The Tyrant of Helisium raised his blade towards the sky. Blood gushed from the wounds streaking his wings as he roared, commanding the heavens to obey his will. Every beat splattered the air with fresh droplets of Nova blood. Damien was too quick. In sheer strength and power, Magnus was stronger, faster in straight-line speed, and commanded more powers and abilities, but the difference in their size made it easy for the demon to evade his strikes, chipping away at his exposed wings.
Lips curled in disgust, Magnus brought his blade down with both hands, sending a wave of energy that cut a bloody swathe in the Black Wing's army.
Damien strafed, avoiding it. "Binding Darkness!" He called, and shadows whipped out from around him to immobilize the Nova Dragon. Propelling himself toward the dragon's head, he raised his sword to deal the killing blow; Magnus's sword was still down, and was not in a position to defend against it. Roaring, he struggled against the Binds, and the shadows trembled under the weight of his strength, but held.
A burning meteor sailed toward Damien, forcing him to swerve. He brought his sword down nonetheless, narrowly missing the Tyrant's neck, cutting deeply into his right wing. The shadows disappeared, and, roaring, Magnus plummeted from the sky. As Damien moved to follow, the clouds about them broke to reveal hundreds of flaming meteors headed toward him. Cursing, the demon followed Magnus's descent, and engaged the Tyrant in melee combat.
His right wing dragging uselessly behind him, Magnus swung again and again, his blade never reaching its mark. Each empty strike blew up a cloud of dust and created a gust that sent nearby troops airborne. Nonetheless, he was advancing, and Damien could not reach anything his armour wasn't covering. Cursing again, the demon took to the skies, and Magnus commanded the meteors to converge toward him. The Nova was in poor shape, and Damien had yet to suffer a single injury, but he knew all it would take was one blow, and victory was his.
"Stand and fight me, you coward! I thought rising from the dead would have given you some spine!" Magnus shook his sword at the demon. He was faster than the meteors, but one mistake and it would be over. He didn't even spare the trash a glance as he swatted aside the hordes of Black Wings assailing him. When he stamped a foot down and two dozen Black Wings were sent flying by the shockwave, no more dared to approached him.
Damien looked down at scene, hovering in place despite the meteor threat, "One does not win by charging blindly against a stronger opponent, Tyrant." He goaded "I would have thought someone who defeated the great Kaiser and conquered Helisium knew that. Or were the rumours true, and you simply claimed victory on borrowed power?"
Seething, Magnus roared. "You are less than nothing, maggot! I'll crush you with my bare hands!" Launching himself into the air, Magnus forgot about his right wing, and crashed back onto the ground. Seeing his chance, Damien dove toward him, swerving sideways at the last moment as a hundred meteors bombarded their summoner. The screeches of the ancient Nova Dragon grated on the nerves, and many combatants fell to their knees, covering their ears. Blow after blow, the meteors fell on Magnus, and when it was over, the battlefield quietened. Soldiers from both sides stopped their fighting to peer into the cloud of dust that enveloped the resulting crater. If Magnus had fallen, Helisium would fall with him.
Damien shivered and felt the hairs on his arm and neck stand on end as a growl so low in pitch it was barely audible rippled through the battlefield. The dust cloud dissipated with a beat of a mighty wing. Magnus clawed his way out of the massive crater, armour in ruins and body covered in scratches. His hair was singed, and his lips were cracked, but he spoke regardless. "Maggot! Do you think I would just roll over and die to some underhanded trickery like that!?" He planted his blade into the ground, using it as a crutch as he advanced again towards the demon. His unsteady gait gave courage to some of the Black Wings, but after a swipe of his hand sent five men sprawling, two of which he stepped on and crushed with a grisly crunch, the rest vacated his path.
Damien smirked, unperturbed by the brutality he was witnessing. "It's over, Magnus. Yours is the fate that awaits all who oppose the master. He whom you dared to betray...Maggot."
With a roar, Magnus summoned another purple meteor in his palm, and hurled it at Damien. The demon dodged, ignoring the screams from behind as the meteor smashed into a the cluster of his forces that had rallied behind him. He was about to retaliate when a shattering demon's cry split the air.
...
Damon flew toward the site of the duel with all his might, with Mastema trailing closely behind. He had Alpha on his back, while his subordinate carried Beta. Heading toward his former ally Magnus, he would help his brother defeat the Nova dragon, convince him to leave the Black Wings and help him vanquish the Black Mage and avenge his family. His luck had finally turned for the better. Magnus was easily the most powerful of the old generals; with him out of the way, Von Leon was the only combat-oriented general left.
That plan was swept away as Damien nigh teleported next to him, arm curving down in what would have been a lethal blow had he not raised his arm to intercept it. Surprised at his younger brother's speed, he whispered his thanks as his father's old bracer took the blow and held. "Damien!? What are you-" Damon's startled protest was cut short as a flurry of blows from his younger brother forced him to draw his sceptre and defend. His brother had taken up the sword, after all. He would have to berate him for picking such a cliched weapon.
"Stop this madness, little brot-"
"Don't you dare call me that!" Damien all but snarled, bearing down at him again, though he twisted to avoid a blow from Mastema. "Mastema, stop!" Damon commanded. He didn't know what was happening, but he didn't want his little brother hurt. "Help me defend until we talk some sense into him!"
...
Alpha had jumped off his back, the moment Damien attacked, and Beta had followed him to the ground. The two of them now stood before Magnus, who had sunken to one knee, bracing himself on the hilt of his blade. As Mastema and Damon duelled with Damien, he asked the two blond newcomers. "What the hell is going on? Who is Damien? Wasn't I just fighting Damon? Why are there now three of those demon runts!? And why are they fighting each other!?"
Beta put her hands on her hips, straightening to her full height. Even with the Nova tyrant kneeling, she still barely reached his waist. Nonetheless, she glared at Magnus, meeting his eyes and holding the gaze. "No, you were fighting DAMIEN. And you will NOT call Mastema a runt!" she commanded.
Alpha pulled her behind him, preparing for an attack, but Magnus simply sighed. "I don't know who you are, but you're definitely not Nova, and you don't smell like a Mapler, either. I'm not about to attack you and risk entering into another inter-dimensional war over something as trivial as that. No-matter. It would seem that we have a common enemy." He gestured toward the fighting demons.
"You don't know who he is, do you?" Alpha asked, not lowering his guard. Despite his words and his grievous wounds, Magnus's very appearance screamed 'threat', and he was not about to approach this situation with anything but the highest of caution.
Magnus growled, and Beta reached for Alpha's hand. "I thought he was Damon the Demon Slayer, former general and turncoat of the Black Mage. Word had it that he'd been killed by the old boss. But that demon he's fighting now, the one with the sceptre...heh, how could I forget the sceptre. Damon never used a sword...so who the hell is he?"
It was Beta who answered. "He's Damien, Damon's younger brother. Damon thought he was killed by the Black Ma-"
Alpha gripped Beta's hand harder, stopping her in her tracks. "Beta..." He warned, "I need you to stop talking right now." Beta looked hurt and confused, but obeyed. Alpha clenched his teeth. How was a bad time for his other half to be trying to play diplomat.
Magnus chuckled, releasing his sword. It stayed upright, embedded in the ground. "You're with Damon, then. And that other one must be Mastema, the old demon's subordinate...I remember now. I knew that name sounded familiar when you said it, girl." His voice was thin and nasally, but now it had a soft touch to it. He slowly rose, taking his eyes off Alpha and Beta, and looking at the trio clashing in the sky. The battlefield had stilled once again.
"I remember the day he left. Damon and I were...I suppose you could say we shared a tenuous friendship. He saw fit to warn me of the destruction he had seen wreaked unto his family when the Maple Heroes attacked. I remember his half-heartedly hidden tears as he swore vengeance on the old boss."
Alpha was dumbstruck. That must mean this behemoth was a commander of the Black Mage, too. So why is Damien attacking him? "What? Then you were one of the commanders?"
"You haven't heard my name? Boy?" Magnus looked down at him, surprised. "I'm Magnus! Tyrant of Helisium. This is my world! And once upon a time, over a hundred years ago, I did serve the Black Mage. But the day Damon rebelled was also the day I left. I took his warning to heart, and abandoned ship before the old boss could betray me, too. He sent me out against Luminous, but I made my way here and covered my tracks, sealing off the dimensional gateway. Our worlds are too close, now, though, and it's reopened." Magnus smirked, and Alpha grimaced this...thing is the very picture of evil. "I offered to help him, you know. Against the Black Mage. But the stupid old demon just had to cling onto his pride...something about the vengeance only being pure if it's him fighting alone. I heard later he'd failed and died, but he managed to break the Black Mage's barrier."
Alpha was convinced. "You know why the dimensions are converging, don't you?"
Magnus chuckled. "Of course I do. This is my world, after all. Am I to believe you are aware of the truth, too?"
Alpha looked to Beta, and nodded. "The Black Mage is after the power of the Transcendents...to merge the worlds."
Magnus paused, silent for a moment, then asked, "To know this, you must be one of the commanders of the Black Mage or the one of their loyal servants. So, which are you?"
"Neither. It's a long story, but Beta and I – I'm Alpha, by the way – Beta and I are the children of Rhinne, the Transcendent of Time in Maple World. That makes us two halves of the Transcendent of Time."
Magnus chuckled. "You two kids? Boy, this day is getting interesting. Maybe I am getting out of practice. It's been far too long since I brought down Kaiser...Thought I'd come out and have a warm up before his reincarnation awakens his strength, but look at me no; utterly defeated and shamed before the whole of my army."
Alpha remained silent, the conversation had taken a sensitive turn and he didn't know how to mend a beaten conquerer's broken pride. He was too late to stifle Beta's mouth as she moved to say: "Join us!"
Magnus narrowed his yellow eyes. "Oh? And to what end would you have the companionship of the lord of Helisium?"
"Beta..." Alpha warned, but the girl was continued. "We're going after the Black Mage. We'll explain the details when this is over, but we need two more people. If you join, that leaves space for one more."
"Going after the Black Mage, huh? Well, I was actually thinking about that myself, lately. The armies I send to Maple World to smother him all get cut down by the clueless adventurers who know nothing of the true threat looming above them. And now that he's sent his pawn to invade MY world...yes, I think I'll take you up on this offer of allegiance. I don't care for the details; if you're out for the Black Mage's blood, then count me in."
"You sure talk a lot..." Beta commented, and Magnus simply laughed. He retrieved his sword, and gestured at the onlookers. "Well, maggots. You've had your entertainment for the day; the lord of an entire world has been brought to knee before you. Although those who think they can bring me down are welcome to try." The Black Wings' forces all backed away.
Alpha's mouth was wide in shock, while Beta beamed ear to ear. He could hardly believe his admittedly simple other half had just managed to recruit the ruler of an entire world to their cause. Maybe naivety and boundless energy does have its uses, after all... he grudgingly thought.
...
Damon repelled yet another flurry of his younger brother's strikes. Mastema had joined him in combat, but both of them focussed only on guarding each-other. "Damien, why are you doing this!? Talk with me!"
"Shut up! You betrayed me!"
Damon's vision flashed to over a century ago. He was standing within the gates to the Black Mage's throne, nails digging into the palms of his hands as his fists clenched in rage. "You betrayed me!" He had roared. Yes, the Black Mage had betrayed him. And if he didn't save his brother-
"No, Damien, the Black Mage betrayed us both-"
"I told you to shut up, damn it!" Damien's fury was draining rapidly, and his attacks were slowing, but now a fresh surge of rage empowered his blows. Neither Damon nor Mastema had moved to retaliate, but as a consequence, both had numerous minor wounds from when Damien had sporadically broken through their collective defence. "You never liked me at all! You never spent time with me! You abandoned me then came back and torched my house!"
"...what...?" Damon lost his concentration, and, seeing his chance, Damien lunged for his throat. If not for Mastema's timely intervention, Damon would have died right there and then. "What kind of nonsense are you talking about!?" Damon roared!
Continuing his onslaught, Damien's eyes glowed purple with fury "You came back to torch the house! You killed our-MY mother! I was unconscious but you let me live, telling me you would kill the Black Mage and reform the world! Don't you dare tell me you've forgotten already!"
Damon's face contorted in rage. "Mastema! Attack! My little brother has lost his mind. Fight to maim and incapacitate, not to kill!"
"You are NOT my brother!" Damien roared, before withdrawing to defend against Damon's demon impact.
Damien, surprised at their sudden change of tactics, cursed. "Damn you, Damon! Damn you for showing yourself again, damn you for rising from the dead! Arkarium predicted this! He warned me you might yet return, and he trained me specifically for this day! Now we will finally be even; mother will be avenged!"
Damien's mind clicked. The pieces were finally falling together.
In an instant, Damon saw it all before his eyes.
An elaborate plot woven into a web that transcended dimensions, intertwining the fate of two worlds; a sadistic master puppeteer who would manipulate allies and enemies alike for his own perverted entertainment; a demon child, brainwashed to believe his brother murdered their mother and left him to die; said brother's weakness and selfish pride driving him to face insurmountable odds alone. They were all puppets dancing in Arkarium and the Black Mage's hands.
Arkarium...the one who had razed their house that day; the master magician could shape-shift as easily as he could blink. He had taken on Damon's likeliness, and planted the seeds of hatred into his little brother, leaving him unconscious but away from the flames. Arkarium knew that Damon would not be able to bring himself to confirm his death; demons turned to ash when cremated, anyway. When Damien recovered, he had likely sought out the Black Mage for his brother's whereabouts, and, after being fed another round of lies by Arkarium, had been brainwashed into thinking HIM the enemy.
Damon blinked as tears stung his eyes. A hundred years he had spent in captivity. His little brother had not yet reached teenage when he had vanished from his life. To Damien, Damon was no longer family; he was a relic of a tragic past that needed to be destroyed. Damien...had become his enemy.
"Little brother...I'm sorry..." Damon let loose and his tears flowed as he wailed on his enemy. Each impact of his sceptre removed a chunk of Damien's armor, while the spikes left puncture wounds two inches deep. "I'm sorry! This is for your own good! I'll not have any more people I care about condemned to a life chasing vengeance!"
Cursing, Damien threw his sword at his elder brother, and shoved Mastema out of the way as he withdrew to his ships. "Retreat!" he bellowed, and chaos enveloped the fields of Helisium as the Black Wings scrambled onto their ships.
Damon relaxed his wings, and Mastema caught him, lowering them both gently until they touched down. Magnus approached with Alpha and Beta in tow.
"Mastema. It's been far too long..." Grimacing as he beheld Damon weeping, curled up in a fetal ball in his subordinate's lap, Magnus cleared his throat. "You have some explaining to do."
Magnus...I'm sorry...if we fought together...Aran...Phantom...I'm so sorry! Oh, I was so wrong! If we had all fought together...If we had won that day...
...
Okay...obvious turning point for Damon the demon slayer. And by the way, he isn't given a real name in canon, but seeing as his 'official' name is demon, his brother is Damien, and Damon is basically Demon with an 'a' instead of the 'e', i thought it was fitting.
So yeah, a different perspective on the Magnus/Black Mage story. Yeah he gets rekt by Damien, but again, since damien hasn't been released yet and each commander just gets stronger, taking into account their relative sizes, I'd say it's not too far-fetched that DamienMagnus in a 1v1 no-holds-barred. I don't know too much about Magnus's popularity in the maplestory fandom, but he just seems like such a cool character to me, so yeah. Another member for the black mage assault team :P Wonder who the last member will be...hmmm :P
And in case it was confusing, basically how it goes in my head is that Arkarium posed as Demon when he burned their house down, and then brainwashed Damien into working for the black mage by saying that his brother betrayed them to torch their house and kill their mother, and the black mage punished him for it. Therefore, black mage = justice. In Damien's mind, he's working for the right side, for the right reasons (which will be revealed later). It sounds feasible...I can't really think of many other explanations to why Damien would want to work for the organization that destroyed his family...