Chapter 32 – The Sacrifice And Betrayal

  In the colosseum, under the gaze of the whole kingdom, the evil Scorn’s true face had been burned by the ancient flames wielded by the mana’s child.

  The defeated man now showed his true face.He hissed forbidden verses. The vengeful souls he contained earlier rose up. The whole colosseum was covered by mana runes forming grand circles.

  The demons in the colosseum were affected by the dark mana’s influence.They all started to have their mana drained. First it was mana, then their skin started to shrink. Their faces lost color, their eyes lost focus. Finally, their very souls were sucked out of their bodies.

  The air was filled with dark mana, vengeful souls hovering around the evil Tower Master. The souls hovered in the air, plucking out the demons’ souls. The weak, powerless fell first, then the physically strong. This went on until it was just the grand wizards, along with our trio and Melody, who were on the ground, pressured by the dark soul magic of the villain Scorn.

  Scorn spoke, “You damn insects, because of you my plans—my decades of hard work—failed.”Saying this, he swung his wand, muttered mana runes out of his lips. The vengeful souls began gathering the collected souls of the innocent demons. As Scorn chanted, the dark flame orb, which the Fairy King sealed, slowly cracked. An ominous smoke came out of it.

  The smoke empowered Scorn. The vengeful souls and the harvested souls all entered Scorn’s wand. The thin-built old mage’s skin gained the shine of youth. His bones suddenly gained muscle under skin. The thin, pale mage turned into a young, fierce demon.

  The wand trapped the souls, sucking the life out of them, turning the mage into a monster. The vengeful spirits hurt the mind of Scorn—his eyes turned pure black, his mind devoured by instinct to consume.

  In front of the mad mage, our young demons knelt helplessly.

  Scorn turned towards Melody and spoke, “Now it’s time for me to devour your delicious soul.”

  The grand mage squad, though not pure-hearted, did not want to rule over a kingdom of graveyards. They wanted to stop the mad demon.The grand mages used their last piece of magic to stand up. They all chanted in unison. A ball of light slowly formed, bound by runes. The ball grew in size.

  The mad demon sniffed the air, “You fools. Why don’t you just stay in place? At least you could have lived.”

  Then a fog appeared from Scorn’s mouth. The fog covered the mages, burning their skin, entering their bodies, corroding them.The mages cried out—not in physical pain, but the pain of regret for siding with this evil mage. They cried out in unison, their voices echoing around the silent colosseum:

  “Scorn, we aren’t pure. We aren’t great. But we are still the Grand Tower Guard Squadron. As we still stand, you shall not succeed.”

  Saying this, the fog crossed their bodies, turning them into ashes from the legs up. Slowly, their entire bodies turned to ash.

  But their souls still held on, a final light of dying candles. Their souls completed the chant. The light formed an arrow, flying towards the mad demon Scorn.

  Scorn saw it. The arrow tore through the souls and dark mana fog, flying toward the demon’s heart.

  Leo, Ryan, and Reed— their faces lit with hope.

  But as it neared Scorn, he moved his wand. A shield formed, and the arrow was deflected towards where the trio and Melody were bound. The arrow plunged into the ground.

  The trio fell into despair once more.Ryan thought, “Is this really the end?”

  Scorn laughed fanatically, “You fools. Is that all you could do after sacrificing your lives?”

  A sound echoed from their now-dissipating souls:“Open your eyes, you arrogant mage.”

  The place where the arrow plunged— a small flower sprouted. The rotting air was purified. The sacrifice of the mages called upon mana. Their very souls acted as catalysts.

  Runes flowed out of the flower, surrounding the area where the trio and Melody were. A semi-spherical dome of light was born—a shield of mana, anchored by the souls of the dead to protect the living.

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  Scorn laughed, “Fools, giving their life to protect a few insects. Now, finally, after I sacrifice the bloodline of the Grand Mage Tower Master, I will gain the power to surpass the Archmage stage. After a few years, maybe I will even rival the Demon King himself! Hahahahahaaa!”

  He laughed fanatically, walking toward the dome.

  Inside the dome, the dark mana dissipated. The trio were freed from its grasp. Leo hurried and helped the two up.

  Leo spoke, “My friends, it was an honor.”Ryan replied, “The honor was mine, old friend.”

  Melody, seeing this, spoke, “Are you imbeciles? Why did you come here? You should have fled with my father.”Leo spoke, “Maybe we are indeed fools.” He laughed, with no hint of regret on his face. “Well, I did what I could. If this is it, then this is it.”

  Melody smiled. “To spend my final time with you fools… maybe it’s not a bad thing after all.”

  Ryan laughed. Reed outright frowned and spoke, “You fool. Because of you, we are all going to die a dog’s death.”

  At that time, Scorn reached the barrier.“Now you all die,” he said.

  He raised his wand, gathered his full might. All the vengeful spirits gathered and flew towards the barrier. But as their souls touched the barrier, they were purified.

  Scorn was baffled. Melody was even more so. Then Melody suddenly spoke, “The Eight-Way Soul Seal!”

  Scorn frowned, “So that’s what it was.”

  Leo asked, “What is it, Melody?”She replied, “The strongest ancient arcane magic. The users sacrifice their life to form a shield of protection. In history, it was used once before.”Ryan asked, “Where?”She replied, “The Shield of the West. The sacrifice of the Old Demon Queen erected it. The core she made sustained it. But unfortunately, this magic is running out fast. Maybe it will last a few more minutes.”

  Worry crossed her face.

  Scorn laughed, “Enjoy your final moments.”

  At that moment, Leo took his flaming sword. He removed the gem on its hilt and placed it on the plant. The dying candles lit up again. The barrier stood strong. Life flowed into the barrier again.

  Melody was shocked. “This…”

  Leo spoke, “A core prototype, made by my friend in the Western Kingdom.”

  Scorn was defeated. He tried all his tricks, but the barrier stood unfazed.

  Ryan spoke, “So we live for now.”Melody replied, “Yes, for now.”

  Leo hurried and freed the shackles on Melody. Melody cast her healing spell after the mana shackles were removed, healing the trio as well.

  She spoke, “As long as the core stays for another thirty minutes, I can form a teleportation circle to get us out of here.”

  Leo spoke, “Then we live today.”Ryan replied with relief, “Indeed.”Melody spoke, “Don’t disturb the orb. As long as it touches the core of the formation—the flower—we live.”

  Scorn looked defeated. He cursed the mages. Then, as Melody was preparing the magic circle, Reed walked toward the core.

  Ryan noticed something was off. He turned and asked, “What are you doing, Reed?”

  Reed stood near the flower. He spoke, “Leo, you are a good demon, but you shouldn’t have been so close to the princess. Blame yourself for setting your gaze on the woman of the Hell Star Prince.”

  Leo hurried, “Reed, don’t do this. You are better than this.”Ryan spoke, “We can talk this through, my friend.”

  Reed smiled with moist eyes. “I am sorry.”

  Saying this, he took the core from the flower. The sheer mana burned and scarred his hands and face. The dome slowly lost its color. The mana runes shrank. The barrier broke down.

  Scorn spoke, “Finally, a sensible demon. I shall spare you. Get lost.” He waved his hand, and Reed was thrown into the sky.

  He approached the three left there.“Now the bugs are finally going to get squashed.”

  Melody spoke, “Do your worst, trash. No matter what, you can never compare to my father.”Scorn replied, “I am better than him.”

  Scorn raised his wand. The evil vengeful spirits under his control emerged, speeding towards the trio.“Now you die,” Scorn said.

  The spirits reached the trio. They fell to the ground. Then suddenly, the skies cried out.

  A light flashed. A streak of thunder fell to the ground before the trio. The light flashed so bright that the trio, and even Scorn himself, lost their sight for a moment.

  A shadow emerged from the thunder. As sight slowly returned, the figure unsheathed his sword, raised it to the heavens, and summoned the thunder. The light struck the seemingly normal sword.

  The ordinary-looking blade turned crimson red.Leo’s vision slowly recovered. The scene in front of him was familiar. From the sword, mana rose. Runes born out of the sword covered the figure’s body, transforming into burning crimson armor.

  Leo could see the back of the person— a familiar back. A weird sense of warmth, protection, nostalgia all struck him at once.

  Then he remembered the scene in his dreamscape— the back he had seen before.The back belonged to the one who protected him against his father’s killer. A person whom his father trusted his life to. A person who fought against disaster and protected him—his guardian angel.

  The figure spoke, “Death dares not touch him in my presence. Worry not, brother. I am here.”

  His soft voice broke the silence of the colosseum.

  It was the Crimson Knight— the guardian of the Demon King.

  Now, between Leo and death stood but one person.Will they survive? Will Leo find the truth of his past? Will Scorn be defeated?

  Stay tuned to find out.

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