"You may be able to control yourself," Gleam said. "...but can you control a demon?"
I could feel my veins pulsing with jet-black rage. My blood was boiling all the way to my brain. My flaming wings grew even more ferocious than before as they cackled and growled with rage.
My entire body felt like it was changing. My strength, my sight, my hearing, the way I move. All of them were changing to a completely different level. There was so much power coursing through my veins, my flesh, and my blood.
But...all this power...was full of sorrow.
I don't want this power. It feels too uncontrollable. This kind of power shouldn't exist. If I use this power, then my promise to Xylvia, Leonna, and everyone else will mean nothing.
...aPArT...TeAR...hER...apARt...
No! Get these thought out of your head. You can't let him control you.
dIe...sPIlL...hEr...INnARdS...
Shit! I...can't...focus...
DIe...dIe...DIE...kILl...KILl...kiLl...tEAr...diE...
"I'm going to kill you."
*FWOOSH!*
I no longer had control over myself. I took to the skies again with a giant leap and shot straight towards Gleam. I wound back the blade and struck her with a swift swing. I could hear her flesh tear apart as the black cut straight through her neck.
"DaMn," the demon made me say. "I mEanT tO SpILl hEr GUts."
"Oh my," Gleam said, not sounding fazed by the strike. "I guess this little demon is quite feisty."
How the hell?
"StIlL aLIvE?"
My body turned around and I saw Gleam smiling at us. Traces of her blood was still visible, but her neck was completely healed.
Something was different about her though. Her eyes began to glow a strange golden yellow, and her tongue was abnormally long.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked, gaining back some control of my body.
"It's been a while since I've shown anyone a glimpse of my true form," Glean said. "Though, I wouldn't expect you to remember. The number of years that it's been is uncountable"
Her nails started to grow into sharp claws and her eyes glowed brighter. She hissed with her tongue like a snake.
"It's quite unfair," Gleam said. "Father gave you all the power yet he left me with the job of an errand girl. And even after I did my job like a good little girl, he sealed my memories and sent my to this wretched world. Only after meeting that Sin did my jealousy grow. I grew envious of their power and wanted some for myself. Tempting him into sex was surprisingly easy. For someone so prideful, he sure was quite impatient."
My body moved on it's own and darted straight at Gleam. The blade struck Glenda with full force, but was being blocked by her sharp claws
"ThAT's WHaT HapPEnEd," The demon inside me said, those words gritting through my teeth. "So YoU DIdn'T CaRE abOUt tHaT PriDEfuL BasTaRd? YOu onLy WAntEd hIS CHILD?!"
"No. Not even his child. I only wanted his power. That child of his sure does come in handy though. But she's isn't strong enough to reach the gods. Which is why I started looking for someone else. "Honestly, tempting Hiro into coming to this world was way harder than last time. Luckily, the direct approach worked better."
This woman. She lied again. She never really cared about her daughter. Never cared about Xylvia. Never cared about the Sin who got killed.
And she never cared about me.
"..."
"Wow, you're a lot more quieter than the last time we met like this Hiro," Gleam said. "But I can tell that you're still that clueless and curious man that you used to be."
"You say that you know who I am, but that's all a lie," I said. "You don't know a damn thing about me. So what if you met me back in my world. That doesn't mean that you know me inside and out."
"I'm not talking about that time when we met at your high school Hiro." Gleam said.
"...what?"
"Oops! I should probably watch what I say before I anger both parties again."
I don't understand anything that she's saying. It's so frustrating!
"Ok, I'm bored now," Gleam suddenly said. "Let's fight now!"
My body suddenly moved on its own again. Before I could even blink, my sword was met with Gleam's claws. Golden sparks from the impact ignited and went flying many directions every time our weapons connected.
We took the fight to the skies and continued attempting strikes at each other in different fashions. The streaks of a demonic black and sinister gold grew longer and longer as the skies became filled with those streams. We chased each other through the skies with a killing intent that never faded.
"You're quite a brute you know that?!" Gleam proclaimed as she flew swiftly away from my strikes.
"SHUT UP!!!!" Wrath shouted through my body. "I'lL neVer ForgIVe YoU foR KillInG mY frIEnD!!! YoU'rE gOinG tO DiE... YOU'RE GOINT TO DIIIIE!!!!"
I started to feel angry myself. I knew the feeling of betrayal too much. No one should know what that feels like.
An opening appeared as soon as we finally caught up to Gleam and I struck her down with extreme power. A power that I've never felt before. I felt the wings on my back tear and grow into something else.
I looked behind me and saw that my wings had a weird carving on both sides of them. The carvings looked like half-eaten apples.
I didn't know what this power was, but it was very faint. Wrath's power was still completely flowing and dominating my entire body, but that faint power lingered somewhere inside me. Faint, but noticeable.
"You can never win Hiro," Gleam hissed at me as she struggled to heal her injuries. "I will admit, you surprised me with that blow, but no matter what you do I'll still be able to win. I may not be able to reach the gods, but Shana's powers are still enough to beat you."
"Shut up..."
"How does it feel knowing that no matter what you do, you'll still end up losing?"
"Shut up."
"I bet it's frustrating huh. That feeling of hopelessness must be overwhelming you. I bet Xylvia must think you're pretty pathetic right now."
"You're wrong!"
Xylvia ran up to me and grabbed my arm.
"He isn't pathetic. It's you who's pathetic!"
"Oh really? How about I kill you and see what happens. Maybe I can change your mind then!"
I felt the demon within me grow stronger. His overwhelming anger took over my entire body. It took every ounce of strength I had to stand where I was, but I knew that I couldn't contain him any longer.
KiLl...kiLl...teAr...ApaRt...kiLl...
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutup...
KIIIIIILLLLLL!!!!!
"SHUT UUUUUP!!!!!"
I couldn't take it anymore. The dark images that filled my mind of Wrath's desires completely overwhelmed me. The brutal torture that he made me imagine doing to Gleam wanted me to throw up.
Slowly cutting off her limbs one by one. Her screams filling my head completely. Watching her body get teared apart by her own demonic monsters. Her screams filling my head completely. Violating her body as I gutted her with the blade and feasted on her intestines. Her screams filling my head completely.
I never thought that such disgusting thought could ever exist, even for a demon
I wanted it all to just end.
*CRACK!* *SPLASH!*
In one swift move, I grabbed the bottle of purple liquid from Xylvia and smashed it with one hand. The purple liquid splashed all over my hand and the glass shards stabbed my hand as well.
That bottle smash caught everyone's attention. Every head turned to my direction when they saw what I did. They all has a shocked expression on their face.
Nobody moved an inch. The fighting completely seized.
"I'm going to die am I," I asked Wrath. "I can already guess it. Gleam has some sort of insane power up her sleeve right? She been around for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, so she can't be this easy to beat."
"You're right," Wrath said in my head. "That wretched woman possesses the most powerful sin in her hands: the Sin of Pride. Please forgive me for acting out like that. I should've known that a mere human cannot handle the full power of a Sin."
No shit.
"Well, at least I'm not insane like you are," joked. "I may die, but I'd rather die a human than live a monster."
I have to stand up for this one. I won't run. I won't lose it. I'm going to fight with everything I've got. My way.
"Don't you dare think that you're going to die on your own."
I turned to see Leonna walking up to me with her sword at the ready.
"You're horrible you know that," she said. "You go off and do some stupid stunt like that right in front of Xylvia. Then, you expect us to let you fight her on your own?!"
"Leonna..."
"I won't let that happen. If we can't escape death, then we might as fell face it head on."
Even through her most heaviest tears, she still smiled.
"We're fighting too."
Dusk and Ray also emerged from the remains of the battle with their weapons ready.
"You gave me and my family a home whenever we had no where else to go," Dusk said. "It's only right if I return the favor."
"You guys helped me through my loss," Ray said. "I've always felt useless, so it's only right if I fight alongside you guys."
"You guys..." I said.
"You can count us all in too."
Commander Zeigal, along with a third of what remained of the thousands of fighters we had left walked over to where I stood. I could see that the entire Army of Darkness had been completely killed off, but of course it had to come with the price of thousands of lives lost.
"We may never know the pain that you went through, but we do know that we've been through too much to just give up now," Commander Zeigal said with blood dripping from his wavy blue hair. "So, to honor the lives of the ones we've lost, WE WILL FIGHT UNTIL OUR VERY SOULS HAVE LEFT OUR BODIES!!!"
He, along with everyone else behind him, raised their weapons up high against the still-stunned Gleam.
"I'm fighting too," Xylvia said as she got back up on her feet. "You've given me everything that I could ever want Hiro. You gave me love, friends, and joy, so of course I'm going to die by your side."
"Xylvia... Everyone... Thank you... Thank you so much...for believing in me..." I said through my cries.
I'm terrified. I'm scared of dying. Who wouldn't be? I don't know what awaits me beyond death, but I know that I won't be alone when I have to face it.
"I guess it's over then..." Glean said.
Everyone had their weapons ready to strike.
"I'm up against hundreds of you guys, I have a weapon that doesn't want to fight, and my biggest key to my plan is going to die in a short time. I guess I lose."
Gleam then walked a few paces in the opposite direction and swung her sword at...nothing.
We all stood where we were, completely dumbfounded by what we just saw.
"I might as well make death unavoidable right?" Gleam said.
"What the hell did you do?" I asked with a sinister tone.
"I didn't just swing at air. That strike will be the cause...of the end of this world."
Everyone had a shocked expression frozen on their faces. Some cried. Some fell to their knees. Some didn't even move. Some hugged and kissed their loved ones.
"In about forty-five minutes, this entire world wil be completely destroyed. I swung away from you guys because I wanted yo give you time to say good-bye to your loved ones. Please be sure to use your time wi-"
SSHHNK!
Before Gleam could finish her sentence, I stuck my sword straight through Gleam's chest with zero hesitation.
"BLEGH!!" Gleam coughed up blood.
"There's my first minute." I said as I yanked the blade out of her chest.
She fell to the ground.
"Wow," she weakly said. "I didn't even have to tempt you into doing that. Unlike...last time..."
The strange glow in Gleam's eyes suddenly faded away and turned back into their original color.
"Damn…I can't believe…I let myself fall so low…"
Wait…what? What the hell is she saying?
"Hiro…it's not your fault… Please…take care…of Shana…for me…"
Gleam slumped down to the ground in an oddly graceful manner. Her body then slowly turned into ashes and blew away in the wind.