Luke and Fiol comes forth in an orderly manner, ignoring the vast numbers of monsters behind him, filled with murderous intent.

Fiol approaches with a bright, uplifting smile, while Luke comes with his usual blank expression.

"This is hopeless. We won't get to help Fafnir, or savethe world at this rate."

Fiol argues. Though his face does not display a distraught or dismayed look, his words carry weight that tips the scales on my decisions.

"... That's why you two can go instead."

"What are you talking about Fiol?"

"I heard what the villagers said. There's nothing we can do about this anymore, Gram. We'll only end up dead if this goes on. I've already thought about it as many times asI needed, and I ended convincing even myself."

I shift my head to face Luke, his back is turned to us, facing the enemy with his sword still drawn by his weary arm. I can only assume that he is listening clearly due to the silence roaming the atmosphere around us.

"Don't worry about Luke. We talked it out, and I managed to get him to agree with me. Sounds ridiculous, right?"

"Why do you want to do this, Fiol? Just give me more time. I'll think of a way out of this."

"... Save it for the true battle ahead of you, Not for this one. There's not much time left. Time you could have spent heading towards the volcano is instead used to talk and argue."

"You can't think of risking your life. I can't let you do such a thing. I'll help you so that we can all go together."

"It makes me happy that the king concerns for me, but we must face reality for what it truly is. It never ends up quite as we imagined it to be, yet we yearn for something such a dreams every time we sleep. We have to give everything we can in order to ensure that they can sleep peacefully and dream once again."

His words pierce my ears, awakening my senses to the truth I've turned a blind eye to. I have realized it ever since that it would be hopeless to protect everyone at this state, yet I ignored it and forced my way through.

"Now, how about letting me be their hero instead, my king? I'd like to go down as a great hero to these people here, including you as well."

"..."

"Go now. I won't let you think about it much more. You have a future to save. I will buy you enough time to get you to the volcano without fighting so many of them."

Fiol enters the run down building that houses the unfortunate villagers. He kneels towards Rhiannon and her sister, putting his hand on Rhiannon's, smiling brightly to life her spirits up.

"I'd like to make a request before you go to the capital."

He stands up, walking towards the elderly couple carrying a bundle of cloth in their arms. They give it to Fiol, parting with a light smile and a kiss from the old woman.

Fiol approaches Rhiannon once again, kneeling to present her with something.

"I'd really appreciate it if you would bring this little bundle of joy with you. I think he'll grow up a splendid man if you raise him well."

A baby. A small infant, silently sleeping as if nothing is happening outside. It is quite envious as to how oblivious the young ones could be. The boy smiles as Fiol bring his finger close to him. The child takes hold of it, not letting go.

Fiol kisses the child's hand, and he lets go. Standing up after putting the child in Rhiannon's arms, he smiles to her and the boy. A smile like a doting father would give to his most precious children.

"Now that's done, I have to assure that both you two and Rhiannon leaves safely."

Fiol faces us. putting his hand on my shoulders, he reaches for his sword, Zwei, sheathed behind him. His face turns serious, but not showing any hint of hesitation.

"Get the girl on the horse, now. And you two, prepare yourselves. Run for it when I tell you to do so."

"Wait, Fiol! I haven't agreed to this. You'll die if you do this."

"I've already though about that before I asked you... I am prepared for this. I'm not as weak as you see me, my king. Today will be the day, and the only day that you will see the true potential that I have keep secret for a very long time. It's quite a spectacle to behold. Ask Luke, he's seen it once."

Drawing his sword, he approaches the army in front of him. They now stand meters away. Fiol puts his longsword out horizontally, and he begins tracing its length with his stretched out palm until reaching the tip of the sword.

Zwei begins to glow red, similar to that of a pure velvet fire. He holds it out, emitting a strong aura, enough to almost rival mine.

"One more thing. Please name the kid for me will you? I'm not really good with names."

Luke takes hold of my shoulder before I could say anything else. He shakes his head without words to back his actions. But that was more than enough to convey his true intentions.

He then gestures for Rhiannon to come to him. She trembles, but is assured with one last hug from her family.

"Don't forget us after this, alright?"

Her sister pushes her to tears, but she restrains herself. Knowing that any more words will make the people who had decided to give their lives look bad, disgracing them.

She runs along after glancing one last time at the villagers, Deliah, her mother, and her sister. Tightly hugging the child inside the basket of cloth, she braves her emotions and mounts the horse Gram had called for, but had been intended for something else.

"Goodbye everyone. I am sorry that I could not save you all... I will avenge you no matter what."

And so I've begrudgingly said my final farewell to the people who were stranded in the unforeseen turn of events. Staying for a bit longer would've completely broken my resolve, forcing my to bawl like a child.

But I leave, swearing myself to their immortal souls.

After everything had been prepared, the enemy became even more restless. I was unsure as to why they stood idle for so long, as if waiting for something to happen.

Rhiannon had saddled up and was ready to leave, holding the child in her arms. Luke and I stand prepared. Though I had mixed feelings for Fiol's parting, I came to the conclusion that there was no other way to get out, other than with a miracle. And that miracle was Fiol.

His sword gleamed a darker shade of red. He began running towards the enemy in front of him. He leaped a great height, landing in the very middle of their ranks.

His landing created a strong impact that knocked away some monsters unfortunate enough to be blown away by the force Fiol had exerted. The monsters roared in response, dashing towards Fiol and us.

But amidst all that, Fiol raises his sword with one hand, yelling into the air.

"Zwei, grant these enemies the grip of contempt!"

His words echo throughout the battlefield, making the monsters stop in their advance. They look towards the direction of Fiol, and they begin to run towards him in a frenzied manner.

"GO, NOW!"

Fiol's voice truly took out attention. Luke led the front as we ran towards the volcano. I thought of looking back, but my ears forced me not to. I could hear Fiol's voice as he shouted with each swing of his sword. But that was it. We ran as fast as we could after assuring that the horse that Rhiannon rode had successfully run throughout the hordes of monsters.

They seemed to ignore everyone except Fiol. A surge of energy is concentrated on his position. Using my eye of insight, I could see red misty streams flowing towards Fiol,and it seems to be giving him more strength.

"Don't look back, It'll only slow us down. Don't let Fiol's deed be in vain!"

Luke spoke with a loud and strict tone. The tone had a feeling of malice to it, but not one out of anger. It seems that Luke was the one most pained of Fiol's reckless actions. He knew him the most. Though he never spoke much about them both, it was apparent that this was all too sudden for him.

-I swear I will end all this. I promise to you, Fiol, and everyone who became a victim to this horror.

We run, but I try to hide my emotions as we flee from the scene, away from Fiol, possibly forever.

After running for a while, the monsters still approaching are now thin in numbers, making it easier to navigate the path leading us to our grand objective. We keep moving, keeping our pace steady instead of resting.

Soon, after an hour's worth of running. The enemy is nowhere to be seen. We have just crossed a peaceful forest with a small riverbank. There we almost collapse because of exhaustion.

-It's quiet here. Too quiet to be, and too good to be true.

I take a good look around the area. The sky hasn't changed at all in the past hour. It's still dark and red, depriving this land with the true color of sunlight.

Still, my heart beats fast. The turn of events had drastically taken a toll in my mind. All these things are happening even without my knowing. And it all suddenly happens with a snap of a finger.

-It may be true that I'm not accustomed to these kinds of situations, seeing as I've only been king for a while. Though, I'll see this through no matter what.

After catching our breaths, we headed towards the animal trail in the forest, following the stream of water beside it.

The more we travel the trail, the less the trees that appear.

We then come to a three-way crossroad. The first road leads forward, while the other detours to the right. Looking to Luke for advice, we decided to take the scenic route, just in case it would be a shortcut to the long winding road to the volcano.

The trees are green, the forest is lush, but it is devoid of life. From a distance, there seems to be a makeshift house made of wood. It is surrounded by trees. It's a shabby hut to say the least, but it's sturdy looking nonetheless.

I feel a sad atmosphere as I look at the house. It is as if memories have been stored here, never to be seen again. It feels heavy, the weight, the burden placed upon us. It's similar to this, but why?

I found myself instinctively walking towards the house, placing my hand gently on the door as to not break it suddenly.

Despite the darkness of the sky outside, a faint light pierces the roof's small crevices. The inside is not that overwhelming. There is not much to be seen other than a dusty sleeping bag placed on a haystack in the corner of the room, an empty barrel, a dusty lantern, and a small drawer with a white, worn out piece of paper lying on top of it.

The amount of dust it had accumulated tells that it had been here for a long time, but not more than a decade it seems. It had already been open by the time I had seen it.

Without thinking, I pick up the letter, blowing away the dust from it as to see the contents. The contents are written by age old ink in a well-made, cursive font. It reads as such.

If you are reading this, then know that I have left.

Bound by reasons and guilt, I have decided to return to face judgement.

If you are truly curious as to what I speak of, then come to the home of the gods,

and there you might find your true destiny.

Become stronger, build your own life from this point onwards,

and soon you will see the reason I took you in to become stronger.

The beast sealed within you will not be enough. Prove to me that you can surpass me.

I will be awaiting your arrival.

The letter ends there. No name, or any detail to tell of from who came this parchment came from. But it speaks of the home of the gods. What did the one who made this think when writing?

My interests are truly piqued as I wrack my brains, trying to figure out its true meaning, or to whom it is for.

"Gram, we must go. I've searched the surroundings. There seems to be a trail leading to the volcano from here."

Luke beckons to me from outside. Returning to my senses, I place the letter down from where I took it, leaving the mystery for eternity. I follow Luke, but I am unable to remove the letter and its contents from my mind.

We arrive at a clearing near the foot of the volcano. The land past the forest's boundaries are that of a barren wasteland, devoid of life. The one thing that truly catches our attention and stuns us, are bodies of the armored monsters we fought prior to coming here. There are some that even look stronger than the normal ones we fought, but they lie dead on the ground.

There are a lot of them strewn out like decorations to this blank slate of a land, covering every inch of it, replacing the ground with their own bodies. The numbers even seem to exceed the ones that we fought. Most of them look dark and charred, as if burned to death.

Even Luke was stunned to see such a spectacle. We had a hard time trying to just fend a handful of these monster off, but here they are, presented in a vast amount.

"Who do you think had the power to do this?"

"I can only take a guess, Gram. But even I am unsure about what to think of this."

Everywhere we look there were bodies of monsters laid out. Nothing will happen if we stand idly like this. So we had decided to move forward, ignoring the monsters as we use them as stepping stones.

From below, it looked like a great task to climb the volcano, but there was a stairway made of different slabs of stone, leading to the top, and as such, we used it to ascend the great heights of the volcano.

Making our way up to the top, we stare down inside the vent of the volcano. The heat is strong, scalding even. Then at that moment, I thought of something redundant as to say.

"Now that we are here, how do we descend? Surely we will be burned to death if we get too close to the magma."

"We cannot go back. We will have nothing to go back to if we consider the option. We are here now. If we back away, then there might be nothing to be done about this threat in the future."

We walk around the volcano's vent, searching for a way to go down. Successfully, we find a staircase here as well, conveniently placed as if this place was the domain of something menacing.

"Come, let us go. This might be the only way in, save for jumping in of course."

I follow Luke's words, but not before looking behind me. From here you could see the town of Rydia, still covered by the army of the undead soldiers parading their numbers on the fields.

I could use my insight to see Fiol from afar, but it would only pain me to see him in his current state. That is... If he is still alive.

-I trust him. I believe that he'll come through somehow...

Even my mind finds doubt in my own words. As if I'm not flawed enough already.

Now determined to see things through before the whole world is overtaken, we move onwards to the bowels of the so called gates of hell. The very place where the daemons of creation rests, along with the fallen God, Kokabiel... And Fafnir

I assess my condition in the case of a battle. This is the place they came from after all. It would be natural to find more of them here. The mere thought nearly leaves me hopeless. But I digress and clear my mind.

My gold plated armor is worn out with scratches and bumps. My plain, blue cape is in tatters, yet still looks quite well on me despite its image. My sword is ready, and the disembodied voice within it is silent.

I still feel well despite the battles that took place in Rydia. I can still go on.

Luke, however, concerns me. He is only mortal, giving him a drawback against these monsters, if they arrive. I can manage to hold my ground and defeat my enemies because of my sword, and the mysterious powers it holds.

He seems focused and well enough to fight. He is capable even against an unknown adversary, so I can depend on him. He looked fatigued although, trying his best to hide it by suppressing his breathing in a calm manner.

We reach the very bottom of the volcano after many minutes of worrying and doubting. We seem intact despite the magma flowing beside us in a stream.

-I sense a great arcane art enveloping the entirety of the volcano. It seems that relinquishing any emotion pertaining to fear will protect you from being burned.

The voice of my sword speaks out. It seems that he had thought about the same thing earlier, except he remained silent in order to figure out the anomaly.

Believing him right away, I relay the same message to Luke, who understands it without further debate, staying as he was, calm and collected.

There was only one way for us to go. A massive scale, broken wall stands before us, leading to someplace bright to where the stream of bright lava lights the area.

Entering the innermost chamber, we arrive at the site of a stunning sight. Not a beauty to behold, but rather the opposite of that. In front of us is a massive double doored gateway laid down flat on the base of the volcano. It is seemingly made from strong looking materials that might not exist here on this plane.

It has been opened, the two doors are pulled back from the inside. Peering into the gate, there appears nothing but the pitch black darkness leading into a pit of mystery.

We look at each other, thinking about whether jumping in is a good idea. Seeing as the bottom was beyond pure speculation, our doubts about landing safely were unassured.

"We won't get anywhere, not unless we take a leap of fate."

Luke advises me. He seems confident enough, but not a speck of hesitation can be seen from him. Quite the model example to follow for an aspiring knight.

This time, I seek the counsel of my ally, the sword.

-Enter at your own behest. I sense a powerful presence behind that door whose darkness cannot be pierced by the light. It is safe to leap inside, but be ready for whatever may come.

Relaying the message, we steel ourselves, preparing for what might come next. The only way we can put a stop to this, is if we reach Kokabiel inside the very depths of Hell. Without a doubt, we will also encounter one of the many strong daemons inside. The very ones that opposed the gods above and lived.

Only thinking that those were mere stories and fable, I became oblivious. Had I not returned to my home, I would have not seen the truth about the unknown and the sacred things that are hidden in plain sight.

"Come, let us find those that threaten our people's lives."

We leap into the dark gate.

It seemed like forever that we traveled into the vortex leading into the unknown.

After what seemed to be half an hour's wait, we arrive. The gateway leading downwards lands up standing upright, a sudden and confusing change in reality and perspective.

The sight is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. It looks similar to an empire, but much larger than that. In the far horizon stands great, sturdy and tall looking structures made strange material in a dark shade of grey.

Their designs are cryptic, strange, but there seems to be some meaning to it that us mortal from another reality will never understand.

This world has its own sky. A dark red one as opposed to our white and blue.

We seemed to have landed in a circular platform, and above us is the gate that we exited from. Its design is same to the one we entered.

"Another trespasser? It is either you have given up your life, or you are trying to find someone to take it from you. State your mind, mortals."

A sickly and husky voice calls out, its voice echoes in our surroundings. our attention leads us to yet another gate, but a much smaller one. In front of it stands a pale, lanky person wearing a darkened cloak, hiding its identity. It holds a scythe in an inverted manner, using it as a cane.

An aura of hostility and corruption surrounds him. Though the veil of danger is hidden from plain sight, and only I could see it because of the insight I possess. But all in all, the being seems normal enough for a resident of hell.

"I can sense that you feel weary about my presence. If you shall not speak, then I will begin the introductions. My name is Thanatos. I am the gatekeeper of hell. And you are?"

Hesitating to answer, I give a short response.

"Gram. My name is Gram. What did you mean by 'another trespasser?"

"What an odd name... Judging from the silence, it must mean that you know what will come next. You both carry weapons, and thus the same rules apply. I will not let anyone enter hell. Those who attempt will be met a swift end. So you do not know about the previous trespasser. I let him pass... A fearful aura that one possesses. He could have sent me to an eternal hell if we fought. I would have not stood a chance against him."

"...(That must be Fafnir) I will not let anyone stand in my way. Stand aside while you have the chance. I have no intention of backing away now that we have arrived here."

"Interesting. A mortal who is not afraid of death, rather someone willing to face it. What are your reasons? I'm dying to know."

"I will save my, no, our world from destruction."

"... A good resolve. A good reason to fight for. But you have other intentions. I will not ask any longer. The only way you will be allowed passage is if you can best me in a battle. Both of you seem to have great powers hidden within, so I will permit that you work together. It might be the only way you will get out of this alive."

He mentions both. I am unsure whether Thanatos acknowledges Luke's natural ability as a hidden power, but he also referred to me. He knows of my sacred blade it seems.

He stands, but in a bent form, hunching over with his scythe held out to his right. His bare feet seem agile enough. Underestimating these beings just because of their appearances might be the end of both of us.

Thanatos prepares himself, standing quietly opposite from us. I look to Luke, who is ready and waiting. He holds his shield in front of him, and his sword is drawn.

I ready myself as well, unsheathing my sword as it glows white.

-Be careful. Do not rush. Assess your enemy before fully attacking. You seem to have encountered avery dangerous being. Though the possibility is not zero, the outcome of this will solely rest upon your shoulders.

My sword tells me all that I need to know. The rest I will do myself. I could feel a burning sensation on my left eye. The insight has been invoked, and I feel my body becoming stronger.

Now begins the first fight of hell for the sake of humanity.

"Just wait, I'll come for you soon, Fafnir."