Chapter 10 (The Sword of Fury)

“We shall start our journey,”

Under Lucy’s command, the children began packing up their resources. The youngest brother of Lucy drove into the field with a giant vehicle. It was decorated with the features of lions and elephants. A pair of metallic spears were attached to the sides of the front bumper of the vehicles just like an elephant’s tusk. On the end of the bumper, there was a bush of hair-like plastic decorations to recreate the mane of a lion. The two in the driver's room were none other than the two boys who sat on lion and elephant-themed seats during the meeting.

“Wow, they liked animals that much,” Max said in amazement. He, too, has an interest in elephants and lions. During his lifetime, Max’s first spot to go whenever he arrived at a zoo was those critters.

“He sure does. But remember, everything in this realm reflects your inner soul,”

Jizo reminded. Max lowered his head, remembering this barren waste was also reflected in his mind.

“Hey, at least we are in a big vehicle now,” Jizo said enthusiastically. His eyes were shining to see the great vehicle. His face was smiling. For the first time, Max saw him as happy as a child.

All of them boarded the vehicle, holding their weapons. They wore armor decorated according to their likeness. They held makeshift weapons of various wasted metals. Max, still without arms, demanded Lucy to give him one. Lucy suddenly remembered something and led Max and Jizo to the back of her reign.

A sword stuck in a stone, refusing anyone’s lift. “Only the passenger can lift,” she said.

Jizo motioned Max to try it. He knew he couldn’t because he was just a helper. Max, despite being skeptical, placed his hand on the sword’s handle. As he touched it, he remembered the familiarity of drawing it.

He felt he had drawn it when he fought Valac to save his girlfriend. He might also have drawn it while saving his parents from Asmodeus. As he touched longer, his demonic form appeared. Flames aroused from his body. His majestic wings flapped, and his eyes widened. The smoke coming from his body darkened the surroundings. Jizo and Lucy had to cover their faces. He could not lose it. As he resisted and used a greater force, a flash of light appeared from the stone.

“Bam!” A surge of power pushed both him and the lookers backward. Max had got the sword in his hand. It was sharp on both sides, having a firm handle. Although it had been in the stone, no scratch was found on its surface.

“What is this,” Max asked while holding the sword.

“This sword represents your powers coming from your fury, my boy,” Jizo said.

“All those times, I won,”

“The power is destructive, yet powerful. Be careful, little Arthur,” Jizo said calmly.

“Yes, Merlin,” Max smartly replied to suit his saying.

And so, they boarded the vehicle. The company passed more wastelands, burning tree scenarios, and the corpses of deceased demons. It was a reddened path under the crimson sky. The weather was piping hot, and inside the crowded vehicle with armored children, Max felt as if he were boiled. At least the driver boys knew their jobs and drove with great care.

When they reached where dead trees stood as a thick forest, a group of demons, wings flapping, limbs stretched, appeared before them, along with ghosts. They were from the legion of Aeshamadus (Asmodeus) in Max’s past life. But Jizo noticed among them were outsiders and told Max and the children to be careful. The demons from the realm were seemingly weaker than the outsiders.

Devoid of fear or reluctance, the children strike their foes with their makeshift arms. Despite the inferior look, their weapons were as sharp as diamond tips. The fight was light and swift. One of the children, a girl, even used a white umbrella easily to attack. The sword of Max was also light as a paper for him. He was filled with pride to wield this weapon. The sword also generated a lash of flames in each swing. Using his partial-demon form, wielding his sword, and flapping his wings, was the proudest moment of his life (or between lives).

“Wow, this is so cool,” Max said energetically.

“The weapons were powerful because you had a loving heart in your past life. You were angered because your loved ones were kidnapped. Protecting who you love wasn’t a sin,”

Even the tough children watched in awe at his attacks. But the amazement didn’t last long.

The children noticed something was wrong. The number of demons kept on increasing. The new demons had similarities in appearance, having a blood-red body. As the children attacked these demons, when one drop of their blood spilled on the ground, “Bom!” another demon appeared. A rapid type of asexual reproduction. The fight became weary and harder.

Knowing it was the blood that duplicated, Max had a clever idea. He raised his arms and began using his power. Flames rose on every demons. They rose higher and consumed all their wither bodies and war-torn flashes. Yet, Max didn’t stop. His own eyes were flaming red. His body stood still amongst the heat. His mind was concentrating on the attack solely. He burnt them all until their blood evaporated and all their bones crumbled into ashes. Causing no more duplication. Ashes of demons filled all directions.

And so the children won.

This action wore him out, but it was worth trying. The children revered him as a hero and cheered him. Even Lucy patted him on the back, saying, “Good Job,” and smiled at him. Lucy’s sudden cold smile caused Max to shy a bit.

“That outsider is a defeated one. He should be at Tartarus now,” Jizo said to Max worriedly. His voice was almost trembling this time. Max had guessed the depth of the situation.

“So, who released him? Isn’t Yama the Lord of Naraka?”

“Yama has no power to free a demon from Tartarus. Only Tartarus can free its prisoners. The Tartarus, itself, is not just a prison but a living being. It was Deavs who can only commend Tartarus to do so,”

Max was aware of the upcoming dangers. He knew the Deavs were powerful beings but hadn’t met a real one except for Vithura. Even Vithura wasn’t a pure-blood Deav. He had never met a Deav in full potential.

The feeling shocked him a little, but he tried to get calm. The best he could do then was to face every upcoming encounter.