10 Not Invincible

"'Forgive me!'"

In the storage area of the gargoyle's fortress, Xarin became visibly enraged, seeing one of his guards drop from a static arrow to the neck. The crazed guard on the ground continued to whimper and shake, muttering madly.

More concerningly, however, was who Xarin saw across the way. An enemy that was easily recognizable, but only because of dark legends and cringe-worthy rumors. Though he spoke in Nothern tongue, a language Xarin could not speak himself, he understood every word of it.

With one simple movement, the demon's pale gold bow bent back into a similarly-built spear.

Xarin glowered at the demon. "'You. How did you get here? What have you done with my guards?!'" He looked around. "'And where's your damn sister?'"

"Simple questions," Leiytning remarked, "Lead others to believe the asker has a very simple mind."

"'Damn you,'" Xarin muttered.

Leiytning continued, "Just to make this go faster, I'll give you your simple answers. You won't have to worry about my sister, unfortunately, and any guard I have run into is merely unconscious and amnesiac." He pointed at the crazed guard. "Although, I did need one to be a convenient distraction."

"'Forgive me, please!'" The guard cried. "'I tried to stop him, b-b-but the...the eye...'" He took out a pithy dagger. "'Damn you, monster!'"

Leiytning looked irritated, and his eye turned pitch black. "'Enough from you.'"

The guard became paralyzed, completely mad and terrified, before Leiytning finally shoved the spear through his skull.

"'Filthy beast!'" Xarin snapped. "'You dare use your evil power to manipulate my people?!'"

Leiytning's eye turned normal, and his tone sarcastic. "No, that was all for show. Either of you should be grateful. With what he was seeing, death would be the most merciful solution. After all, there is no cure for insanity."

Xarin growled menacingly, but Leiytning didn't look shaken in the slightest. As a matter of fact, he walked right by Xarin easily, toward the door that led to the rest of the palace. When Xarin reached for his dagger, however, Leiytning finally spoke after slamming the doors shut.

"This will be easier for either of us if you avoid making any stupid moves. You've made enough of those, anyway."

Xarin stomped forward. "'What are you talking about, vile creature?'" He sneered, "'I knew demons were annoying, but this seems unlike your kind. Leave random slaughter to the orcs; you can crawl back to your lair and obsess about sin and sacrifice with your unholy followers.'"

Leiytning's eye narrowed. "I think I'll ignore that last part. But do you take us for a group of morons, too?" He pointed his spear at the crates around them. "Why else would a Zyrean take interest in your kind, considering your recent actions?"

"'How does that concern you?'" Xarin retorted. "'We're working with Aubades, so what?'"

"Please tell me that's rhetorical," Leiytning responded. "That means you're supplying a psychotic bitch with even more power, and you know exactly what she'll do with it."

"'I can't predict her movements!'" Xarin snapped. "'You can't prove any of'-"

Suddenly, Xarin let out a painful wail as something sharp pierced his side. It looked like Leiytning hardly moved while throwing his dagger so quickly. Xarin tore the blade from his side, hurling it back at the ground.

"Don't play dumb," Leiytning warily spoke. "If you've heard enough rumors to recognize me, you've certainly heard enough to know what the Extinction War is. Now riddle me this, when Corelia gets more power, is she going to peacefully conserve it, or is she going to try using it against her worst and most hated enemy?"

Xarin spat at the ground in front of him. "'Shut it. When it comes to who I work with, it's none of your concern. If I want to give to the Aubades, so be it. If they destroy you in the process, even better.'"

"Why the sudden grudge?" Leiytning interrogated. "Your tribe wasn't even a part of this until now, we've stayed far out of your way."

"'You think I care about what you've done?'" Xarin argued. "'It was only a matter of time before you snap and become even more monstrous. You're already causing problems all over the Northern Territories! The twisted monsters, attacking everything they see. Spreading their filth, no better than you!"

"What are you talking about?" Leiytning retorted. "We're not in charge of the mutants, idiot, and what does that even have to do with the current problem?"

Xarin hissed, "'Lies! Demonic rubbish! You silver-tongued snake, I will not believe a word of what you have to say! I want the Aubades to slaughter you. I want Corelia to tear out your spine and let your warriors watch, losing all hope as their leader bleeds out in front of them.'" He laughed wickedly, "'I can't really see or cause it myself, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to aid in the kill.'"

"What kind of sick fuck are you?" Leiytning muttered. "Furthermore, who would let you be a leader of anything with that kind of mentality?"

Xarin clutched his dagger tighter. "'You think your tribe is some gang of victimized, honorable warriors? Try again.'" He raised the dagger. "'You're all just monsters!'"

Suddenly, Xarin charged forward, ready to kill. His wings flew up in a threatening manner, and as he came within striking distance, he lashed out with the blade.

However, his attack was anything but victorious. Sure, he put up a good fight for a minute or so, but it didn't take long for Leiytning to lash his spear up, and the blade sliced through Xarin's palm. The gargoyle cried out in agony, making him drop the dagger and step back. Now, half his palm was missing, leaving only the thumb.

Xarin continued to groan and whimper, trying to contain the bleeding. Alarmed, he flew back, using his wings to propel himself onto one of the stacks of boxes. He growled, glaring down at his opponent.

"'Not this way,'" he muttered. "'Gargoyles are always pushed around and forgotten! We come, we live, then we die. We leave nothing behind, and some other mutation of ourselves replaces our position. Not us! We will break from this repetitive cycle and become more than just a pawn!'"

Leiytning looked more irritated. "That's what this about, then? Fame? There are wars being fought, people mutating or disappearing, and beasts rampaging like it's the apocalypse. Throughout the chaos, which your tribe was mostly safe from until now, you worry about your social status? How much of a pithy little attention-seeker do you have to be to even think about that at a time like this?"

"'Silence, demon!'" Xarin snapped. "'You can never understand. The message will never get through your thick skull, so you've nowhere to talk!'"

Leiytning's ear twitched. "Either way, I don't care about what you want others to think of you. What matters is how your arrogant antics are affecting my own. The last thing we need is another enemy to deal with."

Xarin flew down to the ground. "'You'll see, soon enough. Your race will soon perish for good, like it was meant to.'" From under his cape, he unsheathed a second dagger. "'But let's see how much I can drag you down. They say you're a tough opponent, but so am I!'"

Again, Xarin charged forth, avoiding any of the light-fast counters thrown at him. Despite his large size, he was fast, and sometimes used his wings as a distraction. However, the demon leader wasn't to be underestimated. He moved fast as light, but stayed as hard to detect as a shadow.

Eventually, as Xarin thrust his blade forward, Leiytning used his metal hand to block it. The counterforce made Xarin stumble back, and before he knew it, his neck was slashed open.

Xarin growled angrily, making blood spew from his throat. This time, he extended his wings. He flew up, ready to strike, while Leiytning only adjusted his aim. Just as Xarin braced to strike down, Leiytning used a magic-charged hand, flipped his spear and threw it straight at him.

The spear impaled Xarin, piercing the lower ribcage and spine. The magic behind it began to electrocute him, turning the gargoyle into a display of pouring blood and sparking bolts.

Xarin couldn't keep himself airborne anymore. His wings caved in, and he plummeted back to the ground. He crushed one of the several crates under his weight. Just as Leiytning planned, the crate was also full of jagged crystals. More blood began to spill over the ground surrounding them, and Xarin was unable to move.

Leiytning just retrieved his spear. "Bullseye."

Xarin choked before spitting the words, "'Damn you.'"

"Yes, I know," Leiytning dismissively replied. "Now, before you die, you can at least answer one question." He dug one finger into the incision in Xarin's side, making him hiss in pain. "Why is Corelia wanting to trade with you at all?"

Despite being in obvious pain, Xarin maintained a devilish grin and wicked laugh. "'You fool. Isn't it plain to see? You've been at it long enough, and you're right. Things are going to hell everywhere, making things look a bit more apocalyptic.'" He growled, "'All the more reason to pick sides while we still can. Because anyone on their own'..."

"Spit it out," Leiytning insisted. "Before you die."

"'Shut it!'" Xarin snapped. "'I won't tell yet...'" He laughed, "'No, why give you any advantage'?" He glared up at the demon. "'Everything will be revealed, but only as it's being completed. You'll know when you're seconds from death. Corelia is a bitch, I'll credit you that, but you're even worse. All those legends and rumors can't be coincidence, after all."

"The legends are rumors," Leiytning retorted. "Nobody has the straight story, not even me or my sister."

"'Lies!'" Xarin spat. "'How is anyone to believe you when all you say is lies?!'"

Leiytning muttered, "Now you're trying to be annoying."

"'You will see!'" Xarin snapped. He choked more, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "'You will see. Your kind, in the end, will perish. You will not curse our world much longer'..." He looked up. "'Corelia', you better keep your promise'...'End them all'..."

Leiytning's eye narrowed. "We'll see about that. History says the sylphs have their advantages, but they're not invincible."

Xarin gained a blood-stained grin. "'And neither are you.'"

He made a repulsive choking sound before finally going limp, eyes rolling to the back of his skull. He didn't move again.

Leiytning just glared down at the corpse. "Disgraceful, hiding in a noble fairyland long enough to forget basic self-defense. He was more pathetic than his henchmen."

With that aside, it wouldn't be long before someone came along and found this chaos.

Of course, evidence was crucial. Though Savux would handle most of that in due time, there were still things that even he couldn't explain.

As such, from the same sheath as his other dagger, he unsheathed the tooth-shaped dagger, and stuck the blade in one of the wounds on Xarin's corpse. Afterward, he retrieved his own silver dagger, something he hated yet couldn't help carrying.

Although, there already came the sound of footsteps, voices, and other such things. The demon slipped into the shadows.

"'Ch-Chief?'"

The doors leading deeper in the fortress suddenly opened, and another timid troop stepped inside. However, upon seeing the blood and corpse of his own leader, he choked on his own hectic words and fled at a fast pace.

Sure, one had gone, but reinforcement would come soon. As such, Leiytning proceeded to the drawbridge-style door, and though it was closed tight, all it took was his pulling on one of the chains restraining it for it to begin cracking unsteadily.

The very second he let go, it began to slam shut, but he slipped past just before it could crush him. From this dark tunnel, he could hear more of a commotion coming from the room, but didn't stay to listen. He retreated before they decided to hunt out the killer.

Because the tunnel was designed for convenience, it wasn't hard to escape from. The ground was leveled out, and there were no obstructions. At its end, the path ascended, revealing the same collection of stormy clouds, making a field in the sky. The only problem was that there was still a whole village in the way, meaning someone could see him.

"'Halt!'"

However, Leiytning didn't intend for there to be a guard right at the edge of this tunnel. Though it wasn't a pushover like most of these other basic servants, he was still a bit small compared to Xarin or Savux.

The guard approached Leiytning, who only looked unamused by the sight of a sword being held to his throat.

The guard snorted angrily. "'What the hell are you supposed to be?'"

"'What, you've never seen a demon?'" Leiytning retorted.

The guard growled, "'A demon?!'"

While the guard was baffled, Leiytning smacked the sword aside and punched the guard right between the eyes. The guard shot back, his nose bleeding.

With that, Leiytning continued off with only a few minor obstacles in his path.

He sneered, "Gargoyles. Can never trust them to do anything right. No wonder Corelia took an interest in them."