“A king, a prince, and a puppy. How kind of you to join us. I do apologize for the mess. You see, we had to do some… renovations while awaiting your arrival.” A voice rang out from the crowd and the cultists split revealing an all too familiar silhouette. The hooded cultist from the day before stepped out and did a mocking bow.

“You again? So what that cultist inside said was true? You really did plan all of this? Who the hell are you?”

“Ah, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name from when I was a human died long ago, however my lord has graciously bestowed upon me the name Bolverkr.” As he said this Bolverkr let down his hood and finally revealed his face. His left eye glowed in the same lilac hue that Sir Leris’s had before. Right above his glowing eye a horn was sprouting out of his forehead and on his left hand that had been bandaged the day before, a sigil glowed that same lilac glow. This sigil was unlike any that leris had seen before. Finally, Leris understood why that bandage had bothered him to the degree that it had. The demonic energy that was radiating from that sigil seemed to distort the air around it in waves.

“That sigil… you damned fools. I wish you knew just what you’ve done.” said Daren.

“Oh? So you know what this sigil is? How fascinating. I’ll have to see what else you know before I dispose of you.”

“Daren? What is that sigil? I can see the demonic energy coming off of that thing. It looks almost alive.” The cultist looked at Leris with an entertained expression, a smile slowly creeping at the corner of his mouth.

“Leris? Did you just say you could see the demonic energy on his sigil? Do you see anything else?” Derin asked with a worried expression on his face.

“Uhh yeah? You can’t see those lilac waves coming off of his hand? Also, what do you mean by anything else? Am I supposed to see something else?”

“No I can’t , and do you by any chance see a black and red mist coming off of it?”

“Black and red mist? No I don’t. Why? What does black and red mist mean?”

“It would’ve meant that they still could be saved but since you don’t see it then it's too late for them. That sigil is a demonic pact, it allows a human to channel demonic powers. However, there is one major drawback to this power. It eats away at the user's soul and makes a vessel for the demon to enter this world. The fact that mist is gone means the soul of Bolverkr is almost fully gone and when it is then the demon he made the pact with will enter his body and become flesh.”

“Ding ding ding we have a winner, people. This king sure knows his stuff. However, one small flaw in your explanation. I won’t be gone, I will live on in my lord. I will join him in his rule over the world and be his tool to bring this disgusting world to its knees. First, however, I have found one fascinating little puppy here. Remind me little knight, what was your name again?” 

“Sir Leris of Rymana, you’d do well to remember the name of the man who cut you down.”

“Cut me down? How amusing. I’d like to test that theory, however I sadly have more pressing matters at hand. Old king if you don’t mind I’d like to have a word with you. Would you mind coming quietly? I do hate getting dirty but I will if I must.”

“Like hell you’ll have a word with him. If you want to get to the king you’d better be ready to kill me for it.”

“Kill you? Boy, killing you would be like swatting a fly. You are of no consequence to me so how about you run along before you get hurt. I’m sure your lady friend is waiting for you.” A smile that made Leris’s skin crawl sprawled across Bolverkr’s face.

“If you’ve so much as touched a hair on her head by God I’ll-”

“You’ll what, little knight? You’re out of your league here. However, if you want to find your lady friend, head to the town square. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you find.”

 Leris wanted to run there, blade drawn, and ensure Lily was okay. However, his duty at the moment was the king. He glanced at the king unsure what to do. Just then the crowd of cultists began to get loud as a group of knights bursted through their backline with Sir Aegis leading the charge. As they reached the head cultist he de-materialized and then rematerialized a few feet above their heads. He hovered in the air looking down with a neutral expression on his face. Aegis ignored him and continued up to the king and Leris.

“Sir, we need to get you and the king out of here now! This town is done for and we must get the king and prince somewhere safe.” Leris nodded and looked at the king who handed the prince off to Aegis to carry. The king looked at Leris and smiled. “Take care of my boy, Leris. I’m proud of the man you’ve become. Get my son and Lily and get out of here. Consider this my final request.”

Before anyone could react, the king flew at the cultist leader who was in the air. Lightning shot through the sky as they fought. The cultist leader looked all too happy to be fighting the king. The king looked as though he was using all his might, barely leaving a scratch on the cultist leader. Leris was frozen, staring at the scene unfolding in front of him. Cultists and knights cut each other down with little to no remorse, and the king was fighting desperately to keep the monster above them from ripping them all apart. 

It could've been hours or maybe seconds before it happened. The cultist leader landed a solid blow on the king, blood rained down on the stone pathway and it seemed as if the world had stopped spinning. That was when the king looked at Leris and smiled, suddenly a flash of light and the king and the cultist leader were gone. The only proof that they had ever been there was the blood that now stained the white snow that was covering everything around them.