Gates of Destiny (2)

— Eastern Border, Fhuan Zei —

Thirty minutes later

The battlefield was crimson red, illuminated by fire. Soldiers moved through the scorched field, carrying bodies or protecting people trying to cross the border.

"Liam," James called. "I have a plan. Li Minghua told you we'd have to kill the souls before the bodies, right?"

"Yes."

"I can try something new… Recently, I discovered I can affect the causality of a soul. For example, I can put it at a disadvantage and alter its causality so you gain the upper hand."

"Oh… You've evolved, haven't you? Can you use that on the monster?"

"I have to try, no promises."

"That's progress. Li Minghua, where are we headed?"

Liam, James, and a squad from General Li Minghua were in the ruins of the walls, still within the limits of what could be considered safe. Beyond that point, it was a field of death and unprecedented pain.

"Just point north," Liam continued.

"We have a bit of a problem…" Li said. "We're not able to save anyone else from the border. Mikoto's soldiers are doing everything to kill even the innocent."

"I'm not here for the innocent. I'll clear the path; you handle the rest."

"He's difficult, isn't he?" Li Minghua whispered to James.

"Difficult is an understatement… But he's right. Liam is our opening to help the soldiers along the way."

"They're onis!" a soldier exclaimed, running from the battlefield. "Mikoto sent onis to…"

A spear pierced the soldier's skull, ending his life instantly. The soldier's corpse slid down the shaft of the weapon until it hit the ground.

A massive monster, with red skin and four arms, emerged from dense smoke atop a muddy hill.

Li Minghua's eyes filled with hatred.

"Hey, James. An oni is when a strong, evil warrior returns to life, right?" Liam asked with a sadistic smile.

"Yes. Damn it. Liam, wait!…"

Liam didn't wait. Upon hearing the confirmation that what stood before him was indeed a demon, an infernal being, the general didn't hesitate to draw his sword, the one he had received as a gift from General Li, and charge at the demon.

What should have terrified everyone present was, for Liam, an impulse. The monsters he had heard so much about, coming from another empire, another world, seemed to give Liam a reason to fight. But when he struck the first blow… he realized they were nothing more than cultural tales.

Charging fiercely at the demon and moving in sync with the monster's slowed perception of time, Liam delivered a single strike. That one strike was enough to cut the demon in half. His sword slid through the demon's flesh like a knife through butter. The bones of that monstrous superior being seemed like nothing more than twigs to be cut by a machete.

That immense ease disappointed him. Even disappointed, Liam used the hill where the oni had stood as a watchtower. From the top, he noticed the presence of many other onis scattered across the battlefield.

Another oni, stronger, faster, and of a yellowish color, appeared behind him. However, Li Minghua appeared, exclaiming, "Yan Wang Style; Panduan!"

The oni was cut in half, and subsequently, the oni's body emitted a black aura. In moments, this black aura took the form of a giant hand that crushed the demon alive.

"Don't be reckless!" Li Minghua exclaimed.

"Relax," Liam retorted.

"No! I'm warning you, general! This isn't your territory! You're not invincible here!"

"You asked for my strength," Liam glared. "I'm here only for that. Reprimand me again, and I won't hesitate to turn that forest you call an empire into dust."

Li Minghua swallowed hard, glaring at Liam with disdain as he let him go.

"Sorry. My temper changes when I'm given orders. Just follow my lead; that's all you need to do."

Liam shot forward like a bolt of lightning amidst the chaos of war. With a single, effortless strike, he killed oni after oni. Demon after demon fell, as if they were nothing to him, yet gods to everyone else. The general simply ran through the combatants, like a fleeting shadow cutting through the air, killing each demon without remorse.

"What kind of emotion do you feel when you're fighting?" Liam recalled Li Minghua's question. "Love? Anxiety? Insanity?"

As he positioned himself before the oni that seemed the most powerful of all, he reflected, "What do I really feel…"

Liam adjusted his stance, stretched his legs, and delivered a single upward slash, leaving a golden trail in the air, cutting through the wind and spreading across the landscape.

"It's emptiness."

"I feel like I'm becoming a fanatic for fighting…" Liam muttered as he sheathed his sword.

While the soldiers conversed in the Zhuang language, Liam noticed a commotion forming. After wiping some of the demonic blood from his face, he tried to understand what was happening. Not far away, soldiers were trying to escort prisoners from Mikoto. Children, women, elders, and men with chains around their feet were being mercilessly attacked by Mikoto's soldiers, who hurled fireballs, making it impossible to rescue the civilians.

"I guess soldiers of this level won't be useful to any empire…" Liam pondered as he took a step toward the conflict.

However, an earthquake shook the region. Three kilometers away, a giant hand emerged from the ground, cracking the earth and creating several ravines on the battlefield.

A grotesque figure appeared in the air, over thirty meters tall, legs crossed, floating twenty meters above the ground. It had four enormous arms, and a kind of white halo floated above its head, illuminating its crimson body. One of the "Kishin no Kozui" had finally appeared.

Everyone froze, even Mikoto's soldiers. The soldiers' eyes lost their color, fear overtaking them. A superior being, something that was once human but now capable of bringing hell to the world. A true deity had manifested on the battlefield.

The only ones unaffected by the psychological terror caused by the colossal demon were Liam and James, as Morgana's curse protected them from it.

"Liam…" James called, approaching the general. "This thing… does it really exist?"

"Apparently…" Liam murmured, gazing at the creature.

"This existence is so… magnificent."

"Wake up. This isn't God. It's just humanity's failure in thinking it can imitate God. If it's not perfect, we can kill it. Gather the Zhuang soldiers and protect the civilians," Liam ordered. "I'll handle this."

"Are you sure you can?"

Liam looked at James, his expression genuinely serene.

"I can't be considered the strongest human if demons scare me."

"Is this still because of your father's recognition?…"

"Move, lieutenant. Do your job."

"Yes… sir!" James retorted, swallowing hard.

Lieutenant James ran across the battlefield toward the conflict. Touching his thumb to his middle finger, James recited his spell: "Schatten der Vergangenheit, erwecke die Toten!"

Golden particles emerged from the corpses within James's reach. These particles formed humanoid shapes that followed the lieutenant across the battlefield; the souls of the dead now became part of James's arsenal.

"Aniki, okite!" a weak, pained voice exclaimed. The voice of a child, muffled and suffering, as if buried under rubble. Liam tried to locate the source of the voice but couldn't from his position.

Jumping from a ledge and looking back, Liam found two children. One of them, the older one, was unconscious. The younger one, crying for her brother, was covered in mud and deep wounds.

"Hi, Melina!" Liam exclaimed, only four years old. He held his younger sister in his arms, moments before she passed. "I'm your big brother, Liam. Can you talk yet?" This memory flashed in his mind like a spotlight. "Anyway, know that we love you. Soon we'll all be together and can smile."

The memory of his sister flooded his mind like an intense wave.

"Mason!?" Li Minghua exclaimed.

"I'm down here," Liam retorted.

General Li Minghua jumped from the ledge ten meters above Liam. Even bewildered by the distant demon, Li swallowed his fear and approached Egon's general.

"Take the children," Liam said. "Help James get everyone out of the battlefield. I'll buy you time."

"This is a sacrifice…" Li murmured with regret, looking at the colossus.

"What happened to make you underestimate me so much?"

"Just… use the sword."

Liam nodded and turned toward the Kishin. Drawing Egon's sword, Liam took a step toward the demon. However, the younger child grabbed his leg.

Looking at the child, the general shouted, "Get her out of here!"

"Onegai, watashi no haha o tasukete kudasai!" the child exclaimed, tears streaming down her face, her legs weak.

"What?" Liam murmured.

"There's someone lost on the battlefield…" Li Minghua clarified.

"Take the children and come back to save them, then!"

The Kishin colossus, later to be named "Kishin no Raito," gathered energy in the halo above its head. The light it emitted illuminated kilometers.

"It's impossible! By the time I get to safety, the battlefield will have already turned into hell!"

"Dammit!" Liam cursed.

Making the child let go of his leg, the general leaped nearly fifty meters into the air. Scanning the field, Liam noticed Li Minghua returning with the children and James guiding the soldiers.

A purple mist escaped Liam's eyes, revealing to him all living beings within a six-kilometer radius. Over twenty presences were in the same area: eighteen were undoubtedly Mikoto soldiers, but only two seemed to be innocent. Even if he didn't know exactly who the child was referring to, it was certainly those two: a woman holding a newborn in her arms.

Taking one last look at the area, Liam descended toward those people, landing in front of the woman and her child. Her blue and white clothes were covered in blood, but she still had the strength to smile.

"You came to save my child…" the woman thanked, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, you can see God's love!" Liam exclaimed, smiling. "Let me show you!"

With time running out, Liam turned around and leaped toward the demonic beast, gathering all the strength he could muster.