Chapter 7: Inked With Hope

Chapter 7: Inked With Hope

Anger and annoyance painted across his face as his muscles began to tense, veins bulging as he tightened his grip on his Claymore. Berserker attempted a downward slash directly at me, catching everyone off guard.

The blade inched toward my spiritual orb without a moment's chance to dodge or weave out of the way. Ty's only thought was filled with fear at how fast he was able to close the distance as the edge of his blackened Berserker drew closer to slicing Ty in half.

Ty felt a tug before being pulled back by a woman inked in black and red skin with purple wings on her back and beautiful purple hair flowing down her black form. Her blade crashed into the Angelic Warrior's blade in a clash of energy.

The Demon King caught my soul in his hands, stating, "I told you, nothing good comes from these people!"

Valerian shouted, "Get out of our way! That soul is the property of the Angelic Race!"

Ty shouted back, "Then why did you just try to slice me in half?!"

Valerian scoffed and laughed as his blade was forced against the Demon Woman's blade, maintaining a cold expression. "It does not matter if you're slashed in two or four pieces. You have made your intentions clear.

We will take you back in a bag of dust if we need to!" His yelling began to make the walls shake as the monstrous guards behind the Demon King began to unsheathe their swords, but the Demon King raised his hand toward them, waving them off.

Standing fully upright with her black Katana at her side, she stated, "You will pay before I personally kill you all for ruining my father's Day!" Her eyes began shining bright purple as Valerian scoffed and said, "You little bitch, you think I'll just let you get away with that."

The Demon King swiftly intercepted the assault, catching Aurelius's blade with his hand and flinging the angelic warrior to the side. Without missing a beat, Aurelius retaliated, guiding his sword with precision and bellowing, "Thousand Cut Barrage." With a swift diagonal slash, he unleashed a barrage of small, green wind arcs that sped towards the Demon King.

The Demon King's happy expression quickly faded to boredom as he stopped even trying to dodge the attack, stating, "This is a division captain? Guess they bring anyone up these days, huh?"

Without responding to the taunt, Aurelius forcefully placed his hand on the ground, exclaiming, "Thousand Chains of Confinement!" Almost immediately, a luminous mark shimmered to life on the Demon King's chest. From it, countless chains sprang forth, ensnaring the Demon King and rendering him motionless.

With a focused gesture over his own chest, Aurelius commanded, "Seal." The chains binding the Demon King began to glow a searing red, further solidifying their grip and ensuring the Demon King's immobilization.

"Now that I have you confined, it's time to collect the soul and be done with this pathetic farce. I have much better things to be doing with my time."

The Demon King, still unfazed, stated, "So I guess they aren't gonna give you a choice. So what will it be, Ty? At the end of the day, I don't mind too much, but this is the most fun I've had in over a thousand years or so. I'd love to keep up with the fun. What say you, boy?" Throwing up the paper from his hand in the air, Ty took a moment to think.

The only vision that came forward was Jade holding his lifeless body, crying and begging him to stay with her. At that moment, everything became apparent, and he simply replied, "Yes. Whatever it takes," before dodging the blade of Aurelius and jetting toward the flying paper. He slung himself through the center, creating an inked signature on the center where the blank space had resided.

A bright flash of light emerged from the paper as the Demon King proclaimed, "Yes! Now, all of you Angelic bastards, get out of my domain!" Easily breaking through the chains that had confined him, he added, "This is nothing but child's play, and I won't be entertaining it anymore."

Aurelius, looking worried and annoyed, drew his blade once more as the bright light from the paper and Ty's soul engaged in a dance of light and fire.