will cut from behind.

I place my sword behind me, supporting the upper half with my wrist, deflecting the scythes sharp blade.

"Luke, now"

Yelling to him, he brings his blade down on reflex of my voice alone. I held the guardian's blade hostage as I still blockaded it from being retracted back to him.

Instead of forcing an attack, Thanatos uses the very end of his scythe to block Luke's blade that came overhead. Luke tries a series of attacks, intent on landing a blow on the guardian.

Thanatos dislocates his weapon from my sword, retreating backwards once again. Though his hood covered his eyes. His mouth could be seen smiling faintly and deviously.

Again, he dashes forward, this time he targets Luke. I intercept the attack, matching his furious and consecutive assault. It would even seem that his scythe had no weight as he used it in quick succession, attacking from every angle. Using the eye of insight, I managed to follow along every attack. If one would have been let through, it would have been fatal.

Each of Thanatos' attacks are focused solely on Luke, who tries to counter with every possible chance. But given the guardian's ferocity, it became hard to land a scratch. His movements becoming faster and faster as the battle goes on.

One attack goes through, but not from our side, rather from the guardian. An attack that blows Luke away, cutting his shield in half and injuring his left arm along with it. He goes down on the ground, bleeding profusely from his arm.

"Luke! Don't move too much. I'll keep him away from you."

I rush to his side, ignoring Thanatos' presence. It seems that his arm wasn't cut off, but was only a shallow one.

"I managed to block his attack with my sword as well. Unfortunately, I do not have a weapon to fight with anymore."

Luke spoke as he applied pressure upon his wound, gritting his teeth in pain. It is as he said. He is barehanded now, not if you consider half a sword and a hilt, a weapon.

"You are the weakest link. You are holding your ally back, forcing him to protect you. The young lad wields a divine blade while you are merely mortal. What can you hope to do at your current state?"

"..."

Luke stays silent. I focus and face Thanatos once more. This won't end well. It will be me against him, not unless he perseveres on trying to eliminate Luke.

-Then I will do everything in my power to keep him alive, no matter what!

Then, at that moment, a flash from within my mind breaks out, showing an image of a man wielding the same blade that I do. He attacks, shadowing his blade from behind the flat edge with his hand. The blade shines bright, brighter than I've ever seen it. The wielder cuts the air, blasting forth a crescent projectile in the air, speeding forward.

-What did I just see?

-A memory from my past wielder. I have shown you a technique in which they have innovated. Focus your power. Use the energy that I have been passing on to you, and pass it on to me once again in a concentrated form. Then all that is left is to unleash that power.

I imitate the movements of the man I saw. I place my hand from behind the flat edge of the sword, passing on the power I received from it back to the sword. The sword begins to glow, but not as strong as the blinding light I saw from inside my head.

I slash towards Thanatos, bringing my blade down after concentrating and storing energy in it. A gleaming crescent light emerges from the air, speeding towards Thanatos.

It implodes as they impact each other, creating a dense white mist, enveloping the guardian.

"Gram, behind you!"

I turn around and see Thanatos emerging from a dark circular hole with his scythe drawn to the side. He descends unscathed and full of vitality. Unable to react in time, it seems that I will take the entirety of his attack, fatally wounding me, or ending my life at that one point of neglect.

"Alz, Mei'r, Ruvant! Daemons of greed obey me!"

I hear a voice from behind me bellow out in a fit of rage. Still fazed, of what happened next, I stare idly at Thanatos who is dazed as well, confused even.

"Wha, what is the meaning of this?"

He stutters with his words as he dangles from above. Thanatos' body is bound in strong silver chains coming from a circular portal similar to one that Thanatos emerged from.

But that was not the point. What was more of concern was the source of this anomaly. There were only three of us in this area. No other soul was present...

"Interesting. Tell me, how do you have the power of a daemon lord? Even the incantation was flawless, the strength of these chains are impecable. Who are you?"

Thanatos spoke, but not to me. He was talking to the person behind me. The one who was lying down as he bled from his arm.

"Luke, was that really you?"

"... Unfortunately, yes, I am the one."

He changes his gaze from me to Thanatos.

"If you know this power, then you must know what will happen to you once I complete the verse and incantation do you not?"

"I do, and I quake in fear of the very daemon lord who made this dark art... I concede. I will guide you to where the daemon lords reside."

Luke opens his hand, dispelling the chains with a whisper of which I could not hear. Thanatos lands on his two feet, his back still hunched over. Not letting my guard falter, I stay firmly planted, sword drawn forward.

"You can be at ease now, Gram. He has realized what will happen to him if he makes any sudden movements."

"You mortals are terrifying. But, it is confusing whether you two are truly mortals. No normal being can possess power of the same degree such as you two."

"How did you know where we are headed? You spoke of the daemon lord's residence."

"If you're going to save your world, then it must mean that you've come to vanquish the very beings of misery and agony. They have plotted the demise of heaven and earth for the longest time after the stalemate of the great war. Now is their final attempt at redemption. This time, they have a former God aiding them."

Thanatos walks towards the gate he had been guarding earlier. He went silent, but the air of hostility is not present from him. Has he truly given up? Who is Luke Galehearth exactly, and what is that power he possesses? So much questions, and some of which should be left alone for now.

Thanatos cuts through the air with his scythe. He turns to us and speaks.

"Come, through this portal is where the daemon lords are. I will not be going with you any further for even I fear for my life. Some of the daemon lords are surely already awaiting your arrival. Beware, I am nothing compared to them. Even a glimpse is enough to petrify you into submission. Their strength is second to none, and equal to the gods of heaven. The only way you will be able to match them is to become gods yourselves."

"Thank you for the advice, but a portal? Why not enter through the gate behind you? This seems all to mischievous to me."

"Still cautious I see. I can understand your doubts young lad, but the deal was that I will send you on your way only if you defeat me. And you did just that. This will be the same either way. I will be sending you off to your death. I was merely warning you, saving you your life, but instead you ignored it, relenting in your frivolous pursuit of world peace."

I look at Luke, who is treating his wound by holding his right hand over his arm, creating a dark sphere that envelops it.

"Give me a while. It will take a bit of time to recover. I will answer all your questions when we have continued on our way, Gram."

Without speaking much more, I nod. Instead of worrying over 'that' for now, I shall worry about how to defeat the daemon lords, or if they are truly as Godlike as they say they are.

We enter through the portal. After saying our farewells to Thanatos, and after Luke had threatened him if he sends us to another dimension, we again are on our way to save the world as the clock ticks down. 

Kokabiel may have already begun his plans with the lords of hell, and if so, then we may already be too late.

"Luke, tell me. How did you get those powers of yours?"

"... I did not get them, rather I was born with them. I was the bastard son of a daemon lord. He visited from time to time when I was six to seven years old. He just stopped appearing after that, leaving my mother alone. Then I just realized I had the blood of daemon at that point..."

"... I see. Do you think you'll find him here?"

"I don't think I'll find him. I know I'll find him here. I have something to settle with him. My conscience will never rest, not until I've accomplished everything I needed to. Don't worry about that for now. We still have to save the world from the daemons. My feud with my father is nothing compared to this."

I stay silent, simply nodding to Luke. I myself was fortunate enough to have close ties with our father, but regretfully, my brother did not. He lived a sheltered life, worrying about if he'll still see the light of tomorrow. 

I was the first born of the now late king Arthur, and my mother. A few years after that, he came along. He was deathly and always sick. The nurses day by day were gossiping amongst themselves about how the child could still live despite his condition. Some even went as far as to say the child was cursed by the Gods.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

They already proclaimed him dead even though he was still alive. What they didn't was that he was the one who was struggling the most. You ridicule someone for trying to live, desperately clinging to any hope he can find in the dark.

Yet through all that, my mother and father stood with him, and so did I. I cared for him, visiting him in his bed chamber every single day, sleeping and anxiously waiting for the next day to come. I could still remember his face every time I entered the room. His smile was that of a painful one. This person who was struggling to stay alive, is sitting upright on his bed, waiting for his brother to come and cheer him up.

As time passed although, my father paid more attention to me. He taught me many things that led to my present knowledge to this present. It was like the archive room was our very own room together. I did not feel as happy when I thought about how my brother was doing at the time. 

Then came that faithful night. An event that changed the outcome of history. Named by the people as 'The night of the sleeping king,' the very day my parent's lives were taken away. 

It was the same time a miracle as well. I could still remember clearly. The first time my brother had stood up, and it was because of our parents' death. He was unconscious on the floor by the time I had arrived. The maddening rage I felt at that moment was swatted away, and I lost consciousness as well. 

I woke up, taken in by sage Melard. The one who furthered my understanding and knowledge. There started my new life. One that was given to me with no other option to choose from

-Gram, Gram! Stay focused. You've started reminiscing again.

-Wha, oh, sorry, I didn't realize. One thing led to another, and It just happened then and there.

-You are close. I can feel an immense amount of energy from the end of the portal. It's almost terrifying even though you know who, or what rather, you are up against. But I believe that you can overcome this trial. I will present you with more and more techniques from my previous wielder. 

-Thank you. You've been a lot of help. We wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you.

-Save the gratitude until after the world is safe. I can't have you being complacent even before the battle starts.

-How uptight

I return to my senses. I could see the end of the portal from the horizon. As we get closer and closer, there's this feeling of dread welling up from inside me. 

We take our first steps outside. It is completely different from the place from where we were a while ago. It was a garden draped in darkness. Blades of grass slowly danced with the whisper of the wind.

In the very center was a massive castle that seemingly reaches the sky, overshadowed by what seems to be a moon similar to ours shining absently above.

"This is it then. This is where It'll either begin, or end."

"Feeling anxious?"

Luke asks me. It's not like me to feel this anxious or troubled. I would either say something more uplifting or sarcastic and witty, but it's different now. When did I become like this I wonder? It's me, but I never took notice until now. How uncertain of the future I have become.

"Not anymore. It's unbecoming of a king."

I grin, turning a dark situation in my mind into a lighter one.  And with that, we approach the open gates of the castle. 

The interior is dimly lit by chandeliers and torches of golden stands. A red carpet all the way to the main hall is laid out, guided by pillars on both sides. The room is wide enough to house a mansion inside.

A being clad in a full set of light armor it seems. All dark including his helmet. His dark cape flutters, and behind him are two swords. His footsteps echo through the hall, them being the only sound other than our heartbeats. 

"I assume you are not lost."

He speaks in a modulated voice, a tone that is just pleasant to the ear. Not too lod nor too soft. He stops only a few meters away from us, putting his hands idly to his side.

"You are one of the daemon lords are you not?"

"I am. My name is Cyan, one of the daemon lords of this realm. May I ask you your name?"

"Gram. You must know why we have come here then?"

"I do as a matter of fact. Then you and your ally must know what comes next?"

Cyan places his hands on his two swords. Suddenly, the castle rumbles, shaking the ground itself in a massive tremor. Cyan stays calm amidst that, but I almost lose my bearings.

"I must apologize for the disturbance. We are entertaining a guest in the other room, but rest assured, no one will be impeding our battle. Tell me whenever you feel like beginning."

His aura is dangerous, making my mind clouded. He doesn't seem to be doing anything at all, yet I feel this intense amount of fear just piling up. I try to put up a brave front, hoping that It applies to me as well. 

-I can sympathize with this unease that you are feeling. The way you fought against Thanatos will not suffice, rather it would be a terrible idea to fight like that. I shall teach you another technique that will hopefully aid you in battle.

The bright light in my subconscious flashes once again, revealing to me a technique that would prove vital to my victory. I glance to Luke from the corner of my eye. He returns the glance; his hands are emitting a darkened aura. Though weaponless, he still wears his armor, but this time using his latent dark arts to fight alongside me.

"Interesting. One who wields the dark arts, and is similar to us is blood. The pieces seem to be connecting now."

The daemon lord gently speaks, not of intimidation, but that of awe and surprise. 

-Breathe in and out, Gram. Just breathe in and out, and you'll be fine, probably.

I focus my power in my eye of insight. Hoping that nothing too fatal happens, and I'll be able to intercept any attack. 

"Come, let us begin."

With that one word, Cyan launches himself forward with his pivot leg, shooting like an arrow, his hands still on his two swords behind him. Once in striking distance, he releases a series of attacks that forces Gram back on the defense. 

Luke sends forth numerous dark colored projectiles that home right towards Cyan.

The daemon's flexible and agile body dodges all of them, returning to Gram, releasing his barrages once more. 

Gram, desperately trying to hang on as his eye struggles to keep up with every move his opponent makes.

Luke intercepts, dividing the two away from each other with a pillar of fire. 

Gram relents with a volley of crescent light that cuts through Luke's pillar and onwards to Cyan. 

Disappearing like a blur, he reappears behind Luke, spinning rapidly towards him as he blasts off from the wall, catching the dark arts user by surprise. 

Gram clashes blades with Cyan in a blink of an eye, protecting Luke from what should have been a lethal blow. Gram's breathing is rigorous, different from how he entered the battle. It seemed as if he grew nervous at each collision.

Cyan knees Gram in his stomach, forcing him to reel back as Cyan continues with a roundhouse, sending him flying towards a wall, crashing.

"Realm of Reality!" Luke conjures an imitation blade, wielding it in replacement of his blade. Without Gram protecting him, he is forced to defend until his ally's return. 

Gram comes to his senses after clashing onto the wall behind him. He remembers the technique taught to him in the spur of the moment. He holds his sword in front of him from the hilt, dividing it in half as another sword emerges from his supposedly empty left hand. 

He then returns his attention to the two clashing swords. Luke is being driven back as he matches Cyan somehow blow for blow, releasing projectiles from his idle hand as he cuts with his other.

Gram rushes from between the two, leaping forward as to attack. 

Cyan retreats from a small distance, falling for Gram's bait. 

He cuts the air sending forth his crescent blades of light towards Cyan, catching him even before he lands on the ground.

The daemon breaks Gram's attack, having blocked it beforehand. 

"Have any ideas, Luke?"

"No, not at this moment. Stay alert for the time being I guess."

The battle commences once again, each engagement growing fierce. The pillars are torn, the ground is scarred, the walls are cracked. The two now stay idle, trying to catch their breath. The daemon on the other hand, remains full of vitality, standing tall before them. 

"Is that all, saviors of the future?"

"Not yet, I've got a lot more surprises for you to see actually."

Gram tries reassuring himself, but the pain of the various cuts and scratches he's received from the enemy is making it hard to ignore. Their backs are against the wall, losing options of winning.

The sound of blood dripping bounced from wall to wall, their ragged heartbeats resonated with that. 

"Gram, I have a request to make."

"Go on, tell me."

"I need for you to defend me. I have a plan that might just help us."

"Alright, I'm open to any options that'll keep us alive."

Gram stands up, once again repeating the process he did to invoke two swords, splitting one to become two. He waits for the daemon to strike first while Luke starts chanting from behind him.

The two battle it out, matching blade with blade, but the other starts faltering, unable to match the speed of a daemon lord. 

-You will have to become a God. I will try passing on more power to you. Once you have enough, you will be ready to transform. For now, try and keep all your energy usage to a minimum. The eye of insight will be enough to keep you on your feet.

Gram hears his ally from his mind loud and clear, but still trying his hardest to focus on the battle. His eye of insight guiding him is like a godsend, as it is able to foreshadow someone's movements before they make it.

To show his skill and agility, Cyan lets loose a fierce attack that truly utilizes his two blades and his speed. Kicking at the air, creating small air pockets that implode the second he launches himself from it. He uses it as a stepping stone, attacking from every angle, twisting and turning at every attack. 

Gram receives a strong cut to his left arm, forcing him to let go of the imitation sword. 

Cyan ceases, "You better hurry if you still want to have a chance at saying your world, or aiding your ally from to other room possibly."

The room quakes once again, small debris begin falling, crashing onto the ground.

-We can't prolong this any longer.

"Gram, I'm ready,"

"So am I," 

Luke has now assumed the form different to his previous one. He dons a dark cape along with a helmet that still reveals his face. His dark armor is adorned with a mystic design, displaying a chiseled build. A complete set of armor, but one fit for a tyrannical daemon.

Gram begins channeling as well, taking in all the power he has stored inside his blade. A white majestic armor begins forming on different parts of Gram's body, enveloping him so that the title 'divine blade wielder' is accurate.

A bright shining armor, decorated with a white cape behind him, fluttering with the faint wind, but with the absence of a helmet, instead displaying his white hair.

His sword as well has taken in a new look. An ornate sword much sharper than its previous design.

"hmm, well this is a surprising paradigm shift. I almost mistook you for demigods."

"You'll find that we're much more formidable than demigods, Cyan. Prepare yourself now! No one will stand in the way of our future."

In a different room, another duel is taking place between the blue flame wielder and the halberd wielding daemon of greed, Thaddeus. Their battlefield had already turned into a scorched ruin during the first half of their battle. They've been exchanging blows for nearly two hours without rest, no side showing any signs of fatigue, rather they seem to be enjoying it.

"Come on! Keep up with me! It's been a long time ever since I've felt this kind of thrill. Plus, you're part mortal."

Thaddeus grins from ear to ear as he fights with vigor, swinging his halberd with his immense strength. A daemon of a large build, towering at seven feet tall with a well-built body. Brown hair with gold pupils. He wears almost no armor save for his leggings. Everything to the top is bare.

His opponent returns the grin along with an ignited fist to the face. The daemon brushes it off like nothing, returning the gesture by cleaving downwards with breakneck speed. 

His opponent catches the blade by clamping the flat edge of the blade with his two hands, halting it inches away from his face. 

Thaddeus persists, slamming the halberd down with prejudice, creating a large cloud of dust and smoke. 

Then his opponent comes flying towards him, delivering a rotating kick to the left side of his face, pushing him back, but not enough to make him fall down.

"Tch, crafty kid. Amusing! Just truly amusing! I wish this would last forever! HA HA HA."

Their battle is interrupted by the sudden burst of the door leading to their room. 

A being clad in light dark armor comes flying with his cape in tatters. Though he was sent flying, he landed on his two feet, catching his bearings without a sweat.

"Oh, It's Cyan. What are you doing here? I told you not to disturb me didn't I not?"

"I wouldn't say that I did voluntarily."

The instigators themselves are not unscathed, rather, it looked like they lost the battle from their image. Various parts of their armor are broken, they bleed nearly everywhere as if a twister of blades had engulfed them.

They emerge from the door, barely even standing up as they pant profusely as to catch their breath.

"We've finally caught up to you."

The golden haired flame wielder turns around, and to his surprise, he sees two familiar faces that look much different from before. 

"What are you two doing here!?"

"Don't you know that it's bad to ignore your opponent!?"

Thaddeus intervenes, swinging his halberd to the side, sweeping him away, slamming him to a wall with a great impact.

"No one's getting through. This is the day when the Gods will kneel to us. The world, the heavens, everything will be ours soon."

"... Not if you can beat me."

Fafnir stands, staving off the pain from the impact like nothing. The flame from his hands grew stronger, the gleam in his eyes became brighter. His bare top is scarred and his leggings are tattered, yet he is full of vitality.

"I'll have to sit this one down, Thaddeus. I've already exceeded the amount of energy I want to use. I don't want to go further. You can take my two opponents."

The daemon sits down on the ground to their surprise. Luke and Gram's eyes open wide as they hear this proclamation. But rather than worrying about it, they sigh in relief.

"Fine then, come. I will entertain you all. Even if you think that there's a possibility of you defeating me, there are still two more daemons that you have to go through. Too bad that Marchosias couldn't make it to this auspicious occasion. Instead, he gave his life to let you live, puny whelp. He was idiotic and mindless for doing such a thing."

Fafnir's expression darkens once he hears a familiar name being made dirtied. The rage in his eyes grew, and he was slowly transforming into something else entirely.

Like a fierce animal, he pounced on the daemon, assaulting him with various forms of punches and kicks until he was finally laid down to the ground.

But he did not stop there. He straddled himself on Thaddeus, delivering blow after blow to his face until he was burned to death by the intensity of the fire in Fafnir's fists.

The faces of the three others in the room where further opened in surprise, especially the daemon who had given up. Seeing his ally die right in front of him destroyed his resolve of fighting back. He could stand a chance of defeating him, but not in this frenzied manner. 

"No more delays. If you're going to continue, then follow me."

Fafnir says with a stern and serious voice. Without argueing further or questioning him, they followed obediently.

"Soon, It will all be complete..."

"What of our uninvited guests?"

"They will come, soon. They will not stop my triumph. You will defeat them..."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then consider your life forfeit, false God."

"How terrifying. Very well then. I shall take care of them."