The Forsaken Hero

Aqua’s words sent a shock through me, my tail giving a startled flick. I stared at her, heart racing, eyes wide. She was an inquisitor, yet offered to fight a demon alongside me? Forget me trusting her, how could she possibly rely on me? I was a demon in their eyes, no different than this evolved demon before us.

The shriek of steel shattered my thoughts, the demon suddenly looming over me. It brought a bladed arm down, smashing heavily into the blad ward. A small ripple surged across the ward’s barrier, a noticeable chunk of my mana dispersing.

Fable let out a cry and leaped at the demon, snapping his jaws shut on a large blade and dragging it away. Blood leaked through his canine lips as the infernal steel cut into his flesh, but he showed no indication he felt pain, tightening his grip and slamming the demon into the ground. The demon let out a shrill groan and flailed about, slicing through the wolf’s hardened fur, leaving long, jagged furrows in his flesh.

"Fable!" I cried, Aqua forgotten, running forward. "Restoration!"

The two giant creatures grappled in a storm of flashing blades and fur, approaching them seemed like suicide. I ran forward regardless, rapidly weaving the fourth-circle life spell. Every time the two monsters met, blood poured from Fable’s flesh into rivers, dying his silver fur. A stray blade glanced off the Blade Ward, causing me to stumble a few steps back, but gritting my teeth, I pushed through and managed to lay a hand on Fable’s hind leg.

The wolf howled as he was bathed in soft, green Life Magic, his life and energy restored. He brought a heavy paw down on the monster, sending it into the forest. The demon passed through the trees as though they weren’t there, only to have them come crashing down, split into dozens of pieces.

It was impossible to tell whether Fable had even damaged the demon, but as it picked itself up, the silver core blazed furiously, blades whirring about it in a veritable storm of steel and magic. An insidious glow leaked from the ball of light, lacing through the gleaming steel. My scalp tingled, goosebumps crawling down my arms, as it took a step toward us, finally revealing its full, fifth-level abilities.

I glanced up at Fable, grateful to be in his towering shadow. Soft, green light continued to flicker over his wounds, knitting his flesh together, hardened, silver fur sprouting in the gaps. The inquisitors had left their marks as well, and it would take several seconds until he was in full fighting condition. Seconds we didn’t have.

The Blade Demon charged forward, a hellish, whispering tempest of death. Moving without thinking, I ran in front of Fable, desperate to buy him the time he needed, and cast a fourth-circle spell.