Chapter 27: Pride rises
A long time ago, near the Bloodguard keep.
"How many?" Pride asked.
He was sitting on his chair, surrounded by his officers. A small Demon was kneeling right in front of him inside the tent.
"No more than 10000, general." the small Demon, a scout in Pride's army, reported.
"And Heroes?"Pride got up and leaned over the scout.
"We... we were only able to locate two... general." the scout anxiously responded. He seemed to be terrified for his life. It's eyes couldn't leave Pride's. Like a toad in front of a snake, the scout was completely frozen.
"Ha!" Pride just laughed. "Good! Prepare the troops. I will be leading myself."
"Is that wise general?" one of the officers spoke. "You should wait for us to even the odds and only appear after we kill one of the heroes." the officer continued.
There was silence. The other commanders got away from the officer, while Pride approached. The officer seemed oblivious to the atmosphere in the tent, as he met Pride's eyes with a confident smile.
"Even the odds?" Pride repeated.
"Yes. Even you would be troubled fighting two h-" The officers head disappeared from his shoulders, his hand frozen in place as he was gesturing at the time. The blood soon followed and the body dropped down as if a puppet with no strings.
"Anyone else has any bright ideas like this one?" Pride asked the other officers, playing with the decapitated head in his hand. The body soon started to burn in a bright light, as it was the fate of all Demons after their death.
No one dared to talk. The tent was completely silent.
"It is true that there have been Human Heroes that made even Demonscower. That's of course talking about common Demons. Do any of you think that I, general Pride of the Seven Deadly Sins, is a common Demon?" Pride said as he released his magic power to summon Ma-clayar, raising the temperature of his surroundings in the process.
"No general!" the officers shouted in unison.
"Do you think I will be troubled fighting two Humans?" Pride asked again.
"No general" the officers shouted once again.
"Then prepare for battle!" Pride slammed the tip of his sword to the ground and rested his hands at the pummel.
"Yes general" the officers shouted with vigor and ran out of the tent.
'Just one more step and Bloodguard will be mine. As soon as we deal with this army, we will tear through Bloodguard's defenses and-' while thinking of future plans, a voice echoed inside his head.
<Pride.> the voice called to him.
"My lord!" said Pride and immediately bowed, even if there was no one to bow to. "The preparations are going well, Bloodguard will be yours soon" he said happily.
<That doesn't matter now! You are going to be teleported South. The Dragonborn are attacking. There have been sights of two Half-Dragons and an elder Dragon. Wrath and Envy are in danger!> the Demon Lord said. There was a haste in her voice.
"But... the battle is about to begin. I can't leave now. There are two Heroes here. My men won't be able to hold." Pride urged. He couldn't leave now. Bloodguard was an important stronghold. One that would give the Demons a strong foothold to invade deeper in Human territories.
<I'm sorry Pride, there is no other way.> the Demon Lord said with determination.
Pride's body shined purple and before he knew it he was in a middle of a battle. Dragonborn and Demons were fighting all around him in a chaotic melee.
"Wait!" Pride shouted. "What about my men? They will be slaughtered!" there was no answer.
Pride clenched his fists in anger. This was the first time he felt frustrated with the Demon Lord's actions. Losing a battle against the Dragonborn had no significance compared to losing Bloodguard and all his troops. This was without question a foolish tactical move by the Demon Lord.
"Pride!" Envy's voice came to his ears. No matter the situation, her voice always managed to calm him down. "You came..." she sounded out of breath. "Wrath is being overwhelmed. She is fighting with Welzour the Dread. She won't last much longer!"
"Welzour..." Keita repeated. He was a Dragon like no other, said to be the oldest dragon alive. Welzour the Dread was the strongest creature in the continent. Unlike other dragons, he flew around the world, never staying in one place too long, nor was he interested in gold. There were even rumors that he left the continent and flew all the way to edge of the world before coming back. There never been words of what he found there though. After all what existed outside Lerien was a mystery to all. How could a whimsical creature like that ally himself with Dragonborn was a mystery.
"Pride!" Envy shouted, bringing Pride back to reality.
He took a look at Envy. She had guards all around her that right now were making a perimeter so she and Pride could talk in peace.
"Take your troops and make a new base wherever you see fit. I will send Wrath back as soon as I can. Tell her to take care of the Half-dragons. Make a defensive line and hold while I take care of Welzour. I will be fine alone. Change the plan as you see fit, considering the situation." Pride changed gears and gave orders. It was true that he couldn't match Envy when it came to tactics and strategy, but he was still her senior. He trusted her to make any adjustments on her own.
After hearing that Welzour the Dread was here, his role in this battle became clear. He was not here to lead but to keep Welzour busy.
'I'll take care of this as soon as possible and go back. As long as I keep Welzour occupied, Wrath and Envy will find a way to turn this battle around.' he thought and he dashed forwards, making a path through the Dragonborn.
It was easy to spot Welzour. He didn't even have to look for him. An elder Dragon, was ginormous after all. He killed and killed Dragonborn, leaving a path of blood and guts. There where none to stop him from arriving to his destination.
It didn't matter if it was Dragonborn or Demon, all feared Welzour and kept as much distance as possible. When Pride stepped inside the void around the Dragon he was met with Wrath's back, flying towards him. Pride stopped the giant Demon with one hand, holding her like a cat.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he turned Wrath around.
"What? I have him on the ropes." Wrath joked. It was obvious who was winning. Her armor has melted in places, her face was full of burns and both her arms were broken.
Pride placed Wrath down and walked forwards.
"Enough. Go regroup with Envy. She'll tell you your orders." he said as he activated his magic power, making everyone around cower.
"Hell's Path: Pride!" he shouted, as the black magic power surrounded him like ropes.
The black Dragon roared, making even the ground tremble. He brandished his wings and stood on his back legs, trying to intimidate his new enemy. Pride was hit with the air pressure, that made it even for him, hard to stand.
"This will be more interesting than I thought." he said with a smile.
And so begun a battle that would pass down as legend. A battle with no end that crowned Pride as the strongest. Pride didn't waste a moment, as he attacked, tearing Welzour's flesh bit by bit. Welzour of course didn't stood and take it either. He attacked with claws, fire and tail. He broke Pride's bones and burned his skin.
Sundown. The battle was over. The Demons prevailed over the Dragonborn but Pride was still fighting. No one dared intervene, even from a distance. Even when the Dragon and the Demon where covered with blood and seemed ready to fall from breeze. Neither of them had any reason to fight other than to prove who was stronger. Two creatures, at the top of the food chain, competing for who will stand on the peak. The fight seemed one that would never end. But all things have an ending. It was Pride that struck the final blow, taking the Dragon's eye with his bare hands. He had drained all his magic power long ago and Ma-clayar couldn't exist in this world without constantly feeding it mana. Welzour roared in pain.
"Demon!" he shouted, speaking words for the first time. "I curse you! I will be back! When I do, you better have made your peace. At that time I will devour you whole!" the Dragon's voice, echoed through the whole battlefield.
After making his threats, the Dragon raised his wings and flew to the sky. The Demons rejoiced. Their shouts where like thunder. Victory cries and praises of Pride would continue long into the night. Defeating Welzour was a feat that would go down in history and they where all witnesses.
Pride didn't seem happy though. He spat some blood from his mouth and walked back to the rest of the Demons. Wrath was the first one to greet him.
"Brother! You did it! Congrat..." Wrath stopped when she met Pride's eyes. It was the first time she saw these kind of eyes looking at her.
"Why couldn't you do that?" Pride asked, looking at Wrath as if she was trash.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone