Chapter 218   - The Duel begins

The group looked off into the distance at the demon man standing on top of the hill. From what Ray and the others had last seen of the man, he still carried a similar appearance. He had scruffy curly hair and wore ragged clothes and trousers.

He looked like he had just escaped from prison and still yet to find a place to settle down.

"That's definitely him!" Lilly shouted, "Let's ride forwards."

With that, Lilly took charge and road off through the town towards the hill. The others followed, the horses kept up the pace and were only a little behind Lilly herself.

The figure on top of the hill stood motionless, but once the group had reached the bottom of the hill and started to ascend, the figure turned and fled.

Lilly continued to charge forward ignoring the chance of an ambush.

"Lilly slow down!" Gary shouted, "Let us go in front."

But Lilly ignored Gary and continued forward. When she finally reached the top of the hill her eyes were gazing down at a site she had never seen before.

The rest of the group arrived and stayed still staring at the site in front of them.

"What is this?" Eve said.

The land on the other side of the hill looked like they were looking at another world. The forest was filled with dead trees. There was no sign of the green grass life and the river that used to flow through was filled with red glowing lava.

"How could this of happened?" Lilly said. "The land, it looks just like the parts where the Shadow plague have already taken over. Why didn't we find out about this sooner when it was right on our doorstep?"

"My guess is it has something to do with Fallen angel," Ark said. "They most likely kept this a secret from the others."

"The Demon man." Gary pointed down by the Lava river.

The Demon man stood there with his hammer held in his hand looking at the group above. Then he started to head deeper into the dead forest.

"Come on we can't let him get away," Lilly said before heading off down the hill.

When the group had reached the Lava river there was no sign of the demon man. All they knew was he had gone deeper into the forest. As soon as they stepped foot into the dead land though, each member could feel a shiver down their spine.

They were now in the Shadow plague's territory and each of them could feel the aura of it from the dead things around them.

The group decided it was best if they followed the river. It was a good landmark to tell where they were so they wouldn't get lost and was also a good source of light. After walking down the river for a while, they spotted a shrine.

The shrine was shaped in an Arch with a pillar on either side, it seemed to be made of very crudely made stones. When looking closer at the shrine it looked like the group was able to see human faces inside. As if human bodies had been infused with the stone.

Standing just below the Arch was the demon man and by his side were two figures completely covered in shadows. They were both True infected men and were just as powerful as the last one Ray and the others had encountered.

"It took you long enough." The demon man said. "Welcome, so Red-haired boy." He grinned at Ray, "Are you ready for our duel?"

Ray nodded and steeped forward not showing an ounce of fear. He was confident in his abilities, even if he couldn't defeat the man he could definitely escape.

"This is to be a fair duel." Lilly said, "Tell your men to stand aside."

"These two do not work for me, they are the protectors of this place for the Shadow plague, maybe you humans who worship a single weak god wouldn't understand but we are our own people. Many real gods dwell in the land of the Shadow plague."

"We didn't come here to listen to you." Lilly said, "Epsiecilly someone who states they are free, yet is a slave to the shadow plague itself."

The demon man started to laugh.

"Yet this so-called lonely slave has already been able to do so much damage to your kingdom, right under your noses. It's only a matter of time until the Shadow plague covers the whole land."

Lenny started to smile.

"What's so funny old man."

"I'm not an old man, but it's funny how confident you sound when all your power comes from a borrowed item," Lenny said. "This boy here has true strength and that is why he will win," Lenny said as he patted Ray on the back.

"Send the true infected away and we shall start the duel," Lilly said.

"As I said they will not interfere." The demon waved his hand at the two of them and they moved slightly back still standing by the side of the shrine.

Eve ordered the archers and herself to cover the true infected just in case there were any signs of movement during the duel, they would then be able to act immediately.

Slowly Ray started to walk forward and the demon man did the same. The two foes now stood only five feet apart from each other.

The demon man then held up his dragon hammer into the sky and it started to glow. The area around them suddenly started to emit heat. Flames from the nearby lava river started to spurt and shake like crazy. The pillars behind the Demon man started to glow red hot.

Then all the flames started to enter into the hammer and at the same time enter the man. Steam could be seen coming off from the man's skin. The temperature in the air had risen by several degrees.

"This is where it ends." The demon man said, "You should have never agreed to this duel."