Kou woke up from the jarring noise coming from the brute force that the guard made just to open the cell door.
"Rise and shine, freak!"
He slid the tray of mushy brown grub on the floor, spilling some of the contents on the ground. It looked like leftovers from last week meant to be fed for pigs. There was a fishbone sticking out and a partially eaten chicken leg. The bread had seen better days. Mold was starting to thrive on its surface.
Kou was still half asleep but his first response was to look for Kasel. He was the only one in the cell.
"Excuse me."
The guard grunted. "What?"
"Where's the other prisoner with me?"
"What other prisoner? You're the only prisoner here. And if there was another one, we would have put you in a different cell."
He had the same opinion with the guard, however, Kou was certain that the man he was with last night wasn't just a figment of his imagination. The king's paladin was about to stand but caught the glimpse of a cold bun on his lap that was lying on top of a folded paper. He opened the letter, a small smile growing on his lips. Kasel's handwriting was a lousy cursive. It was the same as a child practicing how to write in a fancy way.
Dearest Kou,
The guards will give you pig feed in the morning so better eat the pork bun I left on your lap.
Yours truly,
Kasel.
P.S
Your king is alive, I'm sure of it.
Kou folded the letter, slipping it into his pocket and patting it fondly. He broke the pork bun in half, smelling its savory scent before taking a bite. He took his time. This was a gift meant to be appreciated at every chew.
The guard returned with a few more men with him, including Rorik and Salem. The seal was broken into shards with a mere flick of Salem's middle finger, causing the convict to stop a laugh from coming out. The guards scowled, perceived to be offended by the mockery.
"What are you keeping down here, a squirrel? Who made that seal?"
Salem opened the door, a squeak following its movement. Holy strings tied around Kou's wrists together. Salem jerked his hand back, hauling the viel to stand up. The guards clasped bangles around his neck, wrists, and ankles that regulated his powers.
"Follow me. It's time to tame you."
Rorik had steeled his gaze. He wasn't the soft and apologetic cardinal from last night. Kou wasn't at all surprised anymore. He should be used to the change of hearts overnight. After all, the City of El' Azar collapsed because of bad faith.
He was taken to the coliseum behind the temple. The huge and circular stadium had three floors that had arched entryways acting as windows. The hallway leading to the battle ground was dark, yet Kou could hear the loud cheers of the spectators.
"This could all end if you just submit to the prince, you know?" Salem pointed out without sparing him a glance.
"You know where Kou's loyalty stands, Sir Salem."
The doors to the main grounds opened, bright sunlight welcoming Kou to witness his spectator's thirst for bloodshed. With his hands still tied, he looked around, spotting the king, the queen, and their son sitting on their thrones. The king was wearing a mesh to keep his face hidden. Salem stood across him, holding his umbrella as one should with a sword staked to the ground. The queen stood, the crowd was silenced.
"Today marks the first day of this viel's taming session. Will he yield in the midst of this battle and serve my son, or will he die a senseless death so that he could be reunited with his deceased king? Viel, will you submit to the new monarchy to redeem yourself or will you fight to sink even further? We wish to know!"
The crowd cheered, their veins popped angrily from all the shouting. Their salivas splattered on the back of the people who were sitting in front of them. The summa rudis stood in between them. He was wearing a white cloak with two green lines running diagonally from his shoulders down to the bottom hem of his clothing. He raised his baton and swung it down.
"Let this battle begin!"
Kou snapped the strings with his demonic energy. A blue magic circle spread out underneath Salem. His eyes glowed with a fiery cobalt color. Jagged ice pierced out from the ground to which Kou dodged by leaping far up, surpassing the three floors of the stadium. The ice extended, pursuing him in his jump. Kou raised his arm to the sky, clouds darkened and collected a spherical pink lightning that struck the ice.
"Kou, give me a drop of your blood, won't you?"
It was something that Kou didn't expect of Salem to say. It sounded sadistic and malicious even if he said that as if he was asking for another glass of milk.
The ring of light surrounding Salem turned white. The dark clouds dissipated. The rays of light coming from the sun became destructive lasers that aimed for Kou's nimble body.
One ray luckily shot Kou but his scales took the burning impact that could have caused a watermelon to explode. Kou glanced at the circle but found that the convict was no longer standing at its center. He appeared in front of him out of thin air with a hand tightly curled into a fist. Kou blocked the punch, flipping back and kicking Salem under the chin in the process.
He scraped the earth with his feet and lunged forward, sending a punch to Salem's back. Salem grabbed the fist, throwing the knight away and leaving a scalding mark on his skin that continuously burned.
Kou glanced curiously at his burning hand. Healing shouldn't be a problem for him. He was a mix of creatures that had a fast recuperation. The only creature that could leave him burning this long was…
"God's summon…" Salem murmured, biting the back of his hand and letting the blood drip on the soil. "SOLEIL!"
His entire body burst into flames. A burning magic circle erupted underneath him. Kou's gaze narrowed when a big bird flew out from the ground, swerving above the arena, leaving colorful white feathers to fall like snowflakes. Soleil's bird-like form began to change. Her body sparked like a candle. She became more humanoid in figure excluding her fairy wings that were covered with orange feathers. She had a snake for a tail. Her entire body was covered with red shiny fish scales. The most normal part of her and maybe the only normal part was her brown and soft hair. White flowers sprouted from her scalp. Her feet were hooves of centaurs.
She smiled at Kou, bearing the most innocent face despite her fangs.
"General Kou. I am happy to see you alive and well."
Kou returned a smile. It was the most unfortunate circumstance. The knight didn't know that viels could be sealed in a blood pact before. If he knew, he would have asked Kairon to do it.
"Are you well, Sol?"
She nodded, her yellow eyes glimmered with joy. "Yes. Surprisingly, it is rather peaceful living in this man's shadow."
Her soft smile broke into a worried expression. "We don't have to fight, general. I really don't want to fight you."
Kou swayed his head. "You don't have to hesitate, Sol. This is what it has come to be."
Spheres of fire appeared around Kou.
"I'm protecting my home, general. I hope you understand."
It was nice to see that she had grown into a fine lady. She was one of the most vulnerable viels and would often cry during the chaos centuries ago. She had matured. She wasn't the little girl who would follow her around the castle anymore.
"Kou is protecting whatever is left in me, Sol. You do understand, don't you?"
Sol nodded. "To be honest, general, I'm relieved that you haven't changed. Please, do not hold back."
The clouds darkened again. It became so dark that the fire which Sol created became the only torches that gave the panicking spectators a look of what was going on. The pitch-black skies rumbled with purple and pink thunder. The spheres of fire conjoined into a gigantic one. Sol sent the globe of burning inferno into Kou's way. The viel closed his eyes, feeling the intense heat simmering his skin.
He didn't want to hold back and he hadn't stopped believing in Kairon. But maybe it was time to stop fighting. Perhaps, it was time to lay down his spear even when his spear was nowhere to be found.
"Kou! Kou!" Jinx's voice pierced through the screaming crowd. His ears fluttered and saw that the boy was running with his said weapon. "Fight! Fight, Kou!"
Jinx hurled the weapon his way. Karma, who was following Jinx, exhaled a breath of relief when the person in front of Jinx dodged from getting impaled.
"Watch where you toss that thing kid!"
Kou caught the spear. Instinctively, he launched the spear to the fireball, dividing it into two and creating a path for Kou to run through.
Soleil caught the spear which was then pushed an inch near her eye when Kou got a hold of it.
A pair of angelic wings sprouted from Kou's back. A holy barrier separated the audience from the main battleground. The spectators had already escaped from the path where the fireball was ready to demolish, but it dispersed into glitters of white light before it could harm anyone, breaking the barrier that Kou created to protect everyone.
The clouds released the furious lightning bolts. Soleil relinquished the spear and evaded the electrocuting energies. She twirled through the protective electrical discharges. Her tail wrapped around Kou's neck before she grasped his face and left a seal of eternal flame that lit Kou's face in fire.
"I'm sorry, general."
Kou fell on his knees. He restricted the screams from escaping his throat. No matter how hard his body tries to recover, Soleil's magic is eternal unless she dispels it. His other wing shed feathers and transformed into a demon's. Scales kept surfacing and disappearing. His mutated cells worked hard to eliminate the damaging combustion but his body's efforts turned futile.
The crowd went wilder except for Jinx and Karma.
"Kou! Kou, stand up! Water, we need water Karma!" Jinx yelled. The two boys descended the stairs to head for the nearest well in the arena.
The queen and the prince rose in mirth.
"She got him! She got him!" Eros cheered.
The queen pointed at Kou. "Do you yield, viel? Will you serve my son now?"
Kou fell forward, he stopped himself from holding his head because his hands would be burned as well.
"No…"
"You are burning to death, viel. Serve my son to save yourself!"
"Never."
"General…please," Soleil murmured.
Kou looked up to her. His face was indistinguishable because of the flames.
"Sol…let me go…"
The female viel grasped his burning cheeks. "You have to live, general. You have to–"
"I cannot serve another master."
Tears filled her eyes. "You can, general! You can! We can be free. We can have different lives. You just have to try and—"
"Sol…" Kou grasped her hand gently. "Let me die knowing that I remained his knight until the end."
Sol's chin wobbled. She turned to glance at Salem who was silent throughout the fight. The convict walked over to their side, lifting Kou's hand and then stabbing a knife through his palm. There was a tube inside the knife handle that got filled with blood. Sol reached over, her pupils constricted into sharp diamonds.
"What are you–"
Salem walked back then drew a huge red circle using Kou's blood. Murmurs filled the arena.
"Has Salem lost his mind?"
"He has always been cuckoo you know?"
The king leaned in forward. A smirk growing in his pale lips.
A gray magic circle spread underneath Salem. Strong winds partially blew off the dust covering the image that was painted on the ground. It was faint but the old folks of the city got reminded of the painting made hundreds of years ago. The pope ran to the front rail in the king's box where the royal family sat.
"Wait, who gave you the seal of approval to summon Behemoth? Salem!"
The king chuckled, calling over the pope with his hand. Lycus remembered very well what Salem's condition was for accepting this job. It was ballsy of him.
'If I were to do this mission, allow me to use your name in vain.'
"In the name of the great ruler of this country, King Lycus, Behemoth, I summon your presence!"
The ground split. Hellfire reached out. Screams of the agonized souls resonated. A gigantic dark claw stretched from the depths of hell. A stampede occurred amongst the citizens, pushing each other to reach the exit. Sol swiped away the eternal fire she put on Kou's face. Jinx and Karma burst through the doors of the gladiator's barracks that led to the battleground, carrying buckets of water with them.
"We have the wa—" Jinx screamed, dropping what he was holding for Kou. Karma hurried to Kou's side, wrapping his limp arm around his neck.
The knight's face was burned beyond recognition. Muscles and bones were exposed but it looked like he was still alive.
"Help me carry Kou!"
"Do we need more water?!" Jinx asked.
"Sure, if I wanted to drown you in it!" the younger one snapped.