The King of Demons fell onto his knees, surrounded by two mages and three warriors, all scowling with bated breaths. Behind them, a sea of blood and a legion of bodies were sprawled on the grassy floor; a canvas of crimson and pink.

The Demon himself wasn't unscathed. He had a deep cut on his back, spots of his gray hair missing, swollen and bruised limbs, a hole punctured in his shoulder, and several missing fingers.

The demon's remaining enemies, or as humanity dubbed them Heroes, were all that's left of the carnage left behind the wake of this King's massacre. But alas, Heroes, as if bound by fate, had at least a speck of their lives clinging to their bodies, albeit with some missing limbs, large cuts, and all unanimously bathed in blood.

The King of Demons wasn't actually a demon. He was as much as these heroes, a human being. Still, in times where evil and good are befuddled by shades of gray, his actions weren't surprising in retrospect. He did all he could to survive, and to live as he pleased, much like anybody else.

Everyone was tired of the constant warfare and scavenging in this ancient day of nomads. Those who eventually became authorities deemed it necessary to create a community, and to do so, they conveniently had to raise the banners for one goal. Slay and end all that is evil.

Unfortunately, the rest of humanity decided that the Demon was the center and forefront of evil and had to be erased. Again, he wasn't all that different. Everybody killed, stole, and did what they felt they had to. Though as his power increased, the number of victims grew with it. Maybe that's why they were so cautious. Needless to say, Kirke fully understood that he was a threat, and that the world is uniting against him.

From what was before an unfocused tragedy that's general in scope, all changed to a singular focus of extermination.

Alas, humanity's very own last stand just so happened to be on the open, grassy plains. The plan was simple: tire the demon out using thousands of warriors and mages, all powerful in their own right, while the heroes looked for any opportunity. The opportunity didn't come until those who weren't heroes were killed, and it took an active participation on the Heroes' part to get there.

By the climax of the fight, they've wounded the Demon heavily. What was before a flashy display of an interwoven battle with magic and close quarters combat, regressed into more simple approaches as both parties lost mana and endurance.

The demon slowly stood up. His body shook as he did, while he grimaced through the pain. Apart from his wheezy breaths, all he could hear was the crunching of grass beneath his feet. It was now or never. If they needed an enemy, he'll be that enemy.

But that doesn't mean he'll just give up and die.

He gathered his remaining mana as he felt an increase of pressure welling up in his torso. The heroes took a step back in caution, but with confidence. They knew that this is the demon's last stand. If they had to, they'd die along with him.

The Demon jumped backward then raised his arms. A thick wall of purple flames erupted from thin air in front of him. He willed the flame towards his foes as he tentatively wiped sweat from his forehead while he landed. The Heroes waited in anticipation. The spell was powerful sure, but it'd take more than that to finish them off.

More so than anything, they were wary of whatever the Demon had planned.

One of the mages took a step forward and waved her arms across. The air condensed around the space close to her. Instantly, the condensation formed into a beast made of water, a humongous regal lion with a crown of water adorning its head. As the flames approached, the water beast intercepted with frightening speed and chomped down on the flamewall.

The two elements collided, and the water beast exploded in a steam, taking the flames along with it. As the fog spread around the vicinity, the other mage promptly whistled. A gush of wind enveloped the steam and the heroes bodies.

As the mist was forcefully pushed out of the way by the winds, the three warriors readied their stances. Two of them clamped down on their swords and placed their weights on their leading feet. The remaining warrior who's lost an arm opted to stay behind them, ready to support.

As the mist cleared, the heroes saw the demon approaching as he clutched on his own sword. The water mage influenced her mana as ten spikes of water appeared behind her and shot forward. The wind mage placed her palms forward, and a torrent of wind ravaged forward against the direction of the Demon.

The Demon slowed his pace as he dodged the first few spikes and felt the weight of the wind, a storm that didn't allow him to take abrupt steps forward. All the while, the two warriors up front were empowered by the very same wind's push and helped propel them towards the helpless and dodging demon.

The Demon noticed them getting closer, and he switched from dodging to blocking the remaining water spikes. Setting his sights on the water mage, he raised his left hand and pointed his index and middle finger towards her head. A quick spark of lightning whirled through the tips of his fingers, then a streak of light shot forward.

The water mage didn't flinch, as a pillar of water erupted from the ground a few meters away and blocked the lightning. However, she bugged out her eyes when she found out that she suddenly lost control of her pillar of water, and it whirled quickly towards her.

Before the water pillar imprisoned the mage's body, the warrior intercepted it, enclosing on him instead. A shocking amount of electricity fried his senses as he lost control of his body while being ravaged the pillar. He dropped to the ground, lifeless, and barely recognizable. A small smile of victory plastered on the warrior's face was all that's left to placate the water mage's regret for his sacrifice.

The Warriors, unrelenting, quickened their approach and got into range. The one on the left, wielding a large battle axe, swung diagonally, aiming to cleave the demon in half. The demon was barely able to avoid being split in half, albeit leaving him with another large cut on his right shoulder.

The demon, sensing trouble from the battle-axe's comrade who wielded a thin sword, gathered his mana and looked into the void. He closed his eyes and reappeared behind the wind mage. He felt his power weakening from what should be a normal teleport and reminded him of his grim situation.

Immediately, he thrust his sword on the wind mage's heart. He smiled as he heard a gag and cough from the mage. As the mage was turning his head to look behind, the Demon removed his sword and swung at the mage's neck.

The sound of metal cutting flesh accompanied the wind mage's last heave, and with two thuds, his body dropped to the floor while his head rolled away.

The Demon reinforced his resolve, feeling that victory is a just moment's away. The buffing abilities of the wind mage have been trouble from the very beginning, and eliminating him was the Demon's priority ever since. It was unfortunate that he was able to drag on for so long, but in retrospect, the heroes couldn't just outright be defeated. It ironically helped that the battle has dragged on for too long.

But what happened next, is something that he didn't expect.

He looked around right after the death of the wind mage was assured, but found that both the Warriors and the water mage were staring at him. A small smile on their faces and heavy breaths were all that accompanied that glare, but otherwise, they were unmoving.

Suddenly, the ground was disrupted by powerful tremors. What surprised the demon was, even amidst the tremors, he didn't lose balance. Rather, it was as if he was held in place. He tried to move his arms but found that they were unresponsive.

Even his breathing was brought to a halt.

He couldn't help but internally grimace.

How anticlimactic.

The sword-wielding warrior threw away his weapon and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked towards the one using the axe and nodded, before turning to look back at the demon.

Behind the warriors, a rift distorted the very space around it. Then, it was swallowed in darkness, as a man stepped forward and exited the void. With a gesture, he closed the spatial distortion and smiled.

"It's over, Rizale." The Demon, Rizale, wanted to, but he couldn't reply.

Apparently, there was another hero left. Well, Rizale knew there was, he just didn't think that he'd show himself now. His rival, and the one leading humanity, Dragnir, assured him of his mistake.

"I've got you all locked up. It took time for me to finish the sorcery for it to affect you, but it worked well. At the end, all of these sacrifices weren't in vain." Dragnir said before walking towards him. He waved his hand a bit, and Rizale felt like the pressure locking up his jaws were easing up.

"You were too drunk on power. I know that you've realized that," Dragnir shook his head. "Nonetheless, with or without it, you couldn't lock up your desires. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but I felt that it was more so that you corrupted yourself. I am ashamed to admit that it had to come to this... this bloodshed..."

"Stop. This is the way of this world, and you know it, Dragnir," Rizale managed to reply with effort.

"It was the way of the world. But that had to change. You had to change, and I reminded you of that. Yet, here we are. A bit of a cliche, and ironic even. Best friends, both who held similar dreams of nothing being able to stand in their way..." Dragnir, finally close enough to Rizale, placed his hand on the demon's shoulder.

"But I realized, that none of it would matter. In the end, we will all die. What's the point?" Dragnir shut his eyes.

"The point is to live!" Rizale shouted.

"The point is to overcome death and be everlasting. We both shared moments when we daydreamed of that day... and yet, why am I the enemy?" Rizale pondered, regretful of the events that transpired.

"No one overcomes death, delay it maybe. However, we could be everlasting in whatever way we deem. Tell me, did you want your name to solely be remembered as a Demon? If so, you could say that you were successful. You aren't evil, even I still think that's the truth. However, what you did and what you planned to continue to do are evil actions. Such disparity, but I know that it's the truth of your character. You were blinded by the circumstances of our time. I regret that," Dragnir tightened his grip on Rizale's shoulder, the pain causing Rizale to scrunch his eyes.

"We both wanted to be immortal, even in name, Rizale. It was only luck that made me realize that there were better ways to bring about that outcome. I suddenly longed to lead, longed to see a place of harmony. As I grew tired of the endless deaths, I became aware of the possibility of a better future." Dragnir removed his hand, and looked straight into Rizale's eyes.

"So I won't kill you.." Rizale, shocked, widened his eyes as his words caught in his throat. He was perplexed, why create this chance and this bloodshed to impair him? Was it so they could talk?

"As much as we want to, we can only be immortalized in history. After time catches up to me, I will also die, and what then? So I won't kill you. Instead, I will show you different worlds. Make you realize things that you haven't been able to see all this time. And when the moment comes, you'll continue this legacy. You will be the one who sees the realization of my dream, and safeguard it."

Some tendrils of mana slithered menacingly out of Dragnir's chest and embedded themselves into Rizale's heart. Rizale shouted an ear-piercing cry of pain. Tears rolled out from his eyes as his death loomed closer.

"I personally wanted to see this future that I dream of, but alas, it is impossible for me. So I'll grant you that gift-" Dragnir paused and took a hold of the strings of mana connecting them.

"Borrowed Time."

Was the last words Rizale heard before darkness engulfed his vision. With his final thoughts, he realized:

Humanity won.