Final Gambit

Kia’s body slumped to the ground. Blood poured out from the hole in her stomach. Kia’s demonic features–her horns and bat-like wings–took shape. Her Bloodsurge activated. The dark cloud raged around her, expanding at an alarming rate.

The Demon Lord jumped back and stretched out his arm toward Kia. The storm continued to grow, but not in the Demon Lord’s direction. It seemed like the storm was being sucked into his hand.

Before the cloud reached anyone, Tilaya placed a barrier over herself and Erik, and a smaller, more concentrated barrier around Calum.

Tilaya flinched when the storm hit the barriers. She grit her teeth, putting all of her energy into maintaining the barriers.

“Finally, I have enough…” The Demon Lord raised both arms into the air. A purple barrier formed around him, blocking the storm that now surrounded him. A massive scarlet rune appeared above the arena. “Come forth, He’xoth! Reclaim the world that was once yours!”

A colossal sludgy tentacle emerged from the rune. Followed by another, and then another.

Calum’s eyes widened. “Is that…”

The Demon Lord laughed, his arms still extended. “A Demon God? Why yes, it is!”

“I can’t… hold it much longer!” Tilaya gripped her staff with all her strength. The barriers faltered under the constant barrage of Kia’s Bloodsurge.

Just as the barriers broke, the storm withdrew to Kia’s body and exploded, slamming Tilaya, Erik, and Calum against the wall.

Calum’s vision blurred. He tried to push himself to his feet, but collapsed. In the distance, Tilaya was unconscious. She had fractured her skull when she was thrown into the wall. The back of her head was drenched in blood, and the rest of her body was scraped up by the shards of stone that were in the explosion.

Thanks to Erik’s thick armor, the only injuries he had were from the impact.

The hole in Kia’s midsection had closed, but consciousness hadn’t quite come to her yet.

More black tentacles emerged from the rune. The closest tentacles were curling up, about to slam down on Tilaya and Erik.

‘Is there really nothing we can do?’ Blood ran down Calum’s face, forcing him to close an eye. He studied the battlefield. ‘It looks like the Demon Lord is still maintaining the gateway, so if I distract him somehow, it might close. But even if it does, there’s no way we can beat him in our condition…’

Calum tightened his hands into fists. ‘I’m sorry, Tilaya. Erik. And Kia… This is our only chance…’ He took a deep breath. “By the grace of the Goddess… judge these before me on their hearts and their deeds… Protect the just, and sentence the unholy to eternal torment…”

A golden ethereal chain emerged from Calum’s heart and split into four, each one silently snaking toward each person in the arena.

The chains buried themselves in the hearts of everyone, Demon Lord included.

The Demon Lord looked down and saw the chain. “Judgment? Stupid hero, countless priests have sacrificed themselves using this spell against me, and as you can see, none of them were successful.”

Tilaya and Erik’s bodies radiated a gold light. The tentacles slammed down on them but were repelled.

Kia awoke with a gasp. Her horns and wings vanished. She trembled, clutching her heart. “What is–”

Before she could finish her sentence, the pain she felt subsided, and her body glowed.

Golden chains wrapped around the Demon Lord’s limbs and tightened, forcing his arms down. “What? No, this can’t be!” The chains continued to tighten until the Demon Lord melted into a pile of ash.

Calum’s eyes grew heavy. With his final breath, he whispered an apology to Kia. His body grew still. The hero was no more.

Severed tentacles crashed to the arena. The rune they were coming out of had closed.

Kia spotted Calum’s body and ran to his side. “Calum, we did it! The Demon Lord and the Demon God, they’re–” She stopped upon seeing him unresponsive. “Calum?” She shook him. “Calum, say something.” After rolling him onto his back, she checked his pulse. Nothing. Immediately, tears welled up in her eyes. “Calum… You can’t be gone… I still need you. You’re the only one that gave me a place to belong!”

Tilaya and Erik knelt at his side with their heads bowed, fighting back tears.

Kia sobbed over Calum’s body. Her tears soaked his battered armor.