Moon Glaive

Chapter 13: Axer

"What sin did they commit for them to be massacred?" His rage grew the more he looked at the man's figure.

"It's simple, really." The man's eyes brightened. "They committed the heinous sin of weakness!"

"You killed them because they were weak?" Axer drew his glaive as a wave of flames enveloped it, its blazing flames channeling his boiling wrath.

"For preciseness, I must correct you." The man shook his head with a sad smile. "To be weak is in and of itself not a sin, for everything in existence begins weak." But then he sneered with contempt.

"What truly constitutes a sin is the refusal to erase weakness. Their lethargy to become strong due to the protection from the strong has made their minds sluggish and weak. There is no need for such beings to roam the world." His lips curled in a smile devoid of the contempt they had once shown. "They serve a better purpose as Wraiths. With their sins washed, they can pass to the afterlife with ease. In this way, I am their savior, am I not?"

"Sickening bastard." Axer sneered. "There is no need for you to live. Accept your death with ease."

"It's quite unfortunate, Axer Vasilios, that I cannot fulfill your wishes." The man floated forward. As he did, the oval-shaped darkness behind him shrank to nothingness.

"Then what is there left to say?" Axer roared. "Attack!"

A charge of dozens of knights met the stampede of twice as many Wraiths. Axer led the vanguard, his glaive and eyes never straying from the man.

"HAA!" He roared as his flame-lined blade cut through the first Wraith like a hot knife through butter. It shrieked in agony, dissolving in a plume of gray dust.

The rest of his knights made contact, and the sounds of ferocious battle lit up the air. Clangs of swords hitting the hardened bodies of the Wraiths and screams of pain from both sides were accompanied by the occasional horrific scream of a Wraith losing its life.

The knights fought in a clearly defined, regulated battle style that enhanced their strength greatly. Like an iron bull, they charged, but the sheer number of Wraiths stopped them in their tracks.

"Split!"

The knights instantly disengaged, splitting into individual, one versus two battles against the Wraiths. This was even worse for the Wraiths, as the Lunar Knights suppressed them heavily despite being outnumbered two to one – a testament to their battle prowess.

"My beloved creations, they cannot be destroyed." The man grinned. Dark energy swirled behind him. Nightmare-inducing screams and ghoulish figures emerged behind him, flashing in and out of existence.

"How long I've waited to engage in a proper battle, Axer Vasilios!" The man cackled demonically as he shot down like a meteorite, aimed at Axer. Axer leapt from his steed, glaive in hand, meeting the man's outstretched scythe halfway in the air.

Dark energy clashed with smoldering rays of flame. Screams and figures of ghouls filled the air, a cacophony of horror and violence. The uncontrollable energy generated by the clash exploded, sending Axer and the man flying back.

Axer backflipped multiple times until he was steady on his feet. On the other hand, the man instantly stopped in the air, having let himself roll as if with no inclination to stop it.

BOOM!

The ground cracked under Axer as he leapt forward. The man dodged and attacked with his scythe, but Axer ducked and kicked at the man's feet. The man, mid-swing, executed the most unhuman turn Axer had ever seen to hack at his neck. Realizing he had no other option, Axer grabbed the black scythe with his bare hands, and instantly, the most horrific nightmare he never wanted to see again plagued his mind.