Lame Prince Of the realm...

Celestia's POV: 

The challenger's timing can't be any more perfect than this! All the Demonic warriors are in the forest of light right now. And the whole Southern land is asleep as it is the middle of the night. I wonder who our opponent is! He seems to know everything about us. 

The tower of the bell was at the backside of the castle. Theo and I rushed there. The tower of the bell was taller than the rest of the castle area. A huge bronze bell was hanging at the top of the tower. 

As we got a little closer to the tower, the challenger's face got clear. I was shocked to realize that the challenger was none other than Darius! Even after Darius saw us, he kept on shaking the string that was attached to the bell. Has he gone mad? 

And the worst part is that he was all alone. He didn't bring anyone else with him! It seems like Darius has arrived here of his own will. Father Oberon would never send him on a deadly mission like this. 

"Darius, stop it," I shouted at him. "We are not going to fight you today and go back to your kingdom now."

Darius finally took his hands off the rope which was attached to the bell, and he walked closer to us. "I am not here to fight you, Celestia," Darius shouted and then threw a vicious glare towards Theo. "I am here to eradicate that Demon who is standing next to you. He is the reason for all the chaos."

"No, Darius. You don't have to do this. Please go away from here, for your own sake," I cried out. 

But Darius didn't seem to be giving up. He was not even suited up in armor. He was just in the regular grey robes that he used to wear for the courtroom. It looks like he got this terrible idea suddenly that he forgot to change his clothes for battle.

Theo, who was quiet for this long, began to speak again. "I understand that you want to fight with me. And I always had a desire to kick your… you know what. So come on, lame prince of the Celestial realm. Let us fight!"

This can't be happening! Darius will definitely lose the fight in seconds. I went and stood in front of Theo. "Please don't fight with him. Can you please be the bigger person and forgive him?" I pleaded with Theo. 

"Step aside, Celestia. I can't walk away from a challenger! Walking away is equal to accepting the defeat, and you know that I hate to lose," Theo yelled at me. 

There is no use in arguing with him anymore because it is impossible to change Theo's mind when his pride is involved. Then I ran to Darius. At least he should listen to me!

Even before I could say something to him, Darius stopped me. "Celestia, I know what you are going to say. But I am doing this for you. You have already sinned so much because of that trickster over there. Even if I die today, I don't care. But I can't stand seeing you dissolve slowly in the darkness like this."

If both of them are this stubborn, what can I do? 'Step aside, Celestia. I am ordering you to do this as your mentor,' Theo whispered in my head. 

That is it! I can't do anything more about this. I am obligated to follow every instruction that Theo gives me as a mentor. I stepped away from the two Alpha males. 

Theo and Darius frowned at each other for a while. Theo was expecting Darius to make the first strike. I realized that Theo's strategy is to defend first and then attack.

Darius decided to make the first strike as Theo was silent for a long time. He made a wrong move by attacking first. Darius continually emitted Sapphire blue flames from his hands and struck Theo. 

But none of the flames affected him. All those blue flames disintegrated just before they were about to hit Theo. But Darius didn't give up. He kept on striking Theo with his blue flames.

Theo's invisible shield was very strong. Even after these many attacks, his shield didn't seem to break a little. But Darius was running out of energy. His grey robes were wet from the sweat. 

Darius is definitely going to lose! With the last bit of energy he had, he emitted faint blue flames at Theo but still, it was of no use. Theo chuckled and let down his shield. He then struck Darius with a single silver flame, and it knocked him out onto the ground. 

My heart was very heavy when I saw Darius lying down on the ground. He came here for me, and now he is suffering because of me! I went there and kneeled beside Darius. His eyes were closed, and he was whimpering in pain. 

"Celestia, my love," Theo called out. "Take out the Saber of Venom and stab him!"

"What?!!!!!!!!" I shouted out loud. It was hard to believe that Theo would even tell me to do something like this. He knows how important Darius is to me. Darius was my first mentor who taught me to yield Fae powers. He was also my only friend back then! 

Theo looked down at me with a stern expression. "Celestia, it is very important that you stab him with the Saber of Venom now. If he is left alive, he will come up with more tactics to separate you and me."

So I didn't hear anything wrong. Theo did instruct me to kill Darius. But I am not going to do that. 

"Theo, he will never do anything to hurt me. So it is not necessary to kill him," I argued with Theo. 

"You know nothing about him, Celestia," Theo shouted at the top of his voice. I have never seen him this ferocious before. "The Siren Queen Cynthia saw the visions, and she got to know that Darius will be our biggest threat. So you have to kill him now."

I got up from the ground and faced Theo. "But how can that be possible? Darius got knocked out within two minutes of battling with you. He can't be a threat to us."

"Celestia," Theo stressed out and said my name. "You promised me earlier that you will use the Saber of Venom, according to my instructions. Don't you remember? So now consider this as you fulfilling your promise. Take out that Saber and stab him!"

I did promise Theo that I will use the Saber according to his will. But I never expected that he would tell me to kill Darius with it! I already promised him twice—so I am obligated to do what he says. 

My hands began to shiver as I took out the Saber from the sheath. The feeling was very strange. I have never trembled this much before.

I gazed down at Darius, who was still unconscious on the ground. I don't want to do this! I don't want to kill him! How can I hurt the people I love? 

"If you refuse to do this, then you and I will be separated," Theo said. "So please do it, Celestia! You have to do it for us!"