The group lined up in front of the golden throne where the Overlord sat idly fiddling with his hands.

            Marcus walked forward and took the lead. But before the man spoke, Ronin addressed his lord. “My liege.” He bowed and then rose from the ground. “The matter at hand has become much more relevant to your cause. The creature that lies in the pit shadows seeks to take the throne for himself. I suggest that you heed the words of these humans.” The man then bowed again as he stepped back to have Marcus take the stage.

            Marcus glared at the Overlord. “You can read minds right?” he asked. “So let me skip the explanation and just get to the point. We need your help.”

            The Overlord’s mouth bended in annoyance as he hanged his head from the side of his throne. He sighed as he closed his four front eyes leaving only the ones at his side to look at Marcus. “Why should I?” the demon asked. “From all that has been happening, I know one thing for certain and that is, this creature wants to go into your world.” The Overlord rose sharply and sprung his hands apart as he smiled as a true demon would. “And if I’m not wrong, that solves my problem. When he leaves, I’ll just destroy the rift along with that pit of shadows and that’ll be it.” He pointed towards the commander Marcus as he laughed in amusement, his eyes now wide open with joy. “You’re the ones in trouble here!” Then the Overlord vanished and appeared before Marcus. He hovered above the ground so that they could see eye to eye. “So why should I help you?”

            Lines began to form on Marcus’ face as his eyes narrowed in rage. The man turned around and began to walk away as the Overlord smiled in amusement. “We’re leaving.” The man gestured for the Gifted along with Silva, who still clutched his sword in frustration for not being able to do anything, to follow.

            The Overlord laughed as he spun around in the air. “You know what I want!” he said as the eight humans walked away. “Tell Roy Regalia that if he wants my help, he’ll have to pay a hefty price.”

            Marcus clenched his fist and continued walking.

~

            Silva was in dismay. He had thought that he could have been of help in this mission but it was all just in his head. Gifted were already praised as Gods among men but demons…they were on a different level entirely.

            All the while they were trapped in that cavern, the boy had given up and simply allowed himself to be drifted away by Maya’s wind. There was nothing that he could have done.

            He held on to the sword by his side. That was the sword his father had given him since he was only ten years old. Now he was seventeen and he thought that he had become much stronger. But what good was a sword in the midst of all these magical powers?

            It had no value. He had no value.

            Then an image of his father appeared before his eyes. He remembered that the words of the gentle, yet fierce when needed, man told him: “Remember Silva, don’t ever let the fact that you were born Barren get to you.” Barren’s were what you’d call someone with Gifted ancestry who did not manifest a Gift. Truth be told, Silva’s mother was actually a lady from the Aquaron family. But since Silva wasn’t born without any Gift, he wasn’t allowed to join the family. It was also for this reason why Gifted rarely married anyone not of noble blood.

            The boy recalled his father rubbing his head as he continued. “It doesn’t matter what power you possess. What’s more important is how you use it. And Silva, you must use your power to protect those who cannot do that for themselves. Protect those who the Gifted have neglected. That much is something that you can still do.”

            The boy clutched the hilt of his blade tighter. “I will.” He said to himself as he looked forward. Amongst those with miraculous powers, he wouldn’t be able to do much. But for the sake of those regular folks who couldn’t protect themselves, he would try his best to be a strong warrior on their behalf.

~

            The Gifted were once more in the carriage. Ronin gave them a ride back to the gate from which they had come. But, this time, they did not fly through the ring of malice. Instead, they took a detour through a sort of underground cave that went under the mass of shadows above. And though the walls seeped with malice that would occasionally reach a hand out to strike, it could not compare to the chaos that unfolded above.

            And it was through that manner, did the Gifted reach the little village of demons where they saw Skull Jones along with his horse, talking to a carpenter about making a new wagon for himself. They waved at the undead who tipped his hat with a huge smile written on his face. And after that, just as they had come, they left through the gate.

~

            Lady Aerite was making her own survey of the nearby villages.

            As a black wolf lunged a claw at her face, she vanished into air and appeared behind him. Then her hand transformed in to a spiraling wind that pierced through the shadows, destroying the malice as a storm would to an old barn.

            Then she looked to the distance and saw flames raging about at the next village.

            The white haired woman placed a hand to her head as she sighed, her delicate waist shifting to the side as she placed a foot forward to balance herself.

            With the battle that was ongoing next to the kingdom, people had begun to feel uneasy. As a result, natural malice had begun to form in the nearby villages and more dark creatures were created as a result.

            And to add to that, they were also smaller rifts that were opened to allow some native beasts to come into the villages. These, the Lady Aerite had found and destroyed already but the creatures that came from them still lingered.

            The Lady Aerite was certain of it, whoever was doing this was not alone. There must have been some sort of organization working in secret.

            Lord Firstone and she had taken the responsibility of destroying those malice beasts that formed around the kingdom. They had been circling around the kingdom, Ratuna went left and she went right. But it would seem that they were now going to meet each other again.

            Her thoughts were then interrupted as an ogre formed from shadows came into being and lowered his giant arm on to the petite woman.

            She grinned and vanished as the bells on her necklace ringed in a melancholy.

            Bring. The bells rang again as the woman appeared behind the ogre with a blade of wind that sliced for its neck.

            Two other women and one man then surrounded it as it fell to the ground and blasted forth wind at the creature, whose head was just severed. They continued until the malice was all but gone.

            Then the Lady Aerite vanished again to become wind itself as she soared through the skies to rendezvous with the Lord Firestone.

~

            Ratuna continued to rampage as he sent his glorious fists of flame towards his enemies, burning them all to a crisp. The man laughed mightily as he puffed his enormous chest out and continued onward with a self-loving pride.

            How long had it been since he saw such a battle? He hadn’t this much fun since he lost to the retired Lord Stronghold.

            His mighty beard danced as he continued to laugh and then launched himself into the air. He crashed down to the ground as his flames exploded on contact and spiraled outwards like ripples formed from dropping a rock into a small pond. He then looked to the two huge ogres in front of him as his bald head shone with the fire around him.

            The man heard the screams of the villagers that began to run in panic, some choosing to fetch pales of water to throw in vain at their burning houses as the Firestone family raged in battle with the creatures of darkness.

            This much destruction couldn’t be avoided in Ratuna’s mind. For a battle to be worth it, there had to be at least this much damage.

            The man’s fist became engulfed in flame as both ogres swung back their arms and punched in sync. Their combined fists met Ratuna’s and he was pushed back until he found his footing. He came to a halt and looked up to the ogres’ ugly faces staring down at him with red eyes. And then the flame in his fist grew as it became a giant sun to engulf the two beasts into a hell made of fire.

            “Yes, this is nice.” Ratuna said to himself as he grinned. Then he looked back to where the greater battle was occurring. “But I would much rather be there.”

            Bring. The sound of a bell was heard and Lady Aerite appeared before the man. “Then let’s go already. Our families can handle the villages. With things going as they are, all the present family leaders will be needed to defend the kingdom.”

            Ratuna smiled as the woman vanished again. Then he jumped forward as a flame exploded at his feet sending him miles above into the sky. And so, he continued towards the battlefield that raged in the east.

~

            The rift had gotten much bigger now, large enough for two familiar red eyes to be visible along with a smiling set of red teeth. “Yes, this should be enough.” The creature said as it began to flow itself out of the rift.

            A giant liquid arm was first to reach itself out in the skies above, which were now a mixture of yellow and orange signaling the approach of night.

            Then came another hand and together the elongated arms of shadows grabbed the sides of the rift and pulled with all their strength as the creature tried to force its massive gooey head into the human’s world.

            The creature was met with a bolt lightning from Lord Electora and then blades of water from Lord Aquaron. Then more elements of fire, wind, lightning, water and light met the creature’s face, who flinched back in response.

            It gritted its teeth. “Why you puny humans?!” it yelled and pulled its head back into its own world. And instead, two more giants came out of the rift. “Be my shields.” The creature ordered and the two giants stood with their arms dangling in front of the rift as the strange creature continued to force itself into Eon’s world.

            Finally the man rose up from where he sat next to his half-brother. “Lias, let’s go.” He ordered. Raus, too, who had joined them on their little break readied his fists with flame. And then with mighty leap that activated the glowing shield that protected Eon’s body, the man went even closer to the rift.