Demons Strike

Roko jabbed with the spear. Alder simply caught the head of the spear with two fingers and redirected it to the side. Cloaking his other hand with dark magic, he reached out towards Roko's head.

 "I ain't messing around this time, kiddo." He sneered.

 His sneer disappeared in an instant as he quickly withdrew his arm, the blade on Roko's shield snapping up to cut where his arm used to be.

 "Holy hell, man!" Alder cried as he quickly retreated, "You almost cut off my hand!"

 "I thought you weren't messing around anymore." Roko scoffed as he reset the blade on his shield.

 "We're trying to kill each other, not maim each other!"

 "I don't see what the issue is, you can get revived anyway."

 "Yeah but it still hurts you asshole!"

 "I missed the part where that's my problem."

 "Stop being a coward, Alder..." Alec called.

 "You've never had your wings cut off by a flaming sword!" Alder snapped.

 "I don't have wings."

 "EXACTLY!"

 "Well if it makes you feel any better, he probably can't use fire anyway. Might burn down the whole forest."

 "Yeah...yeah, you're right!" Alder nodded, "...I guess..."

 "It's cute that you think I wouldn't use fire on you." Roko smirked.

 "Alec!"

 "He can't even use magic so just get in there already." Alec sighed.

 "Tch. Friggin slave driver."

 Alder turned back to Roko, raising his clawed arms. With a smirk, he slashed into the air, sending blades of wind at Roko. Roko slid his shield in front of him, blocking the wind magic very easily. A flap of wings told Roko to look upward as Alder flew into the sky above him, dark magic gathered between his hands.

 "Can't hit me now!" Alder crowed as he began to fire a rain of dark energy down at Roko.

 Roko raised his shield over his head to block the dark magic being pelted down on him. Each bullet felt heavy but strangely not nearly as heavy as the drowning rain from back at the raid. Passing his spear to his shield hand, he slid one throwing knife off the belt and rolled off to the side, out of the range of Alder's assault. As he rolled back onto his feet, he threw the knife, striking one of Alder's wings with enough force that the demon's flight became destabilized and he was forced to glide back down to the ground.

 "Will you stop hitting the wings?!" Alder scowled.

 "Stop flying then." Roko retorted as he pass his spear back to his free hand.

 Pulling back his arm, Roko flung the spear at Alder. The demon side stepped to avoid the attack as Roko charged right at him. Swinging his shield up to bash Alder in the head, the demon quickly brought up his arms to stop the attack. As Alder held the attack back, Roko released the shield's blade again, the weapon swinging out to the front of the shield and Roko twisting the flat of his shield to it's edge. Realizing what was about to happen, Alder quickly shifted his hands to catch Roko's downward slash before the shield's blade could cut into his shoulder. Holding Alder in place with this attack, Roko's free hand drew the sword from his hip and made a slash towards the demon's exposed stomach. Alder's tail whipped out from behind him and grabbed onto the sword, holding it back with surprising strength.

 "That all you got?" Alder grunted as he struggled to maintain a smirk on his face.

 Roko swirled his sword, wrapping more of the tail around the blade before he stabbed it into the ground. With the demon now confused, Roko pulled the hatchet from behind his back and finally landed a slash into Alder's stomach. As the demon cried out in pain and recoiled back, his grip on Roko's shield sword lessened and Roko slashed down hard into Alder's body again. Alder roared as he stumbled back in pain. The demon clutched his chest dramatically and when he turned back to face Roko with a glare...Roko could see two relatively small slashes in the demon's body.

 "That's hardly the kind of damage worth howling about." Roko sighed as he returned the hatchet to the back of his belt and reset the blade on his shield, "You really are overreacting."

 "Hah hah...haha..." Alder chuckled, "I see you've become more cocky than before."

 "You've just become more vulnerable." Alec called, "What, do you seriously have that much PTSD?"

 "Don't you mock me!" Alder snarled, "You don't know what I've been through!"

 "I missed the part where that's my problem."

 "Oh screw the both of you!" Alder scowled as Roko pulled his sword out from the ground and sheathed it again, "Not a single compassionate soul in sight!"

 "Corissa is right there." Alec said.

 "Oh screw off! If you love the girl so much why don't you marry her?!"

 "I mean, that's the plan." Alec muttered as Corissa blushed slightly.

 "No but I should thank you." Alder said as he turned back to Roko, "Thanks to you, one of my spells have gotten much MUCH stronger."

 "I suppose that officially makes me more helpful than Alec then." Roko replied, "Why did you even agree to a contract with that guy?"

 "Heh. You'll never know what it's like. What it's like to have such amazing talents and yet still be relegated to mediocrity!"

 "..."

 "I don't care who I have to contract with. I will not stop until I have the power and fame that I deserve!"

 Alder thrust an arm out at Roko, a devilish sneer on his face. Roko pulled his spear from the ground and readied to defend himself.

 "Curse."

 From the demon's body began falling a thick black smoke. Roko was familiar with this spell. Varis has used it multiple times to surprising success. But he never had to be on the receiving end of one. Whatever the effects were it didn't seem pleasant. But at the same time there wasn't really a way for Roko to attack Alder without going through this smog. What should he do? ...Against an opponent that can fly there wasn't anyway he could win without keeping him on the ground...which meant getting close.

 Roko tightened this grip on his spear and readied his shield in front of him. Cautiously, Roko approached the advancing smoke. Alder didn't seem like he was going to attack again. He was simply waiting for Roko to touch the fog with a sadistic smile on his face. As Roko drew closer, his nerves began to pile up on each other, making each step harder than the last. Until Roko got fed up and gripped his weapons tightly, breaking into a run to charge right into the smoke and right at Alder, spear trusting forward in a preemptive attack. The spear never reached the demon as Roko collapsed onto the ground screaming in pain.

 "Roko!" Corissa cried out in horror.

 Roko's body was burning. His skin was melting over and over again. He felt slashes being dug all over his body with a searing blade. His blood boiled, his vision disappeared among the waves of pain racking his body. He felt two large gaping holes in his back, burning and screaming in a pain that he had never experienced before. Roko felt like he had died several times already before only to realize he was still dying.

 Alder laughed in spiteful glee as he watched Roko writhe on the ground, "How's that feel you bastard! This is every bit of pain you've inflicted onto me brought back to you tenfold!"

 Corissa watched as Roko continued screaming in pain, horrified to see her friend in such agony. She called out to Alec, begging him to stop the fight but perhaps he didn't hear her over Roko's cries but he simply gave her a sad, soft smile. Alder walked up to the languishing Roko and picked him up by the head.

 "You've had this coming for a long time." Alder grinned manically as he slammed Roko's head into the ground.

 Corissa tried calling out again but Alec continued to ignore her. Alder pulled Roko back up and punched him in the gut, sending him flying across the grove and into a tree. For a moment Roko actually escaped the curse's field but with a flap of Alder's wings, the smoke rushed forward to encapsulate Roko in agony once again. But Roko could only cry out for so long. As his voice began to give out, his screaming began to turn into whimpers as he laid there, bloodied and bruised. Corissa began to tear up. She so dearly wanted to go in and help but she couldn't fight. If she just dived in there to try and defend Roko, she could be killed as well. Once again she was in the sidelines praying for Roko's safety and praying that Varis or anyone would show up to help. Her frustrations ate away at her mind as she continued to watch in despair.

 Alder chuckled, "This is almost too easy."

 The demon took one more stepped towards Roko again but stopped as Roko suddenly drew his sword with a tempered cry. Stabbing the weapon into the ground, Roko used it to push himself back up, first on his knees and then on his unsteady legs. Alder regarded this with curiosity more than concern, "Oh? So you can still stand huh?"

 Roko stood there, the curse fog still rolling around his legs, "So this is what it's like...to be on the receiving end of a curse."

 Roko began to laugh a little, a little weak at first but gaining strength little by little.

 "Have you gone insane from the pain?" Alder smirked, "A common outcome from such powerful magic."

 "What a useless spell." Roko retorted, stunning the demon and onlookers alike, "So you force your own pain onto others? So what? You think your pain...is greater than what I can handle? The moment you punch me...the moment you hit me...the pain I experience becomes greater than what your spell is inflicting onto me."

 "What are you on about?" Alder frowned, "You really have gone insane."

 "Pain...is a matter of perspective." Roko stated, "The more pain you inflict onto me...the less painful your little spell is in comparison. If you wanted to use this spell on me...you should've killed me when you had the chance."

 "What the hell are you talking about?" Alder scowled, "Pain is pain! You shouldn't be able to move from the endless amount of pain!"

 "It's not endless." Roko gasped as he took a step forward, "The pain will end. One step forward at a time, the pain will end eventually. That...is life."

 "What?" Alder took a step back, "What the..."

 "Until that day comes..." Roko glared at the demon, "We continue carrying that pain. Which is why...we cannot stop."

 "You're insane!" Alder cried, "Just how high is your pain threshold?!"

 Roko charged at Alder. Alder began to frantically fire off spells. Dark magic, wind magic, Roko blocked them all with his shield. As the human grew closer, The demon flapped his wings and began to try and take off into the sky. Roko transferred his sword to his other hand as he grabbed the whip from his belt and lashed out, wrapping the weapon around the demon's ankle. Alder cried out in surprise as Roko pulled back, dragging the demon back into the earth with surprising strength. Shifting his sword back to his main hand, Roko stabbed into Alder's back. Alder cried out in pain but the sword had hardly managed to pierce his back. The tip had only made a shallow cut into his back but Alder continued to scream, no longer in pain but in terror. Roko felt the injury he cut into Alder also cut into his own back as the curse fed the sensation of his own attack back into him. And yet Roko push forward, putting his weight into his sword to dig deeper into the demon's back. Even as he felt his own sword stabbing into his own back, Roko continued. At some point, Roko felt Alder's tail wrap about his waist and pull him off, throwing him away from Alder and into a tree. But as he was pulled away, Roko wrapped the whip around his wrist and held it tightly, pulling Alder with him as he was thrown. Roko felt himself rebound off a tree but that pain felt so little. Like he could no longer feel pain, like he was desensitized. He placed a foot against the tree and pushed off, throwing himself back forward as he pulled his whip to drag Alder even closer. And with the force of his rebound, Roko stabbed the sword back into Alder's back, digging deeper into the demon's back than ever before. Both Alder and Roko screamed in pain, Roko feeling the sensation of his own attack on his own back again. Roko stumbled, almost slipping off his own sword as his body grew limp from shock. But he held on, strengthening his grip on the sword to push himself back up a little again. Alder rolled over, throwing Roko off his back as he frantically shook the whip off his foot. Roko left the sword embedded in the demon's back as Alder stumbled onto his feet and turned around to face the human again. He pointed his hand at Roko and tried to scream,

 "Da-"

 But a throwing knife suddenly flew into his mouth, Alder's teeth managing to catch the knife before it could actually strike anything vulnerable. Roko gagged as the sensation of the knife getting caught transferred to him as well. But he continued to stand up, retracting his whip back into a coil with a flick of his wrist and returning it to his belt. With both hands, Roko engaged the blade in his shield again and charged at Alder. Alder stepped back, trying to compose himself again, bringing his hands up to try and protect himself. Alder continued to step back as Roko stepped forward, slashing again and again. Alder managed to block most of the attacks with his arms, suffering minimal damage that Roko also felt. Before he could be cornered, Alder deflected Roko's next attack and jumped up, trying to take off again. As the demon flew over him, Roko jumped and reached up, managing to catch Alder's ankle, dragging himself up as they began to fly. At this point, Roko felt the pain almost disappear as they escaped the curse's range though some sensations stubbornly lingered as trauma. Alder scowled down at Roko as they flew several meters over the forest. Alder tried to shake Roko off but Roko swung with his legs, dragging Alder back and forth with his own weight. Dislodging the demon from stable flight, Roko threw himself up and he pulled Alder down, letting go at the last moment to propel himself even higher. Alder quickly managed to re-stabilize his flight as he looked back up at Roko. As Roko finished spinning upward, he drew the hatchet from behind his back and smoothly threw it. The hatchet stabbed right into Alder's forehead, hitting too shallowly against the demon's skin to kill but deep enough to lodge itself. Alder doubled over in pain as he clutched his head. And exposing the sword that was left in his back. And Roko fell. He fell right into Alder's back, stabbing his shield's sword into his back as Roko regained his grip on his other sword plunging both into the demon's back. And together they began to fall. Alder was unable to sustain his flight with Roko on his back trying to kill him. Roko held on as long as he could as they plummeted, the two combatants smashing back into the grove's ground kilometers from the sky.

 Roko opened his eyes. The dust and dirt was still settling from their crash and a dull pain was radiating in his bones. But in comparison to the curse's effect it was nothing more than a little soreness. He began to pick himself back up, having clearly been thrown off Alder's back from the crash. His sword had fallen out of his hand and was lying not far from him. The tip of his shield's sword had broken off, leaving a short stub of a weapon though the shield part was still perfectly fine. The curse fog had disappeared, leaving only the dust from the crater where Alder had crashed. Roko walked over to his sword as he retracted his now broken weapon.. Exhausted, he reached down and picked up his only remaining sword. He looked down at it, at his body, as he ran over the last few minutes of event in his head. It was all a frenzied blur really. He didn't really know what came over him and honestly he felt better than he expected he would be. But at least...it was finally o-

 Alder came out of the smoke of the crater and lunged at Roko with his claws. Roko turned around in surprised and brought his sword up in defense, pushing it against the monster's hands. But Alder pushed forward, toppling Roko back onto the ground as the lashed out in blind rage, pushing and scratching against the sword that was blocking him. Roko gritted his teeth and kicked Alder in the side, throwing him off as he quickly made some distance from the demon again. Roko watched as Alder slowly picked himself up and glared at Roko with blank but enraged eyes.

 "I've had...just about enough of you..." Alder breathed as he reached up and pulled the hatchet from his head, "No more fear. No more anger. It's clear that the only way to get rid of you is to finally kill you once and for all."

 Alder flung the hatchet off into the woods as he charged at Roko again. Roko readied his sword and began to parry and block as much of Alder's assault as he could. Alder was no longer thinking properly, swinging his arms wildly and throwing himself at Roko again and again. Roko pushed back as much as he could but honestly, he was still surprised that the demon was still alive. After all that he's done, after plummeting several kilometers from the sky this goddamned monster had finally sustained a fair amount of damage. The wounds on his back were the most serious he had taken thus far. If Roko had aimed his swords better to hit some more vital areas during their fall, Alder would probably be dead. It was unreal how sturdy this demon was, Roko wasn't even sure he was that he was this hardy back when they fought in Cordis. Then again he had fire at his side. Of all the weapons that the dark elves had given him, he didn't have a way to start a fire. It was becoming increasingly clear that he probably could not beat Alder without the assistance of magic. So with no other choice left to him, as he continued to push back a demon, Roko reached out to the mana around them. And to his surprise the mana came. Faster, smoother, more readily than ever before. Roko felt the magic wrap around his sword and enchant itself in seconds. With a single push, wind magic erupted from his blade and flung Alder across the grove and into a tree. Corissa and Alder's eyes widened as they looked at Roko, magic swirling around him.