Leader of the South

We marched over the dried corpses, while we extracted the energy from them.

“My lord, the city has fallen, and we have the supplies to continue.”

“Well, my warlord will be pleased with our progress.”

“He thinks things could be better, Lasha’s kingdom is next and we’ve wiped out all the scouts, but we’ve encountered light resistance.”

“These bright lights won't stop us this time. They would have already sealed us before we left if they remembered.”

The wings spread, as he gained height and with it he saw the path rotting towards the lands, while the eclipse disappeared.

"These lands will be ours again." I remove my helmet, looking more easily around them, their troops advancing from the sides.

The flapping of two more wings made him lose sight of his imminent conquest.

“My lord, there are important problems.”

“I’m listening, son. What’s up?”

“Warriors, crying out to a strange goddess and god have appeared, they are attacking the right tendril.”

“I’ll go see what’s going on, make sure everything else is in order.”

“As you wish, father.”

The demon's arrival in the area only served to remind everyone of their reasons for fighting and they set off like mad, ready for the battle of their lives, but in a flash, only burned corpses and trees turned into charcoal remained, as he approached, seeing how some survived after passing through his hand.

“These humans are peculiar, I don’t sense the darkness in them.”

“Blood for Mars.” He took the demon’s boot. “Hues…” His skull exploded as a spark passed through.

“Persistent, perhaps Alba’s bloodline has not weakened as much as I thought during this time.”

"You think".

The light passed into swords that melted into the darkness and disappeared before touching him.

“I see her light in you, but you are not her.” I look more closely, barely a flicker of the power that had sealed him away before, yet still enough to fulfill its purpose. “What are you?”

“Saint Sadie Ready to return you to your dark rest.”

“I see it, but what makes me curious is whether they were able to control light and darkness or if you're pretending to be one of them, girl.”

Everyone turned their gaze to the girl on the right, while the black flash that advanced towards her made her explode and only the dazzling light forming a barrier protected them from the bones that were stuck in the trees and earth around them in addition to the blood and the intact circle with the 4 people.

“You’ll pay for that.” The praetor hurried off, as the hammer passed through the black mist and into the demon’s hand. “How?”

“Insidious humans.” He gripped the stone tightly, and it broke easily. “In the age of conflict, they were less than nothing, and today they are even worse. Peace has weakened them far more than I imagined.” A fleeting memory of a warrior in the same armor, his arm flying, infuriated him more than the sight of the human proliferation.

“For Alba!” The hammer flashed with light as it collided and bounced off the breastplate, returning the same impact and causing the hammer to fall heavily on a tree, breaking its base and nearly burying the Saint in the process.

“Fire that consumes and conquers.” The flames in his hands grew stronger.

They devoured everything around them and proceeded to spread out, only the Saint's fragile shield keeping them standing, while spears of light emerged from the ground, scratching it or breaking in the impact of the armor clad in darkness that soon swallowed the light.

“Truly, weak.” The hand pierced the shield, which shattered like glass and held firm, yet the praetor was caught, only to feel his neck twist and, next to do so, the grip on his hair pulled him from the barrier, while the rest of his body felt immobile.

“I won’t risk a repeat of the past.” Before she could notice, the barrier had repaired itself, and with a swift swipe, she shattered it, noticing the now pale, vulnerable woman. “Today you fall, daughter of Alba.” She reached out, only to feel an axe bring her future grasp to the ground and notice the crimson-armored warrior. “Another of your sons?” She felt the liquid ooze through her hand as she hurriedly withdrew the axe and noticed it clearly. “Useful toys, I suppose.” The red glow prevented her from healing quickly, and with it, her response when she saw the axe absorbing her blood. “Or perhaps dangerous.”

It didn't take long for him to launch another swipe and the warrior was split in half, and only being held by the ankle prevented the Saint from continuing.

“Blood for Mar…” Before he could finish the sentence, the fist smashed into his head.

“Alba found useful toys in the end, but it’s t…” He was stopped by a blow from the side, as the hammer knocked him aside. “After this savage, I’ll kill you.” Annoyed, he watched as the warrior charged off again only to be eliminated in the same way as before, a single blow and a missing head.

“Beloved Alba, give me strength.” I walk with a limp, the tree branch still embedded in my foot. “Your daughter is grateful for your sacred miracle.”

“You won’t run away.” He spread his wings quickly and without hesitation, only to feel the same axe as before, this time passing over his horn and causing him to spin involuntarily. Added to the stoppage of the colliding elements, he slammed into the tree and brought down two more in the subsequent rebound. “Bastard.”

“Bleed…” He didn’t know at what moment his vision fell to the level of the floor and in a last glance he saw more of his brothers arrive before seeing his back and again his brothers, the turn before falling to the floor told him that he had been decapitated without a doubt.

“Your slaves will not save you, daughter of Alba, no matter how many I have to kill, I will eventually reach you.”

“SAINT…” Another fell.

He spread his wings and in error he noticed the arrows joined him to the tree and the two anchored, while he noticed his blood being absorbed by the arrows, while he noticed how more warriors arrived claiming the same crude oath or wish, he could not discern how much the people had fallen in that time, but he knew that he had to end everything and the flames arose again, consuming everything around.

Once again she spread her wings amidst the screams and the annoying oath they were making, in a quick flight she reached high enough to see how the warriors in red extinguished the life of the saint, feeling strange that her enemies were killing each other, but her bewilderment was greater when she saw their direction, the formation was very familiar to her and the troops that were advancing to collect robes were warned of a much more direct war than they thought.

He reached the front and wiped out sizable groups before arriving and seeing how his troops were very evenly matched in ability, but the mastery of a clear mind and centuries of training in close quarters helped them handle the savages, who continued to fight even when they were badly wounded.

“Tell me, what are these humans?” I watch one crawl nearby, and with a kick, its head flies off.

“Worshippers of a God of War and a taster of Blood, from what I hear from their voices and minds.”

"Is that what you meant when you told me an evil would replace us?" I noticed the old woman nod as they continued the battle to reclaim the path to the second cello of dark powers.