Re:Cord of Ragnarok

Chapter 26 [Flickering Flame in the Endless Abyss]

Seconds passed by slowly after the announcement, but neither fighter made any sudden movements. Jeanne's grip on the stake shifted, sliding it back over her shoulder as her free hand moved from her sword to support the stake. Meanwhile, Midas' eyes shifted around the arena, no clear objective could be found in his movements.

"Come on you pathetic human. Pierce him upon your bloody stake. Have his repugnant soul scream out in horror!" Barbatos exclaimed excitedly to the waiting saint, her nagging being partially blocked out and ignored by Jeanne. "Are you even listening to me? The mighty demon king Lord Solomon selected for you to receive my all encompassing power, and you're not even going to use it!? Humans truly are pathetic and foolish."

Midas' eyes focused onto a very slight glint within the grass, and he turned to go collect it. Dionysus had set the stage perfectly to help the disgraced King, but it came with a heavy price. Amidst the field stood the blades and weapons of soldiers lost to history. All of them were human. All of them are dead.

Wukong rubbed his chin with his free hand while looking down at the arena before he spoke to his fellow announcer, "Yo Dio... Doesn't this battlefield benefit your dear friend Midas a bit too much?"

Dionysus seemed a bit perplexed by the question of his fellow announcer, but he wasted no time to eagerly share his point of view on the matter "Oh~ Is this what you believe, Sun-Chan?" The deity asked rhetorically in a playful tone. "While yes, it may appear that the current stage may favor one of the actors. But~ Isn't this just how mortal existence is? Always tad unfair~" Dionysus said with an innocent grin. "Plus~ we don't know what this brave girl is capable of, the arena may very well end up being in her favor for all we know, humanity after all is, ever so full of wonders and surprises~" God explained smoothly as his eyes sailed towards humanity's stands and lingered on a certain imposing figure for a bit.

Midas' soul felt as though it was cracked as he gazed upon the lost remnants of the army. His eyes twitched as he gazed upon a symbol adorning sword sheaths embedded within the ground.

"Come on human, attack him now! He's vulnerable, distracted and weaponless! With the greatness of my power that I have graciously given you, you could easily kill him here."

"You don't get it, demon," Jeanne muttered in response. "He's broken, but can be saved like how the lord saved me in my youth. Attacking like this would ruin any chances to save him from his fate."

Midas reached his destination and crouched down. He hesitantly stopped before grabbing ahold of a rusted blade beneath him. "Was he lying back then...?" Midas asked himself, unsure on what would be the right action. Midas' hand stayed hanging above the blade's hilt, his breaths ragged as he battled with every thought in his brain.

"Hurry it up Midas-chan~ let the show begin!" Dionysus called from the commentary booth, his words echoing throughout Midas' head, slowly chipping away at the golden king's mental state. His hand shot down and grasped the blade, and his eyes closed as he expected the wooden hilt to turn to cold metal beneath his fingers, but to his surprise, he felt the long forgotten sensation of wood touch his fingers, a glimmer of hope reigniting within the fallen king. The oaken handle felt coarse and rough, the iron felt sharp and electric in his fingers. To him, it was a divine texture.

But this glimmer was too small to survive and was quickly engulfed by the deep abyss that had formed within his heart as Dionysus spoke again. "It appears that Midas-chan has gotten a better grasp on the gift he had requested all that time ago. Good for him!"

Midas' grip on the blade tightened as he turned to face the saint before him. "You wish... to save me?" His voice was as hollow as the look in his eyes. Before Jeanne stood a broken man, one that anyone would say was beyond saving, a corpse of a man. "You think... you can save me? You can't be human. You're just another one of his tricks, a false hope sent to torment me." A chuckle escaped the old king's lips, If you were human... you'd abandon me like the rest did. You should focus on saving yourself. Humanity is doomed. You... You fight for a losing cause. I saved myself... I...did everything I could." Not even he sounded sure of his words anymore, but he had dug himself too deep, and the sweet voice of his tormentor that echoed throughout his skull reassured him of his decision, the deep void in his heart growing deeper and deeper as his grip on the blade tightened.