CHAPTER TEN

Atop the tallest tower of his dark fortress, Kalb looked into the rumbling sky and frowned.

"What are they waiting for?"

The Overlord of the Damned stamped his lizard's foot, and the castle of black crystal shuddered. In his wildest imaginings, he had never once considered the end of the world to be so dreadfully boring.

His unholy minions amused themselves with the slaughter of all things living and the razing of the land.

Worthy efforts and carried out with admirable enthusiasm, but ultimately, the Final Battle would not be fought over Wa'suria. The world was merely the first step towards Kalb's ultimate destiny. He had no real reason to bring about its destruction, other than being the embodiment of all that was evil and cruel and it was expected of him. Truth be told, he rather enjoyed mortals, and they were so much more amusing before they were dead.

According to Kalb's plans, the Legion of Darkness would first defeat the Army of Light, reduce the world to a lifeless ash heap, and then they would storm the Palace of Heavens and cast out Desaphanus as they had once been cast out. Kalb had had a long time to plot the course of the Final Battle.

He'd been patient. He'd bided his time. Now that the end of the world was here, was it too much to ask for a little cooperation? On the plus side, the delay confirmed to Kalb that Desaphanus was indeed dead.

Kalb didn't like Desaphanus, but the old blowhard ran a tight ship. If he were still in charge, the Apocalypse would be going according to schedule.

He heaved a heavy sigh, and the clouds overhead twisted into screaming, writhing shapes.

If wait he must, he would. He could afford a few more hours, but if nothing happened by then, he'd storm the Palace ahead of schedule. The Overlord of the Damned was nothing if not flexible.

Staggia approached with the latest progress reports.

"The glorious massacre goes better than expected. Wa'suria should be barren of all life within two weeks. Three if the mortals manage to collect their wits enough to make a decent showing of themselves."

"See that a few are spared for breeding stock," Kalb ordered, "except for the elves. Have them exterminated as quickly as possible. Can't stand the pointy eared things. Pompous little bastards, every last one."

"Yes, sir." She paused to scribble down the decree. "By current estimates, the world shall be irreversibly destroyed within the month."

Kalb smiled thinly. Five large tornadoes whirled about on the horizon, uprooting burning trees and raising clouds of dust. Wa'suria seemed determined to destroy itself without any help from the Fallen. His minions merely helped expedite the process.

"Where are they?"

Pure, burning light shot from the sky, tearing into the demons, who screamed and melted.

Kalb's four yellow eyes glinted with sinister glee. "Finally!"

The Horns of Heaven sounded the charge of the Army of Light. The clouds split, and a flood of angels poured forth. Not exactly a flood, Kalb quickly corrected. More like a heavy downpour. A thick drizzle more precisely. Worse still, among the crimson warrior angels, there was a high mix of other colors.

Colors which had no business in this struggle.

The Legion of the Damned rose up and engaged the Army of Light. The holy host was outnumbered by three-to-one. Warrior angels were made to stand up against those steep odds, but already the blue servants of air and violet children of passion were falling in droves. The golden bearers of succor were slaughtered in two blinks of his eyes. At this rate, the battle would be over before it truly began.

Kalb frowned. "This will not do."

He snapped his fingers, and a third of his legion did vanish in puffs of smoke.

"Much better."

He sat back and watched the Final Battle. The air was thick with combatants, and soon the ground was littered with corpses. But Kalb did not act. Not yet. It was relaxing to watch the slaughter. To listen to the shrieks of fury and pain. To breathe deep the sweet scent of angelic blood and demonic ichor that soaked the fields of wheat. No holy warrior dared to attack him. That honor was for one alone.

In the heart of the engagement, alight with the radiance of righteous fury, Pira whirled about in a blur, slaughtering any demon foolish enough to come near. Her Silver Sword hacked the Fallen to pieces. Her strong left fist crushed in the skulls of the Damned. She was more than a match for ten thousand lesser demons. She might very well defeat the Legion all by herself.

Kalb stood and stretched his wings. "If you'll excuse me, Staggia. This shouldn't take long."

The air screamed as he tore his way across the skirmish. The flesh melted from anyone, angel or demon, who dared cross his path. The Overlord of the Damned collided with the Righteous Anger of Desaphanus. The impact was heard across Wa'suria. Carried by his momentum, Kalb and Pira struck the world and were driven six miles below the surface.

Wa'suria quaked. Each jolt rocked the world. Kalb hit Pira with a glancing blow, and the West cracked in seven pieces. She sliced off his viper tail, and the North turned to blood red mush. She speared his thigh, and the South spat up monstrous worms that had lain dormant since the dawn of time.

Pira landed a solid uppercut. Kalb shot back to the surface. She soared after him on broken wings. Her robe clung to her in tatters, and most of her crimson hair had been ripped out. Still, she did not falter. It was her duty to destroy him.

Kalb himself did not look much better. Thick, green blood gushed from his jaws. Half his teeth had been left beneath Wa'suria. And his horn was cracked down the middle.

This was proving more entertaining than he'd dared hope.

Pira hovered before him, gulping heavy breaths with her working lung. The one only half-filled with blood. "Kalb, this is your last chance. Return to the Hollows this instant, and I might be persuaded to spare your life."

Kalb chuckled. "Don't tell me you're ready to stop. I'm just warming up."

Red lightning arced from his eyes. Pira deflected the bolts with her sword. Sneering, she rammed Kalb with both fists. They crashed into his dark fortress. The tower collapsed upon itself, burying the adversaries under a thousand tons of rubble.

The Final Battle slowed as the nearby participants waited for their champion to arise. The debris lay quiet for a few moments. Just long enough to raise doubts in both sides.

The ruins exploded. Deadly shards of marble cut into the nearby warriors.

Pira's sword severed Kalb's hand at the wrist. Another sliver blur slashed open his belly. His slimy intestines spilled onto the ground.

He grinned wider.

He batted her off balance with a swipe of his wing and seized her by what was left of her hair. He swung her high and brought her down hard again and again until he was certain she was too beaten to move.

"And now, dear, dear Pira, I'm afraid I've got to end this diversion. Nothing personal."

He stomped her twice with his goat's hoof before picking her up by her wings. She groaned through swollen lips. Their blackened eyes locked.

He spat out a loose fang. "It's been fun."

Pira's hand swung upwards. Her Silver Sword ran through his darkened heart, and in one instant, all of Kalb's dreams died.

The Overlord of the Damned stared at the blade stuck through his chest. The weapon was the only thing in the universe capable of killing him, and like a fool, he'd let down his guard. Not really his fault, Kalb realized. Desaphanus had made him arrogant to the point of stupidity at times, but as his last gasp left his lips, he found small comfort in the excuse.

"Oh damn."

He stumbled backwards, clutching the blade of his undoing and fell over.

But he did not die.

Kalb sat up, very much alive and very puzzled. He was not the only one. The Final Battle stopped as he stood. Disbelief fell upon the battlefield. The Silver Sword through his heart was Kalb's death, and yet, it was not. There were rules that had always been. Rules never meant to be broken. But Desaphanus was dead. His universe was crumbling, and the ancient laws were suffering as well.

Kalb was willing to overlook the infraction.

"Ouch."

Before the disbelieving Army of Light, he pulled the sword from his chest. Its glow faded away. The eternal blade dulled and rusted away into flecks of red dust that drifted in the breeze.

Pira filled with rage. She dove at the Overlord of the Damned. He caught her by the throat. His powerful grip squeezed her until her face turned blue. He could kill her right now. She didn't need air, but he could strangle her anyway. There was nothing she could do to stop him.

Kalb scooped up his guts and stuffed them back into place. His wounds knitted close. His teeth popped from his gums. Even his viper tail grew back, unfortunately, and immediately took a bite out of his rump.

Pira teetered on the edge of death. The last of her strength was gone, but Kalb had never felt better.

"Not yet."

He released her. She lay very still on the ground. Already her divine constitution was working to restore her. Good. He wasn't through with her yet.

Kalb turned upon the Army of Light, his eyes gleaming with sinister power. He clapped his hands together and half the angels burned away in bright, white fire.

"Who's next?"

The answer came in a burst of green bolts that cut down demon and angel alike. Dozens of strange egg-shaped objects descended through the clouds, raining death in a hundred different directions.

"What the..?" Kalb managed to ask before being disintegrated by a barrage of deathrays. The enormous flying eggs proceeded to annihilate Fallen, divine servant, and anything else that moved. And just for good measure, everything that just sat there as well.