"Winter's Embrace!" A familiar voice pierced through the haze of Sael's mind and he pushed himself over landing on his back. He could see Nee her wings fully extended landing on the back of the demon her body wreathed in silver veined darkness. When she wrapped her slender arms around his neck the demon's veins bulged and darkened. Nee wrenched free a massive amount of the demon's life force exploiting her surprise attack as much as possible. As the demon spun trying to fling the clinging fairy free of his back Dego charged in through the smoke and stabbed the demon in the thigh. With it's life force being drained its defenses were lowered and dark blood ran down it. "Never fear for Dego is here!"
Sael didn't know if he should be happy or angry to see his friends coming to his rescue. He didn't even have time to question their arrival as Ara rushed in past the fight to his side. Her first action was to raise her hand as if she was going to slap him but at the last second stopped to just press her hand gently against his cheek. "You are almost as big an idiot as I am. If you ever try anything so stupid again…" she shook her head. "Hurry up and ask me."
Sael wheezed out pushing himself up as much as he could. He still couldn't draw a breath properly. Even a small gasp caused a sharp pain in the right side of his chest and each breath felt shallower than the last. He thought of all the things he wanted to say, how he had wanted to do it properly the next time. Instead when he tried to speak blood dribbled out of his mouth.
Ara placed her hand over his heart. "It's ok. I can hear you. The answer is still yes." She kissed him and once again the rush of warmth flooded his body. She pulled back her lips wet with his blood. "Next time. You better kiss me."
Ribs popped back into place as the blood that smothered his lungs drained away. Burns, cuts, and every other injury started to mend as he staggered to his feet. His hands shredded from shards of the shattered spear mended and he was finally able to unclasp his fist finding a strange seed in the right hand. Focusing on it for a moment caused a system message to appear just as Dego cried out. Spinning wildly the demon had clipped Dego with a backhand by mistake, still the blow was more than enough to send him flying away to crash across the smoky room.
He read the messages as he rushed towards the demon as the monster reached back finally catching a hold of Nee's head. With a savage scream it ripped her from his back and slammed her face first into the stone floor. With his own scream of rage Sael bellowed out. "YES!" Before slamming the fist holding the seed into the bent over demon's side like a savage kidney punch. Everyone including Sael was surprised when a flash of crimson light burst out and the demon was sent flying across the room. Stone exploded as he flew through the wall into an adjacent room.
In his mind the answered message was replaced by a new one.
[Would you like to attune to the Fairy King's Spear?]
[Requirements met: Title Acquired: Summer King]
Crouching down he cradled Nee, her face was ruined but thankfully she was alive and rapidly healing with the massive amount of stolen life. "What were you thinking. You're the calm, cool, collected one. Charging in like that isn't your style!" Her split lips healed just in time for him to catch the twitch at the corner of a smile.
"I would never abandon my king."
Sael wasn't sure if she was being serious or joking with him but it didn't matter. He'd found his resolve, he was done running away. Wiping much of the blood from her face he whispered "I lied before. It wasn't just desperation." He kissed the fairy who'd risked her life yet again fighting beside him as he dropped all the walls he'd built and ignoring any insecurities or fears he had.
[Requirements met: Title Acquired: Winter King]
The crimson flames that pulsed in his right hand around the seed darkened to a deep royal purple. From his fist vines of silver and gold sprouted and intertwined as they grew. In the matter of moments they wove into a shaft when a huge lotus style bud bloomed at the end. It opened up letting it's petals fall away to reveal a blade. As wide at the base as his hand and more than a foot long it was a stiletto style blade.
[Evolution requirement met: Title Evolved: Twilight King]
Nee was staring at the spear while his back broke out in an agonizing itch that spread from his waist to his shoulders. But he had no time to ponder it and was forced to grit his teeth as the demon stepped back into the room.
"Nee check on Dego please." Nee nodded and rushed off to Dego with one last glance back at him her eyes wide. Sael leaned forward in a running stance bracing his fingers against the ground and dug his toes in until stone crumbled beneath them. Kicking off with everything he had, even Sael was shocked as a huge swath of stone behind him was blown apart. Thrusting his spear forward as he closed in the demon's eyes went wide. His sword crafted of those wreathing dark flames flowed back down his arm covering his body in the blink of an eye.
Even though he'd dug his hooves into the stone when the spear struck his armor he was pushed back. As the point began piercing the armor of flames they exploded outward filling the room with a thunderous boom and more flames.
Sael squinted his watery eyes as he looked down at where the demon had been. 'Wait, what?'
Only then did he realize he was hovering. He'd been the only one not to witness the giant fairy wings emerge from his back when he kicked off. The added force of them flapping having helped propel him forward.
Gasping for air as their flesh blistered from the savage heat released from the armor's detonation the others stared in shock. Coming out from Sael's back was a set of enormous wings. Just like the other fairies it looked like those of a butterfly. Like the Pachliopta Hector his upper wings were mostly black and shaped like wide smoothly curved wings. Instead of white the black wings were accented with a bright gold similar to the Summer Court's wings. While the lower wings were notched with tales similar to the Winter Courts wings and accented by a brilliant deep purple instead of red.
Sael looked down at his suffering friends just as the demon yet again emerged from the hole in the wall looking furious. Fire was creeping up it's body yet again reforming his armor. Flapping his wings he blew away smoke and heat as he dive bombed down. Instead of thrusting out with his spear he slammed his shoulder into the demon before it could fully recover. Together they sailed back through the hole to slam into the wall beyond. Stone shattered and suddenly the smoke choked blistering air was gone and Sael sucked in a lungful of fresh air as he pulled up. He hovered in the air as the demon bounced several times across the grassy land before rolling to his feet. 'Well I wanted him away from the others. That works.'
Again the whip of fire erupted in the demon's hand and with a scream of rage it lashed out towards him. Sael thought it was a pointless move, they were so far away. It was almost too late when he realized the whip was lengthening as it hiss through the air towards him. He tried to kick off to the side dodging as he normally would before realizing he was mid air still. As the whip wrapped around his leg he cursed his own mistake, going in a straight line was easy enough but he didn't know how to fly well enough to do any sort of dodging.
As he was yanked from the sky he instinctively tensed and curled up in a ball. His wings retracted into his body the instant before he was slammed into the ground forming a crater. Ignoring pain he rolled out of the shallow crater avoiding the demon that landed where he'd been a moment before. Spinning his spear he cut through the flame whip just before the demon tried to yank him back.
Lunging forward he tried another thrust for the demon but the flame whip changed shape becoming a shield that intercepted his attack. In it's other hand a flail made of fire appeared and he swung it to lash out against Sael's shoulder. Kicking back the sudden pain turned to fear as Sael recalled Ara still might pay the price if he took too much damage. He tried to switch between Summer and Winter only to realize unlike before both Blessings were swirling within him in perfect harmony.
There was no time to ponder on the strange change as the demon was once again right on top of him. The shield bashed into his spear trying to push it away and Sael coated it with the life draining power of winter while dodging the flail's follow up attack. The fire that formed the shield sputtered and weakened when it came in contact with his darkness wreathed spear but didn't go out. "Curse you, what are you!" Screaming in rage the demon stomped it's massive hoof down causing the earth to erupt into a fissure forcing him back again.
Again and again they clashed as the demon changed his living flames into countless different weapons trying to find an opening to finish his foe. Each time his flame weapons collide with the spear they sputter and weaken. Sael could feel himself getting stronger the longer the battle dragged on, his attributes slowly going up. But despite winter's power draining the living flame for some reason the demon was getting stronger each time as well.
'Shit this is bad at this rate I don't know who is going to win. I need something else."
Just then a system message chimed.
**********
A delicate looking green haired fairy man dressed in the clothes of a Summer Consort wielded a sword that looked like a dragonfly's wing and was just as thin as he cut through several leaping corpse spiders into tiny bits with a flash of attacks. At four foot ten he was decently tall for a fairy but was so slender it looked like a stiff wind might snap him in half. Spinning gracefully around his sword cut into the thigh of a towering spine demon only to get stuck a few inches in. He looked up into the savage face of the black skinned demon in horror as he tried to wrench his sword free. Impaled on the spines flowing down from the top of his head to cover his back were several other fairies and animal folks making the green haired fairies' stomach turn. As the demon's massive fist nearly twice the size of the fairies head came arcing down to crush him a wild yell was heard. "AAAAAHHHAAA."
A blue skinned and haired fairy slammed into the demon knocking him away. This fairy was tall for his kind, a few inches over five foot and unlike others of his race he was stocky. The wildest feature though was the big bushy mustache that proved he wasn't a pure fairy but he too wore the outfit of a royal consort. He was wielding a tower shield as big as he was which he'd just used like a ram to send the larger demon flying away.
"I had it you know!" Bin complained.
"Yeah Yeah." Smike smirked.
As the two started to argue the spine demon came rolling back towards them his quills ripping up stone as he barreled towards them curled up in a ball. The two interrupted their argument to turn back to the enemy just as a lightning bolt arched over their heads filling the hallways with the smell of ozone. "Ugh, you two always get on my nerves. Why the queen keeps you around when she has me. I'll never understand." Hovering in the air was a woman petite even by fairy standard. Her wings were so thin and pale blue they appeared almost translucent. With skin as pale as snow and hair a shade of blue so light it was almost white she looked almost like a fairy ghost. The slender wand of rowan wood crackled with lingering electricity still as she shook her head at her fellow consorts, her outfit was of the same design as theirs but with a short skirt instead of pants.
Before they could argue she flew over their heads and down the hallway. "Hurry up, the one controlling the Shadow Hold is up ahead. If we can take them out this invasion will stop!"
Flying around a corner at breakneck speed the fairy consort Eia let out a shrill scream and began to curse. Rushing forward her fellow consorts that made up Queen Kera's most elite unit found their caster hanging mid air caught in a web so fine they were invisible. "Damn it get me down from here!"
"And that is why we aren't flying around like idiots!" Bin added but started cutting away the webs.
**********
Shel felt the web she'd left at the last turn before the room she was currently occupying were triggered. Venom and drool dripped down her chin from a mouth held open by oversized mandibles growing from inside her mouth. She was unafraid of the enemy coming and was just excited for the battle. Drezzel had returned to her almost all of her original power, so she felt there was no fairy save the queen she needed to fear. Since she could feel the castle moving around trying to stop her shadows from summoning in more and more demons she knew the queen wasn't the one coming.
Suddenly something happened and she felt the strength being drained from her. Her mandibles shrank rapidly until they disappeared. Her skin lost its hard chitin like appearance and turned soft as her body shrank down to the size of a normal woman, taking her from over seven feet tall to only about five and a half. Her large insect-like eyes shrank down until there were just six small orbs like gems across her cheek and forehead. When the three fairies came in they found not a monstrous spider woman but a voluptuous female that could have passed for human. Her now delicate face was filled with shock and fear while her outfit designed for her larger monstrous form was now drooping and falling off her curvy human form.
The two fairy men leading the charge hesitated finding a lovely human woman in a compromisingly exposed state instead of a powerful demon. It was the brief respite she needed to melt back into her own shadow in panic. "Idiot men! Stop thinking with the wrong head!" Another bolt of lightning sailed over their heads to crackle against the shadows but it was too late the woman had disappeared. With her power being drained from her rapidly Shel could no longer maintain the Shadow Hold across the entirety of the castle. "What is going on? My lord… Do you even need my power? How could the fairies push you so far?" With her power drained and her body reduced to such a soft and fragile form she couldn't risk continuing the attack. If she was killed her beloved lord would soon find himself in even more danger.
**********
[Thrust Level 9>10]
[Intermediate skill unlocked: Skyward Lash Level 1]
It was music to his ears and his heart skipped a beat in excitement. Spinning around he lashed out with all his strength letting his spear crash into the giant axe of flame the demon now wielded. Once the weapon was pushed aside and the demon was off balance he activated his new skill. He spun his spear so rapidly it whistled as it made a vertical circle next to him. Bringing up the butt of the weapon he struck the demon with enough upward force to send it airborne. His wings once again emerged with explosive force as he rocketed in a straight line upwards towards the still rising demon. Thrusting his spear into the flame armored chest of the demon they both flew higher.
After a few moments the demon managed to push himself free of the spear and started to descend back down. Sael continued flying up before managing to stop himself to hover once again. He watched the demon falling for a moment before dropping into a dive with a boom as his wings flapped with all his might sending him screaming down. His body spun like a corkscrew as he slammed down the spear leading the way. Unable to dodge mid air the demon formed a thick shield of fire which it held with both hands. Sael slammed down into the demon and forced it to accelerate until he crashed back first into the ground. A huge crater was formed and nearby trees were knocked over with the shockwave from the impact. Both watched one in horror and one in excitement as the shield shattered. Flames sputtered as the spear then struck the flames covering the demon's chest. For a moment they held the blade back before they too sputtered out completely and the spear pierced the demon to sink deep into the dirt beneath him.
Pinned to the ground with the human-fairy still holding the spear gasping Drezzel flailed around. Sael felt exhausted and weak the fight had taken more out of him than he'd even know he had to start with. Still, he held onto the spear with all his might refusing to let the demon rise back up. After a few moments the demon suddenly became still. Sael looked down thinking it might be dead but the demon was just smiling. The look in its eyes was unreadable to the mortal that had defeated him. The reason behind his satisfied smile was a mystery. As the demon started to rise up pushing itself up the shaft of the spear Sael's eyes went wide but his body was frozen. He couldn't take his eyes from the demons, not even when it reached up both hands to grasp his shoulders, not even the pain of the demon's claws digging into his flesh could snap him out of it.
Grinning happily the demon spoke, spraying blood and spittle "May the world be ended by hate!" Black lightning erupted from the demons' hands and shot straight to Sael's heart. Blood erupted from his mouth as his heart spasmed and seized before the world went dark.
**********
Nee and Ara were with the rest watching the fight below from the hole made in the side of the castle from the demon and Sael flying out earlier. Everyone wanted to help but watching the two battle below they knew there was little they could do in a fight with such monsters. When they witnessed the final wild dive and the demon being impaled they'd all let out cheers. But when the demon reached up and shocked Sael they all screamed out in horror. All except Nee and Ara who collapsed clutching their chest in agony. It lasted only a brief moment before it went away and with its departure they could no longer feel their bond with their king.