Five minutes after the five mechanical vehicles intended for transport entered the valley, an order echoed that only the beings hiding within the darkness could hear. The shadows left their places one by one and, inserting their weapons between the gears, stopped the caravan's advance.
"Ambush, we are ambushed. Take a defensive stance!"
Franz was in the same vehicle along with Godfrey, and the moment he figured out the situation, he ensured the other mages were informed, but this wasn't enough. The beings gliding by opening their two wings had targeted not only the mechanical vehicles but also those inside them.
Their weapons, resembling Alyon's javelins, had pierced through the bright steel, and whoever was inside the four vehicles had died before they could even understand what happened, before they could even draw their magic circles. This was the greatest weakness of the Lands of Light mages; if they drew you into the place they prepared, they were very strong, but against unexpected attacks, they were no different from a little child.
Of course, this wasn't valid for Franz and the higher-ranking mages. The magic circle that was always active on the floor of Godfrey's vehicle shone, and a shield appeared that eliminated the incoming attacks. The mechanical vehicle shattered with the might of the magic; the two men were standing on their feet, but it could be seen by everyone that they hadn't taken any damage.
When the beings living in the darkness saw the light, they retreated; even their shadows disappeared. Compared to them, one person was walking towards the shield; approaching the sphere illuminating the surroundings almost like a small sun, he reached out his hand. The dark energy touching the light bounced back with the effect of the clash, but the man didn't care about this; he pressed a little harder, and the area where his hand was no longer shone.
"The light, the day, is your time, but the night is my dominion!"
His eyes glowed blood red, and the dark energy began to form veins on the shield. The brightness of the light was decreasing; it faded away like a slowly dying ember.
"Ameretat!"
Godfrey shouted, and in place of the shield starting to vanish, a new one appeared, much brighter, much larger, and bearing magic symbols on it.
"Sir, no!"
Before Franz could intervene, the person who was his master used the Guardian Angel Will Remnant, and judging by his laughs, he was pleased with what he did.
"I don't know what kind of creature you are, but this power bestowed by the Holy Angel protecting our society will be enough to restrain you until sunrise."
He wasn't wrong either; Miloş was covering his face with his two hands. The brightness of the light bothered him, but Godfrey had miscalculated something. Just like the warriors in his army, Miloş also had wings, and as the leader of his lineage, his majesty eclipsed the others. As the darkness gathered in his two wings, their dimensions grew, and Miloş, whose feet left the ground, rose all the way just below the image of the moon.
"Master of the night, creator of darkness, bestow your power upon your shadow on earth. Inject darkness into my heart to kill your arch-enemies!"
At that moment, the entire valley was hearing Miloş's heartbeats. The beings he created fell to their knees and prostrated themselves towards him. The mercenary, once controlled by magic, was now the avatar of the master of the night.
"Tears of Cain"
Blood began to rain down on the shield of light like rain. The moon was crying; the blood trickling from Miloş's wings was constantly striving to shatter the light and reach the earth. Miloş, going into a dive, plunged his hands turning into claws into the shield; even though smoke rose and his body began to tear apart, he didn't give up.
"Sir, be ready to escape! I will try to buy time for you."
Franz drew a magic circle on the ground and filled its inside with bright gems up to his waist. He wasn't stupid like his master; he had understood what the thing opposite them could do. Using a Guardian Angel Will Remnant at nighttime wouldn't work because they were the Companions of Light.
While darkness and light continued their unending war, nature had given both some advantages and disadvantages. Standing by one side without knowing this meant being a bite to be swallowed for the other side, and right now Miloş was succeeding in shattering the shield.
While the light destroyed it, darkness was recreating his body, and the victor of this cycle was the darkness. When the pieces of light scattered around, Franz finished his murmuring; Godfrey, doing what he said, began to flee, gliding towards the outside of the valley at the speed of light.
Miloş didn't turn to look at him; he continued to walk towards Franz, who was forming a lotus of light. He stopped when there were five steps left, pulled his wings back into his body, and began to laugh. His laughs mixed into each other by moving back and forth on the high slopes of the valley.
"So we were going to meet like this. How interesting that we meet years after I set my mind to take revenge for the stupid boy who died that day!"
Franz was on alert, his staff was pointing at the enemy, but the petals of the lotus he formed trembled after what he heard.
"You, how do you know?"
"How do I know? I was there when the First Blood Warrior Sangre fought the mage you called your little brother. I watched everything that happened from beginning to end!"
It wasn't a coincidence they met here; Miloş had allowed them to separate from the others.
"Well, that little rat wasn't someone to take revenge for, but…"
"Shut your mouth, you monster!"
"Monster? That bastard human who wanted to make an area attack knowing he would kill the people he fought together with, I am the monster, is that so?"
A petal of the light lotus broke off, flew, and closed over Miloş. When the petal, large enough to wrap a small house, exploded, the valley lit up for a few seconds; the screams of the beings living in the darkness were heard.
"Is this all? Maybe you are weak like him too."
The petals broke off one after another and flew towards where Miloş was. The earth sphere was collapsing inward; the image of Miloş's shattering body was like a dark stain within the brightness, but it just wouldn't vanish.
"Futile efforts! Like the spells of the bastard attacking from inside his shield, meaningless, weak! When Sangre's blades entered his body, he still hadn't understood where the attack came from; his arrogance was only wiped from his eyes as he died!"
"Die!"
Franz completely detonated the light lotus of which he was at the center. A dagger was thrust into the chest of the dark night. The valley no longer existed; the mountains on its slopes, the caves, the plants, and the traces of those who couldn't manage to escape in time among the beings Miloş created were erased.
Miloş wasn't around either. Franz, his clothes torn and barely standing, took a step forward leaning on his staff. When he made a move to lift his other leg, he stopped, bowed his head, and saw the blades coming out of his shadow gutting his body.
"No light can completely destroy darkness, and no darkness can completely destroy light! You should be proud to die at my hands, the Second Blood Warrior Miloş!"
The student of one of the important figures of the Companions of Light Society was falling on the Mercenaries' Home; just like what happened to the students of the other societies, he was fading into nothingness. Miloş watched his remains for a while; a dedicated life was fading away, but it was possible to hear the footsteps of the person he offered his loyalty to.
At least Miloş could manage this; seconds after turning into a black line, he grabbed the owner of the footsteps by the nape of his neck. Godfrey, who looked as if he was about to pass his middle ages, couldn't move; whereas he was also a mage, but how ironic it was that he couldn't get his share of his father's might.
"How are you Godfrey, shall we go on a journey with you?"
Miloş, grabbing the man who was the leader of the Lands of Light forces, sped towards the Death Pass. The warriors who managed to survive were right behind him. He wasn't thinking of killing him, but the only desire of those in the battle taking place a few hours away was to be able to kill those who stood in their way.