The figure stood still. The only thing that moved was his cloak which danced with the cold night wind. His stillness was almost eerie.
What surrounded him were piles of bones and skulls. When a demon died most of their body burned to ash, only leaving small parts as trophies. Despite that the amount of red and black bones was staggering. The beastkin watching him behind the safety of the barrier couldn’t help but be intimidated by him. They knew him of course. He even helped some of them with their work. But even those who haven’t seen him knew who he was: He was the human Morrigan had brought.
Poyraz was angry.
He was so angry that he felt calm.
Dead civilians.
Destroyed settlements.
Monsters rushing down from every angle possible.
He was familiar with this. Against Horde, he saw this again and again. Even in this world, he saw the same thing happen when he was escorting beastkin to Whifur. But because of the visit to his mind, the scenes he hated refreshed. The memories of past horrors flooded his mind, fueling the flames of his anger. He could feel something inside of him trying to get out. It was crawling his bones and veins, begging to be let out. It wanted to growl and howl. It wanted to sink its teeth into its enemy''s throat and rip it out. It wanted to push its claws into their eyes. It wasn’t just enough to kill them, it had to destroy them.
But amidst the fury that burned within him, there was also a steely resolve. Poyraz knew that he could not let his emotions cloud his judgment or impair his ability to act. He wasn’t a wild dog, not anymore. He had people behind him. With a sense of grim determination, Poyraz turned his gaze towards the demons that still lurked in the shadows, their malevolent presence a constant threat to the safety of Whifur and its people.
“My, my. I was looking for Champion of Aliera all around to city. I should have known that he would have found some weaklings to defend.”
Two purple lights shining through Poyraz’s helmet locked on the demon dragging a massive sword behind it. It was larger than most of the demons Poyraz had killed and the aura it was radiating was also on a different level. The sword was massive and serrated, its dark blade crackling with eldritch energy. Unlike other demons, which were butt naked, it was clad in dark, ornate armor adorned with intricate engravings and demonic sigils. Its armor seems to meld seamlessly with its muscular physique, making it look even grander.
“I am Belkonot, the Sword Breaker. I fought and won a thousand duels and I am here to take your head.”
Belkonot''s imposing presence and his declaration sent a chill down the spines of those watching from behind the safety of the barrier. Yet, Poyraz didn’t move a muscle even faced with with glowing, malevolent eyes burning with an inner fire. He didn’t do so much as taking a fighting stance. The demonic visage of Belkonot twisted even more. He grabbed his sword with both of his hands and swung it down to Poyraz. The sword looked as if it was bending because of the speed it was being swung.
As the massive sword descended toward him with alarming speed, Poyraz remained eerily calm, his gaze unwavering as he faced the demonic threat head-on. He raised his sword to block the attack. The clash of purple mana against the demonic sword sent shockwaves rippling through the air, causing the ground beneath them to tremble. Belkonot, the Sword Breaker, growled in frustration as he saw his attack being blocked easily, his eyes narrowing with anger. With a primal roar, he redoubled his efforts, pouring his demonic strength into the swing of his sword, determined to shatter Poyraz’s sword and strike down its foe. He attacked Poyraz from every side, the ferocity of his strikes causing afterimages to form. Poyraz on the other hand, parried the countless strikes raining down on his guard by slight wrist and elbow movements.
“Damn that Sacred Sword!”
Belkonot roared with frustration, revealing his jagged teeth as it was unable to land a strike. Every attack he made bounced off Poyraz’s sword. Just looking at the sword caused a burning sensation for it as it felt Aliera’s presence.
“Is this all you can do? You are pathetic! Look at you, defending yourself! Fight like a man, coward!”
Belkonot hurdled insults in hopes of angering Poyraz so he would make a mistake. It seemed like it worked as Poyraz gripped his word with two hands and thrust it into Belkonot’s chest. He let out a laugh sounding like a howl before parrying Poyraz’s sword to the side. The sacred sword went flying and Belkonot swung his sword to Poyraz’s head, aiming to split his head into two. But before he could do that, he doubled over as something heavy struck its leg. It was a hammer.
Belkonot realized it was the one who got tricked as it noticed the chains on Poyraz’s wrist. At the end of those chains was his sacred sword. It didn’t fly away because of Belkonot’s strength, Poyraz just stopped gripping it since it was connected to his arm by the chains. Poyraz swung his arm, causing the blade to fly towards Belkonot’s neck. It let out a gasp of shock as it realized it was about to die but the blade flew above its head.
When Belkonot looked down, he saw that Poyraz was buried to the ground to his knees.
“You owe me one, Belkonot.”
A demon poked its head from the ground. He looked like a giant mole except he was covered with black shells resembling armor.
“He owes both of us.”
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Something invisible hit Poyraz, sending him flying into the air. Another demon, this one resembling a harpy with dried-up skin and a gaping maw landed beside Belkonot.
“I owe you nothing.”
Belkonot growled.
“Don’t be stingy. The reward for his head is enough for all three of us.”
The mole spoke up. Belkonot growled as Poyraz rose to his feet. Harpy opened her mouth, the massive maw splitting into two before letting out a shriek. Poyraz raised his weapons to block but the soundwaves couldn’t be blocked by them. The rocks beneath his feet turned to dust as his armor cracked.
“Hahhahah! My attacks ignore Defense stat, Hero!”
Harpy mocked Poyraz while Belkonot charged at him, swinging his massive sword clad in demonic energy. Despite being dizzy because of the attacks he received, Poyraz still was able to react to the swing. However, the ground beneath him shook once again, causing him to lose balance. He couldn’t block the attack properly and was sent flying once again. Before he could land, a massive fist made out of rock exited out of the ground and hit him. He was finally able to land but the moment his feet touched, another soundwave hit him, sending him reeling back. For the first time since he came there, Poyraz’s back hit the edge of the barrier.
“Fuck.”
Poyraz whispered to himself as blood dripped down from his helmet. He could have entered inside the barrier for a breather as it registered him as an ally. He would be able to heal some of his wounds and come up with a plan. He could even team up with Nocturna. He knew that barrier couldn’t last against enemies of this caliber for long but he didn’t need long.
“Heh. Only a loser would think like that.”
Backing up while he had defenseless people behind him? Ridiculous! He chucked the hammer at the harpy demon. She blocked with a soundwave but Poyraz never thought it could reach to her. He just needed the harpy out of the picture for a second.
(You used Frost Booster. Power of frost engulfs your weapon.)
(Monstrous Strength is activated. Strength is increased by 35 for 165 seconds.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increases by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increases by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increases by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increases by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increases by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)
The ground beneath Poyraz shook and rocks flew to him but with his increased capabilities, Poyraz closed the distance between himself and Belkonot in less than a second. He rammed his entire body into the massive demon, pushing him back.
Poyraz had to create distance between the barrier and the fight. If the attacks hit the barrier repeatedly the barrier could go down. The battle that ensued was fierce and chaotic, with Poyraz facing off against multiple adversaries at once. Each strike was met with a counterstrike, each blow parried with skill and precision. Yet despite the buffs he used, even the beastkin who couldn’t fully keep up with the fight could see that Poyraz was being whittled away slowly. The ground beneath him shifted and shook, turning to sand one second before returning back to normal another second. It messed with his balance and weight distribution badly. Another messy thing was the attacks he received. The mole demon attacked from a lower angle, popping his head from the ground before his massive fist slammed into Poyraz’s body. Belkonot’s attacks were the opposite as the demon stood considerably taller than him. Blocking both at the same time proved quite the challenge and Poyraz got hit often.
However, Poyraz at least could see and predict them. The sound attacks harpy demon made were unblockable and unavoidable. A part of him wanted to shout for Nocturna. Bat beastkin knew about sound attacks. She was also an adept mage that could help him greatly.
But Poyraz didn’t call her. His reasoning was simple: He wasn’t sure if he could protect her and the idea of a comrade dying in front of him filled him with more dread than a thousand deaths.
“Kekeke! How does it feel to have your organs liquifying and your bones crumbling to dust?”
The harpy giggled at Poyraz’s predicament from far away. Poyraz didn’t answer as blood spilled from the cracks in his armor. Belkonot raised his sword before bringing it down, sending Poyraz’s sword flying into the air to the edge of the barrier. Unlike before this time even the chains connecting it to Poyraz’s forearm snapped. His knees buckled as Belkonot raised his sword high.
“He is mine!”
The demonic blade came down, tearing into Poyraz’s shoulder before cutting deeper into his stomach. The beastkin cried in despair seeing their protector cut down mercilessly. The demons giggled, their malice and sadism seeping into their voice.
But their laugh was cut by Poyraz grabbing Belkonot’s sword, the purple light shining brightly through his helmet. He pulled the sword deeper into his stomach as stepped closer to Belkonot with his fists clenched.
At that moment Belkonot realized something. The familiar sensation of cutting through flesh and bones wasn’t there. Poyraz raised his fist and punched it right in his mouth. Belkonot growled as he opened its mouth and bit Poyraz’s fist, his many teeth clamping down on his gauntlets.
“Stupid mortal. You think you can hurt me with your measly fist?”
That was the last thought Belkonot had before several blades exited out of his mouth, poking through its body and killing him instantly. The demonic sword, now ownerless slipped through Poyraz’s body as if he wasn’t there and fell to the ground.
Poyraz turned his attention to the remaining demons.
Mole demon quickly retreated back to the ground and tried to grab Poyraz from underground. Poyraz manifested his hammer and slammed it to the ground, activating its option. A shock wave tore through the ground, raising dust, rocks and the mole demon traveling through the ground. It flew into the air, confused and afraid. He tried to land quickly and enter the ground but Poyraz manifested a spear and launched it. The spear pierced the demon’s chest and nailed him to a tree, his body not touching the ground.
Harpy watched in horror as both of her comrades were taken out in a split second. Poyraz reached out his hand, the sacred sword flying by itself to his hand. Harpy took flight, realizing that she had no way of defeating Poyraz. Poyraz on the other hand manifested a bow without any hurry and used his sword as an arrow to shoot down the harpy. The sacred sword obliterated half of Harpy’s body, causing her to fall.
She was still alive, however. She tried to crawl away as Poyraz slowly approached it.
“Wait! Wait! Hero! Champion! I can help you! We can make a deal!”
Poyraz didn’t say anything. He kept marching slowly, his helmet hiding whatever expression he had.
“King Asmoneal wants your head! I can provide information! Please! I… I do anything!”
Poyraz put his foot to the back of her head and slowly put more and more of his weight until…
“Splat!”
Seeing that the mole demon tried to pull the spear out of his chest and escape. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried to grip the spear pinning it down, he couldn’t get a grip on the spear. Poyraz raised his sword, cutting both he and the tree in half with a single strike.
With the enemies vanquished for now, Poyraz could take a well-earned breather.