“What are you going to do now?”

“Easy, destroy you.” Snow glared. Her magic flared up into a blast of power.

The Pope pulled back, trying to stop the blast of magic from over, encompassing him. He fought back. Flaring his own pungent dark magic to pulsate back at Snow’s own attack.

Both energies clashed against each other with vivid sparks. The flash of magic was awful to the people who couldn’t watch. One magic blinded them, and the other made them ill.

Snow allowed the burst of energy coming through her like rapid water to sweep through her body, giving her a second wind.

“You!” The Pope pulled back, and he jumped aside.

The flash of light was overbearing for even the demon Pope.

“How?!”

“You don’t like it?” Snow smirked.

The Pope coldly replied. “It means nothing.”

“You can believe that.”

Snow ran forward. This time, she pulled out the black box of weapons. It crashed with a loud thud, opening up as steam escaped. Six beautifully made swords gleamed in the dark light. Her hand quickly reached out to take the closest sword, Lady Luck.

The moment she touched the sword, Snow felt a surge of magical power pushed into her body. Even the rings on her finger resonated even more intensely. The red ring resonated with Lady Luck.

Snow was surprised at the Red ring that she had gotten from Falcon. It hasn’t even glimmered once since she had received it.

Lady Luck started to vibrate in her hand. Snow could tell something was happening. Suddenly, as if it was melting, the whole sword turned into liquid.

Wrapping itself around her hand, turning into gloves. It was silver gloves that fit perfectly with her finger. It was almost as if it was a part of her own skin on how thin it turned out. Curious, but she didn’t have time to dally for too long.

A blast of dark magic roared to life. A line of black flames encompassed completely around both Snow and the Pope.

Mike, Dairen, and Levian weren't able to get close. The black flames roared to life, pushing them back. They all felt that these black flames would devour their bodies instantly and even destroy their souls.

The only one who could barely stand in the presence of it was Dairen, but even still, he too wasn’t doing too well.

Snow watches patiently, wondering what Levian would do next. She grabbed her next sword, Gremlin, and tucked it on her thigh. The magical armor seem to know what it wanted from its owner, and it opened up a small crevice for her to put in. Next, she took The twin Moon blade. Each glimmering with a dangerous hint of blood lust.

Both the lady luck, Twin Moon Blade, and the Red Ring were amplifying each other even more and more. Snow could feel the surge of power of her own.

An unconscious smile crept on her face. She felt ecstatic at the hidden feature that she was given.

“Well, let the party begin.” Snow spoke with a whisper on her lips.

The demon Pope regained his voice. “You think you can win?”

“Absolutely.”

The next few minutes were trying. The Pope's temper was erratic. Except for shouting out vulgar words at her as they clashed with each other. There were small reminders that Snow had caught the Pope’s attention and was pushing him back.

Their magic was clashing among each other, sparking off numerous times.

Snow was a balm for the Pope’s frustration. He would lash out, throwing multiple balls of darkness at her one after another. She blocked each one with her sword, tossing them aside.

The demon Pope thought that he would overcome Snow with the power that he had gained. On the other side, Snow knew that she couldn’t keep the energy output constantly as there was a limit that her body could handle. No more, death was only a step away.

Even the black flames seem to slightly simmer down, allowing everyone to see their intensive fight. Sparks fired off many times, becoming more intense as the day went by. Black and white was becoming fireworks, eventually turning into dangerous flames that licked closely all around them. Anyone who got too close could feel the terrible flames of light and darkness becoming a rampant burst of chaos.

Some were unlucky, and the black flames' light touch burned their very skin, melting off their whole arm and even burning them alive. Even the low-level magic power couldn’t keep the black flames at bay and died on the spot screaming.

Luckily, whenever the light magic made from Snow glowed and touched their body, a wave of power could be felt sweeping through. Cleansing their ailments or even the black flames in one fell swoop.

Many cheered when Snow could land a couple of hits, while loud gasps could be heard when she was injured.

Out of the corner of Snow’s eyes, she saw an arrow sparking past her head and straight toward the Pope.

The demon Pope snatched his hand, grabbing the arrow in midair. He then snatched his head toward the direction that it had come from.

With a glare, the demon pope broke the arrow. “You.”

Dairen had a few more that were aimed at the demon Pope. Each time, the Pope waved his hand, breaking the arrows in half.

“Weak.” The Pope snarled. “Someone like you to be considered the next candidate for a Demon King!”

Snow thought she heard him wrong. The Demon King?

“What are you talking about?” Snow had darted in the right after the distraction that Dairen was

able to cause.

“You don’t know who you have been working with?” The Pope claws clashed against the sword.

Snow pushed hard. The Pope slowly started to be pushed back.

“He is my friend.”

“A dangerous friend.” A crooked smile appeared on Pope’s face.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. You are an ignorant saint. Your existence appeared when the Demon King candidate was born.”

His chilling words brought a heavy burden on the people around them. Nobody has ever thought that Dairen would be a candidate to become the Demon King.

The Demon Pope arrogantly puffed up his chest. His body became bigger and bigger to the point that he was standing ten feet tall. Black claws from his hand and feet had become bigger and bigger. The horns on his head were extending upward into a crown. The white clothes were burned away, and he was instead left with a black robe that touched his feet.

A long black tail peeks out of his robe.

“If he is the Demon King. Why have you been trying to kill him?!” Snow didn’t believe the words of the Demon Pope. It was too fantastical that Dairen was a candidate to become a Demon King.

“Because death is a baptism to be fully integrated to become a Demon Prince. From there, he will be summoned to begin his fight against the other Demon Princes to become the Demon King.” A wide smile appeared on his lips. The pride of being even considered a candidate to become was an honor, and the Demon Pope was the one who would go around awakening or baptizing these candidates.

“How many candidates are there?”

“Would you like to know?” The Demon Pope chuckled sinister, pleased that he was getting under Snow’s nerve.

“Yes.”

“A please would suffice.”

Snow was silent. She was having a hard time understanding the Pope. he was way too calm that it unnerved her. Not only that, she felt that he was up to something, but she couldn’t quite put a finger to it.

“No.”

“Then so be it.”

The Pope lashed out. This time his speed was more incredible than before.

Snow was pushed a bit backward as they were head to head on their fight. Light and darkness flashed across the ground, creating a ripple effect of electric lights. Black flames became whirlwinds; eventually, they were locked up together in the middle. Unable to push past each other.

Suddenly, purely out of luck. Snow was able to see the trajectory of the next hit. She dodged out of harm's way, and she stepped to his side. Her sword flashed in front of her as she sliced across his chest. But in between the opening, the Demon Pope had formed a black spear in his hand. With whatever energy he got, he threw it.

A loud hissing sound followed quickly behind as the black spear flew through the air.

Snow reached out to stop it, but it brushed past her outstretched fingers.

“No!” Snow shouted in horror. She could tell where the spear was heading, and she could not stop it.

It was as if the spear was flying in slow motions.

Snow opened and closed her mouth, realizing what it would do.

The spear impaled itself into Dairen’s chest, who was outside the black flames barrier.

Thunk!

Silence descended upon the three.

Dairen stood stupified by what just happened.

Blood seeped out of his mouth, drizzling down his front.