MLII C2, P10- "A Demon Within"

"A Demon Within" is the tenth Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's second Chapter. It was released on 11.11.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared finally comes face to face with the man who is responsible for the deaths of many innocent people who were killed by his warriors- Dorikas. At first, he thinks that this will be an easy fight because Dorikas has used dark magic which has drained most of his energy, despite making him much younger.
However, he soon realizes that he shouldn't underestimate his enemy, especially when he is face with a situation like this.
It is time for Jared to finally face the hardest challenge that he vowed to complete from the very start- killing Dorikas, leader of the Darkside Loyalists and restoring the harmony and peace in both Avernum and the Surface. The battle will be great and the rewards-greater.
The time for Jared and Dorikas to fight against each other has finally come. But the most important question remains...
Who will emerge victorious? Will the power of Light prevail, or will it be the power of Darkness?
There is only one way to find that out...
== Story ==
Dorikas is very close to killing Jared. It seems like all will be over for him in just a moment.
However, John manages to push the villain back before it can actually happen, saving his best friend's life.
"Jared!"- He yells- "I know that you care about Annie, but you must win the battle! Dorikas is right there! Don't miss the opportunity to slay him!"
Dorikas smiles.
"Yes, Jared. I'm right here."- He mocks him- "Why don't you come here and fight me? I'm the main reason why your dear friend is in this condition, after all."
Once Jared hears this, he goes berserk. He draws Demonslayer and screams:
"I will destroy you, you fiend!"
He charges, takes Dorikas by surprise and stabs him in the shoulder.
Dorikas takes a step back, stares at his wound and smiles. He touches it with his other hand and then... then...
It is gone! The wound heals itself within mere seconds and soon, it is as if it was never there!
Dorikas sees that Jared is surprised by this and smiles.
"Dark magic is always useful, especially when you want to heal a fresh wound like this one."- He says- "This is the reward that I received upon accepting the power of Darkness within my heart."
"And this is only one of many."- He adds- "Come closer to witness what else I am capable of."
Jared prepares to strike again.
"Gladly."- He says and charges.
This time, Dorikas parries his blow and tries to strike Jared himself. 
However, the young hero manages to parry his blow and push his weapon away. He throws him into a wall and presses Demonslayer close to his throat.
"This is the end of the line, you villain."- He says- "Now, I will make you pay for what you have done!"
Dorikas smiles.
"I don't think it will be that easy, Jared."- He says and suddenly, his weapon appears in his left hand.
He tries to stab Jared with it, but narrowly misses and the boy steps back.
Dorikas looks around and sees that he is surrounded by enemies. He looks at the window and sees that no enemies have arrived at the area below. Yet.
"Jumping down there is better than being slain by those meddling kids."- He says to himself- "If Jared really wants to hunt me down, then he will do the same."
He looks up and sees that Jared, John and Lethal and getting closer, weapons drawn.
Suddenly, he salutes them and smiles.
"Farewell, you fools!"- He says and jumps through the window.
The three of them watch in horror as Dorikas falls on the ground below.
"Coward!"- Jared yells- "Come back here and fight like a man!"
Meanwhile, John and Lethal stare at the area below the window for a sign that Dorikas died down there.
"There is no way for him to survive a fall from this height!"- Lethal says, hoping that he is right.
John nods and looks around. Suddenly, he points at someone not too far away from the area who is trying to run away.
"He... he's still alive!"- John exclaims- "How can this be?!"
Jared readies his bow.
"Do not worry, everyone."- He says stoically- "I've got this."
Then, without thinking twice, he jumps out of the window and lands on the ground below.
John and Lethal stare at the area worryingly, wondering if Jared survived the fall as well. Fortunately, they see him waving at them moments later and smile.
"Heroes never die!"- Jared yells and begins to chase Dorikas.
Dorikas looks back and sees Jared. However, instead of stopping and fighting him in a fair battle, he decides to run away like a petty little coward.
Or maybe he has a plan that he wishes to execute?
Soon, it turns out that it is the latter. Jared stops near a remote area. He sees nothing of interest here, other than a black grave.
He sees Dorikas standing next to it, smiling. When he aims an arrow at him, he holds his hands up in the air.
"Wait, Jared!"- He says- "Don't attack me just yet! I want to talk! Please respect my wish!"
Jared shakes his head.
"I would rather kill you on the spot than waste my time speaking with you about a pointless subject."- He says stoically and shoots an arrow at him.
However, the arrow passes through his body and sticks to the ground behind him.
Jared shoots another arrow, unable to believe what he is witnessing in front of him. The result is the same as before.
"What is happening?"- He says, barely believing the fact that he cannot hit his enemy- "Why in the world can't I hurt you?"
Dorikas laughs bitterly.
"Sorry, kid. I have the high ground here."- He says triumphantly- "I'm near my resting place and thus, you cannot hurt me at all when I'm in my useless human form. The dark magic emanating from this place protects me from your blows."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"I do not understand what you are trying to imply."- He says, confused- "Can you please tell me more about it?"
Dorikas smiles.
"Gladly."- He says- "But only when you promise not to kill me on the spot. Or, rather, try to do so."
Jared sighs and lowers his bow.
"I guess that I have no other choice in this matter."- He says, defeated- "Speak up, Dorikas. This better not be a waste of my time."
Dorikas smiles again. Then, he begins to speak while looking around the area:
"Although this area may not seem liks a very important place, it is still the place where I was buried, the place where I spent my eternal rest... until I was brought back by the dark magic within. When I woke up, I felt my body getting... younger. Stronger. And when I spoke with your friend- Devin, I felt like my old powers are finally returning, the ones which I had before your father killed me many years ago. That finally happeing not too long after. However, I also felt a new presence within my body. Trying to replace my old self. Trying to become the new owner of this body. Trying to... rewrite my whole being, make me a whole new person. To change me for good... or bad."
"However, unlike those fools who try to eradicate such a dark presence from their own bodies, I welcomed it. And thus, it gave me full control over my body while giving me a new form to use against those who are foolish enough to oppose the absolute rule of the Darkside Loyalists over the whole world."
Suddenly, Jared realizes that Dorikas is into... something else. Remembering the moments when he fought Lysstak the Beast and how he turned into a demonic creature in front of him, he steps back.
Knowing that he cannot do anything to stop this transformation, he watches Dorikas silently, waiting for the moment when his demonic self will show a weakness, holding his hand close to Demonslayer.
A few seconds later, Dorikas turns into a demonic creature. He laughs.
"I'm glad that you took the time to wait instead of trying to destroy me, you foolish child."- He says- "I wanted you to see all of me. I wanted you to see my true form, not the one that I once called my own. So, here we are!"
Jared looks at him and notices that he is different from the other demonic creatures that he fought before. Ever more so than Lysstak the Beast. He is much bigger, stronger and taller. His body also radiates a power which can crush an unprepared warrior with ease.
"Who are you?"- He asks him, still trying to comprehend what he is seeing- "Or rather, what are you?"
Dorikas grins.
"Why? Can't you recognize a lord of the Underworld when you see him in front of you?"- He says, his ruby red eyes beaming with pride, expecting an answer.
Jared raises his eyebrow. He understands what Dorikas is talking about.
"Wait! You are a H-Ha... "
Dorikas grins.
"That's right!"- He says loudly- "I... am... a Haakai! Lord of the Underworld, one of the great leaders of the demonic forces there and the one who will bring forth your inevitable doom!"
Jared shakes his head, draws Demonslayer and points it at him.
"You do not scare me, you fiend! I have already destroyed one of you!"- He yells angrily- "And I am not afraid to do it again!"
Dorikas smiles.
"Oh, you must be talking about Lysstak."- He says- "Poor fellow. He was such a good servant. Maybe even one whom I could call my good friend. It's a shame that we lost him. He was such a valuable ally."
He sighs.
"But now isn't the time to mourn about those who fell in the war. Now is the time to act and defeat those who wish to oppose us, the Darkside Loyalists."
He holds his claws in the air, preparing to cast a spell. He grins.
"Nothing personal, Jared. But you are still standing in my way and I must destroy you if I want to carry on with my plans."- He says- "Once I'm done with you, I will kill all of your friends, family and everyone that you have ever cared about. Then, I will conquer every land. First, it will be Avernum and then, the Surface Wor-- "
His dramatic sppech is stopped when Jared charges at him, trying to stab him with Demonslayer. 
He succeeds and the mighty sword goes through Dorikas' chest. However, it soon heals on its own.
Dorikas laughs.
"Foolish kid!"- He yells- "Not even Demonslayer can stop me now. I am inevitable!"
Suddenly, he casts the spell that he has been preparing. A portal opens, a few imps jump out and immediately attack Jared, trying to knock him off-balance and devour him while he is down.
However, our hero manages to slay them easily using Demonslayer. Dorikas may be nearly invulnerable to the mighty weapon, but his demonic allies are not.
Soon, all of the imps who attacked Jared (Plus at least ten more who jumped out of the portal during the confrontation) lie dead next to him. Their bodies start to evaporate and soon, they turn into small clouds of black mist that float away almost immediately.
Dorikas smiles.
"This was just the beginning!"- He says- "There are still thousands of those little creatures who are hungering for your flesh! They will be here very soon!"
Dorikas tries to call forth more of his allies. However, Jared decides to stop his evil plan, despite being amused by Dorikas' attempts to kill him using his allies and not trying to kill him personally.
He touches the portal with his hand and mutters a few words. Suddenly, the portal closes in on an imp that is trying to jump out of it and rips it into pieces.
Dorikas tries to open the portal again, but is stopped by Jared, who casts a powerful Light element spell and violently pushes him back, weakening him in the process.
"You dare attack me? Me? The lord of the Underworld?!"- Dorikas roars angrily- "I will make you pay for that, you foolish child!"
Jared points Demonslayer at him and shakes his head.
"If you really think that you have the power to defeat me, why don't you face me right here, fair and square?"- He asks him- "And do not try to bring your allies to fight me instead of you. This shows just how much of a coward you really are!"
Dorikas stares at Jared angrily. No one has ever insulted him like that before, in neither of his forms.
"Coward?!"- He yells- "Fine! I will fight you alone! But remember, the fight will be much more painful than the one with my servants! You're going to plead me to stop, I know i-- "
"Oh, just fight me already!"- Jared yells and charges.
Jared and Dorikas fight, trying to find a weak spot in each other's attack patterns, Jared fighting with Demonslayer and Dorikas- with his bare claws.
Suddenly, Dorikas trips Jared and tries to plunge one of his claws deep into his chest. However, our hero manages to parry his blow and cut his claw off with Demonslayer.
Dorikas looks at his arm. Normally, a regular demon would scream upon seeing this grisly sight and start to panic, unsure what to do to stop the bleeding.
Sadly, this is not the case for this demon. He touches the spot where the claw was, casts a spell and suddenly, another one replaces the one that was cut off.
Jared watches in horror, unsure what to say.
"Surprised?"- Dorikas asks him and grins- "You should be!"
He charges at Jared and takes him by surprise, stabbing him in the arm with his claw.
Jared takes a step back and parries another blow. He looks at his arm and realizes that Dorikas pluged his claw pretty deep in there.
He casts a healing spell on the fresh wound. Moments later, it starts to heal.
Dorikas smiles, amused by Jared's display of power. The boy smiles as well.
"The power of Darkness is not the only one that can heal a severely wounded person."- He says- "As you can see, it is the same for the power of Light. And we don't serve malicious fiends like the ones, to whom you swore an oath!"
The two of them continue to fight, trying to gain advantage against each other.
A minute later, Dorikas shakes his head.
"Enough!"- He roars- "I've had enough of your pathetic attempts to kill me! Prepare to see my true power!"
Suddenly, Jared is overcome with a sense of both nausea and vertigo, caused by Dorikas' dark magic.
When he thinks that this will never stop, he is teleported back in Fort Darkside and the feeling immediately fades away. Dorikas catches up with him not long afterwards.
As Jared stands up and brushes the dust off his clothes, Dorikas looks around and sees that everyone is staring at him in horror- both Darkside Loyalists and Avernite raiders, among them Jared's friends and grandfather. He grins.
"Oh my! It feels like I'm in the Colosseum, standing over my defeated enemy triumphantly. All eyes are on me."- He exclaims- "What a sport!"
He looks at Jared and points at all of the people who are staring at them.
"See all those people around you? Some of them are your friends who have always trusted you."- He says to him- "You don't want to let them all down, do you? Then fight me and show them that you are truly capable of defeating a powerful enemy without their help!"
John tries to move forward, intending to help Jared out. However, an invisible barrier stops him and pushes him back.
Dorikas laughs.
"Not so fast, O Brave One! This battle is only between me... and him!"- He yells- "I won't allow anyone else to interrupt us, even if it's one of my own allies!"
He stares at the loyalists to the left and right of him.
"Interrupt me and I will never forgive you."- He says stoically.
The loyalists nod and look down, obeying their leader's orders. Even if he isn't human anymore.
Meanwhile, Dorikas looks back at Jared and smiles.
"Well? What do you say to this, hero?"- He says to him- "Do you accept this challenge?"
Jared smiles and points Demonslayer at Dorikas, barely restraining himself from attacking him immediately.
"I have never backed down from a challenge, especially one when the fate of the whole world depends on me."- He says- "Prepare to come face to face with your end, creature of the dark!"