1985: Dawn of a New World (A Summoner Fanfic)

Chapter 7 - A Dark Memory

Mark was confronted with the sight of a bipedal demon with a body, similar to that of a black panther. Its head resembled that of a mink, its eyes fiery red like a blazing magma. He could recognize the drill-like arms that resembled his own demon attached to the creature in front of him. Its fur was elegant black, yet shining underneath the thunderous sky. For unknown reasons, he could feel the thirst for battle, swelling up his blood, as well as the demon's killing intent. He could feel everything around him. The coldness of the wind that raged against his skin, the hard dirt that embraced his bare feet, and yet couldn't seem to have control over his own body.

Dark nimbus clouds floated in the sky, sending off lightning and roars of thunder from time to time. From his view point, he could recognize a barren flat land, or rather a plateau given the background of what appeared to be from that of a mountain's peak.

From the chaotic sky, it seemed that a storm was brewing yet, the intensity of blood rage between him and the black demon couldn't be disturbed by any other threat of danger. He had his eyes fixed on his foe for reasons he couldn't explain. Yet, he could sense that anytime, a battle could start between them.

The black demon finally jolted forward in a lounge attack. It rushed like an arrow, fired from a war bow. He successfully blocked the assault only to realize that his own hands were that of his demon's drill-like weapons. The sound of clashing metals suddenly echoed in the air, accented by the roar of thunder that cried across the barren field.

The black demon then used the blocking weapon to pivot itself upward, quickly flipping forward, then landing behind Mark in an attempt to attack his defenseless side.

As if driven by instinct, Mark stepped forward and turned clockwise to evade the attack. Then in one fluid motion, he docked and countered his attacker with a piercing attack from below.

The creature successfully parried the blow with its right blade then used its other limb to make a horizontal cut aiming for Mark's head. He quickly blocked the attack with his left weapon and counter-attacked with a kick pushing the demon a few feet backward. Was it really him who moved, yet it all felt like merely riding inside the body of a battle-hardened warrior.

Without giving the black demon a chance, he sprinted like a tempest ravaging the earth. He ran forward in a lowered position, aiming to pierce his enemy by its heart.

The black demon, however, was still fast enough to block his attack and counter with its own strike. They exchanged rapid blows with Mark being pushed backward.

Clash after clash they both exchanged and endured. Fiery battle rages, fueling them for every strike, parry, and blocks. Their hearts pumped heavily but both seemed to ignore the stress.

With the sound of weapons clashing, came the angry roar of thunder in the sky above them. Clearly, the heaven above disapproved of the discord between them. Yet heaven's warning seemed futile against their thirst for each other's blood.

Heaven started to cry as if mourning for the unfortunate chaos. Heavy drops of rain poured down the battlers but nothing seemed to stop them.

Wounds upon wounds, cuts, bruises, scratches, each started to fill the flesh of the battlers but none seemed painful enough to be minded. The rain got mixed with their sweat, soaking their body in a cool shower but couldn't pacify the heat of their rage.

Craters caused by each of them falling, stomping, and being dragged through attacks slowly destroyed the smoothness of the barren plateau. There were just the two of them, but the destruction they caused matched that of the stampede of several demons racing in the plateau.

He was sent flying with a kick, making him smashed into a large boulder on the plateau. He was yet to recover his stance when the black demon appeared with a piercing attack aimed at his head. He rolled to the right to evade the attack, making the demon smash the boulder where he landed.