Hellfire Commander

Huff Huff…

Huff Huff…

Vision blurring, adrenaline peaking, Kithus achieves a speed unfathomable to man. The way each foot rises and barely crosses over a tree root or rock is precise to the point this boy's method of fast walking has been almost perfected.

Maybe if the dramatic arm motions were more enthusiastic, the way his body moves against the winds would be slightly more efficient. Also, those gray baggy pants are just not it. They may be adorned with tight leather knee-pads, but were not aerodynamic.

From between a dense grouping of trees, Kithus jumped onto his back to slide down a small ditch leading to a creek. On his back was a rounded shield perfect for keeping his momentum. 

"If only I had Airburst boots!!"

After standing back up and returning to his fastwalk, he maneuvered across the slope of the opposite side with his smaller round shield to his side, and later found himself teetering over a wooden log positioned stretched across a small fracture.

"What the?! Is that just a random hole?"

Kithus fastwalked past a few more trees to see Niko's hand releasing small embers.

"Hey!! You better not kill that thing without me!!"

Niko voiced his opinion, one that Elijah didn't necessarily agree with. "Back up Elijah! We should wait for Kithus to help us!"

"Sorry it took so long… You know." Kithus stared at the floor guilty of his flaws.

Elijah and Niko did not bat a single eye towards Kithus in a demeaning way. In fact, they had said he arrived very fast for his means of transportation, and was interested to see how Kithus fights with those shields.

'He should have a similar battle style to Oliver. Most likely making use of his soul explosion ability at close range.' Elijah quickly thought.

Kithus looked at his hand holding a shield… "Seems like these are some nice people, maybe I can show them what I'm capable of…"

Kithus was an unlucky child taken advantage of by the desire for power. His mother begged him to find a great power in the Monolith over and over again, slowly leading to their family's decline.

His father died from an infectious disease after an adventure into a poisonous mining cave, and his mother later followed after being kidnapped and found dead on the northwest side of Sontiad.

He finally had a power, and something that maybe not have been worth the cost. Yet he trudged through his struggles in hopes to prove to himself it's possible.

Kithus walked forward with Niko to his side, soon sighting a king kobold.

Rough blackish-red scales with crevasses that held the rough dirt of the terrain, angular pupils within a bright red iris, and a big draconic body ending with a spikey tail.

The King Kobold was a very menacing beast and its pure strength would make it hard to get close. Fire only increased its confidence.

Despite the fact a yellow core beast stood 40 feet away from him — slowly walking within the trees of the forest, Elijah stood strong, waiting for Kithus and Niko to finally reach him.

"Stay close to me Kithus, you will probably deal the killing blow. But first, we need to damage it severely. Cutting or blowing off its limbs would be ideal."

Elijah already had a plan in mind, one that included more use of his water. This was while knowing the fire the kobold wielded was far hotter than his water was cold, and would result in a major disadvantage. However, the water was only meant for a distraction, which would make way for Niko to send a beam of condensed fire into its side or back.

Suddenly, from the trees to the west, was a man who had just sliced a kobold down the center. A grueling scene that would cause any innocent bystander to vomit was created. "I better not see your guys lose a 3 versus one!"

Elijah recognized the man, a peacekeeper who had a massive broadsword hanging behind his back. Now, the broadsword swung violently through the wind as if the weight did not matter.

"We got this!" Kithus lowered his stance and fast walked forward.

Kithus, Niko, and Elijah were in agreement. Very few beasts were seen moving in their direction, it was their perfect opportunity to showcase their strength.

In Elijah's case, he simply wanted to see the extent of his punches, even if it resulted in him leaving with a dismantled hand.

"Then go get it! I'll be watching from over here!!"

Three curved smiles appeared on their faces, and followed by pointing into the directions they would be traveling too.

The feet of Elijah became light with every step he took through the forest. Circling the king kobold allowed a powerful and pulsating ball of water to be created.

Small rocks were avoided, and even large groups of flowers as he did not want to disturb the natural wildlife.

"READY!"

Elijah's words sent the start of the plan into action.

From behind a tree, a massive ball of pulsating water was thrown, but was halted by the kobold who had unleashed a plain wall of fire. Trees were violently burning, resulting in the forest catching on fire…

"You're up Niko." Elijah quickly moved to a different position.

During the time the kobold had unleashed its attack, Niko had unleashed a beam of fire severely burning a hole into the side of his shoulder.

Stumbling back, a deafening cry was released, aiming at dismantling its enemies or calling for its friends.

"I have to kill it now!!" Elijah yelled at himself for confidence while staring at the beast stumbling back.

Just like any animal would, a beast would have a chain of command. A sense of kinship. Dozens of kobolds who were previously running into a broadsword, changed their intent — bolting for the cry of help without a single care in the world.

In these moments, Kithus had used his wind walkers to step above the beast's vision. It was expensive, but allowed his figure to ring around the side of a tree and grapple the back of its body.

Elijah only spectacled, and moved left the tree after the explosion.

Splat!

Blood instantly paints the forest red.

"Nice job Kithus!"

Kithus pointed his hand. "Another one 20 feet ahead!"

Then, yet another surprise occurred. The reverberating sound of a deep horn that could be heard from anywhere was blared wildly.

Was the horn a sign of retreat, or a call from the Rind of Godhand?

Elijah took the opportunity to funnel a large amount of mana into his body and arm. His goal was not to focus on retaining the mana within his fist as to not damage it, but instead see his power against another.

A beast of great strength.

BOOM!

Time had stopped ever since the horn had begun to echo through the forest.

That was until a resonating blast had returned the forest to harmony. Albeit, the trees close to the impact began to sway as a powerful gust of wind made its way into the sky.

The king kobold was standing eerily still. Without its head or any motor functions available for use, it had unknowingly accepted its fate.

"ARRGHH!" Rolling through the dirt and slamming into a tall tree was Elijah. Perhaps, following through with his mana had slightly failed as he lost his focus from the chaos. 

All it would take was more practice to develop the muscle memory required to keep the mana within his body instead of always having to focus his attention. 

Being that Kithus was waiting for Elijah's signal that he eventually knew would not come, he began to back up, especially when the sound of the horn came.

"Oh my—! Shit! GET BACK!! RUN!!!"

Elijah was finally able to stand up while just barely hearing the voice of Kithus. Soon, an extreme heat was felt inching its way towards his back. 

Instinctively, a command was executed. Multiple branches were hit on the way, but he had successfully flown straight into the bright blue sky. 

Only to reveal a coming disaster befitting that of hell…

The horn was not a calling to retreat, but a command to unleash all the magical power these beasts had!

Hellfire!

Spanning the entire Rind of Godhand was a blanket of fire folding within the trees. If a camera were placed inside the center of the battlefield, the only things visible would be fire and ashes, reducing even the trees to mere cinders.

From above, the only noise heard was the sound of flames crackling. However, in the distance, standing atop the unmoving Rind of Godhand, was a brown clothed humanoid figure staring into his creation.

This figure was only seen by Elijah because of his youthful eyesight, but also because of the brown cloak that rustled with the currents of the wind.