Saying that Arslan was stunned was an understatement. The city he lived in was being attacked by demons, people he knew died and a massively strong demon popped out of Grizzon in a gruesome manner. And now a puppy came flying and hit the demon before falling to the ground unmoving. For a second, Arslan was sure that he was dead. However, he suddenly twitched before getting on his four paws. He coughed up blood before shaking himself off, spraying blood everywhere.


    “Interesting. I thought that Wolf King’s bloodline lost its awareness with his death. So there was a newborn with its wits intact?”


    Even though the demon didn’t acknowledge Arslan’s presence even when he was powering up, the moment he saw G?kb?rü he lowered his axe and looked at it. A faint glimmer of hope shone in Arslan’s eyes. If G?kb?rü was here then Poyraz was also here. Even though the state of G?kb?rü didn’t paint a bright picture, things looked better now. G?kb?rü on other hand didn’t look at the demon or Arslan. He started to bark and growl aggressively. Even though Arslan couldn’t understand G?kb?rü like Poyraz, he was sure that the small pup was swearing like a sailor. Arslan wasn’t sure what made him that angry but guessed that it was related to him flying bloodied and bruised.


    “My, my. Aren’t you foul-mouthed? It will take some effort for me to get your blood without splattering it everywhere.”


    He swung his axe effortlessly, creating a massive gash on the floor. Arslan was glad that he didn’t use the same amount of mana as he previously loaded to his axe but the idea of facing Poyraz and telling him that his dog died scared him a little. Luckily for Arslan, G?kb?rü was high in the air, dodging the strike perfectly. He manifested a massive chunk of ice and sent him crashing down towards the demon while he flipped in the air. The demon staggered back, hissing as vapor rose from his body. Despite how confused Arslan was, he couldn’t miss an opportunity this good. Charging forward with his twin swords raised high, he used the vapor caused by ice coming in contact with the demon’s burning body heat as a cover and managed to strike the left side of the creature. Arslan felt his skeleton shake as if he just hit a massive boulder. For a second his will wavered as a sense of powerlessness showed itself. However, Arslan snuffed it out as soon as it showed itself and dodged the boiling blood spraying out of the demon’s wound. The wound wasn’t big and it closed as soon as Arslan pulled his swords back but it managed to accomplish something. It managed to draw the demon’s attention to Arslan for the first time. Arslan’s gaze met with the demon’s and despite the inhuman facial structure it had, he could tell that he was thinking “How dare this bug sting me?”


    With a flick of his wrist, he spun the axe, sending a beam of demonic energy to Arslan. He threw himself to the side, not even thinking about blocking the destructive attack. G?kb?rü sent another ice block but this time it was shattered to pieces by a casual swing of demonic axe. This wasn’t the end of G?kb?rü’s attack as the demon’s vision was filled with the flashing teeth of G?kb?rü. His fangs tore into the demon’s thick hide while blue sparks shocked him.


    “Bind.”


    With a single word exiting out of the demon’s mouth, the demonic energy formed chains and wrapped around G?kb?rü’s body. Despite the ever-tightening chains threatening to crush his body, G?kb?rü didn’t let go. Instead, the sparks intensified while a thin sheet of ice started to form on the demon’s body. His fur tore from his body and blood poured from his muzzle yet he didn’t let go.


    “You stupid mutt. The only reason I didn’t turn you into a paste was because your blood can be used for rituals. So, obey.”


    Arslan ran towards the demon from behind, jumping into the air to cut into his neck. The demon effortlessly blocked his strike without looking back but Arslan wasn’t done. He used the demon’s axe to support himself launched himself into the air and landed on the shoulders of the demon. He thrusted his swords down, piercing the eyes of the demon. Even the eyes of the demon were tough and Arslan had the put all of his body weight into the thrust to go deeper. But before he could reach his brain, a massive shockwave threw both him and G?kb?rü away from the demon.


    “You worthless fleshling!”


    Demon’s eyes healed instantly as he swung his axe, sending a massive wave of mana towards Arslan. Arslan ignored his aching body as he dodged the waves of demonic energy the demon kept unleashing. Because of the dust clouds created by the demon, he couldn’t see G?kb?rü and could only pray that the young pup could survive the brutal onslaught.


    “I was going to take this slow but you made me mad! A pathetic mortal with no divine power dares to wound me?”


    A heatwave hit Arslan, burning his eyes, nose and throat. The worst part is Arslan knew that the demon wasn’t creating this much heat consciously. It was just a side effect of him releasing his mana.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    “Bind.”


    The demon must have gotten annoyed with Arslan managing to dodge his attack as he pointed towards Arslan with his free hand. Demonic energy wrapped around Arslan’s body, causing him to stumble and fall. He watched helplessly as the demon raised his axe high and sent another attack. He struggled yet it only served to help the bindings to dig into his skin. If it wasn’t for G?kb?rü jumping in front of him and erecting a massive ice wall, Arslan was sure he would have died. Even though the thickness of the wall was impressive it only managed to hold for one attack before collapsing, its shards raining upon Arslan and G?kb?rü. Despite the pain, Arslan was grateful since if G?kb?rü hadn’t erected that ice wall his head would have exploded like a watermelon.


    “I wanted to have your blood but I changed my mind. I don’t need your mongrel blood. Perish, dog.”


    Arslan wanted to shout at the puppy who was in front of him to run and save himself. He knew that if the demon brought his axe down one more time, both of them would die. So at least one of them had to survive. He opened his mouth but at the same time, the demon paused. Arslan didn’t know why but the reason for the demon’s pause was because he was reminded of something he had forgotten a long time ago: Fear of death. He threw himself to the side at the last second, a long sword barely missing his neck but severing one of his wings. His screams filled the air while G?kb?rü barked happily. Arslan heard someone click his tongue and a familiar figure of Poyraz entered his vision. His armor was damaged in several places and blood stains could be seen in several parts, indicating that he fought to get there.


    “Champion…”


    The demon growled out while holding the stump where his wing used to be. Arslan thought that he sounded angry before yet he could physically feel the rage the demon was feeling as his mana spread out, creating a stinging sensation all around his body.


    “You are his succesor. That damnned Rodrick’s!”


    The demon stomped the ground as if throwing a tantrum. He pointed his axe towards Poyraz.


    “Before I suffered defeat at his hands, I was the head commander of King Asmoneal’s armies! Because of him and his damn sacred sword, I lost my power, my authority, I lost everything! I couldn’t even get my revenge since he went and died somewhere else! But today, I will finally get my revenge! I will kill you, Champion! I, Bloodbane will destroy his successor!”


    Poyraz stood tall and resolute, his gaze unwavering as he faced the enraged demon.


    “Man, demons really love yapping. Is this because you guys are weak? All you do is talk, talk then talk some more.”


    Bloodbane opened his many teethed mouth to answer but Poyraz didn’t let him. He threw his sacred sword towards the demon. Bloodbane moved his axe in front to block the strike but Poyraz didn’t let him. He pulled the chains binding the sword to his arm while running and grabbed the sword mid-air. Side-stepping to get a better angle, he pushed the demon’s axe to the side and opened a large gash on his chest. Boiling blood covered him before the wound closed itself but Poyraz didn’t seem to care about it. He used the momentum of Bloodbane’s strikes to gain distance while pulling something out of his shadow. It was a banner. He planted it on the ground but as soon the banner touched the ground it turned into green energy and spread out wide and far.


    (Your and all of your allies'' stats increases by 1. Your and all of your allies'' resistance against mental debuffs and stamina and mana replenishment rate increases by 50 percent.)


    With renewed vigor, Arslan broke his bindings and charged back to the fray, his twin swords flashing in the moonlight. Just closing on Bloodbane was a challenge as the heat radiating from him caused him to sweat profusely while the thinner part of his skin peeled off painfully. For a second he wasn’t even sure if he could reach to him but he felt a weight settling at his shoulder.


    “Bark.”


    It was G?kb?rü, extending his cold aura to defend Arslan.


    “I owe you one!”


    Bloodbane, still reeling from Poyraz''s earlier attack, turned his attention towards Arslan and G?kb?rü, his rage fueling his every move. With a snarl of fury, he swung his axe towards them, the air crackling with demonic energy as it cleaved through the air. Arslan danced around the demon''s strikes, remembering how Lily used to dodge his attacks.


    “Arslan. If you want to fight beside me you need to do better.”


    Unlike Arslan who could only dodge Poyraz joined in and exchanged blows with Bloodbane.


    “There is a dark room inside you, inside everyone. If you don’t want to die, you have to open it.”


    Arslan barely dodged an axe swing by throwing himself to the ground. Despite his rapid movements, G?kb?rü seemed comfortable at his shoulder. “This isn’t time to joke around, jackass!”


    Hearing Poyraz’s words, Arslan thought that he was aiming to joke just like he did before. But as he saw that he was being left behind in the fight, Poyraz’s voice rang out again.


    “Pull out what little have from your fingertips. From every small blood vessel you have. Plunge your claws deep inside and tear out everything you have.”


    Maybe a genius like Morrigan could understand what Poyraz was talking about. But Arslan didn’t. He was already giving everything he had. How could he do more? He trained, practiced, and fought with all of his might! He stood for a second as Poyraz and Bloodbane clashed. He remembered what Lily told him when they were training. One’s mind was the most important part when it came to deciding their strength. Is that what Poyraz was talking about? He was afraid. He thought that he was weak. He was sure that he was going to die. His mind was filled with those thoughts. How could a mind filled with thoughts of failure could lead his body to victory? He closed his eyes and cleared all of them out of his mind.


    (You acquired passive skill Clear Mind.)


    Arslan was ready to join to fight.