The sky rumbled as lightning split through the clouds. However, this was not any weather storm; rather, it was a battle, a battle to gain the artifact of chaos.
AAAAAARGH!
A powerful roar split through the heavens, causing a strong gush of waves, pushing the attackers a few meters back.
There he stood, right in the middle of heaven, his silver-white hair dancing to the tune of the wind. His fiery golden eyes scanned every single one of the hypocrites, who disguised themselves as heroes, but whose hearts hungered for power and greed. They had launched this coordinated attack so they could gain his artifact.
A small smirk formed on his lips. "Aren't you all underestimating yourselves? Do you think you all are a match for me?"
"You demon, hand over the artifact, and we might be kind enough to let you live," one of the attackers, who seemed to be in his forties, said, pointing his sword at him.
The rest of the crowd chanted in unison. "Hand over the artifact, demon."
The man stood in the air, his long, tattered black coat flowing in the wind, his body blazing with different tattoos. As he took a step forward, a ripple formed in the space, pushing the attackers away. "Come and take it," he muttered.
His long silvery sword blazed with fire and shadows like tendrils. "Come on," he yelled, as he blurred through the heavens, slashing some of the attackers, severing their limbs. He smirked in ecstasy as their blood splashed over him.
His golden eyes swirled with bloodlust. A pure madness glinted in his eyes. Then he glanced over his shoulder before fully turning to them. Seeing his look, some of the attackers backed away, but the leader of the attack came forward.
The leader's long black hair, streaked with white, opened his arms, moving his hand, forming a rune. Then a blue azure rune formed underneath the villain. The leader's eyes turned light blue. "Your end is now, Villain. You shall do no more evil."
Then heavy chains grew out from the pentagram rune, wrapping around the villain's arms and legs, dragging him to his knees.
No matter how much the villain tried to escape, he could not break the rune. His chest heaved up and down, his eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on him. This wasn't just a restricting rune; rather, it drained powers while keeping the host restricted.
A yell escaped his throat as he tried to escape the formation. Red veins formed around his body as he struggled to break through. His head tilted to the sky, his golden eyes staring at the heavens as if he were expecting something to come.
As if the leader knew what was about to happen. "Lend me your strength, brothers," he cried with a loud voice. Immediately, they all began to transfer their energy to him.
Suddenly, another formation formed on the already existing one, pulling the villain further down. His chest felt tight, as if a mountain of rocks was pressing against him. But this made his eyes blaze with fury. He didn't gain the title of a villain—or rather a demon—to be easily trapped and killed like this.
He stared at the heavens, and this time, the heavens responded to his callings. The sky rumbled before the clouds began to move, swirling in the form of a tornado. Then, something blazing began to descend—a golden, majestic dragon, its scales embedded in flames, its golden eyes burning with fury.
A smile formed on the villain's lips, his gaze meeting that of the dragon.
It descended so fast that the attackers could only stare in awe. Then…
Boom.
The dragon collided with the formation, forming a ripple on the barrier. It flew around the barrier, its gaze targeting the attackers. Then it opened its mouth; out of it came a river of fire.
The attackers' eyes widened. They quickly withdrew their powers from the leader, swiftly forming a barrier around themselves. Some who were slow to form a barrier, and those whose barriers were too weak, were turned into nothing but ashes. Their screams disappeared just as fast as they came. And that was enough for it. Before the blink of an eye, it immediately turned around, colliding with the barrier with so much force.
A crack formed on the formation. Then the dragon ascended back into the heavens. With the last of his strength, the villain summoned all his energy, shattering the formation from the inside out. As he broke out of the formation, he began to plummet down to the earth. He had little to no more energy, as his powers had been drained by the formation, and he had used the last reserve of his strength to break out.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact, but a hand suddenly grabbed him, landing him softly on top of a cliff. His eyes snapped open, relief immediately washed over him. "Aura," he muttered with a smile as he stared at his fiancée.
"You are hurt. Let me get you out of here," Aura said, running with him. But they immediately stopped as they stood at the edge of the cliff. A dead end. As they turned to look for another way, the rest of the attackers were already in front of them.
"Hand over the artifact, demon," the leader demanded.
"It was the artifact he used to summon the mighty golden dragon," one of the attackers said to the other.
"I heard that if you can master it, you can summon shadows from the underworld too," the other said in awe and fear.
"We are lucky that he has not mastered it yet."
"Imagine the kind of power you shall hold if you can get a hand on it. Just its essence can boost your cultivation."
Their eyes shone with greed at the thought of being the most powerful being if they could get their hands on it.
The villain suddenly began to cough, splattering blood. His eyes scanned the so-called heroes who claimed to fight for justice.
"Demon, you have met your end now. We will get rid of your evil doings and make the world a better and safe place," the leader said, walking closer to them.
"We need to go now, Au—" Before he could finish his words, Aura plunged her sword straight into his heart.
Blood poured out from his lips as he stared at her in disbelief. "Why?" came his bitter voice.
"Hand over the artifact," she demanded with gritted teeth, twisting the knife in his chest. He choked on his blood. The next minute, his eyes burned with so much fury. Using all the bit of his strength, he kicked her, sending her skittering across the ground a few meters away. Aura coughed out blood, her eyes turning venomous.
The attackers immediately went to her aid.
A chuckle escaped his lips as realization dawned on him. 'So this was love? Nothing more than a game of survival?" He was set up by the woman he loved the most. Then, he brought out the artifact. "You want this?"
Their eyes gleamed with greed at the sight of it.
"Yes, hand it over, and I promise nobody will lay a hand on you," the leader said cautiously with anticipation.
The villain nodded his head with a smile. "Sure, you can have it," he muttered. He knew he wasn't going to survive this ordeal. Why not have one last bit of fun?
Summoning all his essence, he broke the artifact into four parts and then threw it toward them.
The heroes began to fight for the broken pieces—a brother killing his other brother over the lust for power. The leader quickly secured one piece, and then another ally, who saw him, tried to kill him. But the leader was quick to react. Although the ally had missed his vital part, his left arm was sent flying across the chaos. The leader quickly summoned a rune, disappearing from the battlefield before another could strike.
Meanwhile, his fiancée also managed to secure a piece before disappearing from the scene. A sad smile formed on his lips. It was amusing how people who had come together to stop him were now busy killing one another over a broken artifact.
His body began to shut down. Then he fell, as he was already standing close to the edge of the cliff, his body dropped down from it.
A single tear fell from his eyes. He swore at that point, "If I ever get a second chance to live again, I will make the world suffer for my pain."
Then his body plummeted into the unknown.