Chapter 19: In the Darkness

In the abandoned chapel in the middle of the ruins, inhabited by creatures of darkness made forms, stood two figures.

One was Lana, who was not binded by shadows, given that she made a choice to surrender with no resistance.

The other was the angel of darkness himself Valus, holding the scepter in his hand and his dark feathery wings flapped and fold on his back.

"Valus, I have question for you." Lana began.

"You may ask." Valus gestured.

"When you said you would save humanity, what did you mean by that?" She questioned.

"I was once an archivist of my fellow angels. I record and hoard knowledge that goes on in the human world, as well as ours and the demon world. It is the sole being of my existence, but I was restricted with the privilege of one concept: curiosity. It is when I learned the existence of the darkness as a magic type source I first tasted curiosity. I knew exactly what would happen if break this rule. For one who who spends in the environment of wisdom, I made a terrible decisions and paid the price. I was cast out and seared my white wings black and bound to the earth. I fell in despair, pleading to come back home. In my despair, the darkness called out to me, numbed the hurt in my heart, and for the first time, I felt nothing yet blissful."

"I'm sorry you were punished for a mistake you had no control in." Lana empathizes, but it fell on dead ears.

"Now I have a calling, to save the world from pain, pain manifested from the hearts of humans. Human create pain from their festering despair left by human conflicts, and it is from despair creates anger, doubt and fear. That is the truth of suffering, and with the power of darkness, I eradicate those pains and create a solitary paradise."

"Pain hurts, it destroys us. But pain is also our power, it drives us, it reminds us that we are still alive, that we still have a chance, that we can still have a future. Take Alex for example, he killed people because of the pain people had caused him. When I extended a hand to him, he didn't refuse, instead he allowed himself to open to the world that he didn't see before. He had a glimpse of the other side...until you made him kill those people."

"Alexander chose the killing himself, it is how he reacted when I showed him the destruction of his path. He cannot have a future."

"He can! You just convinced him that he never had any. He can have a future, and so can you."

Valus laments the girl's words. The fact that a human would reach out despite being an enemy was not something he would encounter in his immortal life. But in the end, he could not accept it.

"There is a strange aura about you. The stories in Luciana claimed that you were once the girl of selfishness. Much of that is evident and I would sense evil intent before you would have them, and yet, I see none. Could it be that you have truly changed?"

Then the dark angel loomed closer to her.

"Or are you a different soul bearing the body that is not yours?"

"...."

"It matters not. We both heard each other's arguments, and we shall put that to a wager. Alexander approaches to our location and not long shall he arrive. He shall be our gamble."

Lana like did not like this.

"Will he find himself once more or will he fall into despair?"

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After leaving the three women to defend the town from the shadows, twins found themselves in front of the entrance to the mines.

"All this time it was here?" Alex asked astonishingly. He did expect it to be here, but it made sense given the mines is where he first encountered the darkness.

"This is only a passageway. I scouted this while you were away. You'll find an abandoned chapel at the end of it, it's where the fallen angel made his base."

"And where I'll find her."

Alex let out a heavy sigh and pulled out a black half mask resembling a crow's beak and wears it over his mouth.

"Let's do this."

He was about to enter then suddenly he stopped as he felt cold air in the wind.

"Brother look out!"

The twins tumbled away to each side to dodge an ice blast. Alex recovered and pulled out his scythe rifle aimed at the attacker, who is none than the Wolf Prince himself.

"You will die for what you did to my father!" Nate declared with his sword at hand.

Alex was about prepare but Rena stepped in front of him.

"Let me deal with this, you go save her."

Alex paused briefly then gets up and runs into the mines, leaving his sister to this fight.

"So the twins are sticking together? I'm not surprised. You are the Crimson Warrior, you too shall pay for crimes."

Nate covered his sword with his ice and charged at Rena leaving ice trails. Rena puts up her block the attack.

"I know you made a deal with Valus and Shin. For someone so noble, you certainly keep a skewed company." Rena called out.

"What do you know! They're a means to an end. One must do what is necessary to see justice through."

Rena then pushed him off to gain some distance between them.

"That's not justice you're after, it's vengeance. What your doing is no better than us, but it's not too late."

"Empty words from a war extremist." Nate snarled as he forms an ice blast from his free hand.

Rena dodged away before he could hit and prepares her self by igniting her blade with flames.

Nate launched a series of ice barrages, which Rena swipes away and melts through the icy projectiles. She charges at Nate with her flaming sword, in turn Nate does the same with his sword laced in ice.

Their blades clashed at full force that creates a shockwave, covering the battlefield with fire and ice behind them.

"Lemme ask you then. Do you even know you're father at all?"

"My father is great man, he taught me that order and justice must be enforced through any means necessary." Nate answered.

"So you teamed up with Valus as your means of justice?"

Nate in response, pushed her off in anger.

"I do not wish it! But the Reaper has left no choice." Nate exclaimed.

He sent an ice beam at her, prompting her to bring up her flaming blade to block the cold blast, using to fire to prevent the freezing. However she begins to struggle as the fire is fading and ice begins to form around the sword, slowly making its way to her hands.

"But you are no better Crimson Warrior! You slaughtered innocents and burned down cities. You stole everything from them, just as your brother stole my father from me!"

That caused Rena to snap, her flames grew strong and markings on her skin, including the upside-down fork symbol on her face began to glow fire.

"YOUR FATHER IS A MURDERER AND A THIEF!!!" Rena screamed in anger as she released a fiery blast.

This knocked Nate to the ground, he gets up to counterattack but Rena was already on to him. She kept pelting him with fierce strikes with her fiery blade while Nate was forced to block. Eventually his defenses broke as his sword was knocked out of his hands and kicked down to ground. He was going to launch an ice blast but a fiery blade was pointed at him, while Rena was glaring at him in her fiery form.

"He stole everything from us! He sent our own classmates to kill our family! Do you even know your father at all? The kind man he is? All the things he's done? And you stand there, telling us we took everything from you?!"

"I..." Nate began.

"Worse part is, you allied yourself with a murderer and an entity with delusions of being a messiah, the kind you stand against? Not the most heroic choice you ever made have you? But it's not too late to do better."

Rena dissipated the flames, the markings on her skin disappeared and sheathed her sword.

"Alex and I made unforgivable mistakes, but a girl is in danger and she needs our help. Alex and I, we cannot her pay for mistakes, we cannot let anyone pay for our mistakes. What will you do?"

Nate is in complete conflict. All in his life, he fights for justice, and now he allowed himself to be blinded by revenge that he never let himself see the truth. Was Alex right? Was his father truly evil. He knew Alex had values that drove him to fight, the same way he had. But Nate was the one who betrayed his own values in pursuit of revenge, unlike Alex who had everything stolen from him.

Alex and Nate were no different from each other.

Nate was about to respond but suddenly Rena was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, causing her to stagger. Nate immediately wheeled around to see they have been ambushed by Shin and his ninjas.

"I told Valus you would not have the spine to do what must be done." Shin growled with malice.

Rena pulled out the arrow and used her fire to cauterize the wound. She walks forward and entered combat stance.

"Renalyn. How convenient that you left your clan unprotected."

"My Raven Clan is strong enough to protect themselves."

"Doesn't matter, if I kill you here, I can destroy your clan and then conquer the lands of Endoa."

Shin then made a hand gesture signaling his ninjas to attack and they charge.

Rena prepares herself to counterattack but the ninjas were halted by an ice blast which freezes their front lines.

Rena turn to the ice paladin with surprise as Nate gets up and answers.

"Once again I found myself asking truce with my sworn enemy. I would have words with your brother, so I will help you for now."

Rena nodded and ignites her blade with Nate fighting by her side.

"Let's do it then."

Both fire and ice mages charge at the ninjas.

________________________________________

Meanwhile, Alex had running through the mines after he had been at the area where he fought the Chupa and traversed deep where he never got the opportunity to explore.

Minutes later he found the exit and emerged from the mines. He found himself in a desert area where an abandoned chapel is at view along with mists of darkness.

To ensure he had the right location, Alex activated his senses. He could sense Valus, but he could also sense Lana.

"Not long now. I'm coming."

He sprinted towards the chapel. When he reached it, the shadows immediately surrounded him, halting him with his weapon at the ready. Then he emerges from the shadows.

"Valus!!!" Alex called out.

"And so the wager begins."