The Final Boss

A soft green light flowed from Kia’s hand, spreading over Tilaya’s body. Her chanting came to a stop, and the light dissipated.

Calum dropped to his knees. The searing pain was spreading across his body.

Kia scrambled to his side. “Calum!” She sat on her knees by his side and started her healing spell. Her spell closed his wounds and stopped the bleeding, but the poison continued to spread. “The poison… I can’t remove it…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry…”

‘What even was that ooze? It seems like a fast-acting poison, but… What is it made of?’  He remembered Tilaya saying that fox-demons use shadow magic. ‘Is that what that was? Shadow magic? If that’s true, maybe I can dispel the poison by channeling some Divine Power into myself…’

Calum put a hand on his cheek and closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on that spot. His hand glowed a brilliant gold, and the pain faded, along with the poison’s black mark.

Kia’s eyes widened. “T-The poison… It’s disappearing!”

Calum held his breath while he healed himself. Afterward, his breaths were quick, trying to draw in as much air as possible.

“How did you…?”

“I channeled Divine Power into my body. It looks like this poison really is the product of shadow magic.”

“That’s impressive… I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did I. This is the first time I tried using it this way.”

The poison continued to spread through Erik and Tilaya’s bodies. Kia leaves Calum’s side to tend to Erik. “You need to heal the others. Right now, you’re the only one that can do it.”

Calum nodded and ran to Tilaya’s side, kneeling next to her. He placed his hand on her infected side and closed his eyes. Again, his hand glowed. It took time for the poison to be eradicated. As soon as it was out of her system, Tilaya stirred.

“Am I dead…?”

“No, we won. Barely.” Calum got to his feet and stepped around Tilaya to get to Erik, whose arm was whole once more. “It was a close call, but luckily none of us died.”

“It seems we won’t be fighting the Demon Lord anytime soon…”

Kia sat back and watched Calum remove the poison from Erik. “We all need a long rest to be in a good enough condition to fight him.”

Once Erik was fully healed, he scooted over to Tilaya and hugged her tight, taking her by surprise. “I’m happy you’re alright… I thought you died!”

She hesitantly returned the hug. “So did I. I was fighting the demon, then I lost consciousness. I’m not sure if it was because she hit me hard enough, or because I lost too much blood. Next thing I know, we’re all back here.” She looked around, expecting to see Mara’s body somewhere in the room. “Where did she go, anyway?”

“Her body was kind of consumed by the darkness after I killed her…”

“Consumed by the darkness?”

“Yeah, that’s the best way to describe it.”

Kia opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a slow clap.

“Bravo, hero. That was a splendid battle.”

Everyone readied their weapons and spun to face their observer.

An elf sat on the stairs. His long silver hair swayed in the breeze that entered the castle through the large open door behind the group. He narrowed his gorgeous red eyes and smiled. “Why the hostile greeting?”

“Who are you?” Calum narrowed his eyes back. The dangerous aura around this elf exceeded Mara’s. He must be the Demon Lord.

“Who am I?” The elf scoffed. “Do northerners not know what I look like? If you haven’t figured out who I am by now, just ask Kia. She knows.”

Calum glanced back at Kia, who was gritting her teeth.

Erik growled. “She’s been playing us this whole time, hasn’t she?”

The elf stood up and brushed off his red-and-black armor. “Good job bringing them here, Kia.”

“What?”

Kia trembled in rage. “Don’t make me look like one of your followers, Demon Lord! I only joined your army because I was forced to. Nowhere else would accept me.” She quickly added more information for the party. “I was never on the Demon Lord’s side.”

Calum, trusting Kia with all his heart, turned back to the Demon Lord. “If you’re the Demon Lord, why haven’t you attacked us yet?”

“In that state?” The Demon Lord laughed. “I may be the Demon Lord, but I’m no barbarian. You may be well enough to fight, but your friends? They look like they’ll fall over if I so much as breathe on them! I’ll wait here until they are no longer deadweight. Unless you wish to fight me alone, hero?” His lips widened during the last sentence.

“No way. My friends are what got me here. I may be the hero, but they’re just as important as I am.”

Kia stepped forward, glaring at the Demon Lord. “I’m ready to fight whenever you are, Calum. I want this monster dead.”

“We need to wait for Erik and Tilaya to be ready.”

“Tilaya can handle that with her magic. Give her a few minutes and she’ll be ready to fight, along with Erik. We need to make sure nothing happens to them before that happens.”

“Okay. I trust you. I don’t know how powerful the Demon Lord is, but we’re about to find out.” Calum gripped his sword with newfound vigor.

The Demon Lord chuckled and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the castle walls expanded, shifting into an overly fancy arena. “Let us see if the Goddess’s hero can defeat me, like her prophecy says.” He stood straight and patiently waited for his opponents to make the first move.

“Be careful, Calum. His magic outranks that of any person in this world. He’s also physically powerful. Do not make any careless mistakes.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll do my best. I doubt his strength will matter once my sword reaches him.” As if affirming his words, the Faestinger radiated its purple light.