A wall of flame flew across the ruined fort, swallowing everything in its way. Stone cracked and hissed all around. The sky was black with smoke, being filled with flashes of red lightning that struck without a reason. Somewhere behind a hill, a massive flame-monster roared: a deep, hellish sound like a tortured soldier begging for death.
Julien Kirios didn't look back.
His boots crushed loose rock and ash as he ran through the debris of what had once been Fort Tarren, his heavy armour dragging with every movement he made. Too many battles in too short a period of time had chipped the edge of his blunt sword. A stray spell had almost torn right through him, leaving a scorch mark that ran up his left side, but he chose to ignore it.
I don't have any time for pain.
Ahead, the central plaza of the stronghold was burning.
That had been their last resort. The plan was simple: lure Inferno into the center of the stronghold, collapse the ruins behind him, and then corner him with everything they had left.
But only half of that had actually worked. The collapse had gone off too early, and his squad had been split. No word from the supporting mages. Just a long silence on the mana-communicators and the sound of battle coming from everywhere.
The heat ahead intensified, and a rumble shook through the ground. Dust flew around inside his boots as he ran.
I'm getting close, I know it.
Julien leapt over a chunk of something used to be a wall and landed hard in the plaza. The air hit like a furnace.
What once was a command post was now just charcoal and loads of burnt debris. Blackened banners hung limply from collapsed beams scattered around the place, and the sigil of Rainian, the lion with a sword, was half-melted into the stone.
At the far end of the square, past the fire and bodies and wreckage, stood the source.
Inferno.
He was taller than Julien remembered. Perhaps the dramatic cloak flaring in the heat made him more intimidating than he really was. His armor beneath it reflected the flames that circled his feet, glowing with power at the joints. He wasn't attacking... yet, at least. Just watching, but who knew how long that would last?
Julien raised his sword, and the villain tilted his head slightly, like he was amused.
Julien slowly inched closer. A little further away, a broken weapon fell and clattered to the ground--someone else still alive, maybe. But he couldn't turn to check.
The plaza narrowed, heat shimmering around them both. Every breath of smoke burned Julien's lungs, but he persisted.
Inferno spoke first, voice taunting.
"Well, well, well. Look who's finally found me. Only took four hours and most of your best Marked."
Julien clenched his jaw, about to reply against his better judgment, but Inferno didn't wait for a response.
"Light of Rainian, really? I don't see any light coming from you," Inferno went on, snickering. "The Divine Priestess said you'd be the one to defeat me, but anyone would be a fool to think such a pitiful 'hero' could stop this."
Julien kept walking.
Inferno raised one hand. Flames materialized across his palm.
"You people just don't know when to give up, do you?"
Julien's blade sliced a narrow path through the air as he moved through the flames. The light surrounding the sword glowed brighter with each of his steps, pushing back the smoke like dawn breaking through night as his vision was filled with flashes of red and empty black.
[Consumed 200 Mana Points.]
[Activate Sun Slash.]
A beam of fiery golden energy erupted from his sword, ripping through one of Inferno's conjured beasts--a twisted hybrid of bone and flame--and shooting across the plaza. It shrieked and vanished into thin air.
Good, one more dead monster, he thought.
Inferno stood motionlessly, watching it all unfold. His expression wasn't rage, but more like the smoldering kind of anger that hadn't found the right shape yet.
Another Sun Slash.
This one he dodged.
The ground where he'd stood burst into molten rock, but Inferno was already ten paces to the left. A snap of his fingers, and two more flame-beasts appeared from the scorched earth--all claws and snarling heat.
Julien spun. His sword flew in a wide horizontal slash, light blooming from the edge like a lantern. The beasts didn't stand a chance. His light ripped through them: it was too fast to dodge, and too pure to block.
He kept running. Inferno's range was wide, and Julien knew better than to let him build momentum.
His system chimed faintly at the edge of his awareness.
[Mana Points: 3825 / 7000]
[Sun Slash Cooldown: 1.2s]
Good enough.
Another flash. Another strike.
Inferno raised his other hand, this time catching the attack mid-air with a flicker of red magic. The light fizzled out, scattering across the plaza.
"I see they haven't fed you any new tricks lately," Inferno called. "Still relying on that old Asanel polish? You graduated ages ago, you know. You'll have to do better than that to put a scratch on me!"
Julien didn't rise to it, even though more anger started to bubble in his mind.
He surged toward him, blade angled low. A punch of pressure exploded outward as Inferno summoned a defensive shield, but Julien somehow pushed through it. Light burst around his body, deflecting the worst of Inferno's magic.
Their weapons met, sword against conjured flame-whip, and the impact lit up the black sky.
Julien gritted his teeth. Every part of him screamed to stop but even if he wanted to, there was no way Inferno would let him.
Inferno's flame-whip dissipated with a crackle. He lowered his hand, watching Julien through the heat.
"Still breathing?" he scoffed. "I figured you'd be coughing up blood by now. Most of your kind crumble after just one tap with my whip."
Julien knew he didn't appear to be broken, but he couldn't deny that he was close to it. Losing mana, losing health points… his current situation didn't look good, but there was no way he'd give up.
"You've killed a lot of people," he uttered, barely suppressing a shout. "You believe that gives you power?"
Inferno gave a slight shrug. "It does! That's the entire point. After all, it was them who chose the wrong side."
"No," Julien growled. "You gave them no choice."
His footsteps echoed as the plaza grew silent. "The border town of Synis. Eighty-seven dead. None of them were Marked. You cruelly burned them alive just to send a message."
Inferno raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I don't remember," he said arrogantly.
Julien tightened his jaw. "You can't? You should at least be aware of who you've killed, even if you are a monster. All right, then. Let me remind you. You made slavery into a nice offer to them. Become a member of your little cult of Flames or perish. That isn't strength. That's fear."
"Fear works," Inferno said. "Better than hope ever will."
Julien exhaled through his teeth, trying to rein it in. Exploding wouldn't change anything.
"You burned an entire guildhall in Redspire," he continued. "Three A-tiers were inside. You didn't fight them. You ambushed them with a curse while they were asleep."
Inferno grinned. "Ah, that one was beautiful. Took me a whole week to prepare."
"You killed Commander Jermaine in front of her daughter. You destroyed the Divine Temple. You turned the Rainian trade convoys into skeletons just to cut off medicine during winter."
"What is this, World Compliment Day?" Inferno asked. "Because I feel sooo warm and tingly inside!"
Julien came to a stop just a few feet in front of him.
"No. It's just to jog your memory," he said, eyes locked on Inferno. "Of every single thing you crushed thinking nobody would make it this far. Of every small village you wiped out because they didn't kneel fast enough."
He finally let every pent up emotion out. The ones that had been swirling in his mind for years... but either way, it was the end. There was no point holding on to them any longer.
"You took people I trained with, people I trusted. I watched my friend Leo die coughing blood while your Flames razed the town."
Inferno was quiet, but a smirk spread across his face.
"So just die," Julien said, raising his sword again. "I'm not here to just put you in jail. You're too far gone for such a mercy. I'm here because someone has to drag your corpse out of this crater and make sure it stays buried."
For the first time, Inferno didn't reply with a joke.
His smirk faltered just for a second but in the heat, it was hard to tell if Julien imagined it. The fire around them lessened, like the battlefield itself had paused to listen.
Then Inferno tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
"You talk a lot for someone barely standing upright."
"I used to wonder," Julien said, "what kept you going. What made a man ravage down half a continent and smile while doing it. But now I think I know."
He didn't wait for permission--there was no need to give Inferno any signals. He just moved.
The sword lit up again with clear, concentrated light, but there was only a thin crescent of sunlight cutting through the fire, no flare or burst. Just in time, Inferno leaped back and pulled flame up into another shield. The plaza was littered with sparks.
Julien followed.
Another slash. Another beam of light cut toward the villain's side. Inferno spun, ducked low, and hurled a fireball into Julien's ribs. The impact sent him skidding, and the armor barely held.
Julien coughed, and forced himself back to his feet.
[Mana: 1920 / 7000]
[Status: Internal Fracture Detected -- Minor]
[Pain Suppression: Active]
He winced. That'd bruise later, if he made it that far.
"She was the one who said you'd make it here, you know," Inferno said suddenly. "Blaze."
There it was.
"You killed her outside Pine Point," he said, a little quiet now. "Didn't even hesitate. Cut straight through her chest like she was another name on your list."
"She knew the risks," Julien snapped. "And she made her choice."
Inferno's flames surged again--higher, hotter. The ground beneath him cracked.
"She was the last thing I cared about."
Julien raised his sword again. "Then maybe you should've listened to her."