“I’m sorry, Z, I cannot stand in the side lines any longer.” Kailu whispered.

A few more years kid, and I would be there, your allies would be there.

“I know.” He responded to the voice in his head, as his form faded to black before reappearing amidst the battlefield, grasping his mask. “She, is Erika Draconia, next in line to the throne of the Draconia Empire. Daughter, of Erikathyr, the Guardian, the Destroyer. And…” Kailu revealed himself, causing Eris’s amusement to fall and break. “My charge.”

Stretching out his shoulders, Kailu let his tail fall, and wings shred through the cloak. His gaze rising to meet Eris’s, a hardened stare. “And I will not allow you to lay another hand on her.”

Spreading his wings wide, Kailu presented himself as a wall between him and Erika.

“You…” Seeping with fury and violence, Eris’s hissing voice echoed out. “At every turn…It’s you, standing in my damn way. No, child of shadow, no longer.” Eris spread out his arms, and right then thousands of ghouls fell dead to the floor, their blood surging out of their every orifice and into the sky.

A mixture of a furious grimace and a maddened smile filled Eris’s face, as the tsunami of blood lay hovering all around him in tendrils, all coming to form at his fingertips. “You took away my siblings, you took my honour…You took away even my dear youngest sister. It ends to-”

“T-Took away?” Kailu’s slit for eyes focused further then, becoming almost straight lines, yet they lay as still as a calm ocean. Briefly, Kailu grimaced, before turning to a cold emotionless smile.

He glanced up at the sky, focusing on the stars above. “Zeokul, our bond I break. Devil, your station I relieve you of. Go home, old friend.”

Kid…

The voice in his head was barely a whisper now, and fading further.

“You’ve done enough, there is nothing else I need from you, I won’t let you die just because of me. You have things to get done as well.” Kailu mumbled out with a solemn tone, his gaze then befalling Eris once more as the Blood Lord descended his power down upon him. “This fight is mine.”

Kailu raised his arms forth as well, as blood, shadows and light formed into his palms, growing quickly and taking the shape of a shadowy shaft ending into a bloody gold scythe’s blade. He faced the incoming wave, ready and prepared for anything that would be thrown his way.

All except, a rift tearing itself open behind him.

Two colossal black claws reached out, and beyond him, an aura of violet rushed forth from them, sending both Eris and his waves of crimson soaring back.

A dreadful energy filled the battlefield, many unable to withstand it falling to their knees in terror.

Two hun-

The voice tried to say, but was cut off, as their bond fully faded.

“Two hundred and twenty years, kid.” The voice then bellowed out of the rift. “Two hundred years and more, I’ve leeched energy off you. Do you really think, I would just leave things as they are?”

The air trembled as the being stepped out of the rift, pulling it wider as it did. Massive in size with a body covered in a black carapace, long claws of darkness and even greater wings of black limbs with violet netting. When the monster’s foot hit the ground, gravity faltered, sending both armies hopping into the air briefly, and again as its second massive foot stomped down.

Looming over everything, Z popped his neck as he bared his pitch-black fangs.

His large violet eyes glowing with power.

“You may have your fight with that flying bitch up there, but not letting me help? I will not allow it. She may be your charge, but when I took you in as my life support, you became mine.” Zeokul said, as Eris himself froze at what he sensed pouring out from the monster.

“Who-What are you!?” The Blood lord exclaimed.

Zeokul grinned as he glanced up at the vampire, “Ah yes, you’ve only met lords of my race I’m betting. Never met the real thing? Let me introduce myself.” Zeokul then roared, a monstrous howl which encumbered the land, anything too close being sent flying through the air.

Right then, the demons amongst the ghouls, suddenly their eyes turned from crimson to violet.

“I am no second generation bitch like Azruxan or his brothers. I am descendant of wrath, but neither am I like my first generation father. I’m something you’ve never seen before. I am Zeokul, Devil of Wrath, third generation. And you, have pissed my boy off.” He announced, as Eris suddenly felt raw danger coming from below.

Immediately he glanced down to see Kailu rising up in a rush of shadow, cutting through his blood and ascending higher and higher.

“Go kid, don’t hold back.” Z said, stepping back to loom over Erika, “Just this once, I’ll watch her for ya.” Then his form suddenly faded in and out. “I don’t have long here though…So hurry it the fuck up!” He exclaimed as demons turned on ghouls, as Kailu dove through a sea of blood in the sky, cutting aside attack after attack made by blood and hidden by blood, his senses the only thing giving him a few milliseconds of warning.

Erika watched from beneath the Devil, as the enemy fought itself and as the guardian she had long given up on seeing again now fought to protect her once more.

Guilt, it filled her alongside anger as she forced herself to stand. Grabbing hold of a crooked enemy’s sword which lay nearby, she straightened herself. “I’m…I’m not out of it just yet!” Erika exclaimed, “I’m not just going to stand here and watch!” She bellowed, glancing back at the Lycans then.

“Are you? As others fight your war for you? As the enemy lays confused and in tatters, are you just going to watch?” She asked them as they all stood staring in both awe and confusion, faltering at both the sight of the Devil and the vast army deep in conflict with itself.

“No, this is our time.” Zarkon mused as he appeared from amongst the awaiting Draem, awkwardly glancing at the massive beasts as one stepped to, lowering its tusks to Erika.

Taking hold of the one tusk, Erika held on as the draconic beast lifted her and flung her up onto its head.

“We will not stand idly by as our fate is determined for us!” Zarkon exclaimed, “We shall chase it down face-first! Let us fight my brothers, my sisters, my Lycans!”

“Let us grasp our own fate!” Zarkon bellowed out, blood pooling around his blade as he charged forth.

An air shuddering battle-cry burst out from the Lycans, each howling out in unison as they charged, clashing with the Ghouls who were too busy with the treacherous Demons to take aim with their firing lines. Quickly the Undead’s front lines began to fall.

“Princess!” Gray exclaimed from behind, catching Erika’s attention as he himself held on for dear life to his Draem. “What should we do?”

Erik glanced over the Draem pack, each watching the one she rode, as the beast stood growling expectantly.

“You point the way, we’ll crush our way there.” Erika’s Draem said.

Grinning at the idea of it, “Take half the pack, go right, I’ll take the rest and go left. Run down the sides, then turn to the centre, we’ll meet in the middle.” Erika told Gray, who’s expression paled.

“W-wait you don’t mean ru-” Gray tried to speak but it was too late, his Draem had already begun turning away, as the pack instinctively divided itself.

Erika held on to the thick fur as the beast beneath her stomped forth, a powerful gallop that made everything leap out of its path.

Behind her a dozen more Draem galloped with, horns, tusks, claws and fangs all prepared and bared as these tanks of muscle and scale and fur rode along what was now the backline.

All the while Erika kept close attention to Kailu’s clash with the Blood Lord.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Vmi_R6aPg

As Eris painted the sky red, Kailu akin to a falcon soaring through murky red clouds, he avoided bursts of crimson wind and crimson rain with keen sight and his greater agility.

“Eris!” he exclaimed, his voice filled with bloodlust. Kailu tightly gripped onto his scythe, the blade shimmering gold yet flowing crimson itself.

“Little canary!” Eris hissed in amusement whilst converging his arms, the surrounding blood following his movements as if he commanded an orchestra of crimson. Unleashing a bath of blood spikes down upon Kailu.

Kailu paused in his ascent, spinning his scythe before himself and deflecting the shower of blood, Eris though continued his silent symphony.

His arms catching speed as they moved rhythmically and suddenly.

Wave after wave, the blood Eris commanded seemed to have an infinity of shapes, the Blood Lord’s cruel mind being their source.

Kailu was given no pause as binding tendrils reached out to strangle him, wicked spikes sought to impale him, molten crimson descended to burn him and much, much more.

Remaining at arm’s length from death’s grasp, Kailu’s enhanced Dragon Elf speed and senses were all that kept him alive.

As Eris had him dancing in the palms of his hands.

“Tell me, little canary, why must you struggle so? What desire pushed you to gain such strength? Alas, I fear it was all for nought.” Eris mocked, as a bloody spike slashed past Kailu’s left wing, filling him with a dreadful pain.

Yet Kailu continued to evade, he continued to fight.

Glancing at the battle below, he watched the tides turn.

“Because…” Kailu mumbled out as he paused once more, gripping his scythe with both hands, he glanced back at Zeokul. “I was taught just how dear and important people are.”

Seeing his chance, Eris’s orchestra of death entered its final silent bellow, as the red sky around them converged all upon Kailu.

As the blood rushed to engulf him, Kailu closed his eyes, having made it four fifths of the way to the Blood Lord.

His grip tight and shaking.

Kailu took in a deep breath.

“I was taught humility by miss Thea.”

He began to whisper.

“I was taught to forge my own fate, by sister Kayle.”

“To fight till the end, no matter the pain or struggle ahead, by miss Makaela.”

Darkness began oozing out of his grip.

“To be the beacon of light, where darkness devoured all, by sir Nerick.”

Opening his eyes, they shone a bright ember as gold blood began trickling out.

“I was taught, the power of holding some dear, oh so dear and deep in my heart. By none other than my Devil. Who I thank, and apologise to. Who I now bid farewell.”

Kailu suddenly pulled his arms aside, breaking the scythe and unleashing a wave of shadow, surging out all around him and clashing with the engulfing blood.

Eris watched as his crimson encased Kailu and his darkness, pausing briefly as a condensed sphere of red before suddenly bursting like a bubble.

Both energies dissipated.

Kailu had no more scythe, as such, he watched Z’s form begin to fade further.

But Eris, was out of blood.

As such, Kailu turned his gaze to him.

Panicking, Eris quickly began moving his hands and gesturing spells, but Kailu was already ascending faster than Eris could summon up more blood.

“And I was taught…That no matter the foe. No matter how impossible things seem!” Kailu exclaimed as he rushed at top speed, halfway to Eris now as the vampire had yet to summon up any blood.

“Master taught me that, as long as one has someone they hold dear! Even as we die, they will keep us alive in their hearts and minds!” Kailu bellowed out, his clawed hands grasping around Eris’s neck, and the world around them seemed to turn slack.

Time to both slowed down.

As Kailu’s claws tore through Eris’s throat, his wings folded inwards, the claws on their ends digging deep into the vampire’s chest.

Until suddenly everything returned to a natural pace.

Kailu stared hard and coldly into Eris’s fading eyes.

“You…should have ran…li-little…canary.” Eris spoke his last words, a wicked smile crawling wider upon his face.

Rage filled Kailu, as he tore the vampire’s head right off, pulling out his wing’s claws and the remains of Eris’s black heart with them.

Kailu watched as Eris’s beheaded body lost its power to hover, sighting the vampire’s hands finishing the spell before going limp.

Pain, the feeling came in a sudden wave, deep inside his chest it felt like his very essence had burst.

Clutching it, Kailu groaned as he slowly began his descent, before suddenly his vision turned dark and he began to free fall.

Far below, Erika’s pack of Draem had reached the edge of the battle, taking a wide turn they had took aim and with a long gallop they entered a brutal charge through the ghoulish lines.

Brutalizing the enemy forces in their wake, the Draem’s savagery was paralleled only by the Pit fiends who attempted to meet them, only to be trampled over or impaled by those with tusks and tossed aside.

Erika saw Gray’s charge coming from the other end, still far off, she then turned her gaze to the sky.

Watching as the crimson converged, then dissipated with an explosion of shadow.

She watched the two figures clash, and Eris beginning to fall in two pieces.

Joy and relief filled her at the sight, Kailu soaring above them all, steady and victorious as he began to descend…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD0XEH3qVCk

Then shock and panic replaced them, as he began to fall.

Lowering herself, she tightly pulled on the Draem’s fur. “Faster!” She spoke in draconic, as her erratic mana then surged out, and met the beast beneath her.

The draconic energy poured out of her shaking hands and into the Draem, as its eyes suddenly filled with gold and its size grew a few feet through a sudden shuddering expansion.

With it’s front claws leading the charge, stomping down in unison before the hindlegs came down and pushed. The Draem leapt, leaving behind a quake both in the ground and air, for several times more it pounced forth and far ahead from the rest.

Pulling on the fur once more, Erika had the beast leap one last time, meeting Kailu midair as he fell.

Erika released the beast’s fur and took him into her arms, finding herself being knocked off the Draem, crashing down to the ground and into a tumbling roll.

With her above, their bodies came to stop, surrounded by fleeing Demons and dissipating Ghouls.

Quickly she came back to her senses, staring down hard at Kailu, looking for any signs of life.

As golden icor ran down his face, his eyes weakly came open.

Slowly he turned his head, coming to face her, Kailu smiled.

For the first time, she had truly seen him smile.

As he looked at her, then beyond, as Zeokul fully faded away. Wordlessly, and with a dark expression, the Devil was gone.

“We won.” Erika said through weary breaths.

And Kailu smiled further, wincing a bit at the pain, “Not yet, the battle i-is won, but this war still lin-lingers on.” He said, his voice weak and hoarse. “And war…war is a dreadful thing.”

“Then, we will continue fighting.” Erika replied, her strong will gleaming through her eyes.

“My lady…Erika, no help is coming. No one else but those around you now, can aid you. And I…am not long for this world.” Kailu said, as that same golden blood began trickling out of his lips.

Erika’s gaze froze at his words, realisation hitting her as she sensed his life force waning and quickly fading. “No…no you can’t…I’ve…We’ve only just-”

“Steel yourself,” Kailu then said, cutting her off. “For there are beings far worse than Eris awaiting to meet your blade. Ahead of you, is a harsh and cruel destiny, that I was too sl-slow…to change.”

Lowering his head back to the muddy and bloody ground, Kailu took in a gasping breath. “I apologise, my lady…can…can I b-be discharged?” He asked weakly.

Covering her mouth to hold back a tearful gasp, her eyes began to redden as sorrow drowned her chest.

Erika nodded, then took in a deep long breath. “I, Erika D-Draconia, I…discharge you, from your po-p-post.”

Tears now streamed down Erika’s visage as she could no longer hold them back, turning cold as the grassland’s winds met her face.

Kailu’s gaze turned to the sky, his smile fading, his usual gaze returned to him. Deep in thought, lost in his mysterious mind as Erika always saw him to be.

His hand which had been clutching his chest, it loosened, then dragged…then fell beside him.

Erika sensed it, the exact moment in time…he was gone.

And she released it then.

All her anger.

All her frustration.

All her pain and sorrow, she combined them into a singular, heart wrenching scream.

Her voice, it drowned out the battlefield, growing in volume with each passing moment until all heard her cry out.

As she dove into his chest and clutched his armour, sinking her face into it, she barely gave herself the moment to breath as once his scent wafted over her, she screamed once more.

Drained of power, this time her cry was only heard as all had gone silent.

In this moment, she was not a warrior, not a princess and barely a Dragon.

In this moment of weakness, Erika was just a mortal amongst many others.

Just a mortal, voicing her pain.

And as she released his chest, she wiped the tears off her face.

Erika rose, leaving that weak girl below.

Her gaze never leaving his pale, solemn expression.

Erika left that pain and sorrow there, with him.

She did as he told her to do.

Erika steeled herself.

And she vowed in her mind, heart and out loud.

For all the gods, devils and others to hear.

“You’ve done it. You…You took everything I had. Everyone I ever had.” Her hands formed into fists, going numb as no more power flowed through them, neither magical and barely any strength left. “You took it all, you leave me with nothing. Now never again, no one, nothing, will ever take anything from me ever again.”

Erika took in a deep breath, “I Erika Selene Draconia, I Eriveas! Before all immortal and not! I chant no spell, I call out no trickery or magic. I simply claim this, as my one truth. Hear me, whoever the hell you are. Hear me, fear me, expect me. As my father before me, Erikathyr who named me Eriveas! I claim his title as my own, by right of descension.”

She shouted at the fields, the sky and beyond.

“I am Erika, Selene Draconia, Eriveas. Guardian Dragon, of this world.”