It was a bright day as the Crusader, better known as Buf, stepped out of Moonlight Tavern's bar. As he tightened his shining, golden armor that blinded the 2 Launchers near him, he walked toward Kiri, knowing he would find his Desperado friend.
And he was right, he saw a Desperado with a white university shirt, shorts with blue flowers and petals designed on it, and spiky black hair. He also liked to wear his goggles on the top of his head for no true reason, along with earrings the size of Ryan Cokes, and wore an odd shoe that he had gotten from a mysterious cube, it glowed a bright yellow. He had a cigarrete in his mouth, proving he was from the Lawless District, and was a Ranger. He always seemed to have a look of seriousness in his eyes, knowing that he could die at any second, but he also wore a smile, knowing that even if someone tried to kill him, he would win just by one, well-aimed shot. His name was CreeCree, a guild member and a good friend he knew for a long time, but he preferred being called Cree.
As he neared him, he saw him about to throw his +12s into the Reinforcement Machine, which has caused him much pain and torture over the years of their friendship. Then Buf held out his hand and said, "Cree, what in the blazes are you doing? Do you even have a spare? You know nothing good will come of this!"
"Oh shush, I know this will succeed…!" Cree said with uncertainty in his voice. Buf stared intently at him, then Cree finally gave a long sigh, "Ah, fine, you're right; I was starting to get a bit greedy for power." He glanced down at his trusty revolvers, and whispered, "I won't risk your life ever again, Steel Blue-chan." Then there was a sudden stomping sound, getting louder and louder, the two quickly glanced at the direction of the noise, weapons ready to be whipped out any second, then they let out a relaxed laugh.
It was another of their guild members, and long-time friend. His name was XgenSlicer, commonly called Xgen. He dressed in samurai clothing and had blond, flowing hair. He wore a bamboo hat, which had blocked the light of the sun from his eyes, and made it possible not to be blinded by Buf's illuminating armor. He had 3 sheaths, which was unneeded for him. His weapon of choice was his +13 Chill Spout, a light saber which he had paid for with his sweat, tears, and blood. His arms were shrouded in the sleeves of his shirt, but they did seem to leave a white trail, which meant he was a Weapon Master, who was Slayers who suppressed Kazan's Curse. He was the first "Glacial Master" in the land of Arad. He always had a beaming smile on him, with a calm collected look, as he knew no one he had met had EVER beaten him on one to one combat.
Cree finally broke the awkward silence, he asked, "What's the rush, Xgen?"
Xgen then proclaimed, "I'm heading to Otherverse! I trust no one else but you guys, you'll accompany me, right?!"
When Cree and Buf heard what he had to say, Cree turned pale, and he fell to one knee. Buf looked around with fear in his eyes, and then pretended not to hear him. The Otherverse was the last place they would ever want to venture to.
"Uh… guys? You're just gonna let me go in there by myself…?" whispered Xgen, in a gentle voice.
Cree finally rose up, straightened out his tie, and nervously said, "Well, we can't let you do that now, can we. We'll come along, Xgen! Right, Buf? …Buf?" He saw him trying to slowly walk away, but put one hand on his shoulder and poked him with the barrel of his gun, and said, "You're coming with us, no complaints!" Buf sighed, then turned around and walked with them.
When the trio arrived in the dark, desolate area called Aphelia Post, they found their way to the Rift, where they could enter to the Otherverse. They were greeted by Dorothy, the lone guard who made sure everyone could be ready for the horrors they faced within. She said in a monotone voice, "So, you have your party ready, I assume? Where are you headed to?"
Cree and Buf both said, "We don't know. Xgen, where are we headed to?"
"Oh, we're heading to Bakal's Castle! We-"
"BAKAL? Him… he was the one who… argh, let's just go, I have a score to settle with him." Replied Cree, cutting Xgen short of his sentence.
Buf and Xgen followed, but were walking slower so only they could talk. Buf said, "He looked a bit pissed off, what do you think Bakal did? Stole his wife and killed her?"
Xgen laughed at the statement, and then replied, "No way, he probably couldn't even get a wife in the first place!" They both bursted out laughing, and Cree looked at them in curiosity, but then entered the Rift, into Bakal's Castle.
"Ah, we better hurry, we'll find out what's making him so angry when we meet this Bakal person." They both rushed into the Rift after him.
As they entered, they were greeted with red and green dragons. Cree shouted, "Okay, here I come, prepare yourselves!"
Just as he rushed forward into the fray, Buf yelled, "STOP! CREE, GET BACK HERE!"
He stopped dead in his tracks, and asked, "What? Did I already screw up?"
Buf held his head down in disappointment, then said, "You always forget, get over here so I can buff you, ya idiot. We'll have the power of 8 people with you and Xgen fully buffed!"
Cree nodded his head in agreement, and joined Xgen, eager to get their buffs and start killing the beasts that lay in wait before them. As Buf finished the buffing rounds, Cree and Xgen felt their strength increase, and with new confidence and charged at them. When they finally beat them, they looked at the gate and noticed it wasn't opening.
"What the hell is going on? Damned gate." Cree kicked the gate, but no luck, he only gave himself a bruise on his shin, which Buf quickly healed. Suddenly, from the top of the gate, a green dragon lunged at Cree, ready to sink his teeth into his prey. As Cree looked up, he was paralyzed in fear, but luckily, Buf quickly casted the Light of Divinity unto Cree, which shielded him from all physical harm. As the transparent bubble enveloped Cree, the green dragon's fangs harmlessly was deflected by the bubble. As the dragon tried to recover, Cree aimed his gun at his head with incredible speed, and finished him off in less than a second. Then the gate shined, meaning that they could proceed further into the castle.
"Ah, that was close, thanks. Anyway, let's get going, shall we, gentlemen?" They all walked into the next room. And awaiting them was none other than one of Bakal's sons, Itrenog. He had a snobby look on his face, thinking that he had already won the battle against them.
Itrenog then exclaimed, "Fools, you think you can pass me? I am one of the many sons of the great Dragon King, Bakal! Tremble in my presence, as the worthless-" He was cut short as Xgen had sliced his blade upward, silencing the snobby dragon. Xgen looked at him hovering in the sky, lifeless as a dead log. But then, Itrenog did an aerial flip, and jumped out of sight.
"What the hell, where'd he go!?" The trio shouted in unison. Then, rocks started falling from the sky, Buf quickly shielded them with Healing Wind, and the orange light quickly blocked them from the falling rocks, doing no damage. Then they heard a laugh coming from high above them.
"HAHAHAHA!" Itrenog landed on the ground right next to Xgen, and hit him away with a swipe of his tail, Xgen recovered quickly, but glared at Itrenog with a deep hatred burning in his eyes. "You thought a puny attack like THAT could have killed me? Foolish Slayer, you can't best me."
Xgen gritted his teeth in anger, but said nothing, he looked as if he was going to explode. Cree was edging forward to try and help, but Buf stopped him. Cree glanced at him, as Buf mouthed the words, "Do not interrupt, this is a fight only he needs to do." They both stepped back, and watched their ally, Xgen, stand face to face with Itrenog.
He gripped his Chill Spout firmly, and finally broke the eerie silence that had enveloped the room. With fury in his voice, he tried his best to whisper to Itrenog, "You dare dishonor me like this? If you are the man and warrior you claim to be, fight me here and now, one on one. No tricks, no dirty moves, nothing."
Itrenog laughed and whispered back, "Such an idiot, if you really wish to die against me, go ahead. I accept your idiotic challenge."
The two quickly stepped back from each other, and stared at each other, concentrating on every little movement they did. In less than a second, Itrenog dashed forward and lunged at Xgen, ready to pierce him with his fists. With inhuman reactions, Xgen parried the blow with one sword, then pulled out another from the same weapon, Itrenog had a look of horror on his face when he saw the 2nd one being pulled out. Xgen slashed downward, aiming right in the middle of his neck, but Itrenog barely dodged it, leaving a smoldering scratch on his cheek.
He scoffed and muttered, "So, you're a Weapon Master… you just got lucky."
Xgen twirled the twin swords in his hand as they glowed a bright pink through the blazing inferno, and a gust of wind blew his sleeves up, revealing the pale white arm that proved he truly was a master of weapons. He dashed and sliced at Itrenog with both swords horizontally and simultaneously, which seemed impossible to dodge. But Itrenog had somehow dodged in between the gaps, and slammed his tail against Xgen's head, he flew backwards, but not before he retaliated with a slash that had sliced Itrenog's tail straight off his body.
Itrenog wailed in pain, and angrily stared at the man who had injured him. He then screamed, "YOU FILTHY SCUM! HOW DARE YOU DEFILE MY MAJESTIC LOOK, YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS WITH YOUR HEAD! NOW, BEGONE FROM THIS WRETCHED REALM!"
And in the blink of an eye, Itrenog was already face to face with Xgen, with his right hand ready to pierce through his skull. Buf and Cree had a look of terror, fearing that they would lose their best friend, but they saw something in Xgen's eyes. It was not terror, fear, or sorrow. Instead, it was a calm and collected look, as if he was ready to accept what was to come. Buf and Cree blinked…
Then, there was a loud, piercing noise that split the air. When they opened their eyes, in that split second, they saw Xgen on one knee, and feared the worst. Then they glanced at Itrenog, who was standing a bit behind Xgen. A few seconds had passed, but then, they saw a shower of blood rain from the sky. They found its source, it was Itrenog. His torso had been cut clean off, but he was miraculously breathing. Xgen stood up and faced Buf and Cree with a smile, he only had a minor cut on his cheek. The two sighed with relief and ran towards Xgen, patting him on the back and congratulating him. With a gleaming smile, he parted with the two for a bit, and kicked over the near dead Itrenog.
Xgen then said, "You was beaten by this lowly scum. Remember that in the afterlife, we shall meet again, and it will NOT be this pleasant, you have my word on that." Itrenog was whimpering in pain, and looked up full of terror at what was standing before him. He then let out a blood curdling scream, and with that being concluded, Xgen sliced his head off, ending the miserable life of Itrenog.
After resting up, they headed to the next room, where they had seen a lone, dark-skinned dragon in the corner. The dragon seemed docile; they thought that they could reason with him, and that they could avoid fighting him.
He then turned around, and with a low, but deep voice, he said, "My name is Nazer, I shall end your lives quickly and painlessly." And with a flick of the hand, two Stalkers appeared behind Buf, and a orb of darkness latched onto him, slowly draining him of life.
Taken aback by the turn of events, he shouted out, "Quickly! Take him down! I fear of what might happen if this continues too- argh!" The orb was draining his life even more rapidly as the second grew by. Cree and Xgen quickly reacted, and fought Nazer. The dragon, Nazer, had absorbed most of the slices that Xgen had cut into him, and the shots Cree had fired into his head and body seemed to only have fazed him. With a frightened look on their faces, they turned towards Buf, whose eyes were filled with fear of dying.
As Buf was being chased by the two Stalkers, he quickly dashed behind them, and shouted, "Deflection Wall!" and then, a majestic, shining wall emblazoned with a cross on it rose from the ground, hit the Stalkers back, and trapped them against the wall. Then, they disappeared into a puddle of pitch-black ink.
Buf said, "Thank God those vile creatures are gone, but the pain only increases…" He then healed himself to prolong the burden that he had on him. Suddenly, from the puddle, the form of two Stalkers appeared, and then they slowly crept toward the helpless Buf, exhausted from all the pain he was trying to endure.
Cree and Xgen glanced helplessly at Buf, then glanced at Nazer, who had a smug look on his face. Then in unison, both Xgen and Cree shouted, "Screw this! Let's do this, DIE!" Xgen ran forward, then out from his sleeves, 24 swords encircled Nazer, as he looked at them with astonishment. 12 of the swords were planted into the ground, and the other 12 were circled around in the air, creating an invisible barrier. Cree rushed in, threw both his guns up, and stomped the ground, launching the helpless Nazer up into the middle of the Sword Storm. Xgen gently floated up to the first sword, and slashed diagonally and shouted, "ONE!" and landed on the ground, next to another sword, and then diagonally slashed upward and shouted, "TWO!" and repeated the motions, all while increasing his speed. And during the slashes, Cree had been helping by shooting countless bullets into Nazer, each one accurately hitting every part of his body, he shot so fast that his guns started overheating, so he flipped, throwing the overheated pair into the sidelines, and whipped out a new pair, shooting at the same rapid speed, and as the next to last pair of guns overheated, he glanced at Xgen, who just finished his 23rd slash, and was prepared to do the final blow. They both nodded, and with a mighty blow, Xgen shouted at the top of his lungs, "AND TWENTY FOUR!" and Nazer's body flew up into the heavens, with mauled and sliced limbs. Then Cree tossed aside his overheated guns, and kicked his Steel Blue into the air beside Nazer, and with a mighty leap, he grabbed the guns upside down, then started spinning right near Nazer, and all the bullets shredded him, and crimson blood showered below him. Cree landed with a soft thud, flipped and poised his fingers, ready for a snap. Nazer was hung lifeless in the air, with a bright hue of red. Then Cree coolly said, "Bang." And snapped his fingers. Nazer then exploded into bits and pieces, scattering the room with his body parts. They looked at Buf, and they saw that the dark orb had gently floated away, fading into the darkness, while the Stalkers disappeared into thin air, only leaving their stench behind.
They walked up to Buf and helped him up, and he thanked them. Cree then said, "Here, take this potion, it will fully heal you." He handed the rare HP Potion of the Heavens to him, which only were crafted by the most top-notch Alchemists.
Buf wearily took the potion and drank it, he stretched and said, "Damn, that tasted good. I feel SO much better, you guys were amazing out there, thanks for saving my life."
Xgen and Cree both smiled and said, "No problem."
Before entering the next room, Xgen realized something, and asked Buf, "Wait, how did you drink that potion? You were still wearing your mouth guard! You didn't even take it off!"
"Haha, that is just the power of magic." Replied Buf in a lighthearted tone.
"Man, will we ever see your mouth or chin?" questioned Cree.
"Nope, never in this lifetime you won't!" and Buf just walked over to the gate calling his fellow companions to move on.
The trio had entered the next room and saw a young-looking dragon in the middle of the room with a playful smile.
"Welcome! Welcome! I know you are here to meet my father, but I am not letting you pass until you beat me in a game!" exclaimed the blonde dragon.
"A game? What the hell?! Well, at least it should be fun…" said Buf.
"Isn't this ironic, a Crusader saying 'hell'!" proclaimed the young dragon.
"Oh just shut up, what's your name and can we just get started!"
"Ohhh, my, my, temper, temper! My name is Gnumaug! And yes, let's get this game started, shall we? The rules are simple, one person stands in the golden pillar until it completely fades away, until each one is gone. And if a purple appears, all three of you need to stand in it, and it will instantly break, but they appear in fours, so watch out! I will not harm you, but nothing goes for me clones, hehe!" Gnumaug raised his hand, and 3 clones of himself appeared, he then shouted, "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
Three golden pillars rose from the ground, and they all split up into each one, but the clones knocked them all out of it, and then the pillars became solid gold again. Angrily, Buf threw his Spear of Victory and pinned all three of the clones next to Cree. He lifted his gun up and headshot them all at point blank range, and they all fell onto the floor and faded away.
"G-guh! My clones! My beautiful clones!" sobbed Gnumaug.
Then the purple pillars appeared, and with perfect coordination, they all broke the pillars. A bright light flashed, and only Cree was able to see what happened, his keen eyes noticed that Gnumaug had grown weaker when they finished that round, he realized that after a certain number of rounds, he would probably die. He whispered this to his allies, and they all nodded and understood. Two rounds had passed, and Gnumaug was barely standing, he had a fake smile on him, but his eyes showed his true emotions, he was terrified that he was going to lose for the first time in a century. As the trio finished the last round, they watched as Gnumaug screamed and collapsed like a lifeless corpse onto the ground.
Buf went to him and kneeled next to him, and noticed he was still alive. Buf then whispered, "By the way, those were not golden pillars. This," Buf pounded his fist against his bright, golden armor, untouched by the dirt and blood of battle, "is what golden looks like. Those were yellow, remember that in your next life."
Gnumaug chuckled and let out his last breath, and he had died. Buf stood up and said, "Rest in peace, you foolish idiot." And they all proceeded to the next door.
Upon entering the room, a sweltering heat washed upon them. They started sweating, and gazed up through the hazy fog that was drifting over the entire area. They saw a red skinned dragon, with hair that was as red as the flames of hell itself. He had eyes that could burn holes through your body, and a cocky smile as if he was the best fighter that had ever lived.
With a triumphant sound in his voice, he sat against the gate on the other side and said, "Welcome to the pits of hell! I see you have bested my other foolish brothers, those weaklings can't possibly compare to what I am. I shall see to it that the only thing remaining, shall be your ashes! Prepare to die, by the Mighty King of Flames, Ashcore!" He leaped off the gate and dived at Cree like a meteor.
When Cree heard his name, he had a look of revelation on his face, but then he looked up, and barely had any time to react, but he had somehow deflected the attack by shielding himself with his guns, and Cree slid backwards, trying to stay standing, and he held his ground. Ashcore flipped in midair and landed on the ground, and smirked. "Not bad, CreeCree, the Desperado of Arad!" stated Ashcore.
"How… how do you know me?!" asked Cree with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Aha, you forget already, my friend?"
"No… I refuse to believe that, you can't be… him…!" Cree sprung forward and he slid right into Ashcore's right foot, making him lose his balance. Then Cree planted his hands on the ground, and twirled his legs in a windmill fashion, hitting Ashcore two times straight in the jaw, and as Ashcore was about to recover from the hit, Cree coiled his legs up like a spring, then released them and shot up into the air, kicking Ashcore with him into the skies. With stunning grace, Cree did an aerial flip, kicked on Ashcore's surprised face, then shot twelve bullets into Ashcore, and he crashed down to the ground with an explosion. Cree landed just outside of the crater that he had created, and reloaded his two revolvers, smiling at them with glee.
Then, out of the crater, a shadow started standing up, and with a swipe of the arm, the smoke and fog that was clouding the room disappeared in the violent wind that he created. Breathing heavily, Ashcore smiled and said, "You seem to have gotten better, Cree. But let's see if you can handle this!" Ashcore breathed in, and 4 Dragon Wizards appeared from the ground. The room had started to heat up, literally.
Then Cree had a sudden realization, and looked at Buf and Xgen, who were standing in the corner, respecting Cree's fight with his "rival" of sorts, and shouted, "BUF! QUICKLY, USE YOUR HEALING WIND, NOW!" Without complaints, Buf casted Healing Wind, protecting him and Xgen from the smoldering heat that could have burned off their skin.
Buf then shouted back to Cree, "What about you? What will happen?!"
"Don't worry… I know what happens… After all… I do know him…" said Cree in a somber tone. He then muttered, "Damn it Ashcore… Ashcore…" then a ring of pure ice enveloped Cree, protecting him from the heat. He started sprinting forward, and the Dragon Wizards tried to block his way with pillars of pure molten lava stones, but Cree swiftly avoid each one. He was forced to stop for a second at each checkpoint, he had no control of when it happened, but when it was the last stretch, they made a narrow pathway for Cree to run through straight to Ashcore, but a single pillar was about to smash down and block his path, dooming him. Cree looked at Ashcore, he had a look on him that said, "It's over, I win." With renewed vigor, Cree ran faster than he ever did before, and slid. The stone looked like it was about to crush Cree, but he had just slid past it, but it had destroyed his goggles. Then, Cree kicked up into the air and dove at Ashcore, the ice ring dispersed and cooled down the whole room as soon as it got near him. Ashcore, stunned at what had happened, could only gaze as he saw the barrels of two guns right in his face.
A loud echo of two gunshots rang throughout the room. There was an eerie silence as the thud of Ashcore's body hit the floor. Cree stood above it, panting heavily, trembling at his near death experience. He had backed off, when he heard the sound of something. Something was breathing even heavier than he was. He turned, and saw the bloody body of Ashcore, barely standing, staring at him with an unfocused gaze. The two regained their breath, and they both said in a low voice, "So… my old friend… it all comes down to this, huh?!" Cree had put his guns in his pocket, ready for the final attack, and Ashcore was taking a stance, he was obviously getting ready to punch him. Then, at the crackle of the burning buildings of the background, they dashed at each other. Then, Ashcore leapt at Cree at the last second.
Then, the sound of simultaneous blows had rung in everyone's ears. Ashcore had landed a clean punch on Cree's face, but Cree had also kneed Ashcore straight in the middle of his body. Cree staggered back, unable to stand from the heavy blow to his nose, which blood was flowing through it like a waterfall. Ashcore lay on the ground, on both knees, unable to breathe. Then, with a loud thud, Ashcore had fallen on his back, at the brink of death. Cree found the will to crawl to where Ashcore was, and stood.
Cree softly spoke, trying not to use what little oxygen he could have for his speech against the dying Ashcore, "Why… Ashcore, you could have helped Ghent… you could have rebelled, this never could have happened! We could have won earlier if you had just helped us… damn it…" Cree was clenching his fists so hard, that his knuckles started bleeding.
Ashcore scoffed and said, "Hah, sorry, I wanted to but… Fate had already decided for me, I couldn't have gone against it, she… she…" And he had died abruptly.
"Who? She… who is she?! Damn it, no!" Cree fell on the floor, and Buf and Xgen rushed over. Buf offered to heal, and Cree accepted it. Buf had used the last of his heals to bring Cree, Xgen, and himself back to full strength.
As Cree was walking to the next gate, Buf grabbed him by the shoulder and asked, "What was that all about? What was your history with him?"
Cree staggered a bit, but reluctantly said, "Ah… I'll make it short… we were friends before Bakal arrived to take over Ghent, we were also rivals and sparring partners. A week before the invasion, he abruptly disappeared, I looked all over, and when I returned, I saw Bakal and his sons, including Ashcore, destroying Ghent. I couldn't forgive him, so I ran and decided to become a Gunner unbound by law, and then I became a Ranger and tried hard to become the best of the best. And I did, I became a Desperado, and my name was spread around Ghent, but few remember my name. Then, fleeing from the Kartels, I fell down to Arad… kind of lost my memory and skills, so… yeah."
Buf and Xgen nodded, and understood now why he acted the way he did toward Ashcore and Bakal. They all went toward the gate, fully buffed and with the twin faeries dancing around their heads, which gave them more speed and revived them if they ever fainted in battle. Before they had entered the gate, Cree had turned around and faced his comrades.
"Guys, I have always been wanting to do this, it seems like the perfect moment to do this!"
"Ooh, what is it?"
"Okay. Are you ready guys!?"
Buf and Xgen smiled at each other and shouted, "Yeah!'
"I can't hear you!"
"YEAAAH!"
"THEN PUT YA GUNS ON!" Cree twirled his revolvers, held them up and shot them in the air once, and turned towards the gate.
"But… only you have guns, you know." Buf pointed out.
"Gah, come on, it sounded nice, ah, whatever. Let's get going." Whined Cree.
They had entered the gate, and they was standing on a long balcony, and there stood a man with a red glass of wine in one hand at the end of it. He turned slowly, and inspected the trio. He then gave a laugh that seemed to shake the whole castle, and with a rough sounding voice, he said, "An Empyrean weakling, a measly servant of God, and a young fool who killed his own village and parents."
The three seemed to be utterly upset at what he had said, they were about to leap at him, but then Bakal raised up his hand and shouted, "FOOLS! I am doing this for the greater good, you are all just mere puppets in her little puppet show. Will you continue to do this, or will you follow the voice of reason and turn against your puppeteer!?"
They all staggered back, confused, look at each other with worried faces. Cree then stepped up and said, "I do not know what you are talking about, we are doing this because we do this for the greater good, you are just corrupt! Look at what you have done, you have destroyed Ghent, that is a crime you have to pay for your blood!" Then the other two stepped up with him, drawing their weapons, ready to fight the menace that was ahead of them.
Bakal sneered and said with disappointment, "You ignorant fools, you are being played with by her, and you don't even realize it. You never shall. I guess I'll have to end your lives in order for this to stop." He crushed his glass, and a dark aura emanated from his body. He started growing wings, and glowing eyes, then, a sudden explosion occurred around him. It had blinded the three for a short time, and when they had looked at him when the smoke cleared, they saw his true form. Standing before them was the King of Dragons, who was at least 10 times bigger than the Desperado, Bakal had pure black scales which were harder than plate could ever be. But, there were gaping lines between each of the scales, showing his weakness. His wings and tail were huge, and they seemed to be able to blow them away with ease if he chose to. Then, the mighty dragon arched his head toward the center of the group, and spat out a meteor, forcing them to disperse. Their battle had just begun with the Ex-Apostle, Dragon King Bakal.
The battle was raging on, Cree was shooting entire clips into Bakal with no avail, he seemed unaffected by it. Cree was getting irritated, so he tried hitting Bakal with his feet, but it only proved to irritate Bakal, and with a giant swipe of his claw, he knocked Cree flying into the wall, and he collapsed on the floor, grasping for air. He got up, and started shooting at Bakal's giant head. He then removed his attention from the other two, and spat a meteor straight at Cree, and he then took the chance and leapt on the meteor, then jumped above Bakal's head, and did a somersault kick on his right eye, leapt up and shot his left eye 12 times and ran down his back, shooting as many times at his wings as he could. But then, Bakal slammed his tail against Cree's stomach, and he flew into the sky. As he was falling, Buf saw him and casting Light of Divinity to break his fall. Once Cree hit the ground, the holy bubble broke from impact and left a giant crater on the ground. He was able to stand up perfectly fine, thanks to the bubble. Cree saw that he had done nothing at all except faze him for a few seconds, and created a few holes in the soft spots of his wings. Then they watched as Xgen tried to take on Bakal.
Xgen was dodging all of Bakal's slow swipes easily, taking advantage of them and jumping on his arms and slashing it, but to no prevail. No matter how quickly or strongly he slashed at Bakal's scales or weak points, he couldn't even do a dent or a scratch against them. Xgen swore under his breath, and put his sword at his side, then quickly slashed, doing the move called, "Draw Sword" and then, he followed up with another slash, albeit weaker. But he had still done nothing at all to his impenetrable scales. Xgen tried to run up Bakal's arms in order to slash at his face, but Bakal had predicted it and breathed a blazing inferno at Xgen. Just when Xgen was about to get devoured by the flames, a wall appears between him and the flames, and noticed it was the Deflection Wall, he gave Buf a quick thumbs up, ran up the wall and jumped high above Bakal, and dived at him with his sword, using gravity to deal more damage. This technique was called, "Ashe Forke" by the Slayers. Bakal looked up but was too late, Xgen had crashed into his forehead, creating a small crack. Bakal winced slightly in pain, then flung him off and swiped at the falling Xgen. He couldn't do anything except block the claws from seeping into his skin and tearing him limb from limb, so he guarded the claws, but got smashed into the ground as a result. He stood up and drank the potion that Cree had given him a long time ago, the HP Potion of the Heaven. Then all three looked at Bakal, who seemed to be smiling as they looked helplessly against him.
The three of them began muttering upon themselves, thinking it was hopeless, then Cree stood up straightly, and said, "This is not hopeless, we can still win this! Buf, do you have 'that'?"
"…That?" Buf replied in a curious voice.
"Remember, when you became a Paladin, Grandis gave you something."
"Oh… you mean 'that'… Yeah, I only have enough energy for that and a few more buffs, then I can't cast anything more… if we survive to town that is."
"Oh, we will survive. Use it, now."
Buf nodded, and he ordered the two to stand in front of Bakal to get ready.
Bakal laughed at their futile attempts, and shouted as if he had won, "Foolish humans! You have lost, after all the time that has passed since you fought me, you barely scratched me! Do you really think you can win? Do you?! Give up now, and I shall end your lives quickly and painlessly."
Cree beamed a cocky smile at Bakal, then shouted with confidence, "HELL NO! Come on! It's not over yet! The only place you'll be seeing is hell!" As he said that, a crystal ball of pure light appeared and enveloped the whole area in light.
"AGGGGH!" Cried Bakal, as he was being blinded by the light of the crystal ball, and he lost his balance.
Cree and Xgen, gripped their weapons, and got ready, as the light had given them even more strength, making them have Godlike powers. Cree waited as Xgen threw out his 24 swords, and 12 of them pierced down on Bakal, sealing him to the ground, and 12 swords floated above his head, so even if he miraculously got out, he would be horribly scarred trying to do that. Then, Xgen floated up and started slashing at light speed, shouting out every sword he used to slash, creating deep scars in his scales, which weakened him greatly. On the final slash, it tipped Bakal up straight to the crystal ball. Then, with a sudden motion, the crystal ball faded out, and turned pitch-black. That was Cree's signal to start shooting, Cree kicked up two revolvers, and was ready to shoot. Then, out of the dark ball, lasers that burnt Bakal's weakened scales started getting softer and easier to break. Cree began shooting every single spot that the laser hit with perfect accuracy in the hurricane of bullets, Bakal was losing his scales, which was his only protection, then the 2nd wave of bullets began, which at the end, had shattered all of Bakal's scales, which lay on the ground, burnt to a crisp and in shreds. Then, Cree kicked up the guns right above Bakal's head, caught them upside down, and did a hail of bullets unto Bakal, leaving rivers of blood flowing from the Dragon King's body. The lasers from the dark crystal raged on, searing the wounds of the Dragon King even further, as he yelled out in pure pain. Then, Cree gave a smirk to his allies, did a twirl, got ready for a snap, and shouted, "JACKPOT!" And the lasers combined into one spot, on the top of Bakal's head and gave a mighty explosion that shook all of Ghent.
The trio wearily regrouped with a happy smile, certain that the Dragon King Bakal's reign of terror over Ghent had ended. But then, they turned and heard a rasping growl from the debris and smoke. Bakal was still alive, but barely. They stood shocked at how it was possible that he lived throughout their full-on assault.
With a near deadly silent tone, Bakal wheezed, "You… may prove… useful to… gnnrk… everyone… you just may be able to… ggraah… save us all… but as you are now… you are but… ignorant fools… may you… learn the truth… gnnnrkaah!" After saying that, he attempted flight, and he flew high up into the skies, and Cree attempted shooting him, but he missed all his shots. Then, he flew so high that all of Ghent and Empyrean could see him, and he died in an explosion. The Dragon King Bakal's reign was actually over, he had died. The entire city was cheering, and Bakal's remaining forces retreated. Their job was finished in this area, and Delilah suddenly appeared next to Cree like a stalker, and they all sold the useless junk they found and repaired their armor and weapons. Then the crack of the Rift appeared, and they all returned to the present time of Arad. They looked at each other happily, knowing that they had saved Empyrean and Ghent from Bakal, but his final words still stuck with them. They all wondered what that had meant.
As the day was ending, they all parted for the night. Cree went to Siusha's to drink beer to forget the troubles that had arised during that single journey. Xgen had gone back to the bamboo forest in Final Pursuit so he could train harder for the enemies to come. Buf had returned to the church to increase his Vitality and Spirit so he could bring his group's power even higher and to take a good rest. He also prayed that their future adventures would always be filled with fun, adventure, and to find out the truth of what is happening.