One hour earlier,

The dose of the potion Akira had administered to fulfill Natsu's quest was enough to open a portal and cross the void thirty times in less than five hours. But to stand face to face against the Archmage of the Koyan Empire, the great Kungwan Sen; well, Akira might need more than the stamina-boosting potion he had developed himself.

His options were not that many, though. All he could do was improve his own experimental potion. A little more red balya to boost his stamina, an extra pinch of becoba to enhance his focus, and triple the dose of dandelion to accelerate his body's ability to get rid of the traces of the red mercury that might have precipitated during the initial preparation of the potion. The result of all these alterations filled the vial resting in his palm.

Which was not the only vial he brought for this task.

Having no doubt that his uncle would rush to his daughter to protect her from Wei's men, Akira waited outside the walls of Sun Castle on horseback, away from the main road by some distance. The moment he caught a glimpse of the gates slowly opening, he drained a vial of the 'enhanced' version of his experimental potion, and in a minute, a sweet feeling of power washed over him. The power he needed to wield all the jumuns the likes of him—the so-called Pink Cloaks—could never do.

So, this is how it feels to become a Red Cloak. Did they ever become addicted to this feeling? Or did they just get used to it over the course of time?

Akira summoned a flat lightshield that didn't enclose him, yet it was large enough to cover both him and the horse he was mounting. As long as he kept this shield between him and the road Kungwan was taking, Akira wouldn't need the traditional lightshield that was even impermeable to air. Surely, both he and the horse wouldn't be able to hold their breath the whole trip.

For an hour, Akira followed his uncle's carriage until it halted in the middle of nowhere. The coachman jumped down to inspect one of the horses, and shortly, Kungwan joined him for a brief time before he returned to the carriage. In a couple of minutes, the coachman reassumed his position and spurred the horses onward...without Kungwan Sen. Thanks to Akira's enhanced focus, he sensed his uncle's anerjy as the latter wielded a traditional lightshield—the one that surrounded a mage completely—and headed into the thick woods occupying the left side of the road.

Akira trailed his uncle, but he didn't come close enough lest the horse give away his position. After dismounting and quickly tying his horse to a tree, Akira summoned a full lightshield and resumed the chase. How long could you hold your breath, Uncle? Akira wondered, feeling at ease so far as his lungs consumed the air trapped in the shield at a pace slower than normal. To give the old man some credit, Kungwan held the lightshield longer than Akira would imagine. I'm decades younger than him, and I drank an enhancing potion. He can't do better than me. Not today.

Akira could see a cottage in the heart of the woods when Kungwan broke his shield to breathe. That was where Kim was hiding, Akira surmised. If he was to stop the Archmage, he should do it here, far enough from the cottage to avoid involving his cousin. This was between him and his dear uncle.

Breaking his shield as well, Akira approached Kungwan from his left side, the old man furrowing his brow. "Surprised to see me, Uncle?" he teased the Archmage.

"What are you doing here?"

Both his uncle's tone and the question itself were a little disappointing. Wasn't Kungwan curious to know how his average nephew had managed to pull that off?

"I'm here to stop you, old man," Akira said, his fingers clenched, ready to wield a jumun.

"Stop me from doing what?" Kungwan asked flatly.

"I know what you are up to, Uncle. Believe me, it's over."

"It's you who must believe me, Akira; you know nothing."

His uncle would always belittle him. Maybe Akira should prove him wrong. "I know about the Wraith, Uncle." Akira shook his head, casting his uncle a crooked smile. "I'm afraid you will have to miss your voyage."

Now he had his uncle's attention. The Archmage sharply drew in a deep breath as he clenched his fingers. "Who else knows?"

Akira couldn't conceal his gloating smile. "Everybody in the Imperial Court, I believe."

The scowl on Kungwan's face did satisfy Akira. "The Light knows I have done my best to keep you out of this."

Akira looked derisively at the Archmage. "Because you didn't want me to reveal your betrayal."

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Nonsense!" Akira snapped. "You never cared about me. You have always been ashamed of the son of your Seijo sister!"

Kungwan muttered curses under his breath. "Listen, boy." His voice was low yet menacing. "I have no time to resolve your delusions. Go back to your mother and stay away from Sun Castle as long as possible. It won't be a safe place for you for a while."

"Your time of giving commands has just ended, Kungwan Sen." Akira bound his massive anerjy with the air around him and directed a telekinetic slap at his uncle. The Archmage deflected it with a simple wave of his hand, as if shooing some buzzing flies.

"Don't make me hurt you, boy," Kungwan spat.

"Just try." Akira channeled more anerjy this time to heat the air, a fireball growing between his palms in a few seconds. He threw it at Kungwan, but again, his uncle deflected it. Without giving the old man a moment to catch his breath, Akira sent more fireballs at a rapid pace, but none of them landed where he wanted. The Archmage kept blocking them effortlessly, and suddenly, he returned a fireball to Akira. Taken off guard, Akira lost his balance as he deflected the fireball at the last second.

"Stay on the ground and don't be stupid!" Kungwan growled. "How do you think this fight will end?"

I might be stronger, but as a fighter, he is more seasoned, Akira thought, the realization scaring him for a second. This was not a mere sparring session where both the winner and the loser would bow to each other after the fight. Here, the winner would be the one who emerged from the woods alive.

And only one would.

The moment Akira pushed to his feet, Kungwan stunned him with a telekinetic slap that sent him flying. Luckily, the hit against the grassy terrain didn't break any of Akira's bones, but the right side of his body, especially his elbow which took the worst of the fall, hurt him still.

"Stand up one more time, and you will get yourself killed," Kungwan warned, and Akira was afraid his uncle was right. The Archmage was much faster than him; something a stamina-boosting potion alone couldn't compensate for. I must play on my strengths, Akira thought, still lying on the ground to spare himself another slap. I must strike him harder.

Groaning, Akira slowly rolled to the right to hide the hand picking up a vial from his pocket. The instant he gulped down another dose of his potion, he summoned a lightshield that totally engulfed him before he rose to his feet.

"Come on." Kungwan's voice betrayed his frustration as he looked for his invisible nephew. "These potions will kill you before I do."

Theoretically, his uncle was right. Too much stamina boosting might arrest Akira's heart. Hopefully, he made the right decision when he had bet on the double dose dandelion. He kept moving around Kungwan, but the Archmage seemed to be aware of the position of his invisible foe. He senses my anerjy. That's how he tracks me.

Still curtained by the invisible shield, the effect of the second dose of his potion kicked in, an immense feeling of power surging through each inch of his body. He channeled his anerjy to bind with the air trapped inside the lightshield, and in a matter of seconds, he was wielding a fireball with a five-foot diameter. Dodge this, old man, Akira thought, using part of his focus to hold the fireball in the air, the remaining part ready to break the shield.

And throw the massive fireball at his uncle.

For any mage, for any Red Cloak, a huge fireball this close was impossible to avoid. But one more time, Kungwan showed why he was one of the greatest Archmages in the history of Koya. Howling, he deflected the deadly fireball that missed his head by a hair. Akira struck again and again with more fireballs, each missile bigger than the previous one, but Kungwan dissipated them all with a telekinetic shield.

Not sure if that was frustration or just the rush of anerjy through his veins, Akira roared as he had never done before. He doesn't even look tired, and I'm the one who took a booster, Akira thought, glancing at the trees around his uncle. Alright, then. Dodge this!

Akira felt the bond between him and the colossal tree behind his uncle, felt the will to move it as he wished. Roaring again, he stretched out both arms and channeled his anerjy to haul the massive wooden trunk. The grassy ground cracked, ancient roots emerging from under the surface. Through the anerjy binding him with the tree, he pulled to slam Kungwan with it. Still stretching one arm toward Akira, Kungwan extended the other toward the flying tree, and just one foot away from him, the huge trunk bounced off another telekinetic shield.

"You can't hold that shield forever!" Akira didn't break the binding with the tree, and kept striking, his uncle's shield absorbing every single hit. He looks tired, though. Akira took note of the grimace on the Archmage's face. But how many more strikes should the old man receive before he fell? Akira had no idea, but he was sure of one thing; he would be still standing when his uncle collapsed.

Kungwan proved to be more stubborn than a mule, though. Despite his apparent weariness, he was as unmovable as a mountain, making Akira's patience grow thin. Maybe one tree is not enough. Without hesitation, he channeled all the anerjy he could to uproot five more trees at the same time. He knew this was reckless; he hadn't had the time to test the full impact of his experimental potion on his body. The vast quantum of anerjy he was channeling right now could be sapping him of life.

Feeling no pain or even a hint of fatigue so far, Akira drew six trees at Kungwan. The Archmage held his ground, repelling the soaring trunks with his telekinetic shield. Having no doubt that Kungwan's fall was just a matter of time, Akira maintained the ferocious attack to drain his uncle's anerjy. After blocking a few dozen hits, the Archmage roared as he spread his arms wide apart. Much to Akira's surprise, the huge trunks exploded, wooden splinters landing around the unscathed Archmage.

Did I overestimate the efficacy of my potion? Or is Kungwan much stronger than I thought? Akira was afraid it was both. At this moment, he was aware of his pounding heart, which was not a good sign, especially with the sight of the Archmage still standing in defiance despite the heavy battering against his shield.

Yes, the shield. Akira had to tear it apart first. The problem was how to bind with something that was meant to repulse any form of anerjy.

Theoretically, it was an impossible task, but Akira decided to give it a shot. This time, he didn't thrust a trunk or a telekinetic slap against his foe.

This time, he pulled. With every ounce of strength in his boosted body.

Akira felt every muscle in his body straining, his heart beating faster than normal as the surge of anerjy through him intensified. He found himself growling, the entirety of his senses consigned to nothing but the bond he was trying to establish. This is madness, Akira. You will kill yourself before...

And suddenly, he felt it. The bond. He could almost 'touch' it. Like for real.

So, he pulled. And this time, he was pulling Kungwan himself.

His uncle fell face down after a brief flight in the air toward him, and at once Akira summoned a fireball to seize the chance. The rare chance to become the one who defeated the Archmage of Sun Castle. Every mage, every Koyan shall hear of Akira the Invincible. The Emperor himself shall know my name.

But his curiosity took the better of him.

"WHY?" Akira bellowed, the fireball floating between his palms.

His uncle groaned as he lifted his head. "You...will...never...understand."

"Then you die with your shame. Unless you have an explanation for your treachery." Truth be told, Akira wished that Kungwan wouldn't give him a reason to finish him off before hearing that very explanation. Not because he cared about his uncle's reputation—his uncle himself didn't mind burying his own name in the mud. He wanted to guarantee that he would never ever feel a hint of remorse for killing his own blood.

With his knees on the ground, Kungwan strained to rise, a tired smile on his face. "You have always been a true believer." He gasped after coughing a few times. When he was able to breathe normally, he continued, "It was hard to convince you that the Last Day would never be what we thought."

Oh, please. Not this nonsense! "Why don't you just admit it was the Goranian coin?" Akira snarled.

"You can't be serious." Kungwan's plain exhaustion did not prevent him from chuckling. "You really believe I'm doing this for coin?"

It was a reason that might make sense to Akira. Still ready to strike his uncle with the fireball, he asked, "If the Last Day is not what we think; what is it, then?"

"Literally, a demonic delusion." Kungwan looked him in the eye. "I was like you one day; a true believer who would never buy this." After another bout of coughing, he added, "Until a seer showed me."

"Showed you what?"

"AKIRA! STOP!"

Akira turned to his cousin when he heard her voice. She emerged from the woods, sprinting toward him, her eyes wide in alarm. "What are you doing?" she yelled at Akira. "Get rid of this fireball now!"

"Stay out of this, Kim," Akira demanded, keeping an eye on Kungwan. "You are not the one I am after."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Kim bristled. "The man you want to kill is your uncle. My father, Akira! You think I will simply let you kill him?"

The girl glowering at Akira right now was not the same gentle, lovely cousin he had liked since they were children. This furious sorceress was someone else. Someone stranger. That's why I never wanted to involve you in this, Kim.

"Your father is a traitor, Kim," Akira rasped. "If I don't do it, someone else will."

"I will not beg YOU!" Kim stunned Akira with a telekinetic slap that threw him off balance. When he quickly pushed to his feet, he found the fireball already dissipated. "Leave me no choice but to kill you, and I will!" She stood between him and her father, allowing her old man to slowly rise to his feet.

"Please, Kim!" Akira gnashed his teeth. "It's me who is begging you to step aside. Flee to Gorania if you like; I will not stop you. But your father? You can't protect him from me."

"Don't you, at least, want to hear what the seer showed me, son?" Kungwan asked from behind his daughter, groaning. "Aren't you eager to hear why, after a lifetime of service in Sun Castle, I'm leaving everything I have believed in behind?"

"We know it's of no use, Father." Kim clenched her fingers, her glowing eyes fixed on Akira. "No matter what we say, he'd always want to live in the delusion of serving the Light's cause."

Kim was not totally wrong. Akira didn't have the intention of changing his mind. He just wanted to resume the conversation his cousin had interrupted. "What did he show you?" he asked curtly.

Kungwan advanced, holding his daughter's shoulder. "A bleak, hellish world dominated by demons." He took another step forward, and now he was standing between his daughter and Akira. "That is Earth after the Last Day, Akira. A haven for demons after annihilating every single human." He lifted his fist to his mouth to suppress a cough, then he went on, "And it will be us who invite them to our world because we believe we can subdue them forever, but it's a lie, Akira. An ancient delusion that we have been following for centuries."

Akira was not that impressed. "What makes you sure that your so-called vision is not a delusion, either?"

"It wasn't a mere vision; I was actually there. I was blinded by the white sun, deafened by the demons' shrieks, burned by the blazing air. Sooner or later, that future will be a matter of fact unless we act today."

Akira was truly underwhelmed. How could a stupid dream make you instantly turn on your own people? Abandon all your core beliefs? Ruin your entire life?

"If you do believe in that vision," Akira began. "Why don't you just share it with everyone else and 'save us all' rather than acting like a traitor?"

Kungwan heaved a sigh. "That's not how it is going to work."

"How do you know?" Akira couldn't help smirking. "Is that what your seer showed you in your vision too?"

"I'm not the only one who had the same vision, Akira." Kungwan glanced over his shoulder at Kim, who shook her head in disapproval. "She had the same vision the same night I had mine. A few others did. It cannot be a coincidence."

Akira cast Kim a pitiful look. The silly girl would spend the rest of her life in shame because she decided to follow a father who had lost his mind.

"Alright then." Akira puffed. "Here is my best and last proposal." He looked from Kungwan to Kim and back. "You come with me to the Imperial Palace and ask for an audience with His Radiance. I have no doubt he will listen." He leaned forward toward his uncle. "You are the head of his court after all. He wouldn't have picked you over Hanu if he didn't trust you."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I knew it was a waste of time. We must go, Father."

The instant she held her father's arm to walk him away, Akira struck both of them with a mild telekinetic slap that sent them both flying backward. "ENOUGH OF THIS!" Akira bellowed, his relatives lying on the ground, groaning. While Kim was taking her time to rise to her feet, Akira strode toward her. "Haven't you realized yet how absurd it is to fight me? Look at your father, the great Kungwan Sen." He swept an arm toward the old man who had finally become wise enough to stay on the ground. "He is consumed after our encounter, and I'm still as good as new. I could crush you both now if I wanted."

Standing despite her obvious pain, Kim peered at him. "Your potion. It's working, isn't it?" She nodded to herself, eyeing her defeated father. It must be devasting for her to see her old man so powerless, so helpless. "Then, I guess you are right. None of us can defeat you."

While that sign of surrender should give Akira a sense of relief, there was something he didn't like about Kim's tone. What is she mumbling? he wondered, staring at Kim's moving lips.

And then the ground beneath his feet quivered.

"No, Kim!" Kungwan startled Akira when he hollered, still lying on the ground. "You are not ready yet!"

"Not ready for what?" Akira asked nervously, but he didn't get an answer. Whatever that was, Kim didn't seem to be listening to her exhausted father, who was struggling to get up. Warily, Akira leaned toward her, but he couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

CRACK! CRACK! CRAAACK!

The mild trembling had grown into a horrendous earthquake that shook the woods, a dozen towering trees tumbling with a deafening clamor, a cloud of dust rising to curtain the sky. Akira wasn't sure what kind of sorcery could cause this chaos, but the real question was, if that was Kim's doing for real; what was she trying to do exactly?

"Let's get out of here, Father." Kim helped her father up. "He will be taken care of."

"The runes first!" Kungwan shouted in alarm. "The runes before..."

A horrifying shriek came from inside the huge cloud of dust. When Akira squinted, he spotted the shadow of a giant rising from the ground. The runes first. The statement echoed in his mind as he gazed at the twisted horns of the colossal creature, huge red eyes glowing like two small suns. That was not just a giant—as if a giant was supposedly a simple creature, to begin with.

Akira hadn't seen one before, but if that was not a demon in its true form, what else could it be? "What have you done, Kim?" Actually, he knew. He just couldn't believe that his cousin had never told him that she was a summoner.

"You believed that we could control thousands of demons in the War of the Last Day, right? Let's see how you fare against one." Kim turned to the demon and cried, "Wi tek bibin!"

The hideous demon screeched, raising his massive arms to the air. Summoning demons was not an area Akira was well acquainted with, but he presumed that Kim had just given her monstrous servant a command in his tongue, and obviously, that was his response.

The beginning of it.

Akira stared in awe as the demon dug his hands into the ground, wrenched a huge mass of soil, and tossed it, as if it weighed nothing, toward Akira. Channeling his anerjy, Akira pushed the gigantic projectile back, but all he could do was slow it down a bit. I need more force, he realized, and at once, he channeled all his anerjy, but it was too late. The landing mass of soil was too close to...

Akira felt a telekinetic force pulling him away one second before the gigantic projectile crashed into the spot he had been standing on. When he rose to his feet, he realized that his brief flight had brought him closer to Kim and his exhausted uncle.

"Why, Father?" Clearly, she was rebuking her father for saving Akira. "He was trying to kill you!"

"We need him to stop that creature you summoned," Kungwan groused then coughed. "Now stay as far away as possible from here!"

"I can confine it, Father!"

"I had enough of your foolishness," Kungwan snapped, wagging a firm finger. "Stay back, I say!"

Kim was surely offended, but she didn't answer back this time, the aversion plain in her eyes as she glowered at Akira. Her cousin ignored her and gazed at the shrieking demon that dug into the ground one more time. Another flying mass was coming soon.

"What do we do now?" Akira asked his uncle hurriedly.

"You still have some of your potion?"

Akira had one last vial in his pocket, but he felt hesitant about telling his uncle. "Why do you ask?"

"Look out, Father!" Kim yelled from behind them as she pushed telekinetically at the incoming mass. Akira pushed as well, but even their combined forces were not enough to stop such a gigantic projectile.

"Push to the side, not upward!" Kungwan instructed, both Akira and Kim acting at once. When the thrown mass swayed to the left, Akira pushed more on the left flank. A few seconds before falling, the hurled mass deviated from its path and hit the ground ten feet away from them with a thunderous noise. Before the storm of dust and debris might cover them, Kim reacted quickly and cleared the air around them.

"That thing almost killed her," Akira remarked nervously. "Isn't he supposed to obey his summoner?"

"Demons are unpredictable, especially with uninitiated summoners like my daughter," Kungwan said. "Now, I need your potion to get us out of this predicament."

Akira looked his weary uncle up and down. "How do you know it won't kill you?"

"I must get close enough to the demon to confine it."

Akira still had his doubts. "Tell me what to do, and I shall confine him myself."

"This is not the time to teach you, you damned fool!" Kungwan extended his hand. "The vial! Now!"

The demon was excavating the ground for the third time. Reluctantly, Akira handed Kungwan his last vial, and the old man drained it without hesitation, his daughter regarding him in concern. "Are you alright, Father?"

"I'm better already," Kungwan answered, although the onset of action of Akira's potion was a minute or two. Maybe he was just reassuring his daughter. "Listen," he held Akira's shoulder, "I will be vulnerable while I carve the runes around him. You must protect me, or we both die. Understood?"

Akira nodded, his eyes fixed on the huge soil mass the demon was about to throw.

"Take a deep breath, then." Kungwan barely stretched his arms, and instantly, they were inside an invisibility shield. The old man ran, and so did Akira. The demon, still carrying his next missile, shrieked as he looked for the two men who had just vanished. Obviously enraged by their disappearance, he let out another shriek before he randomly tossed the monumental mass. Akira heard the dreadful thud behind him, but he didn't dare to look back lest he get out of the mobile invisibility shield. A couple of feet away from the sprinting Kungwan could be enough to reveal Akira's position. Something you would never want, especially when you were getting closer to a colossal, mad demon trying to smash you with missiles the size of a temple.

The pace of Kungwan's recovery was impressive and also intimidating. A couple of minutes ago, the devastated Archmage could hardly utter a few words without coughing. Now he was running while holding a shield impermeable to air. He can defeat an army of mages without the need to boost his stamina. With my potion, he can conquer a continent on his own.

After evading the huge holes in the ground, Kungwan halted thirty feet away from the demon, and here the creature seemed even bigger than Akira had thought. "Be ready," Kungwan commanded him. "I must drop the shield now."

The first thing Akira did when Kungwan broke the shield was fill his lungs with fresh air. The demon spotted them and screeched as it leaned forward toward them. "Please, be quick," Akira muttered, watching his uncle carve the runes telepathically into the ground. Deflecting a monstrous missile would be hard from such a close range.

But it seemed that the demon had changed its mind about hurling things at them.

"What is he doing?" Akira wondered, gazing at the demon that knelt and placed his massive palms on the ground, a gust of steamy air slapping Akira's cheeks.

"Changing our habitat to something he is more accustomed to." Kungwan motioned for Akira to follow him after he was done with the first set of runes. "We need to hurry. Take a deep breath."

So, that demon was more than an enraged giant; it was also capable of wielding...magic? Hells and demons! How many more sets of runes will suffice, Kungwan? Akira wanted to ask, but the invisibility shield had engulfed both men already.

Their disappearance maddened the demon again. Shrieking, he shook the earth with an immense stomp, countless cracks snaking all over the ground, swallowing every tree in their way. Kungwan gripped Akira's wrist to halt him, and luckily, the cracks missed their spot. Akira wanted to ask the Archmage how they should act now, but plainly, the only thing to do was wait. Because Akira doubted there was a way to stop or evade those cracks. If you happen to be in their path, then you are simply doomed.

When the earth stopped shaking, Kungwan and Akira resumed their hurried march until they reached the edge of a bottomless crack. "Levitate me to the other side, and I shall do the same," Kungwan stated. "Be quick and precise."

The instant the shield was broken, Akira lifted Kungwan telekinetically over the crack. When Kungwan landed, he made Akira float in the air to the other side, the demon screeching upon spotting them. "Give me a minute to carve the runes," Kungwan commanded Akira, leaving him on his own to face the demon's wrath.

"Can't we just attack that thing, instead of waiting like sitting ducks?" Akira asked, and waited for an answer, his eyes fixated on the demon spreading its arms apart. If he knew an answer, he would give me one.

The earth was shaking one more time, and if Akira had learned something a few minutes ago, this sign did not bode well, and unfortunately, he was right. A volcano exploded at the demon's feet, and now it was raining lava and flaming stones. Wielding a wide telekinetic shield to protect himself and his uncle, Akira deflected the hellish rain, which was relatively easier to handle than the gigantic soil masses. Please, keep it like that, he would ask the demon, if the damned creature listened to...

Suddenly, Akira's chest ached. A side effect of the potion? he wondered, biting his lower lip as he drove back the showers of doom. "Hurry up!" he urged Kungwan. "I can't..." The pain became unbearable, as if a dagger had just pierced through his heart. Unable to hold the shield any longer, he fell on his back, his quivering hands gripping his chest right above his heart. Lava and flaming stones were falling on him; he was still aware of that. But he felt too helpless to save his own life.

Akira's vision started to blur, but he thought he saw the lava and flaming stones fly away from him. And then, there was Kungwan bending over him. "Get up," his uncle demanded, his voice muffled, as if coming from the bottom of a deep well. "One more...is over." Akira didn't hear the whole statement, his vision fading into black. He was losing his consciousness, wasn't he?

A slap on his cheek roused him, a firm hand helping him up. To his surprise, it was Kim. How long had he passed out?

"Can you still fight?" she asked in a low voice, glancing at the monstrous hellish creature that was looking the other way. "The demon is not giving Father a chance to cast the last rune."

Akira was still trying to understand the situation. The last thing he remembered was Kungwan's face. And Kim was supposed to be far behind them. While he was wondering how she had reached him, a glimpse of the rocks bridging the cracks gave him a clue. A lot of effort to come here.

"Answer me." Kim held his chin, not so gently at all. "Tell me you are still able to wield your anerjy."

Akira's chest pain had faded, but for some reason, moving a single muscle was now a terrible chore. Trying to ignore the exhaustion engulfing his entire body, he reached for the surrounding anerjy to bind it with his. "I...I can't," he muttered, resisting a sudden urge to cry. This weakness. This helplessness. This uselessness in a life-or-death moment made him wish he hadn't existed. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." Scowling, Kim turned to the demon and heaved a sigh. "Run away in case this doesn't work."

Warily, Kim walked toward the demon hurling boulders at her father on the opposite side. You are not ready yet, Akira recalled Kungwan's words to his daughter. "Kim, what are you up to?"

But Kim didn't heed him as she got closer to the demon facing her father. "Beh nam prordakaar asmaan wa zameen," she hollered. "Man beh shama me tokti!"

Akira was ignorant of this cursed tongue, but he hoped his cousin was doing more than just distracting the demon from her father. Because right now, the demon was looking at her, a massive boulder in his hands.

"Man ben shama me tokti!" she repeated, the demon's red eyes fixed on her. Kungwan had better carve the last set of runes before the demon remembered he existed.

A horrendous shriek startled Akira. "Blast! Get out of here, Kim!" he urged his cousin. Ignoring him, she kept intoning in the demon's tongue, but that didn't deter the cursed creature from smashing her with the gigantic rock. Yes, that had just happened for real, faster than Akira could grasp. "NOOOOOOO!"

The demon was calm now, just standing next to the boulder he had just thrusted at Kim. Most probably, Kungwan was done with the damned runes, but it was too late. Kim was gone, right in front of Akira, and he had done nothing. He couldn't, even if he wanted to. Right now, he was back to his mediocre self. The aspiring mage who could never be more than a Pink Cloak.

Weak. Helpless. Useless.

Akira watched Kungwan walk around the wide perimeter the demon was confined in. The old man hadn't seen what happened to his daughter; Akira could tell from his uncle's unhurried pace. Hells and demons! Of all people, Akira was the one who would inform his uncle of the tragic news.

When Kungwan joined Akira, he nodded his chin toward him. "I see that your potion didn't kill you." The Archmage exhaled, gazing at the trapped domesticated demon. "You believe me now?" He peered at Akira judgingly. "Imagine facing an army of these cursed creatures. Because that's what will eventually happen if we unleash them upon Gorania." He leaned forward toward him, pointing to the demon ambling in his area of confinement. "They won't stop at Gorania, son. They won't stop until the last human dies."

Akira wouldn't argue anymore. Thanks to his gone cousin, he had seen for himself how hard taming such horrendous creatures could be. The shame paralyzed his tongue, though.

Kungwan cast him a studying look. "I know it's a lot to digest. Take your time to decide while we..." He craned his neck, gazing behind Akira, where he had left his daughter. "Where is Kim?"

Akira couldn't help looking at the boulder that had smashed his cousin. "She tried to wake me up so that I could aid you."

Kungwan took a moment to comprehend. "No," he muttered, his voice quivering as he stared at the boulder. "No, no, no! This didn't happen!" He seemed to be trying to levitate the boulder, but the rocky mass didn't move. Did the confining runes have something to do with that? Akira did not dare to ask the shocked father now.

"There is no need for this, Uncle." Akira warily approached Kungwan. "I saw what happened." He had better choose his next words carefully. "She didn't make it."

Kungwan fell on his knees, his eyes fixed on the largest tombstone anybody might have. For a while, he didn't say a word, and neither did Akira. Should I say something to him? Akira wondered, but would Kungwan accept any words of condolences from him? The Archmage must be blaming Akira for Kim's death, and Akira wouldn't dare to disagree. Her blood is on my hands indeed.

Tired from standing, Akira sat some distance behind Kungwan. The old man was still kneeling, staring at the huge boulder that had taken his daughter's life. To be honest, Akira found Kungwan's reaction surprising. The old man had always been firm with his daughter, sometimes even harsh. But that was nothing but a mask, it turned out. It didn't matter that you were the wisest man in Koya. No wisdom is enough to help you process such a situation.

Finally, Kungwan rose to his feet. Akira did the same, but his uncle walked past him, as if he was invisible. Knowing that he should leave Kungwan on his own, at least for a while, Akira couldn't help calling out to him. "Where are you headed to?"

His uncle halted and turned to face Akira. "Where I don't see your damned face!" he blustered, then wagged a threatening finger at Akira, slowly stepping forward toward him. "If I see you again, I shall kill you at once!"

Akira knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't do that for more than half a minute. "I want to help," he called again to Kungwan. As his uncle walked away without heeding him, Akira continued, "I want to make sure that she didn't die in vain."

Kungwan turned to Akira again, but this time, the Archmage surprised him with a telekinetic slap that threw him off balance. "She did die in vain," his uncle said, his lip curled in disdain, "when she saved your sad, worthless arse."