The sun was setting after a usual day in the port town of Gurbarra.
Then, everything changed in the blink of an eye.
First, there came a powerful knight's yell.
Then, after a very brief flash of light, the entire area before the knight split apart, up to two hundred meters from him, devastating everywhere around him as well.
However, the target of his attack just now remained very much alive, regenerating even after being split.
It had an inhuman appearance, with much longer limbs and a slender body. The knight could see a pair of bright and malicious eyes shrouded in the dust and flame.
It made very eerie sounds, enough to strike fear into anyone without a strong foundation.
There were still civilians around. Most of whom had been caught up in the destruction while the rest frivolously sought to escape.
'It's no use' he said in his thoughts. 'This must be a Summoned Demon. I might have to channel aera from beyond the divine tiers to defeat it. And once I use it, the entire of Gurbarra is doomed. None of these innocent people can escape'
He regretted it, that these people would inevitably die but then, if he did not defeat this demon here, it would definitely continue its rampage, maybe on to the capital and the rest of the kingdom which he had sworn to defend.
The ghoulish creature then croaked and bent its body in awkward ways, making cracking sounds as it did.
He readied himself.
Then it made an utterance. One he could not comprehend. And then, he felt a great invisible pressure come at him.
He quickly blocked it with his large sword but it was too strong that it sent him flying far from it, crashing in and through the structures around there.
As soon as he stopped, he tried to regain his balance but was struck again by the same invisible attack. He was able to feel it coming this time so he parried it before it sent him flying away.
Then another one came at him but from above this time, flattening him and the place where he stood.
"Ghhh..."
He hadn't expected it from above.
"You ugly bastard" he said under his breath. He had received quite some damage from that.
As another advance came at him from above, he thrust his sword upwards, stabbing through the invisible attack and dispelling it.
Then he took an attacking stance, holding his sword high up.
An essence as blue as the sky wrapped around his sword. He then struck down in the demons directions. As he did, the aura turned white.
There, everything, from the tip of his sword, up to where the demon stood and even beyond it; everything in that space froze up in an instant.
But that wouldn't be enough. He followed up with another attack, enveloping his sword in blue essence just like earlier.
This time, the essence turned white again and as soon as he swung his sword, a great wave of lightning shook the entire area, destroying everything that had been frozen earlier.
It was a chaotic but brief attack that left the area clouded with dust and fine frosty particles.
And yet again, he could see the demon regenerating as the dust cleared.
"Heh, you stubborn bastard. Do I really have to go beyond the tiers?" he said, smiling tensely.
The demon came at him next. In a single step, it closed the distance between them, faster than the knight could react.
Then, using its right hand infused with some dark purple energy, it struck at the knight who was barely able to block it with his sword.
It was a very heavy strike. He struggled, using all his strength to parry the demons right fist which it continued to press on him.
As he did, suddenly, the purple energy on its right fist burst into purple flames and the power of its fists increased dramatically.
He couldn't handle its ridiculous strength as the fire then enveloped him. He then paved and the demon sent him flying, engulfed in that purple flame.
It sent him across a great distance, crashing, tumbling and rolling on the ground before he finally stopped.
Having received that much damage, he had to push himself back on his feet, with the purple flame still burning on him, although, he wasn't actually being cremated.
'I've read about this before' he said in his thoughts. 'This is the imperial demon flame, recorded in ancient war texts'
He stood up then and then extinguished the purple flames.
"If I weren't of the Divine realm, I wouldn't have been able to withstand this" he said to himself, his voice mixed with tension and excitement. "Interesting. I never thought I would fight someone like you in my life? It has been so long since I fought with my life on the line so I'll have to give this all I got" he said with resolution.
Then he followed up again this time. Finally, he was readying his body to go beyond his limits.
The air about him suddenly shifted and vibrated as he held his sword in an attacking stance.
"Heavenly Path"
Upon uttering this, his body gradually became enveloped in a faint but powerful aura. It continued to grow until the energy suddenly exploded, and a luminous presence took form.
"Divine Rage!"
There, it exploded again. A violent wind rushed out from where he stood, creating a large crater around him. He now exuded great energy beyond anything he had used before now.
Then, as soon as he got ready, he attacked.
Instantly, he covered the distance between the two of them just like the demon had done earlier.
However, the ghoulish creature had also prepared a counterattack of its own already. Around it, patterns of fiery runes appeared on the ground in a flash.
This was something the knight had never seen before. He could tell he was within its space now as it was in his as well.
Then, he held his sword high up, about to strike down at it.
"Blind Judgement!" he yelled then brought down his sword on it, and there, a great explosion of white divine energy and fiery demonic aura erupted.
From a distance, a vertical column of white energy and red flames could be seen reaching as high as the clouds.
The entire area around it was razed to dust and after a while, it ceased.
This particular exchange was so devastating that it could be seen and felt from afar, even in the neighbouring cities.
---
In the wake of their intense battle, everything around them, over a large area had been completely obliterated.
A thick cloud of ash had erupted from their last clash. Slowly, it disappeared, revealing the two of them.
The croaking sounds were still audible. There the demon creature stood, with its hand clamped around the knight's neck.
His body had gone limp and he soon let go of his sword, which fell down to the charred ground.
The demon's form had changed as well; it had become larger, with blue and green flames lining from its neck down, making it look even more terrifying.
Seeing he was down and incapacitated now, it loosened its grip on him, leaving him to fall to the ground.
Their last clash was so violent that it destroyed his armour, partially revealing his face and body, which now glowed pale white.
As he dropped to the ground, he fell on his knees before the demon, completely void of energy.
Then, bit by bit, his body also began to crumble. Like fine dust, it faded into the wind.
'I--I lost? I couldn't do it?' he questioned in his thoughts. He was sure he matched the demon during their final exchange but then...he still failed.
A portion of his head had already been lost to the wind but he was still alive. However, his life essence was fleeting fast.
'All that talk of me being the strongest and yet, I burnt my meridians?' he thought, his failure weighing hard on him. 'My Heavenly Path isn't beyond me any more. How did I end up burning my meridians?'
As a divine enlivened who channelled energy from the divine realm, channeling excessive amounts of divine aera that could overwhelm his body would cause his meridians to heat up and burn, damaging his own physical form and essence.
With his last move, he had attempted to use aera beyond the tiers. But then, somehow, his body couldn't handle it--a tremendous amount of aera that ended up burning up his meridians and so, his physical form also burnt up as well, causing him to start crumbling to ashes.
He looked at the demon once again and his eyes widened in suprise--its form had changed--but that was supposed to be impossible!
He had seen this form before in the ancient scripts as well.
'A Demon Venerable?'
It still stood, croaking at intervals and still radiating its terrifying presence.
But...
Just before his eyes drifted along with the rest of his disintegrating body, the demon suddenly croaked louder and shrieked, staggering backwards as its form became unstable.
Then, its size began to reduce and so did its terrifying presence. It kept shrinking until it was the size of a person.
After which, its luminous black skin began to fade as well.
The knight thought for a moment that the demon was also succumbing. But what he saw eventually shook him instead.
As the demon's essence faded, it left behind a person; a young boy who remained where it had been.
The knight watched, unable to move as his body kept degenerating.
The young boy stood for a second, staggered forward and then fell face down, unconscious.
It was then that it all made sense.
"A demon enlivened beyond the tiers?" He muttered in disbelief, before his head finally crumbled away.