Author's Preface
Mal’kareth loomed over Blue and So-Yeon. A terrifyingly strong opponent stood between Blue and the pendant. Blue looked back. Fifty Crimson Veil soldiers entered the gate, they now laid dead between corpses of demons. Their eyes were open even in death. All but one. In the chaos, So-Yeon ordered the fastest man to leave and inform Silent Edge of what happened and what may become of her and Blue.
In front of them Mal’kareth slammed his sword into the ground. His voice rumbled. "This is where your story ends, Champion."
The crystal behind Mal’kareth pulsed. Hatred's voice rang out. "I have felled many champions like you over the last ten thousand years. I will give you the opportunity I gave them all as well. Lay down your sword, kneel. I will grant you my power and you will suffer no longer. I will even raise your dead soldiers to fight as your minions. What say you Champion? Will you continue down this path my brothers and sister chose for you, or will you take my hand and rule the cosmos together?"
Blue grinned. "Fuck off."
So-Yeon voice rang out as he moved. "Blue!" She reached her hand to grab him, but he was already moving. Mal’kareth laughed as Blue approached. He swung his massive broadsword, the floor exploded under the impact. Blue barely avoided it. Blue's blade flashed in a dozen arcs, each strike sparking off the Demon King's armor. Blue moved faster, faster thsn he ever had before.
Mal’kareth blocked one blow, parried another, then backhanded Blue across the hall. Stone cracked under Blue's fall, still he rose again.
So-Yeon dashed forward, her posion mist was thinner, she leapt, twisting mid air and slicing Mal’kareth's arm. The poison hissed against his skin between the gaps of his armor. He chuckled.
"You think toxins can harm me? My world is one big toxic wasteland." Mal’kareth growled. He grabbed So-Yeon's blade bare handed. He flexed and snapped the blade in half. His palm crashed into her chest, hurling her into the far wall.
"So-Yeon!" Blue shouted.
She staggered to her feet, coughing. "Keep moving. If we stop, we die."
Blue nodded and charged again, his sword met the demons. Sparks rained down. Each clash shook the hall, but Blue held his ground. "You adapt quickly, still too weak though. Kneel and this ends." Mal’kareth said.
The demon swept his blade, a wave of dark energy erupted from his blade and tore the room apart. Blue vaulted over and dashed, he drove his blade into Mal’kareth's chest. The strike bit into the armor barely.
Mal’kareth grabbed him and lifted him into the air. So-Yeon threw her remaining needles at the demons arm. He flinched and dropped Blue.
"Pathetic. This is who they chose?"
So-Yeon dashed forward and caught Blue as he fell. She slid to a stop by the throne. Blue turned his head and saw the pendant. He stood and dove for the pendant. As his hand reached the pendant, Mal’kareth's broadsword pierced through his back and abdomen pinning him to the ground. "NOOOO!" So-Yeon screamed. She lunged forward as Mal’kareth withdrew his blade and laughed.
Then the fragment in Blue's hand floated toward his neck. It fuses with the fragment around his neck. Light swallowed the room, gold and white intertwining, forcing the Demon King to take several steps back and cover his eyes. Ancient sigil spun around Blue and merged into his chest. As he lay bleeding his system pinged.
[System Notification]
[Second Fragment Acquired]
[Divine Function Unlocked: Holy Heal.]
[Heals life-threatening injuries once every 336 hours (14 days).]
[SYSTEM WARNING]
[Dantian - Shattered.]
[Qi Flow - Terminated.]
[Holy Heal Activated - Core Integrity Restored.]
[Cooldown - 336 hours.]
Mal’kareth dashed forward, his broadsword was high in the air. As it crashed down, So-Yeon braced for the end. Then she heard a loud BOOM. She looked up, Mal’kareth's sword had bounced off a golden shield that surrounded them both. Glyphs and runes adorned the barrier.
“Impossible,” Malkareth growled, pressing harder. “What is this?” Mal’kareth lifted his blade again and sent it crashing against the dome.
“Your gods cannot save you! Look upon your Champion and despair Golden ones!” Mal’kareth continued his assault on the barrier.
So-Yeon looked down at Blue as the hole in his stomach began to squeeze together, the bleeding had stopped, but Blue was unconscious.
Blue lay unconscious, but in his mind his grandfather appeared. "You’ve come too far, grandson,” it said, deep and warm like the memory of home.
“Live. The path ahead is still waiting. We will meet again soon.” Blue tried to speak, but only breath left his lips.
“Remember, strength is not just the power to strike, but the will to rise again.”
So-Yeon placed her fingers on Blue's arm. His dantian was shattered, as she was about to pull away. Light entered Blue's body, golden light flooded his veins, the light settled nearhis shattered dantian. So-Yeon reeled back, collected herself and put her fingers back on Blue's arm as Malkareth pounded away at the barrier. "His dantian... it's shattered." She slapped Blue, who still laid unconscious.
As she looked up the barrier began to show signs of weakening. The corrupted energy clashed with the divine, a hole formed in the barrier. So-Yeon grabbed Blue and stood. She released every bit of qi she could into a poison mist as the barrier shattered under Mal’kareth's blade. Then she vanished into the mist.
"Foolish!" Mal’kareth growled. He inhaled as the poison fog spiraled into his throat. He exhaled blasting the room clear, just in time to see So-Yeon sprinting away with Blue in her arms.
"Don't let them escape!" The demon roared, the fortress awakened. Demons crawled out of every crack.
As So-Yeon ran, she stepped over her dead comrades. Her boots splashed in pools of blood. The dead Crimson Veil warriors lined the floor, faces frozen in terror. She closed her eyes as she ran and stepped over the bodies. She looked back and saw small demon's chasing, the corridor was full of shrieks and claws slamming against bodies and stone. She bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, her eyes burned. She didnt look back again, she gave everything she had and kept sprinting forward. A sword stuck out of a dead demons corpse, she grabbed it as she ran and swung at anything that got too close.
"Just a little more," she whispered. "Hang on Jiung, you're not dying in me again."
As she saw the gate, shrieks filled the corridor. She turned as Malkareth flung his blade, it sliced every demon in its path. So-Yeon twisted, the blade grazed her shoulder. Blood sprayed across her face. Her teeth clenched, the blade now stuck in the wall in front of her she slid underneath. Outside of the fortress more demons crawled up from the abyss. Pain screamed through her body as she ran. The portal back to Murim appeared, with one deep breath she flung Blue through the portal then she jumped as demons clawed at her feet.
So-Yeon hit the ground hard and tumbled landing on top of Blue's limp body. For a moment there was silence, only the sound of her breathing. Then she heard sandals against the earth. A shadow fell over them. A man stood above them, a straw hat hid his eyes. "Idiots." He muttered. "Running into death without knowing your enemy."
She looked up and met the man's gaze. Then a roar came from the gate. A black arm burst through. Mal’kareth's claw locked around Blue's ankle. So-Yeon screamed and held on.
The man sighed. "Still too weak, demon."
His blade flashed once. Mal’kareth's arm hit ths ground, severed cleanly at the elbow. The Demon King's scream echoed through the gate. The swordsman sheathed his blade and turned away.