by Arantes
Angelione believed he was a special child. Time and time again Albedo had proven that to him, not by his power, but his heart. He didn’t like the way Albedo conduct himself during missions, they way he would talk and not listen, but he had chose to follow his heart. “And besides, if I kill you, she would never forgive me.” He wondered why Aleister sacrificed his body to save Albedo from the rock, a rock that large could surely damage him. What sort of game was Aleister playing? He was too different from Albedo.
A few minutes passed by and Angelione could hear the others coming. Sonia, Axil, and
Dante walked in; they could see Albedo was badly hurt.
“Angelione, what happened here?” asked a concerned Sonia.
Angelione explained what had happened. How he had followed Albedo after noticing he was sneaking out of the castle, and found him fighting Aleister. He chose not to tell her about thinking of killing him, figuring she might not understand.
“We have company, Drake is coming with his men,” said Axil quickly.
Drake appeared with about fifty of his men and asked, “What happened here?”
If the queen knows the truth, it may very well be the last day of our lives. Sonia lied, “It was Aleister, when the rest of us came here we saw he was fighting against Albedo and Angelione and we joined in to fight.”
Drake was no fool; he could feel they were hiding the truth from him. No Pureblood could stand against the power of one of the Kings of Awakening. Even Albedo, who possessed the power of the Elder, with his team together would not be enough to scratch Aleister. Something was wrong, he thought. “Aleister did all this huh? It’s hard to believe you all are still alive.” He looked around and saw Albedo lying unconsciously. “I must report to your highness.”
***
Aleister teleported himself back into his hideout, his body was badly hurt. He needed blood to get his energy back; with it he could use his Reawakening for instant regeneration. As soon as he had teleported back to the hideout, something wasn’t quite right. He looked around the room to see it was filled with men with cloaks and masks on their faces, with the symbol X. He looked up to see the real Dmitri, without his mask on.
Dmitri had never seen Aleister like this. The man had tried so hard to hide his weakness, but now, he was exposed. He was so weak that Dmitri could kill him before he could teleport, without the Reawakening his teleportation will not be as fast. “Aleister, what happened? Was it Albedo, did you get him?” he said worryingly but in a slightly mocking tone. This was the moment he had been waiting for, for years he had been taunted by Aleister’s power. “So tell me, Aleister, was he as strong as you thought he would be?”
Aleister responded, “I still need him to be stronger. I had to hold back my power against him. I cannot say the same for him.” Aleister smiled, “But soon he will awaken his true self, I’ve been waiting for too long!” He looked at Dmitri. “Dmitri, is your plan ready?” asked Aleister.
Whatever sort of plan Aleister and Dmitri were planning, Albedo was right in the middle of their dark and twisted plot.
“Yes Aleister, everything is in place.” A smile crept on Dmitri’s face now. “It’s a shame that Vincent had to get caught, but I suppose it’s all part of your master plan Aleister?”
“Blood, I need blood,” said Aleister.
Dmitri walked closer to Aleister with a bag of blood. He handed the bag to Aleister, but before Aleister could take it from him, Dmitri said, “You see Aleister, there’s been a change of plan.”
Aleister said, “How’s that so?”
“You see Aleister, from the beginning I have been calculating and planning on ways of killing you. And then, I stumbled on something interesting. I found a new way to gain a new source of power that was hidden away from this world.”
“O really?” said Aleister.
“The Kings of Awakening are the past, and I am the future.”
Aleister smiled, and then he laughed, “So you did drain the human’s blood and sucked out their energy life-force. Are you planning on drinking it all, the blood you collected to gain the power of the Immortals? Be careful what you wish for, Dmitri, this power will destroy you before you can utilize it, and as for your betrayal towards me, I had already forsaken it.”
Dmitri held the bag of blood. “This is the human’s blood that my clones collected for me when I penetrated Inferno! With it, I’m going to do what an army couldn’t do, Aleister, I’m going to kill you myself!” It ends here, Aleister! “Kill him!”
Five of Dmitri’s clones with spears in their hands stabbed at Aleister’s body. Blood sprung out of Aleister, creating more wounds, as if he needed more.
“Hold him down now!”
They pinned Aleister to the ground, unable to move his hands and feet. They started beating up on his wounds, sinking the spears deeper in his flesh. “Today you will die, Aleister! I will personally make sure you and your kind will never rise!” Dmitri was sickened by that look on Aleister’s face. No fear. The look felt as if he was mocking him.
As much as the pain Dmitri was inflicting on Aleister hurt, not able to teach Albedo what he wanted was worse. He wanted desperately to use the Reawakening. Today he found himself in a predicament; Dmitri had finally snapped and decided to proceed with his crazy plot to kill him. His Crimson Flame, he had to use it to save himself. The white flame was going to inflict more damage to his body, but he had no other choice. The white flame came out of him and surrounded him in a massive circle of fire around his body. Dmitri’s clones that were beating on him were no more. But Aleister was taking the worse of it; his skin was peeling off as the white flame continued to eat away his flesh. He needed to hurry, any longer and he will die by his own flame. The massive fire had made it hard to breathe; eradicating the moisture in the air. Aleister stared at Dmitri looking at him in disbelief.
Aleister smiled and Dmitri’s clones quickly surrounded him. The massive fire around Aleister’s body twirled in a circle and created a massive explosion. When the dust was clear Aleister was nowhere to be found. Dmitri had made a wise move by sacrificing his clones to save himself. He could always create more, so it wasn’t a significant lost.
“Damn you Aleister!”
Chapter 27
Wrath of the flame Dragons
They all stood around Albedo as he slept, he had been asleep and unconscious since his fight with Aleister.
“Angelione, its best if we leave this place, they are growing suspicious of us.” Sonia was concerned about Drake putting the puzzle together.
Angelione felt the same way and said, “Agreed. We need to go somewhere, a place where we can rest for a while. We can’t go back to Atnius, not yet at least. The queen’s men would be expecting us on the road.”
Angelione looked at Axil and Dante and said, “Get your bags, we’re getting out of here. They know too much.”
The pair left to get their bags in a hurry.
Angelione now looking at Sonia said, “You told them didn’t you?”
“I had to; they have as much right to know as we do.”
She had thought Angelione was going to give her a hard time about it, but he simply said they had every right to know. They were a part of this team also.
Angelione loves keeping secrets to himself, but this was something they were going to have to know. Those two were the future of the Black Reapers organization; he needed to know how they would act when a predicament like this unfolds. So in a way, he was quite happy she had told them, he himself had wanted to know how these young apprentices would handle the news. When he had found out about Albedo’s true identify, he made up his mind to kill him, to stop the Kings of Awakening from once again wreaking havoc in this world. As much as he wanted to kill Albedo, his master would have never forgiven him. Sonia would have never forgiven him, or his young apprentices.
Angelione and his team made their way outside the castle with Albedo sleeping on his back, still unconscious from his fight with Aleister. It was a good th
ing that he had decided for them to leave early in the morning. It was a good thing because most of the fog was now gone, even so sneaking out of the castle was a no-brainer. There were barely any guards around; unlike Atnius or Odeon who has thousands of men throughout the castle. This place had about fifty, and they were too busy fighting with their eyes not to fall asleep.
As they ran through the bridge, Angelione looked back. Someone is following us. He stopped and his team stopped with him, out of the fog he could see a shadow approaching them. It was Drake.
“You’re not leaving so soon now are you? It’s rude to leave without saying goodbye to your host.” Drake had his hand on his face and noticed Albedo on Angelione’s back.
Sonia stepped forward and said, “Our job here is done, so we must take our leave.”
“I have been thinking,” said Drake suspiciously. “How was it the five of you could fight head to head against Aleister? The way we’ve been going around in circles, it’s as if Aleister was after him specifically. Then I’ve been thinking, how is it that Albedo’s power is so interesting to him? Unless that is, he’s one of the Kings of Awakening!”
Angelione could see that Sonia’s heart had sunk as she looked apprehensive. With Albedo still unconscious, it was going to be hard if all their men came after them all at once. Drake was by himself, so he needed to kill him before he reports. He’d hoped Drake would not figure it out. He had hoped to leave quietly, without fighting either Drake or the queen.
“Her majesty will be pleased when she hears this news!”
Axil and Dante quickly surrounded Drake, leaving no room for him to escape.
“Master Angelione, Master Sonia, leave now with Albedo! Me and Dante will take care of this!” said Axil.
Angelione was not too sure about this plan of theirs, Drake was a strong warrior. There plan was thoughtful but dangerous, he didn’t want to leave them behind by themselves. “No, we all leave together. We came here as a team and no one is going to be left behind.”
Dante was not happy about his master’s response; he wanted to prove his training to Angelione. “How insulting that is, master! You have to trust us; you have to trust that all of our training was for something! Believe in us, for our friend!”
Angelione could see his students were growing up, becoming warriors. “Alright, I’ll let the two of you handle this, just remember something, don’t die.” Angelione had confidence in them.
Axil and Dante nodded their heads.
Sonia looked at Angelione and said, “Are you seriously going to let them fight on their own?” She did not like the idea at all.
Angelione nodded his head.
Sonia was more concerned, but it was time for her to trust them. She looked at them and said, “Fine, just remember what Angelione said, don’t die.” She liked Axil and Dante, they had become the brothers she never had.
Angelione and Sonia made a run for it.
Angelione looked back and shouted. “Axil, come and find us, the place where we first met!”
Axil understood.
***
“I’m not going to let you get away!” Drake wasted no time running trying to chase Sonia and Angelione. But as soon as he tried to, Axil jumped in front of him, which Drake hesitated.
Dante froze the ground behind Axil, creating a wall of ice blocking Drake’s only way to get through. Axil cracked his knuckles, neck, and back, he had wanted to fight Drake since he saw him fight Albedo. He jumped on top of the wall of ice, looked at Dante and said.
“Hey Dante, don’t hold back against this guy. He may look feeble, but don’t let that blind you, keep your eyes open.”
Being called weak didn’t exactly sit well with Drake, “Weak you say?”
Dante smiled and fixed his hair, “Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing, Axil.”
Drake saw how over confident the two were, “Do you really think the two of you could kill me?” Drake jumped up towards Axil with a punch, but Axil blocked it and delivered a kick that sent him flying back. Hey fell on the frozen ground and left his mark on it. Axil’s body felt as if it was made of steal. Fighting Axil head on was going to be difficult for Drake.
Axil jumped down and came down with his knees, but Drake moved away quickly. Drake moved away on the other side, he started thinking. I can’t fight him with brute
strength, he’s simply too strong for me. If I can’t fight him head on, then my ability will do.
Axil and Dante could feel their hearts starting to beat faster in pain. Dante wasted no time touching the ground, spikes of ice started to manifest on the ground, heading for Drake’s direction. Drake jumped out of the way to avoid getting caught by the spikes. He landed and was quite surprised.
Dante started to laugh. “We know about your ability very well, breaking your concentration is the only way to stop it. Axil had told me about your fight with Albedo, you my friend have revealed your weakness.”
Before Drake could concentrate, Dante distracted him by throwing spikes of ice that were coming out of his hand this time. Axil jumped and attacked while occupying and dodging Dante’s ice. Axil had almost caught Drake, but he moved out the way in the nick of time. Axil’s punch created a hole on the ground. He was faster and stronger. His speed was too swift for Drake to dodge as he caught him with a blow to his left cheek. Drake watched the blood drip from his mouth. He got up and smiled. Axil rushed for another attack, but Drake stood and blocked it. As their skins touched, Axil could feel the pain in his heart, with no explanation he could tell where this pain was coming from.
Impossible, he could use his ability just by touching you, thought Axil. Axil could no longer breathe; his heart had felt as if it was going to explode anytime soon.
Dante noticed Axil struggling to breathe and said, “Axil, get away from him!”
Drake held Axil by his neck. He held Axil in front of him, shielding himself from Dante’s ice attacks. With Axil in the way, there was no way Dante could use his ice without inflicting damage to his friend. Without Axil to attack, while he broke Drake’s concentration, there was nothing he could do. Axil’s heart was on the verge of collapsing, and Dante needed a plan quick.
“There’s two ways I can use my ability. One is by concentrating, which you two have figured out, and the other, by touching my opponent,” said Drake. He smiled. He was enjoying himself, surprisingly he was having as much fun as fighting Albedo. How long had he waited to fight someone of his caliber? He had defied his queen by not reporting their activity, just so he could fight them. The queen was going to be infuriated with him; he should have gone and gotten her and her men. Drake did not care; he was so drunk in battle and adrenalin that he forgot about the queen. He looked at Dante and said, “If you want your friend to live, then I would suggest not thinking about using your ice.”
Dante had no choice but to step down, his friend was going to get caught in the crossfire if he tries anything. He noticed Drake was concentrating, that could only mean one thing. He was getting ready to use his ability. Dante jumped and used spikes of ice. At least he thought about using it, with Axil as Drake’s shield, avoiding hitting him is inevitable. His ice was not fast enough. As soon as Dante put his hands down, he could feel the pain in his heart. Drake’s ability got to him. Unable to bear the pain, Dante was now on the ground with his heart feeling like it was exploding.
“It’s over, the two of you combined could not dream of defeating me.”
Dante stopped moving as he lay still on the ground.
“Do you now understand? I can’t be killed!” shouted Drake. He looked at Axil and said, “Now as for you, Axil, I can’t kill you yet, I need to know the location of your friends.”
He released his grip on Axil’s heart. Axil dropped to the ground unconsciously. Drake was going to take precautions by touching him, just in case he tried to do anything funny. As he was about to touch Axil, he could hear a noise, it sounded like ice being thawed. It was coming from Dante’s direction. Drake looked at Da
nte, and saw Dante was up as if nothing had happen.
“You can’t be alive. I killed you!”
Dante’s left arm began to freeze; you could hear the crackling sound of the ice encasing his arm, so much so that his arm became unrecognizable. It was nothing but meat that was froze with ice. Drake wondered if his left hand could even move, his blood vessels were all frozen. Drake started concentrating fast as Dante made his way towards him. He concentrated but his ability was somehow impervious towards Dante. He tried again but his ability wasn’t working. Dante kept moving towards him.
Dante glanced at Drake’s face; the man looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Drake was so startle that he didn’t even move as he stared at Dante. Dante came closer to him and grabbed his left arm, frizzing it.
“How is that possible? I killed you, I held back against your friend but not with you,” said Drake with a shaky tone in his voice.
“You’re wondering why your ability is not working on me? It’s because I froze my heart with my ability,” said Dante. Of course that makes sense; with his heart frozen Drake’s ability was useless to him. But how in the world was this man still alive after freezing his heart? That was the question that was rattling inside of Drake’s head.
“That’s impossible; you froze your heart to stop my ability? You should be dead,” said Drake.
Dante still being alive wasn’t Drake’s last surprise. He looked over at Axil to see him slowly waking up, he was fine. Drake tried to use his ability on Axil, but he was caught by Dante’s frozen left arm. His frozen hand felt as strong as Axil’s hand. Drake tried to get up but Axil caught him with a knee to his gut. He held his stomach in pain and Dante came with a punch to the back of his neck. He felt his bone cracking. While on the ground, Dante made a spike of ice and pierced it in Drake’s hands, jamming him to the ground.
