Re:Cord of Ragnarok

Chapter 26 [Flickering Flame in the Endless Abyss]

"See now, you weak human, he himself has said he's beyond saving," Barbatos said to her human partner. "I don't understand what he means by Lord Demon King Solomon's side being the losing party though. Any one of us demons is stronger than the walking lightbulb, Lucifer. If anything, King Demon Lord Solomon should have just had us demons fight the gods rather than you pathetic humans."

"You think you are beyond saving, Midas?" Jeanne asked, her resolute gaze meeting the broken king's.

"Hey, don't just ignore me you pathetic human! It's my great power that is the reason you're here so you should listen to the words I say with reverence!" Barbatos scoffed in frustration, but her words fell on deaf ears once more.

"And you think humanity is beyond saving? You might think that... but I am not one to give up so easily." A faint sound of a flame igniting could be heard in the arena, but only by those who listened with utmost care. "But if you won't accept my offer of salvation, then I am left with no choice." The stake on Jeanne's shoulder was lifted into her arms, appearing almost like a great and mighty club. "I promise you here and now, that I shall bring an end to your suffering and misery."

Midas grit his teeth in response to Jeanne's words, a myriad of emotions rushing through his mind, but only one decision made sense to him at that moment. He began to sprint towards the fellow human that stood in his way, the sword still firmly in his hand. He raised it above his head and the blade in his hand turned from rusted steel to a shining, glimmering gold.

The miracle glowed in his hands, a beautiful golden shine emanating from his palms. The blade was a cursed work of art. A treasure that would damn the souls of men who sought its glory.

With a resolute strike, Midas swung his blade down onto the holy maiden, refusing to falter in the crucial moment and aiming to end Jeanne alongside her mad ramblings once and for all. But all the sword met was the cold indifference of Jeanne's wooden stake. Jeanne had moved block at the last second, before she placed strength into her legs and looked up at the king. She pushed up to break Midas' stance, before quickly following up with a swing aimed at his side. Midas managed to block the strike from landing, but it came at a price.

The beads on the King's arm glowed and warmed his wrist, and in a flash of light the golden sword shattered into pieces. Midas leapt back to avoid the following momentum with a curious glance at his wrist. 'Was that the work of this bracelet? I need to get used to the effects it grants...' Looking up, he called out to the saint once more. "Why do you fight back? You should just surrender...lay down and die...run away...anything... it's for your own sake." Midas said, his voice beginning to sound desperate. In his heart, he truly did not want this. Yet Jeanne's determination left him with no other choice.

"I said it already, didn't I?" Jeanne responded as she moved back into her combative stance. "I'm not just going to lay down and die so the people I've led before are erased. They may have turned their backs on me, but I refuse to turn mine on theirs. The Lord has sent me here with a duty, and I shall complete it, car c'est mon but dans la vie."

"The Lord? Look around you. You're fighting the very gods who created humanity and now wish to destroy it. If you truly were to follow their will and were sent here, it would be to join me here. Gods are whimsical and cruel. They care not for us. We are simply toys in their hands. Such is the purpose of mortals who dare face the cruelty of the heavens."

"Can you just hurry up and kill him, human? His voice is beginning to annoy me! The fool truly thinks that Demon Lord King Solomon is beneath some gods! A laughable farce. The wingless angel himself will bow at my Lord's feet once Ragnarok is won!" Barbatos said, her nagging now having turned to a state of pure boredom.