Two Hours Earlier...

Seconds after Kashi fainted, he was forcefully transported to his inner world, where he was faced with a terrifying sight. Monstrous, malevolent blanketed the sky, blotting out the sun. Black lightning thundered through the skies as tornadoes roiled the seas into large tsunamic waves.

Kashi's gaze traveled to the demon centaur who floated in the sky at the center of the storm. The demon's skin and fur had turned purple, eyes glowing red with a sinister glare. The daeben could sense an unfathomable power bursting out of the crystal in its chest.

It appeared that defeating the demon had somehow caused the crystal to explode with even more power. Could it be that the demon was suppressing the crystal's power this whole time?

"In that case..." Kashi muttered as he stretched out his right hand. The eyes of the dragon that laid curled beneath Yggdrasil snapped open, fire and lightning burning in its eyes. "I'll just have to remove that crystal myself." Kashi said, as he took out FPB and nocked a mana arrow.

ROOOAR!

The black-scaled dragon's roar shook the dimension as it roused from its slumber. The divine beast glared in the direction of the centaur, and then, with a heavy flap fo its wings, instantly took to the sky.

Kashi grinned as the dragon burst past him. He tapped his feet against the air and also shot toward the centaur with blinding speed. Within his world, Kashi was a god. It seemed the ability of flight was one of the added perks of owning his own world.

The demon centaur let out a crazed roar as it charged toward the incoming foes with wind and lighting surrounding its enlarged frame.

CRACKLE! BOOM!

What followed next was an epic battle of disastrous proportions. The sky was split in twain, oceans vaporized and entire pieces of earth excavated as tempestuous lightning, wind and fire clashed and exploded around the world. The battling beings moved across the dimension in seconds, leaving only destruction in their wake.

It seemed Armageddon itself had arrived, and if it were not for Yggdrasil' healing energy, the dimension might have already been destroyed by the attacks. The monsters Kashi had captured hid within Yggdrasil's tree trunk, alongside the Hydra egg and Kira's cocoon, neither of which could afford to be exposed to the violent energies.

Assured that no harm would come to Kira, Kashi and his dragon intensified their all-out assault against the demon. The centaur's body grew several feet to match the enormous dragon as it clashed in a harsh melee. The beasts savagely punched, clawed and bit at each other, lacing each of their attacks with the elements to produce even more damage.

There was no strategy to their attacks. Just pure savagery and instinct. When they met in a melee, they would drag each other to the ground. They would then smash each other on the earth or throw themselves around. Several mountain peaks were flattened in the process, and the landscape was forever transformed.

Within all of the chaos, the dragon suddenly bit down on the centaur's shoulders. It then spun around and flung the demon into the air. The dragon reared its head back, and then spat out a pillar of flames coated with lightning.

The centaur roared as it gathered mana to create a shield in front of it.

BOOM!

A massive explosion followed as the beam crashed into the shield. The shield did not last long. It shattered mere moments after the initial impact. However, it had managed to do its job neutralizing the dragon's attack. The demon raised its hands, and thousands of lightning spears shot down toward the dragon, who retaliates with thousands of lightning-fireballs.

"NOW!" Kashi's voice suddenly burst out amidst the chaos. The daeben's diminutive form weaved through the lightning bolts, fire dragons, and tornados to appear before the demon with his bow fully drawn.

In the eyes of the demon centaur, Kashi was no more than an ant, but it was precisely this ant which suddenly filled it with the greatest sense of dread he had ever experienced. No, it was not so much the daeben as it was the arrow nocked on the bow. The amount of pure mana concentrated in that single mana arrow was beyond frightening!

No standard bow should have been able to store that much mana! But how could the centaur have known that this was Ferulic's Practice Bow? This was a bow used by a god. There was simply no need to consider just how much mana it could possibly hold.

Ignorant of the demon's thoughts, Kashi said with a snide grin as he released the arrow. "Why don't you take a nap?"

BOOM!

ROOAR!

The centaur let out a terrible roar as the arrow struck the crystal dead center. Even worse, the bolt suddenly expanded in size and then began to rotate in place like a gigantic drill. The arrow dug into the crystal, pushing it through the centaur's chest and toward its back.

Racked by inexplicable pain, the centaur attempted to reach down and grab the bolt, but Kashi's dragon suddenly pinned him to the ground and held his arm in place with its legs. The demon's cries shook the earth as the arrow drilled through its chest and blasted out the other end with the crystal at its tip.

BOOOM!

A tumultuous explosion erupted, blasting all within a three-mile radius to dust. Moments before the explosion, the dragon sensed the danger and protected the daeben with its body. The dragon let out a pained cry as it was sent tumbling across the sky by the impact. It crashed to the ground a couple of miles away, bloodied and heavily injured.

Kashi stumbled from its embrace with a grim expression. He gazed into the dragon's weak eyes and gently patted its snout. "Thanks. You saved me," the daeben muttered. "You can rest now, I'll take it from here."

The dragon softly growled as it nodded in response. It then let out a moan as Yggdrasil's healing aura enveloped it, and began healing its injuries. The brief respite was broken moments later as Kashi spotted the demon hurtling towards them, leaving a distinct blood trail in its path.

Whoo... Boom!

Kashi blinked in shock as the demon crashed next to him. Having lost the crystal, he had shrunken to just over nine-feet tall. A gaping hole bore through his chest where the crystal once laid, a microcosm of the demon's severe injuries.

The demon had suffered the most damage as a result of being at the epicenter of the explosion. He was missing an arm, both his horns had broken off, and several lacerations cut deep to the bone, dying the centaurs fur red with blood.

Kashi could tell that if left alone, the demon would certainly perish within moments. The daeben did not know what compelled him to do so, but he suddenly found himself walking over to the fallen centaur. He examined the demon's unfocused eyes and fatal injuries, and then asked with a sigh, "Can you save him?"

A soft breeze blew past him, and Kashi knew the answer to his question. A definite yes. Kashi smiled and then said, "Please heal him. He should be the centaurs' god. They'll definitely owe me one."

Yggdrasil's aura seeped into the demon and began rapidly healing his injuries. Suddenly, however, the healing stopped, and Kashi blinked as Yggdrasil revealed that the demon's brain had been severely affected by the crystal's corruption. Yggdrasil could definitely heal the injury, but if Kashi had any intention of subduing the beast, this was the only chance he would have.

Immediately the centaur regained its full faculties, he would retaliate much harder than the hydra eggs. Kashi would most likely not survive the backlash unless he threw the demon out of the realm.

Upon hearing this report, Kashi did not waste a moment before ordering, "Subdue him." This was the entire reason he had put this demon in his inner world in the first place. Well, he did not expect the crystal to make a sudden comeback, but all things considered, it could be considered mission accomplished.Would this experience teach him to carefully consider before shoving interesting things into his inner world? Maybe? Only time would tell.

Following, Kashi's confirmation, the healing aura doubled in intensity and swiftly enveloped the centaur within. The daeben watched as the demon's missing arm and broken horns regenerated until his injuries were fully healed. The entire process lasted several minutes, but Kashi did not move from his spot, unwilling to miss even a moment of this historic moment.

Eventually, the daeben smiled when the demon opened its eyes with vague confusion reflected in them.

Moment of Truth.

Kashi kept a distance of about six meters from the demon and greeted with a smile, "Hey there, my name is Kashi. I'm the one who just saved your life. What's your name?"

The demon's gaze traveled to Kashi and then lay fixed on the daeben for a moment. Just when Kashi began to prepare for combat, the centaur suddenly kneeled on all fours and bowed his head.

"I am called Drixali, master," the demon greeted with a solemn voice. "You have my eternal gratitude and loyalty for freeing me from these thousand years of torment. I swear to cut down whoever stands in your path, and lead the charge against any army. My spear will forever be yours to command, and all my powers shall be at your disposal."

Kashi smiled as he approached Drixali and then placed a hand on the demon's shoulder. "No need for the formality. I am grateful for your help. Please stand." Inwardly, he wondered whether there was a correlation between Drixali and Drixlia's names. They were too similar to be mere coincidence.

BOOOOM!

Unfortunately, Kashi did not have time to consider if this was true or not, as accompanied by a massive explosion, a gargantuan, green mossy creature arose from the area where the crystal had fallen. This monster, despite having a human form, was mostly covered in rotting vines, foliage, and trees, all of which was surrounded by toxic fumes that it exhaled.

Kashi took one look at the monster and guessed it was most likely the source of the Blight, what with the venomous aura, and plant-like anatomy. Kashi also knew that as he was, he stood no chance against that monster. If that thing went berserk in his inner world, Kashi would most likely perish from the backlash.

Kashi gritted his teeth and looked at Drixali. "How strong are you? Do you think you can take down that monster?"

"Not as I am," Drixali replied with a shake of his head. "Most of my power was siphoned away by that demon over the years. The other half of my power is securely stored in a spear I gave to the mortal centaurs. But I have no way of summoning it while it is disassemble—"

Whoooosh!

Drixali's words suddenly froze in his throat, and he jerked to look in front of Kashi where a small portal had appeared. He could sense a familiar power calling out to him, just asking him to reach out and collect it. However, before he could call out to the daeben, the spearhead of a beautiful spear cut through the portal.

Kashi grinned as he grabbed the spear and pulled it out of the dimensional gate. The daeben whistled with praise as he admired the exquisite green spear, within which he could feel a monstrous amount of roiling mana. He looked at Drixali and said as he leaked out a cheeky grin. "This is yours, right?"

"Yes it is... Master." Drixali reached out and grasped the spear with his left hand. Mana burst out from the demon, shrouding his figure. The demon's silhouette swelled in size and stature as the mana stored in the spear quickly restored him to a bit of his previous strength. Shortly after, the mana cleared to reveal Drixali. The centaur's powerful muscles and dangerous gaze gave him the appearance of a war god, strong, and ready to challenge the world.

Kash grinned as he turned his attention to the monstrosity in the horizon. He wound his arm as he joked, "Alright, no one's here, so I can go all out for once." He glanced at Drixali as a terrifying aura exploded around him. "Support me." The earth cracked beneath the daeben's feet as he took a step towards the monster with a bright smile. "Now, let's have some fun..."

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATREON STARS:

Residents: Andrew Maurer, Eli Calabria, Rusty Reaper, Cobalt_Storm, Eli Romero, Niyeban, Sarah Kinkade, Gamma2626, GodSpeed99, Antinium, Oziel

Adventurers: Hyproxy, Merlin252, Michael Barton, OlusholaAbidakun, Mental_Napalm, Jamie Ibarra, Adam Whitman, Sven Buchheit

Warriors: Caleb Ian Melton, Ragnaf, Cullen M Brewer,

The High Council: Sly, Jacob Morgan, StrikerPrince, Thund3rTank, Facemaster, Pumba

You Guys are the Best!!!

Please Support me on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/Renoe_K

Come bug me and join the community on discord at: https://discord.gg/fHRA2qj

BIG NEWS!!! The Physical copy of Parallel is now out on Amazon! I just ordered my copy. Here's the link if you wanna have a copy in your bookshelf, and/or also support me!!! I'll also put it in the comments...

Amazon Bookstore for Parallel: http://tinyurl.com/y2m79r2s