The Forsaken Hero

The Ice demon towered above the endless hordes of scions in mocking defiance, so confident in its victory that it had refrained from taking to the field. Its sixth-level aura continually rolled across the battlefield, exerting pressure on the soldiers, who, lost in the depths of the mist, was unable to even identify the looming threat. Not only that, but the presence of its powerful magic was felt in every crevasse of the mountain. Scions and evolved demons trampled their own kind, mad in the flood of Infernal Mana charging their veins.

The Last Light Company teetered on the edge of collapse, the soldiers on the brink of being overwhelmed by the infernal onslaught. But, even as demons picked them off one by one, I could feel their resolve blazing through the Nexus. Their warrior’s pride prevented them from running, but it was their hope that invigorated their exhaustion and drove them to slay dozens before succumbing to their wounds. They called out in silent prayers, desperately holding on, waiting for a hero.

But for nearly half an hour, I had failed them, leaving them to the mercy of the demons. The darkness in my heart deepened with every soul lost from the Nexus, every life one I had promised to protect.

”I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice drowned in the chaos of battle.

The weight of their lives pressed heavily upon me, but there was no more time for tears. Many had fallen, but hundreds of souls still burned bright in the Nexus, anxiously waiting for me to save them.

Summoning courage from their unwavering resolve, I reached out to the swirling Infernal Mana above. It cascaded like a torrential rain, enveloping me, tugging at my hair and clothes. My soul strained under the burden, each gesture sending shards of pain through my body. Yet, I persisted, directing my staff towards the sky.

The demon’s eyes narrowed as I began weaving a spell, its intimidating presence attempting to undermine me. ”You are nothing,” it hissed, its words cutting through the chaos. ”Surrender, and I shall consume you; resist, and you shall suffer.”

My focus wavered as my fourth-level soul struggled to contain the intricate spells and runes. As the fourth circle joined the array, I doubled over, coughing up blood. Casting Nexus before had nearly broken me, and dragging another sixth-circle spell from my soul seemed impossible.

With all my attention, energy, and focus on the array, all it would take was a fifth-circle spell and I would die. Yet, despite my utter helplessness, the snake remained motionless, refusing, or perhaps unable, to move. Beneath its overbearing facade, it quivered, consuming every last drop of mana it stole from the dying soldiers.

As predicted, the demon was just as helpless as I was. Should it halt its spell and disperse the mists, the Last Light Company would immediately regain the upper hand, but failing to do so meant my spell would finish. And to make it worse, I was casting through an array, a type of magic it was completely unfamiliar with. Without knowing what I was trying to do, how could it be expected to choose between its army and my spell?

After a few seconds of tense silence, it made its choice and assumed direct command over the demon hordes.

”Kill the hero!” It screeched, redoubling its efforts to sustain the mists.

The command echoed through the ranks of demons, their glowing eyes fixated on me atop the mountain, sending a shiver down my spine. In a heartbeat, they surged as a relentless tide, hurling themselves at the soldiers in reckless abandon. Claws tore through flesh, rending anything in their path, even trampling their own in a frenzied attempt to reach me.

The Last Light Company, unprepared for this sudden onslaught hidden by the mist, faltered under the strain. The veil of ignorance made the aggression feel utterly unexpected. Through the Nexus, I sensed their spirits waver as comrades fell around them.

”Defend the Gate!” Captain Bethiv’s voice, magically amplified, cut through the chaos, instilling a desperate trust in the unseen hero.

I felt a surge of gratitude for the concealing mists that had masked my earlier despair. My tail slumped with the weight of my failure, and the guilt for deceiving them pressed heavily upon me. They suffered because of my inadequacy, they died for my mistakes. If only I had seen through the demon’s schemes sooner, then maybe they’d still be alive.

I made a silent vow—I would not fail them again.

With a final push, the array of magic circles combined into a sixth-circle spell, releasing a pressure every bit as great as the Ice Demon itself. Scions and evolved demons continued their reckless charge, ignorant of the threat looming above them, but the Demon froze, its eyes quivering.

”Elemental Spirit: Ice!”

A massive figure coalesced in the air, rising from the mists like a giant from the depths of the sea. It threw back its featureless head and roared, shaking the entire mountain. A shockwave erupted from its chest, tearing through the mists in a tangible gust of freezing air, hurling demons like insects in a storm and shattering the ice for a mile in all directions.

”Destroy it!” the Ice Demon screeched, its tail lashing violently.

Its command was lost amidst another resounding roar. The shockwave’s distortion froze, lingering on the mist’s edge before collapsing inward. The world turned white as it imploded, drawing in mists, ice, and scions alike.

The Elemental Spirit braced itself as the force rebounded, its ethereal form expanding. As the surge of power swept over, the malevolent mists and frozen demon flesh melded into its incorporeal being, slowly condensing into physical form.

The process came to a halting stop as the serpent’s sixth-circle spell attempted to reclaim the mists, trapping the ice and infernal mana between the strength of the demon’s spell and my own.

My soul shook as the conflict moved through the spells, an unbearable ache spreading like wildfire through every fiber of my being. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn’t yield; I had to persist, I had promised.

After a few agonizing moments, the magic circle beneath the mountain shattered, fracturing into a myriad of shimmering shards before dissipating entirely. At the same time, the Ice Demon’s anguished cry tore through the chaos. Its soul trembled as the backlash of the failed spell tore through it, and a stream of infernal blood spewed between its cavernous jaws.

The ground shook as the Ice Spirit took a step forward, finally wearing a complete form. It was enormous, half again as tall as the snake, with dreadful spikes sprouting from its limbs and a crown of icicles resting upon its formless brow. Frigid air rolled off it in waves, curling around the ice scions, penetrating their defenses and leaving them petrified in an ice they thought themselves immune to.

Fyren had done such a thing once, long ago when we were fighting in my first gate. His flames burned so hot they consumed everything, even the evolved demons serving as the Gate Commanders. No matter how confident one was in their magic or ability, there was no such thing as perfect resistance in this world. Before absolute power, all tricks were meaningless.

The Ice Spirit appeared to move with a slow, lumbering gate, but that was just an illusion cast by its immense size. Within seconds, it had reached the blood-soaked Gate Commander. The snake raised its head, eyes smoldering with rage, and lashed forward. The spirit’s fist blurred, striking it in the head.

A sickening crack reverberated as the Demon’s form contorted, blood spraying from countless vicious punctures. Its anguished wails filled the air as it attempted to flee, yet the Elemental Spirit lunged, seizing it by the neck. The serpent instinctively coiled around the Demon’s torso, constricting with a vice-like grip while sinking its fangs into the spirit’s shoulder.

Myriad fractures spider-webbed across the Elemental’s form, penetrating deep toward its core. A dark, inky blue oozed from the Demon’s fangs, tracing the mana veins within the spirit. Within moments, half of its being darkened, its resistance beginning to falter.

”Link Soul: Nexus!” I cried out.

As the victor of our magical clash, I had remained free of backlash and far from idle. Link Soul stood as the precursor to Link Ability, an improvised spell I crafted hastily before my duel with Ronin. Over the past year, I had diligently worked to restore its original form but came up short without a way to proceed. At least, that was true until yesterday. Insights from my experience with purging the wolf granted crucial understanding of the magic, allowing me to attempt something new.

A thread of mana shot out from my soul, slicing through the air until it caught on to the Spirit. Mana surged back toward me through the connection, infused with traces of infernal taint absorbed by the Elemental from the mist. It surged into my soul, viscous as oil, yet my encounters with infernal energy throughout the battle had prepared me, and I channeled it, utilizing it to strengthen our bond.

One of the flaws with Nexus was that no further souls could be connected once it was cast. Yet, through the power of the new link, I delicately wove the spirit into the spell. Moments before the Demon broke it apart, my mana surged through the thread, bringing with it all the spells of the Nexus.

The Ice Spirit unleashed a thunderous roar as a luminous sphere erupted from its chest, shattering the Demon’s grasp and hurling it away. The Gate Commander screeched in protest, constricting its coil about the newly formed ball, but Blade Ward held firm, keeping it at bay.

With rolling eyes, the Demon spat forth several spells, each detonating in its face as Mirror Sphere took effect. Before it could clear the ice obstructing its vision, the spirit acted once more, thrusting a viciously curved icicle through its jaw. The snake-like creature spasmed as the ice pierced its skull, emerging from the top.

Seizing its neck with its other hand, the elemental forcefully twisted until the icicle tore through its jaws, gruesomely cleaving its head in two. After stomping on the body several times, the elemental dropped it to the ground, where it remained twitching for a few seconds.

I let my staff drop, my form slumping from the weight of exhaustion as I met its fading gaze. The dwindling glimmer in its eyes held a flicker of confusion and disbelief, as if struggling to grasp the reality of the situation. After a single, shallows breath, the snake’s chest rose no more, and its soul faded into oblivion. We had won.