Maplefall's Last Stand

Turning, I try to identify the sound of the voice. Looking around, I stop as the wind picks up and I hear fabric flapping from above. Leaping from the roof, he lands lightly on the ground in front of us. Dressed all in black, his long coat flaps, the torn edges fraying in the breeze. Looking into his black eyes, I swallow the fear rising in my chest. Before I can stop them, my eyes are drawn to the two horns sticking out of his head, contrasting with his long black hair.

"Saetaen!" Stepping past me, visible power crackles around Marianne.

"You should've stayed in your hall, Demon King. These were good people." Laughing, he steps a few steps back gracefully as if he was dancing.

"And why, pray tell, would I do such a thing, my dear Marianne? Did you forget that this world and all who live in it are just toys? So what if a few get broken? I remember a time not so long ago that you thought the same. Yet here you are." Turning from her, he fixed his face onto me.

"And you, human man. Who do you think you are, destroying my lovely artwork like that? Do you have any idea…"

"Shut the hell up." Sliding Aetheris back into its holster, I draw Thorne.

"Create ammunition. Fifty calibre armour piercing." Holding the hand over the cartridge, I watch as the cylinder grows bigger, and the rounds appear in each chamber with a foreboding sound.

"Did you just cut me off?" Turning to his side, a host of demons appear behind him. Walking over two large demons in heavy armour wielding gigantic swords stand behind the Demon King.

"Did he just cut me off?"

"He did my King. Shall we silence him?" Waving his hand, he steps back as the two large demons stalk towards me. Lifting the gun, I don't hesitate to squeeze the trigger, taking a step back from the recoil as the shockwave blows dust around me.

"Skill acquired: recoil compensation." Taking aim, I fire off a second shot. As the second demon's body hits the ground, I point the barrel towards the Demon King.

"You're going to need a few new bodyguards, Saetaen. If that's the best you've got, perhaps you should head back to whatever cave it is you climbed out of." Watching his eye twitch, I knew I'd hit a nerve. Every fibre of my being was telling me not to antagonise him. To fall back on my training and keep a cool call demeanour. But the sight of the bodies kept coming into my head, and the red of my rage wouldn't go away.

"Mark my words, human. You have not been alive long enough to even stand on the same page as me, let alone provide a challenge. You are nothing more than an insect, a cockroach beneath my…" Whatever other words he was going to say were lost under the sound of Thorne roaring. The bullet tearing a hole through his ear. Clutching the side of his head for a moment, he moves his hand away and looks at the silver blood running down his hand. And for a moment there, his eyes became caverns of fire. And I could feel my soul falling into their depths, and what I saw there was never-ending hatred. Leaping back as he roars and lightning cracks from the sky, I draw Aetheris, changing its rounds to lightning and Thorne back to a smaller calibre.

"Kill them all." All composure lost, Saetean screamed, and that was when hell broke loose. Like water breaking over a dam, the demons ran towards us. Focusing both guns together, I squeeze the triggers. Lighting-infused bullets rain from the barrels, destroying demons as they charge towards us. From the corner of my eye, I see Marianne change form and tear into them, ripping demons apart as if they were made from paper. Turning to check behind me as demons make it through, I see a fiery sword rends demons in two as Ellavessa charges into the fray, Hannah wielding a glowing sword right behind her. As anger fills her face, for the first time since coming to the world, I feel proud as her father. Not for taking a stand as a hero but for taking a stand against an evil that would hurt innocents. As she dives into combat, she doesn't hesitate to swing her sword. The fear and despair from earlier gone as dispatches demons, and for the briefest moment, I thought I saw a white glow surround her body, but I lost that sight as I narrowly dodge the sword of a demon. Shooting him, I look around at all the demons in the area and, cursing to myself silently, I decide in an instant. Leaping into the air, I spun around and pressed both guns to my chest.

"Akimbo!" shouting I spun around fast, the world becoming a blur, and as the magic took hold, the guns fired faster than I could keep track. From the sky, lightning and bullets rained down onto the demon horde. Landing heavily, I wince as the spell's backlash courses through me, and I drop to my knees. Breathing heavily, I look up at the surrounding carnage. Demon corpses smoking where Akimbo struck them down. Before I can get up, a demon charges towards me, his sword raised, blind rage on his face. Looking at my timer, I see it still reads 5 seconds before the paralysis effect wears off. Closing my eyes and bracing for the impact, I open them as heat washes over my face and the demon disappears into a fireball. Walking over, Ellavessa reaches down and helps me to my feet as the paralysis wears off finally and my body relaxes.

"That was risky, Oscar. If I hadn't been here." Looking around at the end of the fight, I shrug.

"It was worth it. Now." Turning towards the Demon King, I see him standing there, a black sword in his hand, facing off against Hannah, and fear pierces my heart.

"Hannah!" Swinging her blade, she meets the Demon King's blade with a clash of light. Pushing her back with ease, he moves faster than she can react and sweeps her legs out from underneath her. With a snarl, he raises his black blade above his head, and my body moves on instinct. Covering the ground between us in an instant, I pull the Glock from behind my belt and stop in front of him, the barrel pressed into his forehead.

"Oscar, don't!" but the warning went over my head as I squeezed the trigger. Twisting his head out of the way, he leaps back and, with one last look at me, he disappears through a dark portal with the sound of a thunderclap. Sighing, I turn and see Hannah sitting there with a tear running down her face. Scrambling to her feet, she runs into my chest and bursts into tears. Falling to the ground with her, I hold her tight as her tears wet my chest and the sounds echo through the empty town. It's always hard when your kids are hurt and scared, and she should never have had to go through what she did today.

"Fuck this world." My words fall into her hair as an icy wind blows, sending a shiver down my spine.