Chapter 4: Godslayer

I spit into the sink and told Star, "Hey, I had this weird dream last night…"

Star spit into her sink and she looked at me, eyes sparkling.

I blinked uncertainty and asked, "What are you doing?"

The sparkle in her eyes faded as she pouted: "You didn't think I wouldn't notice you were avoiding me?"

Her smile returned as she said, "It's just so nice to hear you talk to me again."

I frowned and continued, "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I had this dream…"

"Anyone in particular?"

I snorted in annoyance and said, "Kind of. A guy in a black cloak and a gas mask."

"Oooh, was he hot?"

I snorted again, but I was amused at Star's suggestion. "No. He was actually ridiculously ugly. He looked like a zombie that didn't know he was undead."

Star laughed, and I found myself doing the same.

I felt glad we were returning to normal…

No! She stripped you in the middle of the mall for everybody to see like a beacon!

Before I could continue, Star added, "Did he have the arms of a classroom skeleton?! He must have stolen from Mr. Headstron and then stuffed that skeleton under his cloak!"

I laughed again at the thought of our biology teacher entering his classroom and then looking around for his fake skeleton as the thing hung from the ceiling stalking him.

Something about Star's comment was off…

"Wait… how did you know about the skeleton part?" I questioned, becoming serious.

Star's face blanched. She tried to hide it, but the damage was done. She picked up her toothbrush again and started brushing.

I sighed and said, "He or whatever it may be said, 'Lord Drakkous Xxyyzorn wants to be spread.'"

Star spit into her sink again and told me, "Lord Drakkous Xxyyzorn is a Sihratan god of fear, creation, and valor. He's a patron to those who have the most valor in their hearts and will sacrifice themselves for their loved ones. Sometimes, he appears to those who…"

Star stopped again and pretended that I was not there.

"Fine, be that way," I grumbled, angry with her again.

I thought about what she had said.

'Sometimes, he appears to those who…'

Who what? Get rich? Not something Star would keep away from me. Are gifted? Maybe…? Still not something Star kept away from me…

It has to be something bad.

Will become evil? I'm sure there would be a 'narwhal blast' in there. Actually evil? No. Drakkous, as I guess the thing was, would not groom me for a fight that I would be the evil one for.

'Sometimes, he appears to those who…'

I thought about what Drakkous had said.

"There's a reason they call him the Vile." "What? What? Let's get it over with!" "Do you mortals ever learn about the Sihratans anymore?" "Tell her this: Lord Drakkous Xxyyzorn wants to be spread." "Three last moments of pain."

Three last moments of pain.

I spit toothpaste into the sink again, but this time out of shock.

Three last moments of pain…

I am going to die.

I turned to Star, who glanced at me and read my mind. Her face became even paler than before as she went off to eat breakfast.

Then I remembered another thing Drakkous said.

"God slayers. The ones who defied fate."

If Drakkous did make me a god slayer, then maybe I wouldn't. Even though I didn't feel any more 'powerful' than I usually did, there was only one way to find out.

...

Mrs. Skullnick waited for us to finish with our pop quizzes. I guess that put me in the same position that she did, as I had already finished with mine.

I waited patiently, and I saw something right outside our classroom.

Actually, that wasn't saying much. It wasn't hard to ignore Ludo's troops trying to bust in through the door.

I sighed and asked, "Star? You got this?"

Star just pulled out her want and pointed it at Ludo's ugly face.

Then something… large picked up Buff Frog and I saw him fly past Oskar's car.

The roof collapsed, and I saw what… it was.

A giant creature stood there twice the size of my dad, looking like a man with the face of a hairless rat. If that rat had a blunt nose, crooked, drool-covered teeth, and a chain-mail helmet. Its whole body was cut and scarred, the only part 'covered' was where it was… most important, where there was a chain mail kilt. It held a mace with a bludgeon as big as Ferguson that looked like it was made out of a few giant gears.

A name entered my mind: Feral Troll.

Well, I kind of wished that it looked like Ms. Skullnick right now.

It looked down at me and then changed course and stared at Star.

"Wand…" it growled.

I heard Ludo say something outside, his face furious as he stood on Potato Baby. Then the Feral Troll looked down at him and he froze.

Ludo walked away and opened a portal with his dimensional scissors. He ran in, and his goons raced to get in.

The Feral Troll was so large everybody was paralyzed. I felt the sheer terror that the whole class was giving off.

…

That was weird. I could actually sense their anger.

It fueled something in me. Something new.

Star snapped out of it and shouted, "Narwhal blast!"

The sea mammal shot out of her wand and hit the Feral Troll straight in the face. It didn't even flinch.

That's when chaos broke loose. Everybody started screaming, flailing their arms in the air comically, and running out of the room like Ludo's troops.

Ms. Skullnick, being the powerful troll she was, jumped straight at the other troll.

It swatted her aside and I didn't see where she went. I actually admit I hoped she was alive.

Star fired another spell at the Feral Troll, but it was unfazed. It swung its mace, and the whole wall fell.

Whoa.

It was practically immune to Star's attacks. One shot after another and it did nothing.

I realized I was doing nothing.

Do something, you idiot!

I shouted, "Hi-yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" and kicked the Feral Troll's leg.

My eyes teared up at the sheer pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Feral Troll was all the more unimpressed. There goes the D&D 'dumb troll' stereotype (not like I'd ever played it. The figures are too pointy and I could get cut and bleed to death).

Before I could fully address the damage in my ankle, I felt a pleasant cooling sensation there and any broken bones I had there felt like they had been just fine and I hadn't kicked a troll's beefy leg.

"Rise, Marco Diaz. This is the beginning of your life as a godslayer."

Drakkous's voice echoed in my head. It wasn't a memory, but more like he was speaking to be through a phone. He was speaking to me live.

Not like it mattered. I felt my hands twitching. It was as if my bones were… different.

Then my hands burst open and I gaped.

My hands had transformed into a nice, medieval longsword. No need to hold any swords, because my hands were my weapon… but for real this time!

I jumped at the Feral Troll, and I jumped much higher than I usually could. I reached the beast's face, and I karate chopped it, which resulted in blood pouring off his face from my blade hands. I stuck my swords into its stomach and I slid down it, leaving nice, long marks in its chest. I jumped again and sliced with both hands again, making a tic-tac-toe shape on its torso.

"Star!" I shouted. "Which square?"

Star was staring at me. Then she shook her head and said, "Top left!"

I jumped again and put an O on the top left square and added an X on the center square. The Feral Troll swung its mace at me and I sliced the bludgeon off.

"Top center!" Star called.

I added an O at the said square and put an X on the top left corner.

In the end of the tic-tac-toe game, there was no winner. However, we did have a loser, which became obvious as the Feral Troll fell down on its back.

I landed on the ground and put my arms in an X as they returned to normal hands.

"You'll get used to it eventually, Diaz," Drakkous spoke. "But for now…"

I cried out as I felt a searing pain in my head.

I passed out from the pain.