Dante teleported over to Axiom and swung his scythe to execute him on the spot. He laughed as he dodged.
Jallah darted over to Tyras and punched him straight in the chest.
As soon as he was hit, Tyras was shot straight into the crowd of monsters.
The speed of his fist shattered the sound barrier and caused a visible shift in the air.
Black Ooze or not, I'm sure he felt that one.
Kyriel stepped forward and I fired one of my shotguns at her.
She dodged the blast and backed away from us. Occasionally looking towards Isabella but also turning to me as well.
I see. You won't attack me at all, will you?
I slowly stepped towards her and she continued to back away.
"You're harmless to me, aren't you? If you can't fight me, then that means I'm going to be your opponent. Doesn't that just make the most sense?" I said.
She nodded and still backed away... Moments later, she sheathed her dagger and crouched down.
"What do you want from me? Honestly!" I said.
She shakily pointed to me and made a heart with her fingers again.
"Say something! Why are you in love with me? Why are you trying to kill my wife?"
She simply shook her head and placed her hand over her mouth.
"If you lay a finger on Isabella...I'LL ERASE YOU FROM THIS WORLD!!! UNDERSTOOD!?" I said angrily.
She nodded fervently and cowered in fear.
Then I heard a small noise escape as she shook fearfully.
It sounded like quiet whimpering...even crying.
Suddenly...I kind of felt like I was bullying her. But at the same time, I had no choice. I had to protect Isabella.
A moment later, I saw Tyras appear in front of me. He slashed his sword at me, but Isabella blocked it.
"BLAST NOVA!!!" She shouted.
Her shield violently exploded in a frontal cone and launched Tyras in the other direction.
"DAMN YOU, WOMAN! KYRIEL! KILL ISABELLA!!!" Tyras screamed.
Kyriel looked up and disappeared. Then she reappeared behind Isabella and grabbed her arm. After that...
She threw her far away from me and disappeared again.
"WHA-!? MIZIK!!!"
My eyes went wide and I chased after her.
Isabella landed on her feet as several purple streams exploded around her.
Before I could reach Isabella, Tyras darted to my front and furiously slashed at me to send me back.
I looked around and saw Jallah laying on the ground clutching his shoulder.
He had lost both of his legs and an arm.
Apparently, Tyras didn't think he was worth the effort to actually kill.
Dante was giving Axiom a lot of trouble as well. His decaying attacks had zero effect on someone that was already a skeleton.
A moment later, I heard Isabella cry out in pain as she stepped away from Kyriel.
"You...what did you do to me!?"
Kyriel simply said nothing and continued her assault. Flashing behind Isabella and stabbing her when she had the opportunity. It was as if...
All of her attacks ignored Isabella's defense.
Damn it all!!!
Jallah was wounded, Isabella was outmatched, and I didn't even know if I could actually defeat Tyras. That just left...
"CARLOS! HURRY IT UP! WE HAVE WOUNDED!!!" Dante shouted mightily.
He was having trouble hurting Axiom, but his skill and abilities gave him an edge.
At that point, Gavin charged out onto the field and grabbed Jallah. He helped him get away just in time for Carlos to shout back.
"I HAVE IT! IT WORKS! DANTE, DOUSE YOURSELF IN THIS!!!" Carlo shouted as he threw a glass vial straight at Dante.
Dante teleported over to it and was hit directly in the face with a shimmering golden liquid.
And immediately after...
His power exploded in a mighty wave.
"I haven't felt this strong in a looooong time..." Dante said.
He teleported over to Kyriel and grabbed her by the throat. Then threw her as hard as he could at the ground over by Axiom and summoned several more scythes.
Each of them flew at Axiom and one managed to find its way in his chest.
"AHHHHHHH!!!! IT BURNS!!! WHAT IS THIS!?" Axiom said as he helplessly tried to pry the scythe loose.
Tyras flashed over to Dante and was blocked by a wall of bone.
Hands reached out of the ground and wall to bind his arms and legs tightly.
Dante readied his scythe as a sinister energy enveloped it, then sliced Tyras clean in half down the center.
His body began to crumble, but some of the Black Ooze moved quickly away from him as his body was destroyed. Hopelessness fell to the ground but remained as it was.
"DAMN YOU ENFORCERS! KYRIEL, KILL THAT ASSHOLE!" Axiom yelled.
Kyriel threw a dagger and it hit Axiom in the shoulder.
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME!!! FINE, I WON'T GIVE YOU ORDERS!!!"
Kyriel summoned another dagger after that and bolted behind Dante. She waved her dagger at him.
Dark magic exploded out of it as Dante was pushed back by the attacks. Several more daggers appeared in mid air.
A few more clones of Kyriel materialized and grabbed the extra daggers.
Then Hopelessness sank into the ground.
It reappeared in Tyras' hands as he stood afar off clutching his chest.
"That was...a close one..." Tyras said.
"WE HAVE ENOUGH MATERIALS! LET'S MOVE!!!" Leiso yelled.
And just as we were about to retreat, shadowy eye appeared in mid-air.
The three Generals looked on as it opened into a gaping mouth with Valtheim floating at the entrance.
"Why...are you failing...?" She asked.
Axiom spoke up first.
"A-ah...Valtheim! We were just doing our best to handle them, but...ehm..."
Valtheim tilted her head at Axiom.
"Failure...will be punished later... I will fight..." she said.
At once, the three generals backed away and Valtheim teleported in front of Dante.
"So you're the monster that destroys everything it touches? Who are you? Or...what are you?" Dante asked.
"Dante, don't bother. She won't talk to you!" I said as I pointed my guns at her.
Valtheim stood silently in front of Dante and he hesitated.
"What in the nine hells... The fuck is this thing!?" Dante said suddenly.
Valtheim shot forward and her hands changed into swords.
Dante blocked one of the attacks, but...
His scythe was cut into pieces as soon as it happened.
Actually, saying that it had been cut was inaccurate... It was more like the place Valtheim's blade touched had simply ceased to exist.
She continued her rapid assault against Dante and the sky above all of us darkened.
Once the sky had turned pitch black, eyes opened everywhere in the darkness.
"Be...consumed...!" Valtheim said as she reached out a hand and clenched it into a fist.
Her voice sounded like if came from everywhere at once.
"EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!!! I'LL HOLD HER OFF!!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!!" Dante roared.
The eyes all shot straight down towards Dante and followed him as he tried to get away. The attack helicopters tried to dodge but ceased to exist as soon as the eyes passed through them.
"EVERYBODY GET BACK ON THE SHIP!!! NOW!!!" Leiso yelled.
The other Enforcers and troops had already gotten on the cargo lift as Dante continued to distract Valtheim.
I couldn't believe what was happening.
Dante...no! DAMN IT ALL!!!
I couldn't just let him die! I had to help, but before I could, Isabella picked me up with her monstrous strength and pulled me away.
"WAIT! ISABELLA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Following orders!!!" She said with tears in her eyes.
"As if we'd let you!?" Axiom shouted.
"KILL MIZIK!!! NOW!!!" Tyras roared.
Kyriel appeared next to Tyras and stabbed him in the chest.
"GAH!!! F-FINE!!! CAPTURE HIM...!" Tyras shouted.
At once, all of the Generals prepared to attack us.
"NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!!!" Dante said.
He threw his scythe to the ground and it began spreading a shadow across the area.
I saw, as we reached the cargo lift, a tremendous horde of shadow zombies rose from the ground.
They all attacked the Generals in unison and overwhelmed the trio.
The cargo lift quickly began retracting and I looked around desperately to the other Enforcers.
With tears in their eyes....they stood at attention and saluted Dante.
Once we were onboard, the ship began quickly moving away. I scrambled to find a viewing area to see what was going on. Potentially to help out. But as soon as I looked out of the window...
I saw a small light floating into the sky.
The airship rapidly sped away and the darkness in the sky above the crater faded.
* * *
The ride home was quiet.
The other Enforcers silently wept to themselves as I ground my teeth in rage.
Luckily, Isabella had already healed Jallah and saved him from bleeding out.
I wondered how Tyras managed to actually wound Jallah with his sword, but quickly remembered that its phase blades were not physical attacks. They were magic-based...
As we all sat in silence, Leiso stood up.
"I am...now acting leader of the Enforcers... As proper protocol states-"
"Shut the hell up..." Michael said angrily.
Leiso simply looked at Michael with a neutral expression.
"You can't replace him just like that! What if he's not dead!? THIS IS DANTE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!" Michael yelled.
"Michael...Mizik reported that Dante's soul and power escaped. That means he died. You know what death for an Enforcer looks like, don't you?" Leiso said.
"I don't care! I won't accept another leader! IT'S NOT RIGHT!"
Leiso approached Michael and grabbed him by his shirt collar.
"Fine. Beat the shit out of me. Like you always do when you're angry... See if I care..." Michael said with tears streaming down his face.
When he looked into Leiso's eyes he was surprised to see her face soaked with tears as well.
She threw him against the wall and dropped to her knees.
"DO YOU THINK I WANT THIS, MICHAEL!?!? THAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIS JOB TO OPEN UP!? I DON'T WANT TO LEAD THE ENFORCERS!!!" Leiso wailed as she wept loudly.
"Just...stop crying... Please, Leiso..." Michael said as he looked on.
"How do you think Dante felt when it was his turn!? The position always passes to someone new! Every leader has seen so much death...so much pain... I don't want this position... Dante was a hero!!!" Leiso whimpered.
"SHUT UP! QUIT WHINING!" Gavin yelled.
We looked over at him and he, too, had been crying.
"Pick up the pieces...and keep fighting. That's how Dante operated. I...I know it's hard... Dante always took care of us. He was a hero to a lot of us long ago when we were kids, right? We all dreamed of joining the Enforcers when we were little... Admit it! You all did!" Gavin said.
Everyone stayed silent.
"How amazing was it to work alongside a man like him!? He lived and died as a hero! AND HE SHOULD BE REMEMBERED AS ONE!!!" Gavin continued.
"Moving on from something like this
isn't so simple, Gavin. Leiso just got a whole lot more work to do..." Jallah said.
"Being the head of the Enforcers means she can't just be military...doesn't it?" Carlos said.
"I can do both! I-I'll just move to Torantis and-"
"Leiso, you work too damn hard, girl. You'll kill yourself doing that," Michael said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
She kept silently crying to herself.
I felt Isabella gently take hold of my arm as she silently wept against my chest.
"What other options do we have!?" Leiso said suddenly.
"As much as it pains me to admit it...I can take over the military while you-"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT, JALLAH!!! THOSE ARE MY MEN AND WOMEN!!! They're...my troops...my children..."
"Do you have any better ideas? We can't just break protocol!" Jallah said.
"If I'm the leader of this group, I can do whatever I damn well please. I don't know how to handle this right now...but I have an idea," Leiso said as she looked at me.
No. I won't do it.
"Mizik and Isabella are special forces. It's their job to lead us in this crisis, so they will continue to lead us until all of this is over. Then we can discuss leadership roles," Leiso said.
"Are you out of your mind, Leiso!? We've only lived here for thirteen years! We're not suitable for this role!" I said.
"I know that. You two don't have enough experience to properly lead the Enforcers. Which is why I'm not going to force you to take the position permanently. Just until the crisis is over..." She said.
"And if it never ends? What if the world is destroyed?" Gavin said.
"Then none of us have to take it. Is that acceptable?" Leiso said bluntly after she dried her eyes.
Everyone looked around and nodded.
"What does the leader of the Enforcers do, exactly?" I asked.
From what I could tell, Dante had a lot of responsibilities in the office. Like dealing with the politicians and the government officials.
Arcadia was a theocracy with democraticly elected officials that worked with four branches of government. Each of those branches had a leader that all operated the country. They all reported directly to Iris as the goddess of Ignitus.
Dante was one of those four leaders.
And since he was in such a position, his job included a lot of responsibilities to the people.
"How do you expect me to work with the public when I barely know them?" I asked.
"Say...didn't you used to be a Prince?" Michael asked.
"Only through marriage! I never actually used my authority to...wait..." I said as I looked at Isabella.
She sat up straight and sighed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I don't want to rule over people again... But if you need me to, I can do my best," Isabella said.
"Then it's settled. Isabella will deal with the people, and Mizik will command us on the battlefield. Are we in agreement?" Leiso said.
Everyone nodded.
I love you all, but I also really hate you right now as well...
After we talked a bit more, I laid down in the corner and fell asleep.