Ishrak gulped down a breath of air as he put a hand out to lean on a tree. He hadn't stopped running since the moment everything went wrong. Since the moment he felt the invisible noose slip around his neck. If only he had killed the human instead of toying with him.
If he had done that he would be back at home already, sipping on wine and surrounding himself with doting succubi. He would've been lauded as a hero for rescuing the great Arburnok and probably given more land, but no. Instead, he was running for his life in some Devil forsaken forest.
That damned human. What was he thinking? Allowing himself to become Arburnok's vessel… Ishrak shivered just thinking about that moment. He had been so close to achieving greatness, but in the end all of his hard work had been for nothing. All of his scheming and plotting, all of the backstabbing, it was all for naught.
The now empty crystal was still in his hands, void of any color and as useless as any other normal rock. Whatever sealing enchantments placed on it had been undone the moment that idiotic human accepted whatever lies Arburnok had told him, and the runes that once hummed with energy were now dull.
It didn't matter though. None of it did. All that mattered was that he kept going. Even stopping for just this moment could damn him to the wicked tortures Arburnok had promised would come his way. The worst imaginable end to existence would be visited upon him if he allowed that wretched human to catch him.
He could still feel the Greater Daemon's claws in his head, toying with him and making him see his greatest fears behind every shadow. They were eating away at his sanity and chipping away at his grip on reality. It wouldn't be long before he started shouting at these shadows like a mad man.
Hells.
No. He would not go out like that. He would not die suffering from imagined nightmares. He would not die hunted down like some animal. He was stronger than that, and he was certainly stronger than the pathetic human following him.
Besides, Arburnok was still weak and still trapped. It would be some time before the powerful Daemon regained a majority of his power, and even then he wouldn't be at full strength while imprisoned in the human's body.
He was Ishrak the Warlord, feared by his fellow Daemons for his ruthlessness and cunning. He was the conqueror of the BloodStone Fortress and the subduer of the great beast Zartosis. He was blessed by the Devils. And he would fight.
***
"He has stopped."
Alex stood upright after having paused to catch his breath. He had been tracking this warlord for what seemed like forever, and it was starting to take its toll.
Arburnok didn't seem to realize that humans had limits to how long they could run and the constant reminders to keep going had been getting on his nerves. "Are you sure?"
"Please Alexander." Arburnok scoffed, "I have never been more sure of anything in my infernal existence. The little rat has stopped running." Arburnok paused as if in thought, "It would seem he intends to fight back. How amusing."
Amusing? What could be amusing about having to fight the guy who had stabbed him in the leg? He was pretty sure the person he was hunting down was stronger than him. Alex wasn't even sure why it mattered that he hunted this guy down. He voiced as much to Arburnok, earning him a slight chuckle.
"You're a funny guy Alexander, I knew I picked the right vessel… Oh, you're serious?" The Daemon's laughter tapered off, and if Alex didn't know any better he could swear that Arburnok was frowning. "You humans are so ignorant sometimes, I forget your race is fairly new to the universe."
"You can't let this little shit leave this realm alive because if he ever decides to explain to anyone that I, the great and marvelous Arburnok, am no longer imprisoned we're both in for a world of trouble."
Arburnok spoke with a seriousness in his voice that Alex had yet to hear. Usually it was all jokes and good vibes with the Daemon, but this humourless tone sent chills through his body. Surely it couldn't be that bad?
"A universal manhunt would begin, Daemons, Devils, and Celestials alike would be coming for you. There is no telling what the Celestials would do to you if they got their hands on you, but I can say for certain that the Hell-Spawn would subject you to unspeakable horrors before they ended your life and set me free."
Okay, apparently it can be that bad.
"And that's just the start of things. I made plenty of enemies during my time, and I'm more than certain a few of them are still kicking about just waiting to get their revenge on me." Arburnok spoke with an almost cocky attitude, as if he was proud of having managed to piss off a lot of people. Being Arburnok's vessel had a lot more depth to it than Alex could've ever imagined.
"So making sure this guy dies is basically priority number one, is that right?" Even as Alex voiced the question he knew what the Daemon would say. He had no desire to be hunted down by beings that could end his life with a snap of their fingers, and he definitely didn't want to have to deal with the people that Arburnok claimed were his enemies.
"Bingo! That's something you humans say right? Bingo… What an odd word. However, you are correct. We must kill this warlord before he gets the chance to escape, and thankfully the idiot's pride seems to have overridden his innate fear of me devouring his soul. Worry not, I have no doubt that you can beat him."
Alex was glad the Daemon had confidence in him, but it was a confidence he didn't feel himself. He was absolutely positive that this warlord would be the toughest foe he had faced so far; how could he compare to someone that was a warlord? That wasn't even taking into account the probable gear disparity between them.
Even healed as it was, Alex could feel the place where the Hellfire blade had pierced his calf. It was as if his flesh would never forget the stinging burn that the blade had inflicted. There was an unsettling ache from the wound that just hadn't gone away, like the blade had left a mark on Alex's body that would never fade.
And that was just the main weapon. He was positive that this warlord had powerful armor and skills at his disposal. Alex hadn't gotten too good a look at him before, but he had gotten the feeling that the invader was a magically attuned being, more so than a warrior who used brute strength.
It seemed like the odds were somewhat stacked against him when he thought about it like that. He didn't like the feeling of being outmatched. Knowingly walking into a fight where your opponent had the upper hand was a serious downer. He must have sighed aloud or something because Arburnok spoke up once more.
"C'mon kid. It's not so bad. You have me and those wicked looking daggers at your side, plus I can tell you have some tricks up your sleeve. I wouldn't choose just someone random to be my vessel; just from your aura alone I can feel that you're special. Believe in yourself Alexander, you are far stronger than you might think."
Believe in himself? He almost laughed at that. He had never believed in himself. No one had ever believed in him. His whole life had been a constant series of letdowns and lessons in the fact that he wasn't special. Now he was supposed to think the opposite just because he had been reborn and some Daemon said so?
Had his soul not been repaired his doubts would have torn through him and caused Alex an intense amount of pain, but due to the Trial of the Soul his resolve was much stronger.
His self doubts, while still present, would no longer impact or influence him the way they used to. If he didn't believe in himself then how could he expect anyone else to do the same?
It was that thought that ignited the fire within him. He had come this far because of his perseverance and unwillingness to give up. He had come this far because he was willing to fight for the things he wanted. He had come this far because Amanda believed in him, and if she believed in him then he could do the same.
"Yes! That's it! There's that fire that I sensed in you back in the vault." Arburnok spoke as if he was a proud mentor who had just seen their pupil take a step in the right direction. "Use that drive and determination to guide you Alexander. Nothing in this universe comes freely, but with spirit like that you can achieve great things."
With fierce determination in his body, and the utmost faith in himself, Alex started to walk forward again. Victory would be his.
***
Victory would be his.
Ishrak had spent the last five minutes preparing spell circles and ensuring that the environment would be in his favor. For whatever reason, the human had stopped trailing him, and that slight bit of hesitation was all the warlord needed to reaffirm his conviction that he would take a stand and fight back.
He knew the raid had failed and most of his forces had been destroyed or sent fleeing. The raid portal would only last twenty-four hours after the raiders defeat, or until the raid leader had been slain.
By his calculations he still had twenty hours left before the portal disappeared and he was trapped in this realm.
So long as he killed his pursuer, he could make it home. Arburnok would be set free as opposed to being brought back by Ishrak, but that was a far better outcome than getting killed by some measly human… Unless the Greater Daemon still intended to devour his soul even if he was freed?
Slowly but surely, the fear from before crept back in. The shadows amongst the trees grew larger, threatening to swallow up Ishrak in a sea of dark despair. The invisible noose tightened ever so slightly around his neck and panic started to set in.
The warlord was almost certain he could hear the haunting laughter of Arburnok echoing in his mind, tormenting him with the promise of a painful end.
Ishrak shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. Dying to the human would ensure his soul got devoured, and he would become nothing more than fodder fuel to Arburnok. But killing the human was also no guarantee that he would be allowed to live. A sharp sensation digging into his side brought him back to the moment.
Yes of course, the crystal. It could still be used to contain the great Daemon, even if it was a weaker sealing ritual than the one used originally. It would be enough, it had to be. He would not die here. He had not labored for years just to die at the hands of a pathetic human.
A laugh, guttural and maniacal, escaped from his mouth and filled the silence of the small forested glade he had selected as the arena for the inevitable clash. "HA. HAHAHAHAH. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"
A cracking wooden branch ended his hysterical laughter, and he turned a sharp gaze to where the sound had come from.
Like a Reaper who served Death itself, Alex emerged from the shadows of the trees, stepping into the glade with a cold look in his blue eyes that sent shivers down Ishrak's spine.
This human… Impossible. Back in the cave the human had barely exuded an aura of power, but now it was as clear as day to the Daemon warlord.
The invisible force representing Alex's aura radiated around him. Bright golden swirls of energy intertwining with tendrils of pure darkness danced in a hypnotic pattern that made it all but impossible to decipher the true nature of the human's power.
Had he been hiding his aura all this time? No. He would've been able to detect Ishrak and prevent himself from getting stabbed.
The only logical conclusion that the warlord could come to, and the one that made the most sense, was that somehow, the human had gotten far stronger from the time in the vault until now.