The Soul Keeper

As two demons, leaving trails of purple flames dashed at me, all I could do was defend. I raised my scythe and blocked their simultaneous strikes with its metal shaft. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed. 

I expected them to pull back and strike again, but instead, they chose to push. They put all of their weight on their weapons, pushing me back. I dug my heels into the ground as my muscles ached under the immense pressure. 

I couldn't hold them off for long, not like this. Even with the strength I gained through Fallen Grace, I was no match for them physically. I gritted my teeth and focused – I needed my magic, my flames, now more than ever!

The sword wielding demon started to smile; in his eyes, they'd already won. My lips formed a thin line as I felt my feet slowly begin to slip. 

"The Lord will be pleased, Keeper." The woman said with a sly voice. Her eyes already glimmered with her seemingly imminent victory. I gritted my teeth – her expression was getting on my nerves. 

I focused, I wanted to catch them off guard to finish this as soon as possible. Suddenly, I bent my left leg and fell on the ground. They practically jumped on the opportunity like hungry wolves. As soon as they reached for me, I released my flames. 

As crimson flames enveloped us, the woman screamed in agony as the man pulled her back. I rolled back and rose to my feet, then dashed towards them without skipping a beat. I couldn't let them regain their composure, I had to take them on while they were at a disadvantage!

As I approached them, they scattered to two different directions. They were trying to stall me, slow me down. They thought I'd hesitate as I tried to choose who to go after. Yet, I didn't. Without skipping a beat, I ran after the woman – she was the stronger one. 

I leapt to the air and brought my scythe down on her. She just barely blocked the pale crystalline blade of the cursed weapon. As soon as our weapons clashed, an ominous dark mist spread out from the scythe.

I didn't have time to think, to try and figure out what was going on. I only had mere seconds before her ally reached us. My relentless assault continued as I struck her shoulder with the bottom end of the scythe's shaft. As the metal shaft hit her armour, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed. He lost her balance only for a moment, but before I could take advantage of it, her ally reached us. Once again, he blocked the pale blade with his sword.

I gritted my teeth and leapt back. They were much better at fighting together than Vixia and Delthur were. They constantly looked out for each other while Vixia and Delthur simple handled our previous fight like two separate duels.

I dashed towards them again. All I needed to do was even the odds a little. I held on to my scythe with my left hand and cast a volley of Dark Bolts at the sword wielding demon. His eyes widened as he noticed the spell aiming for him. 

As he leapt back in hopes of avoiding the deadly spell, I once again met the woman on the battlefield. This time, she was the one on the offensive. Her spear struck the shaft of scythe over and over again as I patiently blocked each of her strikes. I would still feel the dark bolts chasing the man – I still had a little more time before he came back.

The woman swung her spear sideways, aiming for my head. I spun my scythe around, blocking her spear just in time and at the same time, forcing her to back off as my motion naturally threatened her exposed neck.

"You're a much better fighter than I thought." She hissed. I grinned. "And you're weaker than I thought you'd be." I replied as I swung my scythe. She blocked the pale blade, but not before I got to use Death's Scythe again. The pale blade of my weapon let out a grey shine, leaving a trail of black flames behind.

We both expected to hear the sound of crystal hitting metal, but instead, what we heard was the muffled thud of something falling to the ground. I felt very little resistance as my cursed weapon cut through her dark metal spear like it were butter.

Her eyes widened – she leapt back, but not fast enough to get out unscathed. She let out a small shout as a rather deep cut appeared on her left shoulder. Her eyes shone purple as a form of miasma started to appear – it tried to dampen my flames and push back the dark mist of my weapon.

I tightened my grip around the shaft of my scythe – I couldn't let her finish whatever she was doing. I let my wings carry me to her as she raised her hand. I swung my scythe towards her arm as a dark barrier appeared around her. A loud clang echoed as my weapon bounced off. I landed on the ground with a backflip – was that her goal? A protective barrier?

I felt the air move behind me. My eyes widened – the man had come back! I began to turn, but I already knew I didn't have enough time to block his attack. Instead, I fed my flames with more magic. As they burst out, I felt a sharp pain on my left wing and heard a muddled groan.

"Careful!" The demon shouted at her ally. "His flames are stronger than they seem!"

I cast Soul's Respite, but as always, the time it took to heal me was way too long to use mid battle. I couldn't afford to wait until I was completely healed. Instead, I gritted my teeth, pushed the pain to the back of my mind and dashed towards to woman again.

My scythe hit her barrier again, this time creating some cracks on its smooth surface. Her face twisted with what I believed to be hatred, perhaps with some fear mixed in. 

The demon swordsman's footsteps sounded behind me as I raised my scythe again. I motioned to bring the scythe down upon the woman's barrier, but feinted that attack at the last possible moment, instead using that momentum to turn towards him. I just barely missed his exposed throat as he shrieked and leapt back. 

I felt magic gathering behind me. She was doing something – something I couldn't let her finish. I turned my attention back at her while sending another volley of dark bolts after her ally. He cursed as I heard the beat of his wings. My scythe hit the barrier once again, finally shattering it. My motion didn't stop as I brought the pale crystalline blade down upon her defenceless neck.

Something hit me from the side just before I could. I lost my grip on the shaft of my scythe as we rolled in the grass. I felt something crack as my wings got crushed under our weight. The man had rammed me with his body, sending us both quite far from where his ally was.

I clenched my fist and punched him while my sword materialised in my left hand. He was standing over me, there wasn't much I could do! I helplessly watched as he raised his sword and brought it down on my chest. A loud clang echoed as I felt the force of the thrust spread throughout my chest. My eyes widened at the same time as his.

Without missing a beat, I raised my hand to his face and let my flames explode a hair's length away from him. Surprised, confused and maybe even terrified, he got off me, screaming and holding his charred face.

I didn't give him any time. I nearly threw myself towards him as I thrust my sword into his chest, piercing his heart. His screams came to an end, as did his life. He fell among the tall grass surrounding us as I finally turned my attention to his ally – the woman who'd given me so much trouble during this fight.

A moment of silence passed as she glared at his lifeless body. Her face went pale as her face twisted with pain and agony. 

"What have you done?" She whispered as her gaze fell on me. I stepped towards her as my mana finally depleted. The souls healing me slowly melted back into my chest as I took a deep breath. I couldn't let her live. If she did, she'd go back and tell Vixia where we were. And then, the other man, the one who terrifies me, would also learn.

I gathered the last of my power and dashed towards her. She stretched her wings and leapt into the air, but my sword found her before she could get away. I gave her a painless death – a thrust through the heart.

I stood on the now bloody, ash covered field and looked up to the sky. I was exhausted.