The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 70

"It did not have to be this way, Julius. This path is of your choosing. I must now handle this situation myself," Harald said.

"Killing me... won't bring... you that throne. Pushing that sword inside me... will never take my soul. I will not give up so easily," Julius said. As he felt the longsword piercing his back and chest, he tried to break free from Harald, but it would not work.

The sword of Lancelot was enough to penetrate the mind and body of the demon hunter, and it made Julius lose a lot of blood and strength. Harald pushes the sword deeper into Julius's body; the earl shows no mercy to the man who grew up beside him.

Then, Harald said to him, "Even now, as you draw your last breath, you continue to defy me? I don't know whether I should thank you for offering me the throne or giving me a much better reason I stopped putting my trust in you. Both your family and the ones who trusted you will be very ashamed of the path you chose. Everything you have ever known, Julius, will now suffer because of your blasphemy. You will never be the ruler of Midland. Find peace in death."

As he said this, Harald pulled the sword out of Julius's body and made him fall on the floor, and so much blood started leaving the demon hunter. Julius felt the large stab wound, and it made him puke out blood as he tried to regain his strength. The mighty knight refused to die in the castle and swore that he would never die until the demons are sent back to Hell. He crawled away from Harald for a few seconds until he noticed the blood stopped leaving his body. The dark creature inside him tried desperately to close the large wound, inflicting his chest and leaving him vulnerable.

Suddenly, Harald could not just leave Julius right there to die because of how much treachery he believed the demon hunter brought to his city and people. He sauntered towards the fallen hunter and had his reasons to kill him and make his name be forgotten. Being forgotten would not be possible for Julius because he has made his name known to both humans and demons alike. Then Harald holds out his hand and slowly kneeled to the demon hunter to look at his stab wound.

Harald sensed a powerful presence in Julius's body as he was complicit in giving the hunter a quick death. He did not take a second to find out what was inside Julius's wound because he wanted to get it over with. Harald forces his hand on top of the demon hunter's stomach, forcing Julius to feel so much pain. The earl wanted the mighty knight to feel the same problem; he thought while fighting against his father's killer. A large dusk of smoke began leaving Julius's chest; it forced the Demon Wolf to howl and shriek in pain as his life force faded away.

Lancelot's longsword could go through the strongest armor of night creatures and making the demons' souls burn. If Harald pushed the blade into Julius's body, Mephiles would be thrown out of his master's mind; it would make him try to go back inside the body of the huntsman before his opponent gets to him first. A few seconds later, Harald quickly took his hand from the demon hunter's chest and watched the dark smoke roam around his body. He could feel the darkness of the knight's soul revolve around his arms and legs, and he saw the smoke slowly enter his head. As this happened, Harald screamed in pain and agony as the smoke burned his entire body.

"HARALD!!" Julius shouted. But he was becoming too weak to face back against the earl because he now had the power of the Demon Wolf.

Julius gets himself up from the floor and watches the earl becoming evolved with this new power and watches the darkness take hold of him. He stared at him while puking out some blood, and he held onto his chest to prevent him from bleeding out. Harald looked at his hands and watched Julius gain his strength back; he did not expect the earl to do something like this. He always saw Harald as a generous and merciful person, but mercy no longer mattered to the earl. Harald saw the demon hunter with vengeful eyes as he felt like Julius was now there to kill him and be Midland's new ruler.

"Midland is under my protection now," he said.

"You won't be sitting on that throne for much longer. I will come for you, and when I do, you will beg for your miserable life. You took my power, but I will take your soul," Julius said.

"You chose the wrong side. You abandoned your humanity and side with your enemies. I was right when I said you were planning to seduce my wife and take her from me. You take something from me, and I take something from you. You're not human, Julius. You've already abandoned everything when you succumbed to their power."

"You stabbed me and took that bit of power for yourself. You are also becoming a mortal like me, but how will you now save your family and people at this rate? It seems to me like we are now even. I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work. He's gone. You cannot bring people back from the dead."

"And what proof do you have? You've led me here, I killed the demon king, and I will fulfill my destiny as the ruler of Midland. King Lancelot is watching me from Heaven above. I shall join my father in death. Your soul will burn in Hell for all eternity. I am this world's savior. I will rule over them all!"

"You wield my power. If I die, I'm taking you with me. I rule this world, and the demons will never set foot here ever again. But I see you seem hesitant about being rid of me for wishing to rule the world. Even if I die here, my ghost will haunt you for the rest of your life."

Before Julius could say anything else, Harald lifted his hand and saw him conjure up some dark magic. This was one of the many things Julius could do with his power, and one that could be used against foes who are challenging to kill. But Harald was conjuring up a banishment spell used to banish those who were unwelcome in the presence of the one who wields the magic. Julius and Harald now saw each other as sworn enemies as they stayed in the castle until the morning. The demon hunter's alternative plan is to defeat the earl before it becomes impossible to take the court for himself.

"You'll... you'll pay for this!" Julius hissed.

"I'll be waiting, Julius," Harald said. Without hesitation, Harald uses his dark magic and casts it upon Julius's body; in a split second, Julius's vision became unclear, and all he could see was pure darkness.

The only thing that Julius could hear was the sounds of demons screeching and claiming their victory over Loftain. Even though he and Harald have killed the demon king of Midland, Harald took the throne for himself and started his new life as Midland's king. A few seconds later, Julius stood before his house and no longer felt his wound that Harald gave him. He no longer thought of himself dying before he could fulfill his destiny of being the king of the earth. The world was already losing much of its strength, and the night creatures were getting much faster and more powerful than ever.

He sauntered to the porch of his front yard and noticed that the demons were no longer visible in the night. He also understood that the morning sun was rising, and the night is over, but the moment that Loftain fell to the demons will always be known to everyone. Julius turns around and looks at the lost city and notices that lots of smoke were still visible around the buildings that were lit on fire. The palace was burned down, and all of its foundations crumbled to the floor along with the other buildings and the giant barrier. The citizens of Loftain moved from the cave and stared at everything that has happened.

They all wondered where the earl went and why he had never returned to his knights or people as they had nowhere else to go. Julius pitied every single person who lived in Loftain and was forced to gaze upon the violent aftermath that fell upon the city.