There's a war to fight

"Phewwww!"

A long whistle left Song's lips as he dashed at the red haired man in a blur.

The red-haired man had a dazed expression for a split second upon hearing Song's whistle. Song appeared before him in a flash and swung his blade at the dazed red-haired man from below.

With a hiss, the red haired man bit his lips, drawing blood from it. The action jolted him out of his distracted expression and he narrowly dodged the deadly arc aimed at him.

Song pressed his advantage, his blade flashing with precision. The red-haired man found himself in a desperate situation, barely keeping up with Song's relentless assault. He wasn't exactly a melee fighter and he needed to find a way to put some distance between him and Song, but Song seemed to understand his intention and close any gap he tried to create.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' The red haired man thought with an ugly expression as he narrowly escaped Song's deadly slashes through dodging and parries. 'This can't go on for long, I'll wear out. I need to do something.' He thought.

Just while he was racking his brain to come up with a solution, a beam of light suddenly pierced through his chest, making him lose his initiative and miss a dodge. Song's blade took advantage of the slip up and passed through his hand with a 'swoosh,' severing the limb.

Pain blinded the red-haired man's senses as his arm flew in the air. He gritted his teeth, preventing a scream from escaping his mouth. 'That bastard again.' He thought through gritted teeth. The red-haired man barely had time to process the pain before Song's blade came at him again, about to decapitate him. He then did something strange.

He pushed his body forward, adjusting his head, avoiding the slash poised to decapitate him. The blade, instead, went into the base of his neck, just above his infrascapular region.

The red-haired man used his other arm to hug Song tightly. His body began to glow a crimson color as a fiery heat coated his body, extending to Song. Song tried to shake him off, but with his huge frame, the red-haired man was able to keep a firm grip on him, even with one arm.

The red-haired man's muscles bulged ferociously, and the throbbing veins across the arm had a crimson glow on them. His grip on Song tightened and cracks began to appear all over his face, the spaces between the cracks shining with an intense light.

"LET'S GO TO HELL TOGETHER, DESWILL SONG." The red-haired man roared with a crazed expression. The temperature around both men began to climb to a mind-numbing degree, enough to make Song feel like he was truly jn danger. Using his free hand he hacked his blade at the red haired man, hoping to weaken his grip, but the red-haired man held on, his grip tightening still, even as Song's blade left his body in a grotesque state.

A weak smile appeared on the face of the red-haired man as his body began to shine brightly, causing Song to panic. "Accompany me to hell, Song." He said.

PEW! PEW!

Just as his body was about to blow up, a beam of light suddenly flew through the air and met the red-haired man's forehead perfectly, piercing through it. Another followed immediately after, flinging his head backwards causing his body to sway for a moment, before falling to the ground, lifeless.

All the momentum the red-haired man had built up died immediately, the bright blow on his body dimming almost immediately, the temperature of his body dropping rapidly.

Song's body was granted relief from the scorching heat. He fell to a knee with a pained expression, the front of his body was scorched from the contact with the red-haired man. He weakly looked towards the direction the beams came from and saw Stefam with a serious expression, lowering the weapon in his hand, its glow fading.

Cold sweat glided down Stefam's forehead as he heaved a sigh of relief. The shot he had just taken had required his absolute focus and precision. With the strain of the battle so far, it was hard to find that balance, and the constant movement of the red-haired man didn't allow him to aim properly. He refrained from using any of his spells to attack him because the red-haired man might have been able to detect the attack before he could release it. Granted, the attack might have still hit its mark, but Stefam didn't want to risk it, hence why he used the weapon with him, catching the red-haired man off guard.

He didn't expect the man to hug Song and attempt to blow himself up along with Song, but it somewhat worked in his favor, because he became a stationary target, making him easier to hit, even though there was also a risk of hitting Song if he had gotten his aim wrong.

"Master Song!" Stefam said with worry as he rushed towards Song's kneeling figure.

"T-thank you Prince Stefam, that was very c-close." Song said to Stefam amid pants as he winced in pain from the burns on his skin.

"No need to thank me Master Song, you saved me first." Stefam said. Upon reaching Song's side, he raised his hand over him, bathing his features in a warm glow of light.

The light seemed to seep into Song's pores and repair his skin from within as the burns he had received on his skin began to fade, giving it a healthier look.

Stefam stopped after some time. Song then stood up to his feet. He flexed his arm muscles for a while before nodding his head in satisfaction. "Thank you once again, Prince Stefam." He said appreciatively.

Song pulled out a small tube that was filled with a milk-like liquid from a little pouch he had on him. He poured its contents into his mouth and swallowed it all in a single gulp. A sigh of satisfaction escaped his lips.

After waiting for Song to finish what he was doing, Stefam finally spoke. "Master Song, we are in a precarious situation."

"I know." Song responded. "It's not just the capital, it's the ten bastions and the whole kingdom." He added.

"What?" The ten bastions? The whole kingdom?" Stefam asked with a shocked expression.

Song's expression morphed into one of anger as he recalled the actions of the Tholarians earlier. "Those bastards are not here for war. They are here for something else." Song said.

"What do you mean master song?" Stefam asked curiously.

"They were killing our civilians, indiscriminately. I have reason to believe their motive for coming here is one outside of war." Song responded.

They were doing what? Stefam asked with a cold expression.

"Sigh, this is far from over, Prince Stefam. In fact, I daresay it's only the beginning. Let's go, we have a war to fight."