(September 19th, 2017)

Justin

With the sound of an alarm ringing close to my ears, I reluctantly woke up from my napping spot and turned off the alarm on the phone before looking at the time and seeing it being 7:20 PM. I looked around the tent that the gang and I slept in to see that it was immaculate and devoid of people, except for me. I made my way outside of the tent and was hit with the blinding light of the sun on an early morning. I covered my eyes and squinted to see who was sitting on the chairs outside of the camp and spotted Zack, who was practicing with his sword, Mia, who was cooking, and Alex, who was scrolling through his phone. They all looked like they woke up relaxed and refreshed after a nice nap and have healthily started the day. I, on the other hand, was exhausted and barely awake with little to no strength that can carry me outside of the tent and prepare me for a morning breakfast.

The cottonmouth and the dry throat I felt forced me to push myself into getting out of my sleeping position and grabbing my phone. I looked at it and saw that there was an additional notification that I did not pay too much attention to. My heart stopped when I read that it was not any notification, but a reminder called 'Mia's Birthday' and it popped up a while ago. I opened the calendar app and double-checked to see if the reminder was correct, and to my shock, it was. I quickly slapped myself twice in the face to get myself to focus and pay attention.

"Think, Justin, think!" I whispered to myself. "You didn't buy her anything beforehand, huh?" I checked the map to see how far we were of the city of Vega Drakion, also known as Las Vegas. I was slightly relieved when I saw that it was only a two-hour drive and that it is not too far from where we camped for the night.

"Okay... Let's pretend that we do NOT know..." I turned off my reminder, my calendar event, and hidden away some notes and photos. I took a deep breath before I walked outside of the tent and got hit by the wind breeze that refreshed me after sleeping inside the kettle that is the tent. I stretched my limbs and yawned even more before taking a few more steps towards Mia, kissing her on the cheek, and sitting on the chair reserved to me by the group.

"I've made you something really nice!" Mia said before placing the pancake plate in front of me, along with the knife and fork. The smell of her delicious pancakes alone got me energized to start the day. I did not skip a second and began consuming the food like a ravenous beast. Mia then came back with a mug of hot chocolate. As I waited for it to cool down a little bit, I continued devouring the pancakes and then resumed this tasty breakfast by drinking the hot chocolate.

Alex, who was sitting in front of me and was lost in the digital realm of the internet, calmly scrolled through his phone and did not pay attention to me. It would not be a stretch to say that the cyborg might not have noticed me at all. I decided to wait for the right moment before announcing my presence to him and waited until he took a sip of his drink to ask the best uncomfortable question I could think of, which was: "So how's Aurora, huh Alex?"

I watched as he nearly spat the drink out of his mouth, only to swallow it before any of it could leak out of his mouth. I could not hold my own laughter and banged my fist against the table due to the unpredictable way he reacted. I learned after a while that when he confessed his true feelings to us, it was his own subconscious talking. He did feel the emotions towards her, as he was a big perv with a big heart, but his conflicted heart still harbors feelings towards Zoey, the girl that's friends with the school jerks.

"You... You had to ask that?" He asked.

"Why the sudden reaction? I'm not gonna make fun of you for crushing hard on her. She's really attractive, and you are not a loser. But I'm curious as to how you feel towards Zoey," I said.

"Zoey?"

"Yes, Zoey. The girl who is friends with Jason and Adrian? Z-O-E-Y?" I stated.

"No, It's Z-O-E."

"So, you do remember!" I laughed.

"Do you remember when I told you that I like her?" Asked a rather serious Alex. "You were the first one to know, and your reaction was to laugh at me."

"Dude! That was two years ago!" I said in utter shock at the mention of that moment. "I was very immature back then."

"Anyway, you went on to tell Mia, and then Ethan," He added.

"Dude, it's no big deal."

"And then commander Astralis, and after that, you told the king, and then you nearly told her. Am I remembering wrong?"

"Okay... it was a big deal..." I trailed off.

"My confidence plummeted, and I couldn't face her because I feared the ridicule."

"Dude, come on. It's been years. I think if you talked to her right now, you'd probably score a date. You managed to be Selena's first, after all, right? YOU!" I exclaimed. "Besides, if what you three told me was true and she's infatuated with you after you saved her, she'd definitely be having a crush on you right now."

"She'd have a crush on the cyborg who saved her, not Alex Miller."

"And who is the cyborg with the golden arm? It's you. You won her over with your bravery and chivalry. That had nothing to do with Orunos' gauntlet or your superpowers. The gauntlet reacts to its wearer, after all," I explained. "And if you don't want to win her over as the cyborg crusader, then why don't you try approaching her as Alex?"

"Hey, you two!" Zack greeted as he approached us. "What are you talking about?"

"It's Alex and his crush towards a girl," I answered.

"I don't want to bring myself into this, but I was like you guys are. I am only fairly popular and have my own small circle of friends. I had a crush on this one girl, and I really wanted to be with her. I tried approaching her for a while, but she hung out with her own circle of boys most of the time. So I approached her the only way I could not be interrupted or feel awkward," Zack recounted.

"And what's that?" Alex asked with genuine curiosity.

"Social Media."

"Oh," I said before taking another sip of my drink, mild disappointment evident in the tone of my voice.

"So, you messaged her online?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. She was pretty chill, and the conversation went smoothly. No awkwardness whatsoever," Zack replied.

"What did you say?"

"I began the conversation normally, but I gave her a hint that I was into her. We started talking about one another and about other things. A movie was being shown in cinemas at that time, and I asked her if she'd be down to watch it with me. She agreed, we went on that date, and from there it was smooth sailing. You have to keep in mind that she's just an ordinary human at the end of the day," Zack explained.

"Ok, I noted everything. But here's the thing. The girl I'm into is very strong, a skilled martial artist, a good hunter, one of the most famous people in the entire high-school, and she's slightly older than me," Alex said.

"And you are Alex Miller. The Cyborg Crusader. You decimated hundreds of imperial robots on your own. You are on an adventure with your friends who are a god, a king, and a demon girl. And to top that all off, you managed to rescue that girl you have a crush on from an attack that could have ended her life! And you're telling me that you're intimidated by her?" Zack exclaimed, making Alex stop to think about it.

"You're right, but it's still intimidating. I've known her long before I've gotten these powers, and I have not gotten used to them yet. Besides, she is unbelievably strong. I saw her crash from building to building and take down hordes with nothing but her arms and legs. She has weapons, but she is so strong that she has no need for them. I would objectively think that if we fought, one of us would win a pyrrhic victory, or we'd end up in a stalemate," Alex explained.

"Okay, enough about Zoe for a while," I said before finishing my drink and getting off the chair. "We should head out soon."

"We're not too far from Vegas, are we?" Zack asked.

"It's just two hours from here. We'd need to go and make it in time before the sun sets," I stated.

"What will we be doing there?" Alex asked.

"We'll stock up on potions and buy anything we might find useful," I replied.

While we were busy packing, I saw that Mia was not acting strangely because of the fact that it was her birthday, unlike the many times before when she was beyond excited. Her behavior was very typical, similar to her daily routine of sightseeing, flirting, and taking pictures. I was aware that Zack was not informed of the occasion, but Alex should have at least remembered. I shrugged the thought off and focused on driving for the next two hours as no one was acting out of the ordinary, leaving me feeling relaxed and carefree. With the roof being dropped down and placed away, I enjoyed the gentle breeze that came at us, the faster I drove. The drive felt completely normal, and no one brought up anything concerning today throughout the conversations that we had that involved many different topics. But as I was driving, I kept thinking about what a perfect gift would be and how I would go about acquiring it and hiding it until the right moment.

Soon we arrived in the city. We were surprised when we saw that it was sprawling with life. The people behaved very normally as if there was no invasion by a ruthless empire that aims to destroy everything. We also took notice of the royal military forces that were deployed throughout the city, stationed at nearly every street and on rooftops, turning the place into a mix between a vibrant city and a militarized settlement or a military outpost.

"At least it feels like Vegas more than a colony," Zack commented. I took out my phone and called Ethan to get some information about the place.

"Hello?" Ethan spoke.

"Hey, Ethan. It's me. We're at Vega Drakion. I just wanna know why there are people in the city. Isn't it supposed to be evacuated?" I asked.

"Oh, hey! Yes, Justin. The city was supposed to be evacuated by the military. The bunkers and refugee camps throughout the place became full, so we had no choice but to turn the city into a fortified refugee base. And with the threat of the empire decreasing drastically since you destroyed the mothership, we realized that we can have more people return to the city with no fear of any major attack," Ethan explained. "So, how's the crusade so far?"

"It's been really nice. We unleashed one dragon, and it gave me its power and a nice crossbow."

"Oh yeah? That's nice!"

"We've also taken down an evil succubus that had a giant ice wolf," I informed.

"A what?!"

"Yes. And that's not all. Mia took her blood and that of the wolf and fused them together with some magic and forged a scythe!"

"Whoa, there. Are you saying you killed a succubus? Are there any more?"

"Here's where the bad news comes. She revealed that demons are being released throughout the world, and they're planning to seize the planet for themselves."

"My god..." Ethan said, only for me to silently reply with a "Yes?"

"But, Ethan, that's not the most important thing on my mind at the moment. I need your help with something," I stated after taking a few steps away from the group.

"Oh? Tell me, buddy."

"Do you know what day it is?" I asked.

"It's Mia's birthday," He immediately replied, much to my surprise.

"I need to bring her something, but I don't know what she likes! Besides me, of course."

"Oh, she likes you so much. You're practically her catnip. Or in Alex's case, her anime body pillow."

"I want to figure out what she likes and see if I can get my hands on it," I stated.

"Since she likes you so much, maybe you should have prepared beforehand and found a photographer, taken a few shirtless photos, made a calendar, and gave it to her," He jokingly stated.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go now. Oh, and if you meet Alpha-One from the Astralis foundation, get her in contact with us, alright?"

"Alright. Talk to you soon."

I parked the car in a parking space and went around the city with the group, taking pictures and enjoying the sights. My full attention was directed towards Mia throughout our time in the city. My mind focused only on her and her alone, pushing everything away and making her the sole purpose for my worries. Time and time again, I'd catch myself blankly staring at Mia for a while before snapping out of it and regaining my attention. Luckily, no one noticed my weird behavior, and everything went smoothly. After a few hours of walking around, eating food, and enjoying the sights, we decided to split up and gather equipment and items for the journey. When it was time to decide on the split, I immediately chose Mia to be with me, surprising the group with my eagerness. Mia was ecstatic that I chose her, and the other two crusaders did not make much of it. I gave Zack the spare car keys that I found in the glovebox before we split up.

"Wow, Justin. You were so fast at picking me!" Mia exclaimed.

"W-What's wrong with that?" I asked and looked away to hide my red blushing. "Is it wrong that I want to spend some time with you?"

She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest. "I'm so happy that you picked me is all. This reminds me of that time last where you chose to stay with me at home instead of going with commander Astralis and the rest on that trip."

"You were sick back then, and I didn't want to leave you alone. They went to watch the trials of Orunos from the islands while we watched it at home. We missed having to ride in an airplane together, but it was fun regardless."

"It was the first time I snuggled beside you under one large bedsheet." She reminded me. "It was also the first time we've slept under once ceiling where you did not bolt when you realized I was there!"

"Haha, yeah," I replied. "You fell asleep immediately after it was over. And you looked... cute doing it." I scratched the back of my head while chuckling at my awkwardness, only to get kissed on the cheek.

"I may be a demon, but I can't thank the heavens enough for bringing us together," Mia stated. "You cannot begin to comprehend how happy I am that I got to come with you on this adventure."

"I would not ask for anyone else," I replied.

We wandered around the city while holding each other's hands and enjoying the scenery and taking photos. The look on her face at all times indicated the joy of spending the time with my company. I certainly enjoyed spending the time around her as well, so much so that I started to forget that it was, in fact, her birthday, and I needed to prepare something to gift to her. But every time I look at her, my mind snaps back into reality, and the mild anxiety sets in, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of joy and love. When luck finally came to my side was when I stumbled upon a jewelry store. Without letting Mia notice that I planned to go inside of it, I told her to wait for me at a nearby bench while I went inside and took a gander at their collection.

I walked inside the store to find that it was open, and the saleslady has already noticed me and said: "Welcome, sir!" in a friendly tone. I walked inside and asked her for anything romantic, and that can fit a girl who likes red. She went to the back and brought a collection of necklaces that all looked pretty alluring and beautiful. I then noticed one beautiful necklace that had a heart-shaped red jewel that was inside the mouth of a dragon made out of gold. I felt my breath being taken away by the mere sight of it, it was so perfect that everything around it became a blur. I immediately pointed at it like a kid in a toy store and placed my credit card at the table.

"The price is-" The saleswoman tried to say, but I cut her off.

"I don't care. Just take the money."

I placed its box inside a bag after wrapping it in gift wrapping paper. I then hid it behind my back and went to find Mia. My heart was racing at the thought of her reaction of me, gifting her something so special that represents the bond between us. I ran towards the location, and when I finally made it, I walked towards the bench to see that there was no one there, much to my confusion.

"Uh, Mia?" I called, but no one answered. Someone walked passed me, so I stopped them and asked: "Excuse me, sir. Have you seen a girl with red hair? I was supposed to meet her here." To which the man answered me and pointed towards where he last saw her. I thanked him and ran towards the last location and saw her looking around.

"Mia!" I called. However, she did answer. "Hey, Mia!"

She conjured her wings and flew away, leaving me with a shocked expression and by my lonesome. I focused myself and ran after her, giving chase. She flew at a steady speed for a few minutes before kicking it into full gear and flying away at higher speeds. That's when I conjured the storm bringers and dashed around the city while trying not to lose sight of her. Her behavior was out of the ordinary. She would never outright ignore me, and from the distance that I called her, it was hard not to hear me shout her name. As I ran on the building walls trying to reach her, I kept calling her, and she kept repeatedly ignoring me. Her eyes were fixed on one position, and her direction remained unchanged. When there were no more buildings left for me to wall-run across, I had no choice but to jump off and follow her on the ground. Finally, I noticed her decrease her altitude and descend towards a secluded location outside of the city.

When I approached her, I noticed her looking around for something. "Mia?" I called again. She did not respond to me at all. I then watched as she began sniffing while she looked around. And before I knew it, a net flew towards her, trapping her and electrocuting her.

"Mia!" I shouted when I ran towards her. I did not notice another net that was fired at me, trapping me in the ground and electrocuting me as well. Whenever I pushed against it or tried to free myself, I got hit with an electric shock.

"We got her!" A male voice exclaimed from behind a rock. "I hit her on the first try, dude!" The person behind the trap revealed himself alongside two others: One male and one female. The one carrying the net gun looked somewhat my age, if not slightly older. The other male looked noticeably older than me, perhaps in his mid-twenties, while the girl was the same case as the latter, being somewhat around my age. They wore modified civilian outfits under their identical silver trenchcoats.

"Who... Who are you?" I asked.

"He's not a demon, is he?" The boy who looked my age asked.

"No, he is not. He must have been chasing after the prey," The older man answered.

"Don't call her that you piles of trash!" I shouted and tried to free myself, only to get electrocuted.

"Don't bother trying to free yourself. It will only shock you more," The older guy stated.

"We're hunters. We were promised a large sum of money if we bring this demon alive," The girl stated.

"You're making a mistake here. She's not an evil one!" I said.

"Evil or not, we were promised a large amount of money for that babe! I can already see why!" The boy with the net replied.

"Enough, you two. Take her to the pickup," The tall one said before a pickup pulled up behind them, and another person jumped down from the bed.

"Oh! So you managed to get her! That flask worked, I see!" The fourth guy exclaimed.

"So it's true that it attracts succubi to it. They can't resist its smell, after all." The tall guy who ordered the other two around held a flask in his hand that Mia stared at in admiration, even licking her lips. He then approached her and placed the bottle in front of her, to which Mia began to smell it like a drug addict. "Like a pacified animal. She will do nothing but cooperate from now on if she wants to smell this intense scent."

I tried to free myself once again, only to get shocked. The flask man looked at me and said: "I see that you're very stubborn. Are we taking away your prized toy? The net will lose its effects after ten minutes. We'll be long gone by then, so say your goodbyes to your plaything before we leave."

They took the tied Mia to the pickup truck and placed her in the back where the net boy and the girl sat. The older guy sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. Seeing Mia in danger once again filled me with intense rage. I began to free myself while getting electrocuted, powering through the pain that came with it. Once I managed to release half of my body, the net boy fired another one at me, trapping my free section under another net that electrocuted me immediately. Still, I powered through and continued freeing myself, much to their shock. Once I freed myself completely, the net boy banged on the truck bed and shouted to his teammates to drive away. I tried to get back on my feet, but freeing myself took a lot of energy, and I ended up collapsing back on the ground, completely exhausted.

That's when I began to hear the sounds of a bike engine coming towards me. When it arrived, I saw someone wearing a helmet get off and gently lift my head and give me a sip of a magical energy stimulant. With the drink fully consumed, I got back on my feet.

"Get on," The stranger said. When I got on, he rode his bike after the pickup truck.

Not long after, we caught up to the kidnappers and watched as they took notice of us. The net boy fired another net at us, but I conjured my crossbow and fired a bolt towards it, destroying it instantly. I aimed my weapon at the truck bed and fired, however, the girl had other plans. She called upon a magical circle that served as a shield that guarded them against my crossbow bolts.

"It's no use," The biker said. "She probably cast that spell on the rest of the vehicle as well. We'll need to damage it with something stronger than the spell."

"I have a sword," I suggested.

"If I could get you close enough, you could probably break the spell with enough hits."

The biker rode closer to the truck where I was able to freely slash at it and try to break the magical barrier the girl placed on the vehicle. The boy equipped himself with more nets that he fired at once, only for the biker to swiftly dodge them and get close enough for me to strike one more time, breaking the barrier. The leading man came out from the back window and stared me directly in the eyes with a disappointed look.

"I thought you'd give up on her. Soon you'll be able to find another one and have even more fun!" His words angered me even more than his actions. It was one thing to kidnap my love interest, another to insult her and refer to her as nothing more than an item that can be expended and replaced. I conjured my crossbow and aimed towards him. When I fired, the girl on his team conjured a magic circle in front of him that guarded him against my bolts.

I watched as he pulled out some bullets from his pockets and held them with his thumb and index finger before flicking them towards us. The shots moved in such speed and accuracy as if they were being fired from an actual gun. He used both hands to fire his bullets at us, making it hard to dodge the bullets and even harder to cut them as they flew towards us. I was shocked by his ability as he was shocked by my skill at cutting his bullets. The look on each of our faces confirmed that to one another. He nodded his head at me with a small smile. The girl mage used her skill to freeze the ground below the bike, making it hard for us to maintain the speed and balance. Eventually, we stopped and watched them as they sped away from us.

I got off the bike and kicked a close rock with rage at the fact that we failed to save her. "We were so close!"

"Calm down, kid." The biker leaned on his bike and removed his helmet, revealing the face of a caucasian man with brown hair and turquoise eyes. "Deckard Kennedy. I take it you're Justin, right? Zack knows me from when I introduced myself to him back at the hunter lodge in the capital. Although, back then, I dyed my hair silver for some reason."

"You know Zack Ryder?" I asked, being quite surprised.

"I stumbled upon him a while ago back in the city. He was looking for you two. Your friend Alex described you to me, and when I saw lightning moving parallel to some buildings and chasing a girl with wings, I knew where to look." I sighed at Alex's decision to tell a complete stranger about us.

"And why help us?" I asked.

"Would you leave someone to be kidnapped?" He asked.

"Oh, alright. That's a good reason," I replied. "Well, can we get back to chasing them freaks? I want to get my girlfriend back before they do anything they might regret."

"Not so fast, Justin. We can't risk getting close to them without them attacking us." I clenched my fist and kicked a pebble, knowing he was right.

"What should we do, then?" I asked.

"Is there any way you can track her phone?" Deckard asked, to which I pulled out my phone as a bright idea popped up. I messaged Ethan and told him to track Mia's phone for me and send me an app that helps me trace and track any signal from the phone and her smartwatch in real-time. In a few minutes, he sent me a file with the app. I tracked Mia's phone to a remote location where the ruins of an old amphitheater could be found. I showed Deckard the location, and we immediately drove to it. We rode long enough that the sun began to set nearly twenty minutes before we arrived. The location popped into view soon after that. But what awaited us was more than just an old monumental structure, but a lair for demons. We parked away and watched the demonic trolls guard the gates while holding large maces in their hands. The base was also occupied by skeletal monsters and humanoid demons with wings.

"Whoa... Now that's something you don't see every day," Deckard commented.

"If you want to back away, I won't blame you," I stated.

"What? Hell no, kid. We came all the way here. I'm not backing down one bit. Besides, you can use some help in there. I happen to know my way around magic."

"I'm not as weak as I seem, but I'm not gonna stop you. Let's sneak our way inside."

We slowly walked inside their lair and snuck in-between monsters while I silently killed the ones we could not avoid. Deckard displayed his skills by using a martial arts technique that made his fists super fast as he punched a skeleton soldier, breaking him to pieces before anyone could spot him. He then used a spell that placed a circle under a troll. When he punched it, the circle multiplied the attack by a hundred times, making one punch turn into one hundred that hit the troll from every direction. I threw my sword at its head, making the circle multiply that attack by one hundred times. My sword struck the troll so much that it killed it without any additional effort on our part.

"Whoa. Now that's some skill!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks! Now let's get to the top." We proceeded to a higher location within the amphitheater, where we were able to view the center with no obstruction. I was horrified when I saw Mia on her knees in front of a throne and enchained like a slave. She was bleeding from various wounds around her body and was panting heavily.

"So this is your girl," Deckard said.

"Just because she's a demon doesn't mean that she's an evil entity, Deckard," I stated.

"Oh, trust me. I've known people who are worse than demons," Deckard claimed.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. They'll pretend that they're your friends, but when they show their true colors and stab you in the back, you'd be powerless while they get all the praise. It might be because of fear, because you became an inconvenience to them, or they'd do it for fun. But in the end, it's all the same. The wounds still hurt."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I stated.

"It doesn't matter now. What's done is done, and nothing will change that. You can only look forward," Deckard replied.

When we looked back at the throne, we saw another succubus descend from the sky and sit on it. She placed one leg over the other and looked at Mia with a contemptible smile. She then placed a finger on her lips and watched as the trolls dragged Mia closer to the throne. The throne itself was placed on top of a giant structure with stairs leading to it. Mia was still at the base of the stairs while the succubus stared down at her. The outfit of the succubus indicated that she is of high status among her peers, even higher than the previous succubus that we defeated. She wore a seductive armor that was more stylized and showed off its elevated status.

"Oh my, how you've grown, my dear!" She spoke. "Myahnaielle, you've been created to become strong enough to lead us all, and yet, here you are. Playing with humans and siding with them. You are a disappointment among your kind."

"A disappointment?" Mia laughed. "Oh, it's an honor! I live for your tears, you insignificant who-" Mia was cut off by a kick from one of those red demonic humanoids.

"Justin, look!" Deckard pointed towards the villains from before. "It's those kidnappers."

"I can't take this anymore!" I exclaimed as I jumped into battle, firing dozens upon dozens of bolts from my crossbow, with each one hitting its intended target and killing them instantly.

"Justin, wait!" Deckard shouted before I attacked, but his words fell on deaf ears. I immediately killed the demons that were beating Mia and shot her chains, freeing her.

"You monster..." I said to the succubus. "When I'm done with those bastards you paid, I'll be coming for you next!"

"And who might you be?" She asked.

"I am the hand of justice, and you will be at the end of my fist!" I shouted at her. The kidnapper group approached me and surrounded me from every direction, ready to attack. The bullet flicker man readied his ammunition, and the mage girl prepared her magic staff.

The third guy, the one who got out of the truck bed to load Mia, pulled out his sword, and got ready to fight. The last man, who was the one driving the truck, was a buff man that pulled out a railgun and aimed it directly at me. The swordsman charged straight at me, but I dodged and hit him with the back of my hand on his back. The mage girl fired some projectiles towards me, but I dodged and fired at her with my crossbow. She created a magic circle that shielded her from my bolts. Bullet flicker flicked his bullets at me. I had no time to react, so I used my sword to slice his bullets before they hit me. The railgun-wielding psycho fired at me and propelled me a few meters away. I landed on my chest but quickly managed to get on my feet before the net boy launched a net at me. I cut the net while it flew towards me and dodged the bullet flicker's fire before parrying the swordsman's attack.

The mage froze my legs with her staff as I parried the sword from her teammate. The flicker flicked bullets towards me that I sliced with a simple movement of my sword, absorbing the damage and collecting the energy along with that of the sword attack. The swordsman moved away from me, thinking that I was no longer a threat and very vulnerable. The five of them approached me and watched silently as I tried to free my legs, not knowing that it was only a pretense.

"It's no use. This ice is very thick and would take hours to melt. You should have listened and not followed after us," The flicker spoke.

"He's pretty strong, I'll give him that," The mage girl stated.

"Strong or not, it was pretty dumb to chase after us in the first place," The brute wielding the railgun said, finally making his deep voice heard.

"The knight in shining armor failed to save the princess? I'm so shocked!" The succubus said as she sat on the throne. "And to think I'd have witnessed a spectacular fight before leaving. So is this the man you've been playing around with, Myahnaielle?"

"Don't... you... call me that!" Mia barked. "I refuse to go by that name!"

"That's the name we chose for you, is it not? We went out of our way to pick a nice one for you. Show some respect," The succubus said before the other demons attacked Mia once again, making her screams of agony intensify.

"No wonder you lack in the creativity department," Mia spoke before puking a massive amount of blood. "So much so that I have forgotten the names of every single one of you, you harlots!"

"What about you, handsome boy?" The succubus asked me. "Are you really here for her? She's obsolete and useless. Would you like me to have some fun with you instead?"

"I prefer to drag my dad into my mom!" I replied.

The demons then continued to have at Mia, clawing and biting their way into her, but not enough to wound her on a critical level. Regardless, seeing the torture that she had to endure was a horrifying sight. I conjured my crossbow to kill off the torturing demons, but the flicker man stopped me.

"Oh, stop it, already. You went through so much worse in the underworld. Or perhaps spending all these years with these silly creatures made you soft? The she-devil asked.

"They're eating her!" The mage exclaimed. "They are eating her!"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. She'll grow back what she lost in no time. Now, to get you your reward." The succubus snapped her fingers. We watched as four tiny demons with wings brought forth a chest filled with gold and jewelry that would make a fortune.

"All of that for one simple kidnapping?!" The net boy exclaimed as he ran towards the chest and plunged his head inside of it, examining the treasure. "It's all real!" He exclaimed.

"Thank you for your cooperation," The succubus said while taking in the sights of my beloved being tortured.

Having had enough of this, I gathered all the stored energy inside of me and flowed it towards my fist that I slammed into the ground, unleashing a massive shockwave attack that knocked back the kidnappers and demons in addition to freeing my legs. When the flicker man stood back up, he readied his bullets and aimed at me. But he was startled by the sound of a gunshot that echoed in the air as Deckard fired a pistol into the air and formed a magical circle underneath the kidnapper. Perplexed by the magical circle that formed beneath him, the flicker did not notice me punching him in the face with both of my fists. I watched as the two punches multiplied by a hundred each, resulting in two hundred consecutive blows to the face.

Deckard charged closer towards us and aimed his guns at the railgun and the net launcher of the kidnappers, destroying them with gunshots. I immediately ran towards Mia, cradling her bloodied body in my arms and watching her as she struggled to move. She looked at me with tears flowing under her eyes but with a smile that shone brightly under the light of the moon. I could not help but break down into tears, seeing yet another person in my life die in my arms.

"No, no, no... no... Stay with me, Mia. Stay with me!" I shouted.

"Justin? You know what?" She asked. "At least I'm glad to die in your arms. I would not want any other fate to befall me."

"Don't! Shut up! I... Not you too!" I cried. "You're supposed to see this journey with me to the end! We're supposed to be together! I cannot afford to lose you, too..."

"I was not even made... to enjoy life and... happiness. I was supposed to be... an agent of chaos, after all," She stated in her dying breath.

"I don't care what you are! A demon, succubus, or a freaking vampi-... vampire..." I trailed off as an idea popped inside my mind. I grabbed her and pulled her mouth closer to my neck.

"What... What are you doing?" She asked.

"Do it. Take as much of my blood as you require." Mia hesitantly bit into my neck. The sharp, penetrating pain did not matter as long as I managed to save the love of my life.

"What?! No!" The succubus yelled. "I will not let that happen!"

The succubus dove towards us with her giant wings but did not anticipate Mia's immediate recovery and the fist of righteous anger that hit her in the face. After punching the she-devil, Mia conjured her wings and armor and flew after her, attacking her with everything she got. Mia's fists struck at an incredible speed, so much that her arms completely disappeared in a manner similar to that of Alex's attack rush.

I walked towards the bullet flicker and stared at him with a cold look that bore no sign of remorse or empathy for what was about to befall him. He looked at me from the ground with a bloodied face that expressed complete horror. I cracked my knuckles and smiled as his entire body shook with fear. "Wha... What are you going to do?" He asked. "P-Please! It was a large sum of money! She promised us a couple of millions!"

"At first, I had no intention of unleashing my rage on such low scum such as yourself. But now, you've crossed a line that no human should ever cross. Let's see if all that money can fix turning your bones to powder!" I proceeded to punch him repeatedly and with lightning-fast punches that rivaled the attack rushes of Mia and Alex combined. Watching what was happening to their boss, the entire kidnapper group went on their knees and began to plead for mercy.

Mia was releasing all her pent-up anger towards the succubus and her own kind. She grabbed the succubus and waited for her to catch her breath and say her final words. The succubus barely managed to look up and say: "Who... Who is that b-boy?"

"He's the love of my life, and I owe everything to him. You said that I endured far worse than what I endured today, right? Let's see you endure, no, survive this!" Mia proceeded to cut the succubus into pieces with her scythe and claw while casting a magic spell that made all the blood form into the shape of a new weapon. Mia cut her so fast and so much that whatever flesh or armor remained formed with the blood to make the weapon. The red and white glowing on the weapon faded to reveal a bow. Not a crossbow, but a bow that is carried with two hands. She then dropped down to my level and wrapped her arms around me before giving me a long and passionate kiss.

The net boy ran towards his boss that was unconscious on the ground and snatched the magic flask from him, opening to let the smell come out. Upon smelling it, Mia slowly walked towards him. The boy laughed as he watched her get closer to him. When she stood merely a few feet apart from him, he looked at me and began laughing uncontrollably. "She's mine now, blondie!" He said with a disgusting smile on his face that instantly vanished after an unexpected punch from Mia that knocked a few teeth out of his mouth. The worse was yet to come as Deckard placed a magical circle under him that replicated that punch one hundred times, leaving him with a broken jaw that needed immediate surgery.

The demons that remained around the amphitheater all rushed in as soon as the succubus was disposed of, making the area too crowded for our own good. Luckily, a familiar tornado emerged in the center of all this mess after a grenade got thrown at the demons and trolls. Alex and Zack emerged and fought back against the demons with the help of a small army of glaives and secret service ninjas that ambushed the amphitheater.

"Yoooooo!" Alex waved at us. "Sorry, we were late! We had some trouble with a raging monster, but that's all taken care of!"

Before I walked towards the fight, a sensation struck me, informing me that a dragon is close. I walked with Mia following me towards the source and found a secret entrance hidden under a giant rock that I broke with a couple of fists. When we descended down towards the secret chamber, we spotted a door that hid behind it a giant dragon egg.

I was shocked beyond belief by the sight of such an egg. I slowly approached it and placed m hand on it, sensing the energy within it. I felt the presence of a dragon within the shell of the egg. "How... How long has this been here?" I asked. "Thousands of years?"

"Could it be that the succubus wanted to use this egg or maybe lead us here as a trap?"

"I highly doubt it. This door was not opened at all in centuries. I doubt she knew a thing," I replied. "I believe this egg was supposed to hatch a long time ago, but for whatever reason, it didn't, and some people placed it here."

Upon closer inspection, the giant egg began to crack with light coming out of it. When it finally shattered, I witnessed a giant battle ax levitate itself towards me and land in my arms. I waved the ax around, finding it to be unbelievably light, considering its size. With it in my possession, I began feeling the dragon power seep into me and power me up. When I looked at my watch to see the skills I possess, I found out that I have unlocked the ability to create magic circles and do the same attack multiplier as Deckard.

"Justin..." Mia spoke. "I... I want to thank you... I owe you more than my life at this point."

"You don't need to thank me for anything. I only did what I had to do." I smiled at her.\

"I want to say that I'm also sorry for not telling you about my real name," She stated.

"I don't really care about that. But if it's bothering you that much, why don't you tell me why you hid it from me."

"Because..." She trailed off. "Because you named me, remember? Because when I could not say my name to you and uttered a bunch of sounds, you began to call me Mia. It stuck, and I loved it ever since you said it to me!" She began to shed tears of joy. "I am so sorry for troubling you with me and that magic flask."

"Oh, shut up." I grabbed her and spun her around before dancing with her. "How did my blood taste?"

"It's surprisingly tasty! I can't believe that you possess such power within you! And what I've acquired only scratches the surface of your power and potential!" Mia exclaimed. "I feel even stronger than before!"

"You can have all my blood if you want to," I stated.

"N-No, I think that's enough, thanks!" She laughed.

We returned to the surface to find that the battle was over, and the demons have been defeated with no casualties on our side, thanks to Deckard, Alex, and Zack's combined efforts. I approached the three of them alongside Mia, showing off our new weapons. Zack seemed astonished by my ax and its size.

"Was there a dragon under this place?" Zack asked.

"A dragon egg," I corrected.

"About this magic flask." Alex showed us the flask they used to drag Mia into the trap.

"It's a magic flask that has a smell that's irresistible to succubi. I developed immunity towards it after prolonged exposure, as all succubi do." Mia explained.

"Deckard," I said, looking at the man that was a big help and shook his hand. "Thank you."

"Anytime, fellow adventurer!" He said. "I gotta go. See you again, huh?"

"Sure!"

We returned to the city where Zack has prepared a hotel with two rooms for us. Before we headed to sleep, we had all night long to stroll around the city and have fun. I took Mia by the hand and went with her to a secluded place where I closed her eyes and held the gift box in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she gasped at the sight of the present and shed a tear.

"Happy birthday," I said to her and watched her open the gift and pull out the necklace.

"You... You remembered..." She cried as I helped her put it on. "When I forgot..."

I turned her around and kissed her on the lips. "I love you so much."