86 Not Today, Not Ever (1)

- Death, Lucifer, Peter, Saint, Kahvis, Yamato -

The demon army had temporarily halted their march forward. It was nighttime and they wanted to wait for their respective commanders and lords to back them up after seeing Death join the resistance army's position.

Death, Lucifer, Peter, Saint, Kahvis, and Yamato were standing around trying to have a quick discussion on what their plan was going to be moving forward. Lucifer told the unaware that he might be nearing depletion. Death and Saint were shocked by the information. At that reveal, Death decided to ask Kahvis an important question.

"I need you to be completely honest with me; how desperate is our situation?" His tone was chilling.

"What are you planning?" Kahvis asked.

"We don't have time for this, you know what." Death responded.

Yamato wanted to speak up. He had his own things to say about the situation but a warning stare from Peter convinced him otherwise.

"You'll make a permanent enemy of the Sergosians," Saint warned Death.

"I know..." Death sighed.

Lucifer stayed quiet. He would go with whatever Death chose to do. He didn't plan on speaking until the end.

"Not desperate enough," Kahvis said. "No offense, but I don't want my army's first victory to involve the decimation of an innocent territory's land."

"Fine then," Death said. "Just know that when Satan arrives, should I need to use more drastic measures, I won't be asking again. Defeating him takes priority over everything else."

At the mention of defeating Satan, Saint quietly walked away. She had nothing else to say. She just wanted this battle over so she could move past it.

"Peter and I will be joining the other members of my team," Lucifer added. "I'll help if you need it but for now I need to further assure their safety."

The others all nodded.

"I'll be staying near the front," Kahvis said with feigned confidence. "Regardless of my mana, I can't show weakness now."

"Make sure your soldiers stay out of my striking range," Death ordered Kahvis. "I'll ride ahead of everyone and do what I can."

"Okay," Kahvis agreed.

- The demons, The Resistance -

It was a few minutes before sunrise. Death in his hunter form sat on Hrom a good distance in front of the resistance army. His movement would signal everyone behind him that the fighting had started. He kept his scythe to his side, blade pointed forward, with his other hand on Hrom, ready to feed them.

Kahvis and Yamato stood at the front of the resistance army. Kahvis had their depletion hidden from the non-commanders of their army. They had one of Yamato's katanas in their right hand, assuring the soldiers that it was just a backup.

Yamato couldn't help giving Kahvis a sideways stare. His goal wasn't cutting through the demons anymore, instead, he would be doing everything he could to protect his leader.

Saint stood in the middle of the army with Oliver, Rebecca, and Julia. She felt the weight of the "Healer's curse" affecting her thoughts. She was by far the most experienced being here when it came to battlefields. Her time spent on battlefields had given her a different perspective on the soldiers she would help. She didn't see faces, she saw mortality rates. As she looked around at the soldiers near her, she closed her eyes, choosing not to open them again until the fighting starts.

Lucifer stood in the back with his investigation team. He was running through the different plans they would use depending on the situation.

The demon army was now in sight of the resistance. They could see Death at the front. The curled-horn demons swallowed their fear as they continued their march.

The moment Death saw the demon army he fed Hrom enough mana to ignite the hooves and eye sockets. He rode towards the demons, signaling the resistance that the battle had begun.

Moloch flew in front of the two armies. He used the massive amount of blood he had gathered the day before to rain red spikes down on Death and the resistance.

Death kept riding forward, hopeful that the resistance could deal with Moloch's attack.

The earth user's tasked with defense in the resistance made a shield of hardened mud over their heads. They were able to effectively stop Moloch's magic but there was an undeniable sense of fear from seeing such a large-scale attack.

"He's practically controlling a lake's worth of blood," Hyou mumbled to himself.

"We can't keep blocking magic like that," William looked around at the other soldiers.

The two demon armies split around Death. Baal and Urdros went left, while Mileera and Baastra took the right. Moloch stayed in his position, readying more attacks.

Death's reduced speed made him a far easier target for the demon's magic. That, combined with Hrom not being at full strength, hampered his offensive abilities. He was able to cut through groups of demons but he wasn't as safe as he had been.

Kahvis moved towards the enemies. Yamato stayed close, ready to handle any threat that was coming. The rest of the army moved with them.

Saint opened her eyes. She took a breath and moved with the soldiers.

Lucifer and his team readied themselves.

Baal and Urdros went straight for Kahvis and Yamato. As much as Baal wanted to kill Death, he was fine settling for the unknown that had destroyed his Underground. Urdros had no complaints about the change in targets.

Mileera and Baastra were heading straight for Lucifer. Baastra wanted to finish his duel with the Prince. Mileera told Baastra the night before that she was helping him whether he wanted her to or not.

Moloch was continuing his focused attacks on Death. He was tunnel-visioned on killing the Rider despite having been told numerous times by Kut'thar the night before that he should focus on reducing the resistance's numbers.

Death was struggling to deal as large a blow as he wanted. As beneficial as it was to his side, Moloch's focus on him made it difficult for him to attack without receiving damage in the process. He felt bad for Hrom that he couldn't unleash their full strength again, since they were taking just as much damage as he was.

Baal leaped towards Kahvis. Baal's magic was active so he had nothing but confidence in his safety. Urdros stayed on the ground, ready to intercept any potential threats from the resistance.

Kahvis dodged out of the way of Baal's slam. Yamato was quick to respond, stabbing his katana's point towards Baal's face.

Baal gave a wide smile to Yamato as he felt the blade push against his hardened skin.

Baal threw a flurry of strikes at Kahvis as Yamato attempted to find some kind of opening in the demon's magic.

Near the middle, Oliver and Rebecca were shooting a mix of stone and fire at Mileera. They could tell where the two demon commanders were going and wanted to grab their attention.

Mileera caught the attack with a web of electricity. She wasn't stopping to fight the Grim. They weren't as high a priority as Lucifer. As she ran out of range of the Grim she started channeling surge.

Baastra readied an extra powerful orb and shot it at Lucifer's team the moment he saw them.

Lucifer caught the attack with his own orb and flew up.

"Handle the white-haired one," He ordered his team.

Lao, Sabu, Yvere, and Heinrich went towards Mileera. Elijah and Peter stayed in the back, wanting to support Lucifer. Elijah wasn't sure if his magic was strong enough to ground Baastra but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to shoot lightning at someone more skilled with the affinity.

The battle was in full swing. Everyone was fighting, and only a handful of demons had an important question on their mind.

"Where's Kut'thar?" Scattered demons asked as they looked around.

The squirmy-eyed demon hadn't been a part of any battles so far and was a healer, so it seemed obvious that they should be here now. The question was hastily passed around the backline of the demon armies. Some of them had guessed it was because Urdras had been killed that maybe Kut'thar was scared to fight, while others assumed it was possible that Moloch had ordered him to stay back for some reason.

Moloch still had no plans to stop his focused assault against Death, barely paying attention to anything else that was happening on the battlefield. There was a faint wonder of where Kut'thar was but the thought couldn't gain enough ground in his mind to give him pause.

Yamato was struggling to protect Kahvis at the front. He couldn't damage Baal, he couldn't activate his contract safely, and a sizeable portion of demons was getting past Death.

"Kill the other commander," Kahvis whispered to Yamato.

Yamato didn't want to leave his leader. What he wanted and what he needed to do was clashing in his mind.

'You have other options,' Ryaarj laughed in Yamato's mind.

The moment he heard R'yaarj's voice Yamato decided what to do. He ran towards Urdros. The closer he was to the demons, the safer it would be to activate his contract again. Even if he did lose his mind and body he thought it would be okay if he was among enemies.

Urdros couldn't believe Yamato was charging towards him. He felt his confidence come back to him as he picked his hammer up and ran to meet the human. Thoughts of getting revenge for his sister overwrote his rationality.

Near the back of the fighting, Lao was running towards Mileera while Heinrich supported him. Heinrich was sparing with his defensive walls, choosing to only block what seemed like more dangerous attacks. Yvere stayed in the middle of everyone, ready to heal whoever she needed to. Sabu was at Mileera's side, ready to throw a knife the moment he saw an opening.

Oliver, Rebecca, and Julia were attempting to pincer Mileera with Lucifer's team. Mileera smiled, overjoyed with the situation. This was exactly what she had wanted from this war. A real battle with a real chance for her to show off. Her channeling of surge was done. She immediately rushed towards Lao, locking her hands with his.

Mileera channeled electricity into her hands. The moment she did, Sabu threw a knife at her head. She lifted Lao off his feet and attempted to put him in between her and Sabu's knife.

Lao kicked Mileera in the face as she lifted him.

Mileera reeled back from the kick and jumped backward. She had been channeling surge the entire time, waiting for this desperate situation. She finished the channeling and scanned her eyes around, looking for her first target.

Baastra and Lucifer were dogfighting right behind them. Elijah was underneath the two fire users, looking for any opportunity to shoot Baastra out of the sky. Baastra noticed him and sent a small cluster of orbs down towards him.

Peter blew up the orbs with a quick burst of flames.

While Moloch was still attempting to kill Death, a four-horned demon flew up to him.

"My lord, we have a problem with Kut'thar!" They flew close as they shouted.

"I don't care!" Moloch shouted back. "I don't need his help!"