(September 15th, 2017)

Justin

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back at the castle garden. It was 2 AM and very dark. The skies were lit with the same captivating stars that illuminate it every night and the silence in the air was noticeable enough to make me feel slightly cautious. I looked at the gauntlet in my hand and watched as the lights in the garden reflected off of it like reflections on a sparkling mirror.

"Home sweet home," Zack said with a sigh. "Last time I said that was when I came to this city. I said it ironically, of course. But after what happened today, I truly feel thrilled to be back here."

I let out a small laugh of relief. "Yeah! This place is definitely better than a remote island with a temple filled with the undead."

"Before we go and find the wielder of the gauntlet, I wanna take a hot bath and relax for a while."

"My lords!" A woman yelled as she ran towards us. She appeared to be frightened by something sinister. She was sweating buckets and panting as she stopped in front of us, her face pale with terror.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked.

"I-It's your friend! The demon girl!"

"Mia?!" I asked. "What happened to her! Where is she?!"

"She's right here! She arrived and asked for you, but when we told her you were not here, she started attacking the staff and laughing like a maniac! She's at the castle entrance as we speak! Please do something!" As soon as she said that, my phone started to go off. I answered it only to be met by the extremely troubled voice of Ethan.

"Justin?! Where are you?!" He asked, screaming into my ears.

"We just made it back to the castle from a remote island in the pacific. What's happening? We have the gau-"

"It's Mia! She's gone mad!"

'What's wrong with her?!" I shouted.

"I'm not sure! She said she wanted to see Alex's body. When she got to the room, we started to hear loud abrupt demonic laughter coming from inside! She then flew out of the window and headed in the direction of the castle!"

"We'll handle it. I'll talk to you later." I hung up and looked at Zack.

"She probably could not handle seeing Alex like that. We need to stop her before she kills anyone!" Zack stated before we both started running to the castle entrance.

When we arrived at Mia's location, we found her throwing the unconscious body of a knight to the side while laughing like a psychopath. Her colossal wings turned red and glowed in the dark. When I stared into her eyes, I saw that her breathtaking irises were gone and replaced with bright glowing red eyes. It made my blood run cold. Her fangs became so long that they got outside of her mouth like a vampire. She donned her demonic armor and held her giant polearm in her right hand while wearing her red claw gauntlet on her left hand. Four horns have emerged out of her head. The two back ones were twisted like a ram's horns and emitted a red aura while the ones in front were pointy and reminded me of bull horns.

"Justin... How is my dear love doing today?" She asked with a menacing tone as she stared at me with a demonic grin, making my heart pound with apprehension. For the first time in my life, I've seen Mia's demonic form. It was more petrifying than I ever could have imagined.

"Mia... What happened to you?" I asked.

"Me? I'm perfectly fine and dandy! And unlike Alex, I am ALIVE!" She charged at me with murderous intent, screeching like a demon. I pushed Zack to the other side and stopped her with my sword by holding it in front of me. I stared into her demonic eyes and saw not my childhood beloved, but a true horror.

"Mia, try to listen to me! It's not our fault! It's the imperials who you should be mad at!" I stated.

"He tried to get to you, and you stood by and watched him die!" Her words struck me like spears piercing my heart. She spoke the truth, and the truth hurts more than any weapon ever could.

I pushed her off of me, but then she tried hitting me with her claw, which increased in size to deal more damage to a wider area. I blocked her attacks with my sword and dodged her. I knew for a fact that I did not want to hit her, much less start a fight with her. All I tried to do was talk to her and get her to calm down. But something inside of me told me that it will not be enough. If I want to end this fight with no casualties, I have to cross weapons with her.

"Baby, please listen! We are on borrowed time here! We need to get rid of the empire at all costs. Otherwise, everyone will die!"

"You were not this worried when Alex took more than thirty bullets to the chest. Did you count them? I know I sure did!" She exclaimed before trying to impale me with her polearm. When I dodged, she tried to stab me with her claws. When I dodged her again, she jumped and tried crashing down with her polearm. When I avoided once more, she got irritated.

"Why won't you just ascend already and leave this world behind?!"

"Trust me. I wish I could." Her words hurt me a lot, but the determination that I took from Alex fuelled my drive to push on.

I kept trying to dodge her and block her attacks as she charged at me, however, I knew that I could not take it for much longer and that with one mistake, she'd definitely hit me. She soared to the sky and tried to charge with her wings at me. She managed to grab me and fly with me to the sky before letting me go and attempting to hit me with her claw. I blocked her attack with my sword. She tried to strike me with her polearm, but I parried it and pushed against her weapon, making us both start falling to the ground. When we reached a safe distance for me to jump off her, I did so and watched as she flew away and called for a magic meteor attack to come down at me.

Zack ran to my aid and placed his hand forward before shouting: "Shield!" That created a magical dome around us that protected us against her meteor attack.

"My god!" Zack exclaimed. I replied with a 'yes?' under my breath. "How is she so strong?!"

"She's driven by rage," I stated. "Alex was a dear friend to her. She had a crush on me for years, but he was the one to encourage her to tell me. She acted like his older sister when Nova left after torturing him for years. I always saw him break down on her shoulder from time to time. Alex was way too precious for all of us."

"I can see that. Even though I had only seen his face yesterday, we've played games for years. He was my friend, too," Zack stated. "But what are we gonna do about her?"

Mia started to claw the dome shield that Zack conjured while yelling: "Getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetout!" Zack seemed like he could not hold the barrier for much longer, and if she broke through it, he would be impaled by her demonic weaponry.

I decided that it was time for me to stop her before she'd injure anyone else and got Zack ready to dematerialize the dome on my mark. When I gave the go-ahead, Zack removed the dome and jumped out of the way of Mia's deadly attack. Mia's face landed straight in the way of my uppercut, making her get hurled away. She adjusted herself mid-air and landed on her feet.

"I don't wanna do this, Mia. Back off!" I yelled.

"But I wanna! I wanna know what made you forsake him!" She barked before she began attacking me once again.

"Justin did not forsake anyone, Mia. Alex died like a hero, saving us in the process! If it weren't for him, many would have died in the citadel!" Zack stated.

"I failed him, Zack!" Tears dropped as she shouted. "I failed him!"

"We all did, Mia. We all did."

She started roaring like an unhinged feral demon, finally losing all of her sanity. She started attacking me faster and faster as she became more enraged. Her wrath made her attacks even stronger. Zack saw that I was beginning to struggle to keep up with her attacks and took the initiative to fire at her with his sniper rifle. The bullet hit her claw weapon. Once she realized that he had fired at her, she pushed me away and flew towards him, ready to strike.

"I've lost way too much today!" I screamed before outpacing her speed and pushing Zack away, getting impaled in his stead. I let out a painful cry as I held onto the weapon in pain.

Once she pierced through my chest, I heard her gasp. I looked at her face and saw that the demonic eyes were gone, and her beautiful eyes returned. She stared at me with a terrorized face that was covered with my own blood. For a few seconds, she stood there like a statue, unmoving with a petrified expression carved on her face. Her mouth hanged open as tears fell down her cheeks. She immediately removed her polearm from my body and broke down as she held me in her arms.

"Nononono! What have I done?! Justin! JUSTIN!" She cried.

"I-I'm fine," I said. "Heh. You think... you think a mere flesh wound is... is going to hurt me? That's... cute."

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I-I don't know what has gotten into me! I went to see Alex for one final time and-and I-" I cut her off by placing my lips on hers.

"I don't blame you. You were the one who... truly listened... to him when... no one else had. I do not deserve to be his friend." I got back to my feet and watched as my body started to heal from that tiny pierce that absolutely did nothing and meant nothing.

I showed Mia the gauntlet, and she broke down crying once she saw it. She realized that it is finally time for us to go. I, too, felt terrible about leaving everything behind. However, I knew that it was our duty to save the world and its people. I was done feeling sad for myself and brooding over fate while delaying the inevitable. Zack approached Mia, hugging her while letting her cry on his shoulder. I was astonished when I saw him display such affection to someone that was about to kill him, but deep down I know he understood her and knew that she was not herself.

"It's okay. It's okay. Everything will be fine. Relax."

"He's gone, Zack! He's gone!" She cried and buried his face on the boy's chest.

"I know... I know..."

"We need to return to the citadel," I stated after cleaning my jacket and looking at my shirt that now has a hole in it.

"Why?" Zack asked. "We have nothing left to do there. We need to go, Justin."

"Oh, but we do have something to do. At least I do."

Before returning to the city's citadel, we decided to remain in the castle to relax and prepare for another trip. As Zack and I kept helping people, Mia was nowhere to be seen. On the few occasions that I spotted her, she ignored me and left. After a few hours of helping the injured and relaxing in the castle, Zack and I got on the bike while Mia flew overhead. And as I predicted, more imperials were waiting for us. I took out Alex's rifle and started firing at the soldiers while Mia flew to the dropships and destroyed them from within. As ground vehicles began approaching us, I conjured my sword and started striking at them while Zack drove and rammed his shield against the bikes that got too close. Mia flew past us and kicked a bike towards an armed military vehicle, making it crash alongside others.

"They're really focusing on you two," Mia spoke in a low, ashamed, and sad voice.

"Yes. I mean, we are the prince and the god, aren't we?" Zack asked.

"But how would they know?" Mia asked.

"They're obviously monitoring us going in and out of the castle. I'm not sure if they really know our identities, or assuming we're just regular HVTs. I mean, no one outside the royal armies and his majesty's retainers acknowledges who we are. And Zack's still dead in the public eye."

"That makes sense," Mia stated, her voice retaining that shamefulness. "And you're just a sexy blonde dude with a sword."

"Oh, wow, thanks for the compliment."

"Can I remind you two lovebirds that we still have more robots on our tail?" Zack entered the conversation.

Mia proceeded to head inside a close dropship and destroy the pilot, crashing the ship to the earth. I began firing at the other vehicles that appeared in front of us and began swinging my sword at those who had gotten close. Zack started steering and swerving his bike around the vehicles that barricaded some of the roads while ramming into foot soldiers that were dumb enough to stand in his way. As we continued traveling through the onslaught of roman robot soldiers and their vehicles, Mia spotted a giant bipedal mech and informed us about it. It was the same as the giant one we faced while rescuing the stranded and surrounded soldiers that were deployed in Antonyah. The mechs started firing at us as Zack began dodging its bullets and missiles. Mia flew to it and struck its missile pod, breaking it and distracting the mech while we passed by. She then proceeded to fight the robot while we continued onwards.

In front of us were more foot soldiers and assalitore units. Zack threw a tornado grenade at them while I fired at their vehicles. Some remained directly in our way. However, Zack is a generous soul and offered them a faceful of tires as he rammed through them, and I slashed those who remained. I began firing at the dropships that appeared, released more units, and left. As Zack got fed up with the enemies, he accelerated even faster. "This is getting old."

"I concur."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want more enemies, but come on! The same types of units over and over again! What else can they offer, really?" He asked.

"I don't know if you agree with me or not, but I don't wanna find out the answer to that question."

"You're right. Let's get this over with!" Zack then proceeded to rapidly increase the speed of his bike while I swung my sword against what remained of the robots.

Soon enough, we found ourselves back in the city. A welcome sense of relief washed over us knowing that we were getting close to the citadel. But my sense of relaxation did not last for long as the answer to Zack's question was revealed in the form of drones armed with machine guns.

"Aww, come on!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry!"

Zack conjured his shield when the drones started firing at us. I grabbed the shield and raised it over our heads. It did not take Mia long to catch up with us and deal with the drones, distracting them long enough for us to ride towards the citadel. However, there remained a few more drones on our tail. I grabbed the assault rifle once again and started firing at the drones while Mia took care of those that I could not hit. As more drones and robots began to appear, we began to feel more frustrated at the abundance of enemies. Luckily, the knights and royal ninjas of the secret service appeared and started aiding us by fighting the robots and drones. The closer we got to the citadel, the more robot encounters we had to go through as the city was still under siege Soon, more bipedal mechs started to show up and try to block our access. Through the entire chaos, I managed to spot the dropship that carried the imperial general girl that I fought earlier. The aircraft was doing nothing but hovering in place and possibly observing us.

Zack went through shops and stores as the roads got cut off by robots and debris. The imperial forces were relentless, however, and did not stop chasing us and trying to corner us. I was surprised by how we managed not to get hit or blocked once. Zack's bike-riding skills were to thank, as well as Mia's and the soldiers' assists. I did my job of swatting off nearby robots, but without the aid, we'd have crashed and died. The royal troops deployed many means of combat, including anti-air defense turrets, machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, and even melee weapons. Zack began throwing his grenades at the imperial barricades and troops like he usually does. This time, however, his throwing seemed more intense as the rage he experienced built up, weakening his focus on riding his sports bike at high speeds while constantly looking out for imperials and throwing his tornado grenades at them.

"Focus on your driving, dude! We're nearly there! I'll take care of those tin cans!" I exclaimed before he rode his bike over some ramp-like debris and soared through the sky, flying over mechs and drones alike. I began firing Alex's rifle at them as we flew past as well as throwing grenades.

Finally, we made it inside the citadel alongside Mia and the rest. Ethan and more glaives charged at the gates, fighting any robots that dared to approach the guarded area. I got off Zack's bike, grabbing the Arm of Orunos as well as Alex's assault rifle. With determination permeating within me, I glanced at the gauntlet and 

"What do you plan on doing?" Zack asked me.

"What needs to be done. You guys go and protect the place with Ethan and the others. I'll come back once I'm done."

I walked up the stairs and entered the citadel lobby. There I saw Selena caring for a wounded soldier. I waved at her and walked past, leaving her to do her job. Commander Astralis approached me, her face was worn out by weariness and concern.

"Justin! Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's time for the Warrior of Valor to rise again."

"Again?" She asked.

"Yes."

I walked past her and entered the elevator. I pressed on the desired room floor, and as the elevator approached the destination, I started to remember how Alex stood beside me, cared for me, encouraged me to go on, and sacrificed himself for me, proving that he is a hero in his own right. Letting his sacrifice be in vain was not an option. I knew deep down that he deserved to live. He deserved to see the light of day and be with his friends and fight alongside them. I held the gauntlet in my hand and stared at it, knowing that my heart is guiding me on the right path. I knew that I needed to set things right and fix my biggest mistake yet. When the elevator reached the destination, the doors opened, revealing king Leon. He stood there, looking at me with concern. I showed him the gauntlet and walked past him without saying a word, taking my steps towards the room with tears flowing down my eyes.

I opened the door and walked into the dark and unlit room, approaching Alex's body. The second I looked at him and saw that his body has not started decaying despite the time that has passed, I immediately broke down, knowing that I have made the right decision. I placed Alex's machine gun next to him and grabbed his hand after sitting on the chair next to him. I gripped his cold lifeless hands, hoping to sense the tiniest trace of life.

"Alex... I don't know if you can hear me, dear friend, but I do not intend to leave you. I do not intend to ever leave you! I made a huge mistake by ignoring you and never cherishing the time we spent together! You suffered more than any of us can ever handle, and you persevered. I don't know if I could have made it this far without you, my brother. But I know one thing. I do not want to continue without you! So, please... I beg of you... Please come back..."

I placed Alex's arm inside the Arm of Orunos and got off my seat.

"This world needs you, Alex. We need you! I need you..."

I proceeded to walk away from the room and closed the door behind me. I got inside the elevator with the king and descended down to the lobby. The king placed his hand on my shoulder and said: "I'm proud of you."

When I got out of the elevator and exited the lobby, I saw that the imperials have breached the outside gates and have made it inside the citadel entrance. I watched as they ran towards me and began to fight them with everything I've got. I kept dozens of them from entering the citadel and killed any who dared to run by me, making sure that not a single imperial tin can sets foot inside the citadel. As time passed, our troops started to feel exhausted and overwhelmed, and the robots kept flooding in by breaching the gates and descending via dropships. I tried as hard as I could to stop them from entering, but eventually, their numbers became too much for me to handle on my own.

"I'm not letting any of you go past me to the citadel! I'll kill every last one of you!" I screamed as tears fell down my face. As a large number of imperial robots charged to the castle, I felt that there was no way that I can stop them from reaching the lobby. Then all of a sudden, I spotted a golden orb flying through the sky and landing in front of the imperials. 

"No, buddy. I am proud of you," An unbelievably familiar voice spoke behind me as I felt a hand placed itself on my shoulder and I gasped. I watched as the person who put their left hand on my right shoulder fire a golden gun at the gold orb, making it explode under the soldiers that were ramming the citadel. In shock, I watched as the warrior of valor walked past me, dematerializing his gun and conjuring a golden version of the same machine gun that my childhood friend died using. He gunned down all the other soldiers that remained. "Hold on to that determination, Justin," The warrior spoke.

"The... The golden arm..." I stuttered and let the tears fall once more. "The white hair..."

"I was weak. I was insignificant. I was not enough," The warrior spoke. "I tried to be strong, but I failed. I held on to my life. Not because I was afraid of death, but because I wanted to be with you. But I was weak... and I let go."

"I made you go on alone... I forced you to face the unknown... I made you cry..."

The warrior started throwing grenades and firing with his assault rifle at the enemies, killing them alone with the utmost ease. He threw his assault rifle from the right hand to the left and conjured a single-edge sword. "You... you're the beacon of hope. You're the one I look up to. You're my hero. You're my family. Without you, I'd be lost."

He charged at the imperial troops, firing his rifle and slashing them with his blade, killing them all by himself. He started jumping around and shooting dozens of soldiers at once before grabbing one of them, spinning him around, and then finally throwing him away at a large group of them. "You're afraid of letting go. You're afraid of looking back and not seeing us again. You know it's coming and you're dreading it. I'm dreading it too. You're afraid to walk in the dark alone. But I rose from the abyss... to be in your embrace."

One assalitore unit approached him, allowing him to grab it and punch its face before ramming its face against his knee and finally hitting it with an uppercut. The warrior conjured a rocket launcher and fired it at a horde of robots as it ran towards him and then proceeded to slash and cut the rest with his sword. "When the darkness comes, hold my hand! We'll walk to the light... TOGETHER!"

His trigger happy attitude showed itself when he conjured his assault rifle again and started firing at dozens of robots. Mia and the rest walked back inside the citadel walls while watching him mow down the imperial invaders, baffled by his power and sheer skill with the blade and gun. I started to chuckle while tears began flowing down my face, knowing that I have gotten back someone dear to me that I've lost.

"I have returned to your aid!" He exclaimed. "And I'm bringing the pain with me!"

"Is that who I think it is?" Zack asked as he watched the warrior fire his assault rifle and his rocket launcher at our foes, mowing down robots and annihilating assalitore units while royal troops fell back into the citadel.

I decided that I needed to jump back into the field and assist the warrior of valor in destroying the roman empire's legions of robots. I knew that he can handle them all on his own, but I wanted to vent my rage, and I did not want to let an opportunity such as this pass me. So I charged at the robots, killing as many of them as humanly possible and assisting the person that has supported me for years without asking for anything in return. I started slicing them down and cutting them up with my sword while using my inhuman strength to grab and throw them around, use some like a battering ram, charging and ramming through them, and knocking them down like bowling pins. I slammed my fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that propelled a large number of robots into the air, allowing our new companion to fire at them with his rocket launcher. Fighting with him was so overwhelming that I broke down into tears as I sliced enemy robots.

"Keep going, you two!" Mia cheered for us from afar, prompting the warrior to chuckle.

"Oh, I will. I will keep going, and I will never stop!" He exclaimed as he fired his rocket launcher at a dropship, hitting one of its engines and making it explode as it crashed to the ground. "Against overwhelming odds, I will forge us a path!"

I grabbed one enemy vehicle and threw it at a group of robots, crushing them under its weight. Then, I grabbed a light pole, spun it around, and threw it away alongside many enemies that were caught in its path.

"I am Juxtynoktrios! I am the god of dragons. I am the god of war! All of you will perish under my hands! Keep sending more robots, and I'll keep racking up the pile!"

I grabbed one robot and ripped it in half before throwing both parts into another group of robots. After that, I conjured my sword once again and increased its size to seven feet and started swinging it at opponents and killing so many enemies that I began to catch up to the warrior's kill count. Our troops that were still on the battlefield began retreating to the citadel and watching us kill their opposition for them as they cheered us on. I was on a killing spree. My mind felt free and overwhelmed with joy, knowing that I am fighting side by side with my friend. I released all the built-up tension and rage, taking it out on those who were deserving and needed justice served to them alongside a sweet dish of divine retribution.

I noticed that the dropship of that general was still watching, despite everything that was unfolding down on the streets. The warrior did not notice the aircraft as he was busy destroying dozens upon dozens of imperial grunts to look up and see it in the distance. I did not pay it too much attention and continued fighting the regular cannon fodder troops that were deployed to kill us, failing miserably. Soon enough, two mechs were dropped by dropships and immediately engaged us. The warrior of valor ran at the one on the left while I took care of the one on the right. I rushed at the bipedal war machine and struck at its legs, making it drop on one knee. I then jumped high enough to reach its head and started slashing my sword against its core. After that, I impaled the big bipedal weapon with my sword, jammed it down to the core, and jumped off of it as it exploded.

I watched as our new companion began to fire at the mech he chose to fight while dodging its feet and countering it with his rocket launcher and his assault rifle. He punched the right foot of the mech with his bare golden hand, making it crash and fall on one knee. He then conjured his rocket launcher, ran on its head, and jumped high in the sky before aiming at the robot and destroying it with one final rocket to the core. Before we could enjoy our kills, imperial drones started appearing and firing at us with their machine guns. I used my enlarged sword to shield myself against the bullets and watched as my dear friend opened fire at them with his assault rifle, destroying them with ease.

"Drones now, huh?" He asked. "This is getting way more interesting!"

He conjured one of his golden grenades and threw it at the drones, shooting it with his gun to make it explode. As the drones took notice of the warrior, they fired their weapons at him. He began firing his rocket launcher at them while I took care of the regular troops that appeared. With the work split, we finished the enemies with ease. However, more and more started to appear and make the situation increasingly more tedious. All I wanted was to pull my brother back to my embrace but killing the enemies who took him away came first. It felt gratifying to slash robots and kill them with ease. And as long as I got my friends by my side, there would be nothing in the world that can stand in my way.

More enemy vehicles started approaching the both of us. Before they could release their soldiers on us, I grabbed one of them and threw it at another vehicle. Then I commenced slicing those who dared to exit their armored vehicles and march to their doom. Despite us destroying their armies, the Impero Del Sole kept sending the robots, which struck me as an odd thing to do. Especially now, since I am no longer bound by fear or a sense of guilt. The person who sacrificed himself to save us and inspired me to persevere is now back with us and better than ever. There was nothing stopping us now from embarking on our journey... our Crusade. And I was not prepared to let some soulless murder bots stand in the way and prevent us from safeguarding the light and bringing deliverance onto this world.

The general's ship remained in view, which made me believe she's studying the peculiar warriors that destroy her toys like it was nothing. It was evident that she will be using this gained knowledge one day and we will be ready for her whenever she decides to pay a visit. She piqued my interest, and I wanted to know who she was and how she was able to speak perfect English despite her being a roman general. If we ever faced each other again, I would try as hard as I could to have her arrested and interrogated instead of killed.

Finally, there was nothing but a few dozen soldiers left, followed by a mech and two dropships. The warrior grabbed hold of his hand and pointed his palm at the enemies before firing a large beam of directed energy towards the remaining forces. With his spectacular attack, he destroyed all the enemies with one blow and ended the battle. I sighed and dematerialized my weapon before walking to my friend, now with white hair and golden eyes that shone like an ornament.

"You brought me back..." Alex stated as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "I was too weak to fight and I died, but you brought me back..."

"No, Alex. You were brave and valiant. Your determination is what drove me forward," I replied, tears falling down my face once again. "I can't do this without you."

He looked at me with a smile, knowing that I'm happy he returned back to me. When I saw his tearful eyes that turned gold finally stare back at me, full of life and joy, I couldn't help but break down in tears and pull my brother towards me, embracing him in a hug and crying on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry... It was my fault that you had to suffer..." I said, crying on his shoulder.

"No, it was not. I was happy to lay down my life in battle for you." He hugged me back. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Thank you. Thank you for inspiring me to persevere... to stay strong... to continue to fight when all hope is lost."

"No, Justin. Thank you for believing in me."