A wall of flame rippled across the broken field, swallowing what was left of the northern barricade. Stone cracked and hissed. The sky above was black with smoke, decorated with flashes of horrific red lightning that struck without thought. Somewhere behind the hill, a flame-monster wailed--a deep, hellish sound like a tortured soldier begging for death--before being silenced in a crunch of impact and fire.
Julien Kirios didn't look back.
He ran through the rubble of what used to be Fort Tarren, boots skidding over loose rock and ash, the weight of his heavy armor dragging at every movement. His sword was already slick, the edge chipped from too many clashes in too little time. A scorch mark traced up his left side where a stray spell had nearly torn straight through him. He ignored it. He didn't have time for pain.
Ahead, the central plaza burned.
That had been their last fallback point. The plan was simple: draw Inferno into the core of the stronghold, collapse the ruins behind him, and corner him with everything they had left. Only half of that had worked. The collapse had gone off too early, and his squad had been split. The outer flanks were gone. No word from the mages. Just a crackling silence on the comm-glyphs and the roar of battle closing in from all sides.
A low rumble passed through the ground. Dust shifted around his boots. The heat ahead intensified.
He was close.
Julien leapt over a chunk of shattered wall and landed hard in the plaza. The air hit like a furnace. What used to be a command post was now just a pit of coals, glowing red beneath charred debris. Burnt banners hung limply from collapsed beams. The sigil of Rainian--the lion with a sword--was half-melted into the stone.
At the far end of the square, past the fire and bodies and wreckage, stood the source.
Inferno.
He was taller than Julien remembered. Or maybe it was just the dramatic cloak, flaring in the heat. His armor beneath glowed faintly at the joints, reflecting the flames that circled his feet. He wasn't attacking. Not yet, at least. Just watching.
Julien raised his sword.
The villain tilted his head slightly, like he was amused.
Julien took one step forward. Then another.
A broken weapon clattered to the ground behind him--someone else still alive, maybe. But he didn't turn.
The plaza narrowed. Heat shimmered around them both. Every breath of smoke burned Julien's lungs, but he couldn't give up.
Inferno spoke first, voice taunting.
"Well, well, well. Look who's finally found me. Only took four hours and most of your best Marked."
Julien clenched his jaw, heart aching, but didn't answer.
"Light of Rainian, really? I don't see any light coming from you," Inferno snickered. "The Divine Priestess said you'd be the one to defeat me, but anyone would be a fool to think such a pitiful 'hero' could stop this."
Julien kept walking.
Inferno raised one hand. Flames coiled lazily across his palm.
"Tch. You people just don't know when to give up."
Julien moved like a streak of lightning through the flames, his blade carving a narrow path through the air. His vision filled with flashes of red and empty black, but the light around the sword shimmered brighter with every step, pushing back the encroaching smoke like dawn breaking through night.
[Consumed 200 Mana Points.]
[Activate Sun Slash.]
His sword flared, and a beam of searing golden energy shot across the plaza, tearing through one of Inferno's summoned beasts--a twisted construct of flame and bone. It let out a shriek before evaporating into nothingness.
Julien didn't pause.
Inferno stood unmoved at the far end of the plaza, his red cloak billowing behind him, the hem dancing with embers. A crown of flickering fire hovered loosely above his head, shifting with the wind. His expression wasn't rage--more like the smoldering kind of anger that hadn't found the right shape yet.
Another Sun Slash.
This one he dodged.
The ground where he'd stood burst into molten rock, but Inferno was already ten paces to the left. A snap of his fingers, and two more flame-beasts appeared from the scorched earth--all claws and snarling heat.
Julien spun. His sword arced in a wide horizontal slash, light blooming from the edge like a lantern. The beasts didn't stand a chance. His light ripped through them--too fast to dodge, too pure to block.
He kept running. Inferno's range was wide, and Julien knew better than to let him build momentum.
His system chimed faintly at the edge of his awareness.
[Mana Points: 3825 / 7000]
[Sun Slash Cooldown: 1.2s]
Good enough.
Another flash. Another strike.
Inferno raised his other hand, this time catching the attack mid-air with a flicker of red magic. The light bent, distorted, and fizzled out, scattering across the plaza.
"I see they haven't fed you any new tricks lately," Inferno called. "Still relying on that old Asanel polish? You graduated years ago, you know. You'll have to do better to put a scratch on me!"
Julien didn't rise to it.
He surged toward him, blade angled low. A punch of pressure exploded outward as Inferno summoned a defensive shield, but Julien pushed through it. Light burst around his body, deflecting the worst of the magic.
Their blades met--sword against conjured flame-whip--and the impact lit up the night sky like a star had collided with the earth.
Julien gritted his teeth. Every part of him screamed against the force.
Even if he wanted to, there was no way to fall back.
Inferno's flame-whip dissipated with a crackle. He lowered his hand, watching Julien through the heat.
"Still breathing?" he scoffed. "I figured you'd be coughing up blood by now. Most of your kind crumble after just one tap with my whip."
Julien's boots crunched over blackened stone. His grip on the sword was tight. He didn't look broken--but he was close.
"You've killed a lot of people," he said, voice low. "You think that makes you powerful?"
Inferno gave a slight shrug. "It does! That's the entire point. After all, it was them who chose the wrong side."
"No," Julien growled. "You gave them no choice."
His footsteps echoed in the warped silence of the plaza. "The border town of Synis. Eighty-seven dead. None of them were Marked. You cruelly burned them alive just to send a message."
Inferno arched a brow. "Oh, I don't remember," he said haughtily.
Julien's jaw clenched. "You don't remember?! Even a monster like you should at least know who you've killed. Fine, then. I'll give you a reminder. You offered them slavery. Join your little cult of Flames or be turned to dust. That's not strength. That's fear."
"Fear works," Inferno said. "Better than hope ever will."
Julien exhaled through his teeth, trying to rein it in. Exploding wouldn't change anything.
"You burned an entire guildhall in Redspire," he continued. "Three S-Ranks inside. You didn't fight them. You ambushed them with a curse while they were asleep."
Inferno grinned. "Ah, that one was beautiful. Took me a whole week to prepare."
"You killed Commander Jermaine in front of her daughter. You melted the Wellspring of Mana. You turned the Rainian trade convoys into skeletons just to cut off medicine during winter."
"What is this, World Compliment Day?" Inferno asked. "Because I feel sooo warm and tingly inside!"
Julien came to a stop just a few feet in front of him.
"No. It's just to jog your memory," he said, eyes locked on Inferno. "Of every life you crushed thinking nobody would make it this far. Of every small village you wiped out because they didn't kneel fast enough."
His voice cracked for the first time. Not enough to falter--but enough to show what was beneath.
"You took people I trained with. People I trusted. I watched my friend Lio die coughing blood while your Flames razed the town."
Inferno was silent now, but a smirk spread across his face.
"So just die," Julien said, lifting his sword. "I'm not here to fix you or give you redemption. You're too far gone. I'm here because someone has to drag your corpse out of this crater and make sure it stays buried."
For the first time, Inferno didn't reply with a joke.
His smirk faltered--just for a breath--but in the heat, it was hard to tell if Julien imagined it. The fire around them flickered, like the battlefield itself had paused to listen.
Then Inferno tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
"You talk a lot for someone who knows how this will end.".
"I used to wonder," Julien said, "what kept you going. What made a man ravage down half a continent and smile while doing it."
The air between them crackled with mana.
"But now I think I know."
He didn't wait for permission. There was no need for a signal.
He just moved.
The sword lit with a clean, focused glow. No flare, no burst--just a razor-thin crescent of sunlight slicing through the fire. Inferno leapt back, dragging flame up into another shield just in time. Sparks scattered across the plaza.
Julien followed.
Another slash. Another beam of light cut toward the villain's side. Inferno spun, ducked low, and hurled a fireball into Julien's ribs. The impact sent him skidding, but the scorched armor held. Barely.
Julien coughed, light flickering around him as he forced himself back to his feet.
[Mana: 1920 / 7000]
[Status: Internal Fracture Detected -- Minor]
[Pain Suppression: Active]
He winced. That'd bruise later--if he made it that far.
Across the fire, Inferno stood still, breathing heavier now. His shoulders rose and fell in slow, measured movements.
Then he spoke.
"She was the one who said you'd make it here, you know."
Julien didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Inferno's gaze sharpened. "Blaze."
There it was.
"You killed her outside Pine Point," he said, quiet now. "Didn't even hesitate. Cut straight through her chest like she was another name on your list."
"She knew the risks," Julien snapped. "And she made her choice."
Inferno's flames surged again--higher, hotter. The ground beneath him cracked.
"She was the last thing I cared about."
Julien raised his sword again. "Then maybe you should've listened to her."
And with that, the light struck once more.