Into the Darkness: Devotion

[Castor Sternheart]

The sun blazed down as blood dripped from my face. I raised my sword, using all my strength to defend.

Her blade was heavy, so heavy it felt like a star crashing down upon me.

Her black hair swayed to the left as she moved, twisting her blade as it slid up my stomach.

Her red eyes traced my every movement as I flicked my blade upward, aiming to slash her arm.

She jumped back, flipping midair before skidding against the dirt.

As she looked up, her sharp teeth peeked through her smile.

This is Zentanah. She comes from a famous bloodline, one granted power by demons.

They were given eyes, eyes that could see the future, capable of tracing movements with terrifying precision.

Hers were red, meaning they were still in the first stage. There are three stages in total.

Red the first stage, allowing her to trace my movements, though it drains her mana.

Dark red the second stage, enabling her to do so without mana loss.

Black was the final stage, not only allowing her to track my movements but also granting her a unique ability tied to her mind.

My goal is to hunt them all down and kill them. Osalsia has deemed these people… hindrances.

They have only one weakness, overwhelming strength.

Her red cloak billowed behind her, her black shirt wrinkled and tattered, exposing a glimpse of the white undergarment beneath.

Her curved sword gleamed under the light, its bluish-silver blade coated in my blood.

She watched me carefully as I stepped forward, mana coursing through my blade.

"Zentanah, come on. Don't you want to just give up? I've already laid waste to this island."

We were fighting along the northern coast of the western continent. I had already evaporated ten islands before finding this one.

I held off on destroying it completely, not just because of them, but because others were hiding here as well. However, my patience was running thin.

"Castor, are you so confident in your power? I'm still… holding back."

She straightened, leveling her blade with mine. At that moment, her eyes shifted, from red to black.

I see… so you've been holding out on me.

She smirked. "I wouldn't want to kill you in one strike."

The ground shifted.

And with it, the entire island tilted.

At the same moment, her blade was at my neck.

I blocked, the clash ringing through the air like thunder. I shoved her back and immediately thrust forward, my blade glowing with a dim golden light.

"Heavenly Piercer!"

My blade shot toward her head, but she ducked, then drove her foot into my chest, launching me into the air.

As a side effect of my attack, the clouds split apart.

I don't like destroying the planet they created, but at times, I have no choice.

I twisted my head back just in time to parry her counterthrust as I plummeted toward the ground.

Spinning midair, I slashed at her, but she instantly met my strike, clashing with me once more.

Then, she grabbed my blade.

A powerful force suddenly yanked me backward, dragging me across the ground.

I skidded to a stop, coughing up blood. As I turned, my eyes narrowed.

Another one.

"Jaqnerats... I thought you died."

He was Zentanah's twin brother.

Leaning on his spear, he wagged a finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Castor, did you really think she could kill me?"

I wiped the blood from my mouth. "Where is she?"

Zentanah stepped out from behind me; sheathing her blade as she stood beside her brother.

Jaqnerats lifted his all-black spear, pointing it directly at me. "Your sister? Dead."

I scoffed. Liar.

She's stronger than me. I only draw upon her power, she is my catalyst, and I am her keeper.

Jaqnerats, while powerful, could never hope to best her.

I exhaled sharply. "Laughable. Don't antagonize me. You know all too well what I'm capable of."

His smirk faded. He stepped forward, his black boots crushing the earth beneath him, leaving behind a crater.

"Castor, this island will be your deathbed. Try not to destroy it in the process of… well, you know. Dying."

Lightning converged at the tip of his spear, and then he threw it.

I dodged, but Zentanah was already on my right, swinging down. I twisted and swung up, meeting her strike.

Jaqnerats grabbed his spear and slammed it into my chest, sending me flying back.

As I flew, a spear of pure blue lightning struck my chest, launching me even further.

I barely had time to stand before Zentanah's blade came for my neck, fire wrapped around it.

I parried, but a beam of lightning hit my back, sending me stumbling forward.

She took the chance to slash my leg, but I managed to swing back, cutting her arm.

Spinning around, I ducked, dodging a large thrust from Jaqnerats, then swiftly slashed his upper chest.

He stumbled back as she moved forward, an orb of fire in her palm.

I parried her attack, but the orb slammed into my face. Shaking it off, I kicked her back.

At the same time, I grabbed Jaqnerats's spear and hurled him into the air.

Light magic, the fastest and strongest elemental class.

It's only true counter is dark magic, yet despite its name, light moves faster than darkness.

The exact number is lost to me, but last time I tested it, it was about ten times faster. However, that depends on the user.

I let the light's grace flow into me, pouring through my veins, a relief from the dark.

A moment later, my eyes began to glow, my blood turning gold. I gripped my blade.

I raised it, pointing at Zentanah as she sighed, coating her blade in fire.

"Castor, it seems we really are going to have to kill you."

I moved my left hand behind my back, catching Jaqnerats's spear mid-air. Then, I turned, pulling him forward and kicking him into Zentanah.

She caught him, dropping him to the ground as I took a step forward.

Light flashed from my blade, shooting out in a piercing beam. It struck through her chest instantly, sending her to the ground.

Jaqnerats threw his spear at me, following up with two more made of lightning. I dodged all three.

Grabbing her sword, he screamed as he lunged at me.

I caught the blade between two fingers, then drove my own sword into his heart.

"Come on, Jaqnerats. Didn't you foresee this?"

He coughed, blood dripping onto my blade as he dropped hers.

"Damn you, Castor… You really live up to the name. Mutt."

I felt a tingling sensation on my chest, his hand pressed against it, lightning crackling around it.

"Come now, don't insult me."

I grabbed his neck and slammed him into the ground before pulling my sword free.

His pure black eyes faded back to bright red. A moment later, I felt nothing from him.

"Jaqnerats! Damn you, Castor!" Zentanah screamed, coughing up blood in the process.

She could barely stand, yet she walked toward me.

Truthfully, I didn't want to kill them.

They were once friends, good friends, but the empire needed them gone.

They had potential. The potential to rebel, to revolt, to plague the world.

I am the Keeper of Light. I am everything needed to halt their rise.

I don't care if I become hated for doing so.

Zentanah stopped at my feet, clutching her brother's body, tears falling down her face as I turned to walk away.

There were at least ten more I hadn't killed yet.

I would let her live, at least until the end.

At least, that was the plan.

But then, I felt something.

Something coming from her soul.

Slowly, I turned, my eyes tracing her movements as she stood up.

"Castor," she spat, "like the mutt you are, you rampage without cause. You're an animal. A beast that needs to be put down."

"And what about it? You're nowhere near strong enough to do so. Even with help from your brother, you couldn't."

I could slaughter her in an instant, yet I allowed her to pick up her blade.

Fire erupted from her eyes and mouth.

And then, to my surprise, the flames turned black.

"Demon flames? Oh, you've gone low, Zenny."

She scoffed. "You no longer have the luxury of judging me… or calling me that, Cassy."

I looked down at Jaqnerats.

His body had vanished, leaving only his clothes.

At the same time, I felt intense heat, heat I could only describe as a star.

Looking back at Zentanah, I saw fire-black armor covering her body.

"Cassy, from now on, you are nothing more than a mutt. A mutt that I will put down personally."