Red Demon

He ran straight ahead, blindly, for he didn't know how long. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. He tore through the undergrowth blocking his path. He tried to avoid them, but the darkness effectively prevented him. Invisible branches snagged his clothes, cutting his flesh. Moreover, his clothes were smeared with blood leaking from his mouth. Wounds, inflicted by a very sharp weapon, were visible on his back. He ran for another dozen or so seconds, tripping over roots protruding from the ground. At a certain point, his body began to rebel.

When the unbearable pain burst his chest from the lack of air, and his legs began to fail, he stopped. He clutched his left side and gasped for air. Breathing heavily, he spat out the excess blood that had gathered in his mouth and looked around.

At first, he didn't realize where he was. Fatigue and fear made it impossible to concentrate. He leaned forward to gather his thoughts and try to stop the raging headache. After a moment, he succeeded. Looking around, he saw all sorts of trees and bushes everywhere. Tall, short, thick, and thin. They looked like the ones he'd seen while walking through the Eastern Forest; the same colors, the same air. But after a moment, he felt strange.

Something was missing.

He realized he couldn't hear any animal sounds, and that a strange vapor was rising from the ground—swirling and twisting. From its depths, a faint humming sound emanated occasionally. Despite the exhaustion and chill, shivers ran through his body, though they weren't caused by the cold. He felt the plants around him trying to capture his mind with their invisible tentacles. However, they failed. As quickly as they appeared, they vanished. It was as if they had encountered some barrier. He shook himself out of his sudden stupor, and a strange scent assaulted his nostrils. A scent he didn't recognize. That was enough for him to understand that he was surrounded on all sides by the Northern Forest. A mysterious, infamous place where no one had ever entered. He'd read that from Siralos's books.

For a moment, he recalled old Rahadnak's words:

"Do not enter this part of the forest. I myself dare not guess what lies there, so let this be a warning to you!"

He remembered that sentence; it was etched in his memory like a birthmark.

He stood paralyzed, holding his side, his gaze fixed on a single point. Utter helplessness gripped his limbs. Nothing he could think of to do came to mind. "I can't turn back, but I can't go any further either. I can just stand here and stand still?" he thought, and immediately chastised himself for the panic creeping into his mind. "Don't give up so quickly. You're alive, aren't you? Yes, I am, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm standing on the brink of an abyss I can't escape. It's this Forbidden Forest."

Suddenly, a terrible pain shot through his entire body, radiating upward from the bottom. He fell to his knees. He propped himself up on his hands and vomited blood. The headache intensified, as did the exhaustion. The shock of the sudden jolt instantly brought back memories of the last few minutes. Images of the massacre of his family. He remembered most of the details. He covered his face with his hands and burst into tears. He suddenly realized that everything had changed, and at the same time, it was over. Nothing would be the same. This was what he had feared most all his life: the passage of time and the loss of loved ones. He had known it would happen someday, but he hadn't foreseen today.

While his mind remained numb, four black creatures with yellow eyes, the size of bears, emerged silently from the darkness. Colorless steam rose from their mouths, armed with fangs several inches long. They walked slowly in a parallel row. They stopped about four meters from the nearest bush, or perhaps twenty meters away. They fixed their gaze on the figure kneeling on the ground and stared at it for a moment, as if assessing their opponent. Their gaze was filled with mad brutality and bloodlust. They twitched their muzzles periodically, emitting faint gasps. Another beast appeared just behind the beast.

It was enormous and hideous. Its muzzle was deformed, as if something heavy had fallen on its head. Protrusions resembling thorns grew all over its skull. A jagged line divided its entire body, and at the right angle, its entrails could be seen squirming. In its right paw, it held four severed human heads, fresh blood still dripping from them. It hovered above the ground with a pair of wings, dragging the remains of headless bodies behind it, which were tied with rope to a huge hook driven into its left side.

A smile spread across her large face as she saw another defenseless victim before her. A victim who had managed to escape during the first attack. "Hadder, allgrta," she said aloud. The words flowed through an invisible corridor and entered the minds of the beasts standing in front. The boy froze. He also heard a bass voice, as if from the bottom of a barrel. He didn't understand the sentence exactly, but he sensed, unconsciously or instinctively, the magical formula. He turned as quickly as he could, but he was unprepared for what he saw. Red Demon, he thought in surprise. How did he know that name? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bodies of his family and screamed loudly.

He began to retreat, his gaze fixed on the perpetrator of his misfortunes. At the same moment, the four creatures heard the command and moved slowly. The boy tried to stand up as quickly as possible, but nervousness and fear took over. His mind and tired, exhausted body refused to obey. He managed to crawl to the doge.

' a huge oak tree. He leaned back and took a deep breath. He looked at the monsters again: four of them leaped at him simultaneously, fangs bared. He resigned himself to the thought that he would never wake up. With that memory, he fainted.

When the Argadas were two meters away and leaping, an incredible roar erupted, triggered by an explosion of ancient magic swirling in the air. At that precise moment, the four entities of evil were simultaneously cut cleanly in half, their remains falling to the ground like nutshells. Immediately afterward, a monstrous figure appeared before the boy, a sword held in both hands and dripping with green ichor. It was at least three meters tall and clad in a black cloak, edged with silver spikes, and black armor covering only its torso. On his exposed arms and forearms was a previously unexplored pattern, stretching from his shoulder to his hand. His legs were covered by a blue armored section, adorned with intricate patterns. The Red Demon, realizing what had happened, stopped smiling. A feeling began to overwhelm him, like the one his victims, the ones he hunted daily, felt. Disoriented, he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, he noticed something, something no one had seen since time immemorial. The legendary inscription on the armor. This caught the demon's attention. It made a profound impression on him, and he lowered his head.

For the first time in this world, he felt incredible fear and the immense power emanating from this figure. All his spells and abilities seemed useless at that moment. Even a whole horde of red and black demons would have been useless. He panicked. He wanted to flee, but he couldn't. Some invisible force prevented him. He struggled in every direction, but to no avail. He tried to use a spell, but a moment later realized it was a mistake. A mere moment passed before both his paws and arms shattered into hundreds of pieces, leaving tattered stumps. A roar pierced the air. The giant raised his sword and pointed it at the demon. The air thickened with steam rising from the ground. The powerful magnetic force created a transparent ribbon of magic, which, dispelling the surrounding darkness, flowed, close to the ground, towards the terrified demon. It penetrated the servant of evil. After a few seconds, there were faint electrical discharges, and smoke rose from a pile of black ash where the red figure had been. Steam, ending in a terrified muzzle, rose into the air. Silence fell, broken only by the soft rustle of the wind.

Argal turned and crouched, jamming his sword into the ground. He removed his helmet and placed it beside him. He looked at the figure slumped against a massive oak tree. He stared at it for a moment. His long blue-black hair flowed down his back to his waist. A scar cut his face from his left eye to his right cheek. It spoke of a difficult battle fought in the past against a truly powerful opponent. Judging by his muscular build and the aura of strength surrounding him, it was hard to imagine anyone challenging him.

Another bolt of lightning cracked the sky, its clap echoing across the entire sky. The wind picked up, stirring his cloak and hair. The moment he rose and replaced his helmet, the man on the ground began to awaken. He slightly tilted his body to the right, then rolled onto his stomach. He slowly opened his eyes. At first, everything was blurry. As if through a fog. However, after a while, my vision improved with each passing second.