Darkness of the Unknown

As the Demon Lord fell into the tower of darkness his shovel broke from his grasp. I’m certain I could use the combined power of my shovel and his to remove the tower from this world.

But what I can’t be certain of… is where the Demon Lord will end up when I do that.

I can’t be certain if the Demon Lord is actually even dead yet. Sure he fell into the unyielding all consuming darkness, but his magic revolved around it. There is a good chance he’s still alive in there.

Even by sealing the dark spire here, he could possibly return…

…

I’d rather not take that chance.

If I have to dive into darkness in order to save the world from his wrath, then I’ll gladly sacrifice myself to achieve it.

Everybody's already retreated, there’s nobody left to protect.

Just one final battle.

Into the unknown.

I pick up the Demon Lord’s shovel, it still retains its magical evolved form, his red lightning still coursing through it.

I still have some magic left in me thanks to my friends, it's like I was destined for this battle.

This fight between shovels of life and death. Two shovels to decide the fate of our world… To think I’m some sort of chosen one… that would be pretty cool.

“Hey! Hey! HEY! HEY! HEY!”

I shouldn’t be surprised, but the erratic yelling did make me jump a bit. A disembodied voice calls out from behind me. Approaching the sound I find Eryth’s shattered vessel with just an arm and a head, barely capable of existing.

“You good down there?”

“No, I am not good down here, pick me up this instant!”

“But I might zap you.”

“Still an idiot after all this time… don’t underestimate my ultimate magic, my [Arx, my unbreakable defense].”

“Then why are you split in two?”

“I WAS DISTRACTED OKAY! Anyways… since I’m smaller there’s less of an amount I need to protect around myself.”

“That’s good.”

I turn back around looking upon the foot of the spire.

“Aren’t you going to destroy it?”

“Not yet. He’s still in there.”

“ … And you expect to defeat him, in there?”

“I won’t know until I try, and besides I got the combined power of all my friends’ magic with me. I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.”

“ … not all your friends…”

“Huh, what was that?”

“I SAID NOT ALL YOUR FRIENDS! You said I was your friend too, right? Let me give you my magic.”

“Oh yea sure, here”

I hold out the shovel to her broken body strewn atop the rubble.

“What do you want me to do with this?”

“Share with me your magic.”

“The hell? I’m not just going to let you use my magic, that’s an Eryth specialty only the one and only me can use it.”

“Then what? How do you share your magic?”

“Pick me up. While you fight, I’ll protect us. I’ll just hang around your shoulders, like your backpack.”

“That sounds like it could be more complicated.”

“WHAT! Stupid King, doesn’t know how teamwork works. You get to focus entirely on fighting and I get to focus entirely on defense. And in the process you get the best protective barrier magic can buy you. SO! Pick me up, and let’s dive into darkness!”

“ … Fine, you win. That’ll make the fight a 2v1 anyway, winning will be in our favor.”

“Thinking tactically is good in all King, but we seriously are going into uncertain territory.”

“But we’ll do it together. Together we’ll be each other's guiding light through the darkness.”

“That’s deep King, that’s deep.”

Lifting up Eryth from the ground, she wraps her last arm over my shoulder, her magic welding itself to my armor. Her head sits just behind my shoulder, acting as a second pair of eyes. I’ve got two shovels now, one of life, and one of death.

A small bridge stretches toward the edge of existence, the black spire appearing to slowly expand outward as it eats away at the terrain around it. It's a pure black nothingness. There’s no way of knowing if we’ll be able to escape it once we go in…

But now is the time to make that sacrifice.

…

One step into the darkness, we feel our bodies being absorbed into it. For a moment everything feels cold, then her magic begins to glow cutting through the endless darkness. Her pocket of magic surrounding us, is the only point of life in this empty plane.

“Don’t worry King, I’ll protect us! Find the Demon Lord, so we can finally end this.”

This place is barren, just pitch black as far as the eye can see, but with Eryth’s golden glow I notice waves of darkness approaching. These withering enemies appear more like monsters painted in ink, walking like dripping globs of paint.

“Through darkness my black electricity will reign supreme, conducting my [Voltaic Arc]!”

Electricity of black and blue surges through my shovel–but also of red and white through the Demon Lord’s. I can feel the residuals of his power merging with mine, but now it's high time I bring down his shovel of treachery on the monsters he used against me!

ZAP–

CRASH–
BOOM–

Lightning jumps from monster to monster causing the dripping things to explode and drench their darkness across the other ones. The clumps that fall onto the pitch black ground reconfigure themselves into smaller versions and continue their hunt!

“King! You’re going to have to destroy them in one fell swoop–one big attack, just go for it!”

Leaping into the air, I ready both shovels to cast down a smite on the nobodies below!

“Sounds like a plan! – With twin flashes and the accompanying booms! Twice the bolts of lightning to strike down the mice, [Double Thunder Surge]!”

KAAABOOOOM–

Twice the shovel, double the damage! The monster's remains failed to regenerate, being completely erased from existence.

“LOOK!”

Not too far in the distance a red light shines through the darkness, a figure in crimson armor! But with the size it is from all the way over here… he’s got to be big!

Eryth and I sprint towards him! Along the way more creatures emerge from nothingness, but with our true target in our sights we don’t dillydally and press the attack.

As we get even closer the sheer size of him is fully realized! He’s grown to about 20-meters tall! The Demon Lord’s armor has expanded and grown larger too, his arcs of red appear to be siphoning the darkness around him, to likely grow evenutally to even greater sizes.

Upon seeing us in his domain, it doesn’t speak or scream, but immediately targets us with an attack; reaching upward and calling down a spear of lightning to its hand.

With the bolt in hand he begins to throw it, his massive arm lethargic and slowed much unlike his previous form.

I start to run even faster!

“KING! That thing will blow us up! Why are you running towards it!?”

“It's electricity! I’m going to take it and turn it against him!”

“WHAT!? DO YOU EVEN KNOW IF THAT’LL WORK?!”

“It’s a gamble I’m willing to make, and if it fails you’ll be there to block it!”

“OH MY GGGGOOOOOODDDDDD!!!”

The crimson bolt of lightning magic leaves his grasp zipping through the darkness at my position! In preparation to siphon it to my side, I point the two shovels to be parallel to the strike.

“If one shovel fails… I’ve got two now, to top it off!”

“Why did I think you’d be sensible this time, this is the final battle for crying out loud!?”

BOOOOM–

The Demon Lord’s bolt of magic surges through the shovel being caught in their scoops. The power of who knows how much stolen magic now resides within both shovels!

But the Demon Lord doesn’t stop with the first strike, his other fist comes crashing down on my location! A blast of red and gold battle each other as Eryth’s [Arx, her unbreakable defense] comes in clutch and defends us!

“You’ve got his magic, now what!? Keep your head up and pay attention to these giant flying hands he’s got will ya!”

“I knew you had our back!”

“JUST FIGHT HIM DAMN IT!”

With his fist slamming us into the nothingness we currently stand upon, I make my first strike, by digging upward into it with both shovels. The combined force of the stored electricity and perhaps just the shovel's power, instantly breaks the armor, causing the entire hand to just vanish instantly!

With bits of the magic still running through the shovels, I leap into the air to prepare my signature move!

“Eryth, I see it! I need to start digging!”

“THEN DO IT!!!”

“White–Red–Black–Blue, these storms rupture and of course they brew, I am the reaper of the endless splintered skies. Now taste the wrath of a [Heaven Piercer]!

Bolts of all colors spring forth, lining the dark horizon in a string of reds, whites, blues, and even darker blacks.

SNAP–

Static envelopes the highly electrified shovels as I ready to throw them with the barrage.

The Demon Lord pulls magic from the darkness, quickly recovering its lost arm, it calls upon storms of its own, summoning a wall of red lightning just as I’ve done!

Two magicians face certain death, and instead of fleeing they fight ahead!

My command is final–so is his!

The massive bolts of magic fly ahead! Their power bringing light to the spire of pitch darkness! As opposing bolts collide, thunderous booms echo across the nothingness surrounding us. Are attacks both striking us, with each hit Eryth protects us from certain doom. The Demon Lord only stands to try and swat away the incoming attacks, failing for some but managing for most.

But then comes the dual shovels piercing through the barrage with even greater power–the Demon Lord attempts to catch them only for it to dig straight through his hand, causing it to disintegrate instantly! The shovels find themselves smack dab in the middle of it, lodged into the massive body of the Demon Lord!

SNAP–

“All according to plan.”

Teleporting to the point of impact I retrieve the shovels and do what shovels are meant to do!

I DIG!

END CHAPTER 39