Chapter 1.3: Regret

The sky cries upon the blood-stained lands of Ren'veil the Knights of Faith offer a silent prayer to ease the earth mother's cry, exchanging a promise of peace and justice to the fallen.

Little did they know that the earth not only cried for her fallen children, the skies then cracked and burned echoing upon his rage, but the Demon of Faith had also come once again. 

He sat down upon the chair as the air grew stale around him with fire and ice, the Knight who possessed his body was not put to sleep by the rageful demon, contemplating upon the mission he was given by his goddess only to find ruin in the peace he had brought to the world.

"I will have revenge… I will avenge them all… This… I... swear!" The demon whispered.

His rage was ever consuming as Ren’veil quaked beneath his feet the body slowly changed to match the ancient primal wolf of Requiem. Before the body could change completely the demon heard a knock on the door reverting the body back to its weaker form.

The doctor and the Knight’s sister Lillian Starlight had come to report to her lord only to see something amiss upon her brother.  

“Lily… Report” He whispered. 

The coldness in his voice shook Lily to her core knowing that her brother and good friend was not the one she was talking to but the Demon himself. 

She rushed towards the Demon with a knife in hand, she aimed her blade upon his throat demanding what he did to her brother.

He tapped her blade as it slowly started to corrode and rust, she was about to jump back as the Demon grabbed her by the neck slowly choking her.

He simply smiled knowing that Lily had feelings for Kent only to find that her desires will never bear fruit, the demon could only laugh at her desires. Yet he admired her courage for pointing her blade against the demon of faith without suffering the consequence was a rare sight to behold.

"I admire your desire and courage… Child… But your desire shall be your undoing… For now, I shall forgive you for serving a purpose... " He whispered.

The demon's only desire is to protect his treasures, he annoyingly asked once again what are the condition of the two.

Lily sighed knowing she is compared to a common ant against an entire galaxy. She reported the condition of the girls knowing they are out of harm's way. 

Lily was running several tests on their blood as she found traces of several unknown toxins lingering in their bloodstream. 

It would take time for the Night Hawk to create an Antitoxin to fully cure them and are under strict watch by the angelic hands.

She promised to protect them as Kent did for her long ago. 

The demon broke a smile for only a moment knowing she was true to her oath, unlike their kin who easily broke the promised oath. 

Lily answered back to the demon stating the Zerrohnians are different, He looked at her with rage-filled eyes walking towards her, fear crawled down her spine forcing all knights within the hall easily forcing them to their knees.

The Demon laughed maniacally as his laughter started to rip apart the reality around him distorting the very fabric of reality itself.

He asked why she defended the failures of her people as he reminded her of their so-called difference and loyalty.

The humans revealed to the 1st legion how to turn off Requiem's shields, the Xer-ragzh of the Knight Empiria destroyed his peaceful home, They almost killed all of Kent's family and relatives including Talis and Wodan, and her kind both Xer-Ragzh and Human shared a hand for the deaths of all the Eternal Knights that came before Kent.

He left the subject of their crimes alone as each Eternal knight who died at the hands of both species pleaded to give them 1 more chance to live and prove their worth before the goddess Faith. 

But only to find pain and misery in his wake, though the Vai'len are no different from other humans, the Demon sees in them a potential to change which the other Ur-re’var lacked.

The demon wanted to annihilate the other humans that fester the realms long ago for all the crimes they committed not only to themselves, to others, to the Eternal knight, and to creation herself.

He walked away from Lily, lifting the chilling veil that bound them, the demon would forgive in the name of his old friend but should they fail him again, then all shall suffer his wrath.

Lily realized that the demon was no joke as his power was slowly ripping reality apart at his very presence.

Should he be unshackled or anything happened to the two, reality itself no realm is safe from his fury.

As the battle beyond the city raged on, the demon entered the intensive care unit of city hall, his eyes burning with rage. 

Watching from a distance as both his ladies lay before him with numerous machines that kept them alive. Their hearts burn with grief seeing those they cherish on the verge of death, but with grief comes regret. 

The demon regretted failing his ladies, abandoning them while he dealt with the corrupt government that controls the Dragon-wolf kingdom. 

He took a breath cleansing the room of any harm as he sat down looking around the room to ensure nothing will harm them.

The demon saw the shadow of the reaper himself waiting patiently to claim their souls for the afterlife.

There was once an unspoken war all in an effort to kill him but the gods failed and were nearly wiped out if it wasn't for Faith's intervention. 

In turn, the surviving gods made an ancient law known across creation to never anger or steal from the Demon of all realms shall suffer ruination. The reaper immediately left knowing that the Demon was watching him, not even death himself would dare to suffer his wrath.

With the reaper gone, The demon looked to his left seeing Aisha the mage adept and to her side is her sister by name and best friend Yuuno the Priestess.

The demon sat down contemplating what the true Kent had done to protect them, was his choice to go back to the kingdom and correct it was a sound plan, or was his excessive meddling caused so much suffering. 

He closed his eyes for a moment seeing nothing but darkness when he heard a whisper in the distance. A familiar voice he had not heard for a long time, he opened his eyes to see the true Kent appear from Aisha's necklace. 

The demon asked why he would show himself knowing he was still weak from the fragmenting and now his light grows weaker. He immediately realized that Kent was channeling all the strength he had left to the two, protecting them as best as he could.

Kent smiled telling him to forgive the Zerrohnians knowing they were wronged many times over his father and the next generation will bring about a peaceful future with the demon of Faith.

He violently protested against the notion of leading the kingdom when they already have Faith, Kent should be the one leading them while he remained to dream.

The spirit could only laugh knowing the demon whose power and rage could shake all the realms held some compassion to a chosen few.

He asked the demon to forgive and live the life he never could and break the cycle of pain and give the Zerrohnians back what they had lost. 

The demon smirked knowing that the human side of the knight weakened his resolve and was easily used by others. But he will comply in honor of an old friend, the spirit smiled thanking the demon for helping his people despite his constant protests.

Before they continued the spirit started to flicker out as being in the material world was too taxing. The Demon channeled a small portion of his power to Kent to save him as he returned to the necklace and regained his strength. 

He leaned his back upon the chair deep in thought knowing that he is the executioner of Faith, the being unrivaled by any god, Fear all across creation as a god killer, not even the dark ones dared to anger him. 

Yet he was reduced to such lows yet he forgave in memory of an old friend. 

"You deserve better Kent…You could have made the kingdom what it should have been yet… In the end, your dream was broken by those you trusted… And yet you forgave… I know not what came of this feeble mind of yours but one thing I am certain... I will set this right for Aliyah and the knights that came before…" The demon said as he clenched his fist.

The demon reached out his hand giving the two a small portion of his power to sustain them. 

Knowing that Lily’s search for a cure to the poison lingering in their blood, the demon gave the two a pint of Kent's blood knowing that he possesses Monsters inside his blood.

He asked the twin destroyers to save their lives and protect them from harm in turn he will give one favor to them.

The Monsters agreed without question knowing a favor from the demon is unmatched beyond recognition. As they expelled the toxins inside their bodies, slowly but surely the viruses began healing their bodies at an alarming rate and made Improvements to them as part of their bargain.

Lily went back inside the room to monitor the two when she heard his voice whispering a word of thanks for saving them.

He sat down drinking a cup of tea watching the hail of artillery over the distance when Captain Rex called him from his intercom. He reported that the enemy was beginning to make their move when all of a sudden the Mammoth tanks were being destroyed one by one.

The demon looked out the window seeing the tanks were being Skewered by a massive spire of blades. Red ordered the remaining tanks into the city walls until two remained there was only one being on Ren’veil who had the power to summon blade spires and give him a headache.

“RIO…” The Demon growled.

Before he could do anything the songs of gunfire were heard from the city’s edge, Kent looked out the window seeing the bloodfang brothers rallied the knights to the west and south gates with their forces stretched thin it was only a matter of time before their lines break. 

The demon wanted to face the bastard who destroyed his tanks and harmed his ladies but Kent wanted to get revenge as well though he wasn’t as powerful as the original. 

He realized that the fragment’s desires are strong but not strong enough despite his protests the demon permitted it for now. 

The fragment of Kent’s soul is still vulnerable to the harshness of the mortal world, the Demon warned him that if he should fall there's no coming back. 

He agreed knowing that the original would have made the same deal with him, despite his fractured soul the knight inside him wanted to seek vengeance for every one that fell before the New Kingdom.

The demon laughed knowing that Vengeance is not the way of the knights, Kent smirked and quoted the demon.

“I may not be a knight like he was… But I am still a knight… No more, no less. ” Kent smiled.

He rushed towards the western gate with the New Kingdom forces pushing hard upon the gate Knight captain Fenrir and the remaining shielders made their stand inside the shattered gate. 

With shields locked and stance firm, the knights of the Ironwolves gave no quarter against the enemy while the marines provided cover for their knight companions. 

Kent jumped into the enemy battlelines clearing the path buying them time to fortify the gate, with tooth, nail, blade, and claw.

The knight fought with precision and fury in each strike he alone pushed the enemy back reaching the Floran hills. Despite being surrounded the knight was never surrounded but the enemy was hopelessly outmatched as hours passed and bodies started to pile up.

Kent noticed the enemy at the western gate was slowly drawn to him as more and more soldiers surrounded him it would take time for the knight to get back. 

Before he could reach he could hear the thrumming of chains in the distance. 

The familiar sound put a smile on his face as the knight turned around to see his old mentor and Venerable knight Khorn Fellfang. His mentor riddled in dents and scratches as his axes are riddled in blood, Kent saw his master was happy to fight once again praising him for finding a world that could be their new home.

But pleasantries can wait as the city needs them more than the Knight needs help Khorn and his warriors went to the southern gate to reinforce the other squads. The demon kicked the knight to the side saving him from a massive blade wave that could have sliced him in half. 

When he got up he dared not to believe his eyes but Rio Swordtaker friend to Aisha and Yuuno and hero to the Vai’len leads the enemy army to crush the rebellion.

Kent disappeared as he tried to decapitate Rio with blades ignited with rage. 

Rio easily dodged the first strikes, he unsheathed his blades as he tried to deliver a powerful thrust to the chest. Using one of the Excaliburst blades, he fired a small booster at the blunt edge of the blade. 

This hastened the swing of his sword and changed the angle of his body which made him dodge the thrust while delivering a counterattack with a powerful upward swing.

Rio managed to parry the strike and charged at him wielding a blade on each hand. Kent managed to block one of the blades but the other blade was trying to impale him in the stomach.

Their battle ignited as vibrations emitting from the two clashing blades could deliver enough force to send spectating people flying. Each strike can make the ground tremble. Kent used his strength against his opponent while Rio used his magic against the Knight of the Stars.

The duel could be seen within a three-mile radius as if the duel is similar to a fight between the demon king and the hero. But this time, who was the demon, and who was the hero in question? Whilst their battle raged on, a storm was brewing around them.

Although he managed to land a blow on the swordsman, the strike merely grazed him but the demon looked on as they fought. 

Despite Kent’s control over his body being very limited yet he showed his power and desires are true. He realized that the knight would be beaten by the swordsman all in part to the power gap and control that Rio possessed.

Rio pulled out two daggers and threw them at him. Kent slid back, struck the swordsman twice, and plunged his blade on his arm.

Kent leaned to his right dodging the attack but the energy emitted from the blades managed to slightly graze Rio. 

He summoned two knives out of thin air and threw them with all his fury towards the knight. One of the knives was cut in half easily by deflecting the incoming knife while the other managed to lodge itself into Kent's arm.

He smirked at the knight lord pulling the back of the knife dragging Kent towards him plunging his sword into his stomach.

Kent fell hard on the ground since Rio's blades were infused with magic and brimming with life energy. 

The Xerrohmite plating provided little to no protection against such powerful weapons.

Rio laughed at the knight who fell before his blades as he mocked the so-called skill and discipline that Kent was trained from birth that proved nothing to him as he stood on top.

"You see, Kent,” Rio boasted heavily. “It doesn't matter who is stronger. A summoned dog will always be a dog and they deserve nothing but the dirt stuffed beneath the crevices within the soles of my boots. Now, about time to finish the rest of these insolent dogs and finally make those two my lovely slaves." 

Rio walked away and openly ordered the soldiers of the New Kingdom to charge upon the city as the knights of the Sky Raiders held the line for as long as they could. The endless hordes of soldiers forced them to break their formation while moving deep into the city..

With the battle slowly coming to its end, the rain started to pour over the battlefield. The roaring of gunshots and the clashing of swords against shields sang in the distance.

As the light of day started to fade from his eyes the Demon pitied Kent for fighting against a foe he knew he could not hope to beat in his condition.

Despite being a fragment he was able to hold his ground better than any knight could ever hope to beat he growled at the knight and healed his injuries.

The demon praised him for his bravery and desire for justice but he was not strong enough one day he will rise again once the knight is made whole again. He pulled the knight’s soul back into the Realm of Dreams to heal, now he must take on the challenge and undo his mistakes and break the chains that bind Ren’veil.

He possessed the body once again, the demon stood as the earth cried out in pain and agony, the demon looked to the city as it slowly burned to the ground, the screams of terror and agony filled his ears. 

The forces of the Sky Raiders showed courage in the face of overwhelming odds they defended the people to their last. The courage alone is not enough with their forces dwindling by the second, it was only a matter of time before Rio and his forces reached them. 

They needed reinforcements when there was none to give… Or so they thought…

Deep within the void of space lies a race of monsters that dwell in the darkest corner of the human mind. Claws that rend through the toughest armor, fangs that tear through flesh and bone, armor made of living flesh, and Hunger that is never quenched.

They lie in wait only for the call of their progenitor for they only serve one master now and forevermore. 

The demon unleashed a powerful roar clearing the night’s sky as his rage was felt across the planet so too was it felt deep within the vastness of space.

My Executioners hear me, the time has come to bare your fangs upon creation, the innocent cry out in pain demanding justice against the enemy.

Answer the call of arms, rise from your eternal slumber, and save the people who need your power.

Let the enemy suffer your wrath, Let my will be made true...

His voice echoed into the darkness for only a moment passed billions of howls and roars were heard beyond the vastness of deep space. 

Tens upon hundreds of monstrous whale-like creatures began appearing from dark portals as they unleashed their tendrils upon Ren’veil. 

They had come to answer the call of their progenitor, the High Glaives answered the call of their progenitor.

They are the sword of their progenitor, They are his shield, they are his will made manifest, And they are hungry for battle.

May Faith forgive those who dare stand against them.