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"Well, well, I guess you've made it this far." Said the voice coming from the figure of a demon wearing black robes, standing right in front of the last Demonic Jewel.
Arafunn, Tempest, Melodia, and Ninhursag had rushed to the last jewel once they finished destroying theirs, and managed to meet each other in time to destroy the last jewel.
However, what they didn't expected was to meet someone that wasn't a Praying Mantis-like Demon, in fact, that one demon was right at his side, treating this person as his master.
"Y-You damned elves! You've already come this far?!" The demon groaned.
"Hahaha, don't get so angered, little fellow." Laughed the black robbed person, his red eyes glowing brightly below the hood. "As long as our friend kill the Queen of Agartha, then our job here is more than done."
"The Wind Spirits have told me many things." Arafunn said while furrowing his eyebrows. "I have learned many things, yet none of them seem to know about you. In fact… they're afraid. Who are you exactly?"
"Arafunn…" Sighed the man, laughing. "Hahaha, that's a name I haven't heard in a while." This "demon" voice was rather childish, as if it was coming from a teenager.
Arafunn couldn't recognize this voice, despite this person knowing him… However, something felt off. The young man's hands looked human, and the smile below his hood looked strangely familiar.
"Arafunn, do you know this person?" Ninhursag asked.
"Hmmm… Ah! I guess its hard for him to tell." Sighed Melodia. "But yeah, he knows this person."
"I… Is it really him?" Asked Arafunn.
"Well, I guess we've finally figured out what he has been doing this entire time since the War ended." Melodia smiled, looking at the person with menacing eyes.
"Melodia, the Princess of the Wind Spirits… I suppose with someone like you at your side, it wouldn't be hard to tell who I am." Laughed the man, quickly uncovering himself.
The face of a young and slightly handsome boy showed up, with bright gray eyes, and long silvery white hair that reached his neck. He had a slight scar in the right side of his mouth, which extended up to below his eye.
Arafunn looked at this person, surprised, and rather shocked. Though, it wasn't as if this was also a total shock… This person, the heroes, knew who he was, and they even knew he had been behind many of the events that have happened.
"So you're now trying to kill my innocent sister-in-law, Gray?" Asked Arafunn, his eyes became sharper, and his often-cheerful personality immediately becoming serious.
"Gray?" Asked Ninhursag, seconds before realizing who this person truly was. "W-What?! It can't be! But he's…"
"A Hero?" Asked Gray with a giggle. "Yeah, I guess I am a Hero! Hahaha!"
Gray, the Hero of Gray Soul. One of the Heroes that made up the original Hero Party that fought against the Demon King's army and then killed him. He had no original name, so the heroes gave him the nickname of "Gray" based on his title.
"Why?" Arafunn asked.
"Do you really need to ask me why, Arafunn? Don't you already know everything that has happened? You're one of the few here that should know the best why I am doing the things I am doing." Laughed Gray. "Don't you?"
Arafunn clenched his fists.
"I knew you wanted to protect the demons in the Demon Continent, that was a good thing, in fact. We all… always hoped for the best for you." Sighed Arafunn. "But we were also… always doubtful at the end. However, we had hope, hope that it wasn't you… You're our friend, our comrade. Why are you doing these radical things? Why are you trying to bring back the flames of war so far from the demon continent now?!"
"Oooh? You're really asking me that?" Gray asked. "The war never truly ended, Arafunn. And quite honestly, it's not like I am doing this because I enjoy it either. I am not seeking war, nor to hurt any of you, even less killing innocents… However, for the power I need to attain, I must cooperate with those that do want that."
"And just for that power you're willing to betray your friends and attempt to kill thousands of innocents?!" Asked Arafunn. "I… I always thought you were strange, but you still had your heart in the right place! Why? Why are you going this far?!"
"Because if I don't, I feel like nobody will." Gray sighed. "You are all raising your kids, unconcerned about the world around you. I cannot trust you anymore. You are all blind of the injustices happening every single day… If I don't help the demons now, if I don't attain this power and… confront our true enemies, at the end, the cycle will never end. A cycle of hatred and destruction, I'll end it."
"You'll end it by creating even more hatred and destruction?!" Arafunn asked furiously. "Do you even know what nonsense you're talking right now?!"
"Nonsense?" Laughed Gray. "You call me someone insane, someone that has lost his way, but to be honest, old friend, since Julio died, you're the one that has lost his way. I've found mine, but you're merely a lost puppy, with nowhere to go."
"Tch…! Don't you dare say his name!" Arafunn roared furiously, the winds around him flowing furiously against Gray. "Do you really want to fight?! Is that what you want?!"
"Fight? As if I could ever lose against you." Gray said with a teasing smile. "While you were all slacking and relaxing, I've been constantly growing stronger. I've absorbed several Ancient God Relics, and I've even restored my youth, which I wasted away overusing my magic in the war… Maybe you were stronger than me before, but that, right now, is not a thing anymore."
Arafunn glared at Gray as his winds continued growing more and more intense. Meanwhile, Gray's aura became enormous, like an endless darkness that engulfed it all, which slowly created the illusion of a netherworld of millions of souls groaning in fury, agony, and frustration…
A clash between two overwhelming magical powers.
"[Grand Tempest]"
"[Netherworld's Inferno]"
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
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This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶