Parker was losing. There was no way around it.

  Pain shot through Parker's wounds, keeping exhaustion at bay. But each movement made the ache in his limbs unbearable.

  He dodged a wild slash and returned a jab to try and maintain his distance.

  Blood dripped from the cut on his head and soaked his shirt from the cut in his side, every move made them set his body aflame with blinding pain.

  At some point he and the Blade demon fought between the legs of one of those stone titans, they doged between arms and he winced from the sweltering heat rolling off the body of the giant.

  He managed to finally get a hit on it's lower body missing the legs but drawing blood, the Stone titan grabbed at them but they escaped as it was besieged by the rolling caterpillars.

  Each slam like a cannon blast that drew more attention, the Blade demon was uncontestable, he hadn't seen much of them but they casually dodged and slashed anything in their way.

  Paul was nearly unconscious only weakly covering his head.

  Parker closed in and met the blades of the beast once more, they danced about, sword strikes flickered around him.

  He moved his feet rapidly moving between attacks, retreat, close in duck and counter attack.

  It's like a rugby game—I adjust my defense while also trying to exploit gaps or mistakes in the demon's defense. I can keep up defensively, but I'm out of my league in offense, making too many easily exploitable mistakes that allow for an interception.

  He knew his moves couldn't just be reactions—they had to lead somewhere. But every attack carried a risk.

  If he went left, the demon's damaged hand left an opening, but if he struck high, he had to be ready to get his stomach torn open.

  At the same time he couldn't attack the right to hard since Paul was in it's right hand but this meant that side was only dangerous for lower attacks.

  Parker grit his teeth, he was too slow to react, every move was clunky and either to slow or badly aimed

  Everyone else is gone, all we need is Paul and we can go.

  He had seen Matthew's arrival, now all they needed was to retrieve Paul and escape. He was about to go for another attack when the Blade demon suddenly went on the offensive.

  He heard something behind him and immediately understood.

  He was jockeying me. That hiss was a salamander.

  He was ready to take the hit to the back since he had no option till he saw her coming behind the Blade demon.

  He jumped aside to dodge the fireball, the Blade demon was happy to attack as he retreated.

  It didn't sense Asha till the knife stabbed into it's back. She pulled away after dealing the blow sending a forced smile at Parker.

  "good to see you're still alive."

  Parker shrugged, "Barely."

  "We need to take care of this and join Matthew beside the monarch or whatever that thing is" Asha quickly explained

  Parker nodded, glancing at Matthew out the side of his eye. Only for his jaw to drop in astonishment.

  Is he crazy?

  Two of the massive White ants were now battling the great black beast that Matthew had told them to take shelter around. Of course Matthew himself wasn't taking his own advice.

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  As the ants attacked the Monarch he ran in between their legs slicing at them always just half a step between behind crushed by the fighting titans.

  He ignored Matthew's madness and raised his sword looking the Black demon in its green eyes, Asha circled behind it waiting for an opportunity.

  The demon looked stoic for a second, it raised its blades and…

  Then began running away.

  Parker was shocked watching it run before screaming "get back here you bastard!"

  They chased after it. He laboriously dodged and swung at anything trying to follow or attack him.

  Asha was close behind the demon shockingly quick. She dodged and zipped past monsters even leaving shallow cuts on their bodies to help clear a way for him

  Damn it! If i didn't send her away we could have probably killed that monsters a long time ago

  They chased it as it flew down the cavern to the Dark forest entrance, Matthew saw them and shouted something too low for them to hear over the shattering noises of the cavern.

  Parker screamed and yelled for the beast to stop while Asha ran with everything she had

  Paul looked back at them, their faces desperate and dirty, it had been a long and never ending match of death and survival these last few hours.

  He smiled at their grim apperances "get out of here."

  His voice was too low and weak but Parker could hear him.

  Even through the deafening chaos of the battle he could hear him

  Paul pushed himself up screaming defiantly as he then plunged his thumbs into the small eyes holes of the Blade demon's done helmet.

  The demon seemingly had enough of him, it's two blades rose up and sliced him in half, blood and entrails scattering all over the white stone.

  For a second he stopped watching the monster throw Paul's lifeless body aside, he watched Paul skid against the ground.

  Hhis eyes empty and his face slack.

  The blade demon was screeching in horrible pain as black blood leaked from its eyes

  Asha was screaming something he couldn't hear as tears poured down her face uncontrollably.

  She launched herself at the monster stabbing it's neck before pulling the knife out to dodge a wild blow.

  She attacked again and again stabbing it's legs, arms and back not able to kill it but so utterly consumed by despair she couldn't stop.

  Parker finally moved.

  He ran up to the wildly swinging beast no longer worried about being cut,he opened his mouth and screamed as he slashed, nearly decapitating it as the sword tore into it's neck.

  He pulled it out and slashed again as the creature fell, taking its head off completely.

  It was over.

  He let Blue Trick fall to the ground and walked to Paul's corpse, he fell to his knees.

  All that strength, bloodlust and determination faded like mist and all he was left with was pain, exhaustion and horror.

  The world was so horribly quiet as the blood drained from Paul's body and his face became paler.

  Asha hugged him tightly behind him crying inconsolably into his back, he grasped his shirt tightly as the teared poured from his eyes, anguish scrunching up his face before getting up.

  He picked Asha up and began to run to Matthew

  "Paul i'm so sorry," He didn't even dare to comfort himself