Demon soldiers swept through the forest, killing anything that attacked. They searched every cave and settlement, leaving nothing unchecked.
"
Finding nothing, they left to rejoin the others and continue the search.
Above the trees, Rakon and his soldiers flew, searching for hidden homes where the Karnals lived. All of whom were scattered, but always close to a main village.
"
Curious, Rakon glanced in the direction, discovering a flock of Karnal soldiers flying toward them.
"
Rakon scoffed inwardly. "
At his command, his soldiers attacked. The flying Karnals tried to resist, throwing spears and clashing swords, but were quickly overwhelmed and cut down.
"
A heavy silence lingered over the blood-soaked forest. The soldiers moved on, boots squelching in the mud.
Deeper in the forest, Gaz and Mae moved quickly, searching for any signs of life.
Mae sighed, exhausted. "
Gaz shook his head. "No. Just some animals." He paused, eyes darting to the right. "Wait. Big bear coming our way."
Mae conjured her hammer and smashed the bear's skull in one blow. She kicked the corpse aside, almost annoyed. "
"
"
Gaz lowered his voice. ""
"
Gaz nodded. "
Mae sighed, her voice tight. "
Gaz shifted his eyes throughout the forest, then leaned closer.
"
"
********
Dulled-eyed, Kalika stepped over a fresh carcass of a large beast, silent and bloodstained, knife in hand.
Animals scurried in the undergrowth. Kalika walked on, unfazed, half-expecting another large monster to appear.
Her eyes flickered open as she sensed demons approaching from all sides. Her legs wobbled. Thoughts of earlier attacks echoed in her mind. "More demons?" Her legs ceased shaking. Her very being relented. "You know what… Who cares? What's the point of—"
Kalika's eyes widened, surprised to find a group of demon soldiers.
"
Each one pointed their spear at her and stared, uncertain.
They broke into a whispered conversation.
"
"
A breath passed from Kalika's lips at the mention of Rakon's name.
The fourth gave an order. The group closed in on Kalika.
"That bastard… is still looking for me?" For a moment, something hot and bright flared inside her. Anger, and something dangerously close to hope. Her lips twitched. Suddenly, a wild, broken laugh burst free. For a heartbeat, she felt alive again, fueled by rage and an old promise of revenge.
"
Ignoring their demands, she stood.
"
She gripped the spear, leaning into its point, her stare wild and unblinking. "
The soldiers shook, their resolve eroding, as Kalika pressed her neck harder against the tip of the soldier's spear.
"
"
For a moment, time seemed to slow. Kalika's breathing was steady, the only sound in the tense air.
"
Without warning, their spears snapped from Kalika's neck, the heads of the spears landing on the ground with an audible thud, all as her neck healed as if nothing had happened.
She stepped forward, and as if to taunt them, she held both her knife and dagger, with her arms outstretched, ready to kill.
""
From the side, a soldier, more bold, attacked with his spear.
Kalika hurled her knife into the demon. He raised his spear, catching the blade, but it sliced through and nicked his arm. He gritted his teeth and charged, forcing Kalika to leap back. She snapped her knife back into her hand and darted around him.
A second soldier lunged and grazed her side with his spear. Kalika spun, pain sharpening her focus, and drove her dagger into the first soldier's leg.
He reeled, and she dodged as the third soldier's spear stabbed the dirt, then leapt back in and drove her knife into the attacker's neck. Blood spattered. She yanked her blade free and tossed it up. She turned, hearing the fourth soldier's approach. He jabbed, but she reconjured her dagger and parried, clashing dagger with spear in a fierce clash of sparks and interlocking her in place.
The soldiers faltered, shocked, but pressed in together, thrusting at Kalika, in hopes of overwhelming her. Suddenly, her knife darted past their heads. One soldier tried to duck, but the blade sank into his skull, dropping him instantly.
The knife just as quickly tore free, arced through the air, and slashed open another's throat before snapping back to her hand.
With ease, she twisted past the fourth soldier's swing, stepped in, and pressed her dagger to his neck. "You know what, forget it. Maybe it's more fun killing 'you' demons. But how do I find the rest?"
"
She slashed his neck and shoved the demon aside. "Don't ruin my fun." Her cold glare melted into a crooked smile. "Hey, Rakon. Let's see who finds who first. Winner gets what they want."
"[excited?]"
"Shut up. Don't spoil the fun. I want to find that bastard, and when I do, I want to choke him with my own two hands." Kalika shifted her eyes left and right, assessing her surroundings.
The knife flew back to her hand, and she moved deeper into the forest. Black trees and purple leaves flashed by, yellow grass bent beneath her feet, and crystals glowed a deepening red.
Any thoughts for safety vanished. Replaced by an overwhelming animalistic desire she once rejected as she darted through the forest. The slit of her eyes narrowed, now a predator searching for the shadows of demons.
The hairs on her neck rose. Sensing more of Rakon's soldiers nearby, she darted toward them. Soon she heard the scrape of armor ahead from soldiers rummaging a hut, half-wrapped in black vines.
A cruel smirk played on Kalika's face as she slipped closer, weaving between trunks and jagged plants. She hurled her knife through a window. The blade flashed, slicing through purple leaves and throats. Screams echoed. Blood splattered, decorating the hut in red.
With the hut behind, the knife whisked back and snapped back into her hand, a bloody mess. Satisfied, her smile widened as she charged on.
Kalika moved fast, weaving between trees and attackers. Her knife slashed and spun, carving through the chaos. Some soldiers blocked, others dodged, but most fell as her blades flashed. The last few, alerted, fought back hard, swinging and snarling, but Kalika matched their fury. Black and red blood sprayed across the trees and yellow grass. All the while, her knife whistled through the air, striking down anyone distracted for a second.
Soon, more soldiers closed in. They surrounded her, fighting with desperate strength. But with sharp focus, Kalika's knife flew, and the dagger danced between their flesh and Kalika's hands, whittling down soldiers as they pressed in from all sides.
Soldiers fell in pieces, sliced and beheaded as Kalika fought through the chaos of confused and determined soldiers.
Minutes escaped. And the forest fell silent, broken only by her heavy breathing. Limbs and bodies covered the ground, blood staining the trees and her skin in a crimson, beneath the blue hue of the crystal's glow.
She stood at the center. Now more monster than demon.
"
Kalika leered back, watching as the last of the older demon soldiers tried to cover his fleeing companion. She laughed, amused by the attempt, and cocked her head, considering how to kill the last one.
"Hah. I wonder…"
She raised her hands at the demon, and a pool of darkness formed within, even bigger than before.
She burst into laughter, rattling the demon's courage. The old soldier lunged and stabbed Kalika in the heart. Unfazed, she stared back at him.
Suddenly, a dark ball zipped past him and the tree line. He glanced back and watched in horror as the fleeing soldier was engulfed in a sea of black flames.
He turned back in horror, almost too terrified to ask. "
Kalika frowned. She stabbed the demons through the head. She pushed the demon to the ground and pulled the spear from her chest.
She raised her hand and gathered magic, forming a growing ball of darkness. "I wonder if I can do this again. How big can I make it?" she said, chuckling.
The dark ball swelled, engulfing the trees with a mass the size of a house. Suddenly, it exploded.
Forests and homes disintegrated at the touch, while others miraculously stood on, cloaked in a sea of black fire.
Kalika stood in the center of a crater of black flames. Dizzy, she laughed as she surveyed the devastation. Words of Zorbian's declaration to destroy the world echoed in her mind. She looked at her bloodied fingers, then swirled a small mass of darkness in front of her face before touching and absorbing it completely.
Overwhelmed by a sense of euphoria, Kalika gazed up at the sky. Her eyes, washing over the countless crystals in the ceiling. "Maybe I should let him destroy this world," she thought.
She chuckled lightly, watching as a squad of flying demons flew in her direction. She locked onto the group and raised her hand, darkness pooling within as she stood ready to kill. "At least then, I wouldn't have to live in this rotten world."
Suddenly, her hand went numb and flew upward, slashed off by a blade.
She glanced, discovering Rakon, holding an average sword, staring with a look of utter bewilderment.
Her breath caught, but then a strange joy rose up inside her.
"Black blood?" Rakon's mood quickly shifted, and he kicked her to the ground. "You're that savage, aren't you? Tell me! Where are those two humans and Bjorn!?" He demanded, his voice a mix of anger and disbelief.
"They're dead," Kalika replied, her voice flat and empty.
Rakon stared, stunned. That voice that escaped her lips seemed impossible. His eyes widened as he took in the blue-skinned woman. "K… Kalika?" he whispered.
"So you finally showed up," she said, her tone mocking.
Rakon watched as she rose. Her golden eyes peered at him, her tail swayed, and her horns stayed firm as she cocked her head and approached.
A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, only for it to be smothered away at the sight of her dagger.
"
Kalika's knife zipped into her head. Startled, Rakon watched as Kalika's arm flew back to her body, mending. Seconds later, she ripped the blade from her head.
"How… How did this happen to you?" Rakon stammered, disbelief etched on his face.
"You want to know how this happened? You happened!" Kalika spat the words, her voice raw. Pain and fury tangled together until she barely recognized herself.
Her voice rose, trembling with rage. "You abandoned me! Left me with those so-called 'Wardens'! Those women cut me, burned me, and poured molten metal down my throat! They even served me half-cooked Rhonda on your behalf!"
Her face twisted with pain and fury. "But they got what they deserved." Her eyes narrowed with a pool of hatred. "And so will you!"
Kalika lunged, her dagger pointed directly in Rakon's face as she blocked dead on. "I never told them to harm you," he defended
"Of course you didn't! But you didn't stop them either, did you?"
Rakon shoved Kalika. She skidded in the ash, then lunged, blades flashing in a storm of thrusts and slashes. Each attack drove Rakon further back as he struggled to parry her relentless assault.
"What's wrong!? You're not going to use your blood magic?? Are you not going to clone yourself?
The two clashed; Rakon barely managed to redirect her attack to the side, letting her stumble. She turned, expecting him to attack, instead finding him waiting.
She snarled, fury rising. She lunged again, slashing and hammering at his blade. "And what's with your stupid arms? Why are they black!?"
Rakon grimaced.
Finding a sudden opening, he riposted, but stopped short of her neck.
Kalika sneered and leapt back. She conjured her second knife and threw it at Rakon. He blocked it, but she summoned it back, the blade darting around him in a dizzying flurry. Rakon dodged and blocked, tracking the knife's path as Kalika pressed in, her slashes coming faster, each movement fueled by fury.
The two clashed blades, and Rakon jerked his back, dodging her flying knife, and infuriating Kalika further.
She pressed harder, her voice rough. "What, are you scared now? You didn't hesitate to kill me before in those stupid games. So, why are you hesitating now!?"
Rakon clenched his teeth, clashing briefly against Kalika.
He quickly jumped back, dodging the knife again, then parrying it away.
Rakon waited for an opening. He caught Kalika's thrust and forced her blade into the ground, then slashed her arm with practiced precision. Blood welled from the cut as he grabbed her wound.
"This ends now!" Rakon shouted.
Kalika pulled back from him, taking her dagger.
Prepared to attack again, she stopped, shocked to see Rakon swab blood from his sword and toss it. He quickly reached into his vest, unveiling a black parchment.
With his bloodied fingers, he reached for the parchment, but suddenly stopped short. He reeled, and black veins shot from his arm and body up his neck. "N-no! Not now!"
On instinct, Kalika tackled Rakon to the ground and pinned him down as he convulsed from pain.
She raised her dagger, eyes laser-focused and ready to kill.
The dagger hung, trembling in the air. She wanted to end it, to end him, to end everything. Her eyes stung, but she forced a shaky smile. Mustering all her emotions, she forced her blade down.
She stared down, her breathing more labored as she stared at her dagger, planted into the ashy ground by Rakon's head.
She watched him. Eventually, his convulsions stopped, and his consciousness faded.
She stared on, suddenly unsure. The old hunger for violence faded, replaced with a cold, unexpected fear.
'He's the last one." She told herself. "The last one…"
She leaned into a now-unconscious Rakon, resting her head atop his chest. At the corner of her eye, she watched as the black crawled up his arms, practically reaching his shoulders.
"You're a foolish demon. You got greedy. And now look at you… But…"
She raised her head and sat atop him. Her eyes immediately darted to the black contract hidden within his vest.
"You found me first."
********
Hours later, Rakon opened his eyes. The daylight had faded, replaced by the dim glow of the magic crystals. He felt something soft and ashy beneath him, and a heavy weight pressed on his chest. Lifting his head, he stared in surprise.
On top of him, Kalika laid on him, sleeping.
Confused, his glance immediately turned to a symbol on her chest. The mark of a slave.
"
Kalika stirred. With dull eyes, she clung tighter to Rakon, like the final thread of an old life.