Chapter 5 - 4

"Who the hell are you?" I yell as I raise my sword, ready to defend myself. The shadowy figure that just stood up now walks into the light and finally reveals itself. It's a bright red, and tall, horned demon. Its eyes are a literal flame,burning softly deep within its otherwise empty eye sockets. Now that he has fully revealed himself to us, he decides to speak."Who are you, that you climb the tower and then disturb my peace?" His voice is aggressive, with a slight echo. It sends a shiver down my spine. "I am Krays. Krays, The Poet. And this handsome fellow next to me is Hubris. But you probably already know him. You two are practically best friends." I say, trying to sound as confident as possible. This title of being called 'The Poet' was an actual thing in my real life by the way. That's what my online friends sometimes called me back then as a joke, at around the time when I first started writing. But as I stare into the demon's eyes, its flames seem to widen, and burn even brighter. "Hubris...Of course it would be you who would betray us! And with a human! You bastard...The dark lord will make you pay for your behavior... Or even better... I'll do him a favor and kill you both right now!" Wrath pulls out a dagger he had sheathed and hidden behind him. Then, without even having time to react, he sprints not only towards me, but also past me. He slices me across my right cheek, leaving a clean cut with a perfect amount of blood spilling out. I let out a slight groan as my brain registers the pain. I start thinking to myself. "How the fuck?! I didn't even see him! Am I that weak...compared to the sin of Wrath...?" Time seemed to have stopped for me, as I desperately try to understand just how much stronger he is. But time didn't stop for Wrath. He sprints right back at me, trying to drive his dagger straight into my back to finish me off. That will not happen, however, as Hubris seems to teleport right in front of the attack, deflecting it. And then, Hubris actually speaks up, even screams, for the first time since we met. "Wake up, Krays! No time to be lost in your thoughts!" That's what I needed. I snap back to reality and draw my sword. I lunge at Wrath, hoping to land a blow. Instead, my sword just keeps hitting his dagger. Until at some point, seemingly out of luck, Wrath seems to keep his guard far too wide open! I aim right where a human's heart would be. No luck though. Wrath's skin is far too thick, and even my sword can't cut through it! Suddenly, Wrath is ready to attack again and tries to plunge his knife right through my chest. In the last split second, I manage to jump back.But his dagger still leaves a scar across my chest. "He's way too fast! I have no chance..." I think to myself. I keep fighting, desperately trying to get some hits in. But to no avail. My attacks do no damage at all... I can't even hit him! Yet he continues to land blow after blow, slowly but surely slicing me open. Until I finally fall to my knees. "Was my effort for nothing? Am I going to die again?" These questions were all I could think of at that moment. Until I remembered... I remembered everything I'd come down here for. Not just to kill the devil as a joke... I want to end all suffering in the human world! That's what I've been fighting for all this time, and I'm not going to let some lousy Sin stop me! I grip my sword tighter than ever and parry one of Wrath's incoming attacks. Wrath sighs loudly in surprise. He probably didn't expect me to get up again. Now it's time for the perfect counter-attack! I put some distance between me and Wrath, and as soon as it's enough, I get up. It is quite difficult though and you can really see how much damage Wrath has done to me so far. Cuts all over me and my clothes, and every move hurts. But I have to keep going, no matter what! "Now the real battle begins, Wrath." I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear. I raise my sword in front of me and get into a proper fighting stance. Wrath also stands up straight. But instead of getting into a fighting stance, he changes color! Or not... It's almost as if he's shedding a layer of skin! He has gone from a bright red to a dark blue! Once Wrath was completely covered in his new colors, he looks up at me and says: "Now all my Armor is actually off. We're both at our most vulnerable. Now come at me, mortal!" At first I couldn't believe it. His skin itself was acting as armor to protect him from damage?! I wouldn't be able to defeat him in a thousand years if he hadn't shed that skin! However, I don't have much time to think about it now, as he's charging right at me. But wait... His protective layer is off, while I have a sword and he doesn't... I don't think much of it and raise my sword in front of me, when suddenly Wrath doesn't reach for the dagger slung around his waist. Instead, he simply stretches out his arm. But a fraction of a second later, a huge part of his skin just stretches out of his body! And it looks as sharp and pointy as a knife! "What the fuck?! Has he been hiding this from me all this time?! Or maybe...I was just too weak and he didn't even need to use it...yeah, that's probably it..." I think to myself. But just as quickly as I flood my mind with negative thoughts, I also decide to stop. Time to fight back!