Sir Aldric gritted his teeth as the demon's hand plunged deeper into his chest, pain shooting through his body like it was on fire.
"Kurghhh!" He coughed out blood profusely as the demon's hand pressed deeper into his body.
His breath came in short, ragged bursts as he struggled to maintain control, but the demon's grip was merciless, and his body simply trembled under the pressure.
Lucius froze, his eyes locked on the horrific sight. His hands clenched into trembling fists as his vision blurred with tears. The sound of his someone he cared about struggling filled his heart with a sense of helplessness he couldn't push away.
"Run, Lucius!" Aldric managed to croak with a low and strained voice. His eyes, even in the agony, locked onto the boy. "You must run! Find your mother and protect her...Do not let this monster win."
Lucius's shoulders shook, his voice barely audible as he whispered, "I... I can't-"
Before he could finish, Aldric coughed again, his body trembling under the demon's force as the hand pressed deeper into his chest. The demon grinned wickedly, and its eyes gleamed with malice as it pushed its hand through further.
Lucius could no longer stop the tears as they spilled down his face. His heart clenched, panic and grief pulling at him, but Sir Aldric's words echoed in his mind.
'Protect yourself, protect her. Do it now!'
Lucius took a shaky breath, wiping his face quickly with trembling hands as he turned in the opposite direction and began to run.
His feet pounded against the cold stone floor as he sprinted, and his heart threatened to give out with every step he took. He couldn't-wouldn't-fail. His mother was counting on him.
But just as his back was turned, he heard the sound of the demon moving again. His breath hitched as he dared a glance over his shoulder.
His eyes met the sight of Sir Aldric struggling, his body wracked with pain as the demon removed its hand from his chest with a wet splashing sound. Blood splattered as the force threw Sir Aldric's body to the floor like a ragdoll.
Lucius stumbled but kept running.
The demon advanced toward Aldric who now lay on the floor. It's massive hand wrapped around his neck and it hoisted him into the air.
Aldric gasped as the creature's fingers closed around his throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. His face was pale, and he was barely able to breathe due to the sheer force the demon was applying to his throat.
The demon's voice came out like a growl, cruel and confident: "This is the fate of all who oppose us mortal, any last words?"
Aldric's eyes narrowed even in his pain, and with his final strength, he mustered a response that carried the full weight of his noble pride. His voice, though weak, was defiant as ever:
"You'll never have the satisfaction of breaking us. Not while I live, and not while the Earldred line stands."
The demon's grin widened at the words, and a cruel laughter rumbled from its throat as it prepared to finish the deed. It lifted it's other hand up, ready to strike. But just as it was about to do this, it paused. A sudden pressure, an unnatural shift in the air, tugged at the surroundings.
The demon froze mid-strike, its head turning toward the source of the growing energy. The air shimmered as a golden light began to radiate faintly.
Lucius stood there, his body engulfed in an aura of shimmering energy. His small frame trembled, but his gaze was fixed, fierce and determined. His body glowed with a radiant surge of mana as a vortex of wind and power swirled around him.
The demon froze, its expression shifting to confusion, then unease.
Lucius clenched his fists harder, tears still streaming down his face but his voice now firm and clear as he choked out: "I won't run anymore."
The wind around him swirled as his power surged, and his eyes glimmered with a fierce determination.
Sir Aldric's breath came raggedly as he managed a weak smile at the sight of the boy's strength beginning to manifest. "Lucius... you truly are stronger than I ever imagined," he managed.
The demon hissed, gripping Sir Aldric's neck tighter, but the pressure around Lucius intensified. His small form, his small voice, his grief-it had all become power now, shining brilliantly in the face of darkness.
The battle had just shifted.
The demon's clawed hand tore through the air as it slammed Aldric back to the ground with a sickening crash. Aldric hit the floor hard, and his body sprawled out, motionless for a brief moment.
The demon stood over him for only a second before turning its gaze toward Lucius, its dark, hollow eyes burning with cruel intent.
With an unearthly screech, it launched itself forward, breaking into a sprint. But halfway there, it shifted its stance—arms and legs extending grotesquely, snapping and contorting as they lengthened and warped into unnervingly spindly forms.
The demon leapt onto all fours and began charging toward Lucius at a terrifying pace, its limbs moving with unnatural precision.
Lucius's body was alive with swirling mana, radiating a pulsating glow as the wind swept around him in sharp gusts.
His muscles tensed, and without chanting, he pushed himself forward into a full sprint. The wind beneath his feet carried him, lifting him into motion like a force of nature itself.
Lucius thrust his hand forward through the swirling air. A series of fireballs erupted from his palm, glowing with furious heat as they tore toward the charging demon.
The demon, sharp and agile, leapt to the side, twisting its body midair and landing soundlessly against the cold stone of the nearby wall. It crouched there for only a second before jumping back to the ground, avoiding the fireballs by mere inches.
Lucius wasn't done. Before the demon could touch the ground again, he propelled himself upward using a strong blast of wind, his body soaring into the air with incredible speed. He met the demon's leap in midair, a flash of fire and wind converging as the two figures came together.
The demon swiped at him with sharp, clawed hands, but Lucius was already a step ahead. With precise timing, Lucius kicked downward into the air with tremendous force. His body spun in a graceful, acrobatic front flip, flames roaring around his legs as they became engulfed in brilliant fire.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Lucius screamed as he brought his fiery leg down toward the demon's face.
The moment his foot connected, there was an explosion of heat and force. The demon let out an ear-splitting shriek as the fire seared into its face, sending it hurtling backward with violent force.
The sheer impact sent the demon crashing into the ground with a thunderous THUD, creating a massive crater where it collapsed, dirt and debris flying in all directions.
Sir Aldric, watching this from his position, widened his eyes in utter disbelief.
'Impossible… chantless casting? At his age?' he thought to himself, his voice barely a whisper.
The sheer precision and raw power behind that attack, combined with the effortless way Lucius had managed to manipulate wind and fire at once without even uttering a chant, was staggering. It was a skill that only the most skilled mages could ever hope to achieve—and none at such a young age.
The demon struggled in the crater, weak and writhing, but Lucius stood tall in the air above it, his body still radiating swirling mana and strength as his gaze stayed locked on the fallen beast.
The demon groaned, struggling to rise from the crater where it had fallen. Its elongated limbs trembled as it tried to push itself up, but something was wrong. The ground beneath it felt… wrong. Sticky. Its claws sank slightly into the earth, now wet and slimy, as though the solid stone floor had melted into mud.
"What is this?" the demon growled, panic lacing its voice. It twisted its head upward, and its hollow, dark eyes locked onto Lucius.
Lucius descended slowly, the wind swirling around him like a protective aura. His expression was unreadable, but there was something unnervingly calm about him now, as though he were no longer the boy from moments ago. He stretched out his hand, and the mud beneath the demon writhed in response.
"You…" the demon hissed, thrashing harder. "How can a child wield such power?!"
Lucius landed softly, his feet touching the ground with a quiet grace that belied the storm of energy still emanating from him. He advanced slowly toward the demon, his hand still outstretched, and the ground responded to his will. The muddy earth began to solidify, hardening like cement and trapping the demon's limbs within it.
"No!" the demon shrieked, pulling and twisting in desperation. "You cannot defeat me! I am eternal!"
Lucius said nothing, his gaze steady and unyielding. With his free hand, he called forth a wave of flames. Fire erupted from his palm, glowing with a fierce intensity, and he directed it toward the trapped demon.
The flames engulfed the demon's body, searing through its flesh and burning it from the inside out. The creature let out a bone-chilling shriek, a sound filled with pure agony, as the fire consumed it. Its struggles grew weaker with each passing second until, finally, the inferno reduced it to ashes.
Lucius stood over the smoldering remains, his mana aura flickering as it began to fade. The swirling wind around him slowed, and the fiery glow of his power dimmed. He staggered slightly, the toll of his exertion catching up to him.
"Urgh—" he groaned, his knees buckling as he collapsed to the ground.
"Lucius! Lucius!" Aldric's voice rang out, frantic and filled with worry. Crawling across the debris-strewn floor, he reached toward the boy, his hands trembling.
The last thing Lucius saw before his world went black was Aldric's face as he crawled toward him, covered with panic.