"DUCK!"
The warrior's voice tore through the infernal roar like a blade cutting steel. Kai hit the scorched earth with a dull thud, eyes stinging from smoke and ash swirling violently around him.
Flames erupted at waist-level, sweeping through the forest like a living beast—red-orange tendrils clawing at every tree, turning wood to cinders within seconds. The air was thick with heat, suffocating, alive with crackling destruction.
Kai's gaze flickered upward, catching sight of the battle-hardened warrior standing firm amid the chaos. His armor, scorched and battered, bore the scars of countless wars. His dark eyes burned with fierce resolve, a sword in hand etched with glowing crimson runes that pulsed in time with his ragged breath.
"What were you thinking, exposing yourself like that?" the warrior growled, voice raw but unyielding. "You could have been ashes in that blaze."
Kai barely registered the rebuke as the warrior's gaze suddenly locked on something behind him.
"No... NO!" the man's voice cracked.
Kai turned just in time to see the mage—cloaked in deep purple robes, her staff radiating faint magical energy—struck by the inferno's fury. The flames had cruelly severed her midsection; the lower half of her body remained standing, but above her waist was obliterated, swallowed by unrelenting fire.
The warrior's breath hitched. "Alari..."
Pain flared behind his eyes. His muscles tensed, and a tempest of fury and grief surged through his veins.
With a roar that shook the very air, he surged forward. His blade flashed—scarlet runes igniting the smoke around him—as he charged the demon looming in the flames.
The demon emerged fully then—a towering nightmare clad in molten obsidian skin, cracks glowing with infernal light. Horns twisted like wicked crowns atop its massive head, fangs bared in a snarl dripping with fresh blood.
The clash began.
Steel met flesh and flame with explosive force. The warrior's blade struck again and again, each hit ringing like thunder, leaving trails of searing molten blood where it cut. The demon's raw power was overwhelming—a tempest of claws, jaws, and burning strength.
The warrior twisted, narrowly evading a crushing blow that would have shattered bone. He countered with a fierce strike to the demon's leg, sparks flying as enchanted steel met burning hide.
The beast bellowed, fury fueling its assault, and with terrifying speed, it lunged—grabbing the warrior mid-air with monstrous hands, squeezing with bone-crushing strength.
"Let me go!" the warrior roared, muscles bulging in a desperate struggle.
The demon's jaws snapped, teeth closing just inches from flesh.
But the warrior twisted violently, slamming the demon's skull with the hilt of his sword. The creature staggered, releasing its grip with a roar.
The battle raged on—a brutal dance of power and precision.
The warrior lunged, slashing across the demon's chest. Molten blood hissed as it spilled, glowing like liquid fire. The beast roared in pain, but retaliated with a ferocious swipe that sent the warrior sprawling into a nearby tree.
Pain exploded through his ribs, but he forced himself up, breath ragged, vision blurring.
The demon advanced, smoke curling from its nostrils, eyes blazing like twin infernos.
Steel clashed with claws in a relentless exchange, each moment a crescendo of violence and desperation.
The warrior rolled under a sweeping strike and drove his sword upward with a cry, piercing the demon's abdomen. The creature staggered but did not fall.
Instead, it howled—a sound that shattered the air like thunder—and slammed its massive fist into the ground, sending shockwaves that uprooted trees and shattered stone.
Kai watched, breath caught, heart pounding as the earth itself trembled beneath them.
The warrior wiped blood from his lips, voice hoarse but fierce. "This ends now!"
With a primal scream, he charged again, every strike carrying the weight of loss, hope, and defiance.
The demon met him blow for blow, their conflict a roaring tempest in the heart of the burning forest.
Flames twisted higher, wind howled, and the ground cracked beneath their fury.
And yet, neither yielded.