Deadly Race

Portals are quite useful little things. They allow a person to travel across great distances in practically no time at all. It is no surprise then that they are used by both angels and demons and even as a means of transport for the whole armies. Despite being primarily seen as a means of transport, there is one very important use of a portal that is often overlooked when it is talked about, and that is that it can be used as a way of getting out of a very dangerous situation very quickly. However, there was one problem with escaping from somewhere through a portal. Even summoning a personal portal intended for one person to use required a good amount of energy and concentration. This took time and effort and couldn't be done in a few seconds, excluding the strongest angels and demons. It took even more energy and time if a bigger portal was being summoned, and that's why every army had a unit solely focused on summoning a portal big enough to transport the whole army. With this in mind, it is understandable why the Imp King, after his brain had enough time to process that he saw an angel with a lighstword in his hand who had just killed his guest, resorted to a more old-fashioned way of retreat called running away.

"Help! The intruder is in the castle! Help! He killed our guest! Help!" yelled the Imp King with his screechy voice.

This act of cowardice from the Imp King didn't surprise Lucius because of what his master told him about him, but it did make it incredibly harder for him to do his job because the Imp King's cries for help were going to draw the attention of all of his guards, of which there were many. Lucius's cover was blown. He had two options. Admitting defeat and summoning a portal to escape, or trying to catch up to the Imp King.

"I'll be damned if I let this little freak escape again." thought the lightfooted Lucius as he started to run after the Imp King.

He was quickly out of the room, and seeing the Imp King at the end of the hall left to him, he started sprinting to catch up to him. Barely 10 seconds passed before he met his first obstacle.

"Don't let him pass, boys! Help! Help! We have an intruder in the castle!" he could hear the Imp King yell as the four satyrs who carried the litter appeared in front of him, jumping out from around the corner.

But Lucius was in a hurry, and with his lightsword still in his hand, he had another idea in mind than letting these four succubus's pets succeed in stopping him. He struck with his lightsword faster than the gust of the stormy wind, and in seconds, limbs and blood were flying through the air as bleating sounds of pain filled the halls and added to the noise the Imp King was making. The first obstacle was successfully surpassed, and he continued around the corner after the Imp King without even having to stop.

The second obstacle came into his sight. Surrounded by dozens of imps who heard his cries for help and rushed to help their master, the Imp King pointed at Lucious with a combination of fear and fury on his face and yelled: "Get him! He must not get out of this hall alive!"

After that, he started running, heading for the end of the hall and the next corner. Seeing how close his target is, Lucius didn't want to waste more time than necessary, and he decided it's time to use the tried and true way of dealing with a horde of angry imps that are running at you to claw you to death. He quickly raised his lightsword, and a flash of blinding light appeared, surprising the imps and making them easy pickings for him. He cut his way through them easily, almost like he was weeding a field, thus arriving behind their backs very quickly. He didn't have time to kill them all, nor was there any point in doing so, because more of them were surely on their way. Instead, he continued after the Imp King, who managed to get around the corner.

When Lucius got around the corner, he saw that things were not looking good for him and that he had to act fast to change that because the Imp King was in half of this hall, running towards the end from which the minotaurs were arriving. If he gets behind them, it's over. He struggled with only one of their kind, and there was no way he could guarantee victory over them and then catch the Imp King after that. He needed to stop the Imp King now, or it was over. 

What Lucius did next was not something that he trusted would necessarily help him. He hoped it would, but it was a pure gamble and also his last chance. He raised his sword, pointed it towards the Imp King, and shot out a flash of light, the same as he did during his final exam. This flare-like flash quickly flew and fell down in between the Imp King and the minotaurs. The light was bright, and it bothered the demons, but there was no reason for the Imp King to stop and not hold a hand over his eyes and run behind the cover of his warriors, ignoring it completely. And yet, he didn't. He was a coward, and he was already out of his mind from fear, so when such a bright light appeared in front of him, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Yes! You're mine now!" thought Lucius as he started sprinting towards the Imp King.

When he turned around and saw the fast-approaching Lucius with a shiny lightsword in his hands, the Imp King's panic was unbearable, and this prevented him from thinking straight and reaching the safety his minotaur warriors could easily provide him. Instead, he took the only other route that still remained. He opened the door next to him and rushed up the spiral staircase of the castle's tower, with Lucius on his heels. The staircase was long and narrow and more adapted for imps to use, but Lucius had no intention of letting the Imp King escape. In front of him, there was certain success, and behind him, there was certain death. It wasn't that hard to decide which direction he preferred. 

It was a nerve-wracking experience for both of them because each of them was trying its best to escape death and inflict it on the other, Lucius directly and the Imp King indirectly, with the help of his servants. This intense race to the top of the stairs took a minute or two, for the tower was tall and the stairs were many. Lucius was frustrated with the speed of his adversary, doubly so, because he could clearly hear that they were already not the only ones climbing this staircase. Luckily for him, he could hear the Imp King's panting. He was tired, which was not unexpected, because he too could have used a break. But instead of taking a break, Lucius recognised this as an opportunity to push himself even further and catch his prey.

Exhausted from running, the Imp King reached the door to the tower at the top of the staircase! The door was made out of strong and durable steel! It will hold off the angel long enough, and by then his forces will catch up to him and kill him! He was safe! He just needs to get in and lock the door behind him! Frantically, the Imp King reached for the knob, and he would have done exactly as he intended if it wasn't for Lucius's lightsword that went through him, impaling him on the door and killing him on the spot. Thus was the Imp King's death. Short, cowardly, ugly, and unceremonious as himself. He thirsted for glory, power and recognition but ended up pinned onto a door like a fly in a bug collection, not offering any kind of resistance to his attacker at all.

Lucius pulled out his lightsword, and the Imp King, blood flowing out from a hole in his torso, fell down on the stairs, soaking them with his dark blood. A huge racket could have been heard from all directions around Lucius. The Imp King's servants realised that their master was dead. At first, the cries were those of despair, but soon, they turned to cries of rage. Those who followed Lucius and the Imp King now picked up the pace, and Lucius could feel them coming for his head. Then everything started shaking all of a sudden, like there was an earthquake. Lucius knew what was happening. The castle, willed into existence by the Imp King's power, was falling apart now that he was no more. With his target eliminated, Lucius now had to succeed where his target failed. He had to escape.