Antonio Corazon stood away from the battle camp on the far edge of the hill . He observed the demons patrolling around the rift. As the frigid air blew his dark flowing hair, he thought about where he’d been with his new allies. He had gone from a self-centered rogue to a hero leading the charge against an army of demons hell bent on snatching away the country they loved.

Though he lived his life as free and forever changing as the wind, Antonio felt uncertainty for the first time. Now that he found someone he loved unconditionally, he feared that the love between them would be stolen away by some cruel fate in the upcoming battle.

“Hey..” a kind voice said making him jump.

He turned around and saw the brown eyed-girl he loved standing in front of him. She was clad in full chain mail. The cold air made her tanned cheeks even rosier and her hair, though short and poofy, bounced as she walked closer to him

“Hola, mi amor,” Antonio said with a big grin, trying to calm his nerves.

Van approached him silently and clasped her arms around his body. “Thank you for doing this for us,” she said softly. “I know you didn’t have to…”

“Well, as I said, a noble, yet foolhardy action is in the Corazon playbook.”

Van pulled her head away to look at him with her sweet earnest eyes. They always disarmed him faster than any deft swordsman could. “I know this isn’t one of your feats of manliness,” she said. “You’re doing it because you’re a good man.”

Without a further hint, Van leaned in and kissed him passionately. The shape of her lips interlocked perfectly with his, and he felt his fears ease a little. “No matter what happens,” Van spoke in a low, accented and passionate voice. “I will forever be proud I loved you, Corazon.”

“Ah young love,” a squawky voice said from behind them. “The days before paunches, nagging and divorces. Treasure it always, lovebirds!”

“Archibald,” both said at once to the clown.

“The soldiers are ready, Captain Corazon!” the Majester said with a humble bow.

Antonio withdrew his rapiers and spoke in a calm, self assured manner “Si, and I am ready to bring a hailstorm of fuego on those who threaten our very freedom!”

Antonio chose to stand in front of every member of his brigade. Each man, woman and elf (in Oga’s case) stood in neatly organized ranks behind him. For a bunch of criminals and country bumpkins, they were surprisingly orderly. Antonio had a good feeling, the young prince Cyrus was the one who had transformed these ordinary people into soldiers ready to lay down their lives for a noble cause.

Antonio emptied his mind of all thoughts but leading the charge and slaying the yellow crested demon commander. Cyrus and Archibald let him know of the existence of a large ogre-like demon with a magnificent yellow crest on his head. They believed, once the demon leader fell, his soldiers would be in such disarray that Teela could fly over them with no issue.

The demon commander towered over his troops and clutched a spiked ball and chain the size of an enormous jet-black boulder. Slaying him would be no easy feat, but Antonio firmly believed that anyone with an unlimited supply of passion could accomplish such a feat. The handsome young rogue kept that in his mind and let out a scream, “For Aristillus!” and he charged forward down the hill into the valley below.

Everyone including Oga and the reformed Bungo and Snipps followed suit with impassioned war cries as they rushed towards the demon ranks. The foul demon soldiers clad in dark green chain mail, varied in sizes ranging from the average human height to a tiny, compact imp. With fangs, horns and skin of green, red and purple, the hellish monsters let out roars as they ran at the freedom fighters.

As soon as both sides converged, everything rushed around Antonio’s head and he froze. The fear that he could perish in a split second overwhelmed his body. He watched as demons and heroes fell around him as metal clashed in deafening rings. Suddenly a voice echoed in his head. “No matter what happens. I will be forever proud I loved you, Corazon.”

Antonio felt the warmth of his true love’s lips and that feeling erupted through him with a passionate fire. “For Vanessa Montero,” he screamed, and like a man possessed, he took his twin rapiers and swung them at twice the pace of a mortal man.

Antonio sliced demons and monsters left and right with such blinding speed many could not even see the blades or feel the pain they would normally experience when they were cut down. Going up against a squad of ten knee high everspawn, Antonio cut through all 10 before any could lift their weapons. As green demon blood stained the ice and snow, Antonio heard a thunderous roar, “Human scum, pick on someone your own size!”

An enormous spiked ball flew through the air, and Antonio leaped out of the way.

He looked up and saw the armored, hulking yellow crested demon. His tusk like fangs gnashed in his mouth when he looked down at Antonio.

”Pick on someone your own species, monstro,” Antonio said. “We humans do that enough to each other.”

“I have no time for your levity,” the demon commander boomed, but before he could finish his sentence, Antonio ran towards his thick armored legs and began slicing away at them.

The demon commander’s legs were not only encased in dark green chain mail but they were so thick that a regular sword merely bounced off them. Antonio quickly realized it was like whittling away at an enormous tree, but the amount of love spurred adrenaline kept him from using his head. Antonio kept swinging his sword with his impassioned fury, but the demon commander, who was getting tired of the light pricks at his body, brought his fist right down right on the passionate hero’s head.

Antonio fell to the ground with a crash. The world was blurring and he could see multiple versions of the demon commander as he looked up. He was thankful he was wearing a helmet or his head would have been pounded into his neck. Antonio let out a cry of fear as the mighty ball and chain flew through the air right at his body.

The heroic swordsman rolled out of the way at the last second as the spiked ball slammed into the ground causing a mighty divot in the earth. As the demon struggled to remove his weapon from the ground, Antonio looked up at the billowing yellow crest on the demon’s tiny green head. He thought about it, until suddenly, an idea became clear to him.

“Oga!” Antonio screamed as the nearby elf battled with her silver cross bow. “I want you to shoot this giant monstro in any open spots on his armor."

“You got it, Pretty Orc,” the young elven girl shouted and ran forward.

“You really think arrows can pierce my flesh when your sword can’t?” The monster laughed.

As the monster gazed at Oga and swatted her arrows like irate insects, Antonio quickly grabbed onto the giant ball and chain. He took his hands and legs and put them on the spikes.

Oga smirked at Antonio when she saw his actions and stopped firing her arrows. The monster boomed loudly, “What’s wrong little munchkin? Did you run out of arrows?”

“Nope,” Oga said and she crossed her eyes, shoved her finger up her nose and stuck her tongue out. “I just wanted to say, you look like a giant, green booger. The kind I pull out of my nose! Only dumber and stinkier.”

The ogre demon snarled and screamed, “Grrrr!!! I’ll teach you some manners, you little runt!”

Antonio felt the ball lift into the air and he clung to it for dear life. He quickly rose up in the air, flying over the demon’s body. The ball begun to spin in circles and Antonio knew he would have to quickly time his jump. He looked down at the yellow Liccan crest and as the ball flew over the monsters head at Oga, Antonio took his sword and plunged it straight into the demon’s head crest. Like a punctured balloon it began to deflate as green ooze rolled down the demon’s face. The demon’s beady eyes looked up at Antonio and he moaned, “You…. How could a kid…” before his pupils rolled back.

Antonio rode the body as it fell and jumped off it as it hit the ground. He bowed to Oga as demon blood dripped off his body. Antonio turned back to look at his handiwork. “It was your own vanity that bested you, monstro. Even a muchacho as handsome as me knows to keep my luscious hair in his helmet at all time.”

“Pretty Orc, look!” Oga shouted as Antonio and Oga watched the Multi-Beast take flight.

Team Cyrus was now ready for action.