82 Learning the Difference (1)

- Death, Hrom, Urdros, Baal -

Death rampaged through Baal's army. He and Hrom were a black storm cloud swiftly exterminating any caught in their path. Even the confident demons of Baal's army couldn't help the growing feeling of dread.

Death could see Baal and Urdros coming towards him. Killing them wouldn't be quick, and because of the sudden change in plans due to Satan's betrayal, he decided to avoid them for now. He wanted to reduce the number of enemies that could possibly slip past him while saving those two for last.

Baal and Urdros were running to meet Death, trying to ignore the feeling of fear they were getting as they watched large piles of assorted demon body parts launch into the sky.

'How do we catch that?' Urdros questioned.

'Stop running!' Baal thought.

The two couldn't possibly hope to catch the two. The black cloud seemed to disappear as soon as it appeared. The uništi's one-creature stampede wasn't slowed in the slightest by the demons it trampled over. Demons with earth magic would try to catch Hrom but to no success.

As Death rode he would look for these demons using earth magic. He would jump off temporarily, cleave his way through them, and then blink back to Hrom as it circled back around.

This combined force of ancient and beast caused the demons to spread out. What was once a single mass of red and black bodies was now an assortment of standing demon soldiers and corpse piles. As more demons filtered in to assist, the fear of the Rider's visage started to spread like a virus.

"How do we fight a rider?" One nervous voice said.

"That creature is as much of a nightmare as he is," A shaky voice said.

"Our magic can't touch him, he cuts down any that get close," A fearful voice added.

These three comments represented the start of a wildfire of panic among the demons. Stuck between never retreating and not wanting to move forward caused a large chunk of Baal's forces to simply stand still.

Baal could see his army slowly breaking. He needed to do something now, or else he would be defeated before he even fought. He watched Death until he saw the opening he needed. He ran ahead of Urdros. His skin started to turn black as he put himself in Hrom's path. He dropped his hammers to his side and wrapped his hand around the uništi's neck as it pushed him back.

["Fool,"] Death swung his scythe down at Baal.

Baal strained every muscle in his body as he threw Hrom over his shoulder. He narrowly avoided the scythe cutting his head in two.

Death jumped off of Hrom and went to finish Baal off. Before he could, stone spikes shot up around Baal and towards his face.

The stone spikes around Baal lowered back down. Urdros threw Baal his hammers and the two were in a stare-down with Death.

"Not so confident without your beast?" Baal laughed.

"Not much of a Rider, are you?" Urdros added.

Death didn't respond. The shouts of demons in the distance was the reason for his silence.

'What's going on?' Baal wondered.

After being thrown, Hrom got up and latched its jaw onto the nearest demon. Baal's forces tried to kill it as it whipped the shouting demon from side-to-side. The magic of the demons disappeared the moment it came in contact with Hrom's flames and though none of them would admit it, they were too scared to get within melee range.

Death, Baal, and Urdros exchanged blows as they ran around the battlefield. Every hit of Death's scythe launched the two backward. With every pursuit, he would cut down any demons that were foolish enough to be within striking range.

Urdros felt himself hesitating. Watching Death in hunter form tear through every nearby soldier with what seemed like little effort was making him question the decisions that led to this point.

(The day before)

Urdros and Urdras were discussing their places in the coming battle.

"I'll assist lord Baal," Urdros asserted.

"He needs a healer with him," Urdras responded.

"No offense sister, but any healer can do your job," He said. "No one in this army can support the lord with earth magic as effectively as I can."

Urdras looked annoyed by the comment. Her brother wasn't being arrogant, he was just telling the truth. Against her better judgment, she made a suggestion.

"I think it would be best if we focus all our strength on the Rider. Mileera provides long-range support, while you and I assist Baal. We shouldn't underestimate the Rider."

Urdros thought it was strange that his sister would suggest such a thing.

"Have you been speaking with Kut'thar?" He asked.

"Does it matter?" She said. "He's right."

"We have our orders, sister," He sighed. "This is how we do things. If we die, we die."

"Baal is a fool if he goes through with his plan," Urdras spat.

Urdros didn't respond to that. Under normal circumstances, he would have reprimanded her. The situation was do-or-die, and he actually agreed with her, but he stayed quiet as he walked away.

(Present)

Death continued pushing Baal and Urdros back. The two were slowly getting whittled down by dozens of cuts. Urdros's confidence in his lord's magic was fading fast.

Hrom's frenzied rampage through the backline of the demon forces showed no signs of stopping. Demon corpses were filling the battlefield. Bodies missing chunks of flesh, heads that had been stomped into pieces, and withered husks were scattered all throughout.

Baal was done being knocked back. He stomped forward and brought his hammers down on Death's scythe.

"Even if you win Rider, you lose," Baal smiled.

Death pushed Baal off. He looked around at the mass of demons that had been watching the duel. He knew he shouldn't be wasting this much time.

Urdros put his hammer down. Watching Baal be knocked back over and over had fully killed his confidence in his own melee abilities. He decided, possibly out of fear, maybe out of common sense, to switch to magic.

"Lord Baal, I'll be more useful as support."

Baal didn't have time to argue. Truthfully, he knew he couldn't beat Death in a one-on-one. He nodded, unsure if this switch in strategy would even be enough.

Baal pushed forward while Urdros would try and catch Death's attention with stone spikes. He would slam his hammers against Death's scythe, backing off as stone spikes shot up from the ground.

As much as Baal hated this hit-and-run strategy, the little progress he was making towards victory prior convinced him to keep going. He would keep swinging his hammers, hoping some kind of epiphany would come to him.

Death could see the desperation in Baal and Urdros's attack. He would have been annoyed if he didn't know the perfect counter.

["I guess this is why most only remember Moloch,"] His deep voice mocked.

Baal wasn't mentally strong enough to ignore such an obvious taunt.

"Don't fall for it!" Urdros yelled at the charging Baal.

Urdros went against his instincts and separated Baal from Death with a stone wall. He knew this was the equivalent of treason but he didn't care. The scene of Death's attack against the first invasion flashed in his mind. That moment had planted a seed of fear in his mind that was now starting to bloom.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Baal shouted.

["RETURN!"] Death shouted.

Hrom spat out a chunk of red demon flesh. As it ran back to Death, the demons in its path moved out of the way. Every nearby demon was happy to see the creature leave.

Death returned his scythe and blinked to Hrom's back.

"GET BACK HERE!" Baal yelled as he threw one of his hammers at Death.

Baal turned to Urdros with a look of fury. He gripped his hand around his remaining hammer as tight as he could.

"You're losing your head after this is over," Baal walked past Urdros.

'I don't think there's going to be an "after," ' Urdros thought.

Death went back to exterminating Baal's forces. This second ride through was far more potent, with most of the demons still paralyzed in fear from Hrom's solo rampage.

Death no longer had any worries about his chances of victory against Baal. His main concern was, and still is, Satan. These headstrong demons would be nothing compared to Satan's army of actually coordinated soldiers. As easy as it was to rip through Baal's army, their numbers weren't reducing quickly enough.

Baal couldn't do anything but watch as his army was once again being ripped apart. The repetition of this scene gave him pause. He was furious at Urdros, upset at his own weakness, and saddened by the slaughter of his kind. These thoughts swirled in his mind, sapping his strength to want to continue. The realization of how outclassed he truly was had finally set in.

'Why did I do this again?' Baal contemplated as he stood still. 'Why did I think Death would be easier than him? I should have listened to that squirmy-eyed one that works for Moloch.'

The thought of Moloch angered him more. Maybe it was because he felt like his life was coming to an end that his old issues with Moloch suddenly felt far greater than normal.

'Fucking void-eyes! Good luck fighting this after me.'

As these thoughts were happening, Urdros ran up to Baal.

"It's lord Moloch sir!" Urdros shouted. "He's here with his army!"

Baal couldn't believe what he was hearing.

- Moloch and Kut'thar -

(Before Death made contact with Baal's army)

"You should assist lord Baal, sir," Kut'thar suggested.

"Do you enjoy your place as my commander?" Moloch rhetorically asked. "Do you enjoy being alive? If the answer to either of those is "yes" then I recommend staying quiet."

"If you don't help Baal, you'll be fighting Death next," Kut'thar responded.

"The Rider isn't going to win so easily against Baal," Moloch glared at Kut'thar. "I understand the man can be foolish, but he is strong, believe it or not."

"Strong enough to win?" Kut'thar asked. "Or strong enough to weaken?"

The question worried Moloch. He didn't know why Kut'thar was bringing this up now.

"Your magic could be essential in defeating Death," Kut'thar scratched the side of his face. "Think about how many bodies Death must be making. Baal would owe you his life. Seems simple to me."

Moloch wanted to strike Kut'thar for using the word "simple." The thing that stopped him was the truth of what was being said. He flew off towards Baal, shouting commands to his nearby soldiers to follow him.

"Good luck, fool..." Kut'thar chuckled.