C O N Q U E S T

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BOTH SIDES OF the war collided in a burst of metal and blood. Souls of men and demons alike were slain mercilessly. There was no place for friendship on the battlefield and that was made very clear through their actions. Right at that instant, they were all chess pieces, pawns to be used and sacrificed for what was thought as the 'greater good' by their respective leaders.

The five leaders leading the rebel forces split up, bringing their own groups of soldiers with them to take down their enemies. Originally, Calvin stuck close to Wilhelm, both brothers swinging their great swords and easily taking down demon after demon. But at some point, Lucifer himself arrived onto the field instead of staying back to watch his demonic army.

The king of Hell arrived onto the battlefield with a smug smile and a menacing thirst for blood in his eye. Not a single soul that dared to cross his path made it out alive, all taken down with a heavy blow to their necks that severed their ties to Hell.

There was a reason why the mortals in the human realm had dubbed Lucifer as the devil. In all of his existence, Calvin had not seen anyone fall from the very top to such a level of chaos and evil.

"I didn't expect him to take the field," Wilhelm confessed. At the same time, he swung his sword away from his chest, relieving a few demons of their heads simultaneously.

"I know what you mean." With a grunt, Calvin chopped off the heads of the enemy, sending them rolling down the beach. "He seemed more like a leader that would stay behind to command the troops and watch the show rather than attack at the front lines with the rest of his army."

The once pristine sandy white shores of Hell's beach was now drenched in blood. Red dyed the grains of fine sand, trailing off into the waves which pooled with scarlet seafoam. There was nothing serene about the beachside anymore, nothing available to admire, nothing there to praise. All of its beauty had been violated, tarnished, and defiled.

As the two armies grappled for an edge over the other, they also inched closer to one another. All six main contenders of this war were gathered around the center of the conflict, fighting at the heart of it all. While Dimitri and Qiu Xia used magic in addition to physical weapons to the far right where the waters were, Fabian was situated nearer to the forests to the left. At the heart of it all was where Wilhelm and Calvin fought, along with Lucifer who was nearing them by the second.

While the souls of the once-mortals fought with great diligence, the demons were on a whole other level. They did not show a single shred of emotion, tearing their razor-sharp claws into their opponents mercilessly. Flesh ripped from flesh, blood spewing forth endlessly as groans of agony echoed into the brightly lit sky.

The number of bodies that laid on the ground soon grew to the heights where it was impossible to count. With such a sight, Calvin silently wondered if Dimitri would see those deceased faces in his mind's eye for a second time.

His moment of thought was too much of a distraction, however, for he had not seen a sword edge his way. Wilhelm had separated from him, fighting a few feet away and surrounded by an endless stream of demons. As a result, Calvin had no one to warn him of the oncoming attack.

Thankfully, he was able to react just in time, bringing his sword up just as the opponent's blade came into contact, barely cutting into the fabric of his clothes.

Gritting his teeth, Calvin summoned all of his strength to push back the sword that threatened to cut through his face. A shower of sparks rained from the violent contact between two blades, flying through the air like a flash of golden rain. Mere inches away, Lucifer's grin was right in Calvin's line of sight, smirking away as if nothing was wrong with the world.

"Dear prince, do you really have the luxury to stop and get distracted by your thoughts when facing a king?" Lucifer taunted.

When Calvin finally deflected the blade and threw it back, Lucifer swung again.

"You're no king, Lucifer." Electricity danced in Calvin's eyes, crackling through his irises like a bolt of blue lightning. "You're a killer, a menace, a fraud."

Once again, Lucifer's sword was pushed back with great effort but the attacks did not end. The two continued in this dangerous dance, dealing a blow after another. Lucifer successfully nicked Calvin in the arms once or twice but it wasn't enough for the latter to back down. Such a small wound could not be compared to the suffering of the angels during the Battle of Heaven.

"A great king knows everything that happens in his domain. The rebellion that you and your dear friends planned was still snuffed out by me in the end!"

With a great roar, Lucifer sent Calvin flying from his horse, landing on the sand with a thunderous thud. Frightened, the horse that Calvin rode reared its two front hooves into the air before galloping away. This allowed Lucifer to stare down at him from above like a true predator at its prey.

Lucifer chuckled, his tone cold like an endless winter. "And like a small candle flame, be prepared to be extinguished."

"Not today."

Unwilling to bow down to fate, Calvin grabbed a handful of sand from beneath him, throwing it towards the enemy horse and its rider. Just like Calvin's own horse, the animal that Lucifer rode threw the devil off its back before bolting away, blindly knocking into both demons and mortal souls alike.

Fallen to the ground, Lucifer laid on his back, teeth gritted tightly with a groan. Taking his opportunity, Calvin got to his feet. The sword in his hand was pierced right through Lucifer's back, sending golden blood to flow freely from the wound onto the sand. With a foot stepping down hard on Lucifer's hand which prevented him from reaching for his weapon, Lucifer was successfully immobilized.

Thus, Calvin exclaimed, "Your leader has fallen! Stand down or you will be eliminated."

Originally, silence first fell. There were no more sounds of claws against metal or teeth against flesh. Everyone paused to take a look at Calvin and the fallen Lucifer. Even the demons from far away seemingly sensed that Lucifer had been suppressed and their attacks halted. Then, one by one, the red-skinned monsters started to kneel. They dropped to their knees, heads hung low in defeat and fangs bared in resentment.

Their reign of terror had ended along with the war that originally started in Heaven hundreds of years ago.

With the demons kneeled low, Calvin could spy his comrades in the crowd. His brothers and sister were all glancing his way, contented smiles on their lips. The soldiers they led were beaming with pride, weapons at the throats of the demons in case the latter made any sudden movements.

In front of everyone, both enemy and ally, white lines began to form on Calvin's dark skin. It held the same magnetic light blue tint as his eyes, burning bright like starlight. Similar to those who had received powers of the apocalypse before him, the lines started from his back and curled to his limbs. The white lines ended at the base of Calvin's neck, curling into his collarbones like a necklace.

At the juncture of total victory, Calvin couldn't help himself but mock Lucifer's demise. At the devil that glared at the sand, Calvin said, "It seems like the great king is nothing more than an extinguished flame."

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