Chapter 43 – The Sentence of the Demons
The battle continued;
The cube of light, able to extend into infinity, stood vast, without horizon. Each wall seemed to breathe, pulsing with a golden radiance that belonged to no world. It was both a prison and a battlefield, a dimension forged by the will of a single man: Arthur. His steps echoed in this incandescent void, his sword in hand, his gaze fixed on the three figures facing him.
Ezer, massive as a mountain, his muscles swollen with telluric energy.
Hit, with an elongated body, his hands sharpened like blades ready to slice the very air.
Feindreid, the shadow with a carnivorous smile, whose mere presence seemed to twist space.
Arthur raised his hand, and thousands of blades of light appeared around him, ready to descend upon his enemies.
— "Let's end this," he said coldly.
A single gesture, and the projectiles rushed towards the three demons. Arrows as sharp as stars darting across the void. But at the very moment they were meant to pierce them, a monstrous wave burst forth. The air vibrated, the walls of the cube trembled, and the blades shattered into dust of light before even touching their target.
Arthur's eyes widened.
— "Impossible…"
A crimson tide then flooded the cube. The golden light was consumed, swallowed, corrupted by the malevolent aura of the three. The shining walls became stained, cracked, until the entire space took on the color of carnage. A dense red, as if oceans of blood had been poured upon the world.
Ezer, Hit, and Feindreid stepped forward, their bodies radiating raw power that deformed even the reality of the cube.
— "Arthur," said Ezer in his deep voice, "you have no idea what this world hides. You think you know light, justice, but you have never seen… true horror."
Hit sneered, his hands covering themselves in scarlet blades.
— "You have never faced the true creatures lurking behind the veil. The demons… us."
Their skin cracked, their veins glowing with incandescent red. Their bodies transformed before Arthur's eyes. Feindreid was the first: black horns sprang from his skull, membranous wings tore through his back, and his eyes shone like infernal flames. Hit was wrapped in a mantle of living blades, each heartbeat generating new weapons, until he became a murderous whirlwind. As for Ezer, he became a colossus, his flesh covered in animated stone armor, demonic runes carved into each rock.
Their auras merged. The pressure was such that even the cube groaned.
Arthur, stunned, stood motionless.
— "Demons…? Then these creatures are real…"
— "You were wrong," retorted Feindreid, his fangs dripping with dark energy.
— "And this is your end," added Hit.
— "Prepare to bow, Arthur!" thundered Ezer.
All three leapt.
The entire cube vibrated. A shockwave shook the crimson air. Arthur barely managed to parry, his sword tracing an arc that released a wall of light. But the power of the three enraged opponents shattered his guard, hurling him backward.
Arthur dug his heels, slid, and the light around his body burst forth once again. He gritted his teeth.
— "Three against one… so be it. Then I'll show you what it means to face the king of Britania!!"
He raised his sword. Torrents of golden lightning burst out, striking the three demons. Hit sliced the lightning with a swift motion, his blades whistling at insane speed. Feindreid plunged through the storm, his black claws sinking into Arthur's protective field. Ezer struck the ground with a colossal fist, and pillars of crimson rock surged, rising like mountains within the enclosed space.
Arthur was caught in the trap. His light split, burned, but each assault clashed against multiplied strength.
A hundred times stronger.
Their demonic forms made them monstrous.
Arthur began to retreat, his steps marking the crimson wall of the cube. His breath quickened.
— "Impossible… They… they overwhelm me."
Ezer roared with thunderous laughter.
— "Do you understand now? You are nothing before us, Arthur!"
Hit appeared behind him, his blades whistling like a thousand serpents. Arthur parried at the last second, but the demonic speed left a bloody gash on his arm. Feindreid seized the opportunity to grab his throat and slam him against the crimson wall.
Arthur choked.
— "Look closely," whispered Feindreid. "Light is but a lie. We are the truth… and your end."
Their three energies synchronized. The entire cube vibrated as if it would explode. Arthur was engulfed in an ocean of blows, claws, blades, and crushing rocks. Each impact broke a piece of his defense.
He fell to one knee. His breathing grew ragged.
A heavy silence fell.
Then Arthur closed his eyes.
— "Very well… you've forced me."
He rose, his aura blazing with blinding brilliance. His trembling hand rested on the hilt of his sword. His breath calmed, his eyes filled with unshakable resolve.
A voice resounded, ancient, infinite.
"Call me, and I shall answer."
Arthur opened his eyes.
— "Excalibur."
The sword shone. But not as before. Not like an ordinary weapon of light. No. Its radiance split space, each particle of the dimension seemed to recoil. The three demons ceased their attack for an instant, seized by a shiver.
— "What… is this?" murmured Ezer.
Arthur raised the blade.
— "Here comes the Sentence des Démons."
The air imploded with billions of small blades of light.
Arthur vanished.
No… he did not vanish. He moved at a speed beyond words. His steps split the light, his sword cut through space, and his motion surpassed hundreds of thousands of times the speed of light. The three demons didn't even have time to comprehend. A single strike severed the universe.
Their bodies froze. Then they cracked.
The light of Excalibur burst forth, a unique strike, with power enough to destabilize an entire galaxy. The crimson cube shattered, submerged by golden brilliance. Feindreid, Hit, and Ezer screamed, but their cries were swallowed. Their flesh, their blood, their very souls were erased from existence.
Arthur stood alone. His sword still raised, the space vibrating around him.
The cube fractured, then exploded, bringing him back into the real world.
The light faded. Arthur dropped to one knee.
In the distance, Gosh held Glann in his arms, frozen, his gaze filled with stupor and terror.
Arthur lifted his eyes. His lips murmured in the silence.
— "Sentence… accomplished."
And the world, once more, regained its golden color.
To be continued…