1 Vengeance

Furious vengeance filled the atmosphere above. Bolts of lightning fell like rain as pitch black clouds covered the sky. The ground was torn apart as stalagmite's rose from the ground, piercing the world above, and wild floods filled the empty spaces below. Amidst all the chaos pillars of fire rose up, heating up the very air itself. The scene could only be described in one way. Hell on earth. Yet even as this chaos pursued a sole figure could be seen over the horizon, sitting on a rock, and clenching his fist in anger. He had lost an eye in a previous battle, leaving a hideous scar in its place, but even with one eye missing, the other held a fury in it that didn't seem to die down anytime soon.

"You do know there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, right?" A calm tone raised its voice in concern for the man before him.

The rugged man on the rock shifted slightly in his posture as footsteps could be heard trodding the dusty ground before another male made their presence known. He held sorrow in his face as he looked down towards his only friend.

"I don't want to hear another one of your lectures, Chron. Not now." An annoyed remark came from the one eyed male.

"I know you don't, but I'd still wish you'd hear me out at least. Going out there is just suicide, you wouldn't last a minute fighting him. Especially with no plan. We should just go back and use this time to figure things out."

"Figure things out…? Tell me what good figuring thing's out is gonna do now?!" Grief and anger bubbled up in the lone cyclops male, before spilling out in excess.

"Go on, tell me what I should do! Are we just gonna go back to that non existent base of ours?! Or, how about we go back to the city of Ashiya? The place that got wiped off the face of the earth!"

Chron was forced into silence. He had been left quieted by the only other survivor of this tragedy. An annoyed click of the tongue left the angered figure as he turned his back, letting his dust covered clothes fly in the wind. While not fully quelled, his anger had subsided enough for him to speak once more.

"If we wait, we die. If we fight, we die. No matter where we turn it's always a dead end… .So, if that's the case, then before I lose my life, I'll make sure I do something, anything, to get back at that bastard."

"Zain…"

Chron could only utter his friend's name in the face of his determination. But, could you even call it that? This could also be seen as a desperate man's last attempt at fighting the destiny laid before him. Deep down he knew what Zain said was right, death awaited them if they moved a single step further. Even so, the man before him wanted to go head first into his imminent demise. Fist clenched and teeth bared, he seemed akin to a wild animal that was cornered. However, those types of animals tend to be the most dangerous.

"Alright. You're going, so I'll follow you. I wouldn't be able to face Scarlet if I were to just let you go by yourself." A small smirk rose upon Chron's face as he walked up to Zain's side. He placed his hand onto his shoulder, an attempt to reassure him that he wouldn't need to face this deathmatch alone.

"Do whatever you want." Zain simply huffed before shrugging the hand off his shoulder and walking forward.

The two carried on through the wasteland that had become the earth, but the closer they approached the chaos in the distance, the more they struggled to charge forward. The two were sprinting full force through the jutted up ground, sharp rocks and deep ravines were everywhere, but it didn't help with the sudden eruptions of fire coming from down below..

"Dammit, there's no end to this!" Zain shouted in frustration at the multiple geographic disturbances that kept coming into view.

"Oh don't worry, it'll get worse." Zain looked over his shoulder, confused at the comment Chron just made. But the male simply smiled before pointing forward, and at that exact same moment an ear piercing shriek stunned him to a halt. A giant hand reached over a rock formation before crushing it with ease. A ghoul-like face with a horn simply turned the corner before beating its chest in anger. It's jaw unhinged before lunging at the two.

Both warriors leapt out the way of the attack as a loud thud echoed out.

"Why the hell is a demonic beast here?!" Zain exclaimed, furious at the unwanted arrival.

"The mana in the surrounding area is in disarray! It shouldn't be a surprise that something like this showed up!"

The titan stood up to its full height, wispy long hair flowed in the luminescent night as it began to tower over Zain. Teeth bared, menacing…dripping with corrosive saliva used to devour its prey. In an instant it was upon them.

"I don't got time for this."

The beast raised it's giant hands into the air, attempting to squash Zain, but its head was sent flying back as a black bolt of lightning struck the titan's jaw. Dark energy crackled around Zain's right forearm as he had punched the beast, rage apparent in his eye.

"Get outta my way!"

Red runes and glyphs formed around his open palm as energy gathered within it, before a larger bolt erupted from his hands in an attack. The creature howled at the damage it had received and fell to the ground. It's skin was charred as it struggled in agony for some time before getting up again. Zain landed on the ground as more energy coated his entire body.

"Tch, it's hide is tough. If that's the case…"

He crouched down low before breaking off into a sprint, slicing the air itself with his sheer speed. His fingers extended out as red light gathered at his fingertips, and soon he leapt into the air.

"Crimson javelin!"

With a shrill sound the crimson spears all flew towards his enemy with deadly precision before impaling the chest of the giant. Blood spilled as the demonic beast howled in agony. It's mighty arms flailed around, destroying rock and flinging rubble before focusing it's rage on Zain. However it was too late. A crimson vortex of lightning was gathered above its head as Zain had his hand outstretched to the sky. The wind kicked up and the skies blackened as his spell completed.

"Fall. Lightning Vortex!"

His palm closed and the energy crashed down upon the beast. Pained cries came forth, but were drowned out by the sound of thunder and lightning, and before long the titan had fallen. Zain began dusting off his overcoat before he could hear clapping in the distance.

"As always, your fighting style is rough and unrefined. But we need something like that right now." Chron tried lightening the mood, only to be quickly shut down.

"Stop gawking and get ready."

"Hm? For what? You killed it, didn't you?"

Zain simply stared at Chron before pointing behind him. On cue multiple smaller versions of the demon beast from earlier rushed towards the two.

"Those are most likely it's kids. Have fun with that."

"Oh come on..."

Chron complained as they all attacked him at once, but his melancholy reaction to the situation was quickly replaced with a smirk. He hadn't moved an inch, yet all the creatures seemed to fly off in different directions, all from a seemingly powerful force. For a brief moment a golden hue glowed around Chron before fading away.

"It seems they're getting more and more agitated. I fear the further we go in the more resistance we'll meet." Chron and Zain continued to walk forward, moving ever closer to the tower surrounded by the elements.

"It only makes sense. Stop complaining and keep moving." Zain, ever focused on the journey ahead, gave his remark before heading on.

The two walked onward, covering more ground before finally reaching the summit of a cliff. As they stood near the edge Zain's eye could only open wide at the swarm of demonic beasts below him. Chaos insured as they all blindly charged at one another, consumed by anger and rage and began fighting. Fire and ice, wind and stone, many different forms of magic collided as the creatures fought indiscriminately. Silence had choked up Zain as the mere thought of fighting through all that was a crazy idea in itself. Revenge drove him, but even he knew his limits.

"We gotta find another wa-"

"I open a path for you. Follow behind me." Chron tried moving forward but was pulled back as Zain grabbed his shoulder.

"The hell are you talking about?! Even I know going down there is just asking to be killed! One on one we can handle those things no problem but that is a literal death trap!"

Chron was silent before looking over his shoulder, giving a gentle smile. He patted Zain's hand before looking back forward.

"Come on, you know I'm stronger than you. Something like this is a walk in the park for me. Try and keep up will you?"

And with his coy remark, Chron dove off the cliff into the field of monsters. As he fell a golden aura flowed around him and in the next instant, he vanished from Zain's eyesight. All he saw next was the monsters being blown away suddenly. They were either tossed into the air or thrown to the side. A large landing spot was left open for Zain and in the center was Chron looking up with a smile. A wry grin showed on Zain's face as he looked down to the carnage.

"Cheeky little…."

In the desolate landscape that was this war, a golden hue was shown lighting the path.