“Listen, Mike. Rescue Rebecca and flee from this man. Preserve our race.” Another of Azar’s shadowballs zoomed straight through Copper, bolting past Mike, almost grazing him.
“No! Copper!” Mike ran up to the fallen man, but saving him was impossible. Mike looked about him, quickly noticing that he was the only Ionide left standing. He clenched his fists tighter, and his silvery eyes flared. “You will pay for this, Magmalian Prince!” he raged, and jetted off toward Azar to kill him.
“You will die like the rest of them!” Azar threatened, summoning up two shadowballs. The spheres of dangerous energy were sent crashing into the incoming Ionide, creating a black mist that shrouded him. Azar sent two more with dead-on accuracy, then lowered his hands, wearing a smirk of confident victory.
His face made a sudden change as he witnessed Mike speed out from the clearing darkness. WHAM! A fist with three foot-long spikes, one above each knuckle, was wedged into Azar’s belly. A stifled cry screeched through Azar’s clenched teeth as blood gushed from him. Quickly, Mike morphed his other hand into a sword and swung at Azar’s neck, but he only cut through waste mana. Azar had spaceshifted out of death, reappearing only a little way before Mike. Crying out, the prince quickly grabbed his back and belly, summoning up much mana. Bright redness covered him, and in moments, he was fully healed. At this rate… The prince felt a heavy dent in his mana pool.
Tens of scary spikes were erected on Mike’s chest and arms in an instant. They shot off at Azar in deadly unison. Azar spaceshifted again, reappearing just a few yards behind the Ionide. “Anam Resal!” the prince summoned, using up another lot of mana. A stunningly massive beam of bright raw mana shot off toward the Ionide, accompanied by a black streak that thinly spiralled itself around the bright beam as it extended itself. Mike turned quickly. As the powerful beam blasted Mike, there was a burst of brightness and a loud clash, like that of lightning. Azar laughed vilely; not even he had expected such an awesome mana beam. Seconds later, visibility was restored.
“Is that really all you’ve got?” Mike mocked, standing there looking at Azar, unmoved, unharmed.
Azar stepped back with a gasp. His face paled. What the hell kind of defence is this? It must be the ‘Legend State’ I’ve read about… Still… to withstand such an attack without batting an eye… Just what will it take to beat this guy? Azar, now quite exasperated and feeling the need to end the battle, tried to regain his composure and channel his energies properly. He took a deep breath.
“ION BLAST!” Mike shouted, and his right fist glowed silver. His feet glowed slightly too, and he took off toward Azar at such great speed that not even teleportation could allow the prince’s escape. A bit of red mana even surrounded the prince as the process of the magical teleportation made its attempt. Azar was blasted by a silvery fist of might. As ribs caved in, Azar’s body launched off at a serious velocity. Meter upon meter, he tore through the air, then in a split millisecond, he crashed into century-old oak tree, breaking its massive trunk to bend over him. The darkness in his eyes quickly faded. He hit the ground. Groaning, he tried to stand. He fell on his bottom, his back against the old broken tree. Blood leaked from his mouth. He tried standing again, but ended up falling on his face. He grabbed his chest, and bright mana overtook his whole body. He cried out with clenched teeth as bones were returned to their rightful positions. He strugglingly got up finally.
“Damn it,” the prince muttered. I’ll need a tera bomb… No…too unstable… A shadow shell will have to suffice… But half this demon just won’t do. Mike slowly walked up to him, like he was savouring his moment of triumph.
“You do well to stand even still,” Mike said, and more spikes jutted out from his arms and chest. “This Legend State I have unlocked… it grants me true invincibility.” Mike’s pride could not be hid.
“Heh! A little taste of power and you declare yourself a god, eh? Well, I’ll show you just why darkness is nicknamed the element of death!” Mike sent the spikes he had readied at the prince, but the crafty art of spaceshifting had saved him once more. Azar appeared right over Lex. “Get up, you weakling!” the annoyed man blasted.
“Can’t… move…” Lex struggled to say. He was still curled up and he was tasting the tangy salt of his own blood in his mouth.
“I could heal you, but I haven’t any mana to waste!” Azar grabbed the boy and dragged him up. Lex groaned. “Alright, listen up!” Azar shook some life into him. “We’ll be summoning up a Shadow Shell.”
“A what?”
“Listen! The spirit inside us needs to do this as a whole, so as worthless as you might be, I need your help. Wimp this out and all you’ll see of me is a red cloud of waste mana. You will thank me with your life when we’re done here.”
“I don’t under—”
“Break it up!” Mike’s voice interrupted as he reached up to them.
With outstretched hands, massive spikes were swiftly bulleted to his opponents. Azar grabbed Lex and used up quite a fraction of the little mana he had left. The spikes sped through air and waste matter, and the two reappeared yards behind the Ionide. “You need to access the black-eyed state! And fast!”
“I can’t--”
“You must! Think of your friends! That’s right, kid! They’re all dead now! He did this! Close your eyes! Get that bloody power!” Lex looked about once more at his unmoving friends. He looked back up at Mike, who seemed in no great hurry to finish the fight, like he was really just toying with them. “This is your only chance of revenge, kid. Your friends. They’re never coming back!”
“Not just revenge...” Lex felt a gross void inside him, but then, something filled it instantly. “Justice!” Lex closed his eyes. “MAXIMO!!” he called, and when his eyes were open, they were blacker than a million midnights.
“Good,” Azar commended, then closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles. Give me power. He opened his eyes, and they were as black as Lex’s. Alright. I’ll try a suspension spell. In any case, it won’t hold him for long, so you’ll have to catch on fast.
Lex heard Azar’s voice in his head. “What the hell just happened?!” the frightened boy exclaimed.
That’s right. Seeing we have two halves of the same demon activated, telepathy comes into play. Don’t get too frightened over it. Just use it to our advantage. Azar summoned up some mana about his hands. Mike made a few more spikes and hurled at his enemies. “Niamer!” Azar commanded, sending a flood of mana at Mike. There was a sudden explosion of bright red light. When visibility was restored, Mike was still, seemingly frozen in time. The spikes too were suspended. Azar grabbed Lex and spaceshifted with him, appearing some distance behind the unmoving Ionide.
“What now?” Lex asked.
“Do as I do.”
Lex imitated the team leader, and in a jiffy, a massive shadowball was in the making. “Too big! Condense it!” Azar snapped. Azar pressed against the sphere between his palms tightly as he felt the tension rise quickly. Lex followed his lead with great struggle. One hand now! Azar commanded in his thoughts, and put his left hand at his side, containing the dense shadowball only with his right. Lex followed perfectly. Good! Seems dense enough! Now we combine! You will see just how powerful this spirit is in its entirety! Ready?! Combine! Lex and Azar slammed their spheres together. “Push! More energy!” the prince commanded. Veins with black tints bulged all over Lex as he gave it all he had. The same happened to Azar, but to a lesser degree. Their hands vibrated wildly as the massive ball of energy seemed to try to push them away. “More! Push! Harder!” Azar belted over the strange zinging noise the sphere made. With a bay of strain, Lex released all the energy he could find. Suddenly, Lex’s body jolted backwards as the darkness disappeared from his eyes. He staggered back and fell, drained of all vigour. Azar managed to hold the supersized ball of dark energy in his hands by himself. Its wrestling energy nearly overwhelmed him, pushing his hair back and ripping his clothes like a great, fierce wind.
The dark orb made a constant
, terrifying sound as Azar pumped more energy into it, struggling with all he had to keep it together. Streaks of black energy orbited the sphere swiftly. Suddenly, it seemed time had resumed for Mike and his spikes. Confused at least slightly, Mike spun around. He stood still in fright, seeing Azar with the massive sphere before him.
“Shadow Shell!” Azar blasted, and tossed the orb at Mike. The earth quaked as there was a nasty impact and a devastating explosion. There was a deafening, hellish sound like the wail of a monster the size of heaven, and there was utter darkness, a darkness that was denser than just the absence of light, a darkness half-tangible.
“I’m blind!” Lex shouted in panic.
As seconds elapsed after the blast, the darkness cleared, and the effect of the Shadow Shell was revealed. Lex rose to his feet and stood just behind Azar, looking in awe at the massive crater that had just been created. Then, his loss of energy caused his muscles to give way and he fell on his knees, then on his face. He could not stand, but he watched as Azar walked slowly toward the edge of the crater. Azar looked down into the crater, then turned and walked back to where Lex and his friends were scattered. Lex watched closely.
The man walked toward Kyle and knelt over him. He firmly fixed his hands on his chest and back, where the drastic wounds were. He felt his heart barely pumping. How the hell are you still alive? Mana brightly appeared about Azar’s hands, then spread to Kyle’s entire body. Lex could hear Azar strain to find the required mana. Though he wasn’t a magician, he could tell it was no simple task. The prince’s hands shivered. Veins in his hands and forehead showed his struggle. He finally released Kyle and the mana faded. He panted, standing slowly. Then he moved to where the statue of Blade was standing. Lex heard Azar mutter a chant of strange words under his breath while touching the statue. The boy’s eyes widened as he witnessed the metal coat crack and break until Blade was completely freed. Blade fell flat on his back, his eyes closed. Azar kept his hand on the swordsman’s chest and continued reciting. Suddenly, the man started panting heavily. His eyes opened wide, like he was brought back from the clutches of death.
Azar left him and went over to Clover. He knelt by her and pressed his palms against her chest and back. Her body, in a short while, was engulfed by bright red mana. The prince clenched his teeth and uttered a cry of strain. The veins beneath his flesh seemed as though they were about to rupture under pressure. Lex found the energy to stand. He fell again. He crawled to where Azar and Clover were with dampened eyes. The man rested Clover more gently than he did the others he had healed. Lex crawled up to her and grabbed her in his arms, crying. She wasn’t awake, but he knew she was alive, and her wounds were healed.
He looked up at the standing prince. “H—How do I thank you?” Lex asked, a sincere tone of debt shaking his voice.
“Kill the Ionide… Your friends will soon wake.” Blade’s panting was just calming. He was still trying to understand what was happening. Azar fell on his hands and knees wearily. Lex and the prince heard a groan coming from the crater. Lex gently put Clover down and found the strength to stand again. He stumbled to the edge of the crater. He saw Mike rising. He was bleeding all over and he had no armour on. Mike clenched his fists and armour began to reappear. Lex used his last drop of energy to forge an iceball. Barely managing, he hurled it at the Ionide, freezing him. Lex then turned and walked over to Azar.
“What are you doing?” the prince asked with wide eyes.
“I must thank--”
“Fool!” Azar stepped toward Lex to strike him, but stumbled and fell. “He’s getting away!”
Lex turned and glimpsed Mike escaping. The exhausted Lex attempted to give chase, but there was no catching him.
“Damn it! Damn it!” He cursed, banging the ground with his fists.
“L—Lex?” a soft, soothing voice came from behind him. He turned quickly and saw Clover standing, looking at him with a faint smile. He ran to her quickly, forgetting all anger and pain. He hugged her tightly. She grasped him feebly. “Lex, what happened?” she asked, crying, “I thought--”
“Everything’s okay, Clover. I’ll explain everything later. I’m just so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek.
“My brother!” she blasted, pushing Lex off. She ran to the bloody boy. She shook him until he cracked his eyes open.
“Uh…” He had a confused, sort of sleepy look on his face. “I am alive?”
Lex looked about for Azar, but all that remained of him was a thin cloud of quickly vanishing mana.
Chapter 23: The Kill List
“I still can’t believe that the prince of Magma Town really saved us!” Clover cheered for the millionth time. The group was at a quiet place, a calm meadow between Pirates’ Town and Rander.
“Certainly, we owe him our lives!” Kyle added, “I’m telling you, I was dead! I’m sure of it!”
“Can’t be surer than I am… Definitely a day to top my list! That Shadow Shell Azar and I made… well it was mostly my work of course! It was matchless!”
“Still, it wasn’t enough to defeat the Ionide,” Blade said, fixing the wood he had gathered to make the fire.
“He’s certainly become stronger than I could imagine,” Lex reflected. “His eyes… I’m pretty sure they were even glowing!”
“So all our forces combined, added the Magmalian Prince, is still less than his strength,” Blade set the equation.
“About Azar,” Clover diverted slightly, “you think he’s like a good guy now? I mean, he saved us! He could’ve just shifted back to his palace or whatever!”
“Hm. He has his reasons,” Blade said, sounding cynical.
“What reasons?” Clover attacked in the prince’s defence.
“Well, it’s clear he wants to kill Lex himself. Had Mike killed Lex, what chance would Azar have of beating Mike with such power on his side? He would have no chance of getting the other half--”
“Well he could have just shifted Lex to some other place and killed him there!” Clover continued.
“That’s right. And he didn’t have to save all of us! He only needs to kill me to get the other half.”
“He needs us all to be alive to defend Lex from any attack he might come under.”
“Blade does have a point,” Kyle said.
“Ka! Come on! You can’t use mere speculation to erase a noble deed!” Clover defended.
“Well, we need not judge. All things will become clear,” Blade told them, just getting the fire started.
The day went by quite peacefully, and night seemed to have arrived a few hours early. Not long past sundown, even Blade was in the land of dreams.
Listen… Lex heard a voice say in the quietness of the night. He opened his eyes, and found himself in a place one might have pictured as the middle of nowhere. He was standing on solid ground. He looked about, not in as much fright as one would have imagined. All he saw was a dimly lit floor extending indefinitely in all directions. He looked up. Even the sky was empty, like he was in a world forged by an incomplete dream. “Lex Leo,” a familiar voice greeted, sounding like from behind him. He turned quickly, but no one was there.
“Maximo? Where are you?”
“Just listen,” the voice said, “My brothers are fast approaching. I have been considering. I have measured your strength, and the strength of your companions. It is impossible for you to defeat them three.”
“What are you saying? I just give up and let them have their way?!”
“Listen, foolish boy! There is a way.”
“Then tell me!”
“Trium might seek to possess the most powerful being in this world, and will add their power to the dark might they already hold. If Trium does this instead of attacking as three separate beings as I have earlier predicted, it is critical that we ensure that you are the one Trium possesses.”
“What?”
“Listen, Lex Leo. You will soon wake, so let me go on. I have observed you, and I have seen the depths, the powers of your mind and
spirit. Your mind is strong enough to overcome one even as powerful as Trium.”
“Why the hell’d you think that?”
“Listen closely, Lex Leo. We demons haven’t as much controlling power as you might think. Even immensely powerful spirits like Trium can be overpowered by their hosts.”
“How so?”
“Strong will. Will like yours. Your will must be greater than theirs, your good greater than their evil.”
“… And then what?! I just have them live inside me?!”
“They will be under your control.”
“But what if I can’t control them?”
“Then all is lost.” Lex eyes widened. He didn’t expect such a blunt answer. “Listen now, Lex, Leo. According to my readings, there are many beings on this planet that are above you in strength, but only six of which you must destroy, as their minds are inclined to evil. These are they who you must eliminate: Son of Amorphous the legendary Ionide, prince of Magma Town and heir to King Aragan, the Dark Lantern, Varios, and the Sons of the Sun. If you do not destroy these beings before the coming of Trium, then you will have to face him in all his might, and in truth, you cannot defeat him.” Lex was in deep contemplation. He wondered about the names on this list he had never heard before.
“If these people are stronger than me, then how the hell will I defeat them?”
“You have a team that will add great strength and chance to you.”
“And how will I find these people?!”
“I have a strong feeling you won’t have that trouble.”
“What do you--” The whole place became swallowed up by a blinding light, then Lex awoke. Lex shielded his eyes from the sun.
***
“Son.” Azar turned and faced King Aragan.
“Father.”
“You didn’t say if you had found what you were looking for,” the man said.
“Because it is none of your business,” the youngster snapped, sounding bothered.
“Azar! You need not be insolent right now! I try to take interest in your affairs and this is how you deal with me?! Do you want me to cut you off?!”
The Seventh Spirit Page 34
