The sky turned dark over the city. Astera was a hub of trade and sent supplies to both Baska and Oak City. Portals had opened all across earthland with reports of nearly armies coming forth and laying siege to cities. Kaz had yet to see them, but the dark clouds above billowed with ominous fortune.

The wind mage squinted and looked into the storm. In the distance, a large circle opened. Purple light flooded onto the ground. The shadows shifted in the area as if they too fled what was coming forth. One by one fires burned against buildings in the outfield. Screams echoed from the streets. Raiders suddenly appeared slashing down the inhabitants. Kaz leaned forward when an explosion burst in the distance. A wagon marked for Oak City, carrying supplies, was engulfed in magical ice.

The wind mage rose his hand and blades of wind shipped away the ice, freeing the drivers within. Before he could engage any further...a rumble came from outside the city. Banners flew high into the sky, as almost 5,000 soldiers marched onward to the city. A force of might, capable of taking over the region, if they were aided by these smaller attacks.

Kazimir descended onto the walls of the city. His eyes filled with annoyance and pain at the thought of yet another war to scour the land. It was just like when he was a younger knight standing against the demonic incursions. Back when he had only begun his journey. There weren't any other forces the knights or guards could send. All the city's resources were used to battle the intruders within the walls.

Arrows flamed to life against the dark sea of soldiers, under the new moon. Kaz removed the top layer of his tunic. The fabric dropped to the ground below, leaving him in his battle attire. He dug his feet into the wall, ready to take flight toward the menace.

Arrows lit up the sky toward the wall. Wind gathered around the mage. Magic circles flickered into existence one after the other, across the rows of invading soldiers. The force was mixed with mages and archers. Cavalry raced down the front of the line. Giant wheels squeaked with the non-magical getting catapults ready to bust a way into the city.

WC 380/5,000

It felt good to be free again. Caius turned himself in to clear up his bounty so it would stop others from hunting him. They said Hellsea Bastille was an inescapable fortress but it only took Caius a few days to get out of there. It helped that he had connections and that his demon form wasn't affected by the magic transformation cuffs. He gained valuable knowledge from the Fire God Slayer texts he read in there so he was going to put that to good use. This time he would be more careful as not to draw as much attention. It was good to have a second chance.

Now back in West Fiore, Caius was going to head back to Eternal Nightmare to see what was going on in the guild. Currently, he was in Astera because the jail was in the middle of the sea. Astera was a city with a big port that he was familiar with so that's where he landed. Caius gathered some supplies to travel light and was going to head out of the town to walk the rest of the way. However, fate had something different in mind. The sky darkened and vortexes started to form in the sky. Dark lightning crackled as rifts started to open in the sky. Caius was getting some deja vu from the demon invasions here but this was different.

A few moments later, soldiers appeared in the town armed to the teeth. Without remorse, they started to chase down citizens and cut them down. It was pretty funny. One woman would run up to Caius and beg him for help before an arrow struck her through the back. Caius knelt down and pulled out her wallet and stuck it in his bag. The soldiers then turned their attention to Caius and fired a barrage of arrows at him. Before they reached Caius, black flames surrounded his body and the arrows were incinerated on impact. The soldiers wanted none of that and retreated back to the main force.

One of the town guards started to ring the emergency bell and explained there was an enemy force attacking from the outside as well. Caius would walk to the front of the city and would see what was going on. He jumped up to the tower to see a large force ready to lay siege to the city. Turning his head, he saw another at the tower with him. It was Kazimir . The mysterious mage he saw before he was taken off to prison. "You again?!?!?" Caius would exclaim.

434

Before Kaz would take off, a familiar voice called out next to him. Wind died down around the mage's feet as he turned to see the Deamon he had recently met. And one he thought would still be in jail. It was almost too humorous to think about the situation they found themselves in now. A rocky first meeting and now they stood on the forefront of battle.

"Cauis??" The wizard saint replied with an equal amount of confusion. Another volley of arrows struck the walls of the city. Siege engines rolled forward at a snail's pace but forward nonetheless. "I thought you were..." He began to question how the man had already gotten out of jail. But given no one stayed in very long it wasn't too hard to figure out. And more importantly...

Kaz scratched the back of his head, "Doesn't matter. Seems like you're out of jail just at the right time." he turned back to face the ever-growing assault force. "What do you say,we team up and take this army out? Probably bad news for both of us not to deal with the situation." He gave the deamon an inviting smile. "As long as you don't mid fighting beside a light mage," he joked, but being a vampire also put him in an interesting position in the public eye.

The cavalry charged against the walls. There weren't any knights outside to meet them, as they were trying to maintain control of what was happening inside. Boulders flung freely as the catapults launched a flurry into the sky.

"I'll take the catapults," Kaz said as he unsheathed the skull-handled sword and flew into the air. He met the first boulder with a spiraling slash, that stopped its momentum. Two more hurled closer. Fear for the people loomed in the corners of his mind. Wind burst from his palm, shattering the massive stones into a fine dust that rained down onto the battlefield. He intended to join Caius once the skies were clear.

The mage darted across the battlefield. The skull-handled sword whispered its curse in his heart. A shimmer from the blade slashed through the arm of a catapult. Kaz landed on the ground and shot up instantly to barrel into the next siege weapon. Ropes split and flung onto the ground from the quick swipe of the blade. Kaz rolled to the side and with a funnel of wind, two more collapsed.

Shards of wood and metal blew by his face. Distracted by the exploding debris of wood and metal, he didn't notice the gathering of mages that had snuck around toward him. They lined up in two rows of four. Each chanted a quick tune and held onto the shoulder of the one in front of them. An eldritch cannon formed and a mammoth cannonball burst forth. Kaz moved to step out of the way, but another catapult was already beginning to launch another boulder. The mage slashed the wheels of the catapult, toppling it to the side. The boulder flung out across the field and barreled over some of the invading soldiers.

The cannonball smashed into Kaz and wrapped him within it. No damage was dealt, but the cannonball took him along with it. The spell carried Kaz thirty meters through the air. The sword cut through the purple magic imprisonment. Sparks scattered and Kaz landed back on his feet, near the front lines of battle.

More squads lined the middle of the force with purple cannons made of magic.

"Hey, Caius. How are things over here,"

WC 600
Total 980/5,000

Honestly, Caius just wanted to run away at this point. Not at the prospect of the imminent battle that was about to to happen at Astera. That was fine. A little mass murder or an enemy army was a good time in his book. It was more at the fact that Kazamir was a light mage and knew he broke out of jail. Sure he didn't go after him last time but he was already in cuffs. Who knows if he would go after him now? The other thing was no doubt he had more weird questions to shell at him about being a demon. It was something he wanted to avoid.

His thoughts were interrupted by an explosions in the town as Caius surveyed the damaged. Kazimir brought it up right away that he escaped jail so Caius just shrugged his shoulders at him. "Would you believe they let me off on good behavior? It was all just a misunderstanding." No doubt the news he escaped would be out soon but maybe he would buy that story for now. For now they had bigger things to deal with.

The sound of marching filled the air as the enemy army started to close in. Kazimir suggested that they team up to take them down. Both being X rank, they no doubt had the tools to take down an army by themselves. Caius nodded at Kazimir. "Sure why not. After you." .

Kazimir wasted no time as he jumped onto the battlefield. This was great news for Caius. Kazimir might be able to take them all out and maybe die in the fight as well. Caius just sat with his legs hanging over the wall and watched the wind mage go to battle. Living up to his name, he quickly used his techniques to cut through some catapults. The problem was their numbers as even he couldn't dodge them all. One smacked him in the chest and sent him flying and Caius fist pumped in delight. However, that wasn't enough to keep him down as he got back up. "You're doing great!" Caius said giving a thumbs up.

Caius entertainment was short lived as a chain appeared in front of him. It wrapped around his body and pulled him down from the wall and would slam him down to the ground. Luckily, it didn't seem like he was hurt but it still caught him off guard. The chains bound him but using his strength and by pumping some mana out of his body he was able to break free. The chains retracted to a man in front of them who was different then the other soldiers. This must have been one of the generals. The general was jacked and wore a fur vest with two giant giants on each hand.

Caius stood up and raised his hand at the enemy. He didn't want to fight but that was a real dick move. Caius fired off a stream of black flames at the man but he would just smirk in response. The chains lit up and the enemy general fired back flames out as well. Caius knew right away they were the same god slayer flames. They clashed together for a moment before they fizzled out. It looked like this enemy was able to steal magic. Soldiers surrounded Caius as the general turned over to Kazimir getting ready to launch his chains at him. No doubt he would try to steal his magic as well.

Frontline General:

"A pretty big misunderstanding," he cocked his brow. Kaz waved off the cover that Caius conjured about being let off on good behavior, "Same as last time we met. Doesn't matter to me how you got out. I don't even have any questions for you...unless you want to help me take down the church," He partially joked about the last part. He really didn't have any other questions for the man. he got all the info he needed thus far.

With Caius agreeing, the wind mage launched himself into battle. He trusted Caius to be in the thick of combat too. That was until Kaz was shuttled back to the front lines to meet a man. He looked up to see Caius still on the wall.

"While I appreciate you wanting to take turns. Feel free to tag in whenever you want," Kaz called back. It wasn't too critical yet. They had just been soldiers so far. The wind mage rocked forward leaning an arm over his knee and catching his breath.

The moment was short-lived as chains wrapped around Caius and yanked him down. Kaz rolled out of the way. The daemon was able to break his shackles but rose a hand toward the man. Did Caius really intend to parlay with the invading force? Dark guild mages never ceased to surprise him.

But then flames shot forth. The kind that could burn away a god. Kaz squinted at the chains as they lit up. Trying to figure out what was happening. The answer came swiftly when the general seemed to cast the same flames back onto Caius. Kazimir was left alone as the Soldiers surrounded Caius and the general began to turn toward him.

If those chains could hold magic, he had to stay on the move. Do his best to prevent his from being taken. As the general was turning, Kaz waved at Caius, "You got this," And with a quick wave of his hand, the mage vanished into the wind. With soundless movements, he dashed away from the scene.

The General glared and swing his chains in a wide arc, striking down his own men with them. kaz dipped below the chains and dashed toward the soldiers that were facing Caius. On his way out, he struck down three in passing, giving Caius an opening. The wind mage intended on letting Caius test the waters with the general first. Maybe he could pick up more of the brutish man's tricks. With Caius' power, he had no doubt he could hold on. But if his spells were always taken, they needed to find a way to punch through.  

The General turned his attention back to Caius but rose one hand high and swung it down. A group of mages rallied together and began a ritual. A tactic to draw or distract the wind mage, so he could be caught.  
WC 500
Total 1480/5000

Enemy Spell Attack:

Since the general was gone, Caius would be able to focus on the foot soldiers. If they were anything like the ones he fought inside the town, this would be easy. The soldiers were cautious of Caius and surrounded him so he didn't have a way to escape them. Unfortunately for them, Caius had many ways out but he would humor them for now. The soldiers all raised their swords and charged him from all directions with their spears out. They wanted to make shish kebab out of Caius. Before the spears struck however, Caius coated himself in black flames to protect his whole body. The spears would melt before they would even make contact with him.

Now without weapons, the soldiers started to panic. In the turmoil, Kazimir would slide through and strike down 3 soldiers and continue to move. Once he was out of the way, Caius raised both hands and the black flames expanded from his body to the men which would reduce them to ash instantly. That brought up the question though, where was the general if Kazimir just ran by him?

A battle cry would answer his question as the general leap from above at him. Both chains would slam the ground next to him. Caius jumped out of the way but the ground started to crack with magic energy. It would then explode as Caius brought both arms up to brace for impact. The force sent him flying back against the city wall causing a small crater into the base of it. The general followed up by throwing his chains on Caius again and wrapping him up. The chains started to drain his magic energy again while Caius was bound. Breaking out didn't work last time so Caius went for the mix up. He opened his mouth and formed a magic circle to fire off a god slayer roar at his opponent. The general quickly pulled back the chains but it wouldn't make it in time. The black flames engulfed the general before they got back.

As the fire subsided, the general was still standing but he did have some burn marks all over his body. It seemed like he couldn't use magic unless he was using those chains by how he reacted. It gave him a useful hint. The general would charge back at Caius as they would continue to fight. Hopefully, Kazamir would take out the grunts so he could get some backup against this chain wielding asshole.

1461

Having left Caius for the time being, Kaz dashed towards the chanting casters. The spell flared to life, ready to launch an unknown wave of magical energy. The wind mage slashed down one of the ritual casters. The spell circle shrank. The other casters all whipped thier heads around to see the intruder. By the time they knew some invisible force was there, another caster fell. Kaz dashed around the outskirts of the ever-shrinking magical circle dropping one and then the next until only a small pocket remained. In their panic, they threw their hands up and let the spell erupt as it was. Catching Kaz mid dash the spell rocked him backward.

The general was ever aware and able to keep a clear eye on his current opponent in Caius that he now faced while getting intel on the Wind mage's antics. Able enough to determine Kaz was a fast invisible striker.

The wind mage flew out of the explosion to see Caius Engaged with the chain-wielding enemy once more. With the massive spell circle gone, Kaz dashed back to his make-shift ally, seeing the chains explode and bind Caius once more. "Okay" he thought to himself. A better idea of what the man was doing. Chains that could explode and bind as well as capture energy from an opponent. He didn't see Caius Escape this time so he sped up to close the distance. This was far worse than being left to fight some grunts. It required both of them to take on this menace, and he couldn't let the man power up off the daemon's magic.

The wind hurled the mage forward just as Caius' god flames wrapped around the General. This time the general hadn't reacted to the flames by casting his own. Was he waiting? Kazimir dashed to the side as the flames died down, and the chains retracted from their magical meal.

The general lowered his head, with silent anger and charged forward. Kaz dashed in front, still unseen by the general, and slammed an invisible hand into the general's chest. An explosion of wind erupted around the being and tore bits of the ground out from around him.

The general tanked the damage and immediately responded with a roar of God Flames, Kaz dashed up as the flames left cindering heat on his legs. He slashed his sword downward. Catching the genera's shoulder. Feeling the strike of the blade, the chains almost moved on instinct and created a whirlwind of metal around the both of them. They collapsed inward and bound the wind mage. He had hoped the direct hit to the man's torse would have slowed him down, but the juggernaut hadn't missed a step.

The chains glowed, and the General kicked behind himself, propelling himself toward Caius with Kaz held in a chain, faster than the speed of magic. He whipped Kaz forward, heaving him across the ground.

Kaz bumped along the earth and rolled back to his feet.

Wc 500
Total 1980

Caius rushed to meet the generals advance to cut him off from closing the distance too much. He held his arm back to cast another spell. Before he could launch it, Kazimir appeared out of nowhere. A wind spell was cast and the general was send flying from the sudden gust. Caius just put his hand on his hips and tilted his head. "Got bored of the grunts huh?" The general was as strong one so it would take a lot of effort for just him to take him down. Kazimir's help was appreciated but Caius would never tell him that.

The two exchanged blows as Caius watched onward. There was no opening for Caius to strike the general with Kazimir that close so he would have to wait for his moment. The grunts started to realize the three of them were out of their league so they focused on sieging the walls and city soldiers for now. Suddenly, Kazimir was picked up by the chains like he was earlier and tossed aside. Like a dog bored with his toy, he switched his attention back to Caius.

Rather than fight, Caius just stood still. The general was visibly confused but went forward none the less. Out of his chains formed something new. It was a sword made of magic energy. The general would go to thrust Caius through the chest. In response, Caius just pulled on his cape which made him go into the ethereal space. The general and his attack would go through Caius which would expose him from behind. Lifting his hand up and forming a gun, Caius would fire a black flame bullet at the generals exposed back. Once it struck, it burst into a sphere of flames that covered his body. This brought the general to his knee briefly but he would get back up rather quickly. Despite his wounds from the two of them, he was still trucking.

The general would then lift up his magic sword towards the sky and light would start to shine from it. After a few seconds, he swung it down. A large wave of light shot forward and would surged towards them with bad intentions. It was big enough to reach both Caius and Kazimir. Hell even some soldiers would be caught in it as well. The general wasn't playing around anymore.

1859

When the man made the quip, Kaz took a brief moment to peak over his shoulder at his unlikely ally. he would have met it with a light-hearted smile, but the battle raged on and the General had already closed the distance again.

Screams came from the city as fire plummed over the walls. The massive army marched onward. With little they could do about it, Kaz gritted his teeth. The general was the main threat, and it seemed it would take both of them to handle the brute.

Kaz was tossed along the battlefield by the chains. He felt his mana and the essence of his magic bleed through the chains and feed into the General. 'So this is what it felt like,' he quickly thought. His body bounced against the ground. His back arched upward from the impact. Stones flicked into the air with him. He flipped around and made his way back to his feet, just in time to see the general take a mad dash toward Caius, who was standing still. His brows pinched closer together, trying to figure out the man's game plan. Something that came all too soon as the general phased through the deamon, leaving Caius with an open shot.

A black bullet sent the General downward, showing that he wasn't unstoppable yet again. Kaz stood up and readied a secondary attack when the General rose his sword to the heavens. It radiated with mana. The general swung it down and a tsunami of light rushed outward, scouring the battlefield.

"Oh boy," Kaz whispered as the wave of light overtook the general's allies and enemies alike. Soldiers evaporated in its path as it roared toward the two mages. Kaz looked toward Caius and then back at the spell in the blink of an eye. He never wanted to reveal all of his tricks in front of a potential enemy but there was no time for restraint now. "Charge in," Kaz called out and dashed to meet the wave of light head-on.

Once the surge of power was within a few meters of the wind mage, Kaz's angelic eye flickered to life and circled with a ring of light. It analyzed the spell and broke it into pieces. The wave of light suddenly dispersed into harmless particles. The general's nostrils flared. Kaz was yet again in front of the general, this time with a sword slash. Their swords collided, and Kaz hoped it would be distracting enough to give Caius another shot. The general heaved forward and swung his sword against, Kazimir's. The force caused the wind mage to jump back, leaving a gap between them.

No matter what would happen, the general would be ready to deliver a horizontal slash that would send eight blades of light randomly scattered toward the two mages.

WC 450
Total 2430

Light was half of god slayer's weakness so he had hoped that Kazimir could cover for him for this attack. If he couldn't, Caius had the option to phase through it again but at the cost of his body. It would be struck with extreme pain and limit him for a while. Instead, he gathered black flames in his hand and would prepare to take the attack head on in a spell clash. Kazimir must of thought the same as he yelled out charge in. Not wanting to miss a beat, he dug his feet in the ground and would spring forward to meet the spell.

Before he could fire his attack, Kazimir took action first. The titanic light spell in front of them slowly started to disperse into small magic particles before it was completely erased from existence. It was like it never happened. Caius looked over to see Kazimir's eye was lighting up. He had seen this before from Nuala. It was nullification. It was a perfect trump card against high rank spells like the one the general had just used. Kazimir then clashed with the generals light sword which gave him an opening.

Caius would reach back to his shoulder blades and pull out his demon wings. With a quick jump in the air, he flew above the general. Kazimir was sent back but it gave him an opening. Raising his hand up in the air, Caius formed a halberd made of flames and threw it at the general full force. It was aimed squared for his chest but the general would be able to slightly angle his body to make it hit his shoulder. He screamed in pain as the black flames started to cover his body once again. He held his head in pain as the mad god powers started to sap his sanity from the attack. Then with a scream, he ripped the fire halberd out of his shoulder and fought back.

With a slash of the light sword, blades were sent out at both of them. Caius tried to bob and weave but he was struck in the wing by one that sent him down on the ground. Hopefully Kazimir would be able to avoid them and follow up the attack while he recovered. Thing seemed to not be looking good. Along with the general, Caius noticed the sky started to crack open again above the general. It seemed another rift was opening very soon to confront them.

2277

Kaz fell backward from the attack. His feet skidded across the cold bloody ground. Trickles of crimson beaded from his brow. He whipped his glove across his forehead to see the blood, laced with light particles. The sword must have showered small remnants from the clash. He flicked his wrist to see his blade was still intact. They were opposed elements, and he wasn't sure how strong the light sword was, but at least for now, he still had his weapon.

All that happened in mere moments, because as aspected Caius had already launched his own attack and drew a deep gash into the General's arm. The wind mage grit his teeth, unfortunate that the general had been able to evade to full effect. Wasting no time, their enemy pulled out the weapon and unleashed a series of light blades toward them. Kaz rolled to the side and spun through the blades, using his speed as his crutch to get him through. He needed to get closer...close enough to cause some serious damage to the man. A blade of light sang past Kaz's face. Half his vision lit up bright white as the edge of the blade scrapped by the side of his face. Time seemed to slow as he winced, seeing the blade pass him by and burning a mark into the side of his face.

Kaz spun back to his feet and glared upward as Caius was snipped in the air. Beyond his unlikely comrade, another rift began to form. "More," he sighed, and dug in his feet. The portal loomed over the general as he held his arms high, awaiting the arrival of the dark legion from another world.

Winged beasts and soldiers started to descend from the rift. Kazimir stood up and roared into the sky. An image of the Celestial Spirit tiger appeared and roared behind the mage. The sky darkened further around the rift and a dozen tornadoes crashed down. The enemies that were descending, were swept away in the tornadoes and battered together. Winged beasts plummeted to the ground or spun away in a frenzy. The wind ripped through a large section of the forces.

The general knocked a falling soldier away from himself but then the tornadoes slammed down around him. The general hunched over, beneath the force of the wind and such a death-dealing stare at the wind mage, through the heavy beating winds. He shot his hand forward, and a chain burrowed into the ground and erupted beneath the wind mage. It was coiled at the tip and smashed into, Kaz's gut like a battering ram.

Spit flew from Kaz's mouth as he was knocked into the air, clutching his ribs and hunting for breath. The rift was still open. The wind ceased but not before dealing a final bit of damage to the emerging maw of a creature.

WC 470
Total 2900

Caius stood up and prepared to get back up the air. He bent his knees and dug into the ground before launching himself back up into the sky. That way the general would have to deal with him above and Kazimir from below. Now that he had taken a few attacks he had gotten used to how his opponents magic worked. Also, he had taken a few fire god spells which had debuffed his intelligence. He was bound to make a mistake at some point with that eating at his mind.

Flying towards the general to strike again, he was cut off by the rift above them finally cracking open. All types of monsters and soldiers riding them fell out with a bloodlust and rushed towards the first non enemy they had seen. Caius was lucky enough to be one of them. A man riding a large falcon charged him with his lance and let out a loud battle cry. Caius had to stop himself and fly upwards to dodge it. He twisted his body as the soldier's thrust went through as the spear narrowly missed him. Mid dodge, he tapped the soldier's arm and would set it on fire. The black flames would then engulf the solider and his mount as the enemy fell down to the ground. That was one down but there was still a mass force of them.

Caius felt the wind pick up and looked down to Kazimir. He seemed to be preparing something so Caius took the hint and would fly away as fast as he could. With his speed, he was able to make some rooms between the soldiers with ease. His hunch was correct when a large tornados started to form and decimate the forces above. It was quite a sight to behold like a natural disaster from god had just struck them all down. Once that subsided, Caius was now left in the air with only a minimal amount of soldiers.

The soldiers morale was completely shot as they watched their fellow comrades drop like flies. Caius would take their moment of hesitation and put it to good use. Crossing his arms, he would form a magic circle around them and the sky would darken even more above them. A massive ball of flame shaped like a meteor would drop down on them. Though they scrambled to get away, it was too late. They were burned alive as the meteor dropped to the ground below.

Now that the grunts were desposed off, Caius wanted to go help Kazimir. However before he could fly down a spear would strike his leg. Caius tried to grab it but it was made of some type of magic energy that didn't let him. He looked up and saw a person in marauder armor wielding a spear. She clenched her hand together and the spear in his leg exploded. It was a tiny blast but enough to hinder his left leg. Blood flowed out the wound as the new enemy flying above prepared to throw her spear again. This was no small fry. This had to have bee another one of their commanders. Now him and Kazamir were split and would have to handle them by themselves for now.


2823

The forces crumbled to the ground from the attack. Devastation met the forces. The general stood back up with bits of his armor rattled. His eyes fumed as he stood around a mound of dead soldiers. The sky darkened once more, as Kaz caught his breath from the attack. Their eyes panned upward once more to see something in the sky. Another destructive message from the heavens. This time from Caius. A massive meteor formed in the sky and burned through the clouds toward them. A truly impressive feat. So this was the power of a god slayer.  It felt immense and the heat almost radiate to the ground before it got to them. The remaining soldiers tried to escape. Sweat dripped from their brows.

None of them were fast enough to evade. Kaz dashed backward, clear from the shadows of the meteor that was cast upon the land. The general tried to dash his way forward and chase Kaz out of harm's way. The wind mage threw his hand up and a burst of air, knocked the general back on his heels, long enough for the meteor to crash down. Fragments of earth burst upward and scoured the area. The soldiers were burnt to a crisp. Kaz shielded his eyes from the scolded bits of earth, with his sleeve.

Kaz looked up to see his ally. Now they could concentrate together on the foe at hand. That was until a spear took Caius's attention back to the skies. Leaving Kaz with the brutish general. "Alright," he settled into his stance with his sword unsheathed. He dashed forward like a rocket. A pulse of air rippled out from him. letting him feel the vibrations of those around him. In case His ally made his way back down.

The general smiled and disapated the sword of light. His chains slithered along the ground and swam through the bodies of his fallen troops. Armor flowed around his body and the man leaped forward to meet the wind mage. His chains glowed to life. Bodies flung into the air from the chains ripping out of the ground. He spiraled with the chains whipping around through the air.

Kazimir dashed upward and to the left. The chains skirted by the wind mage. With another spin, Kaz dropped his leg downward onto the general's chest. A burst of wind engulfed the warrior. The general launched the chains into the earth and propelled himself back up. His arms circled and the chains windmilled through the air. Kaz slipped by one, but it was almost as if the chain had a mind of its own. Like a sentient snake, it recoiled and battered into Kaz's arm. The skull sword spun freely and stabbed into the battleground. Kaz gripped his left arm and plummeted downward. The other chain followed and smashed the side of Kaz's face and torso. Light sparked off from the assault and the mage bounced off the cold bloody ground.

Kaz rolled along the ground as the chains hammered down. The general landed and marched forward with each swing of his arms bringing down ten meters of chain, that obliterated earth, and dead bodies. Kaz's eyes flashed red, having taken more damage and his blood thirst bubbling to the top.

A gust of wind shot out from beneath him. Kaz's body sprang upward and he sailed backward as chains smashed to his left and right. His left arm was held close to his body. Blood trickled down his fingertips. He was unable to heal thanks to the sword, but he'd find a way.

Heavy breaths left his lungs. The general's grin was a nightmare in the land of the fallen. Kaz flexed the fingers of his left hand, still able to move it a little. He rose his other hand and water seeped from the ground and surrounded the mage in an aqua armor.

"Welcome to darkness," Kaz spoke as a tornado of darkness and storms descended around the man and shrouded a 32-meter area around the general. The light from the chains vanished amidst the turbulent storm of darkness. Only a gust of wind followed as Kaz dashed into the storm, grabbing his sword along the way.

He could still feel the movements of the general within the dark storm. He slashed at him from behind and above in a mad flurry of blows, while remaining hidden. The general spun his chains wildly trying to catch the mage. A light chain battered into Kaz's back, but the armor of water absorbed the damage. It gave the general an idea of where he was, but Kaz was already dashing to another angle, moving more like an animal than a man. Or perhaps more akin to a Vampire.

General:

WC 750
Total 3650

"Hey long shot but can you just fuck off?" Caius said to the new foe in the air. Those spears she was chucking were huge and they did pack a punch from the last one that was thrown at him. It was a long shot but Caius was a businessman. You never knew what what happen unless you tried. Unfortunately, this general meant business and would start to attack again.

In her hand, she would start to form a magic ball of energy. The magic twisted and turned as it shaped out the form of a medusa head. The general raised her hand up in the air and blew on it as the medusa head would fly towards him. Caius raised his finger in the air and shot a flame through it but it was to no avail. It didn't take any damage. He thought it might be extra durable so he shot off a few more. One by one the bullets flew through it. Once it was in a few meters of Caius, the medusa head would shriek a high pitched wail. Caius held his ears as it pierced his head. The sound suddenly drowned out as Caius let go of his head. "............" He spoke but he could hear nothing. The attack had deafened him.

The medusa head disappeared and the woman would charge him. Caius was disoriented from the attack so he would go on the defensive. He would cover his body in black flames and wait till he was back to his senses. The woman general danced around the sky with speed as she waltzed around him with her spear. Throw after throw she would strike Caius. The spears didn't do any damage as they were stopped by the black flames but they still stuck against his flame armor. Caius was suspicious but still kept up the defense. After about 10 spears, the woman clenched her hand. the spears would explode ripping off Caius' flame spell and destroying his armor he was wearing. His rippling six pack was now exposed as he fell downwards from the explosive force.

Still deafened, Caius would be used to it a bit now as he caught himself in mid air before hitting the ground to recover from the blast. Caius gathered flames in his hands opting to fight back. The defensive strat was not working. The woman would meet him in kind as she charged him. Suddenly, the sky would darken that would cover a large area. The darkness was so thick that nobody would be able to see through it. That is unless you were a demon like Caius of course. The woman general would look around in panic and Caius would take advantage. He would hurl a massive pyroblast of black flames at the woman that struck her directly. The blast carried her into the town wall and destroyed it along with her armor.

As the flames subsided, Caius frowned as the woman stood back up. She had lost her armor but was still ready to fight. He could see her figure now and it was almost that of a ghost. Her skin was neon blue and see through. THe rift must have had all sorts of strange creatures like her. She raised her hands and the dead soldiers on the ground started to glow. The spirits rose up and were ready for battle once more. It was like Kazimir and Caius' hard work had been for nothing. The woman shrieked and half the spirits would fly to Caius and the other half to Kazimir.

3421

Another chain of light smashed into the mage sending him flying out of the dome of darkness. His water barrier shattered into dew drops on the ground. The dome showed cracks of light as the chains whirled around within until it was broken to pieces. Standing in the remnants was the general with cracked armor and battered chains. But still he stood.

Kazimir landed and rolled to his feet. His armor was chipped at the shoulder. Pain vibrated in his back. The menace was still upon them. He stood tall and cracked his neck. His blade of darkness gripped in his good arm. The other was stiff, and he knew his movements would already be more sluggish from the heavy hit his back had taken.

The general began to walk forward. The glowing chains drug on the ground beside him. Wisps of mana danced around the links, from the wind magic they absorbed. The general's smile had faded but his resolve was steady.

Dirt bunched around Kazimir's feet as he pressed his heels in. Wind surged around his boots, as he readied himself for another charge. Nearby he could see and hear the clash of Caius and the new intruder. He slumped down and pulled his arm back with his sword of darkness aimed at the general.

Flames erupted around the woman and a hole burst into the wall of the kingdom. A grimace flashed on Kaz's face worried that the hole would give the invaders an easy path into the kingdom but it looked as though they were more concerned with attacking the two mages out here.

Kazimir took a deep breath and dashed forward. A strange ripple of magic washed over the battlefield. Not knowing truly what it meant, Kaz diverted his attack. The general's chains slammed into the ground. Kaz spiraled to the side, his vision still mostly focused on the chain-wielding general. Then...spirits began to rise up around him. The fallen soldiers. All the bloodshed. all the enemies they had defeated, stood anew. Revived as undead warriors to serve their cause. Two spectral arms wrapped around Kaz's body, binding him in place. He poured his mana through them, and broke the binding, but not in time to dodge the twin chains that drilled into his abdomen.

The wind mage flew backward and above the other horde of spirits that rose from lifeless bodies. With a burst of wind, he stopped himself in midair. The chain general walked toward the Matron that rose the dead. The two stood side by side, behind a new army more dangerous than the last.

Kaz landed next to caius, catching his breath as he looked out onto the new field of battle before them. "Guess We're starting from the top, huh."

The horde of spirits rushed forward. Half toward Kaz and half toward Caius. The two generals waited behind enemy lines, regrouping after having taking a first wave a damage. Kazimir flew upward and aimed his hand down at the spirits. A funnel of wind began to rip through some of them. A large pool wisped away and remateralized in the air. Their hands were like claws now, that slashed at the wind mages arms and legs. Shreds of cloth from his robe tore off into the air.

WC 530
Total 4180

Caius caught his breath as the woman general would continue to raise her spirits from the ground. His breath was ragged from the wounds he had and all the mana he had used. This was not how he expected his day would be going right now. Kazimir was pushed back as well by the chain general so the two were side by side again. Caius just laughed as best as he could at the comment that they were just back at square one. "This is some bullshit." Caius would reply before facing back to his attackers. Once the woman was done, the spirits were charging upon them.

Luckily, the soldiers they fought were very weak before so hopefully that stayed the same. They ran towards the mage duo with a cry of a ghostly wails echoing through the air. The enemy soldiers that were alive seemed to stay back not wanting to get caught in the crossfire so that was good for them. Kazimir started his attack so Caius followed suit. Once half of the ghost soldiers would be caught up in blast of wind while the other was covered in black flames. The dual attack caused the spirits to burst into mana but they reformed quickly and were stronger than ever. Their arms evolved to have claws and they charged them again even striking Kazimir.

Caius looked down at his cloak. He had ethereal magic before so he was familiar with spirits and ghost. The cloak he had, NIHLATAK'S COURPSEMOURN, allowed him to enter limbo where he could fight them on equal footing by hitting them at the source. Caius threw flames to keep them at bay and would let his partner know what his plan was. "Kazimir get back. I'll take care of them." Caius then pulled on his collar and would enter limbo. He could feel his body start to fail from the extended use of the cloak but they had no choice. Raising his hand, a giant black magic circle would appear and cover the entire ground where the ghost soldiers were standing. Black flames would erupt and send them dissipating back into spirit particles. However, this time the mana particles started to burn and weren't able to reform. When the flames cleared, the spirit army was no more.

Caius came back to reality and coughed up blood as his legs gave out. Falling to his knees, he was almost spent and would need to recover. He turned to Kazimir and gave him a thumbs up. "Tag in. I need about 5 minutes and I should be able to help again. And considering how bad those two kicked our ass before....nevermind I'm sure you'll be fine." Caius reverted back to his human form and started to take deep breaths as well as he could. He would have to gather up the last of his strength to help Kazimir.

3918

Kaz gave a half smile at Cauis' reply. He rose back up with a trickle of blood running down his arm and splashing onto the ground. "Yep," he said and rolled his shoulders, getting out the kinks.

The two launched their attacks that ripped into the spirits, but they reformed and were stronger than before. Shreds of Kaz's robe drifted to the ground. He spiraled with the ethereal enemies wrapped around his body and clawing at his skin. "Get... off," he huffed as they careened toward the ground. Kaz threw his arms open and a burst of wind blew the spirits off him for a moment, but the mage slammed into the ground. He rolled to his feet slower than he had before and breathed heavily. How were they gonna keep fighting like this?

Quickly he tried to analyze a way to deal with this but Caius stepped forward. Kaz wanted to step forward, but he decided to put his trust in the man. "Hu...Alright." Kaz caught his breath as his ally seemed to fade into a different state of existence. A black magic circle covered the area. "Well, I'll be," Kaz spoke, impressed by the magical spectacle of flames that burned away the very essence of the spirits they fought. Particles drifted into the air and vanished. And just like that...only the generals stood before them with astonished looks on their faces.

Kaz stepped toward Caius as he reappeared. The sorcerer's hand reached for his ally's shoulder when he fell to a knee. His hand halted as the man responded with a thumbs up and a bloody cough. "You alrig..." Kaz let his sentence trail off and stood next to the Deamon.

"Thanks," Kas looked back at the generals while Caius spoke. He expected the man to need some recovery time. "Five minutes! You sure you aren't gonna have a picnic back here?" He made a final joke but the threat was serious before them. "Don't worry. I'll give you the time you need," he said hoping he would be able to more than making an actual promise.

He dug his heels in as the generals began to race toward them. The wind picked up behind the mage. Kaz began to run forward, so the general's attacks wouldn't fall near Caius. Spears appeared in the air and Chains rushed along the ground. Kaz shot a hand behind himself and shrouded Caius in a dome of darkness that would conceal him for now.

The wind picked up once more and Kaz rocketed forward, covering the distance in less than a second. The spears slammed into the ground behind him along with the chains. He roared and tornados began to crash down from above. Before the tornadoes hit, Kaz was in front of the chain general. His hand trusted forward and the general was frozen for a moment, bound by water. Kaz's blade stung across his eyes, sending blood mingling with the binding water. In the next instance, Kaz had dashed off behind the general, spun around, and turned invisible just as a dozen tornadoes crashed back down upon the two generals.

Gusts of wind burst around the battlefield as Kaz invisibly dashed back and forth, striking at the generals with wind and blade. The chain general held his slashed eyes, with impaired vision and lashed out in all directions. The spear general rose higher and flung a medley of spears around.

The chain general's armor cracked. A flow of blood spilled from his back. Spears stabbed into the ground. One spectral spear pierced the wind mage's left side. The invisibility faded away, revealing an exhausted Kaz clutching his left side as the spectral spear vanished. His advantage was staying unseen but as the minutes ticked by, so did his ability to stay concealed. The generals descended. both more wounded than they expected.

The chain general stepped forward and then staggered to a knee. His hand clutched his ribs, and he peered at Kaz. The wind mage smiled and leaned on his sword. Its curse was sipping into the chain general's body. "Won't be long now." Kaz spoke as more spears washed forward and sent him tumbling to his back. He gasped for air and pulled himself as upright as he could.

WC 700

"Worst picnic ever." Caius said as he knelt down taking deep, raggity breaths. It wasn't really his style to depend on others but given the situation, he didn't really have a choice. Kazimir was hurt but so were the generals. This would be a good chance for him to show off the skills that made him X rank. In the meantime, Caius would start to gather black flames slowly but surely in his hand. It was a small kindle at first but overtime it would grow bigger so he could launch his final attack.  The darkness he was shrouded in would give him the element of surprise as he looked on.

The wind mage dashed forward into battle in the blink of an eye and was upon his opponents. The chain general tried to react but he was too slow. The water bound him and blade met his head. It wasn't a fatal blow but it was enough to blind him. However, in exchange Kazimir was left open for the other general. A spear would pierce him on the side just like Caius had earlier. Kazimir was strong but he would need Caius' backup before it was too late. He gathered more magic into his hand but the flames started to become unstable and spew off to the sides. Caius moved his other hand over to contain it. "Damn it why now." he would say. If this attack didn't go off they were both toast.

"Burn them all" A voice whispered in Caius head. It was the same one he had heard in prison when reading the book on Fire God Slaying magic. The frenzied flame. "This world is yours. Let the flames consume them and bring chaos. Burn them all"   Caius held his head as the mad whispers repeated the same phrase over and over. Caius' eyes started to glow with a golden flame as he slowly gave into the voice.

The god slaying flames started to expand at a rapid rate as it burned away the dome Caius was in. Caius stood up and raised his hand in the air ready to launch his attack. The spear general saw this and dashed at him ready to stop him in his tracks. Caius just smiled and started to laugh manically as the flames shot in the air and parted the clouds. The spear general brought her arm back to throw a spear at his head but it was too late. A pillar of black flames descended from the sky and engulfed her. The force was so strong it started to shatter the ground below and melt all the rock on the surface into molten lava. Only a brief scream of the general was heard before she was turned into ash.



The power was incredible. Giving into the frenzied flame never had him feel more alive. After the general was dead, he turned to the underlings behind him. He didn't see them as humans anymore but mere coals to fuel his flames. Caius swiped his arms at the grunt soldiers burning them one after another. His focus was now completely destroying all in front of him. As Caius dealt with them, Kazimir would be left with the cleanup of the chain general.

4586

A light laugh came from the mage at Caius quip.

Kaz spat blood to his side. The chain general staggered forward still blind but the Spear general was still ready to go. He smiled as she made her way over to him. Even now Kaz could feel the shift in the winds. The heat that was carried within the darkness. He pulled himself to his feet and leaned on the dark sword.

The dome of darkness began to superheat behind the mage. Kaz Dashed to the side, faster than the spear mage could have kept up with. Upon landing, the darkness was burned away revealing a super move of flaming energy searing forth. It melted the ground and he saw the true might of Caius. Secretly building up energy to release all at once. And just like that, the general was gone. No more spears. All was burned away in the inferno.

Waves of fire washed over the grunts. The force billowed the wind mage's tunic as all that was left was the chain general. "Been waiting for this," Kaz spoke as the man was still blinded by the cut across his eyes. Kaz dashed forward leaving a ripple of wind behind him. The general lashed out randomly but was to slow and uncoordinated to land. Kaz appeared right next to him and dipped low. With a burst of wind, he sent the man flying into the air. Two blades of wind followed. The slashed across his body and sent him even higher. At his peak, Kaz summoned a tornado that turned the sky dark once more and crashed down on the general. His body was swept up in the slashing winds until it vanished.

The rest of the soldiers were gone. The two generals were no more at last. Kaz fell down on his but near Caius. "Crap," he sighed and slumped his shoulders. He hadn't had a battle like that in a long time. "We survived...you pack a hell of a punch."

Kaz would eventually shift himself to standing. "Hopefully this is the last time we'll have to deal with that. Till next time God Slayer." After sharing a few words with Caius on the battlefield, Kazimir looked at the mayhem that was around them. Nothing short of a war they had just fought. Two of the most powerful mages in Earthland against a horde of enemies.

Exit

5,000+

The raging flames burned off as one by one the soldiers fell in front of him. Caius watched with glee as the fire spread along their bodies watching them scream in pain. The smell of the burnt flesh was almost intoxicating that was driving him for more. The soldiers realized they were out classed with their general gone so they high tailed it out of there. They opened portals to go back where they came from but he wasn't going to let them escape. Caius put his hands together and made some black flames form as he fired a giant final flash beam of flames towards the men. They were engulfed by the attack and then they were reduced to ash as Caius laughed at their fall.

After the attack, a throbbing pain was felt throughout his body. Caius immediately dropped to his knees and and held his head. Though the frenzied flames gave him a boost of power, it was too much for his body. With that and the cloak he used earlier, he couldn't even move now. He managed to face where Kazamir was fighting so he was able to see him battle the chain general.

The two exchanged blows but Kazimir was too much for him in the end of the fight . The wind mage hit him with a combo that sent him flying into a tornado that he did not come out of. The sky started to normalize after the attack and rifts in the sky started to close. It seemed that whatever invasion they were in was gone now. Kazimir sat next to him as the two wounded mages shared a moment together. Despite being light and dark mages, they were both fellow warriors now.

"Damn was hoping you would die honestly. One less mage to worry about." Caius said softly. It hurt to speak after all the damage he had taken. "But I guess you did alright in the end. Let me know if you want anything from the underground. I'll get you a discount" The battle was over now and the two of them just sat together for a few minutes. Whatever force had invaded they probably hadn't seen the last of it. They had to prepare for another invasion. Caius would probably go back to the guild to report what had happened. After resting, he managed to gather his strength and shamble back to town to rest.

5000+

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