He will pay!

"Noooo!" I shout as Aria closes her eyes.

She healed me instead of protecting herself. Now she lies there lifeless. I nudge her and try to wake her up.

"Aria!" I shout, but there's no reaction.

"You can save yourself the trouble, "Hero". I destroyed her heart. Even though I saved her life by turning her into a witch in the past, she never submitted and even hated me for it. Now she's gone and doesn't cause me any more problems. So I can destroy the kingdom without interference. Goodbye!" he says.

Then a portal opens in the middle of the hall. The mage enters it, and his shadow-like soldiers become a kind of smoke that follows him through the portal.

Wounded and defeated, the others come to look after Aria. They look at me, but I just look down with teary eyes.

Irene, who is conscious now, looks down as well. We saved her but lost at the same time...

"It's over. We are defeated!" Caspian says.

The mage is free, most of us are wounded, and Aria is... I lift Aria's body up and stand up.

"Aria wanted us to save everyone. She wouldn't want us to give up. So let's defeat him and avenge her!" I say confidently and with a dark expression.

"You are right," Knox says with a serious face. He is not able to smile as always.

"Now it is something personal!" Sisli says angrily with teary eyes.

"We have nothing to lose anymore. So let's go!" Caspian says with mixed feelings.

I put Aria in the arms of Sisli's golem. Now I regret not telling Aria how I feel. And now it seems too late. I will destroy the magician and make him feel the pain we must endure now. I have never been more determined to do something than I am now.

We run into the portal, ready for everything that could await us. The portal has taken us into a forest. Before us stretch the massive walls of Kingsgate, the capital of the kingdom, where the king's castle is located. So, this is where it all begins. The end of the world.

"Caspian, protect the princess..."

"No, we have to protect the inhabitants. I can fight too," Irene shouts.

Cecil will kill me if anything happens to her. But we're in a difficult situation. Besides, Cecil has always trained swordsmanship with his sister. So she's not an amateur.

"Fine. But get yourself a weapon, and if it gets too dangerous, then run away!" I say.

"My golem will come with you. And he will protect you and Aria..." Sisli says.

I also don't want her to lie somewhere on the ground. So it might be the best when the golem continues carrying her.

"Knox and Sisli, you will also protect the people! I will get to the castle and fight against the mage." I say determined.

"Are you sure that you are able to fight him alone?" Knox asks.

"I'll handle it. It is more important that you protect the people." I say.

Then we spread out in the city, and I run straight to the castle. Dark blue, unholy-looking clouds have already gathered over the castle. This is where he will be.

As I run through the streets, shadow creatures attack me. One runs head-on towards me. I run over crates, jump over the creature, and slash it with my sword as I go. I try to use minimal effort and, if necessary, dodge past them to avoid wasting time.

I enter the castle. The gate is open, and there are no guards in sight. Upon entering, I realize why. Guards lie scattered on the ground, injured, if not dead. Shadow creatures see me and rush towards me. I must go to the throne room. That's where the king, and more importantly, the magician, will be. I fend off their attacks and destroy them with several blows. They disappear like smoke, and I run down the corridors.

Such an unnecessarily large castle. But I'll be there in a minute. The large door to the throne room is half open. Now things are getting serious. I kick the door open. The throne room is huge with a glass dome as a ceiling and several big windows on the walls. A long red carpet leads to the stone throne. The magician stands at the end of the room in front of the throne. The king kneels in front of him, seemingly begging for his life. Cecil stands behind the mage. His sword is aimed at the magician.

"Lionel!" Cecil shouts in relief.

"You weren't satisfied. Wasn't it enough for you that I killed your beloved one? Do you want to follow her so quickly? I can grant you that wish," the magician shouts. 

This bastard.

The magician fires a beam of energy in my direction. Instantly I roll to the side, get back up, and keep running.

"Spare me. I did what you wanted!"  the king cries, kneeling in despair before the magician.

He covers himself, visibly afraid of being hit by an attack.

A disgrace for a king, if not for a human being. He shares the blame for everything. But he will receive his punishment later. First, the magician must pay.

"Your ancestors imprisoned me. Did you really think I'd be satisfied with you handing over the princess and the hero to me?" the magician says, superior and smugly.

"Father, is that true?" Cecil shouts indignantly.

"We are the important bloodline. I did it to protect the kingdom!" the king shouts, searching for understanding.

"You did nothing. You wanted to preserve and expand your own power structure!" Cecil shouts angrily.

"Stop the family drama. You're all going to die soon anyway!" the magician says annoyed, and prepares to attack.

I push the magician aside with a swipe of my sword. The magician's attack still went through. But Cecil has time to react. He grabs the king by the collar and throws him behind the stone throne, while he dodges to the side to escape the attack.

The king looks at Cecil expectantly.

"Don't get carried away. I'm just making sure you're punished on my own terms!" Cecil says angrily, refocusing on the fight.

I hit the mage with several heavy blows, which he blocks with a protective barrier. He is merely pushed back. Cecil also tries to hit the mage. A skirmish begins, consisting of dodging and attacking with our blades from various angles. While I attack from the front, Cecil jumps at the mage from behind. But the mage fires a magical sphere in his direction. He blocks it with his sword but is still thrown several meters against the wall behind him.

Then the magician pushes me away as well. Before I can even catch my breath, he fires magical missiles as sharp as knives. I do my best to deflect them, but many of the blades still cut into my limbs.

"Ah..." I shout.

Blood is dripping from the cuts. It's unflattering, but at least the injuries aren't serious.

I look over to Cecil, who slowly stands up. The dark aura of the mage gets bigger. I have to defeat him. But not for the world or the kingdom, but for Aria. He will pay!

Suddenly, the glass dome above us shatters, and shards fall down.

I flinch and look up. The sun is blinding, but outlines emerge in the light. Who is that?