Clash of Cursed Fates"

📖 Chapter 4: Clash of Cursed Fates

The forest was silent, as if nature itself held its breath.

Lucius stood frozen behind a shattered tree, the wind carrying the smell of ash and death. His eyes trembled with confusion. All he had known was taken from him. The demon girl who showed him kindness—gone. Murdered before his eyes by the same sorcerers who claimed to protect the world.

Now, standing between him and destruction was the man known only as the Master.

The Demon Lord emerged from the mist — tall, cloaked in dark armor, red eyes glowing like embers of hatred.

“So,” the Demon Lord’s voice was like cracked stone, “this is the child you risk your life for?”

The Master didn’t flinch. “He’s not just a child. He’s the key to a future you fear.”

With no further words, they charged at each other.

Their fists met mid-air, the impact causing the very earth to tremble. Shockwaves split trees and sent flocks of birds fleeing into the skies.

Lucius gasped. His heart pounded in fear… and something else. Something deeper. A power beginning to stir.

The Demon Lord pulled back, launching a flaming side-kick. The Master vanished and reappeared behind him, landing a palm strike on his back that echoed like thunder.

“Impressive,” the Demon Lord snarled, stumbling forward, “but do you think that’s enough?”

He laughed, low and dark, as his body began to change. Horns sprouted from his head. Blackened wings tore through his back. His claws extended, and cursed flames danced around his fingers.

“You forget,” he growled, “I was once feared as the King of the Underworld.”

Lucius’s eyes widened. This was not a battle between men. It was between monsters.

But the Master stood tall. “You talk too much.”

The Demon Lord slammed his fists into the ground — a wave of cursed energy erupted outward. Lucius shielded himself as trees were uprooted. The Master was already moving, sliding under the wave and launching into the air.

“Cursed Art: Blade of Light!” the Master shouted.

Dozens of shining weapons appeared in the air and hurled themselves at the Demon Lord. He blocked with his wings, but the force knocked him back.

“You’re good,” the Demon Lord admitted, rising from the crater he landed in. “But let’s test your limits.”

He vanished in a blink, appearing right in front of the Master, claws swinging. The Master raised a glowing arm to block, but blood sprayed as the claws tore his shoulder.

Lucius screamed, “STOP!”

Both fighters froze for a moment — not because of his words, but because of the sudden pulse that came from him. A red-black aura flickered around Lucius. His cursed energy had awakened.

The Demon Lord turned slowly, eyes gleaming. “There it is... the soul I was waiting for.”

The Master, despite his wound, smiled faintly. “He’s beginning to remember… or at least to awaken.”

Lucius fell to his knees. Images flashed in his mind — of blood, of rituals, of the moon.

“I… I’m… What am I?” he whispered.

“You are mine,” the Demon Lord said.

“No,” said the Master, rising despite the blood soaking his robe. “He is his own.”

The Master clapped his hands together. A massive symbol formed beneath him.

“Cursed Domain: Mirror Binding.”

Suddenly, two copies of the Master appeared and rushed toward the Demon Lord from both sides. He caught one, but the other drove a glowing blade into his back.

The real Master landed with a final attack:

“Final Form: Heaven Breaker!”

A beam of light shot from his palm, piercing through the Demon Lord’s body. Dust and light consumed the battlefield.

Silence followed.

As the smoke cleared, the Demon Lord stood — bloodied, burned, but still smiling.

“Interesting,” he said. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

The Master took deep breaths. “So are you. But this isn’t over.”

Lucius stood behind them, breathing hard, cursed energy now faintly visible around him like a second skin.

The true battle was only beginning.

To be continued…

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