(This event unfolded simultaneously as Ren, Soren, and Nox charged into the crowd.)
The grey-haired commander sneered. "Aren't you going to draw even one of those swords?"
Kirian smirked. "Nah. If I did, this would be over too quickly. I want you all to die really slowly. Besides… you're weaklings."
The grey haired man snickered, while the one with the murderous eyes smiled like a predator that had finally cornered its prey.
Then, like a spark before a firestorm, they ignited. Ren, Soren, and Nox launched themselves into the tide of soldiers, tearing through the ranks like a living storm.
"Hmph. So this is how you choose to die, by diving headfirst into inevitable death?" the old man scoffed, casting Kirian a scornful glance.
"Five minutes." Kirian raised his fingers.
"Huh?"
"It'll only take five minutes to put you and your army on the ground. The only hard part about this fight will be clearing out your corpses."
The grey haired man laughed. "Your arrogance will be your undoing."
The three soldiers whipped their heads back at the sudden sound of a BANG!
It was Ren, slamming a spear straight through the formation. Bodies flew high into the air, the front line collapsing like a wave breaking against rock.
The mounted soldier at the center cracked the faintest smile, a tiny shift most would miss. But Kirian noticed.
The grey haired man and the soldier with the murderous eyes turned to him, disbelief and a quiet dread creeping into their faces. They knew now, more than before that these men weren't just talk.
The grey haired man muttered, "Irun. We should use everything from the start. That one is dangerous. If we delay, our men will pay the price." His words were for Irun, though his gaze stayed locked on Kirian.
Irun exhaled sharply. "Old man Stine, I wanted to enjoy this battle, but it seems you might be right."
"I told you to call me commander, boy," Stine snapped.
"Whatever, old man."
Irun raised his right palm toward Kirian, golden light bleeding from his hand towards kirian. Kirian stood there, unmoved, almost amused.
Then he began laughing,loud, unhinged, echoing through the fields. The villagers froze. Even Stine and Irun shivered.
"What the hell's wrong with him?" Irun muttered. "I just blinded him, with my ability, why is he laughing?"
Stine didn't reply. He just stared, his face tightening with unease.
Kirian's laughter stopped suddenly. His voice came out low, cutting through the silence.
"So this is your ability? the best you can do? Blind me?" He tilted his head. "If you took my legs and one arm along with my sight, you still couldn't put a scratch on my body even if hell froze over."
His tone darkened. "Now tell me, if I kill you, will it cancel your ability?"
Irun smiled. "Why don't you try?"
"Oh, I will". Kirian's voice dropped to a whisper. "Very slowly."
"Bastard!" Irun shot forward like a cannon. His blade slashed down, carving the earth where Kirian had stood a second before. Kirian ducked low, the sword's edge brushing the air above his head.
"Move!" Stine roared.
Irun leapt.
ROOAARR!
Stine breathed fire—a torrent of flame that swallowed Kirian whole.
The blaze lasted five seconds before fading. Kirian emerged, brushing ash from his clothes. "Old man, you really should stop that. There are fields here. I'd hate to see them burn."
"Are you sure you blinded him?" Stine's voice trembled.
"Are you seriously asking me that?" Irun snapped back.
"Then how is he able to tell when we attack—and dodging everything?"
"That won't happen again." Irun surged forward, his sword thrusting toward Kirian's head.
Kirian caught his wrist mid strike and twisted. Then, rising, he slammed his fist upward into Irun's elbow.
CRACK!
Irun's elbow snapped. His sword dropped.
"AHHHHHHH!"
"You're screaming already? I'm not even done."
Kirian seized his other arm, leapt slightly, and drove his knee down hard.
CRACK!
Irun's second arm shattered. His screams died into broken sobs.
"I'm sorry, Irun," Stine said quietly, "but while he's distracted with you, I'll take him out."
He inhaled deeply.
ROOOOAAAR!
This flame was bigger, hotter, and wide enough to devour everything in its path.
Kirian felt it coming, he remembered the wheat field behind him.
Before the fire could touch him, he moved. One blink, and he was gone.
In the next, he was crouched beneath Stine.
BANG!
Kirian's palm slammed into Stine's lower jaw with crushing force. Blood and teeth burst from his mouth. His jaw shattered, hanging loose. He tried to roar again, but the flames poured uncontrollably, searing his own face.
Kirian touched his eyes, his vision returned in a flash of color.
"So that's how it works," he muttered. "Incapacitate the caster, kill the curse."
Irun lay on the ground, barely breathing, froth spilling from his mouth. "Guess he couldn't sustain it," Kirian said.
Stine's stray fire had already reached the wheat, and villagers were racing to douse it with buckets of water.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Kirian turned toward the sound. It was Stine slamming his head into the ground.
Blood splattered with every strike. His strength faded until he could barely move, only whimpering.
He knelt, head bowed.
Kirian stepped up to him, the villagers watched silently. The image looked almost ritualistic—a condemned man kneeling before judgment.
"It seems you're ready to die," Kirian said coldly. "Consider this your last kindness."
"Mmhh…" Stine moaned pitifully.
Kirian lifted his foot, then stomped.
SPLAT!
Stine's skull burst open.
Irun laughed through gritted teeth. "Hahaha… hah…"
Kirian turned. "Is something funny to you?"
"You could've killed us ten times over already," Irun rasped. "But you didn't. You've just been toying with us. Is this personal?"
Kirian's voice sharpened. "Personal? You burned villages. Killed women, children, the old, the helpless, and you ask if it's personal?"
His tone darkened further. "You killed my last blood. My brother. My niece. Burned their bodies. And you ask if this is personal?"
Irun smiled, his eyes wild. "Our king ordered it. But the truth is, I enjoyed it. I love killing. I love slicing flesh. I love watching the light fade from their eyes. And I hope I was the one who killed your family."
Kirian pressed his boot against Irun's throat, not enough to crush it, but enough to choke him slowly. He watched his eyes dim, inch by inch.
Then Irun bit his tongue. Blood filled his mouth. He smiled, mocking even as he died, telling Kirian with his eyes that he didn't win.
Kirian exhaled sharply. "Stupid bastard."
He turned and saw Nox drive his fist through a giant soldier's chest. Ren and Soren stood nearby, watching in silence.
The children bound in chains cheered at the top of their lungs. Kirian's expression softened faintly.
He looked to the last mounted soldier. "Get down here. I have some questions before I kill you."
He stepped forward.
VROOOM!
A violent gust ripped through the battlefield, scattering dust and blood across the trampled wheat. The cheering stopped. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
A dark aura rolled over the field like a thundercloud, heavy and suffocating. It pressed against every chest, squeezing the life from every breath. The villagers dropped to their knees without realizing why. Ren and Soren stiffened instantly. Even Nox froze, his instincts screamed.
And then he appeared.
A lone figure stood at the center of the carnage, where the bodies of hundreds lay piled and broken. His aura was dense, twisting and alive, like shadow made flesh. It reeked of hatred, of something inhuman.
The soldiers that remained alive screamed in terror before their bodies simply… stopped. Their hearts gave out. The mere pressure of that presence was death itself.
His clothes were simple and torn, a dull blue farmer's garb stained by ash and blood. His reddish brown hair swayed in the morning wind. In his hand, a blade hummed, a cold, silver song that made the ground beneath it tremble.
Ren whispered, "Isn't that… no, it couldn't be."
Soren's voice cracked. "No… that's not possible. That aura,it's the same as"
"A Demon Lord," Nox finished quietly.
Kirian's body tensed. His heartbeat slowed until he could barely feel it. That face, that stance, that hair…
It couldn't be.
The figure raised his head slightly, his eyes glowing with a dull, violet flame. When he spoke, his voice wasn't entirely human, it was layered with something darker beneath.
"Kirian?" the man said softly.
Kirian's lips parted, his voice trembling.
"...Solar?"
The name hung in the air like a curse.
Ren's jaw clenched. Soren took a half step back. The children hid behind them, trembling.
Because everyone could feel it, the truth pressing against their bones.
This man, this thing standing before them, carried the unmistakable presence of a Demon Lord.
And yet—to Kirian, this was his brother.