Iruka faces his first real opponent, and yet he doesn't know how strong his enemy is..

  I could hear the quiet laughter echoing through the great hall. There were high walls and I came to feel even smaller than I am. But what filled this room to bursting was the darkness that crept up my back. I choked on it. It felt tangible everywhere, crushing me in its grip.

  "How do you know my name?" I growl with undisguised resentment. My hands clench tightly until my knuckles turn white.

  I can feel the hatred rising in me, and once again that terrifying cold dark rage bubbling under my skin. I can feel the rage trying to get out.

  "Yes. That's it. Your hatred of me brought you here. You told me. Your mind is slowly filling with dark thoughts." He says with a twisted smile on his lips.

  "You're wrong!" I shout, as loud as I can.

  What the hell does he think of himself?

  "What am I supposed to think of myself?" He shrugs his shoulders and waves his hands indifferently.

  "You hear my thoughts." I let out a gasp of surprise. I didn't even realize I'd said that out loud.

  "Anoo." He says suspiciously cheerful.

  "Why don't you show yourself to me, coward?" I sputter. I need to see his face before I kick it.

  All I hear is a muffled chuckle. He leans back on his throne and stands. Azazel gracefully reaches for the clasp that holds his cape together, and I get a horrifying look at his face. His skin was as pale as the snow freshly fallen in December which contrasted completely with his inhuman eyes. His whites and pupils were as black as the deepest darkest abyss. He lifted the corner of his narrow lips and showed me his pearly white teeth. I watched him with awe and what curiosity. Azazel raised his hand and I took an instinctive step back, but he did not attack me. His fingertips, which were as black as his eyes, dug into his white hair, which was streaked with black highlights.

  "Satisfied?" He barks sarcastically between his teeth.

  I remain silent. He scares me. Only now did I realize his immense power. His ominous power was dragging me down. He's no ordinary mage like me. He's more powerful than I ever imagined a man could be. His physique may not have been well-developed and he wasn't tall, but despite that, he exuded a brutal strength that raised every hair on my body.

  "Are you afraid of me?" He takes a step toward me.

  I automatically back away. That makes him laugh. Why do all bad guys have to have a deranged laugh? I think to myself in annoyance.

  "No." I'll answer after a moment.

  "I understand. You don't want to drag this out. Neither do I. I have plans and your group is in the way now. So let's get on with it." He says, cracking his knuckles on his fingers. I only have a few seconds to think about my strategy. I can't wield a sword as well as the others or fight as well as they do, but I have my magic and I must use it to defeat him. Adrealin steps in to overshadow my black thoughts and I can begin.

  "Water cannon!" I hold my hands out to Azazel and shout a spell.

  "Shadow visor!"

  His spell takes me by surprise. I take another step back to put some distance between us. I don't know his full power. I can see that he can read minds and put magic into people. Fighting is definitely not easy like in the movies or books. My emotions change with every breath I take, and I wonder if I should run or keep fighting. Fear paralyzes my body and tears come to my eyes, despite the fact that I'm not hurt in any way all my instincts scream at me to curl up in a ball and just cry. But all this is drowned out by one feeling. Anger. Anger is running through my head but it's also creating a strange lump in my throat. Anger wants to release. I can hear it screaming in my mind, but I can't let it control me. I have to stay focused and calm during this fight.

  "Leaf Storm." I cast another spell.

  She deflects it to the side with one swing.

  "Is that all you can do?" He asks provocatively.

  I can't go along with his game. He's the one who has to whistle the way I want.

  "Speed." I start running around him, sending my firebombs from different angles.

  "Cover of darkness!" The black dome that enveloped him deflected everything. I stop and let out a small sigh of relief. That didn't work either. I can feel the desperation rising in me.

  "Have you figured it out yet? You can't attack me! You're weak!"

  "I'm just warming up." I say and launch another attack.

  I'll try a direct hit. I think to myself, even if I'm not strong in physical combat, maybe he isn't either and that could be his weakness. A screen appears again just in front of him. I dig my fist right into it. Damn it, it's stuck. I curse to myself when I can't pull it out.

  "I've got to get back at you somehow for your pathetic attacks."

  He reaches his hand out toward me, then clenches it into a fist. Unbelievable pain shot through my arm. I screamed inhumanly. It was as if he had broken my bones. Unfortunately, my theory was not just a theory, but a bare fact. He loosened his grip and I found that he had crushed all my fingers. I quickly jumped away from him and pulled my injured hand to my chest.

  "Hahahaha. You're going to die today Iruko Huro!"

  "No way.... Meet my Kita. Guardian of the air. The wind dragon!"

  A dragon came out of my good hand and began to grow larger and larger in the room until the room was filled with nothing but Kita. She screamed loudly and spread her wings. Even though they're only summoned by magic, I'm always completely amazed by their size and beauty that only dragons can possess.

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  "Ryū no gādian...." Azazel whispers as the infant looks at the dragon.

  "Show him your hurricane roar!" I command.

  Kita begins to reach out to cast his spell. Azazel begins to act quickly. He flicks his wrist and a book emerges from a black cloud in his hand. He leaves his other hand loose over the book and starts muttering something to himself. The book opens and he begins to flip through it quickly. Kita is ready and roars mightily against him. However, the sound of it bounces off the newly discovered dark monster. It was a black three-headed dog. He was as big as Kita and the darkness radiated from him just like Azazel. Is there a limit to his magic? I thought angrily.

  "Kill the dragon." Azazel commands.

  The dog just growls and jumps at the dragon. It bites into his shoulder. But it paralyzes me, too. I can feel its fangs digging into my flesh. Kita and I let out a chorus of pain. I drop to my knees and grab his shoulder, but I don't take my eyes off the fight. Kita finally pulls the dog off of him and returns the bite. She aims straight for the neck from the left head. She digs her real teeth into it as if to bite the dog's left head off in one jerk. There was no sign of pain on Azazel like there was on me. The dog howled loudly and retreated for a moment. Kita took advantage of the moment and lunged for him again, but she shouldn't have done that as the dog trapped her and began to bite furiously at her neck.

  "Noooo!" I yelled.

  I couldn't stand it and waved my hand. Kita disappeared at that moment.

  "You may be a guardian, but you're weak. You're not worthy of that power." Azazel declares as she makes her way over to me. She reaches out and kicks me in the chest. I slump to the ground where I breathe heavily. Helplessness and fear clouds my mind. I'm unable to organize my thoughts, and Azazel takes advantage.

  "Someone like you doesn't deserve such power. You're just a worm that gets in everyone's way. No one likes you." She whispers in my ear.

  She touches my temple and begins to pour the overwhelming pain into my head. I arch my back and scream with an inhuman scream. My eyes fill with blackness just like Azazel's. The darkness inside me paralyzes me and I am unable to make any movement. I want to keep screaming my body hurts like never before, but I can't even straighten up. I can't do anything. His darkness is beginning to spread throughout my body. Azazael pushes against my temples with a giggle. I am stuck in the middle of my mind where my friends stand with a look of disdain on their faces.

  "You messed everything up, Iruka. "I hear Nats' voice.

  "You let me down." Haru says now.

  "You're a disgrace to mages." Shika joins in.

  "You're nothing." I hear Kenji.

  "You're just trash..." Aki says.

  "You're a wimp..." The last voice belongs to Fuya.

  His voice was like the last nail in the coffin. I burst into desperate tears. But the voices didn't stop and yelled curses at me from my friends' mouths. Until suddenly, the last thought in my head. They all fell silent for me to speak it.

  "I'll just end it." I whisper. I close my eyes in defeat and let the darkness consume me.

  Before I died, like a movie, all my memories came back. Maybe life was trying to give me one last hope. A little spark that would turn into a flame. Slowly I stopped feeling the pain, the despair, the hopelessness all faded away and only surrender remained. Maybe I should have done this a long time ago. I think to myself. For seconds or hours or weeks, I fall into darkness. I forget why I'm here. I forget Azazel. I forget...It's like seeing a flame of fire inside me, whipping its flames ever more fiercely. And it dawns on me. The others won't just give up either. I have to show them I can do it. I'm not weak. I'm not weak!

  "I.... I'm not...weak..." I'm gonna say.

  Azazel looks up in surprise and pulls his hand away. I don't even give him a chance to speak. The flame inside me starts to turn into a fire. I reach out my hand and Azazel immediately throws it to the side. I know that Fuyu put it on my heart not to overextend myself, that we don't know how strong I am for my power, but if I have to beat that dle bastard I'll gladly test it.

  "So you haven't had enough yet?!" Azazel shouts angrily as she picks herself up off the ground.

  "No. You haven't gotten to know all my barnacles yet."

  "Drakes?" She startles.

  In an instant, all the dragons appear in front of me. Azazel steps back and instinctively pulls out her book.

  "Kito, use your roar again!" I command.

  She doesn't hesitate and uses her death roar. However, Azazel covers this with her screen, as I expected.

  "Toru: water geyser!" The water dragon spits hot water at the enemy. It deflects as well as Kita's attack. Meanwhile, Azazel has summoned his dog back. A new wave of adrenaline fills every nerve in his body. And I don't know if it's my thoughts or my dragons, but I feel invincible.

  "Riku poison spikes." The green dragon springs into action and launches itself at the monster. Pain rips through my body. I felt every dog bite and scratch, but I ignored the pain and focused on my target. Riku wins after a while of rough fight with the hellhound. The dog sprawls on the floor. Azazel screams in frustration:

  "That's enough, you bastard! This is the end of you! As keeper of the dark book, I call upon you, O mighty lord of the underworld. Release your power to me....Hades' deadly lullaby!"

  I gasp when I see a mass of darkness oozing out of the book and aiming it right at me.

  "Hikaru it's up to you!" Needing to hear no more, he stands in front of me and begins to spew his mighty fire.

  "The rest of you, help him."

  They all lined up and used either of their powers together. The tip of his fingers were crushing my power at one point, but also draining me at the same time. I look down at my hands as if I'm not sure I still have them. Is this what Fuyu warned me about? I don't have time to think about it when I notice a golden dazzling glow coming from the dragons' connection. The magic cuts through the darkness and fills the room with a pleasant glow. Now is my moment. I gather my remaining strength and run towards the disarmed Azazel.

  "Dragon Guardian: Fire Dragon Fist!"

  I hit Azazel squarely in the chest and he flies across the room, where he buries into the wall with a giant thud. He hasn't moved. The dragons dissipate, and I begin to fall to the ground in exhaustion. My eyes slowly close and I start to lose consciousness in my fall when someone catches me.

  "Gotcha." I look back at the voice and see Shika's sweet smile.

  "Shika..." I whisper before ignorance overwhelms me.

  While Iruka is unconscious

  "Is he okay?" Kenji asks immediately, concerned, and sits down next to Shika.

  "Yes. He probably used the maximum of his power. His aura is pale. Don't worry, he's not dying, but we'll have to treat him." And looks at Haru, who has already joined them.

  Fuyu just nods his head and heads over to Azazel with Natsuo. He's still alive, unfortunately. Fuyu flips him onto his back with his foot. It wasn't even worth his hand touching him. Azazel coughs and wakes up. Fuyu steps on him with his foot and puts his full weight into it. Azazel gasps for breath.

  "I-I'm just getting started..." Azazel hisses.

  "What do you mean?" Natsu growls.

  "There's more of us... The Big Nine have risen. The worlds will be engulfed in darkness.... You better enjoy your last days, because the darkness is coming..."

  "The Big Nine? Where are they? Who are you? Where are you hiding?" Natsu was reaching him and already lunging at him. Fuyu stopped him with his hand.

  "I am a ninth-rate servant, Azazel.... Big Nine... They will destroy you... They are a thousand times stronger than me.... I'm just the beginning.... The Big Nine.... You will die..." He was talking incoherently over and over.

  Fuyu leaned towards him, pressing harder against his chest.

  "But you'll die first." He hisses coldly.

  He'll pull away. He moves his foot to his neck. He takes one last look into those black, empty eyes. He relaxes his grip, then stomps hard. There is only a soft crunch. Fuyu gets off him and walks away.

  "Burn him. I don't want him to come back from the dead yet." He orders Natsuo.

  He instantly sets the body on fire in one fell swoop. The smell of cooking meat spreads through the room. Everyone present grins unpleasantly. All that's left of Azazel is ashes.

  "Going home?" Aki asks.

  Fuyu looks at the little girl clinging to his leg. He smiles at her and walks over to Iruka. She bends down and takes him in her arms.

  "He's going home." He proudly declares.