"Go, run now!" James yelled. "I don't think we are going to make it out of this one. If at least one of us can survive, I will rest easy."
"I would never leave you to die, James," Nicole replied. "We can win this if we stick together. We must win this."
Nicole started chanting something in a foreign tongue. A glow sputtered up around her from every living thing nearby. She was gathering energy for something.
"If you can hold him off long enough, if you can survive long enough, we will win," she said, bracing for an impact James blocked.
As Nicole powered up her spell, James took the Demon King head-on, absorbing deadly blow after deadly blow so she could keep chanting.
"He is going to kill us. Then he is going to destroy the planet," James yelled. "Please, run!"
The Demon King stood at a colossal height of fifty meters tall. An absolute demonic beast. The ground cracking beneath the sheer gravity of him.
"You two really think you can defeat me?" the towering entity yelled, its voice rolling through the duo's bodies like an earthquake.
"I am Zerith. The bringer of destruction, the ender of worlds. Mere mortals could never defeat me. Not with your magic."
The Demon King looked straight at the duo and began to gather energy in front of his mouth.
"He is prepping for another blast," James said. "If he gets enough time to charge that attack, we are really toast."
"Then we do not let him finish," Nicole said. "Get behind me and charge me with your mana. While you were protecting me, I was gathering this area's life force. This has to be enough."
Her aura had become visibly distorted with orange and green hues. She had started charging her spell moments before the Demon King.
James followed her command, bracing her shoulders with his hands and channeling the last of his mana into the love of his life. The contact sent her aura flaring violently outward.
"If this doesn't work, we will not be the only ones to get hurt," James said. "We have to protect the ones we left at home. This is the last of my mana. Use it and defeat this bastard."
"Who do you think will finish charging first?" Nicole asked.
Nicole had been a healer by trade, but life had forced her down a paladin road. The world was too rough and unforgiving to rely on only one skill set, so she trained for this exact moment.
"You will. I know it," James said. "You have always shown up when needed. It just sucks we won't get to say goodbye to anyone."
"You two just don't know when to stop, do you?" the Demon King bellowed. "I will kill you and destroy this decrepit world."
"No!" Nicole shouted. "You will die here, and this world will keep moving. Eventually forgetting you ever existed!"
"Hahaha," the mountain laughed. "You sound just like the heroes from other worlds I already destroyed. They thought they were chosen too. You are not even that."
"What are you talking about?" Nicole asked.
"Oh, you didn't know? I am not from this planet. I was born of sheer destruction, with an insatiable thirst for death. I have bounced from reality to reality, devouring entire existences."
The words rang out in Nicole's mind, forcing a moment of hesitation. If he had destroyed other planets, snuffed out others like her, how could she possibly defeat him?
"You've got this," James said calmly. "Focus on what matters most. I know the combined power of our love, and the love of those around us, will let us prevail."
Those words struck something deep in Nicole's heart, motivating her even more.
"You monster," Nicole cried. "You have killed countless people. If I let you live, the cycle continues."
"Let?" the god asked. "I am the one who let you get this far. You are nothing more than playthings."
"Just ten more seconds and it is over," Nicole cried. "I am sorry, kids. I will not see you grow up. But know this. You were loved."
"Let us end this, Nicole," James commanded.
The beam released with precision, aimed directly at the Demon King's mouth. One continuous surge of pure life energy.
The Demon King answered with his own.
The collision was instant. Violent. Final. Nicole's beam shattered the attack and tore through, causing the demon to stagger just enough.
"Get him, James," she said.
The words acted like a lit fuse. James's body became enshrouded in pure magic. His expression steeled.
"I will finish this," James said.
He launched himself forward, blade raised. The god tried to strike Nicole, but James blocked the blow, taking the brunt of the attack.
"I will cut you down, demon."
James repositioned and launched himself upward again, faster this time. The strike met resistance. Too slow.
James climbed the god's body, slashing until he reached eye level. With a look of triumph in his eyes, he declared war.
"With this last strike, you will fall," James said. "Last Oath."
A slash that cut through time and space split the demon in two. The blade fell, and the battle ended.
"You cheated," the Demon King cried as his body began to crumble.
James collapsed beside Nicole on the cold earth, clinging to her in their final moments.
"You did it," he said softly. "You saved the world."
"We won?" Nicole asked, her breath heavy.
Without mana, their bodies began to fail.
"I am sorry," Nicole whispered. "We should have lived longer. Loved deeper."
"No," James said. "You did everything right."
Nicole's eyes dulled, her body turning to dust in his arms.
They died together on that battlefield. Souls touching, mingling into the after life.
Forever bound.