They Betrayed You

"You bastards, why are you doing this?" The man's voice echoed across the battlefield, laden with pain and indignation. His long black hair, as dark as the night, was stained with blood, mixing with the droplets running down his face. He leaned on his left knee while his left hand gripped tightly around the hilt of the sword embedded in the ground.

"What a sick joke..." murmured Noah, placing his right hand over his chest, where a deep scar, left by the celestial demon's blade, marred his flesh. "Even after all this, this is still the pain that hurts the most."

Noah's body was riddled with wounds. Cuts and bruises covered his skin, and more than a dozen arrows pierced his flesh. Four were embedded in the right side of his abdomen, two in his left shoulder, one just below his right collarbone, and the other five were spread across his legs—four in his right and one in his left. The precision of the arrows betrayed a malicious and calculated intent.

His eyes, full of fury, were fixed on the enormous cavalry before him, led by a familiar face. It was the eldest son of one of the sects, a man with short green hair, dressed in the finest fabrics. A cynical smile danced on his lips as he dismounted from his horse with cold arrogance.

"Noah, Noah... what are you talking about?" The green-haired man opened his arms, gesturing theatrically as he looked at the bodies scattered across the field. "We're just helping you cleanse the evil from this world. Don't you see? You're a monster, a ruthless killer. You slaughtered so many of your own allies... those who fought alongside you to defeat the demonic humans who were just coming to say hi," he mocked, the sarcastic grin on his face widening.

"You should've been like the others... they welcomed us so well. We made delicious roasted meat with them; everyone screamed with joy at that huge feast we threw." The man spoke with a tone of sick pleasure, running his hand over his face as he watched Noah with disdain.

Noah, his gaze hardened, grabbed one of the arrows lodged in his thigh with his right hand. Before rising fully, he yanked it out with force and hurled it straight into the left eye of the man before him, who had been staring at him with an arrogance now dissolving into pain and surprise.

"Noah... you son of a bitch..." were the man's last words, uttered with impotent hatred as his body collapsed backward. His blood quickly spread, staining the earth and coloring it a deep crimson. Around him, all the warriors remained paralyzed, their faces reflecting a mixture of disbelief and fear. No one could believe what had just happened.

"I hope you accept my apology for the way I received you."

"Ah, come on, why are you all frozen? We've already cleared up the misunderstanding, so let's talk now." Noah's body was beginning to lose strength, and he staggered forward, starting to cough up blood. When he stopped, he wiped his mouth. "Well, don't you think it's better this way, Rogue?"

Suddenly, one of the warriors, who had seemed indifferent until then, smiled. A blue flame began to spread across his body, transforming him before the perplexed eyes of the others. The man assumed a new form: his hair grew longer and turned as white as snow, revealing his true identity.

The warriors around, who were unaware of the disguise, widened their eyes in surprise and terror. The man now standing before them was not just anyone — he was the next leader of the fifth sect.

"You really put on a great show for your farewell, just like you said, my friend."

Noah felt the strength in his left leg wane. A sigh escaped his lips as he placed his hand on his thigh, his eyes fixed on Rogue. "What a shame... our reunion was too brief," he murmured sadly as the tremor in his body intensified, stealing his words. Even so, the almost imperceptible movement of his lips was enough to make Rogue turn and flee in panic.

What Noah tried to say was: "You shouldn't have been so hasty... now our victory has turned into defeat."

'I hope it was enough time for some of them to escape... it's the most I can manage in this life... And forgive me for what's about to happen.' That was Noah's last thought before he lost consciousness.

Then, Noah's body gave way, collapsing with a dull thud to the ground. At the exact moment his heart stopped beating, the scar on his chest began to pulse, and from it, red roots emerged, spreading rapidly across his body. A powerful wave of energy emanated from Noah, throwing all the warriors, their horses, and even Rogue far away.

In the next instant, Noah's heart began to beat again, but the being that rose from the wreckage was no longer Noah. Looking at his own arms with a malevolent smile was the celestial demon, who had finally taken possession of his body.

"Ah... finally alive again. That was close; my trump card was almost wasted," the celestial demon said, surveying the field around him. His eyes narrowed as he saw the warriors struggling to get up and Rogue, now disguised, desperately running to escape.

'Damn! Damn! Damn! How did this happen? I saw... I saw the baby that was the reincarnation of the celestial demon. So how is he here? How?!' Rogue thought as he pushed himself to run as fast as he could, trying desperately to flee. But before he could react, his face was violently slammed into the ground by an invisible force.

"Where do you think you're going?" The celestial demon's voice echoed across the field, sweeping through Rogue and the warriors like an icy wind, causing shivers and terror. His footsteps grew closer, heavier, more menacing with each step.

'No, it shouldn't be like this. I was just about to unify the seven sects and become the central leader... He interfered again! Noah, you bastard, you were in cahoots with the celestial demon,' Rogue thought, only to see Noah's foot in front of his face seconds later.

"So, it was you who caused all this? Attacking someone weakened, who was constantly fighting to keep his inner energy from being dominated by mine?" The celestial demon pressed his foot down on Rogue's head, invading his mind, reading all his memories about what had happened after his death.

"I was reincarnated? It seems you've been up to some pretty complicated things. There are even two of me now, and wait a minute... so that's what's been happening all this time?" Shaking his head, the celestial demon sighed, increasing the pressure with his foot until Rogue's head burst. "That's what you get for coveting what's not yours by right."

The celestial demon raised his hand with an expression of pure pleasure. From his palm, black flames emerged, dancing with a dark fury. With a sharp motion of his arm, he cast the flames onto the ground, where they quickly spread like a plague, consuming everything in their path. The bodies of the warriors, still motionless on the field, were engulfed by the fire, burning one by one until nothing was left but ashes.

"Now, I'll have to have a talk with the seven sects about that tree," the demon murmured, already preparing to leave the desolate place.

However, something caught his attention, forcing him to turn his gaze toward the nearby forest. An immense amount of energy was forming there, so powerful that it began to alter the very laws of that world. "A higher spirit? Who could be capable of such a thing?" he wondered, intrigued.

Before he could react, a strong white light shot through the air, hitting the celestial demon directly in the eye. Time seemed to freeze, and the last thing he noticed was that the birds in the sky were motionless, as if the very flow of time had been interrupted.