Mylos leaped backwards, dodging her swinging blades, his gaze scanning the area. Fryrr dashed after him, withdrawing her blades, her muscle mass doubling as the ground behind her exploded. A cold grin formed on her face as Fryrr reached for Mylos’s neck.

“Shit…” He cursed, tilting his head to the side as her hand shot past, grabbing the air beside him, and scratching his neck. As Fryrr paused, turning to face Mylos, veins popped up on her head. In an explosion of dirt and debris, she charged again, this tie her speed had increased.

“Ever since you were a child…” Fryrr grabbed, but she only caught air. She repeated the attack, a coldness growing in her gaze as her grin fell, and watched Mylos evade effortlessly. The distance was close yet no matter how fast she dashed, Mylos dodged without effort.

“I was such a pest? Sorry that I am trying so hard to not get my butt kicked.” Swinging his blade, it clashed with Fryrr’s and sparks were sent scattered into the air. Mylos coughed to clear his throat, observing the enraged Fryrr, “Pink potato… your head is getting bigger… again.”

Boom!

Mark wore a satisfied smile, hurtling in the air at a fast speed, until he crashed headfirst into the church walls and buried half his face. Before he could pull his head out, he felt a massive hand grab his leg, and his heart skipped a beat—and he slammed his mouth shut.

He was sent flying upward, tearing a rift in the wall with his face and bursting out the roof. As he floated in the air, his eyes burning and face twitching, he heard an explosion. Mylos turned around in a heartbeat, crossing his arms before his face.

A force—like that of a hundred trains—crashed into his hand. Mylos coughed up blood as he was blown back, hurtling in the air with his body twitching, “You were always so strong… Your demon art made it impossible for anyone to face you in hand to hand combat…”

“Is this the part where you grovel and beg for your life?” Fryrr landed on the ground. She grew to double her regular size, veins popping all over her body. Her eyes gleamed as she waited for the smiling Mylos to fall down to the ground, “Or the part where I beat sense into your head?”

“Nah…” Mylos clenched his fists, suspended in midair. He turned to face Fryrr, his eyes gleaming in a similar light to hers, and his smile fading into a cold frown. Purple energies gathered around his body, and he tightened his grasp on his blade, “This is the part where we fight again.”

Mylos shot forward from the sky, swinging his blade as he transformed into a collapsing burst of purple energies. Fryrr chuckled then she leapt forward to face him, swinging her blades in a rotating field, but Mylos did not change his movement direction, his gaze cold.

Holding one blade with one hand, and blocking the other with his sword, Mylos stared Fryrr in the eyes, closed in, and headbutted her. She stood unfazed, her gaze shifting to the hand Mylos had used in holding her blade, noticing it was shrouded in a strange purple energy.

“Promise me you won’t cry…” Fryrr laughed, throwing Mylos to the side, then frowning as he grip remained on her blade. She tugged hard, but Fryrr could not retrieve it. Mylos held the blade tight, a cold gleam was in his eyes as she opened her mouth to speak, “This is not possible…”

“Right? I am shocked myself, but it seems this is more versatile than I thought.” Mylos was silent as he tightened his grasp on her blade. Fryrr tugged hard but his arm did not budge and Mylos had her weapon locked in place. She stood and he floated, the duo maintaining their cool.

“What is more versatile?” Fryrr dashed forth, using Mylos’s stubbornness to her advantage. She closed in, and punched him square in the face, but Mylos reacted quickly by slashing with his blade a second later, ripping a tear on her dress and leaving a long gash across her stomach.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“That was a monologue, ignore it.” Mylos titled his head to the side to dodge her blade, but in the next instance the blade cleaved down and separated his hand from his body. As his hand fell in a trail of blood, Fryrr attacked without mercy, swinging the second blade to attack him.

As he dodged, Fryrr grabbed Mylos and before he could react, she slammed him into the church building, burying his back into the wall. As he struggled to escape, Fryrr punched him hard, sending him further into the building wall, causing Mylos to scrunch his face.

He swung his blade, and hacked at her shoulder, burying his blade in her arm. Mylos forced a big amount of chaos energy into the blade, causing Fryrr to shout in horror as her arm tore apart, flesh and bone reduced to pieces. She retaliated by burying her blade in Mylos’s cheek.

Piercing through his face, the blade jutted out of his lower jaw, and Mylos’s tongue was cut. With a calm gleam in his eyes, he withdrew his blade, spun around and cleaved with all his might, cutting a long gash across Fryrr’s chest, then burying his blade in her heart.

She grabbed his face to quash it, and he twisted his blade. Before she could counter, Mylos took the initiative for a finisher, reaching out a hand and slamming it into her stomach. A surge of chaos energy burst out from his palm, and the lower half of her body was ripped to shreds.

Shocked with her hands still pressed hard on his face, Fryrr lowered her gaze and was horrified to see pieces of herself falling to the ground, creating a bloody mess. Her grip weakened, and after a while, she fell to the ground, struggling to heal as Mylos levitated from the sky.

“What is this…” Fryrr struggled to heal, her heart beating madly in her chest as she built a pool of blood around her, soaking in the red liquid. The effects of her demon art was cancelled by all her continuously weakening state, and terror filled her eyes, “How did you do this…”

“I was able to collapse St. Mariana in a single burst. If you’d known about that, then you would have asked Father to send someone else. Now, I am your physical counter. By the time Father gets a counter for me, the church would be brought down to a crumbling end.” Mylos laughed madly.

“Ugh…” Fryrr coughed up a mouthful of blood, her vision weakening as Mylos stepped over her body, walking away. She turned her gaze to watch him as he walked away, a fierce gleam in her eyes as she reached out towards him, but it was raised for a mere second before falling.

Mylos sheathed his blade, dipping one hand in his pockets and holding the hilt of his sword with the other, walking through the gates. None of the demons she carried as guards dared to attack as he walked away. Mylos’s laugh ceased when he stood outside the church gates, a grin on his face.

“Once I bring the last church to its knees, this game is over.” Mylos chuckled, “No anomalies were detected, and everything is going according to plan. If I hurry, then the final church would be ended, and the Eminences would not have the chance to react. They would face their patron on their own.”

Or, he would kill them himself.

Just as Mylos took a step forward, he paused. A frown formed on his face as he turned around, a cold gleam in his eyes watching a familiar face approach. The fool had donned a suit of gold armour, a massive great sword dragged across the ground as he approached Mylos, his gaze like fire.

“Ryan is it not? How persistent can you heroes be in your foolish indulgence?” Mylos wore a cold frown on his face, his expression stoic—one fitting of he who would bring ruin to many! It was high time he talked like a conqueror too, “Should I speak in old English, or would that be too much?”

“How dare you mock the glory of our lord?” Ryan exploded with rage, and the buildings in a five mile radius around them burst to pieces—every single one of them. It was a pressure from the gods, and Mylos’s eyes widened standing against it, his fingers trembling as Ryan stood furiously.

“You want to be a hindrance in my plans so much… wait. Where is the other fool you ally with?” A strong sense of foreboding overwhelmed Mylos as he searched the decimated area with his gaze, unable to locate the shooter, “Don’t tell me you spit up and let that fool attack the others?”

“We figured out that those things were not demons, but undead. Under the guidance of the Lord Almighty, we have prepared a trap for them—one that none would ever escape.” Ryan entered into a battle stance, gripping his weapon tight, “By the time they arrive there, they would be sent to hell.”

Mylos stood, his aura growing, the earth around him exploding. He had expected a trap, but he’d not calculated that this fool would become a hindrance instead of helping the others at the church. If he was held here, then Alissa and the others would be claimed by whatever trap they’ve prepared.

“Let’s make this worthwhile.” Mylos smiled, veins popping on his forehead as he drew his blade, wishing to finish off everything today. He was going to use everything at his disposal, and bring the church to ruin, “Now, little man, come at me with everything you have prepared.”