["With my Magic Eyes of Enhancement, your attacks should be futile now. Don't think we didn't notice, Richard Ironheart; your skill is effecting you as well, that's why you're unable to stand up anymore… you poor thing, even healing your wounds is impossible now, am I right?"] Mammon asked while stomping on his wounded shoulder.
["You're right about that, heh, my Filtering Luminosity is damaging my body. My bones are slowly deteriorating, as it only takes a few seconds to put down my enemies with it… but you demons tend to surprise me more and more."] Richard was sweating drastically from the agonizing pain in his muscles.
["So this has never happened to you? You've never pushed pass your limits with your skill, because you always end the battle quickly."] Alex asked.
["Yeah… you got it."] Richard responded.
["Well boys? Should we kill him, or take him prisoner?"] Mammon asked the demons around her, awaiting an answer.
["I say we slice off his head and mail it to the ruler of Atlantis City, that way they'll know their strongest sorcerer is dead."] Alex proclaimed in a emotionless voice.
["Geez Alex, you're so cruel, that's why I like you so much, bestie!"] Patricia was up from the ground, finally regaining consciousness.
["Patricia, you're awake? You didn't sleep too long, are you alright?"] William walked to her, placing his large hand on her small head.
["Hey, no touching me you big oaf! I'm fine, a little healing magic can do the trick, and I'll be back into business."] Patricia winked at William before giving a thumbs up.
("All my mana… it's running low, even my body is crippled at the moment, I can't do anything against them… what should I do?") Richard looked at the sullied ground below, sweat continuously dripping on the mud as he clenched his hands into a fist, scraping up most the dirt between his fingernails. ("I'll have to rely on it… I'll have to rely on… my last resort… but that's impossible from being surrounded.") Richard closed his eyes and exhaled from his mouth, accepting his fate.
["Well, there you have it, Richard, no one is against cutting off your head and mailing it to the ruler of Atlantis city. You were humanities last hope, and with you gone… us demons will take over Atlantis City, and claim it as our own."] Mammon extended her hand to the side, opening her palm towards William.
["The hell? You wanna use my halberd to cut off his head, Mammon? Find your own weapon."] William proclaimed.
["Give me the damn weapon, you brute!"] Mammon had pulled the halberd from Williams hand with a telekinetic bind, grasping it with both palms, and holding it above her head. ["Your grave lies here, Richard Ironheart!"] She swung the halberd at his neck—
Richard closed his eyes… knowing that there was nothing he could do.
So he thought.
["Why do you love me? Can't you see I'm an outcast?"]
A young boy stood in the middle of a hallway with a bag in his hand, speaking to a young girl with blonde hair.
Richard was having a flashback, to when he was a child, meeting his beloved, Emma.
It was so long ago, dating back to twenty years, when they both were at the age of ten.
["We all are hated Richard, can't you see that? This is the life of us commoners! We weren't born from noble blood, that's why we're so weak!"] Child Emma walked up to Richard and flicked his head with her finger.
["Ow, what was that for?"]
["You're one big idiot, you know that? The fact we even got through the trials for the Sorcerer Discipline Program is incredible! You should be more thankful for what you have, stop worrying about what other people think."] Emma elbowed Richard into the arm. ["Besides, you got me to watch your back."]
Richard blushed from Emma's kind words, causing him to stutter uncontrollably.
["T-T-Thanks E-E-Emma! That means a lot, really! Th-Thank you for that!"]
Emma giggled at his stutters and reached down to grab his hand.
["I'll always be here for you Richard, don't forget that, okay? I'll protect you to the very end if I have too."] Emma extended out her other hand, pointing her pinky-finger. ["I pinky promise you."]
["Pinky promise me?"] Richard asked.
["Yeah, it's when someone never breaks their promise, you never heard of it?"]
["N-No… not really."] Richard exclaimed.
["Just hold out your pinky finger, then my promise will be absolute!"]
Richard cluelessly looked at her pinky as he extended his forward as well. They wrapped their pinky-fingers around each other, causing Richard to become flustered.
["And that's that! Now you have me to look after you your whole life, even if you're the most hated commoner out of them all!"] Emma giggled.
("This memory… it's when me and Emma got together from our promise. It all started there.") Richard became teary-eyed. ("She promised me that she would protect me to the very end… and she meant it dearly.") Richard had slowly looked up from the ground, glancing around him to notice everything slowed down. ("What's happening? Everything is… so slow?") The Ironheart stood up from the dirtied ground, moving away from Mammon who was swinging the halberd in slow-motion.
It looked like time had slowed down, but how?
("Am I daydreaming? Did I already die and I'm outside my body? No… that wouldn't make sense.")
Something flickered inside Richard's head like a lightbulb.
("Wait… I remember this happening when I was a child, could it be?")
The Ironheart ran towards a puddle of water, resting on his hands and knees to look at his reflection.
His eyes were glowing blue, with a light-blue cross in the middle of his pupils.
("This is what happened to me during the trials for the Sorcerer Discipline Program. It happens when I feel immense emotions I cannot control. I remember the first time I used these, everything slowed down for me, while I also gotten faster. After that happened, I was hated from commoners and was called a fake. They all believed me to be some Noble, and they stayed away from me. It's funny really, even the nobles stayed away from me from the way I dressed from being so poor.") Richard chuckled. ("Pffft… hahaha! Those were the times! I even remember the looks on their faces when it happened.") Richard slowly stood up from the ground.
["My family history remains a mystery. I was born in foster care and adopted, so I never got the chance to know about my father or mother, and where I came from. I was born in a small village where commoners stayed; we barely had much to eat or drink. Mediocre village is what they call it."] Richard looked at his reflection once more. ["But I do know one thing about my family; we have eyes that defy the laws of the world. We Ironheart's even have Immense mana, immense potential, and eyes that works similarly to magic eyes."]
Richard fell to his knees once more, feeling his muscles ache and crumple.
["Tsk… my bones are finally disintegrating from the aftereffects of my skill. It's about time I finish this, escape is not optional. The only reason I was standing a moment ago was from adrenaline."] Richard closed his eyes and linked with his soul. ["I'm sorry Emma… I'm sorry that you can't keep your promise to me. Don't feel bad, I'm the one who told you to run for our babies life."] Light started to emit from Richards body. ["Just whatever happens, don't blame our child for my death. Treat him well, feed him, discipline him, and train him for the world and what awaits; the world is a cruel place to us commoners, so let him know early, when he develops."]
The cross inside Richard eyes had finally disappeared, reverting time back to normal.
Mammon collided the halberd with the ground, missing Richard.
["What? Where did he go, was that teleportation?"] Mammon couldn't fathom what happened, until she felt a burning sensation on her back from a bright light.
["Mammon, behind you!"] William shouted.
["What is he doing? Is he gonna explode? He'll kill himself in the process."] Alex proclaimed.
["Oh no, we have nowhere to run! Everyone form a magical barrier!"] Patricia yelled while holding out her hands, casting a barrier of wind around her.
Everyone else listened to what she said, but will it be enough?
("This is my last attack… goodbye Emma, you will always be in my heart, and soul, even in the afterlife.") A tear had shed from Richard's eye as he stood up.
["HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"]
The Ironheart yelled at the top of his lungs as the bright light around his body expanded in a omnidirectional motion.
Escaping was impossible, and even defending against it was impossible.
Mammon, Alex, William, and Patricia were engulfed in the explosion, destroying their magical barriers and disintegrating their bodies into nothingness.
["AAAAHHHHHHH!!"] The demons all screamed in sync, feeling their existence being wiped away from the face of the earth.
Nothing was left of them.
The explosion itself became that of a sphere. The explosion had expanded ten kilometers across, similar to a nuclear explosion going off. It vaporized everything in its path, leaving nothing but a large crater.
With this, the war was over.
Humanity had won, and the country of Daguro was safe once more.