CHAPTER 16

X rushed to his house, his friends tailing behind him. It had been a while since he had been here, but the paths were engraved deep in his mind. Swerving past a tree, X stepped up his pace. His friends struggled to catch up, but X didn't care. He had to save his Grandfather. X's brain raced back to that time when a Stage 2 demon almost killed Frederick, and how they barely managed to kill it. Now there were three of them. X turned his head around for a second and glanced back at his comrades. Brik was right beside him, looking very grim. He seemed to understand what X was going through since they had the same problems two years ago when Uncle Ken was in danger, the only difference being that they were too weak and had to stay hidden while he died. This time, they both would not let that happen. Aqua was not to be seen, which was obvious since she could fly. Rose was catching up, slightly behind Brik. Goofy had stopped a while ago and was catching his breath. X sped up. Goofy would find him later.

Stepping away from a tree, X turned to see the spot where Grandfather had first found him. Stopping, he took a moment to catch his breath. Knowing his Grandfather, X was sure that he would go to face the demons himself. X turned to his friends. Rose had stopped in the distance, waiting for Goofy. Brik stood beside him, and Aqua dropped from the sky, unsure of why they stopped. X waited impatiently for Rose and Goofy to reach them, his hand shivering restlessly. 

'You two, go there. After about a minute, you will find a hut. Open the door, and if you see an old man, tell him to stay there. And mention me. Brik, Aqua, let's go.'

Rose and Goofy left towards X's house, while the three of them ran deeper into the forest. Panic rose in X's chest, causing his heart to beat really quickly. He could hear his heartbeat. He rushed as fast as he could, his body heating up, turning into flame. X Fire Escaped away into the woods, aiming for the spot where he had first seen a Stage 2 demon. Just then, a booming sound was heard. A shockwave went through the air, the ground shaking. X ran ahead in panic, awaiting another shockwave. Another shockwave would signify that his grandfather was fighting, and therefore was alive. But it did not come. 

X reached the place where he saw the Stage 2 demon, and saw the remnants of a battle. The knights of the village had lying down, blood oozing out of them. There were tears in their eyes, and as they saw X, they started to bawl like little kids. Through the haze of pain, the Group Leader muttered 

'Sir...Taken...Demons'

'Where?'

The knight pointed his fingers towards the woods, before fainting. X felt tears run down his cheeks, but he had no choice but to move forward. To hope that it was not too lat to save him. X trudged forward, but his body felt a hundred times heavier. X saw multiple visions of his Grandfather, dead, torn to pieces like Uncle Ken. Maybe he was too late. 

Brik placed a hand on X's shoulder and led him forward. X saw that his face had morphed with wrath. Just then, Aqua came down from the sky and mentioned

'There. Demons. Three of them, holding an old man hostage. He is not dead. Yet.'

X's body started heating up, and he walked forward toward the demons, his hands holding the hatchet steadily. Aqua glided alongside them. A tree was in the way, but X did not move aside. He had to startle the demons so that they leave his Grandfather. So with a single swipe, X chopped the tree in two. Anger enveloped him, and for a moment, he felt like he had become Brik. But his friend was even angrier. 

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Frederick had been in danger throughout his life. He had risen up to become one of the only Stage 3 knights of his time through sheer hard work. He had killed countless demons, even Stage 2 demons. He had even fought a Stage 3 demon while they raided the demon nest. Even then, he had never been in more danger. 

A Stage 2 demon had placed its large, clawed paw on Frederick's neck. It stood on four legs, with a canine body and a terrifying face, extremely sharp teeth creeping out of its stretched mouth. It spoke to the other two demons in a deep rasping voice

'Check...Human'

One of the other demons moved out to the corner, while the demon pressed its sharp claws deeper into Frederick's chest. Frederick's breath slowed down. He knew he was dying. He only wished he could see his Grandson, X again. Just once. Tears started falling out of his eyes.

Just then, a loud voice was heard in the distance. A scream, deep and rasping, one that did not sound human. The two demons moved quickly, but it was not enough. A trident made of water hit the other demon, sending it crashing down to the ground. The demon leader, the one who had placed its hand on Fredericks's neck, barked out an order to the other demons

'Quick..Fig...'

A stream of flames blasted from one side, scorching the grass and raising the temperature by a couple of degrees. Frederick could not believe it. The demon was sent flying by the attack, and as it did the flame followed. The demon crashed into a tree, and the jet of fire struck into it, blazing that tree. The flame transformed into a person, a little more than six feet tall, with strong lean muscles. His blond hair was close cropped in a hairstyle similar to Fredercik's himself. A hatchet of pure steel was held in one of his hands, his body still aflame. X. His Grandson.

The demon rose and charged forward despite being set on fire. It charged forward, and X took a step back, blocking its attacks with his hatchet, moving back, step by step. The demon pounced on X, who now stood right in front of Frederick. X smiled. 

'Immortal Tree'

X's eyes glowed bright pink, an odd shade for the flaming person. The hatchet moved, really really fast, so fast Frederick could not see it. A slash removed one of the demon's limbs, another striking its abdomen. The flurry of attacks continued, and by the time the demon reached X, its claws grazing his skin, the demon was dead. Cut into a hundred pieces. X turned to the other demon, which was almost dead, struggling to counter the attacks of the water tridents. Just then, a long whip, pure white, as white as bone, struck the demon, killing it. A man walked out of the woods, muscular with black hair that fell over his eyes. The whip extended from his knuckles. A girl fell from the skies, a water trident circling her. 

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X walked up to his Grandfather, tears flowing from his eyes. His Grandfather was heavily bruised, blood covering the entire left side of his body. He was too injured to move, so he sat there, his face filled with joy. X opened his mouth, but no words came out. After a while of awkward silence, X and his friends helped him and the others back to the hut. On the way, they found around six corpses of Stage 1 demons, big and ugly. As they reached the hut, X saw Rose standing in front of the hut, blood splattered all over her. When they passed past her into the hut, she muttered

'The demons were boring. You guys got the good ones, didn't you? That's why you sent me here, right?'

X just shook his head, entered the hut, and laid down all the injured people on the floor. Then, he turned to his Grandfather and opened his mouth to speak. And started screaming.

Pink. X was back in the place he saw that day when he awakened Immortal Tree. And the dark silhouette he had seen in the hospital ward was also there, standing right in front of him, around twenty meters away. It was like a shadow, a pure black body, one so dark that it was impossible to know if it was real or not. Like a person covered in ink. Or an aura of pitch-black darkness. It had a lean, human structure and only its eyes were not black. It was pink, similar to X's. It spoke with a warped voice like it was sucking in the air

'Who are you? You shouldn't be here. Get lost.'

In an instant, the dark creature appeared right in front of X, so fast that X could not even react. It touched X's forehead, and X's vision started turning black.

'Stay away. Don't come back.'

X screamed in pain, staring into the sea of pure darkness.