The Forsaken Hero

Forcing our way through the lava tunnels was almost ridiculously easy. Unlike the gargantuan caverns where the main battle took place, there was nowhere for the demons to hide, leaving them exposed to concentrated blasts of Sun Magic. Before long, the tide of the small, scaled fire demons slowed, and we broke through into another cavern.

Glowing rivers of lava provided an ominous, orange light as they dripped into craggy precipices. Hunks of igneous rock jutted from the uneven floor, pointing up toward the ceiling, which rounded off several hundred feet above our heads. Hundreds of tunnels ruptured the walls, allowing the remaining hordes of the demons to flee our arrival. They had long since given up attacking us, The overwhelming might of the Sun Hero forcing their violent natures into submission.

A massive stone door, crafted from the same glassy lava rock as the rest of the cavern, loomed on the far wall. Infernal runes were etched deep within the rock encasing the door, radiating a flickering light like dying embers.

Soltair’s face lit up the instant he laid eyes on the door. ”Looks like you were right. The boss room.”

I spared a glance at Fyren, who looked completely unsurprised, before moving to lay a hand on Soltair’s arm. ”We should be careful. They must know we’re here.

”As if that will save them.” he scoffed. ”Let’s go.”

My first instinct was to take it slowly and cast a few preparatory spells, the vivid memory of their scorn at my caution in the goblin cave silenced my tongue. Instead, I followed meekly behind, casting several spells on myself for extra protection.

Soltair took care of the door in much the same manner as the first, slamming his holy sword against it until it shattered. A blast of scorching air rushed through the fractured stone, striking us with a blast of fiery heat. Fortunately, the third-circle spells held, but the sheer intensity of the heat was shocking. The lava chambers we passed through, where literal rivers of lava flowed freely, barely tickled the barrier, yet the temperature behind this door threatened the integrity of the Fire Shield itself.

Soltair pushed his hand forward, blowing the wreckage of the ruined door clear with a wave of light. I clutched my staff tightly as he moved beyond the doorway, striding fearlessly into the solitary chamber beyond. The cavern was a featureless dome, similar to the entrance of the dungeon. The ambient light of lava was gone, the only source of illumination being a small, head-sized ball of fire bobbing gently in the center of the room. Despite its relatively small size, I confirmed its nature with the Eyes of Fate. Only the Gate Core could be the center of so much magic.

Three hulking demons stood motionless before the Core, identical to the demon of my first vision. They stood ten feet tall at the shoulder, with scales like smoldering coal and claws more vicious than any blade. Their eyes contained none of the mindless slaughter of their smaller kin, instead glowing with a harsh, calculated cunning. The leader stepped forward, sweeping his eyes over our group, regarding our party with an eerie calmness.

Stepping forward, he dipped his head in an almost respectful greeting. ”You have come far and with great strength. I am curious, heroes, to know the names of those who have dared to challenge us with such confidence.”

”Classic.” Soltair’s muffled grunt didn’t go unnoticed by my keen demonkin senses. With an air of unwavering confidence, he declared, ’I am Soltair, the Sun Hero. Take this as an honor, for it is by my hand you shall meet your fate.”

The demon looked at him strangely for a moment before his gaze roved over our party, eventually settling on me. ”Fate? An ill-fitting word considering those in your company. But how comforting to be greeted by one of our own. Perhaps you’d care to join us?”

His offer took me by surprise, but in hindsight, it shouldn’t have. I reflexively shook my head, taking a step back but bumping into Fyren. He looked down on me curiously as I stammered, ”N-no. I fight for Enusia.”

”A pity. We could use one of your skills,” the demon replied, sounding genuinely disappointed.

”Her?” Soltair asked, shocked. ”Aren’t you supposed to extend that offer to me?”

A loud snort sent a blast of fiery air through the demon’s reptilian nostrils, and the other two repeated the gesture. An expression of mirth, perhaps?”

”Such arrogance. Perhaps it is time we humbled you,” the demon said, releasing a respectable aura. ”You claim to come here to defeat us, but I find that notion laughable. As a Flame Commander of the Ignis Clan, I command this Gate. Let us find out just how brightly your flames flicker.”

Soltair’s face twisted in irritation and he raised his sword. His aura swept outward, slamming into the demons and forcing them back several steps. ”Just die already.”

His figure blurred as he dashed forward, sword aimed at the Flame Commander’s chest. The demon’s face curled in a cruel smile and he flicked his hand forward, a faint magic circle around his wrist. The sword glanced off his scales, causing Soltair to stumble forward, caught off balance by the lack of resistance.

As the demon’s other claw descended toward the hero’s exposed neck, I thrust a hand forward, wrapping Soltair up in a Fortunate Parry. As luck would have it, Soltair’s foot caught on an upturned stone, and he dropped to a knee, taking the jagged claws on his armored shoulder. Using the momentum of the blow, he rolled away and recovered his footing, eyes narrowed at the Flame Commander.

”Trithe,” he called without glancing over his shoulder.

She lifted her swords and stepped up beside him, squaring down the demon. They stared each other down for a few seconds before the Flame Commander gestured forward, and the other two demons split around their fight, auras locked on our position. His back left unguarded, Trithe slipped behind the demon, diving at his flanks with her twin swords. Her normal fiery fighting style was useless against such foes, forcing her to reinforce her attacks with her own strength, but the demon was still forced to deal with them.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Soltair’s figure blurred as he lunged forward once more, his face a mask of determination as he engaged in a fierce series of slashes. Pressed from both sides, the demon was forced onto the defensive.

Their fight faded into the background as the two approaching demons unleashed their auras. After the initial pressure, my soul instantly suppressed their strength. Shocked, I activated the Eyes of Fate and found them barely more than third level, and even the Flame Commander himself was no stronger. I looked at Soltair’s fight with keen interest, wondering how such a low-level creature could possibly compete with the pair, who were seventh level themselves. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned, startled, to find Fyren there, staring intensely at the demons.

”Have a care,” he said slowly, hefting his sword as he stepped in front of me. ”They may seem weak, but we can’t afford to underestimate them.”

I took a step back, reevaluating the threat. Fyren’s soul barely surpassed fifth level, yet I had witnessed the ruthless efficiency of his strength. If someone as dangerous as he was wary, then I could only plan for the worst. While the two demons were similar, the one in the front was taller, bearing bulging muscles and thick scales. I could only guess he specialized in physical combat.

My hypothesis was proven correct as the soul of the backmost demon suddenly lit up, churning with a chaotic maelstrom of energy. Without hesitation, I cast the fourth-circle spell Earth Wall, conjuring a twenty-foot-tall wall of granite between us. In an instant, radiant gouts of fire curled over the top, the wall deflecting the attack upward. A rosy red glow colored the center, where the spell had first struck, but held until the demon’s attack ended.

My breath caught in my throat as a clawed hand punched through the softened circle, the impact tearing the wall apart in a fiery explosion of molten stone Breaking through the rent, the brawler demon launched himself toward me, claws swiping viciously at my neck.

Panicking, I stumbled back, tripping over a rock and collapsing to the ground. Moments before the demon tore into my hastily erected Aegis, a colossal broadsword arced downward, intercepting the fiery claws. Fyren grunted, forcing the demon away and covering my vulnerable body with his own.

”I’m afraid that’s close enough,” he snarled, ”Another step, and I’ll have your head. Or at least what’s left of it.”

Despite his anger, there was a hint of something softer in his voice. Apology? No, that couldn’t be right. His raging aura was proof enough of his bloodlust. The demons didn’t seem to sense anything either, backing away cautiously. The mage’s soul warped once more, and a series of small meteors formed in his hand, orbiting his palm slowly. Although each one was smaller than my fist, they radiated intense might equivalent to a fifth-circle spell.

”Impossible,” I muttered, tail lashing. Although they cast similar monsters, I could still see the runes of the magic in the completed spell, which clearly formed three magic circles. How could just three circles contain so much power? Fyren’s charge to observe the battlefield circled through my mind, and I couldn’t help but stare at his back. Did he know something like this was possible?

”Mirror Sphere.”

As much as I yearned to study the demon’s magic, the battle came first. Although Fyren’s preferred element seemed to be fire, I doubted he could withstand something of that magnitude alone, so I placed my strongest protection spell around him.

And not a moment too soon, as the demon stretched out his hand, releasing the meteors toward us. Striking the silver barrier, the volatile energy within the projectiles detonated, engulfing the cavern in flames. The blast’s magnitude surpassed all expectations. Fear clenched my heart, and I had no choice but to close my eyes, bracing myself as the wave of fire consumed me.