"Okay, can you tell me why we're here instead of out there helping people?" Xain asked, his voice edged with irritation as he motioned around the secluded room. It looked like a breakroom for the coliseum staff, quiet and untouched while chaos raged outside. During the hurried decisions of who would pair off, Ercale's voice had cut into his head, telling him to stay instead of going with Zee like they'd planned. And though every part of him wanted to be out there, Xain had listened—hoping the Demon Lord had some sort of plan. Zee had gone with her twin, hesitantly, throwing one last look over her shoulder.
*Well, it was to do this,* Ercale's voice replied dryly inside his head. A shadow stretched unnaturally from Xain's feet, peeling itself free. It swelled upward, twisting, reshaping, until Ercale's form solidified beside him.
"Oh yeah, you can do that now. Kind of forgot," Xain muttered, eyeing him.
"Now I am going to go out there," Ercale said flatly, his tone giving nothing away, "and put whoever is invading into the dirt. Meanwhile, you can do whatever it is you think you'll manage against demons." He moved toward the window, his gaze sweeping over the city. Smoke coiled into the sky in the distance, rubble scattered in the streets, buildings already torn apart. The sounds of battle echoed faintly even here.
"Try not to get hurt, ape," Ercale added, one corner of his mouth tugging before his expression flattened again. "You're my house, after all." He shifted his weight, ready to leap.
"Wait a second!" Xain blurted, bewildered.
Ercale stopped, exhaling through his nose like he'd already run out of patience. He turned just enough to look back. "What?"
"Do you have a plan? Are you seriously just going to run out there and beat whoever's invading? What about everyone else? How do we survive while you do this?" Xain pressed, expecting something more than brute force.
Ercale's expression didn't change. "Do I look like your babysitter? Just go out there. Help people. That's what you want to do, isn't it?" He rubbed at his temples with a sigh, as if speaking longer than necessary annoyed him. "Fine. Try to find the city's guard commander. Get him to regroup whoever's still standing. The way they're fighting now—scattered and disorganized—it's just feeding the demons free kills. The knights are already attempting that, but they'll fail without help. So go. Do it yourself."
With that, his answer was finished. He vaulted cleanly through the window, landing on the tiles outside before sprinting across the rooftops toward the center of the city, gone before Xain could get another word out.
"And he's gone… great. Just great," Xain muttered, dragging a hand down his face. He shook his head, exhaling hard before turning to leave the breakroom. "But a plan's a plan, I guess. Might as well try this…"
Meanwhile, Ercale bounded across the rooftops, each step leaving a crack of thunder as faint arcs of lightning snapped beneath his boots. He pushed himself faster, but never to his full speed—too much mana and they'd sense him before he drew near. His eyes narrowed, his mind sharpening around the oppressive weight gathering at the city's heart.
*This pressure… this isn't just a Demon Lord. This is something greater. Much greater.*
The skyline glowed with an ominous light. Rising over the jagged silhouettes of shattered buildings was the flare of a portal, its radiance staining the smoke-filled sky. Ercale vaulted high above the rooftops, twisting midair to fix his gaze on the scene below. His breath hitched when he caught sight of him—towering, broad-shouldered, his frame crowned by horns shaped like a regal diadem. King Domine.
Ercale's glare sharpened to a blade. His teeth grit, sparks danced wildly across his limbs, and rage pushed out of his chest in a roar. "Blitzkrieg!"
The shout carried like a thunderclap. Domine's head snapped up, his eyes locking with the blur descending on him. He raised his arms instinctively, just as Ercale streaked past with the force of a storm. A flash of lightning burst across Domine's forearms and chest before Ercale landed behind him in a crouch, sparks crackling off his frame.
Domine only laughed. "Well, well… isn't this interesting?" He turned, smiling wide, his serpent-red gaze fixed on the man before him. "So you've finally awakened."
Ercale froze mid-motion, faltering at that word. "The hell did you just say!?" he snapped, his voice cutting like a whip.
Domine chuckled low, savoring the venom in his words. "I know why you're here. I know what happened. Why you walk when you should be dead." He bared his teeth in a grin that was more beast than man. "After all, I claimed the crown after Ansiau was killed. I wonder how that came to pass?"
Ercale's whole body flared with unstable lightning, violent arcs lashing the ground beneath his feet. His voice broke through his clenched teeth like the growl of a cornered predator. "You bastard…"
He surged forward, ready to tear Domine apart, when a surge of power flared through the portal. Ercale's instincts screamed. He spun and drove his fist forward, lightning exploding from his knuckles—
Only for the strike to be caught midair. A staff, crowned with a twin-serpent caduceus head, barred the blow as if it were nothing.
"Huh. Didn't expect to see you again." The man holding it spoke in a weary, honest tone, utterly calm. In the same motion he struck out with his free hand, his palm slamming into Ercale's chest. The impact detonated like a battering ram—
Ercale was hurled back, his body ripping through six buildings in a crashing storm of stone and splinters before he dug nails and limbs into the ground, lightning flaring in desperation to slow himself. His heels tore deep scars across the road as he finally ground to a halt, chest heaving, his hand trembling against the searing ache left in his ribs.
From the portal's glow, Domine's laughter rolled across the ruins. "I bet he didn't expect that! Go on, deal with him."
The staff-wielder only nodded. He tapped the butt of his weapon against the ground—purple light swallowed him whole, and in a blink he vanished.
Smoke rose in lazy waves from the last building Ercale had torn through. His eyes locked on the glow of violet behind it, his body tensing for what stepped forth.
From the haze emerged a tall figure draped in crimson robes, marked with intricate arcane patterns. A hood shadowed most of his face, a gaiter drawn over his mouth, but pale skin and stark white hair caught the light. Only his eyes—piercing magenta—shone clearly, fixed on Ercale. His staff mirrored the caduceus head that had blocked Ercale's blow moments before.
Ercale's jaw tightened. "…Arkanis."
The man inclined his head. "Yes. It's me. Strange way for us to meet again… but it is good to see you, even like this." His gaze flicked briefly around at the destruction.
"Do you know what that demonic piece of shit did?" Ercale demanded, lightning crackling across his arms as his fury swelled.
Arkanis exhaled through his nose, weary. "…Yeah. I know."
"And you still serve him!?" Ercale's voice thundered, sharp and raw.
A half-shrug answered him. "Choice isn't something I have. Not now." He slid his staff into place, body shifting smoothly into a combat stance. "So let's not waste time. We both know what comes next."
Ercale clicked his tongue, stepping forward, crouching low, arms raised like claws ready to strike. "Fine."
The air between them snapped with tension as both lunged forward. The clash of Demon Lords began.