The 14th Zoalord

Chapter Two

Avenging Demon

Mikhail Czyvek stared at the glowing crystal in Archanfel's hand. "A Zoacrystal?" "Yes, a Zoacrystal," Archanfel replied, "I have lost Guyot, Yentsui, Waferdanos and now Purgstall. I need thirteen Zoalords for my purpose, and I have only seven." "Seven?" "Yes, three of the others are traitors" Alkanfel's voice was tinged with subdued anger, "And it was these three that killed your master." Czyvek shot up at that, "Who, which ones?" Archanfel shook his head, "If I told you now you'd rush off to confront them and die in the attempt, I think it would be better if I told you after you have gained the power to defeat them." It all made sense now, the three he had seen had not come too late to help his master, they had murdered him! "It was Khan, wasn't it, Khan and Hayyan and Krumeggnic, it had to be!" "Yes, but that is for later, now I need you to prepare for the battle ahead. Will you come with me and become a Zoalord?"

"If it gives me the chance to avenge Lord Purgstall, I will become a demon."

For three months Czyvek rested in a processing tank, his mind open only to thoughts of hatred and revenge even as his body was slowly transformed and empowered by the Zoacrystal. He would die, of course, he could not kill three Zoalords. But he make sure to take at least one of them before he died. Cabraal Khan, a shriveled little man of Chinese descent, always levitating, his wizened face a mask of innocence and wisdom, behind which lurked the mind of a traitor, a murderer. He was undoubtedly the leader of this plot*, murdering a good man, the closest thing Czyvek had to a father, and framing Sho Fukamachi, an innocent boy. Czyvek would kill him, slowly, he promised himself, promised his fallen Lord. Jabir Ibn Hayyan was a tall, hawkish man with short beard, always wearing a turban, a symbol of purity in many cultures, a symbol of his hypocrisy to Czyvek. The third would likely be the one to kill him, Luggnagg de Krumeggnic, a huge, ugly brute whose face was covered in tattoos. No matter, the other Zoalords would join him, Archanfel himself would join him, and the traitors would all die.

That thought comforted Czyvek as he waited for the day of reckoning.

"Lord Archanfel is late." Zoalord Amniculus sat restlessly in his chair. He was a tall, slender man of Armenian origin, and he had been Purgstall's closest friend. The gathered Zoalords sat around a large round table awaiting their leader's arrival. Hamilcar Barcus, a short, ancient man who wore his white hair and beard long to distract from his balding pate, Edward Caerleon, a young, elfin-looking man with long blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in battle armor sat at his place at the table, quietly waiting for his master to arrive. Tuatha De Galenos, a massive being who looked if he had been carved from living stone and whose origins were almost as mysterious as Archanfel's, sat silent, ever patient. At the far end of the room stood Imakarum Mirabilis, tall, handsome with long black hair and dark glasses hiding his yellow cats' eyes. Imakarum was the newest Zoalord, he had been an unfortunate victim of CHRONOS, a reporter named Murakami Masaki who had been kidnapped and used as a "Proto-Zoalord" in the experiments to insure Guyot's smooth transformation into a Zoalord, and who was now the Commander's replacement in CHRONOS. As Masaki Murakami he had fought side by side with the Guyvers against CHRONOS, but he had nearly died in battle with Guyot at the Mount Minakami debacle. Archanfel had found the dying Proto-Zoalord and taken pity upon him, saving his life and transforming him into a true Zoalord using the Zoacrystal he had ripped from Guyot's forehead in battle. This salvation came at a price, Archanfel had completely altered Murakami's persona, and now he sought to destroy his former allies. The three traitors were also present. They had to be for the plan to work.

Outside of the massive Pillars of Heaven, the wind whipped and howled with an unnatural fury, the lightning and thunder raged with a life of their own, lashing out like a typhoon. It served to increase everyone's tension, whether they displayed that or not.

Suddenly the doors to the conference room opened, and Lord Archanfel entered. All present bowed before their master. "You may wonder why I have called this meeting," Archanfel began, "It is for a two-fold purpose. The first is that I wanted to introduce you to our newest Zoalord." The assembled Zoalords looked around in confusion, a new Zoalord? So soon? Alkanfel waved a slender hand, and the doors opened. Zoalord Mikhail Czyvek walked into the room. He wore a smaller version of his late master's battle armor and flowing cape, and his black eyes burned with hatred and fury stronger the storm outside. "I present Mikhail Czyvek."

And now, for the second reason I brought you here," Mirabilis smiled, he alone among the assembled Zoalords knew exactly what was to happen. "I brought you here to help destroy a blight upon CHRONOS. A great cancer threatens us, for there are traitors among us. They have already murdered my loyal son, Purgstall," Rage tinted Archanfel's voice, but he continued, "And they must be destroyed before they do any more damage to our purpose." Czyvek was ready to jump, to tear into the traitors with everything he had, but he had to wait for the right moment.

"Who are they?" Caerleon asked, confused.

"They are Cabraal Khan, Jabir Ibn Hayyan and Luggnagg de Krumeggnic." Archanfel's voice was cold and damning

A burst of energy lit the room as the three traitors moved to escape, and Czyvek revealed his new Zoalord form. He looked much as he did as Galvak, a tall black beetle-like creature with bright red eyes and terrible clawed hands and feet. Something about him, something in his eyes was terrifying. He didn't wait, he couldn't wait any longer, he jumped at Krumeggnic, ripping out his throat with his powerful claws as the others blasted through the wall to escape. Amniculus, now in Zoalord form, caught Hayyan in a ball of energy, and slowly crushed him in a gravity blast, taking revenge for his murdered friend. Czyvek turned to look for Khan, leaving Krumeggnic for the others to finish.

Khan wasn't there . . .

Khan had made it outside, and was flying at incredible speed away from the avenging Zoalords behind him, only to run into Lord Archanfel, in full Zoalord form, a golden, angelic giant, "Did you think you could escape so easily?" Khan landed and transformed, his skull extending and growing to unbelievable proportions, becoming a monstrous brain with a diminutive body attached. Khan fired an incredible burst of mental energy at Archanfel, with no effect. Then Czyvek caught up to him . . . The battle was short and bloody, Khan's heavy, immobile Zoaform was all but helpless before the smaller, more agile Czyvek. Czyvek, too blinded by his hatred and urge for vengeance, did not hesitate even a moment at the sight of his enemy's hideous form. It didn't matter. Only the vengeance mattered now. Czyvek tore into Khan, claws ripping massive chunks of brain matter from the Zoalord's grotesquely enlarged head, sending wave after merciless wave of incredible electrical assaults coursing through the traitor's horrible form, oblivious to the danger and power of his enemy, totally consumed by the desire to avenge his Lord, whatever the cost. In his blind rage the crazed Zoalord even sunk his fangs into his enemy, biting and tearing in a frenzy of hate.

Czyvek could feel the Zoalord's massive mental energies calling Zoanoids toward him, but they would be no salvation for Cabraal Khan. As the minds of the other surviving Zoalords fought against his mental powers, Czyvek tore into his corporeal form. In his agonies Khan could not defeat the mental assault or summon help. Long, lithe fingers whipped around the sickening brain-mass that Khan's head had now become, talons tearing at the gem imbedded in the monster's forehead, the Zoacrystal, the source of his power. The talons did their work brutally, digging deeply into flesh, ripping the crystal free from Khan's twisted form. Khan screamed in agony and hopelessness as so much of his power was literally torn away. Cabraal Khan had no chance as the enraged Czyvek exacted his sworn revenge, tearing him limb from limb . . .

The conference room was in chaos, rubble was scattered around, and Krumeggnic's body still lay slumped in his chair. Mirabilis walked casually over to the dead man and ripped the Zoacrystal from his skull before incinerating the corpse. Czyvek returned, reverted to human form and sat numbly on the floor, unsure of how much of the blood on his clothing was his own. He hadn't expected to survive. What would he do now? Without his master, what was his purpose? He looked down at Khan's bloodied Zoacrystal, ripped from the traitor's bloated head, gleaming in the palm of his hand.

Archanfel entered the room as well, reverting back to human form. Unlike Czyvek, Archanfel had worn no battle armor, only a white suit, and as a consequence was now completely naked. It didn't concern him in the least, he had been alive before humans invented clothing, but Czyvek rose numbly and gave him his own blood-stained cloak to cover himself, and Archanfel accepted it . Wrapped in Czyvek's cloak, Archanfel looked over the destruction wrought by the battle. "Let us hope that is the end of the traitors in our midst."

To be continued . . .

*Actually, Krummeggnic was the one behind the plot, poor Czyvek never learned that, but he got revenge anyway.