Thornton

  The air was thick with the scent of smoke, and I could feel the vibrations in the ground as the sounds of battle grew louder with each passing second. Explosions, the crackle of mana being flung around like wildfire, and the deep thuds of powerful strikes—it wasn't hard to tell that someone was fighting for their life.

  Drexel.

  I knew it before anyone else could say it. The fight was coming from the heart of the village, and there was only one person in Canu who could make that kind of noise. We didn't need to exchange words—Emberes was already moving, his legs carrying him faster than I had ever seen him go. He was frantic. His father was out there, and he wasn't going to waste a second.

  We followed. There was no hesitation, no fear. All I could think of was getting to the source of the chaos, to make sure Emberes' father didn't fall. As we approached the wreckage of Canu, I saw the flashes of mana lighting up the smoke like a storm. And then we saw it.

  Drexel was in the middle of the battlefield, his massive frame a blur of action. He was engaged in combat with a creature unlike anything I had ever seen. Red skin, black horns curling from its skull, and eyes that were nothing but endless black voids—this thing wasn't just a demon; it was a monster.

  Drexel wasn't backing down. His fists collided with the demon's in a violent clash, sending shockwaves rippling through the village. His strikes were precise, powered by years of training and unyielding determination, but the demon was fast, relentless, and every bit as strong. It was hand-to-hand combat on a scale I had never witnessed before, not even in the most intense of battles.

  "Stay back!" Drexel shouted, his voice hoarse but filled with command. He turned his head toward us, his expression raw with a mixture of exhaustion and defiance. "Don't come any closer!"

  But Emberes didn't listen. He was already rushing forward, his voice raw with emotion as he called out to his father. "Father! Please, be safe!" There was nothing controlled in his tone. For the first time since I had met him, Emberes was just... human. His father was in danger, and it made him lose everything he had built up over the years.

  The fight intensified after that. The demon roared, his fists striking with a force that seemed to shake the very air around us. Mana crackled like fire as Drexel unleashed his own devastating attacks, pushing back against the demon with everything he had. The sheer power of their clash was enough to make the ground tremble beneath our feet.

  I couldn't focus on anything else. The battlefield was a hellscape of destruction, bodies of the fallen scattered across the village. Burning. Charred. Faces I recognized. People from Canu. Villagers. My friends. Dead. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. The faces of those I knew, now twisted and unrecognizable from the flames, haunted me.

  "No..." I whispered to myself, my voice thick with disbelief. "Everyone... everyone's gone."

  My heart felt heavy with the truth of it. Canu Village was gone. The people I had known, the ones who had been like family, were no more. It was a hollow feeling, a pit that seemed to swallow me whole. But I couldn't dwell on it. Drexel needed us.

  The fight was beginning to wear on him. Drexel's movements were slower, his breathing labored. His massive fists were still swinging, but they didn't have the same force behind them. He was weakening. I could see it in the way his body was starting to give out, in the way his strikes grew less precise.

  Then, everything seemed to freeze.

  The demon stepped forward, his red skin glowing with an eerie, unnatural light. His smile twisted into something sinister, something dark. And then, in a voice colder than death, he said, "Glad you have an audience to witness your death."

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  I didn't have time to react. Before I could even take a step forward, the demon reached down and placed his hands on Drexel's forehead. The air around us seemed to freeze, and I felt a pressure in my chest that I couldn't explain. It was like the weight of the world was bearing down on me.

  Then it happened.

  Drexel's mouth opened, and a surge of power erupted from his body. Fire. Pure fire, rising up into the sky. It wasn't just a blaze; it was a wall of pure mana, an inferno unlike anything I had ever seen. It shot into the air, lighting up the smoke and the dark sky, and for a moment, I thought it would burn the entire world to the ground.

  But it wasn't enough. Drexel's body trembled, his form breaking apart, turning into ash as the fire consumed him. His body dissolved before our eyes, leaving nothing behind but the glowing remnants of his final attack.

  "No..." Emberes' voice cracked, and I saw him fall to his knees, his entire body shaking. He couldn't believe it. None of us could.

  The demon stood there, watching with twisted satisfaction as Drexel's ashes fluttered into the wind. His black eyes gleamed with a smug sense of accomplishment.

  The demon stood over Drexel's ashes, a twisted smile stretching across his face as he spoke, his voice cold and mocking. "That was the second strongest human I've fought in my life, outside of one... a human named Kael." His gaze shifted upward, savoring the weight of the moment. "Drexel is a name I won't forget for the next two hundred years."

  The name struck me like a hammer to the chest. Kael. My father. The realization hit me with a sickening clarity, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were caught in something much bigger than we'd ever realized.

  I glanced at Jade, her eyes wide as the same understanding seemed to dawn on her. This demon, this creature, had crossed paths with our father, and now it was standing here, over the ashes of Emberes' father, looking at us like we were nothing more than prey.

  The demon's eyes flicked toward us, a smirk creeping onto his face. "You two... You remind me of him." His gaze lingered a moment too long, like he was savoring the recognition. Then, with a laugh that chilled me to the core, he added, "Wait... you're them. You're the babies that magically got away."

  A surge of anger rose within me, but I kept it in check. It felt like my whole world was collapsing around me—my father's name, this monster that had hunted us, and now we were staring at the remnants of our past. The past I thought I had buried.

  The demon's attention shifted to Emberes, his smile widening with twisted pleasure. "Sorry for your loss," he mocked, his voice dripping with venom. "But you won't have to grieve for long. You're next."

  I could see the cracks in Emberes' usual stoic fa?ade. His fists clenched, his face a mask of rage and grief, and I knew then that he wasn't going to let this monster take anyone else from him. Not without a fight.

  But before Emberes could make a move, the demon's gaze snapped back to Hue, and his expression changed in an instant. The mocking smile faltered, replaced by something darker—something close to fear. "Wait... you aren't supposed to be alive!" The demon hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "I have to kill you quickly!"

  I could feel the tension in the air shift. The demon was no longer toying with us. He was a predator now, cornered and desperate.

  He lunged.

  It was a blur of red skin, black horns, and raw power, coming at us with lightning speed. Before any of us could react, he was nearly upon Hue, claws outstretched, aiming to kill.

  But Emberes was faster.

  Without a second thought, he stepped in front of Hue, arms outstretched, and caught the demon's claws with his bare hands. The sheer force of the impact rattled the air, a sickening crunch as the demon's claws dug into Emberes' flesh. Yet, despite the pain, Emberes didn't flinch. His body trembled, his teeth gritted in determination as he held the demon's claws at bay, his eyes wild with emotion.

  "Get back!" Emberes' voice cracked as he struggled against the demon's overwhelming strength. I'd never seen him like this—broken, vulnerable, but refusing to give in. The demon stumbled back slightly, but Emberes pushed forward, his grief and rage driving him.

  The demon chuckled darkly, an eerie, gravelly sound that made my skin crawl. "How touching," he sneered. "But it won't be enough." The demon's smile deepened as he stepped forward again, claws poised for another strike.

  I glanced around—our chances of winning this fight were slim. My mind raced, searching for a way out, but the fight was quickly spiraling out of control. Emberes was barely holding his ground, his injuries starting to take their toll.

  The air crackled with tension, the weight of the moment pressing down on all of us. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

  I could feel it in my bones.