The earth trembled under the weight of footsteps, and the clashing of swords deafened the sky.
Blood spilled abundantly, staining the soil a dark crimson, while the air filled with the scent of iron and ash.
This was a true struggle between humans and demons—a battle with no room for mercy.
In the front lines, Kane's soldiers began retreating step by step, their eyes trembling with fear. The screams of their falling comrades planted terror in their hearts. Anxiety and despair were evident on their faces, as if they stood on the brink of collapse.
But in that moment, a powerful voice cut through the battle's chaos.
It was Kane, fighting with a sword that gleamed like ice. Every strike decapitated a demon or severed a limb. Yet, he found time to raise his voice:
—"Listen to me, my men! Do not let fear control you! We are here to achieve victory or die with honor—not to flee like cowards! If we fall today, may our names be etched into history as unforgettable legends! Fight! Fight until your last breath!"
His words pierced the soldiers' hearts like a spark. Eyes once clouded with fear now burned with fiery determination, and retreat turned into a fierce assault.
War cries rose, and Kane's ranks transformed into a wall of blood and steel.
Amid that hell, Kane moved like a whirlwind.
His steps were swift, nearly vanishing and reappearing like an icy arrow. His sword cut in wide arcs, beheading one demon while plunging into the chest of another.
With every strike, an icy aura burst from his body, chilling the air until a thin layer of frost coated the blood-soaked ground.
A soldier fighting beside him shouted:
—"Commander Kane… he is invincible!"
But amid the blood and scattered corpses, as the battle intensified, Kane suddenly sensed a strange energy behind him.
He turned swiftly and witnessed a hellish scene:
Ignis stood behind him, his eyes glowing red with madness. In his hand dangled the severed head of one of Kane's soldiers, blood dripping freely as he laughed a demonic laugh that shook hearts to their core.
Time froze for a few seconds.
Kane's grip on his sword tightened until it nearly shattered. Veins bulged, and a dense icy aura exploded from his body, freezing the very air.
He spoke in a voice hoarse with rage:
—"I will end you here and now…"
Ignis laughed maliciously, lifting the severed head high before tossing it to the ground in contempt.
—"Try it… and we shall see."
The atmosphere ignited. This was the beginning of a confrontation that would change everything.
---
Far from the hellish battlefield, Lloyd crept between the trees, his stomach growling as if a small beast screamed inside him.
He placed a hand on his belly and scowled:
—"Damn it… I'm about to turn into a corpse myself! Even the beasts won't come near me—they'll think I'm some kind of hungry zombie."
For hours, he had wandered, searching for anything edible. Bitter small fruits, dried herbs, even insects he nearly considered swallowing… but human dignity stopped him at the last moment.
And suddenly…
A priceless creature crossed his path: a plump chicken, pecking at the ground slowly, unaware it had become the greatest prize in Lloyd's life.
His eyes gleamed as if he had discovered treasure.
—"Finaaaaally… food… I'll be full… I'll live! I won't be defeated by hunger before a demon or beast gets me!"
Lloyd advanced cautiously, blending his movements with what he had recently learned about Qi.
He took a deep breath, focused on his pulse, and listened clearly to the sound of the chicken's light steps on the ground.
He whispered to himself:
—"If Qi helps me sense enemies… why not use it to hunt this cursed thing too? Read its movements… predict its next step… be faster than its feathers!"
In an instant, Lloyd leaped nimbly. His arm shot out faster than the poor chicken expected, and he caught it with both hands.
He lifted it triumphantly and cheered:
—"Hahahaha! I caught you, lunch! Now you'll see who the real hunter is!"
But before he could devour it in his imagination… he suddenly stopped.
His nose caught a pungent smell—smoke and fire.
His ears picked up distant screams—women and children crying, sounds of weeping and running.
His body trembled. He looked at the chicken still squirming in his grasp, then sighed wearily:
—"Damn it… even in the happiest moment of my life, fate decides to ruin everything!"
He let the chicken escape and sprinted quickly toward the source of the smell.
The ground shook beneath his feet with every step closer.
And when he arrived… his eyes widened.
Before him lay a small village of demi-humans, their simple huts engulfed in flames. The screams of its people tore through the night. Armed bandits roamed the place, looting, burning, and laughing maniacally as they dragged children from their mothers' arms.
Lloyd froze in place, his heart pounding violently, his mouth dry.
Confusion painted his face as he muttered to himself:
—"What… what should I do? Should… I run and leave them? Or… intervene? But… will I even be able to?"
His eyes remained fixed on the scene. His hand instinctively gripped his sword, and his legs trembled between stepping forward and back.
He had only a moment to decide…
---
And from here, we return to the hellish battle between Kane and Ignis, where fate was preparing the ground for another, bloodier confrontation.
The battlefield escalated to an indescribable level. The earth had turned into an open grave; charred corpses, frozen limbs, and blood evaporating from fiery heat or freezing into icy crystals.
Amid this hell, Kane stood, his sword dripping blood, surrounded by a cold mist. Opposite him stood Ignis, his bloody smile glowing amid the flames covering his body.
Kane (voice angry, eyes white as ice):
—"I swear I will make your end a hell colder than death itself."
Ignis (laughing, eyes glowing red):
—"Then try it… let's see who melts first, your ice or my body!"
The Clash Begins
The earth exploded under their feet as they launched at supernatural speed. Their swords met in a first spark that nearly tore the air apart.
A strike from Kane from above—Ignis deflected it with a fiery explosion that melted half the icy sword instantly, but Kane immediately reformed it with an even harder layer of ice.
A fiery kick from Ignis tore through the air like a meteor. Kane evaded it with an icy slide, turning the ground beneath him into a skating rink, moving behind his opponent's back to plunge his sword into Ignis's shoulder.
A burst of blood followed the strike, but Ignis laughed maniacally and burned the wound himself to stop the bleeding. He retaliated with a flaming fist that struck Kane's chest, sending him crashing into a rocky wall that shattered like fragile glass.
Kane raised his hand and unleashed an icy storm that swept across the field. Every drop of blood on the ground turned into frozen red crystals, and nearby soldiers froze in place like living statues.
Ignis did not retreat. Instead, he raised his arms and shouted:
—"Great Fire Core… Explosion of Karzol!"
A fireball the size of a house erupted, swallowing the icy storm. The sky split into two halves: one covered in white ice, the other burning in orange and red.
Every collision between them shook the earth.
Ice split tongues of fire, and fire melted icy barriers.
Blood from both combatants flew with every strike, their wounds multiplied, but neither considered retreat.
Kane lunged, his face covered in blood, his sword piercing Ignis's abdomen. But Ignis grabbed the blade with his bare hand, burning the ice until it vaporized, then struck Kane's head directly with his forehead, scattering droplets of their blood into the air.
A fiery punch from Ignis tore through part of Kane's icy armor. Kane responded by driving his elbow into his enemy's jaw, shattering some of his teeth.
Both were panting, but their eyes still blazed.
Ignis raised his arms and formed a fiery dragon that emerged from the earth, devouring the air with red-roaring flames.
Kane did not retreat. He roared and released an icy dragon from his hands, crawling with a frozen roar.
The two dragons collided at the center of the arena…
The explosion was so horrific that soldiers from both sides fell to the ground—some vaporized, others shattered into icy fragments.
Fire and ice mixed with blood until the sky itself split into two halves: fire and ice.
Kane and Ignis, amid this hell, charged at each other again, their swords piercing flesh and bone.
They reached a final moment: Kane's sword at Ignis's neck, Ignis's fiery blade at Kane's heart.
Both were ready to die…
And suddenly…
An oppressive silence fell.
Even the flames stopped dancing, and the ice ceased spreading.
A masked man emerged from the mist, walking with steady steps.
No fire, no ice… yet everyone felt a heavy, strange presence that could not be ignored.
His presence alone seemed to choke the very air.
He raised his hand, his voice calm but carrying the weight of a mountain:
—"Enough."
The two fighters' swords froze, not moving an inch.
Ignis turned with glowing eyes and said:
—"Master…!"
The man revealed part of his mask, showing a human jaw, before adding coldly:
—"The fight is over. Withdraw."
No one argued.
The demon forces retreated immediately, as if a single word from him held more power than any magic or core.
As for Kane, he remained standing, his body bleeding, but his eyes did not lower.
The masked man cast a long look at Kane, then said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible:
—"We will meet again… Commander of Ice."
With calm steps, as he had come, he disappeared into the mist, leaving behind a blood-soaked arena and a human army on the verge of collapse—yet undefeated.
✧ End of Chapter Seven ✧