“For the glory of the church, die demon!” Ryan charged forward, dragging his great sword along the ground — splitting it as he moved. Once he got close enough, Ryan swung the sword, cleaving an arc at the motionless Mylos, “Your kind would be sent back to the pits of hell!”
“My kind?” Mylos blocked the great sword with his blade, smiling as Ryan pressed hard and his knees bucked. The weight Ryan imposed was greater than before, like he carried the burden of this world on his shoulders, “You have no idea how difficult that will be.”
“Holy Frenzy!” Ryan shouted, withdrawing his great sword, and as time stilled he took a breath. A sudden explosion of aura occurred, and Ryan swung the great sword. Mylos blocked it, but Ryan did not falter, lifting the blade to the sky and attacking again this time faster than before.
As Mylos blocked his attacks, he would withdraw his blade then attack from a different angle. As they locked in the fierce dance, Ryan’s speed only grew, doubling over the seconds, tripling over the minutes. Mylos blocked each strike, his eyes gleaming in a purple light..
The earth shattered around them, exploding further and disintegrating to dust, leaving the duo suspended in midair for a few seconds before they floated to the ground. Once the effects of Holy Frenzy died, Mylos closed and swung his blade fiercely, hacking at Ryan’s armour.
Clang~!
“The fuck…” Mylos stood with his blade pressing hard on the hero’s armour, and he did not leave a scratch even with his blade brimming with chaotic energies. As Mylos tried to increase the potency, Ryan reacted — headbutting him in the face then slamming his knee into the side of Mylos’ stomach.
Mylos was sent staggering to the side, a stunned expression on his face. His smile grew, and his aura turned fiercer. Ryan leaped forward, roaring as he swung his blade with all his might, and the smiling Mylos blocked, an explosive shock wave occurring as they clashed.
Everything around them was reduced to powder, and the air had grown stale and scalding. Their auras continued to clash, and as Ryan withdrew his blade to initiate Holy Frenzy, Mylos stepped back then stabbed with his blade. Ryan dashed back, a cold frown on his face.
“Aren’t you demons tired?” Ryan asked as he leapt forth, swinging his sword and as Mylos raised his to block, he knocked the demon to the side. Ryan followed up with roundabout spin, swinging his blade along and aiming for Mylos’s head, “Tired of all these madness and slaughter?”
“Of course, we are. That’s why we want to destroy the church! Once the church is gone, all these fruitless massacres would come to an end. Demons would finally get the peace they deserve!” Mylos dashed forward, palming Ryan’s chest, “The harder you struggle, the longer the battle.”
Ryan punched Mylos in the face, then kicked him away. His eyes gleamed in a fierce golden glow as he watched Mylos straightened his pose, growing as he spoke, “it goes both ways. The harder you demons fight, the more disaster humans endure. I can’t watch as you ruin the lives of the innocent!”
“The innocent?” Mylos’s eyes widened, and his smile dropped. The veins on his forehead grew as his eyes turned bloodshot, “What nonsense are you spitting, you bastard! For barely existing, all you worshippers of a vile god are nothing but hypocrites. Tell me, how many demons have you spared?”
Mylos entered a battle stance, “How many demon children — suckling babes, and blind children did you dare leave to live their lives? Tell me how many demons you let go because they’re innocent and have nothing to do with your worthless fanaticism?”
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“None…” Ryan could not lie, staring down at Mylos who burst into a peal of laughter. Seeing the demon mock him, Ryan furrowed his brows, a cold gleam in his eyes. He composed his stance, and a coldness embraced his heart, “Because one day in the future, they would only bite you in the back.”
“How dare you say that to my face after saying you can’t watch me ruin the lives of the innocent? As far as people like you exist, I will make sure to wipe out the trace of the church from this world. It is no issue to pay evil with evil, because after all, I am demon.” Mylos dashed, his speed shocking.
In the next second, he engaged Ryan and flashes of light — gold and purple — clashed. As their clash grew frantic, the intensity of the clashing auras increased. Neither could gain ground over the other, locked in the relentless sword fight as they searched for an opening.
Mylos spun around, dodging Ryan’s blade then palming the hero in the chest. As they connected, his eyes flashed in a vicious light and in the next instance, Ryan was blown to the sky, his breastplate shattered and its pieces shattering into the air, falling to the ground.
As he retrieved his hand, Mylos straightened his back.
——
“What do you mean the church sent these demons?” Aysla stared at the woman — tied, beaten to a pulp and soaking in blood — and her eyes remained ice cold. She raised her leg to stomp down on her face, but Madeleine held Aysla’s shoulder, causing her to frown, “She takes us for fools.”
“I know its hard to believe the church harbours demons, but…” Madeleine turned to the woman, and sighed, shaking her head as Aysla dropped her leg, “It is a normal thing to do. Even at the House of Order, we horde demons for taking our enemies by surprise during attacks.”
“Are you sure about that? I know that every organisation has skeletons in their cupboards, but I want to believe that there is a difference between the House of Order and the Church of Light. One’s a human family, and the other is a demon extermination hideout.” Aysla turned to the woman.
“But if this is true, then Mylos and the others could be in danger. Once the heroes team up with a horde of demons against them, then they’ll be overwhelmed.” Madeleine said to Aysla, wearing a cold frown on her face, “Unless they can prepare beforehand, or the demons are not enough.”
“Hmm. Should we go visit them?” Aysla asked, turning to Madeleine. Instead of an affirmation, all Aysla got in reply was a soft hum. This brought a frown to her face, and she narrowed her eyes, “You are thinking if this was their plan all along? To draw us in for some reason?”
“It makes no sense for this random to give us such information without any excessive torture. So I would be cautious, as the church could have some sort of trap involved.” Madeleine’s frowned grew, and he lowered her gaze, “It should be something to wipe out a large gathered group…”
“A big Heavenly Retribution?” Aysla chuckled, but seeing the expression on Madeleine’s face turn even more serious, her chuckling turned dry. She frowned, “There should be no way they would pull off a trick like that right? It must be impossible.”
“A hundred human souls… that is what it takes to enhance the effects of any holy skill. Once they gain the favour of their god through a ritual, they would be able to increase the power of a holy skill by one hundred times.” Madeleine sighed, “We used it to wipe out a clan of demons in an instant.”
“A small clan, right?” Aysla questioned, but Madeline fell silent. She quickly turned to the beaten up woman, furrowing her brows then clenching her fists. Aysla approached the woman and punched her square in the face, “I have one last question. Is there a backdoor into the church?”
To that, the woman laughed, “The sewers of District 4 have a path that leads directly into church, but its doors are guarded by seven demons. There is no way you can escape the retribution of their god, unless you can drop down on the church from the sky…”
“Heavenly Retribution uses the Eight Pillars of Light as its base, which means it had a limit to the range. It cannot be moved at will after execution, and cannot be increased or decreased. Hmm, there is some truth to what she says. If we drop down after its been used, we can escape it.”
“If we drop down before its use, then they’ll make sure to take us into consideration. Then again, by using it they will wiped out a good portion of our force. Once we take such a blow, then we would face danger from the revolts by scattered members of the church.” Aysla closed her eyes, breathing.
“I’ll use myself as bait. If I can rush in before they get caught by the attack, then I can set the trap off and warn the others. If I die, then Mylos would have to revive me.” Madeleine sheathed her blade, turning around to leave, “Kill them, and take flight. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine."