Imorn roared and pounced. One sweep of his claw ripped three shadow-soldiers apart, their remnants dissolving like smoke in the wind. A chanting mage hurled lines of jet-black curse runes. Imorn could not dodge. Symbols burned into his fur, searing flesh and drawing a hiss of pain.
“Cowardly trick!” He lunged through the burning agony, tore the spell-caster in half, then dropped to one knee as the last of his strength threatened to abandon him.
Across the mountain pass, limbs, human and beast alike, littered the dirt. Bones rose in grotesque cairns. Blood soaked the ground until it pooled in crimson runnels that raced downhill.
Cliffs split under constant impact. Boulders thundered down, crushing friend and foe without distinction. Even the river ran red, fish floating belly-up beneath a sky that looked ready to collapse.
At the rear lines, Aurelius watched his people fall. Each death felt like a blade drawn slowly across his ribs. Something had to break.
“Take the head and the body dies!”
Resolve hardened in his eyes. He faced Infinides and Jared. “Kill Soul Devourer, and the Demonic Soul Army crumbles. We strike now, together.”
“Agreed!”
Infinides flicked his horsetail whisk. White light shot forth like a fan of blades, clearing a corridor through the snarling wraiths. “Stay on me!”
Jared tightened both hands around Dragonslayer. Gold radiance pulsed along the edge, wrapping in a halo of sacred heat.
He ran behind Aurelius and Infinides, sword sweeping wide. Each stroke parted half a dozen shadows, carving a blood-bright passage toward the distant throne of darkness.
A lurking soul darted for Aurelius’s flank. Jared pivoted, out once, and the attacker fell in two smoking halves that vanished before they struck ground.
“You dream of killing me?” Soul Devourer’s voice reverberated like chains dragged across stone. “Keep dreaming!”
Soul Devourer’s crimson eyes narrowed as caught the sudden shift in his enemies’ stance. A low, serrated laugh escaped his throat. “Anepan and Spathe! Stop them!”
Even before the echo of that order faded, two shadows peeled away from the Demonic Soul Army and drifted forward like ghosts.
When the moonlight struck them, they became men, ancient, silver-haired, and wrapped in ash-gray robes. Wrinkles carved their faces, yet hawk-sharp eyes glimmered beneath their brows. Each gripped a longsword that hummed with murderous wind.
These were Soul Devourer’s deadliest lieutenants, the legendary twin blades, Anepan and Spathe.
“Your fight is with us!” The elder on the left lifted his sword, his words failing like brittle winter ice. He flicked his wrist. A white-hot crescent of sword energy tore toward Aurelius, splitting the very air.
“Good!” Infinides exclaimed, entirely unruffled.
He snapped his horsetail whisk; pearly power thickened into a broad shield that slid between Aurelius and the oncoming blade. Steel struck light with a thunderous crash. Shockwaves rippled, cracks veined the shield, and Infinides skidded two steps back.
On the right, Spathe answered in silence, his sword swirling. A rain of razor-thin blades cascaded toward Jared, each thread of energy heavy enough to shatter stone.
Jared’s eyes hardened. Dragonslayer Sword blurred, golden arcs knitting into a glowing mesh. Every black shard hissed against holy power and vanished like sparks in deep water.
Spathe’s gaze glittered with greed. “A splendid sword,” breathed. “Hand it over, boy, and I may spare your life!”
“Come and take it if you can!” Jared’s laugh was low and sharp. He vaulted skyward. Dragonslayer Sword roared, sheathed in gold, and descended like a thunderbolt toward the elder’s skull.
Spathe jolted, meeting the stroke with hurried steel.
