4 • Darkness Falls

Demons were being pushed aside by dazzling but powerful explosions. As Harith continued to ascend the hill, a pile of corpses were left in his trail, although they would eventually rise up again due to some mysterious power bringing them back to life.

A deathly specter clad in black appeared from behind the necromancer and dashed towards Harith, who was halfway up the hill. When it drew near, it produced a chain from its hands and whipped it towards him. Harith reacted quickly, kicking the sinister chain aside and tossing a magic orb towards the specter. The resulting explosion knocked away the specter, revealing it to be a pale-skinned cloaked figure. He rolled down the hill, the explosion knocking him unconscious.

At the top of the hill, Vexana narrowed her eyes as a dangerous glint flashed through them. She pushed her palm towards Harith and a clump of dark mist around her arm formed into a palm and proceeded towards Harith. As it passed by, the temperature around it dropped noticeably.

Harith swiftly sidestepped, but before he can take another step, a dark mist danced above the ground where he was standing at. He hastily jumped aside as the dark mist created an explosive force, kicking up dust and pulverizing the ground below it. As Harith landed on the ground not far from it, he felt it tremble as he quickly lost balance and he was flung into the air.

Leomord's horse Barbiel had struck its hooves on the ground, cracking and lifting it up sending Harith into the air. With the long reach of his blade, Leomord swung his sword horizontally. Immediately, Harith quickly conjured a ball of energy which he spread widely, creating a thin barrier of magic. The sword struck the shield, and as a result, Harith was knocked back by the force with a grunt.

He flipped twice before landing on the ground with his two feet. He coughed dryly.

He was back at the foot of the hill!

Harith ran towards the top again while gathering a ball of energy in his hand. When he was close enough, he threw the ball towards Leomord, who accepted it with a swing of his sword. Harith quickly maneuvered towards the side and conjured another magic orb. Leomord stabbed his sword to the side and managed to strike a magic barrier quickly conjured by Harith.

Leomord rammed his horse against the barrier, breaking it and blowing away Harith again. Leomord was about to follow up on his attack when he was pushed down from his horse by a shield strike. Seeing this opportunity, Harith quickly conjured a larger magic orb and threw it at the horse. The horse was blown back by the attack, and was knocked down by a huge sword.

"Go! Stop that witch before we get overrun!" Tigreal shouted at Harith, before proceeding to block Leomord with a shield.

Harith nodded and continued his ascent, dodging dark mists along the way until getting around 10 steps away from Vexana. She waved her hand towards him, dark mist rushing forward. Harith tried to evade but the dark mist was faster. Soon, the dark mist entered his body and almost immediately weakened him. He proceeded three steps forward before getting blown back by a palm from Vexana. He continued to feel weakened, as he struggled to conjure a magic orb.

"Surrender your soul, and I shall grant you a swift death!" Vexana chuckled as she waved her hands. In response, Harith felt a tug on his soul. It seemed to want to escape his body, whatever means necessary.

"I still have a trick up my sleeve!" Harith's eyes shined as Vexana felt a bad premonition.

A transparent figure appeared behind her. Upon closer inspection, the figure matched Harith's looks and movements like a reflection. Both Hariths simultaneously raised both of their hands and shoved it towards her. They both produced an energy wave that rushed towards Vexana. She had no way to dodge as both waves reached her location, merged and exploded. She shrieked miserably as her spell was interrupted and Harith was no longer weakening. He rushed up straight towards her and shoved his palm on her face, resulting in a bright explosion.

"Your Highness!"

Leomord repeatedly swung his sword in succession at Tigreal who was raising his shield, blown back by the sudden flurry. Leomord seized the opportunity to rush at Vexana's aid. Tigreal and Harith were about to pursue both when a curtain of darkness hindered their vision. A raspy voice that seemed to echo around them spoke as if it were right beside them speaking to their ears.

"I'll be killing you both."