"Oi, bitch. I'm in a lot of pain, thanks to you. Feel my pain," I whispered to the Demon Queen before unleashing Lightning Strike at point-blank range directly on her face.
The power was overwhelming and blinding that I had to squint my eyes. A few seconds later, I released my gauntlet's grip to see the results. The Demon Queen was charred to the bone. Black smokes were leaking out of her mouth and ears.
She should be dead. Her brain must had been fried to a crisp. I'll admit, I was surprised that all it took was one Lightning Strike to toast her. I thought it was gonna take more than that to kill her. She is dead, right? I stabbed Inazuma through her skull for safe measures. I scanned my surrounding and noticed Rose peeking out of a pillar while Lily was sitting on the floor. What happened here? What were those two doing so far away from the Queen?
It was then I saw blood splatters all over Lily which made me instinctively rushed to check on her. As I approached her, she was staring at me with sparkling eyes. Hang on, I've seen this before. Did I—
"You saved me again, you bastard," said Lily as tears started forming at the corner of her eyes.
"I— did?" I scratched my cheek in response to her remark.
She gave me a hug while I was attempting to inspect her wounds. I only allowed her a few seconds of comfort before I had to break it off to inspect her wounds. Rose came over to hug both of us while saying "Thank God, you're alive". Was she saying that to me or Lily?
The captain rushed over to the Queen's body. I'm surprised the captain was still alive with all his armours missing. His body looked really grotesque without any skins. I kept an eye on the captain in case he goes batshit crazy and start attacking all of us. The Queen was beyond saving now and he should just surrender. I made sure to destroy her brain earlier. Although, I'm not sure I ever heard of demons surrendering before.
I removed her boot gently to reveal her wound. Ugh, what happened to her foot? She had a scar and now it's bleeding profusely again. Rose took out her healing cream and was about to apply it on the wound but I stopped her. I had an experimental gel that I wanted to test out.
"A— are you sure? Does it work? It's not gonna burn me or anything, right?" asked Lily with a horrified face.
"Well, Rose had the liberty of tasting my horrible food, so it's only fair that you become my guinea pig for alchemy," I smiled.
"G— guinea pig?" asked Lily with a confused face.
"N— never mind, let's give it a try, shall we?" I asked as I took out a tube.
Lily was certainly nervous when I applied a little of the gel on her wound. Her whole body shivered as I applied it gently on her wounds. She said the gel was extremely cold to the touch, but it certainly beats being seared instead. Seems like I had successfully mixed both healing cream and cooling gel together. I guess I'll just call it healing gel or something. No doubt it's not gonna heal you instantly right away. The effects are the same as it just stops the bleeding and assist in the healing process. There is still no way to quickly heal broken or fractured bones or repair organs.
The captain was still kneeling next to the Queen. From my point of view, it looked as though he was mourning for her. The captain then reached out to her neck and removed what looked like a choker. There was a jewel in the middle that looked like sapphire. The captain placed it on the floor and slammed his greatsword on it. The jewel shattered to pieces. Is that his way of releasing his anger?
Large red pillars of thorns burst out from the floor. All the blood in the room started flowing towards the Demon Queen. What the hell? How is she not dead yet?! I should had chopped her brain into a million pieces earlier! Blood began encasing around her body and the captain. Oh boy, what's gonna happen now?
Rose suddenly fainted and leaned on Lily. She must had exhausted herself. Lily turned to look at me with a concerned look as she held on to Rose. I told her to head somewhere safe along with Rose. I will handle things from here. "Don't die, Zen" said Lily with a worried look. I gave her a pat on the head and assured her that I'll live, even though I can't be certain myself.
Strong sharp winds were blowing out from where the captain and Queen was. The giant blood ball that was encasing them was glowing with an unholy red. Both the Dark and Paladin Lord came and stood at my side. To be fighting alongside both of them together. Such an honour.
I took a glance at Lily and Rose and was fully expecting them to exit the door. But Lily placed Rose at the corner of the throne room. Wait a minute, why are they resting here?! Take Rose and get out of the castle! The Queen's voice interrupted my thoughts before I was able to shout at the both of them.
"To think a human is capable of killing me even with my limiter. I thought your sister would had fare better but you had to interrupt our little battle," spoke the Demon Queen without revealing herself.
"Sorry to disappoint you but Rose is not the only human that is strong. It is only fitting for me to put an end to your reign, seeing as you caused so much trouble to me and my family," I told her.
"I'll admit, you are his son. Always a nuisance for us Demons no matter where we are. And now, I am going to accomplish what the Demon King could not. The complete annihilation of your entire bloodline!" declared the Queen as the blood ball exploded and she revealed herself.
She had more horns and wings now, some armours on her shoulder and what looked like an armoured corset. Her boots had changed as well but still had those spiky heels. Those thing hurts to walk-on, and it's certainly worse being kicked or stepped by it. She is certainly kitted out for battle. Will I be able to defeat her now that her so called "limiter" is off?
The captain now had wings and is more muscular in nature. Horns was protruding out of his helmet. However, he still doesn't have any skins. He was starting to look like some titan now. A greater demon and a Queen versus the three of us. Our odds of winning are ridiculously low.
"Calm yourself, lad. Panic does not benefit any of us. We are here with you," said the Paladin Lord.
"Can you handle the Queen yourself? From the look of things, the captain is stronger than the Queen," said the Dark Lord.
"I— guess so? I will have to use everything at my disposal if I'm to fight the Queen alone," I answered with doubts.
"You must. This is war, son. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Either we win or we lose everything," said the Dark Lord as he reached for something in his back pocket.
"I will be casting some support spells to help out. But for this fight, I doubt the both of us are able to help you. Try to remember that," said the Paladin Lord as he shut his eyes.
When he opened them, his eyes were completely white. Yikes, what's going on?
"I'm still alive and conscious, if that's what you're thinking. You've never seen Focused Meditation before? This is what it looks like once you achieved it," explained the Paladin Lord.
Is the Dark Lord going to use Bloodlust or something then? Huh? He— took out a potion?
"I'm surprised you didn't tell the boy about your special condition," the Paladin Lord smirked.
"There was never a need to. But I guess he'll know about it now," answered the Dark Lord as he removed the cork from his potion.
"Your guildmaster— is the same as your sister. He is not capable of using any State of Mind. However, he found out that he had insane affinity with poison," explained the Paladin Lord as the Dark Lord began to drink the potion.
He tossed the potion bottle aside and a drop dripped from the bottle and sizzled a hole on the floor. Are you sure it's poison or acid?! His black silky hair started to turn white while his entire eyes were turning black. Black veins were popping out all across his body which looked as though he was seriously pissed off.
"Prepare yourself Zen, we'll be starting soon," said the Dark Lord with a much deeper tone. I guess that potion had changed his voice as well.
I took out my own potion and drank it. It's definitely not what the Dark Lord had drank but it was something that will give me an edge. I've finally found the perfect ingredients and method to create a +5 all stats potion. This is my pride and joy as an alchemist and will remain my closed guarded secret until the day I die. I activated Concentration a moment later and did a quick body checkup. There were still some pain throughout my body after being blown away even after I've drank my adrenaline potion but at least I'll be able to fight at full potential. I summoned Inazuma at my side. I've already coated both of my weapons with my special wax against demons. I guess I'll just call it Demonwound wax from now on.
"Let's kick their asses," I told both of them and got ready.
***
"There's no use struggling, the ice will not melt or shatter no matter how hard you try," explained the Elementalist.
I inspected the ice prison myself. It was certainly a block of solid ice with some hint of magic. Even I can't say with confidence that my strength can break this ice apart. The entire body of the Dragon Lord was stuck inside the ice prison except for his head. He can still talk but what can he really do aside from spouting curses and nonsense?
"Such a disgrace to be caught by the both of you. And the Queen even graced me with her precious blood," spat the Dragon Lord.
"So— why become a lapdog of the Queen? What did she even do for you?" I asked.
"Watch your tongue! The Queen saved my life and turned me to who I am today! I will never allow anyone to insult her!" shouted the Dragon Lord.
"Are you sure it's the same person? I believe the Queen that saved you before is no longer the same person you once knew," I explained to him.
"The Queen I'm referring to is not the same that you served. You adventurers will never know what she had sacrificed for this city. When I get out of this ice shit, I'll beat the living shit out of you two," shouted the Dragon Lord as he struggled to free himself.
"Uh huh," I replied him nonchalantly.
The Elementalist showed no interest in his chatter and was staring towards the direction of the castle. Is his vision capable of seeing that distance? Or was he just listening to the commotion around us? I turned my attention to the city gates. The east and south gate specifically. The army should had entered the city by now. All that's left is to overthrow the Queen and the city will finally be free. All will be for the best.
"What did you meant by the Queen we served was not the same as yours? You're saying that you willingly served a demon?"
"So the cat is out of the bag. Yes, I am serving the Demon Queen. And so should all of you," he demanded.
"And why would any of us do that? To serve a demon who caused a great war. What do humans stand to gain from serving her?" I spat.
"Do not compare the Demon King to the great Demon Queen. Her God had showed her a vision on how to preserve the survival of humanity. What she's doing is for a great cause!" shouted the Dragon Lord.
"And the genocide of the entirety of Hawthorn bloodline? You call that preserving?" I asked him as I rolled my eyes.
"The destruction of the Hawthorn was inevitable. Their bloodlines will be the downfall of humanity if any of them were left alive. Their entire bloodline must be erased from existence to ensure humanity continue to exist," answered the Dragon Lord with a hint of sadness.
"Dude, listen to yourself! What you just said was completely contradictory! Wake up and smell the bullshit the Queen was feeding you!" I rubbed my forehead as my brain were starting to hurt from talking to him.
"Let him be, Viking Lord. He's a lost cause," responded the Elementalist while resigning himself.
"I demand that you release me this instance! The Queen's vision must be fulfilled—" the Dragon Lord suddenly went quiet.
The sudden silence made me turn my gaze to look at him. I was shocked to see what was going on with him. What in Odin's name is happening to him?!
His neck was turned at an impossible angle and blood was spewing out of his eye sockets and ears. What the flying fuck is happening to him?!
"Elementalist! Look alive!" I shouted to warn him.
Both of us prepared ourselves for the worst but was unsure on what we should be doing. It looked as though the Dragon Lord is— morphing into something else. Even though his body was encased in the ice prison, he was contorting and twisting in weird angles. The ice eventually broke apart when wings started protruding out of the Dragon Lord's left shoulder and right ribs. You would think it would be behind is back instead. His right arm and hand started growing as well while his left started shrinking. He was still growing in size and height until he was twice my body. He was hunched back now with his head turned sideways to the left. Is he— even alive?
"Um, Dragon Lord? You alive there?" I asked him cautiously with my axe ready.
"Huh? Uhhhhh," he responded.
Ok, he is sort of alive but can't seems to speak properly. Does he even understand what I'm saying?
He tried to look around but had to turn his body to move his head. Seemingly annoyed, he moved his right hand to grip his face and snapped his head upright. The crunch sound of his neck snapping was unnerving. I glanced at the Elementalist and even he looked uneasy at the situation.
The Dragon Lord have to be dead now, right? He literally just snapped his own neck. Rumbling sounds can be heard all around us. The army must had finally entered the city. The both of us can head to the castle to help Zen now. Things are finally coming to an end.
The sound of a house door broke apart. I turned to see what caused the commotion and it was a demon. Must be a stray that somehow survived. I wanted to throw my axe at it but saw more pouring out of that house. The sound of demons can be heard all around us. What is going on? How did so many demons entered the city?!
The Dragon Lord suddenly roared as his eyes started glowing red. Damn it, how is he even still alive?! And now we have to fight him with demons all around us? This is not good! The army better get here fast or we are doomed!
***
"You thought the three of you would only be fighting the two of us? I see no reason for me to honour any of you in a fair fight," said the Demon Queen as she snapped her finger.
Some parts of the floor in the throne room began to glow. It looked like some circular glowing spell. The floor burst opened and demons started pouring out. Holy shit! What is going on?! Demons can appear out nowhere now? Or is that— a summoning circle?
"The Demon King was right. When it comes to humans, you need to resort to violence," smirked the Queen.
"What should we do? We can't be fighting against hordes of demons at the same time with those two. It would be a massive disadvantage for us," I asked both of the guildmasters.
"Just focus on the Queen. Leave those demons to the adventurers," said the Paladin Lord as he whistled.
Voices can be heard coming in from behind. One of the adventurers said "That's the signal!". Now it's a race against time to kill this bitch. I highly doubt this is the only summoning circle that she had unleashed upon the city. It must be everywhere. How are we going to stop them all?
"AHAHAHA!! I look forward to watching all of you struggle. You wanted a war, Hawthorn? Well you have one now!" laughed the Demon Queen.
"Do your worst bitch, get ready for another round of ass toasting when you lose," I smirked.