Chapter 28: A Century Old Grudge

An unknown amount of time had passed since Marius and his family had left the mountain range, the evening finally drawing to its close as the sky had a tinge of blood red. A shrill wind blew across the open field, whose rustling sounds from the nearby shrubbery and flowing lake could not soothe the dark ambiance.

Suddenly, a few sparks flashed as the sound of an ax being sharpened had come to an end. The silence carrying within it an oppressiveness brought about by the change of the mood.

The Mountain Ax Senior now sat with his back facing the river, his muscular arms holding only the handle of his divine-like ax whose edge shimmered with baleful lights.

After seeing that it was to his liking, he fixed his attire in sitting posture, fitting on a sleeveless dark coat as his eyes had a sharp glint.

'You've already arrived, why bother to shroud your presence, Hellian?" The Mountain Ax Senior said in a calm tone.

As if the wind heard him, a light gust blew, sending a series of leaves around the field before a towering two-horned shadow appeared, as if it was there from the beginning.

Looking at this shadow, one would notice that it stretched from one end of the field towards the setting sun's direction, as if it bordered on the edge of twilight.

A humanoid middle-aged man with two-horns, a square-shaped face, long purple hair, cold looking eyes, and a stubble of beard stood at the shadow's edge. His figure shrouded by a sinister-looking robe with spiky shoulder pads that fluttered in the warm evening winds.

"Huhuhu... Brayhard, it has been such a long time, and my, how the tables have turned since our last meeting. Time truly has no care to its creatures," The man said with a cruel smile.

Brayhard looked at the Hellian before him in with a look of shock, before it turned into rage, his body started to glow in an earthen light as his grip around his ax hard.

With a rumble, the world shook, as if the entire mountain range was about to shatter into fragments. However, as if Brayhard remembered something, the figure of a horned beauty flashed before his eyes, causing him to grit his teeth and calm down.

The man snickered at this but said nothing; after a while, Brayhard calmed himself to a point where he could stare directly at the man.

"I should have figured it was you... Gizelmon, I knew that I had smelt a familiar blood upon that child, and based on what I've learned, only you would be so foolish, so ruthless to even y—"

"Enough!" Gizelmon said, cutting him off from his words, his previous manner of calmness nowhere to be seen as if Brayhard's words had touched his bottom line.

Soon, a series of sinister diagrams formed around Brayhard, each connected to a diabolical mystical power. One that was capable of annihilating not only this sector but all things within the entire mountain range.

"Tch, how typical? Just like last time, you can't handle the truth so you can only resort to unnecessary means," Brayhard said with a look of mock as he stared at Gizelmon.

Gizelmon seemed to have finally shrugged off the previous mood; his manner returned to normal as he smiled, looking at his old foe.

"Brayhard... you truly were my greatest adversary, even now you can so easily bring out my consciously suppressed wrath, huhu... but no more, I'm not here to play word games, you should already know why I've come."

As Gizelmon said those words, his eyes had a ray of coldness as if he wouldn't take nothing for an answer.

Brayhard chuckled as he looked at his ax before staring at Gizelmon. He then replied, "I'm sorry old pal, but I've aged. How can an old man like me even have a good memory?"

Gizelmon frowned as he heard Brayhard's words; the ground below his feet turned dark as within an instant, the entire field had transformed into a field of dried up grass. A sinister red mystical power conjured around his body as his hair swayed more fiercely while his eyes glowed.

"I will ask you one last time! WHERE ARE THE SUMMONS?" Gizelmon shouted in a roar, his voice echoing across the mystical mountain range that rumbled due to his power.

Brayhard smiled and replied calmly, "Nope, I can't remember; my mind isn't as it used to be."

"You... damn!" Gizelmon's anger reached its peak; his very shout caused nearby mountains to explode into rubble, raining rocks across the entire domain.

As if he realized his mistake, he took a deep breath and calmed down; Gizelmon soon gave Brayhard a complex look as he spoke, "Are you truly trying to interfere in the outside matters once again?"

Brayhard shook his head and sighed; he stared towards the distance as if catching onto a long-forgotten memory.

Gizelmon did nothing; though they were mortal enemies of the past, they still had the decency not to pull off unnecessary tactics during the conversation.

After a good while, Brayhard turned his gaze back to him and stood up from his sitting posture; Gizelmon narrowed his eyes as he could tell his decision based on his minor action.

"I would like to stay out of it forever, your race... or rather, all races had more than taken enough from me, I'd rather stay in this mountain and live my days until my final disaster, but sadly, because of your foolish and greedy desire. I can't allow myself to sit back idly."

As Brayhard spoke those words, his grip on his battle-ax grew even firmer as he held it at an angle, posing himself for battle as his mountain robes fluttered softly in the winds.

Gizelmon sighed at this, but that soon faded as his manner grew cold once again. He stood tall as if merging with the shadows that slowly grew longer as the sun fell.

"Greed and desire is the essences of our kind, the Six Emotions, and willingness to indulge oneself to its amour is second nature. You Artimans will ever understand the ways of our kind... all Hellians are driven by desire," Gizelmon said as he slowly raised his arms, conjuring two flaming spears of dark purple flames.

Brayhard scoffed at his words, "Is that so? Then how can you explain her?"

Gizelmon's eyes flashed at those words, but as if he grew angered, his face turned savage as he yelled, "SHE IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN! She's only a failure of our race meant solely to be discarded."

As if Brayhard's reverse scale was touched, his eyes glowed in a fierce light as he brandished his battle-ax and spoke, "Hmph! Whether or not she was a failure was not for you, nor anyone else to decide! You can forget about leaving today; I will make sure to carve my resolve onto your flesh!"

With a loud bang, Brayhard's earthen colored mystical power erupted in full, shaking the entire mountain range as the area for unknown distances became enveloped by his energy.

Gizelmon, who stood at this center of this all-consuming power, frowned as his body formed a purple barrier that warded off its effects. He clicked his teeth while thinking, 'How troublesome, it seems that I won't be able to move for a while, looks like I'll have to leave it to those children...'

Following those thoughts, Gizelmon's eyes flashed in red lights, sending a ripple across an unknown distance before returned normal.

Brayhard noticed this but didn't do anything; he merely stared at Gizelmon locking down the mountain with a series of barriers formed by his energy as he thought to himself.

'It won't be easy; he's one of the Three Hellian King's after all. However, I can only do my best to keep him at bay for as long as I can; there shouldn't have been many who could cross over from the Hellshire, and sending a single Hellian King with a major platoon would have been the most they could send after a large sacrifice.'

Following those thoughts, Brayhard's eyes shifted towards the side, gazing at a distant network of mountains that led towards the unknown as he muttered softly, "Take care of yourselves, the rest of your journey for you to decide."

The moment Brayhard said those words, a towering power rose from Gizelmon's direction as a shocking amount of purple flames enveloped a majority of Brayhard's sight.

Looking behind it, one would see the figure of a demon-like entity garbed in sinister armor and a flowing cape, holding two divine spears that pointed towards his direction.

The sun soon after set, as two rivals of old, prepared to fight what might be their decisive battle, bringing an end to a century-old grudge, and the start of a shocking age...