A New Combatant

A pair of dark wings, the feathers of which were dark enough to destroy any light and which were large enough to carry even the heaviest of beasts, sprouted from where the flash had came from. Seconds later, the Knight appeared in the air, floating above the flock of birds. It stole Evan's attention away from all of the birds, standing out like the moon against a backdrop of stars. Thoughts ran through his mind of some kind of super powerful attack coming from the Knight, inspired by fantasies of magic and the supernatural. Then, his mind registered an almost impossible detail that he had managed to miss.

The Knight wasn't levitating with his own power. Instead, it had been impaled by a sword that was as dark as the wings that Evan now noticed had remained in place when the Knight started to levitate. A flick of the sword threw the Knight to the floor, before the ground shook as dark blood spurted up from where the Knight had landed. With another, single strike, the entire flock of birds were dealt with by the same being that had killed the Knight.

As the flock fell to the ground, Evan was able to see the figure that had just arrived more clearly. It was coated in dark armour, armour that at first glance looked like it was as dark as its wings. However, with a second look it was clear that there was a hidden brightness locked away underneath, as though the armour had once been lighter but had been painted over to make it darker.

The figure turned, looking at Evan. As it did so, Evan could see that the mask that the figure wore was cracked in several places, like a dish that had been dropped and repaired. With such a high level of damage, Evan questioned why someone would bother using it as opposed to just getting a new one. Thinking that he might have some answers, he glanced towards Jeremy, who's face gave away that he knew what the mask represented.

But before he had the chance to ask about it, the figure disappeared from his view and Evan soon felt the cold metal of an armoured gauntlet wrapped tightly around his neck, as he was lifted up off of the ground.

"Demon!" the being hissed in a deep voice, the hatred held for demons clear in his voice. Before he could respond in any way, Evan saw the quick movement as the being drove his sword towards his stomach. Knowing that there was nothing that he could do about it, he closed his eyes and just waited for the blade to pierce him.

He felt a strong gust of wind to the side of him, and heard the clang of blades colliding just in front of him. Tentatively, he opened his eyes to see what was happening.

There was a new figure here, and the bird that Jeremy had was back. The new figure was largely the same as the one that had attacked Evan, but its armour, wings and weapon all shone with a radiant golden colour. Its weapon was drawn, and was held across Evan's body protecting him from the attack of the dark figure.

"That's not your call to make," the golden figure said, his gaze firmly fixated on the point where the two swords met. "I'm aware of your situation," he continued, adjusting his head so that it was clear that he was looking at Evan. "Provided you're not a threat to us, we'll look after you."

"Being human has made you soft," the dark armoured figure said, moving his sword away from Evan as he spoke.

"It's funny that you complain about what you call softness, when that's the only reason you're still alive."

"That was different. We're talking about a demon."

"As far as I know, he's no different from a regular human as far as loyalties go. So I have no reason to treat him any different to any other human."

"When you end up dead thanks to his actions, remember this moment," said the dark armoured figure as he turned around. "You know as well as I do the Seven Kingdoms can reach any demon, no matter how badly they might try to resist." Before there could be any answer he had disappeared, as quickly as though the ground itself had opened up to swallow him.

"Now," the golden figure said, turning around to face Evan and removing his mask, revealing a bald head filled with prominent facial features. His face was unblemished by time, but something about him suggested that he had seen a lot of things. "I need to deal with you." His tone was soft, and the smile that he added did more to try and reassure Evan. But Evan couldn't feel safe in front of him, something deep inside was signalling to him that he was in danger.

"As I said, I've been made aware of the fact that you're a Crimson, and since you haven't ran from me I assume that means that you are in fact in control. Normally Crimson's are dangerous enemies for us to face, on the rare occurrence that they come to our world, so having one that isn't a problem will be a relief for a while. Hopefully, you'll prove to be a boon to us in our eternal war, and to that end I'll help you with your training. But before all of that, let me give you the basics of this new world you find yourself in. Call me Elias, and trust me to guide you through this new world."