CHAPTER 36: FOMORTIIS RISES

This is it. I told myself. My heart raced as I stared down Fomortiis, the Demon King. The moment of destiny was upon me. The creature I was brought here to defeat was standing before me. With my sacred axe, Garm, in hand, I charged towards the final enemy.

"Darian, wait!" Knoll cried out as he chased after me. I heard several more footsteps follow as well, but I hadn't taken the time to look and see who else had come along with me.

Fomortiis let out a deafening roar which shook the ground and walls of the ruins. Just then, a strange red barrier appeared around the Demon King's area, encasing him and anyone else inside. Unfortunately, I was one of those. I glanced around and saw that I wasn't the only one trapped. Those who followed me into the fray were stuck inside the barrier as well. Knoll, Colm, Neimi, Joshua, Zel, Cormag, Selena, and Rennac had followed me and were now imprisoned within the force field with Fomortiis.

Eirika turned to L'Arachel, who was still holding the Sacred Stone. "Use the stone. Hurry!"

L'Arachel held up the stone, which began to shine intensely, filling the room with its luster. Fomortiis bellowed a string of curses as he became engulfed in the light. When the light faded, we saw that the Demon King still stood before us, but he wasn't moving. The barrier remained as well.

"The stone sealed the Demon King's soul away once more," L'Arachel said. "But I'm afraid we still must destroy its body. Or rather, those trapped within the barrier will have to fight it."

"We have to fight this thing?!" Rennac cried out in horror. "Why me?"

"Our lives ride on your shoulders now," L'Arachel said. "So don't screw this up, Rennac."

"Yeah, yeah." The rogue replied in an emotionless and annoyed tone.

Natasha stood outside the barrier. "Joshua, everyone, please be careful." She said softly. "We've come so far…I don't want to have to see any more friends die."

"We're not going to die now, love." Joshua said in his cheesy heroic voice. "Believe in us."

"This is it." Zel shouted, mainly to himself. "Demon King, I will avenge Kaede and Echo!"

Selena turned to Cormag and said softly, "I can't believe this is happening."

He nodded. "We may not survive this battle. It was nice knowing you, general Selena."

Neimi gripped Colm's hand tightly. "We'll make it through, don't worry." Colm assured her. She smiled, but fear still coursed through her.

I stared eye to eye with the now hallow shell of the Demon King. "Fomortiis." I snarled. "I was summoned to this world to destroy you and stop your evil intentions. Today, the prophecy Cathriana predicted will be fulfilled. Today, I shall--"

"Enough talking and more prophecy fulfilling!" Colm shouted.

"Shut up, Colm," I shot back. "I'm trying to be dramatic here. This is history in the making. I want to be remembered for the awesome speech I make before I wallop on Fomortiis's husk."

"Whatever! You can write down a bunch of crap and say that it was you're dramatic speech after this battle. Just destroy that thing!"

I dashed towards the Demon King and slashed at him with Garm. Sadly, the axe did little damage against his tough hide. "Damn." I muttered to myself as he released a blast of darkness in retaliation.

The blast struck me and sent me flying into the barrier. I hit the side of it with a powerful THUD. While I was stunned from the impact, the Demon King seized me in hands. I struggled against his hold, but I was unable to squirm away. His grip tightened, and I could see red electric sparks dance about his fingers. The sparks zapped me, causing a searing pain to shoot through me. The lightning intensified and I felt as if I was being burned alive. Slowly, my vision began to fade and a voice echoed through my mind.

"You were never destined to destroy me!" The voice said. I quickly recognized it as Fomortiis's.

My mind went black. The next thing I knew, I was standing in a world of complete darkness. I wasn't sure if I was alive or dead, but I felt cold and weak. There wasn't a shred of light in the shadowy void.

"Welcome to my prison, Warrior of Light." The Demon King's voice filled my mind. The form of the Demon King appeared before me.

"What have you done to me?" I demanded.

"I have trapped your soul in the world I am lingering in now." Fomortiis said. "You are the reason I am unable to taste freedom, so I shall condemn you with me."

"I don't think so." I snapped. "I'll just destroy you here and fulfill the prophecy either way."

"If only you knew the truth." He sneered. "You would regret ever coming to this world."

I took out my Dragonstone and used to shape shift into dragon form. The only problem was I couldn't seem to transform. "W-what?" I stuttered as I stared at the stone. "Why won't it work?!"

"This world reduces you to your true form." Fomortiis said with a dark snicker. "You are a pathetic human. That is the body you are forced to wear."

"I don't need to be a dragon in order to destroy you!" I roared. I dashed towards him and began hacking away at him with Garm. The weapon seemed to work fairly well against him and I was sure that victory was mine, but then the Demon King released an explosion of darkness that completely consumed me. I collapsed, feeling as if all my energy had been drained. "W-what happened?" I asked weakly.

"I have also been placed in my true form." Fomortiis spoke. "I am the essence of darkness. I am evil, hatred, sorrow, and fear. I am war. I am Death. I am the Demon King."

"You will fail, Fomortiis!" A melodious voice echoed in the dark world. A portal of light opened up and began destroying the darkness. A silver dragon appeared from the light and flew above me and the Demon King.

"Cathriana!" I cried out as the silver dragon wrapped its snake-like body around Fomortiis.

"You dare to interfere yet again, Mother Gaia?" Fomortiis bellowed. "You are the reason that pathetic Kaede had to be chosen as my Bringer of Chaos. This is the last time you will thwart my plans!"

"I shall not allow you to prevail." Cathriana said. Her dragon body shone radiant silver and an explosion of light erupted from her. I was submerged in the warm luminosity, feeling some of my strength return to me.

I quickly awoke from the hold the Demon King had on me. Fomortiis was still gripping me in his hand, letting out a low growl as I stirred from my trance. I reached for the Dragonstone in my pocket, tapped into its power, and shape shifted to my dragon form. I broke free from Fomortiis's grasp and released a blast of light from my jaws. The Demon King's corpse staggered back a little.

Selena used her Excalibur spell while Neimi rained arrows down on the foe. The Excalibur attack did quite a bit of damage, but the arrows didn't even penetrate his skin. Joshua, Colm, and Rennac hacked away at Fomortiis, but only Joshua's Audhulma blade could lacerate its carcass. Zel and Cormag jabbed their lances into him, but only Cormag, who carried the Vidofnir lance, could land a decent hit.

"Enough of this!" The Demon King's voice shouted through my brain. "I will show no mercy. Watch as your comrades are torn apart by my Demon Light."

The Demon King's body roared and a malefic flash of light consumed everyone within the barrier. When the light faded, I found my friends lying on the ground, weak and unable to continue battling. I had fallen as well, but I had enough strength to remain in dragon form and push myself up and face Fomortiis.

"Well, aren't you the lucky one, Warrior of Salvation?" The Demon King asked me tauntingly. "You managed to survive my attack. It's a shame we can't say the same about your little companions." He snickered.

My rage built up more when I could hear my friend's moans of agony. I glared at the monster before me.

"Are you still trying to oppose me?" He asked.

"I'll always oppose you." I snarled. "I have too much riding on this battle. If I fail, the world will be overtaken by your darkness."

"This isn't your world. Why do you fight so hard for it?"

"My friends and my loved ones are my world. Everyone here means more to me than anything else in this world or my world. They are the reason I keep fighting. Now, prepare to face oblivion, Fomortiis!"

I heard a voice echo through my mind, but this time it wasn't the Demon King's. "Darian, you must take the rest of my power and finish him off." Cathriana said. "Release it all in one final burst!"

My body began to glow from the new strength Cathriana was blessing me with. I concentrated all my power into one final strike. I released a beam of light, more devastating than any of my previous attacks before. The beam shot through the Demon King's chest, creating gaping hole. Fomortiis roared, but soon, his bellows died down and only a faint echo could be heard from the temple The Demon King's corpse stood there, looking as hallow as before. Everyone held their breaths as we watched the barrier disappear, and Fomortiis's body collapse to the ground and turn to dust.

((There's still two more chapters to go. I'll be posting them both at the same time. The story is almost done.))