Potential Unleashed

Running her left hand through her hair, her mind fills with doubt as demonic whispers play with her head. A masculine and calming voice instead envelops her mind. "It's alright child. It's almost over."

Deimos snarls, sensing the voice of Serox touch her.

Remembering the oath she swore to the people of Seteralia, and the peace bestowed upon her by Serox himself, she closes her eyes and puts her hands together to pray. "Light of absolution." In the skies above, portals full of hundreds of light arrows burst forth as she continues another chant. "Hear me Elohai of all creation."

Floating into back into the air a massive golden pair of gates materialize from behind, spectral chains reach out from the door preparing to launch out. It's brilliant golden light threatens to consume all wickedness who enter its embrace.

Deimos’s eyes flash in realization; and soon turn to panic. "This presence... No-no n-no."

“I came here to stop you, you sick bastard; this is the duty of all those blessed by Serox.” The stigmata branded on her back shines through her outfit, illuminating her entire form. A gold and blue glow mist swirls around her body as her skin starts cracking and crumbling away.

The six wings of the seraphim stretch out and wrap around her body as a golden radiance starts to blind the world around them. The roar of a dragon echoes out from within the gates of paradise.

Deimos retaliates in a flurry sending blast after blast attempting to dispel the holy chant. launching towards the saintess with pure malice in his eyes.

“Damn you Serox, I refuse to stop here its your damn fault, this is my birthright. HUMANITY BELONGS TO ME!” gritting his teeth, blood drips from his gums. As the blinding golden light shines out, his body begins to shudder and tremble. His momentum halting in an instant.

“Even if I must give up my life, I won’t let you take this world. F-forgive me Joshua!” she trembles.

“Light of the divine Seraphim, take the life of this lamb and purge the wickedness tainting this land. Cast it all away, beyond the land of the dead, beyond Tartarus.” Her skin starts crackling with a primordial white light.

At the conclusion chains launch out towards the demon king. Unbeknownst to all parties, the light of the Seraphim vanishes as the whole ritual itself scatters into a golden mist as an unknown sigil is left in its place scarring the air itself. A bejeweled angel feather floats gently in the air slowly fading away.

Seraphina, left in shock is unable to process whats happened. “Serox, why?” Her arms and head drops as her body barely stays afloat.

Taking his opportunity to end this, the demon king launches himself towards her at full speed, snagging her by the throat gripping down tightly. Her blade drops to the ground with a thud the golden tether vanishing. Her ethereal golden armor also re-shatters in the process. Deimos laughs in her face. “Guess your god ran out of energy to spare. What will you do now?” A sick smile creeps across his face as he licks his lips. Seraphina glares back in rage.

“There’s no need to look at me like that little one, think of this as a blessing since I'll be sending to your god.” His hand rockets through her chest viscerally tearing through her as blood spews out from her gaping wound.

“Oh and to reiterate once more, Cyrus would have given me a better fight, I do wonder who it was that took care of him though. It wasn't any of those useless arch-demons that's for sure.” Deimos’s eyes look to the heavens.

Coughing up blood her vision starts to blur as blood trails down from her lips. Casually tosses her body aside, he shakes the blood off his arm as a faint golden light faintly. emanating from her body.

Her mind goes into shock. Her mind and body can't process the pain. The body of the saintess rockets towards the ground. As the vacant eyed mercenary stares at the scene, a red energy beginning to swirl around his body.

The golden cage shatters in an instant. It's sound likewise echoes throughout the battle field.

Turning toward him, Deimos gloats with a gleefully sadistic look on his face. “What do you think Joshua? Isn’t this just glorious? Your beloved is dead in my arms, and soon I'll reclaim what's mine.” Running his hands through his hairs he gazes towards Joshua. A primal roar rips from his 'apostles' throat catching the demon king off guard.

Back in his own inner world a new conversation begins to take place. “I warned you that you needed my power kid, I wasn’t trying to lure you in with false promises like those lesser beings. Human emotions are so damn fickle.”

The voice complains before continuing. “But I guess I can’t blame you who bears the bloodline of Durand.” The voice sarcastically laughs.

The disembodied voice launches a crimson flash of light out from around the two of them, the tendrils clasping onto Joshua’s soul shattering in an instant. Now free from Deimos’s control, weakly he falls to his knees.

Exiting his mind, Joshua still incoherent regains enough control of his body as tears begin pouring from his eyes. Launching himself towards her nearly lifeless body, he catches her moments before she craters into the earth beneath. “SERAPHINA!”

His voice echoes through the air, his voice wavering with each syllable, “Please don’t leave me.” His voice and arms tremble.

Joshua pulls her close, tears staining his face. Barely holding on to life, her soft voice echoes into his ears. “My love, Joshua.” She attempts to reach her arm towards him, but lacks the strength. “I don’t have long left. My stigmata is fading.” Seraphina whispers out as her face starts paling, her eyes returning to their natural state.

“You’ve been the greatest blessing in my life. You gave me something else to live for, another purpose aside from being another beggar in the slums. You let me see this worlds beauty, And even though we both climbed out from the gutters of society. You let me feel things I never could have imagined.” She coughs out as blood continues rolling down her face.

Joshua can't respond, as some of the tears from his eyes turn to blood. Even still she looks him dead in the eyes with love and compassion. “Truly I am so grateful to you. I’m just sorry I wasn’t strong enough to break your curse; let you return to your family. I know how much they meant to you even though you never talked about them much. The pain on your face whenever they were brought up broke my heart.”

She weakly caresses his cheek. “Just look at you. You’ve gotten this strong and you can barely even use a fraction of your own potential.” She weakly chuckles trying to lighten the mood, blood trailing down the corner of her mouth as a golden light attempts to heal her injuries.

But its to no avail it soon fizzles out.“Whatever happens from this moment; continue looking towards the future Joshy, don’t let what’s happened here hold you back; do what you told me to do when I joined the order of Serox five years ago.”

“Spread your wings and soar to the heavens.” The two repeat in unison. Joshua's voice wavers, the tears dropping onto her form. She places her remaining hand on his chest where his heart is, and with a soft smile she confesses. “I love you, Joshua Von Terra. I always have and always will.”

A purple beam cuts her farewell short as Deimos glares at Joshua absolutely livid that he was freed from his control. “I don’t know how you broke free boy; but know this, you’ll be joining her in the afterlife.”

He cracks his neck and straightens his back with a sickening crunch. An ungodly amount of demonic wrath emanates from his emaciated frame. Lurching his hand forward he sends a massive blast of demonic energy out hoping to end this charade.

Out of nowhere, a crimson vortex absorbs the blast as the purple aura shatters like dust in the wind. A pair of crimson dragon eyes gaze toward the demon king. The very air and ground around them combust as Deimos’s curiously looks around.

“This presence, I haven’t felt this in over 700 years. Where are you Draxis? Show yourself” His voice fills with malice. Joshua gently lays Seraphina’s lifeless body on the ground. Her parting words tearing through his heart. The curse on his back cracks.

Like the words of an angel sent from the heavens, her voice rings out in his ears. "Joshua, may we meet again in the arms of Serox. I'll be waiting for you, my love. I don't care how long it takes we'll be together in paradise." As if in another trance Joshua closes his eyes reflecting on his life, both the good and bad.

All the struggles he went through during his childhood, adolescence and even his exile. His mind races through the words of his loved ones, even those who mocked him and ridiculed him.

The memories of his stoic father, his fallen brothers and sisters, even the friends he made and lost along the way. He had finally understood what they really meant to him.

His mind finally settling in on the image of his beloved, his closest companion that he had repressed his feelings for. The one who died in his arms, her eyes, her smile, the touch of her lips and her confession that tore through his heart like a dagger.

All of the pain, anger, and feelings of loss come bursting forth like water smashing through a dam. The years of rage burning deep inside like a dragons fire is let loose. “Scorch the entire world, Joshua.” The draconic voice echoes in his mind.

Fire ignites around Joshua as he stands to his feet. His long messy red hair ignites alongside the scenery.

He slowly gazes around, a scarlet red blade materializing in his right-hand, His eyes burn with an unyielding rage; one of them completely draconic, scales forming on his hands and face.

In an instant, as if teleporting, he appears beside the demon king swinging down with such ferocity and precision that the sheer amount of aura enveloping his strike nearly takes the demon king’s head clean off. The aftershock knocks him back into the ground before teleporting once again elbowing him in his back. Deimos is sent sprawling in the opposite direction.

“For what you’ve taken from me, and all the innocent people that have died this day. I’m sending straight back to hell!” His eyes start glowing solid red, his aura overloading.

Focusing his vision and channeling his aura with every breath, a voice booms from his diaphragm “By my blood as a son of Roderic Von Terra, and Disciple of the Mercenary King, I’ll have your head you demonic bastard!”

A bloody red aura warps reality around Joshua, his aura shooting through the roof. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven; Seven of his aura cores activate one after another. Flashes of blood red energy tear from Joshua’s body as he transforms before Deimos’s very eyes. The curse placed on him as a child finally breaking, his full potential being unleashed.

Standing at seven feet tall, his muscular form evolves to handle his new level of power. Looking towards his hands he laughs arrogantly. “So, this is what Dialos meant by fathers blood coursing through my veins.”

Joshua reminisces; a dastardly wicked smile forming across his lips as the power surges through every fiber of his being. Like a flurry of cannon fire, red energy blasts out in every direction. The landscape around them gets incinerated.

A massive dread comes over the demon king as his arms begin to tremble. He should have killed the brat first! That thought races through his mind as lifts into the air.

Trying to flee, his wings flap erratically as instantaneously the demon king is sent flying into the distance by a massive kick from Joshua to his side. Following up from behind, he blitzes over to the opposite side kneeing the demon in the stomach.

Deimos gasps out spitting blood from his mouth. Not allowing the demon even a moment of respite, he grabs him by his arm swinging him around over and over, only vengeance coursing through his mind.

Whipping his blade around he slams the hilt of it into Deimos’s face knocking him to the ground. Now standing over him he glares. “What is it, scared?” Not even giving him a moment to breath, A massive boot slams into Deimos’s face planting him firmly into the ground.

Kicking him backwards, the demon king is toyed with like a doll. Only for Joshua to unconsciously summon red chains that slam Deimos into the ground and lift him back into the air.

“How do you like it when the shoes on the other foot you disgusting monster.” Joshua screams out, lifting them both into the air with the chains head butting him. Deimos reels in pain as the two crash back into the ground. Joshua starts pressing down hard on his chest again, as Deimos screams out in pain.

“Stop, please stop. I’ll return to my realm and never show my face again.” A look of panic covers his face as if he was seeing someone else entirely.

“You didn’t spare my loved ones, why should I spare you?” Joshua responds coldly. The once proud demon king loses the feeling in his legs as he watches them get cleaved off. Blood spurts from the gaping wounds as his body and mind go into shock from the pain.

Having never been treated this way his entire life, aside from only one other occasion. The demon king tries to lash out futilely with his claws, but to no effect. Joshua’s gaze grows even more malicious as Deimos continues pleading for his life.

"Too bad, you sick bastard Burn In Hell." Joshua’s mind too far gone and consumed by rage swings his blade down nearly cleaving the ‘demon king’ in two. His body slowly splitting apart from his neck to his shoulder.

“Gughhhhh.” Chokes out the demon king, blood oozing from his chest, his arms trembling by his side. Still clinging to life nonetheless.

With the last of his power he clenches his fist conjuring a sigil as he looks towards Joshua tying their souls together. Joshua doesn't notice getting marked by it. “Burn in hell with me, Joshua.” A strange crest forms over his chest as adrenaline pumps through his frame.

The demon king's body crumples away into a miasma of purple mist.

Moments later, the chaos finally stops, nature around him finally returning to normal as the winds begin washing away the aches of this battle. All of the demon spawn burn to ash in its embrace as the sky loses its purple hue.

The sun tears through the clouds and reflect off of Joshua's beaten and battered form. “I won the fight, but at what cost.” Clenching his fists, walking back over to his beloved’s corpse; he drops to his knees as tears and blood stain his cheeks. Letting out a sigh, he lays down beside her holding her hand.

Looking down at his chest he feels a familiar purple energy burn through his armor, attempting to dispel it using his newfound aura, he focuses on it, pouring his remaining aura into it trying to block it. To no effect, a sharp pain shoots throughout his body like a snakes venom coursing through his veins.

Coughing up a copious amount of blood, he begins to lose consciousness; In his weakness he looks over to Seraphina lifeless body, and then back to the heavens and marvels at the birds soaring through the air.

“I guess this is it. This seems anticlimactic, I finally avenge my loved ones and reach my true potential only to die shortly after. I’m sorry Roxanne, please forgive this student's folly.” He silently chuckles to himself as he closes his eyes and accepts his fate. "I'm coming my love!"

An ethereal golden light sets itself before Joshua as he loses consciousness, attempting to wrap him in its warm embrace. Suddenly a crystalline mess of blue and gold energy snatches his body away.