A colossal monster descended in the middle of the battlefield. A true monster, which I never wanted to see again, except for those golden gates, this monster second most horrifying thing I had seen in my life.
It had the face of a bull with bloody crimson horns on its head, the body of a gorilla covered in black fur, the bat wings darker than night and sharper than blades, and the tail of a crocodile covered in black metallic scales.
"Lilith, you are also here, long time no see. Haha…" The bull monster spoke in a hoarse voice; even just hearing his voice, my body started to shake.
The woman manifested in the air like a ghost, her words carrying sweetness, yet chills. Both seem to belong to the same era. One was a walking horror, while the other was hiding the horror under her beauty.
"Malghor, you are still alive. I thought you had already died."
"Haha… you were expecting too much."
After this small exchange, silence filled the air. While Kai's body remained dangling in the black chains, he didn't seem to care, just watching them coldly.
The bull head monster turned to Kai, watching for a few moments before he stretched his hand, summoning an axe made up of red crystals. The next second, he teleported in front of Kai, carrying the axe in both hands, aiming at Kai's head.
Unexpectedly, the Kai didn't even move or try to struggle; his eyes remained expressionless, his body calm like nothing threatened him. Just as the red axe was only an inch away from his head, a slender pale hand stretched from the darkness, grabbing on the axe's blade before pushing away this Monster.
"Lilith, what are you doing? Are you planning to betray our Lord?" Malghor's voice carried shock, threat and the hidden fear. I can feel emotion hidden in his every word.
"You, stupid bull. He had merged with Ice Phoenix. If you kill him, the gate will be lost. Then how are you gonna serve the Lord?" Lilith's voice carried some frustration.
"Impossible, how could it be, a creature which even our Lord couldn't subdue can be controlled by this human?" Malghor asked Lilith like he couldn't believe whatever she was saying.
"What's there to shock about? These birds were always against our lord. Humph…" Lilith replied to Malghor's doubt in a disgusted tone.
Suddenly, a voice came. distant, cold and lifeless.
"Break."
The voice was followed by a loud explosion. The golden gate, which stood tall, unaffected by all the chaos and destruction in the world, broke into tiny golden shards, pouring into the world like rain.
My eyes were fixed on the bird covered in flames, which lay where the Golden Gate had been a second ago. I wanted to go there, but controlled myself because I couldn't do anything except bring more trouble. There wasn't only a single bird but two, one red and one blue, which flew straight towards the Kai. This bird was different from Fire Phoenix, not because of its transformed state, but because it was more like a shadow than a real entity.
Once the bird reached the Kai, it quickly entered his body, followed by the instant drop in temperature; the already cold night suddenly turned into an ice glacier, the snow started to fall from the sky, followed by the cracking sounds of the chains.
Without any extra word, Kai's figure was directly behind the Lilith, carrying a sharp dagger made of Ice, slicing through her neck. Lilith's reaction was also quick; just as the dagger seemed to touch her neck, her body dissolved into shadow.
In the next instant, thousands of tentacles stretched out from the ground, which actually froze in mid-air before even reaching Kai. He didn't even bother with tentacles, going straight to the easiest yet deadliest target, Malghor.
"You…" Malghor opened his mouth only to be cut off; the next instant, Kai stood in front of him, his ice dagger piercing into the neck of Malghor. Though it didn't seem like Malghor felt any pain as the ice dagger sank into his skin, he only raised his right hand, carrying an axe, and thrashing it at Kai.
Kai didn't try to dodge it; his eyes focused on Malghor's Eyes. Suddenly, ice spread over Malghor's body, but this ice didn't last long; it was shattered as quickly as it was formed. Kai also disappeared from his place.
The bull demon spread his giant bat wings, chasing Kai in the sky. A loud explosion came from the sky, and one after another, more and more explosions happened above in the clouds. Nothing was visible from the ground, but the shock waves were destructive enough to cause high-intensity earthquakes.
The earth started to crack more and more cracks appeared, and magma started to come from those rifts, freezing once coming in touch with the cold storm outside, steam filled the air; it was becoming harder for me to breathe with every passing second.
The world truly looked like it was nearing its end. I gazed at the Fire phoenix lying amid the magma. I wanted to help him, but couldn't because he could survive in the heat better than I could.
The battlefield had finally turned into a true battleground worth the world-ending threat level, fire coming from the earth, snow from the sky. A perfect balance of ice and fire. I felt like it was all just a dream, and I was watching a movie's last scene where the Hero is fighting for the world. A truly otherworldly battle, something humans can't even touch, watching it felt taboo.
'What's the role I got here, audience watching the show? Was I really special, or was I just fooling myself?'
My eyes no longer could see the battle going on in the clouds. I just waited for the outcome, playing the role of a good audience.
'I want to protect the Little Birdy, but couldn't. I wanted to protect the world, but couldn't; I wanted to be a hero, but couldn't. Being an observer isn't that bad, right?'