1 The No. 1 Holy Knight

A silver robe danced magnificently in the air as a pair of sharp eyes stared at the infantry below. These are soldiers who wished to serve under this knight's command. Steadfast, disciplined, and sharp. One hundred thousand lower-ranked knights waited for the command.

*cough* The knight suppressed the growing rage as he saw an army of black shadows appearing on the hill in front of him. There are thousands and thousands of demons descending the hill slowly. These demons are taller than the average human with claws and fangs but no eyes. They have lived in the shadows of the Cursed Lands and hence no light ever shined on that place leaving their eyes useless so by instinct, their eyes were removed.

Nobody knows what this Holy Knight looks like. All they know is that he is powerful. He is magnificent and the heavens blessed this knight with golden eyes. Behind the metal mask, the knight surveyed the nearing flock of demons and nodded on the other Holy Knights on the sides. Ten Holy Knights stood side by side in front of the infantry in glittering silver armors. They unsheathed their swords and bellowed, "Death to the demons!"

Hyah!

With a kick on the side of their horses, they galloped into the battlefield and faced the raging demons head-on. No mercy! No retreat! No one must be left alive! These are the orders they have received from the emperor of the North Kingdom.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing metals filled the air and in a few minutes, the once green hills dripped a red hue. The golden-eyed knight swept a maddening gaze around the bloody field as if searching for a familiar figure. 'This is the last war of demons. I won't let him get away! I must find him and kill him!' This thought rang loud and clear on his head.

'You're here.' Demonic laughter broke his train of thoughts. It had a deep and chilling voice that evaded his mind.

'It's you!' he answered back in his thoughts. This is the demon he was hunting for years already since he was fourteen. 'You...you damned demon!'

"Well, hello Holy One. Haha..." The ground shook and every entity on the battlefield stopped and steadied their steps. The lower-ranked knights trembled.

"The demon king arrived!"

"Sh*t! We're doomed! His aura is overwhelming already!"

"Holy Knights! Take care of the demon king, we'll handle these lower demons!"

The shouts rang louder and the battle raged on. The roars and the clashing swords cleared his mind and in a second he caught sight of a crack on the hill. Inside the hollow crack are two small red lights.

'No. those aren't lights. Those are eyes! HIS EYES!' he thought. A flash of silver robes flew towards the crack and it opened wide. The knight was shocked. The ground swallowed the knight.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

There was a small ray of light a hundred meters above the small crack. The knight removed the metal mask slowly and a lump of silky red hair fell on her shoulders. Blood dripped on her forehead. "This...where...what ..." her soft voice whispered only three words, her mind was muddled and her sight was blurry.

"You...you're a girl. Interesting." the cold voice of the demon with red eyes echoed within the cave inside that crack. Slowly, the demon walked into the small ray of light. He was taller than her by a head. Black hair, red eyes, lean body - he doesn't look like a demon at all except for those blood-red eyes staring at her with a mocking smile.

"In the name of the North Kingdom, I, Yllana Saber, shall grant you death for the kingdom's peace!" she growled at the black shadow that was stepping nearer and nearer. She couldn't make out most of his face but she could feel the aura emanating from him. Wisps of black smoke surrounded him and he opened his mouth. Two glittering fangs greeted her.

"Yllana Saber, the North's number one Holy Knight. What a good fortune to have you here today with me. Now...die!" with a quick leap he was already face to face with her and their swords clashed creating waves of earthquakes on the surface of the mainland.

"Not if I kill you first!" she pushed him with all her force making him stumble a few steps back.

"Hehehe. I like your guts. Maybe if you become mine, I'd even give you more power than humans can. What do you say, my Yllana?" he licked his lower lip as he cast a wicked glance at her. "Or I'll just curse you until the ends of time."

"You dare to curse me! Ha! That won't do if I die here today. I'll take you down with me!" she glared at him with a grin.

He flashed her his devilish smile showing off his perfectly white teeth and fangs. This devil was too good looking to be even considered a demon. Wasn't demons supposed to be ugly, foul, and monstrous? Why does he look different?

As her thoughts ran wild, she lunged forward and pointed her silver sword at the demon. But then...

Swish!

A pair of black wings emerged at his back and he flew a few meters above her. It was a magnificent sight. He was hovering above her - black entity over the silver-clad knight below him. It was as if he had already won. She smiled softly, 'He is too powerful for me. I can't let him get out of this cave to ruin the kingdom. I must use this.' she closed her eyes and calmed her soul.

"My Yllana..." his voice was deep and cold sending shivers down her spine. She never thought that a demon would be the first to make her feel unsure.

She pulled out a silver necklace dangling from her neck. "Light of Heaven, bless me." rays of light shone on the diamond pendant of the necklace between her fingers. There was a sudden eruption from her chest and she felt enormous power surging through her veins. White smoke enveloped her body and her silver armor shone in the dark cave. She spat a mouthful of blood.

"Idiot!" the demon king shouted at her. "Are you trying to die without my effort? Using all your life force in exchange for power? Are you mad?!" In a rush, he rushed downwards with his sword pointed at her chest.

BOOM!

This time the explosion was bigger. With their swords almost cracking under the pressure of the two entities fighting head-on, the other Holy Knights on the surface trembled.

Yllana looked calmly at the demon in front of her. She was scared. But she never showed it in her face. She moved to her right a bit and swayed her sword away from the clash. SLASH! The demon king's sword went through her shoulder.

In one sweep she held his hands holding the sword to not let him escape. With that touch, she felt the burning sensation from his body, the curse of being near the king. It was known from all the lands that this demon king has a cursed body that cannot be touched. She gulped and closed her eyes. The burning pain crawled fast to her arms and spread to her body. 'I must prevail!' she thought. The demon king was stunned by what she did.

The next second she plunged her sword to the demon king's chest with all her might. "If I die today, I'll take you with me! If not, let the heavens bring the damnedest curse upon me for not fulfilling my duty to the kingdom!" It was her promise. It was all she could ever think about at this moment as she feels the life force on her body slowly going away. The light in her golden eyes was fading.

"Well then." He pulled the sword deeper to his chest to get closer to her ears and then hugged her and whispered, "Let me then do the honors to curse you...your heart and your mind will war until you cry, love will never find you least he shall die!"

A curse! That's the last thought she had before finally submitting to the darkness.

In that deep cave, two pairs of eyes lost their light - one pair, golden as the sun and the other, red as blood.