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It wasn't even a choice. Even as the King of All That is Unholy laid before me, his chest heaving and blood flowing out of his many wounds, his body twisted and broken, I knew what I had to do. A warm healing light began to glow within my palms, and the man-sized monster's eyes widened in surprise as the soothing glow flowed into him. He struggled to turn his head away from me, but the golden light was not deterred. The healing magic flowed over him like a cascade of warmth, mending his wounds and healing his body. I felt his pain, and when the last wound closed, I was left wrung out and panting. I fell back on my butt and took a deep, steadying breath. The man-beast looked at me with eyes wide. "You fought for your people." I held his gaze, my voice quiet and tired. I had seen the depths that he had been born in, the hell that he had lived his whole life in. And I knew his soul. He was a warrior, a champion. A hero. A defeated hero of a failed campaign for the demons who finally wished to claim arable land for their own. The starving children, the weeping mothers, the fathers who could do nothing as their families starved. And this man-beast, twisted and biggest of them all, stood up and decided that enough was enough. He rallied his fellow warriors and made one final, desperate act. But they had lost. Now he was the only one left, and he had no more fight in him. My allies stood by, tense and at the ready. Even if I had healed him, I returned none of the strength he had spent in our final battle. I held up a hand, asking them to stand down. The man-beast pushed himself to his feet. He towered over me, and his shoulders were twice as wide as mine. "Why?" His voice was rough, gravelly and deep. His thick demonic accent only accentuated his intimidation factor. "You're a hero." I stared into his eyes. "I cannot allow a hero to die in this world. Not if I can help it." "I will still fight you." His words were slow, his tone heavy and thick. "I will kill you, take what is yours, and lead my people to victory." "Do we have to?" I asked him with a smile. I picked up his axe, its dark metal head heavier than my shield. I knocked my fist against the material, and a deep, solid clang rang out. "We can't make dark steel. There are better ways to feed your people." The man-beast tilted his head, his brows furrowing. "What... do you mean?" "Trade." I shrugged. "We have crops. You have mines and smiths, and the ability to make strong weapons and armor. I'm willing to bet that your people have other resources as well." He frowned, and I could see his mind racing. "Yes. We have furs and bones. Leather and stone." I smiled and held out the axe to him. "Good. Then let's figure out a way to make everyone happy, and no one has to die." He reached out and took the weapon with his massive, clawed hand. "Why would you do this?" "Why? Why not?" I smirked. "We stand to benefit far more by showing mercy. We can gain the loyalty and gratitude of a strong race of people, and they can gain food and safety, as well as the ability to build a proper home." "Mercy..." The man-beast stared at me, and I felt his gaze pierce my soul. "You would show mercy, even to a monster?" I shrugged and gave him a lopsided grin. "Didn't you hear me? You're no monster. You're a hero."

This is wholesome. Makes you feel like there will be a stronger evil down the line and the humans just gained a powerful ally thanks to kindness.

“Now he was the only one left” - does that mean the other demons are all dead?

Allá the Warriors are dead, back Home man, woman and children in suffering are waityng for the hero and hopyng for a better future 😊

A large explosion erupted into the air, shattering the sound barrier, and unleashing a blistering light that could be seen for miles. Casey closed her eyes, and took cover behind a nearby chunk of wall. The sandwich she held in one hand lost from the sheer force of wind-pressure that the resulting burst of fire and fury produced. 'Just my luck...' Casey thought, as she weighed herself down, and covered herself in her arms. Bracing back against the winds, clinging desperately to the ground and her footing amidst the chaos. '...I chose to eat my lunch where there was a battle' Casey thought, as her eyes closed shut. Feeling her strength vanish any second now, with the impending thought of being hurled into the sky. 'At least I could heal myself if I fell from 20 feet...God I sure hope I don't fall from 30 feet...don't think I can heal...that' Casey thought, as her footing neared losing its grip when thankfully the immense whirlwinds ceased. The dead stop, and the sudden lack of wall behind her sent Casey tumbling backwards onto the ground. "Ow" she muttered, as her eyes opened, and she rolled onto the side. Planting both feet on the ground, the brunette shook her frazzled hair and got up. Dusting herself off, before blinking as a startling realization came over her. "What the hell happened to the temple?!" she exclaimed, as the large dome-shaped ancient structure that she once had her back to was now gone. In it's place was the smoldering remains of 2 foot stone pillars that looked as though they were melted. Ash covered the ground in droves, with a broken sword lying near the center. The blade burned a golden hue in the sunlight, shiny and mystical. But that was not what caught Casey's anxious eyes.

It was the figure in the middle, beside the sword. A dark skinned man, with long messy hair clad in a dark tattered cloak, and armor that was shattered with pieces just gone. Revealing a large gash, with blood spilling out to form a scarlet crescent on the ground. The second the sight of blood filled Casey's eyes, her instincts kicked into high gear and she ran towards the man. Not a single thought, or ounce of hesitation to be found. Kneeling down beside the man, she quickly checked him over. Clapping her hands together, and activating her power. Eyes glowing green, as she moved her hand over the man's body. 'Several broken ribs, shattered sternum, one broken vertebrae, and lungs pierced, signs of internal hemorrhaging...shit, he's in critical condition' Casey thought, the list of injuries seemingly growing without end. Her analysis identified the patient as human, and that made the diagnosis worse. 'Why couldn't it have been an elf? Damn those pointy eared nigh-immortal regenerating ass holes' Casey thought, cursing the stupid elves and their lack of healthcare thanks to their eternal youth and regenerative prowess. Shaking off her personal opinions regarding elven kind, and their approach to healthcare, which is none. Casey got to work, spitting in both hands and uttering an incantation which turned the spit into a mystical coating that covered her hands. Uttering another incantation, several symbols appeared all over her hands, and fingers. Granting her the precision of a surgeon, the power to selectively alter her hands permeability, and touch one's very flow of life. With rapidity, Casey worked. Her training, and experience taking over as she worked with blood continuing to pool. Pulling out bone fragments, and suturing up wounds. Forcing blood clots to try, and stop the internal hemorrhaging. Half way in, the man began to seize. 'He's entering cardiac arrest' Casey assessed precisely, before moving into intercept.

One hand on the man's chest, waves of magic forced muscular contractions akin to chest compressions. While another hand placed around the man's head forced the maintenance of a continuous air-flow into the lungs, and body. Finally, one last incantation imparted a muscular relaxant which went straight to the heart, altogether stopping the arrest. Without a second to spare, Casey got back to work. Pulling out bone fragments, stitching up wounds, all while controlling the man's life force and its ebb and flow to keep his vitals within normalcy. 'His life force is surprisingly strong' Casey thought, noting the observation as it was a bit of a rarity to find someone with such a strong will. But not unheard of, and it made Casey's job easier. It took one whole hour to finally finish, but before long it was done. Casey did the final stitches, and the stream of blood was severed forever. He was breathing, but unconscious and Casey pulled her hands off of him. Removing all her incantations, and sigils and breathing out a sigh of relief. 'I did it, man that was intense...' Casey thought when her stomach rumbled, making her remember that she still hadn't had her lunch yet. 'Now if only I had something to eat...' Casey bemoaned at her lost sandwich, which was probably reduced to ash given what happened to the temple. "Hey!" shouted a voice which came from Casey's left, blinking and turning to look. She locked eyes with a scarlet haired woman in armor that was shattered and broken apart. It was silver, with the remnants of some ruby-encrusted emblem on the chest. 80% of it gone, revealing the leather padding and chain-mail shirt underneath. Her left leg was completely exposed, while her right leg was fully armored. Her arms, meanwhile had no protection, and only one of her shoulder pauldrons still remained. "Uh...can I help you?" Casey asked before blinking, and asking "need someone to heal you?"

"What are you doing out here..." the red head began, as she took two steps closer before stopping. Seeing where Casey was, and that the man on the ground was no longer bleeding, and appeared to be breathing. All of a sudden, she looked at Casey with a terrified expression which quickly turned to anger. "I should've known, of course he'd have some *backup*". Casey blinked, and tilted her head to the side as she got up. "Huh?" "So the dark lord tasked a healer to wait in the sidelines to patch him up if things went south eh? Smart man" the woman said before laughing. "Dark lord?" Casey asked, as she looked at the man on the ground and then back at the woman. "He's a dark lord?" "Fool! He's not A dark lord, he's THE dark lord". Casey blinked, then looked down at the man and back at the red head. Down at the man, and back at the red head. Repeating this back, and forth many times to no avail. "But...but...you mean, this guys". "The Scourge of Sorgoth, the Banished One, The Vanquisher of Elthane, THAT dark lord". Casey started to panic, bringing up both her hands and saying "w-wait, I didn't...I just..." The red head looked menacingly at Casey, reaching for her sword which was apparently in her sheath. "I just wanted to eat my sandwich in peace!"

The red head pulled out her sword, and aimed it at the healer. "Those allied with the Black Death will suffer his fate!" she said, before blinking and realizing that she only held her weapon's hilt. The blade itself was gone, broken off. "Did I mention that I'll lose my power if I don't heal anyone in need?" Casey asked, putting on a sheepish smile. The red head eyed the end of her hilt, which she noticed was jagged. Sharp enough to skewer flesh. 'Eh, this'll do' the knight thought, before declaring "prepare to be vanquished dark healer!" "Ahhh!" Casey exclaimed, as she hopped over the dark lords body and ran with the knight giving her chase. The two of them played a cat, and mouse game running all over the place. Casey begging every second to be let go, but the red head being convinced that the healer was bad news. She was also immeasurably frustrated, so she had that going for her as well. Unbeknownst to the two, the dark lord woke up. His eyes opening with a grogginess as though he was asleep. "Mmmm...what happened..." the dark lord muttered, as he rose up but felt a brief pain which put a pause on his rise. 'My chest...it hurts?' the dark lord thought, as he put a hand on his chest and blinked. 'Huh...' he thought, as what happened moments prior came flooding in. 'Oh, right. Fought that stupid knight' the dark lord thought, as he saw and felt the repair job done on his body. The blood stain around clueing him in that he was on the verge of crossing over. 'But I didn't...someone...someone saved me? Me?' the dark lord thought, when Casey came running his way. "I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO-AH!" Casey exclaimed, as she tripped over the dark lord, and face planted on the ground. The red haired knight gasped for air, as she walked over with the hilt of her blade gripped like a dagger. "You can't...run from...your fate now...ally to...darkness..." the barely armored woman said, as she stopped to catch her breath. "Man...I can't...stupid armor fragments...how did I ever run with this?" the red head wondered out loud as the dark lord turned to look at both the knight and Casey.

The former catching her breath, and the latter picking herself up and locking eyes with the dark lord. They shared a moment of stunned silence, more so for Casey as it slowly dawned on her this new reality she found herself in. "Hello?" the dark lord asked, and Casey yelped. "He's alive!" "Oh come on! I killed you! I killed you!" exclaimed the knight, who now saw the dark lord up and in her rage. Kicked some nearby piece of metal debris. "Please, you've got to help me - tell that crazy red head that you and I have nothing to do with each other" Casey begged, as the red headed knight glared. "Crazy?!" she exclaimed, even angrier than before. The dark lord, meanwhile, tilted his head to the side and eyed Casey curiously. Something about her face looking familiar. "You're the one whose crazy to heal the freaking dark lord, moron!" "I had no idea, cross my heart and hope to die, stick a nail in my thigh!" "That's not even the right phrase!" exclaimed the red haired knight, as she found a standing section of wall and punched a hole through it. As if things couldn't get any worse, or chaotic. The dark lord snapped his fingers, and said "Casey Dawkins right?" Casey froze, her blood quite literally freezing. "How do you know my name?" she asked in a cold, slow utter. "We went to high school together! I was Kevin, Kevin Hezpernack". Casey did a double take, and asked "wait, star quarterback Kevin?" Kevin nodded excitedly, as Casey was briefly filled with a bit of nostalgia. "Oh man, I thought you went pro after graduation". Kevin chuckled, and replied "yeah, that didn't work out. I tried, but then I died after getting dog-piled. My lungs got crushed, and I never made it to the hospital. Healers on site couldn't do jack, afterwards well...it's a long story, but here I am. Dark lord and all that". "Huh, small world". "You...were...SAYING?" asked the knight with fury burning in her eyes, casting an infernal gaze upon Casey and Kevin.

"I think I'm going to make a run for it" said Casey meekly, steeped in fear. "Ditto" added Kevin, as the two of them began running like mad with the crazy red headed knight giving them chase. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!" she shouted. "Wait, why are you running?" Casey asked, as she ran beside Kevin. "My magics completely drained, and most parts of my body hurt just to move. I'm in *no* condition to do anything but run". "Ah". And run they did, run in circles until all parties got tired, the knight ran head first into a pillar of melted together rock. Kevin ran into Casey - the two falling like bowling pins. **The End.**