Chronicles of the Second Realm. Curtis Reid Edgett

last sentence. “Every demon has a weak spot; the main ones are the head, the tail, and the heart.”

      “Hmm.” I charged at the demon with my sword over my head like I was ready for a fastball down home plate. I got about five feet away and jumped. My feet left the ground with unknown lightness. I soared ten feet in the air, eye level with the beast. It raised its hands and swatted me down. I plummeted back down to the ground and landed on my feet gently. I knew this was game on.

      The demon let out a garbled roar. “Ah!”

       This just got serious.

      He rushed at me with his fists, swinging them wildly. When his fists hit the ground, I was surprised they didn’t crack the concrete. I dodged each attack gracefully, not knowing how I was doing this. After the fifth punch, I’d had enough. When his fist hit the concrete, I swung my sword as hard as I could at his right arm. Shing! My sword sliced through his arm and it dropped to the floor with a thud.

      The demon let out another roar. “Ah!” His arm started to smoke. It took about five seconds for it to evaporate into thin air. No blood was spilled anywhere; only smoke radiated from the wound. The demon looked and me. “You’ll die for this, human!”

      “Oh, my gosh, he talked!” I said to myself.

      He raised his other arm and swung it down at me. I jumped sideways into a handspring to avoid the attack. I never knew I could move with this much agility and speed.

      “OK, big boy, you’re going down.” I threw my sword up over his head, almost touching the ceiling. Then, I ran at him with super speed and leapt up into the air. I lifted my legs up and thrust my heels into his chest. The demon started to fall as my sword did likewise. I rode the creature down to the ground like a wave.

      When he hit the ground, I reached up and my sword landed perfectly in my hand. With my final slash, I lobbed the demon’s head clean off. Smoke came pouring out of it and it completely disintegrated. I started breathing heavily.

      “Nice work, Owen!” Marth said.

      “Thanks.” I was still trying to catch my breath.

      Marth started walking over to Haru. “After each demon you destroy, you have to replace it with a seed.”

      “Huh?” I replied.

      “Each demon represents something. To make sure that they can never return, we replace it with the opposite. For instance, this demon you just fought represented anger. So we will sow a seed of peace.”

      Marth stood in front of Haru and waved me over. After an awkward twenty-foot walk to him, Marth lifted his hands to the middle of Haru’s body once again. As he did so, a seed appeared, floating in his right hand. It looked like a larger version of an almond but with a slight tinge of gold and a metallic luster. I put my sword back in its sheath and continued to watch. He pressed it against Haru’s chest. His body seemed to absorb it. As it went in, it started to grow instantly. I could see inside his chest somehow; and I saw the seed begin to bloom into a flower. It reminded me of a lily. Haru slowly began to open his eyes.

      “How do you feel?” Marth asked.

      Haru looked around and let out a pleasant sigh. “Peaceful.”

      Marth and I looked at each other and smiled.

      Haru stood up from the chair and stretched his arms. “I’m good.”

      “Good,” Marth said cheerfully.