Shadows at Dawn

Kazuki and Zephyr fought together against the Demon Lord. The talisman was more than a ward against light magic—it flooded the Demon Lord with speed, making him faster than either of them. For every strike they managed, he landed three crushing blows in return. Both Kazuki and Zephyr were battered, bruises spreading across their bodies.

"Zephyr," Kazuki gritted, breathless between clashes. "Let's strike from different sides. If he dodges mine, yours awaits him."

She nodded, tightening her grip.

Kazuki charged from the front, blade arcing down. The Demon Lord slipped aside. Zephyr's sword lashed from behind, but the Demon Lord twisted, his fist smashing into her ribs with a sickening crack. She staggered; breath ripped from her lungs.

At that instant, Vada seized the opening. From where she stood near Ardent, her eyes blazed with fury. She hurled a slicing wind slash at the Demon Lord's exposed back.

He heard it at the last second and turned—dodging most of it, but not all. His left ear was sliced off.

The Demon Lord roared in pain, clutching his head. In that heartbeat of distraction, Kazuki spun in a full sweep. His sword bit deep, slashing across the Demon Lord's right leg.

The Demon Lord howled, a dragged, animal sound. "Ooooh… my leg—"

Kazuki's eyes snapped to Vada, voice low and furious. "Kill that bastard for what he did."

The Demon Lord's screams turned into a threat. "I will make you all SUFFER."

One by one the torches faded; the chamber swallowed light until only the glow from Zephyr and Kazuki kept the darkness at bay. Kazuki slid a step closer to Zephyr. "Stay near me," he said.

The Demon Lord's voice echoed again, low and terrible. "I will tear you, limb from limb. You will beg me to end you."

Red eyes opened in the center of the hall. The Demon Lord raised a palm and started to drain their life and mana.

They struck at him, but he shifted like smoke, dodging and laughing. Kazuki gritted his teeth. "I've been in Sovereign form too long," he warned, clutching his chest where the relic burned. "He's draining what mana I have left. Charge your sword to release the Divine Judgment at him."

"He won't stay in one place for me to hit him," Zephyr gasped.

"Do what I tell you," Kazuki said, voice tight. "No arguing. He must die."

She agreed with a nod.

Kazuki gathered himself, palms lifted, trying to drain back his mana. The Demon Lord sneered. "You want to do; what I trained so many times for? Fool. You mixed light with dark—tainted your Sovereign Authority. You cannot overpower me."

Dark aura met dark aura as both Sovereign Authorities flared and crashed together, creating a link between them. The chamber became a storm of shadow.

Zephyr braced, Lightbringer humming in her hands, waiting for the moment.

Through the pressure and the storm Kazuki moved slowly, like a man walking through a gale. He closed the distance until his fingers slid around the Demon Lord's outstretched hand and intertwined with it.

"I've got you now." Kazuki said.

The Demon Lord's eyes widened. Before he could wrench away, Kazuki spun, hooking himself around the fiend's back, holding him still with all he had left, every muscle quivering in his body.

"Zephy — now!" Kazuki shouted.

Zephyr's hands trembled on Lightbringer. The sword ready beneath her grip, waiting to be unleashed. "I can't," she whispered, voice cracking. "If I fire… I'll kill you both. I can't—please, don't ask me to—" Tears running down her face.

The Demon Lord's laugh was a cruel. "What are you doing, woman? You will kill us both. Let me go Kazuki, we could make a deal… work this out."

Kazuki's face filled with fury. He dug his fingers deeper. "Do as I tell you!" he screamed.

She flinched, sobs shaking her. "I can't—"

"Then show me," he said with voice stripped to its core. "Show me how much you love me by releasing it with all you got."

Something in her broke and mended in the same heartbeat. Zephyr's jaw set; her hands steadied. Light crawled up her arms. "For you," she said, barely audible.

She thrust the Lightbringer forward. The sword released a column of pure, searing radiance. The blast hit the Demon Lord's chest, and for an instant everything vanished in white.

The tower shook. Light spilled through the hall. Her blast tore through the chamber, carving a hole in the back wall and scattering rubble.

The light faded, leaving smoke and dust swirling in the air.

"Kazuki!" Zephyr cried as she rushed to him. She dropped to her knees, turning him over. His armor was shattered, the relic at his chest cracked and glowing faintly.

Kazuki groaned, eyes fluttering open. With a faint grin, he whispered, "Nice shot, Zephy. I dodged it the moment I felt its heat, coming out of his back."

"You idiot!" Zephyr shouted, anger breaking through her tears. "You could have died!"

She pulled him into her arms and, without thinking, pressed her lips to his. The kiss was brief, desperate. When she pulled away, her face was streaked with tears. "Don't you ever make me do something like that again."

Kazuki, half-broken, managed a smile. With her help, he pushed himself up, and together they walked toward the Demon Lord.

He lay slumped, his chest split wide where the relic had been lodged. His breaths came shallow.

"I… can't… believe…" he rasped, eyes dulling. "My… took everything… and ruined my life… and now… another bitc… ruined… my…other…life"

His eyes rolled back, life fading from his monstrous body.

A sound pulled their attention — Vada's sobs echoing in the chamber. They turned to see her pressed against the wall, one trembling hand on the stone, her shoulders shaking violently. They rushed to her and Ardent.

"Vada…" Kazuki whispered.

"Master Ardent…" she choked.

Kazuki and Zephyr froze. Their hearts sank as they turned their eyes to where Ardent sat slumped against the wall, motionless.

Her voice cracked, broken by grief. "He's… he's gone…"

Thalion Ardent had passed away. His eyes were closed, his face at peace, a gentle smile lingering as if he had seen something beautiful in his final moment.

Kazuki fell to his knees beside him, tears pouring freely. "Master…" His voice broke.

Zephyr knelt too, wrapping her arms around Kazuki, holding him tightly as her own tears fell. In that moment, grief consumed them all, the chamber filled only with their cries and the silence of their fallen mentor.

As dawn broke across the battlefield, the elven army cut through the demons with flashing blades and volleys of arrows.

"Fight, men!" Rumilion's voice carried above the chaos. "Today we reclaim our lands!"

Gorran watched as demons fell before the elves' charge. Relief welled in his chest, tears stinging in Maeryn eyes. "Thank the Gods… thank the Gods," Gorran whispered.

Verena ascended between Maeryn and Gorran, as she helped them both stand. They leaned on her shoulders as she guided them toward Alvis.

"I hope others are safe and sound," Maeryn muttered, her voice weak but steady.

Caliondur rushed toward the tower the moment the explosion echoed across the plain. The castle filled with the bodies of the fallen. He pushed through until he stood before the blasted tower gate.

Inside the tower's chamber, he saw Kazuki and Zephyr stood sword-in-hand over a cloaked elf, the mage's dark robe torn and bloodied, a tall demon lay dead. And Vada crouched beside Ardent, crying.

Caliondur knelt and lowered his head. He murmured an old prayer, the same words he had intoned when he set his own father to rest. Then he rose and crossed to the fallen mage.

"Is that who hid beneath the hood all along?" he asked, anger and disbelief in his tone. "The mother. One of our own — damning us to a fate worse than death."

Kazuki's blade was already lifting. "Let's finish her," he said, voice flat.

Caliondur reached out and stopped the raised arm. "Wait," he said. "We have to give her Elendir's letter, and ask her how to lift the curse of these lands."

Kazuki's jaw tightened, his gaze, filled with rage, locked to Caliondur's. "Why should we do that?"