As the late evening descended, the night enveloped the sky, accompanied by an inexplicable thick fog.
Karyan departed early, citing fatigue as his reason.
Strolling back, whistling and lost in his thoughts, he looked back and noticed a silhouette standing there.
Initially disregarding it, he continued forward, but the figure persisted in trailing him. "Well, I suppose there's no avoiding this," he muttered under his breath.
Venturing deep into the forest, where his abilities felt most potent, he pivoted and confronted the individual tailing him.
"Sorry, no autographs today. It's time for you to head home."
"No...? But I wanted to meet the person I nearly ended life with some time ago..."
Karyan smirked, "Yes, I sensed your energy was familiar. Where's your demon, sorcerer?"
The man remained silent but countered with a question, "And where's your hand, snake?"
Karyan's smirk faded, his eyes narrowing. "You'll find out soon enough," he replied cryptically.
The sorcerer swiftly removed his coat, revealing a black demon lurking behind him that materialized when he cut his hand. Without delay, Sera slithered from behind Karyan's neck, poised to strike.
"The snake is still alive? And what do you plan to do with that little snake?" the sorcerer taunted.
Karyan grinned, "We'll take away your second eye. How's your vision now?"
"You talk a lot but can't even fight with one hand..."
Closing his eyes, Karyan shouted, "Granx!" Suddenly, thousands of snakes emerged from behind him, launching an attack on the sorcerer.
Panicked, the sorcerer stepped back as the demon lunged at Karyan. Reacting swiftly, Karyan yelled, "Venom!" Another enormous snake, thick like a crocodile, appeared in front and against the demon with a fierce attack.
The forest was alive with the sounds of hissing and slithering as the serpentine fight started.
The creepy demon, with its twisted horns and glowing eyes, clashed with the massive snake summoned by Karyan.
The air crackled with black and bright green energy as the two formidable creatures engaged in a fierce struggle.
"Your tricks won't save you now, Karyan!" the sorcerer shouted, "the reaper!" He summoned bolts of dark energy to hurl at Karyan.
Karyan dodged the attacks of his magic, his eyes flashed. "I thought you came to kill me, why are your powers so weak now?"
Karyan knew why, the sorcerer's time was coming to its end.
"Raaaaaaah!"
The demon let out a guttural growl, its razor-sharp claws slashed through the air towards Karyan.
The massive snake countered with lightning-fast strikes, its venomous fangs bared in a deadly display of power.
As the battle raged on, taunts and insults flew between the two like arrows.
"You think you can defeat me with a mere snake, Karyan? You underestimate my power!" the sorcerer sneered.
Karyan's response was swift and cutting. "Your overconfidence will be your downfall, sorcerer. If I were you, I would start looking for a cascet to rest."
*pppshh!*
*sheeesh!*
The forest echoed with the sounds of magic and steel clashing, as the two pushed themselves to their limits.
Sera kept launching at the sorcerer's swords and kept avoiding its hits.
She kept biting the blade every time the sorcerer striked.
The ground trembled with each impact, and the air crackled with the intensity.
The creepy demon's twisted form moved with grace, its movements were fluid and unpredictable.
It launched itself at Karyan with a ferocious roar, its claws poised to strike.
Karyan met the demon head-on, "You've been on this earth for too long, you're a weak demon. Feel the wrath of my serpent!"
The massive snake coiled around the demon, its powerful muscles constricted with a deadly force.
The demon let out a bloodcurdling screech, its dark energy flowed as it struggled against the snake's grip.
The sorcerer's eyes widened in shock as he saw his demon falter. "No! Destroy him, demon! Crush him!"
But Karyan was ready, "too bad…" he whispered.
"Venom!" With a final surge of energy, he commanded the snake to deliver the finishing blow.
In a swift and decisive strike, the massive snake's venomous fangs pierced the demon's dark form, sending waves of poison through its twisted body.
With a final, anguished wail, the demon dissipated into a cloud of dark energy, vanishing from the forest.
As the dust settled and the battle faded, Karyan stood with his chest heaving with exhaustion.
The sorcerer lay defeated at his feet, "no…my life…no…"
"I wonder what will happen to you now…?"
"I came here for you to defeat me, snake…"
Karyan furrowed his eyebrows, "what?" He asked.
"The world we're living in is poisonous and cruel, and I didn't want to live any longer in it. I'm sorry."
Karyan felt how the sorcerer's words were sincere, but something was off about it.
"Why did you want me to defeat you?"
"Mateo, the spirit is almost him, so one way or another, the world is meant to fall."
"So you're telling me this because you're dying, right?"
"No…please, kill me now."
A small smile formed on Karyan's lips.
Sin once told him that after the demon's death, it takes about two minutes for it to claim the human's soul it served.
But if the human dies in these two minutes, the demon gets nothing.
"After you took my hand, do you think I will let you go out peacefully?"
"What? It wasn't me! It was an order from Mateo to kill both of you!"
"Did you succeed?"
"No…"
"Well, that's your lost…"
The sorcerer looked at the dropped sword and tried to grab it, but Karyan pressed his right foot on its hand, not letting it happen.
"Like I said, you will not go as peacefully as you thought so…"
"Please, I don't want the demon to claim me! Please! Please!"
"One…" Karyan started counting, "two…"
"No! Please! Help me, Karyan!"
"Three…"
Dark energy emerged from the earth, enveloping the sorcerer in a fog-like embrace. Within moments, the fog became unbreakable, resisting even the sharpest of blades.
It lifted the sorcerer's body, molding it into a compact sphere, shattering bones and causing crimson droplets to stain the grass below.
The head twisted unnaturally, hands contorted behind the back with broken fingers resembling twisted branches.
The skin colour turned black as a proof that this human's body was claimed by the dark sources below.
In an instant, the sorcerer vanished, leaving behind only his lifeless shell in the realm of mortals.
And with that, the forest fell silent once more, the sound of their battle faded into the darkness as night claimed the land once more.
"So this is what it looks like…heh."