A few moments ago…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"You're fighting me, big guy." [Felix]
"You damn human!" [Hurgon]
Felix had engaged in a battle against the other demon captain. His stature was enormous, enough to cast a shadow over Felix.
"|Piercing Blow|!" [Hurgon]
He threw out a haymaker of a fist, only allowing Felix time to block.
("I've got this-") Felix]
As he raised his staff to block, Felix felt great pain in his chest the moment Hurgon's fist connected.
"Urgh!" [Felix]
Blown away with immense force, Felix crashed into his own troops.
"Fable!" [Roderick]
Felix's ears rang and his chest throbbed with pain.
("Shit… Am I still alive?") [Felix]
He had a bit of trouble breathing, but it was bearable.
("The hell even happened?") [Felix]
He found himself lying on a group of soldiers while Roderick fought with Hurgon.
"You look like you're in trouble. Permission to use mana?" [Dianoia]
("Permission granted.") [Felix]
Felix felt his energy being drained into his staff. In turn, a warmth filled his chest and allowed the pain to subside.
"I've healed you by a minimum amount to preserve mana. You can still fight, but you're not at full strength. Absorb more mana and I'll fix that." [Dianoia]
("Got it.") [Felix]
Felix stood with a glance at the soldiers who broke his fall. It appeared that they weren't durable enough to survive the impact, so Felix offered a small prayer before assisting Roderick.
"Hero, you dare come here and attack us?! Know your place!" [Hurgon]
"This land belongs to humanity! Who are you to deny us what is rightfully ours?!" [Roderick]
For the moment that Felix wasn't looking, it appeared that the demon had taken out a burning black halberd against Roderick's golden greataxe.
"|Blaze Of Glory|!" [Hurgon]
"|Soloi's Wrath|!" [Roderick]
The demon set themself aflame while Roderick shone brilliantly. They clashed blades, mixing light that had taken physical form and fire that could melt stone. The amount of force behind their attacks reduced their surroundings to nothing whereas any poor soldiers caught up in it were shredded along with their armor.
("What is this power?!") [Felix]
In order to combat the powers pushing against him, Felix hardened the space around him as a shield.
"Do you think you will win this war?! We have the supreme demon lord on our side!" [Hurgon]
"It may be too soon for me to decide, but this fort will become mine!" [Roderick]
They clashed blades a few more times before Hurgon grabbed Roderick and proceeded to throw him into the ground.
"Ugh!" [Roderick]
"Perish without any achievements to your name, hero!" [Hurgon]
Hurgon raised his halberd, preparing to run Roderick through.
"Extend!" [Felix]
Felix thrusted, allowing his rod to lengthen quickly. It struck Hurgon's halberd, forcing it to narrowly miss Roderick's head.
"What?!" [Hurgon]
"Nice job, Fable!" [Roderick]
He kicked Hurgon's leg, causing him to fall to one knee. Roderick then threw a quick punch to the demon's face before rolling away.
"Ngh! Cheap tricks!" [Hurgon]
It didn't take long for Hurgon to recover, but it bought enough time for Roderick to regroup with Felix.
"I didn't know you had a spirit." [Roderick]
"Eh… What?" [Felix]
"You know, a spirit. The thing you use to make your weapon?" [Roderick]
He pointed at Felix's staff.
"You mean a soul weapon?" [Felix]
"...What's a soul weapon?" [Roderick]
As much as Roderick would have liked an answer, Hurgon was beginning to move.
"I will have your head!" [Hurgon]
With a mighty beat of his wings, the hulking mass that is Hurgon crashed into Roderick.
"Argh!" [Roderick]
It was a good thing his reflexes were fast enough to block it. However, it would end in Roderick getting crushed if he didn't do anything fast.
"Dimensional Slash!" [Felix]
Slashing the air with his staff, Felix cut at Hurgon's back. It left a deep mark on his armor, and threw him off balance. Thus, giving a small opportunity for Roderick to attack or slip away.
("If I had to choose one, of course the only path is forward!") [Roderick]
"|Reverse Flow|!" [Roderick]
Suddenly, all momentum pressed on Roderick flipped.
"Huh?!" [Hurgon]
Placing all the force into his fist, Roderick landed a clean blow on Hurgon's stomach.
"Guh!" [Hurgon]
Hurgon's chestplate shattered, and he lurched forward in pain. Roderick then spun with his ax with the intention of cutting off the demon's head.
"|Hyper Frenzy|." [Hurgon]
Within an instant, he vanished.
"Eh?!" [Roderick]
Far from Roderick, Hurgon appeared before Felix. His eyes blazed red, different from his natural golden pupils.
"The weak must go first." [Hurgon]
"Aw shit." [Felix]
Felix received a heavy blow against his staff, forcing him back a few meters. Luckily, the strange feeling of something hitting his chest didn't happen again.
"He's doing something strange!" [Dianoia]
Hurgon twisted the shaft of his halberd, causing the bottom half to come out cleanly. It appeared to be connected to a rope hidden in the upper shaft, revealing it to be a whip.
("Ah, he's dual wielding.") [Felix]
With a whip in one hand, and now an ax in the other, Hurgon was able to withstand opponents from various ranges.
"Careful, he's coming!" [Dianoia]
With a flick of his wrist, Hurgon attempted to whip Felix.
"Warp!" [Felix]
He teleported closer whilst evading, forcing Hurgon to use the ax.
"|Heavy Blow|!" [Roderick]
Appearing from behind, Hurgon was forced to block a vertical slash.
"Get him now!" [Roderick]
"I know!" [Felix]
He slammed his staff on the back of Hurgon's leg, forcing him to come unbalanced.
"Agh! Not yet!" [Hurgon]
Hurgon flicked his wrist back, causing the extended whip to latch onto Felix's leg.
"Oh no." [Felix]
"Unhand him!" [Roderick]
He unleashed a flurry of slashes, to which Hurgon parried. Hurgon then lashed his whip to fling Felix into the ground.
"Oof!" [Felix]
Hurgon continued to swing the whip around as he combatted Roderick with one arm. If not for the hardened space around him, it would have hurt much more.
("I've gotta get this whip off me!") [Felix]
He tried to untie himself, but the whip seemed to strengthen its grip the more Felix resisted. It could be just the difficulty being piled on from getting constantly thrown into the floor and walls, but the whip's movement was too strange.
("It's alive?!") [Felix]
"If it's alive, I can absorb its mana!" [Dianoia]
Though it was a bit hard to believe, Felix did indeed have a weapon with a mind of its own.
("Better than nothing!") [Felix]
He then jammed the staff between his leg and the whip.
"Hm?!" [Hurgon]
Hurgon immediately felt something was wrong.
("My mana is being… drained?!") [Hurgon]
He flung Felix afar and retracted the whip to focus on Roderick with the little time it bought him.
"|Low Tide|!" [Roderick]
Water surged around his ax as he aimed for Hurgon's legs. Hurgon reacted quickly though. Leaping back while flicking the whip, Hurgon caught the ax.
"Do you think that will stop me?!" [Roderick]
The water surrounding the ax flew off, turning itself into a thin blade.
"This bastard!" [Hurgon]
Hurgon attempted to block it, but the water slipped past his guard. It sliced his inner thigh, causing some sort of bleeding affliction.
("They keep aiming for my legs!") [Hurgon]
Between getting struck and being unable to fight back, or taking a blow to return one. Hurgon made a choice.
"I'll take that trade." [Hurgon]
Regardless of what either Felix or Roderick would do next, Hurgon was intent on splitting the hero before him in two. He locked Roderick down with his whip and raised his mighty ax.
"|Burning Descent|!" [Hurgon]
"|Reinforce|! |Petrification|!" [Roderick]
Tilting his head last second, Roderick solidified in stone as Hurgon's ax struck in between the hero's neck and shoulder. Hurgon's ax dug in deep. Far enough to get past Roderick's collarbone and a bit more.
"Urgh!" [Roderick]
His petrification came undone, causing blood to spew out. Hurgon attempted to push further, but Felix leapt onto his back and pulled with his staff around the demon's throat.
"Get off him!" [Felix]
"Ack!" [Hurgon]
("Dianoia! Drink his mana dry!") [Felix]
Roots erupted below Hurgon, wrapping around his legs and drinking the blood from his bleeding thigh.
"You again?! |Cinder|!" [Hurgon]
In an effort to burn the roots, Hurgon set himself ablaze.
"Urgh!" [Felix]
"Endure it!" [Dianoia]
Even for hardened space, there was a limit. The heat penetrated through, and smoke filled his lungs. Felix found great difficulty breathing while the flames scorched his skin.
("Losing…! Consciousness…!") [Felix]
"Hold on!" [Dianoia]
Using the mana stolen from Hurgon, Dianoia supplied Felix with constant healing. New skin replaced his burns and smoke was expelled from his nostrils. It felt like he was constantly exhaling without needing to inhale.
"Now, Roderick!" [Felix]
Roderick, unable to feel his left side, picked up his greataxe with one hand. Blood poured out of his neck wound, but his determination refused to allow him to miss this opportunity.
"No! Stop!" [Hurgon]
Though he struggled more against the roots, they grew longer to bind his arms.
"It's time you meet your end, demon." [Roderick]
Roderick found great difficulty undoing the bindings of Hurgon's whip. However, he managed to do it by dislocating his already useless left arm.
"You...! You're willing to go this far?!" [Hurgon]
"Why wouldn't I?" [Roderick]
As Roderick raised his greataxe with much effort, a sword pierced through him from behind.
"Urgh!" [Roderick]
Blood spewed from his mouth as the sword pushed itself further. Upon turning his head, Roderick saw a demonic soldier grinning with excitement.
"Hah! I did it! I killed a hero!" [Demon Soldier]
"Roderick!" [Felix]
"...So this is how it is?" [Roderick]
As if fully accepting his fate, Roderick didn't retaliate against the soldier. Instead, he chose to fulfill his duty.
"Demon Captain, it appears neither of us will see the end of this battle." [Roderick]
"Hero, you can't possibly be-!" [Hurgon]
Without another word, Roderick brought down his greataxe on Hurgon's neck, cleanly beheading him.
"C-Captain!" [Demon Soldier]
Seeing his superior's death, and the thought of facing Felix, the only person left who was capable of fighting said captain, led the demon soldier to flee. Thus, leaving Felix, a gravely wounded Roderick, and the slumped corpse of Hurgon.
"Fable…!" [Roderick]
He beckoned Felix over, to which he complied.
("Dianoia! Can you heal him?!") [Felix]
"I can try, but I'm not confident." [Dianoia]
Roderick fell to his knees as he lost strength. Felix forced his staff into Roderick's hand to apply healing, but something was interfering.
("What's going on?!") [Felix]
"...Stop it, I know what you're doing." [Roderick]
"What do you mean stop?! I can't just let you die like this!" [Felix]
Roderick shook his head slowly.
"I am manaless. Perhaps you know it as mana-leak syndrome. Your healing will only pass through me. I burnt my life in order to use my skills. I knew this would-." [Roderick]
Roderick began to cough violently, blood splattering with every breath. It wouldn't be long until he succumbed to his wounds.
("Mana-leak syndrome?") [Felix]
Felix had no idea of what that meant. Instead of thinking of it, he tried pouring more mana into healing.
"Hold on, Roderick! I just need to figure out-" [Felix]
"Fable, listen!" [Roderick]
Roderick coughed once again before grasping Felix's shoulder.
"Push the rest of the demons out of this fortress…! I trust you! Can you do that for me?!" [Roderick]
"I won't make any promises! That's a death flag!" [Felix]
"Say it!" [Roderick]
He practically spat out blood forcing his own words out.
"Fine! I'll do it! Now shut up and save strength!" [Felix]
Roderick smiled weakly.
"Good…" [Roderick]
"I told you to save your strength! Just focus on-" [Felix]
Felix's voice trailed off as Roderick's hand fell from his shoulder.
"Felix, he's deceased." [Dianoia]
"...Fuck." [Felix]