1 An Endless Battle

KAPANG!

A white silhouette with a few red stripes dropped to his knees, then dropped to the ground, hands pressed to his chest. A pool of blood began to spread rapidly across the place, a red liquid gushed from the spot where his head had been previously.

''Urkgh''

A long, pain-filled groan came from the front of the splattered corpse on the floor.

It came from a man with a defined physique and a relatively compact appearance, but which suited him and made him handsome. He fought incessantly against various strange creatures that advanced towards him without stopping. He wore a weird black cape, accompanied by a flashy armor that was covered in dark-colored blood, making him frightening.

The young man had shaggy black hair and very deep brown eyes that looked like they would suck the soul out of anyone who looked at them for a long time, however, at that moment they were trembling non-stop.

He was completely covered in blood, and it was difficult to know which part of it was his and which part was from the beings he was killing nonstop.

''Martha and Sacrier, do a pincer attack! You need to trust me!", he yelled, parrying an attack aimed at his head.

''We believe in you,'', said the woman named Martha. ''We just want to understand what's going on. Please talk to us; tell us what happened, it doesn't have to be fact by fact of the story!"'

The woman advanced to the right side, following the suggestion of the black-haired young man, surrounding the enemies that the group faced. She was trying to keep the tone of frustration and confusion out of her voice, but she wasn't having much success. After all, how could she, in this situation?

"You made the pain come back stronger than before," Kailan said sternly, still swinging the sword he held in both hands. His arms were a little stiff, scraped elbows pointing forward as he supported his entire body weight on his left leg, and cut forward without stopping.

He was defeating opponents who were running fiercely to try to kill him, but it looked like his arms were going to fall to the ground at any moment if he continued.

''This hurts like hell, I've never had such a painful experience since I started in this business. But I can't... stop now... we have to send these bastards who dared to betray us to hell, with our own hands."

He was panting more and more and his attacks became slower and slower, the cuts and scrapes on his body pulsed and blood gushed continuously, dripping and forming a red puddle on the floor. He was clearly being affected by the injuries, but he refused to give up and forced his body and muscles that were begging for a break, to move.

Kailan knew his time was running out. He wouldn't last long, even though he was one of the strongest people in the world. His muscles were giving away, and his lungs felt like they were being squeezed by some strange force inside his own body.

''Were you demons sent all along? You cheap bastards!", a woman with dark blue hair screamed, conjuring a flaming ball that set everyone it hit in the narrow hallway, on fire.

There were four more people behind Kailan, whom he defended harshly from the attacks so they could fulfill their roles without restrictions and unnecessary interruptions to get in their way.

There were three women (extremely dangerous and with a little vulgar language) and a young blonde man, who pulled the string of a mythical-looking bow without blinking for a second.

One of them was called Mildred, as was the goddess of death. Extremely beautiful with her long dark blue hair that fell over her slender shoulders. Mildred was the Supreme Archmage, known all across the world and nicknamed the 'Blood Witch' by the people, for her enormous ability to decimate enemy armies alone and having conquered a demonic stronghold in just a few hours without needing any help.

On the other hand, there was Liyandri, a well-behaved and extremely beautiful young woman. Her proportions were adequate, being neither too big nor too small and having straight black hair with yellow streaks and brown eyes. Her biggest problem was that the woman looked at everything with a rigid and immobile face, appearing to be cold as ice.

She also didn't carry any weapons, relying on a few pieces of clothing and short equipment that wouldn't interfere with her movements when shooting with her bow. After all, it was not for nothing that she carried the title of archery saint.

As for the other two members, well, the other two members were siblings who were very similar in appearance and personality.

The blonde girl was a person Kailan knew intimately, having been friends with her since the first demonic wave that swept across the entire world. Lanna Reymon, the divine light healer, was responsible for helping her companions during battles.

And finally, Kernan Reymon, the aerial terror, who had long blond hair that reached past his forearms and his body frame was tall and defined, holding a weird-looking bow that looked like it was straight out of fantasy books. He was almost as handsome as the blonde woman, drawing attention wherever he went with his radiant beauty. He was muscular and wore mesh mixed with alloy armor so that he didn't hamper his movements when pulling his bowstring.

FUSH!

Almost like lightning, Martha reappeared at Kailan's left side, carrying and bringing her mate Sacrier with her. Everyone had dark looks plastered on their faces, and a few bruises scattered on their bodies, but none of them could compare to the miserable state in which the squad leader, Kailan, found himself.

Everyone looked at Kailan with worried expressions, he was the closest member of the door of death present there. However, he refused to receive more sophisticated treatments and was limited to just being healed by simple healing spells.

Kailan was known throughout the world as the sword saint, because of his supernatural strength, his stamina that was as great as a titan, and his sword skills that surpassed any master swordsman on the entire planet at an early age.

However, he was just a human and therefore had many weaknesses.

He constantly said that even if he died there, he would at least open a way for his faithful companions to walk out of there with their lives intact. And so they could claim their victory over the bodies of the bastards who had put them in that chaotic situation.

However, no one there intended to witness the death of their leader, the most famous and decorated hero on the entire planet. They would fight by his side to the death, no matter the situation, and they certainly wouldn't abandon him or betray him as their other colleagues had done.

And then, almost as if noticing the group's distraction, a soundless trap was activated. A huge number of arrows and spears were thrown towards the already frayed, and totally ragged-looking party.

Kailan spotted it before anyone could say anything, stepping forward and positioning himself in a way that could stop at least most of the shooting. Perhaps, if he wasn't in this situation where he was almost dying and with such a lack of strength in every part of his body, he could block all those attacks with relative ease.

But there was no use thinking about it, so he just positioned himself straight, planting his right foot on the ground and stretching his dominant arm forward with the half-destroyed sword.

He tightened his grip on the hand that held the sword even more. Staring intently at the arrows that would hit him in just a second.

KAPANG! GONG!

An arrow hit Kailan's left ear, ripping off a large part of it. Kailan showed a pained expression, but didn't bother enough to stop parrying the arrow attacks that were flying towards his group.

KUTCH! KAPANG! KATAANG!

He was able to redirect most of the attacks, his waist and arms had become numb, looking like he had completely lost movement in both of them. But he kept cutting the wind with his sword, preventing the attacks from hitting his companions, his wounds growing bigger and bigger.

DRIP. DRIP, DRIP...

Blood dripped from Kailan's half-severed ear, and his once dignified and flashy armor and clothes became equipment that could be used by the Demon King himself!

He ignored the bruises all over his body and gestured for his worried companions to move on. Kailan staggered a little, barely holding himself upright, but forcing his body to keep going, at least until he managed to get his companions out of that fucking place.

SCREECH!

A huge wooden door creaked as Mildred opened it.

The group arrived at a huge dark room and found themselves surrounded by countless mysterious beings. But they soon realized that they had no way back. There was no way out, for the vile creatures and humanoid silhouettes had blocked the entrance they had used to enter the vast hall.

''Where we ended up, we have to get out of here as fast as po…'', the extremely agile brunette woman's speech was cut in half.

CRACK! KAPAM!

Martha's head was ripped off and violently thrown from her body, slamming against the dark-colored wall as it fell to the floor, eyes bulging and bloodshot.

Two men covered in a dark veil stood in front of Martha's headless body, grinning lunatically as they beat up the lifeless remains.

CRACK! CRAAACK!

The sounds of bones being fully crunched resounded throughout the hall, none of the members of the group could express a decent emotion, completely gaping and in shock.

They were really scared to death.

''W-what the fuck! Martha!'' Mildred screamed, having fallen into complete despair at the sight of her friend's death.

The men smiled even wider than before, pulling large swords and small knives from the greenish belt they wore.

''It was interesting to see you guys get here, against all odds. But, sadly, the game is over now.'', a female voice came from above the hall.

"As for your earlier line about us being sent from the demons, Miss Mildred,", said Sarian, the former queen of light and one of the traitors who led the group to this place to be killed.

"We're not, I swear to you. We don't fit in as mere messengers, and that's why you're dead wrong."

A glow erupted from the bodies of all the traitors, and the right side of their faces turned bright red, almost as if they were covered in by a strange Halloween mask. Their eyes were utterly painted black, without the slightest hint of humanity present in them.

"We are demons of the highest rank and members of the highest positions in the hierarchy, don't you understand?"

"We are only here because our king wanted information from you, but he judged you guys to be unnecessary irritations, and therefore ordered your death. It's a shame that the sword saint, the lightning lady, and the other heroes that were described in legends and myths around the entire planet will die this way...''

BAAM! CRECKK! CRACK!

Sacriet and the others were crushed by a huge fist, which was almost the size of the room itself, that suddenly filled the place where they were, leaving only a huge bloodstain on the floor.

Their bodies were crumpled on the floor, bones sticking out everywhere, and blood moving quickly across the ground. Their eyes still had some life left, almost as if they hadn't died yet.

Some arms still showed signs of life, with some slow, awkward spasms. It was a terrifying sight that gave Kailan the urge to vomit.

Now only Kailan and Mildred remained, both desperate and not knowing what action to take in the face of such a situation.

''AHHHHHHHH!''

Mildred was screaming at the top of her lungs, as if her throat would burst at any moment.

Mildred made a piercing and rather frightening sound that overrode all the new sounds coming from the hall around her. She attempted to reach out to Kailan, reaching out to him, but it was already too late.

CRACK!

Mildred's desperate eyes lost their color, becoming lifeless instantly. Her body was wholly destroyed, and her neck was crooked in a way it shouldn't be.

Her body dropped to the floor, falling like a mere wooden doll. Bones protruded from her elbows, and bodily fluids leaked from various parts of the corpse.

CRAAAAACK! THUD! BACK!

Her body was trampled underfoot by several of the traitors, her appearance even more tarnished than before, now covered in blood and dirt. One of the traitors even drove a sword right through her chest, cutting off some parts of her clothing and armor and leaving her almost completely naked.

Blood spurted like a fountain from every part of her body, while her right arm was still extended toward Kailan.

"YOU FUCKERS!" Kailan yelled with no strength left in his body, pointing his sword at the bastards in front of him.

They had all died in just an instant, leaving him alone behind. Even if he managed to get out of there alive, which was undoubtedly an impossible thing to do, he had no reason to live anymore when the love of his life and all his friends had died in that miserable way.

What was the use of him growing stronger, and swearing he would never let a tragedy like Leafart's happen again if his strength was totally useless when he needed it most?

''Shit, shit, SHIT!''

''HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'' All the silhouettes of the traitors and demons that surrounded the sword saint, began to burst into psychotic laughter.

''To think that one day I would see that beautiful face of yours, which was always completely filled with hope and goodwill, become this current mess. AAAhh, it's so nice to see the person I've loved so much for all these years, desperate in front of me." Marian said, approaching with a silver knife in her hand.

SHUNP!

The woman stabbed forward, and instinctively Kailan tried to stop the knife with the force of his own hand.

''UGHH!''

The knife stuck in the young man's palm, stopping just inches from his eye. Blood oozed from the huge bruise on his hand, and more and more of his strength drained from his body.

With the last bit of adrenaline and strength he had left, Kailan swung his sword violently to slice through that bitch's neck.

SLASH! SHHREK!

His sword cut a part of the woman's neck, and as if that didn't pose the slightest danger to her, Marian continued to smile at him. The woman delighted in Kailan's moments of complete desperation, and gave little moans of pleasure each time he tried something different.

TRACK! CRAECKK!

Julian's head, who was another traitor, swung left and right, then fell back on Kailan. This happened to everyone in the room, including Marian.

'What the hell was that?', he thought.

Kailan's legs gave out suddenly.

The pains he felt filled his entire body at once, his vision once covered in blood became totally blurry.

He knew it. He was dying.

Kailan froze on the floor, unable to take his eyes off Marian's crooked head, which was in that unnatural and hideous position. In all his life, Kailan was sure that he had never had such a strange and frightening experience like the one he had gone through when he arrived in that place of madness.

And as if all this wasn't bizarre enough, now all the crazies surrounded him in the hallway, making animal noises and laughing hysterically.

''PUHAHAHAT!''

''AARRAAHRH!''

Kailan turned to look at Mildred's body. The woman was lifeless, mute and motionless, completely petrified and bloodied. He didn't want things to end this way. He wanted to be stronger.

And then…

Tintin~

<Y/N>

The movement and noises of the hall continued. Howls, applause, laughter and whistles, and the clicks of footsteps all around the place. But a strange screen floated before his eyes as if it were something invisible to the people around him.

He looked around, then fixed his gaze on the screen once more. It reminded him of a screen of games and novels that he saw in his past life, in his life on earth.

'To think I would hallucinate in my final moments' Kailan thought internally and chuckled lightly.

He pressed the 'yes' button, his fingers twitching and his legs not moving anymore.

Tantantan~~

As soon as he pressed that strange button that floated before him, his body went rigid. Arms stretched along his body, and he finally collapsed completely, exhaling one last breath and losing consciousness. His body relaxed, and blood trickled from his mouth and nose.

'Fuck all this'

'If I could really try again, I swear I would do it right'

'And I would do anything to see your smile one more time…'

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