THE GODSLAYER'S RETURN

Eight: The Summoned Terror

The cavern burned with a searing heat that made Kael’s skin prickle. The Hellbeast stood in the center, its massive body coiled like a spring, molten scales glowing as cracks of light pulsed beneath its armor. Smoke poured from its nostrils, filling the cavern with the stench of sulfur and scorched stone.

Kael’s hand tightened on his dagger. The bracers on his arms throbbed, crimson lines snaking across his veins, responding to his mounting tension.

“This isn’t some spirit beast,” he muttered.

“No,” Aelira said, her amber eyes locked on the creature. Her voice was steady, but Kael caught the faint tremor underneath. “This… this is an executioner.”

The beast snarled, its jaws parting to reveal fangs glowing like molten metal. A sound like a furnace roaring to life filled the cavern, and Kael felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

“They’re not testing us anymore,” Aelira added, her voice low. “They want you dead.”

Kael’s lips curved into a grim smile. “They’ll have to try harder.”

The Hellbeast roared, the sound deafening as it lunged forward, its claws gouging the ground. Kael blurred out of its path, the bracers amplifying his speed.

The beast’s tail whipped around, shattering a stalagmite and sending shards flying like knives.

Aelira threw up a shield of silver light, deflecting the debris, but the force knocked her back against the cavern wall.

Kael sprinted forward, sliding beneath the Hellbeast’s belly and slashing at its exposed flesh. Sparks flew as his blade glanced off its molten hide.

The beast reared up, molten saliva dripping from its jaws, and slammed its claws down where Kael had been standing a moment ago. The ground cracked, sending tremors through the cavern.

Kael leapt back, his mind racing. He couldn’t pierce its scales with brute force. He needed leverage. He needed a weakness.

“Eyes,” he murmured, scanning its movements. “The eyes are soft.”

Aelira steadied herself, her glowing shield flickering. “You won’t get close without a distraction!”

“Then distract it,” Kael snapped.

She didn’t argue. Power flared from her palms as she whispered a sharp incantation. Light exploded from her hands, a blinding flash that lit up the entire cavern. The Hellbeast roared in fury, snapping its head toward her.

Kael seized the opening.

He channeled the bracers’ full power, crimson light surging through his body, making his veins burn. The world slowed. He sprinted up a shattered pillar, leaping high into the air, his dagger raised.

The beast turned just as Kael descended, its jaws snapping open.

Kael’s dagger struck its left eye.

The Hellbeast screamed, its roar shaking loose rocks from the ceiling. Black ichor spilled down its face, sizzling against its molten scales. The cavern floor split beneath its thrashing body as Kael landed in a crouch, rolling away from a swipe of its claws.

The beast’s remaining eye glowed brighter, wild with rage. Flames erupted from its jaws, filling the cavern in a torrent of fire.

Kael dove behind a pillar as the heat scorched his skin. The bracers pulsed, warning him that their power was draining fast.

“This isn’t working!” Aelira called, her voice strained as she maintained her barrier against the flames. “It’s not dying!”

Kael gritted his teeth, his mind working furiously. The Hellbeast was summoned, bound by a powerful array, its body wouldn’t fall unless the summoning formation was destroyed.

And then he saw it: faint lines glowing beneath the beast’s feet, forming a massive rune carved into the cavern floor.

“There!” Kael shouted, pointing at the glowing sigil. “The summoning circle! Break it!”

Aelira’s eyes flicked to the rune, realization dawning. She nodded sharply and began chanting again, her hands weaving intricate symbols in the air.

The Hellbeast, sensing the threat, lunged at her.

Kael moved without thinking, crimson energy exploding from his bracers as he threw himself in front of the beast’s charge. Its massive claw slammed into him, sending him skidding across the cavern floor. Pain flared through his ribs, but he forced himself up, spitting blood.

The bracers burned hot, their crimson glow reaching a fever pitch.

If this fails…

Kael charged, crimson energy trailing behind him like fire. The Hellbeast swung its tail, but Kael ducked beneath it, sprinting along the cavern wall. The bracers pulsed, synchronizing with his heartbeat, amplifying his speed until he was a blur.

He leapt onto the beast’s back, slamming both bracers against its neck.

“BURN!” Kael roared, channeling every ounce of energy into the bracers.

Crimson chains erupted from the bracers, coiling around the beast’s body like serpents. The creature screamed, thrashing wildly, but the chains held, glowing brighter with each second.

“NOW!” Kael shouted.

Aelira finished her chant, her eyes glowing like molten gold. She thrust her hands forward, and a spear of silver light shot from her palms, striking the summoning circle.

The rune shattered with a deafening c***k.

The Hellbeast let out a final, bone-shaking roar before its body dissolved into molten ash, the chains crumbling into embers around it.

The cavern fell silent, save for Kael’s ragged breathing.

He staggered, his body trembling from exhaustion, and collapsed to one knee. Aelira rushed to his side, catching him before he fell completely.

“You’re insane,” she whispered, her voice a mix of awe and fear.

Kael managed a faint smirk. “Takes one to know one.”

She helped him sit against a rock, her hands glowing softly as she tried to heal the burns along his arms. “You shouldn’t have done that. Those chains nearly tore your soul apart.”

“They held,” Kael said, his tone flat. “That’s what matters.”

Aelira hesitated, then looked at him sharply. “You… those bracers aren’t just Scarlet Sect relics, are they? They’re older.”

Kael’s smirk faded. “Much older.”

Before she could press him further, a soft, mocking clap echoed through the cavern.

Kael’s eyes snapped up, his body tensing despite his exhaustion.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, a man dressed in flowing golden robes, his hair pure white, his eyes glowing faintly with divine power. He carried no weapon, but his presence was suffocating, heavier than the Hellbeast’s aura.

“Well done,” the man said calmly, his voice smooth and cold. “Few mortals could bind a Summoned Executioner. Truly… impressive.”

Aelira stiffened, her hand instinctively moving to her weapon. “An Ascendant,” she whispered.

The man smiled faintly. “Ascendant Varis, of the Seventh Heaven.”

Kael forced himself to his feet, his dagger steady in his hand. “So heaven finally sends one of its lapdogs.”

Varis tilted his head, amused. “Lapdog? No. I am their executioner.”

In a blur of motion, faster than Kael’s eyes could track, Varis appeared directly in front of him.

Kael barely raised his dagger before a glowing hand closed around his throat.

“I expected more,” Varis murmured, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. “A thousand years ago, they whispered your name like a curse, Godslayer.”

Aelira’s breath caught.

Kael’s eyes widened slightly, shock flashing across his face.

Varis’s smile was cold. “Yes. I know who you are and this time, Kael Draven… there will be no return.”