The Soul Keeper

I slowly opened my eyes and let out a calm breath. Only mere moments were left until the battle began.

Looking down on the field where the fighting would take place, I could see the enemy forces gathered around the Divine Pillar. The grassy field was devoid of hills or other obstacles. The once flourishing forest here had been cut down, even the stumps were removed.

They knew we were coming, and they had prepared accordingly.

Well, they knew someone was coming. Still clueless about my survival, they were probably prepared to face demons, not us. And I intended to use that belief of theirs to the fullest.

"Just a bit more," I whispered as I watched the sun set in the distance. The golden, crimson, and purple rays of light blinded me, but this time, I didn't mind. It was beautiful.

I noticed the pebble in my hand let out a faint glow. It was time.

I stepped forward just as my body morphed, taking on the form of the corrupted demon. Then, I took a deep breath, stretched my wings wide and leapt into the air.

Below me, I noticed the silhouettes of Lucius, Alex and Mona rush out of the distant treeline. They were shrouded in shadows and the Ereth hadn't noticed them yet. Keeping it that way was my job.

My wings carried me to the enemy lines, and I dashed down right towards the two cloaked and robed figures down below. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I let my magic loose, illuminating the night with purple flames.

Screams and shouting echoed all around me as my bright purple eyes met the golden eyes of the Ereth inquisitor. Her face twisted in disgust just before she put on her mask. As soon as she did, the Divine Pillar let out a soft, golden glow. The very same glow that I could clearly see in her eyes. The other inquisitor also put on her mask, though her expression just before she did so was one of fear.

I grinned for fear was exactly what I wanted to see. As my sword appeared in my hand out of pure darkness, Lightning struck the battlefield. 

"You're all dead men." I hissed just before dashing towards the two inquisitors. I just needed to keep everyone's attention on me for half a dozen seconds more.

Naturally, a pair of barriers formed around the two inquisitors as they drew upon the Pillar's power. I could see the flow of magic from the golden structure to them – to their masks, to be precise. Were those what allowed these two to draw so much more power than ordinary Ereth?

I pushed the thought aside as the ordinary swordsmen finally pulled themselves together and charged at me. I'd find out the answer to that thought soon enough anyways.

I swung my left arm outwards from my chest, sending a wave of fire in the direction of my motion. Flames such as these were easy to create and maintain, and they used up so little mana that I could keep with up for weeks if I needed to. The downside was that they were just ordinary flames, but purple in colour. They dealt little damage to those who took care not to stand in them and they were fairly easy to avoid as long as the enemy was paying at least some attention.

Yet, the Ereth didn't know of such downsides. From their point of view, demonic flames hungry for their lives came after them. Some created barriers around themselves while others backed off in a hurry.

And that little bit of chaos was exactly what Alex, Lucius, and Mona needed to join the fight.

The backlines of the Ereth crumbled as soon as Alex and her falchion met them. The tall, snake tailed woman was a force to be reckoned with. Despite having absolutely no magic, she was scarier than any one of these Ereth soldiers simply because of her intimidating aura and sheer strength.

Of course, strength wasn't all she had – over the past few months, she had picked up quite an array of skills and she was not shy when using them. Every swing of her blade was planned, every step she took was intentional and every movement of her ridiculously long and strong tail gave her some form of advantage.

She was the embodiment of strength, while Lucius fighting besides her was the embodiment of speed and technique. With every swing of his sword, the enemy cowered in fear as he was too fast for them to react. Never facing his opponents head on, he used his smaller figure and agility to the fullest as he danced among the blades thirsting for his blood and came out unscathed despite being so badly outnumbered. His motions carried a nostalgia with them, as he did what I couldn't – he carried on my sister's technique. 

While Alex and Lucius simply charged their enemies and came out on top with their own skills, Mona chose a different method and spread a much larger wave of terror; she used the ever present flora.

The plants, the blades of grass we so carelessly trampled upon came to life with her bright green wave of magic. Within moments, the Ereth found themselves stumbling and falling as the plants around them grew, twisting around their feet and tripping them up.

With even the ground fighting against them, the several dozens of soldiers soon broke whatever formation they had left. They looked like they were moments away from routing as Alex's battle cries continued to demoralize them.

Yet, the two inquisitors seemed unphased. One of them – the one filled with fear moments before, stepped back and cast a spell just as the other one stepped up to stop my blade.

A golden light spread outwards from the pillar, illuminating the night and burning my eyes. As the light touched the Ereth, the fear in their eyes seemed to vanish. The plants wilted and died, leaving Mona confused and angry. Alex and Lucius were forced to step back as their opposition suddenly regained their confidence and regrouped.

The massacre was over. We had gained what little advantage we could in the first minute of chaos. Now, the real battle began. And that required us to focus to our fullest.

Mona stepped back, away from the light, and allowed her magic to gather around her. Plants bloomed beneath her feet, yet she didn't seem to notice as her gaze focused solely on the inquisitor currently buffing the enemy lines.

I knew what that gaze meant. I didn't have to worry about the second inquisitor anymore – she was Mona's prey.

Alex and Lucius stepped up to protect Mona as she focused, and Alex raised her fist into the air. She didn't say a word – she didn't need to. Perhaps a split second later, an Ereth soldier in the backlines let out a gurgle, then fell. One only needed to glance at him to see how he had died. The feathery end of an exceptionally large arrow was sticking out of his throat.

Then, another one fell. The inquisitor clenched her fists and focused, casting another spell. While I would have loved to interrupt her, I knew that trying to do so could spell my doom as the other inquisitor's attention was on me. 

She blocked my sword with ease with a spear made of light, then touched her own chest with her left hand. With one fluid motion, she stepped aside, swung her spear, and pointed at me with her left hand. I stepped back to avoid the spear, only to see the golden light leaping from her fingertips.

A wall of purple flames rose to protect me – I wasn't about to fall for such a simple trick. 

On the other side, Alex was slowly mowing down her opponents, crushing them either with sheer force or tricking them with her sword only to kill them with a swing of her tail. Her slower motions would have normally left her open for attacks, but Lucius was there to cover that weakness. They complimented each other's styles perfectly, making quite the scary duo.

Mona was still focused on whatever spell she was casting, and Theresa's arrows continued to rain down upon our foes. Her accuracy was praiseworthy as she was shooting from so far away that only Lucius could see her probably. I knew she was being helped by Laura and her weird spells, but still, it was quite an accomplishment.

Yet, as soon as the Inquisitor in the back completed her spell, Theresa was out of this fight as a golden barrier rose to block her arrows. 

I once again turned my attention to the inquisitor I was facing off against. She was now trying to keep some distance between us as her golden barrier seemed to be weakened somewhat by my flames.

I took a step forward. It was time to finish this fight – we couldn't afford to prolong it. 

A cool breeze stopped me in my tracks as Mona finished her spell. With an almost evil smile on her lips, she stepped forward, her gaze solely focused on the two inquisitors. She was ready.