TIALA LANGARNESS’S POINT OF VIEW
What had just happened? Even though the icicles in the cave were melting away, it had grown colder. Was that really Asmode? His crown of gold and frame of wire were similar to the tales my grandmother used to tell; “And he raised from the ground one day, seeing that his land had been overrun by humans and elves. His fury alone opened the heavens and eradicated all life he deemed unworthy” was the part that always gave me chills.
“You two,” he spoke, his voice clear and emotionless. The podium of rock he stood on moved towards us, lowering slightly as he closed in until he was standing only a few feet away. "Envy, even you have fallen.”
Levi stepped in front of me, which I would usually be pissed about, but knowing that someone else would have to face this thing before I would gave me a sense of peace. “What have you done with Asmode?” Levi asked, and I saw that his hand was shaking on the handle of his sword, though he was trying to hide it.
“He and I made a deal,” the devil replied. “I get ten minutes. It only took two to kill that octopus.” These words, paired with the overexaggerated grin he wore made my skin crawl. He had apparently not noticed my existence until our eyes met, which caused his eyebrows to raise. “What a beauty.”
“You’ve done your job,” Levi butted in. The devil snapped his attention back to our party leader. His eyes, which were usually calm and open, seemed to burrow a beam of hatred into Levi. His attitude didn’t match, either. He usually spoke highly of him, so why was he now looking at him like he was shit on his shoe?
“Billions of years ago, there was nothing,” the devil said, beginning a monologue to no-one in particular. “No life except the animals that roamed the surface and the fish that swam in the sea. I thought I was alone, then I met six beings that had been born as I had. We bonded over our power and our isolation. I ruled over the deep underground, whilst you, dear Envy, ruled over the seas.” The ground at Levi’s feet began slowly encasing his legs up to his shins. “But one day humans, elves, beastfolk, and demons appeared. They took over the surface, disrespected what we built before them. So why? Why did they turn on us? Kill us and parade us through the streets?”
Levi stood stiff, the rock now encasing the whole bottom half of his legs. He, like me, didn’t dare to make a noise and interrupt the devil’s story. The figure made his way to stand directly in front of Levi, at perfect arm’s length.
“But do you know how many of us were paraded there?” He asked Levi, finally reaching breaking point and roaring. “Six! Six of us! Do you know which one of us was missing? You!” The devil threw a punch at Levi’s face, which looked like it would decapitate anybody else. “Where were you?” He yelled, demanding an answer though he didn’t give Levi enough time to answer between his mountainous blows. “Where? You abandoned us!” His punches grew louder and more ferocious, causing the floor beneath me to vibrate with each contact. “You did nothing to help us! You did nothing to save us! You did nothing!” The devi wailed, dropping to his knees in a shambles. Tears rolled down the cheeks of darkness. “Why? We counted on you.”
I finally felt safe enough to breathe, though made sure it was not above a low wheeze. The figure of black continued to sob to himself, which gave me enough confidence to approach Levi and look at his face. Bone poked out of his skin, his eyes were milky white, and his whole being was limp, attempting to fall back, but only being held up by the cracked rock at his feet. Blood seeped from his ears and his jaw dislodged from its socket.
“Now, apparently this thing is much stronger than C-Class,” I heard a voice echo from further down the cave. “But I think you should be strong enough to kill it with your skills. I’ll be at the side-lines, but it’s all you Randall.”
“Yeah, yeah,” a cocky voice replied, and I was now able to hear their footsteps. “I’ll catch up to Levi before we go to the Acad-”
“Focus on yourself,” the elder voice replied, now seeming annoyed. “When you go to the Academy you not only represent you and your family, but you represent me, too.”
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‘Levi? Did they mention Levi?’ I thought, feeling a small sense of elation at the possibility of a saviour coming for us. The devil, however, stopped sobbing immediately. He stood up and grabbed me, though his grip was lighter than I expected it to be.
“Stay here,” he ordered, pushing me behind a large boulder. “If you move, or scream, I'll kill you, Envy, and this body.”
I nodded, knowing from his lack of expression that he meant every word. I sat behind the rock, listening as the footsteps entered the room. They halted at the entrance, and a deafening silence overcame the air.
“Levi...” I heard the younger voice say, worry evident in his tone. “Trafalgar, we need to help hi-”
“He is dead,” the other voice said, stern in his observation. “What we should be worrying about is that being there.” I heard the devil laugh slightly at this and decided to peak over the rock to see what was going on.
“You are strong,” the devil stated, pointing at a blond man that looked eerily familiar. “You, boy,” he pointed to the red-headed boy who was still staring at Levi’s body. “Are far from it.”
“Did... did you do this?” The boy asked, and I noticed his eyes twitching slightly as he asked the question. “Why would you... he was... he did nothing wrong.”
“I did it,” the devil replied, his voice cold. “But what are you going to do about it?”
“We're going to kill you,” the boy stated. The blonde man produced a sword whilst the boy produced a polearm, gripping it until his knuckles went white. The boy charged at the crowned figure, using magic to hasten his steps to an unbelievable speed. Due to the rapid clanging of the polearm against the devil’s nails, I never even noticed that the blond man was also in the fray, moving twice as fast as the boy.
I was unable to discern whether the devil’s eyes were showing focus, fear, or possibly both. He had to defend against the lava-coated slashes of the man but wasn’t willing to let the boy’s attacks hit him either. The red-head backed out of the fight, having landed several decent blows on the demon before chanting in a low whisper.
The fight between the blond man I now recognised to be Trafalgar the Holy Shield and whatever had taken over Asmode’s body was now a fair one. No blows were getting past the other’s defense, though many attacks were thrown in the small scuffle.
“Solar Eruption,” the boy- who I assumed was Randall- yelled, pointing his weapon at the two men. A large ball of red, swimming lava appeared a the tip of his blade, containing enough heat that I could feel it from where I was, and enough power that it was disrupting the mana particles in the area. The ball dashed from the boy’s blade, hurling towards the two fighters.
At the last possible moment, Trafalgar backed off from the fight, standing clear away from the attack as it covered his opponent, drowning him in a sea of orange. I watched as the sea of orange turned back into a ball, capturing the devil inside of it.