The two armies were still going at it from the distance, about eighty meters away from the barrier. They appeared to be at a stalemate right now, but I knew that wouldn't hold for long. I may not know how powerful the Army of Light really is, but the Army of Darkness can definitely pack a punch or two...thousand.
I ran back to where Gleam was and saw Xylvia standing with her.
"Did you get everyone out safely?" I asked.
"As far as I'm aware, there's nobody left in this city," Xylvia said. "What about you?"
"It's the same for me." I said.
I wanted to forget about what happened back at that clocktower, and I didn't want Xylvia to worry about me either.
"Where's Leonna?" I asked.
"She went with the commander to fight." Xylvia said.
"SERIOUSLY?!! I-Is she going to be ok?!"
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Gleam said. "Besides, she has much more experience on the battlefield than the two of you combined. She'll be able to hold her own."
"Yeah...but still..."
I trusted Leonna enough to know that she was incredibly strong, but seeing her out there fighting against so many of them didn't make me feel any better.
"Are you sure that we shouldn't go down there?" I asked.
"I'm absolutely sure," Gleam immediately said. "If you go out there with the Devil's Blade, then they'll will without a doubt try and capture and corrupt your head. They would then possess the power of the Devil's Blade and use it to destroy the land and it's people."
"I see. But...why do they want to destroy this place? Why can't we all just be friends with each other?"
Gleam look over at the raging battle filled with beautiful light and gory despair.
"I'm not really sure what the answer to that is myself," she said. "I'm banned from going anywhere outside this city by the council. But from what I heard the people say, they said that Devil grew angry at the people because they killed Devil's lover."
"..."
"They always treated Devil like trash because Devil had a unique power that nobody else had: The power to raise the dead."
"Raise...th-the...d-dead...?"
"All of those animal like monsters are a result of Devil's power. Devil can raise dead animals from the grave and grant them demonic powers that can be used to kill."
"I...Is this all really just a rumor," I asked. "Because you make it sound like that actually happened."
"I believe in this rumor myself," Gleam said. "But I have no way of telling you if it is real or not. There is, however, one thing that is very true."
"What's that?"
"Devil really does have the power to raise the dead."
"That does make sense...but...how do you know that?"
"...Because we fought here before at the beginning of the war."
"What...was it like...fighting her...?" Xylvia asked.
"It was...like...fighting another version of yourself. A dark version that you never knew existed. A demonic version that doesn't want to kill you, but wants to take over your mind, body, and soul. That demonic being doesn't want you dead, it wants you to suffer for as long as possible until your death that you've begged for so long arrives to put you in a grave."
"A demon of your former self...that wants you to suffer..."
The Devil's Blade fit that description perfectly to a T. Cruel and sadistic thought would race through my head every time that I drew that sword out of it's sheath. My will would grow stronger, but I think my self-control and sanity also grew weaker. I desired the power that the blade possesses, but I only desire it so that I can protect the ones I care about and not let anyone else die. I don't want anyone else to die or be filled with corrupted emotions. I want to give everyone a chance at life. Nobody should have to die because of some good-for-nothing war. I'm going to find a way to end this war, and when I do I'll be sure that everyone can live. And once that's all over, I'm sure that Leonna would still want to stick around, I'll take Xylvia and Leonna on many adventures that still await us.
"Gleam," I said. "I want to help in any way I can. Just tell me what I should do...because I don't plan on losing to this goddamn Devil!"