The battlefield was becoming a graveyard.
Cracks of crystal, shouts of pain, and the metallic scent of spilled blood into a miserable haze as Iratai's forces collapsed one after another. Demon soldiers who had proudly marched into the match were now scattering across the field.
Iratai could barley comprehend it.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Bastien ordered me not to fail how could this be happening?!
He swung his head left, then right. Only a handful of his forces still stood and those were barely defending themselves.
Across from him, Rivel's team was battered... but alive. And worst of all they were winning.
Iratai felt the first sting of panic burn behind his eyes.
"RETREAT! ALL OF YOU, RETRE-!"
But it was too late.
The front line demons broke, dozens dropping their weapons as they surrendered to the other side. Other simply collapsed from exhaustion. And the rest who still clung to the fear of Bastien over the fear of the battlefield were simply overrun.
Within seconds, Iratai was the only one left standing.
The realization crashed into him like freezing water. He was alone. Alone... and being watched by thousands.
His breathing grew sharp.
His hands trembled.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
If I lose... if I actually lose... Bastien will-
A voice echoed through his skull:
"Do not fail me, Iratai. Or if you do and the battlefield doesn't kill you... I will."
Iratai's vision distorted.
His panic ignited into rage.
His voice erupted across the field.
"HUMAN! REFUSE TO LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"
He charged.
Blood sprayed as he cut through anything in his way, enemy, ally, it made no different. Screams rose around him as demons on his own side stumbled back, begging him to stop.
"IRATAI, WE'RE ON YOUR SIDE!!"
Their words meant nothing
Only Rivel mattered.
Only that human standing at the rear of the battlefield mattered.
___________________________________________________
Rivel froze in disbelief as Iratai bulldozed through demons like a rabid animal. Even the most battle-hardened soldiers of the demon kingdom were being tossed aside like straw dolls.
"H-Hey hey hey what kind of stat sheet is that supposed to be!?" Rivel muttered under his breath.
He tried to steady himself, gripping the chipped sword he got off the traitor earlier, but the closer Iratai came the heavier the air became. Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But there wasn't time.
Iratai appeared in front him so fast the wind didn't even have a chance to catch up.
Rivel thrust the sword up-
The blade was slapped from his hands so violently it spun through the air like a discarded toy.
Then a fine smooth-edge slash whistled toward his throat-
CLANG!
Another blade intercepted at the last second, knocking Iratai's strike aside.
Rivel stumbled back, gasping, grabbing his neck to make sure he still had one.
Standing in front of him were three demons. Each with pale tinted skin and horns arching backward like jagged crescents.
One with soft green eyes and wild green hair, holding a sword.
One with sharp red eyes and fiery red hair, cracking his knuckles.
One with droopy purple eyes and messy lavender hair, wielding a spear like it weighed more than he did.
The green haired one spoke first. "You alright?"
Rivel blinked. "Uhh... mostly?"
"You need to be more careful," the red haired one scolded. "If you die, then we can't have our wishes fulfilled by Queen Velmira."
Rivel sighs internally.
Of course. Not out of the goodness of your hearts. Figures.
Still, he wasn't about to complain about being alive.
He pointed shakily at Iratai. "Think the three of you can even take that guy?"
All three demons glanced at one another.
Then grinned, three equally but different smug smiles.
"In our sleep," the red haired one said.
"Absolutely," the green haired one added.
The purple haired one yawned. "Too easy."
Rivel didn't believe them for a second, but he signaled toward the remaining demons watching in terror. "Get to the castle! Hurry!"
Seeing the three brothers step forward was all the motivation the fleeing demons needed. They sprinted full speed away from the battlefield.
Iratai snarled, noticing them. "YOU WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE!"
He lunged-
But the brothers intercepted him in perfect synchronization.
Red hair - Hashi - punched toward Iratai's back.
Green hair - Sova - slashed from above.
Purple hair - Dormire - thrust his spear straight at Iratai's chest.
The attacks should've killed him.
But Iratai screamed-
"I WON'T LOSE TO SUCH SMALL FRY!!"
Crystal spikes exploded from the ground in a jagged ring.
The brothers leapt back. barley dodging.
Hashi stared. "Did this idiot just use magic?"
Sova grinned. "Oh he totally did. He forgot his own damn rules."
Dormire grabbed both of them by their collars and yanked them back just as another spike ripped through the air where their heads had been.
He gave them a deadpan glare.
"Repay me later."
"LIKE HELL WE'RE PAYING YOU ANYTHING, YOU LAZY SACK OF-!"
They didn't get to finish.
Iratai hurled shards, slashing all three with a burst of crystal projectiles. Cuts opened across their arms and legs, blood beginning to drip.
"HOW DARE YOU HELP THAT PATHETIC HUMAN!"
Iratai shrieked. "IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT HIM, DIE WITH HIM!"
Ten crystals lances formed above him, and rained down like comets.
The brothers bolted in three directions.
Hashi grabbed one and hurled it back at Iratai, who shattered it with a gesture.
Sova attempted to flank him, but Iratai trapped his sword inside a crystal wall.
"Dammit! Hey! Give that back!" Sova yelled, scrambling away as more spikes erupted from the ground.
Dormire hurled spear after spear, two blocked, one landing shallowly, only making Iratai angrier.
"I'll KILL YOU ALL!!"
Crystals erupted in waves.
The brothers dodged what they could, but there were too many. Shards tore through their skin, embedded in their side, and forced them back.
Breathing heavily, they regrouped.
Sova groaned, staring at his empty hands. "Can't get close. And I'm out of a sword."
"Just grab one off the ground," Hashi snapped. "Plenty of soldiers had swords."
Sova motioned broadly at the battlefield, which was no filled with nothing but holes, dust, and crystals.
"What swords?"
"...oh" Hashi muttered.
Dormire sighed. "No spears left either. Maybe we should just use magic."
"LIKE HELL I"M BREAKING THE RULES!" Hashi barked.
Sova rubbed his arm. "I'm pretty sure they won't care if we're only using magic as defense either."
"Then what do we do?" Dormire demanded.
A glint of light flashed in his eyes.
He looked past Iratai.
Rivel.
Rivel, holding a chipped sword positioned exactly where he needed to be.
The brothers followed Dormire's gaze. "... Thought he ran away." Hashi muttered.
Rivel made a throwing motion toward them and held the chipped blade at an angle.
The brothers nodded as one. A silent understanding.
Iratai, hearing movement behind him, spun around-
Rivel lunged, trying to thrust the sword into his back.
A spike erupted from the ground.
Rivel was struck across his entire side, thrown back in agony.
His sword flew upward.
Iratai snarled, summoning a crystal lance. "DIE, YOU PEST! CRYSTAL LANCE!"
Rivel managed to dodge one. The second pierced straight through his abdomen.
"HUMAN!!" Sova shouted.
The brothers charged.
Iratai slammed up a crystal wall, trapping half of Hashi's body in place.
"Dammit!!" Hashi roared, but he managed to grab one the embedded lances and hurled it backward.
Dormire leapt, catching it midair, and hurled it like a a spear.
Another crystal wall blocked it.
A crystal shard slammed Dormire into the dirt.
Sova sprinted behind Iratai, but another wall encased him too.
Iratai exhaled slowly, smug. "Foolish idiots. As if that could work."
He looked down at Sova... and froze.
Sova... didn't have a sword.
SHHK!
Blood burst from Iratai's back. He staggered. The chipped sword, Rivel's sword, was buried in his torso.
Dormire stood in a throwing stance, breathing heavily.
Iratai collapsed to his knees, coughing blood. "H...how...?"
Dormire pointed.
Rivel lay motionless on the ground, the land still impaled through him.
Iratai trembled as he remembered Rivel's sword getting sent flying into the air. "That... human sacrificed everything... for a plan that stupid?! Impossible..."
Hashi and Sova, still trapped, burst into laughter.
"You cheated and STILL lost!"
"How embarrassing!"
Iratai roared, but before he could get a word out-
CRACK!
Dormire kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"Shut up already."
Dormire dropped heavily onto the ground next to Hashi, exhausted.
"RELEASE US, YOU IDIOT!" Both Hashi and Sova shouted.
Dormire closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The announcement echoed across the battlefield:
"WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSING SIDE DEAD OR CAPTURED, RIVEL'S SIDE WINS!"