Ch.139: Centuries of Bloodshed! Who Governs the World of Magic?
Gwyn planted seeds in the ground and cut off the tunnel with a thick barrier of wood. She felt the red ogre/demon, Matzhal, pounding furiously into the barrier with his kinetic punches. Though the path was blocked, the ground cracked under the barrier and Gwyn's feet.
Gwyn gritted her teeth and back away while fishing for a Naturae Fruit. Matzhal's punches breached the barrier, bursting a hole through with a shockwave blowing Gwyn back. The three-eyed ogre leaped toward Gwyn and slammed his fists down on her right as she ate the first fruit she could pull out.
The tunnel trembled and crumbled. The force splintered the wooden barrier, allowing Callista to carefully approach despite the shaky ground. She clicked her mandibles irritably. "Careful, you fool! I need her alive to complete my ritual."
"My apologies, Mistress—" A steel-colored pike extended from the crater he stood over and impaled his throat. He gasped and clutched his throat, trying to pull the pike out.
Gwyn pulled herself out of the crater. Her skin and fur were white with monochromatic shading, her Iron Armor berry. She snapped the pike off her wrist, then lunged onto Matzhal's face. "Iron Shower!" She opened her mouth and spat tiny metal splinters into the ogre's face and eyes.
"RAAAARGH!" Matzhal knocked Gwyn off and stumbled around in pain. He instinctively covered his face, pushing the splinters in deeper. "Shit, shit, SHIT! AAAAAGH!"
Callista grunted and sent the ogre away in her black fog. She deployed her shadow arms and swung them at Gwyn. Gwyn punched the wall and sprouted metallic wood to wrap around her like a cage. The shadow claws scraped against the metal with sparks flying off.
"Time's have changed, little Mew," Callista hummed ominously. "There's no holy place for me to worry about here. I couldn't capture you at full strength the first time we fought, otherwise I would draw the priests to me." She hissed in delight. "But, as long as I don't kill you, I don't have to hold back anymore."
Gwyn flinched as the shadow claws kept slashing into her iron cage. Metal chipped off with every swipe, whittling down the bars. She tried to make her best war face. "Y-You aren't the only one who…h-has to hold back!" she declared unsurely.
Callista saw through the brave face, evident by the Mew's trembling posture. She laughed behind her foreleg. "You're still scared of me, aren't you? All those years of wondering when I'll return, alone and afraid the world will use you for your blood, your lineage, your power, and more. I've waited patiently to complete this contract. I'll keep waiting until you're mine."
Gwyn bared her teeth. "No. You. Won't!" She slammed her palms down and fired metallic spikes from the ground.
Callista deployed her black fog, summoning the black flame knight, Zolvon. He gripped his sword and swung with hellfire, incinerating the metallic wood to ashes. "Thou call upon me again, Mistress?" Zolvon asked.
Callista nodded. "Remember, don't kill her. Burn her to a crisp if you wish so long as her soul remains intact to her body."
"As you command, Mistress." Zolvon struck the ground, splitting the ground with a wave of hellfire.
Gwyn willed the cage open and jumped out before the flames consumed it. She tumbled, then scrambled to her feet while digging for another Naturae Fruit. Zolvon locked onto her and slashed projectile flames towards her. Gwyn summoned wooden barriers one after another, holding the flames back as much as possible.
Hellfire against plants? I'm doomed! Gwyn pulled a magican from her bag and popped it into her mouth. Better than nothing. I just hope my armor can hold up for a little bit.
A surge of flames drilled through the last barrier. Gwyn ducked under the flames, then bit down on the magical pecan. Her eyes shrunk as a burst of magic swelled from within, rippling the air around her. She stood and clenched her fists tightly, enduring the swelling power.
I can't go crazy down here or I'll destabilize the entire maze. Gwyn waved her arms frantically, making complex gestures with her hands, and shouted, "Forest Invasion!"
Dozens of tree roots split the ceiling open and wrapped around the black knight. His flames burned the roots to ashes, but a coiled clustered drove into his chest like a drill and sent him flying toward Callista. The Ariados didn't flinched as Zolvon impaled his sword into the ground and stopped himself an inch from hitting his mistress.
Gwyn flicked a seed, then snapped her fingers. "Accelerated Growth: Whimsical Mushroom Fields!"
The seed burst open sporadically and covered the whole tunnel in seconds with colorful mushrooms. Callista lifted herself into the air right as the mushrooms under her released a cloud of spores. She hissed irritably. "Anything that girl pulls out of her pockets is a death sentence. Zolvon, clear the mushrooms!"
"Yes, Mistress!" Zolvon heaved his sword back.
Gwyn suddenly turned and ran away, catching them off guard. "Now, rise!" She snapped her fingers again.
The ground burst under Zolvon. The mushrooms grew and mutated into monstrous mushroom creatures with thinly limbs, purple eyes, and poisonous saliva dripping from their deformed mouths. They piled onto Zolvon like zombies, dripping their poisonous spit on his armor.
"Monsters! Thou shall not lay a hand on me!" He released a burst of flame to incinerate the mushroom zombies. This, however, triggered a violent explosion from the mushrooms, blasting through the tunnel and knocking Callista and Gwyn off their feet.
Callista quickly spat a web and caught herself in it while Gwyn covered her head and tumbled with the shockwave. Callista knocked the rock falling down on her away, then gasped as Zolvon limped out of the dust cloud with an arm and a leg blown clean off. Nothing but flame bellowed out of the armor.
"'Tis but a flesh wound, Mistress!" Zolvon proudly proclaimed despite hopping on one leg. He could barely drag his sword.
Callista covered her mouth as spore clouds filled the air. They're all volatile. She sent Zolvon away and summoned Kogomor, the wind demon. The birdlike demon swung his fan and blew the spores away, striking Gwyn simultaneously. Gwyn gripped tightly to the ground, trying to stay put as she reached for another Naturae Fruit.
"Kogomor, suppress her!" Callista ordered.
Kogomor flaunted his crest of dark blue feathers, then lunged right at the Mew. Gwyn felt his talon feet grab her neck and slam her into the floor. He clutched her throat tightly, knowing full well she couldn't access her other forms without eating a fruit. "No more of that," he taunted.
Callista scuttled over. "Excellent work, Kogomor. You will be rewarded handsomely." She hissed at Gwyn. "Now, as for you—"
"Venenata!" Gwyn exhaled poisonous flames into Kogomor's face.
The wind demon easily fanned them back into her with a smirk. "None of that, child!" His eyes widened as a blue light beamed through the flames. "Wait—"
"Nutrient Transvoro: Scorching Winter!" An ice spell fired and slammed Kogomor into the ceiling, instantly encasing him in a thick block of steaming ice.
Callista jumped back and narrowly avoided Gwyn's thorn whip. The Mew pulled herself up, massaged her throat, then bared her teeth at the spider witch. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Callista hissed in annoyance. She called back Kogomor for a new demon. "You're making this harder than it needs to be." She summoned a beastly creature with six legs, jagged teeth, dull white fur with black stripes, and a barbed tail. "You're just making the end that much worse for yourself."
Gwyn pulled out a fruit and shoved it in her mouth. "Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me from resisting you!" She swallowed, then transformed into her Informis Oak form. She shaped her arms into oversized clubs, then charged the beast.
Callista grunted. "Tear her to shreds." The beast roared and pounced the Mew.
Far down the tunnel, Flint held Zaros' Guardian back with his own, trading punches with each other evenly. Ambrosine stuck close with Flint, supplying him with a steady boost to keep his strength up.
"I don't think my magic would've recharged in time if it weren't for you, Ambrosine!" Flint praised while keeping his focus on Zaros' Guardian.
"Happy to hel—look out!" She pushed him down, narrowly avoiding an Everto beam.
The purple Guardian flew high above and rained down Everto on them. Flint casted Blockade Reflector and held up against the rays. Flint's Guardian dashed and punched the opposing Guardian in the chest, growing a cluster of crystal from its fist. The purple Guardian's chest burst open with orange crystal. The large quantity was cumbersome, making it hard to move.
"Pound it senseless!" Flint ordered.
His Guardian clenched its fists and rapidly punched its opponent, breaking apart the crystal, then ended with a heavy uppercut to the chin. The purple Guardian ricocheted off the walls and landed ride beside its incapacitated user.
"Mystic Beam!" Flint's Guardian charged magic between its hands, then encompassed the tunnel with blinding orange light.
Zaros tilted his head enough to see the incoming attack. "Dark Escape!" With a classy bow, his Guardian opened a black portal and sucked the Mystic Beam in. A second portal opened up behind Zaros and fired towards where Gwyn was fighting.
"Gwyn, watch out!" Flint yelled. Gwyn heard his shout and quickly raised a wooden wall to block the blast. The smoke left the aftermath obscure. "Gwyn!" Flint cried.
"She'll be fine! She's tough!" Ambrosine assured. "Focus on the enemy!"
Zaros' Guardian flew in again and retaliated with a flurry of blows. Flint's raised its arms, blocked the onslaught, then parried into another attack rush. The two crystal humanoids traded fists amidst a cloud of magic sparks. Flint and Ambrosine shielded their faces from the pressure blowing off the two.
While that went on, Zaros occupied himself with trying to move his body. As Ambrosine clearly stated, any movement he intended to make would be redirected to a completely different part of the body. Moving his neck instead caused his right leg to twitch. His left arm controlled how his neck moved. Each individual command from the brain sent an electrical signal believing that part of the body was something else entirely. If he used his left arm as normal, he would've instead rotated his neck until he snapped it.
For a blubbering pacifist, she's skilled as a doctor. Zaros closed his eyes, probably the only thing he could do without a sudden spasm. This spell doesn't feel like it'll wear off soon. That doesn't matter, however. I'm far too brilliant to be stopped by this. He focused on the feeling of his leg moving. Send the right pulses to the right body part. Figure out what electrical signal moves what and memorize it. Operate the body as seamlessly as breathing.
Meanwhile, his Guardian managed to get the upper hand on Flint's and punched into across the floor. The blow was enough to stagger Flint, causing his Guardian to fade. Flint casted Blockade Reflector against the purple Guardian's barrage punches.
"Could use some help here!" Flint yelled with a wince.
Ambrosine cowered behind him. "I'm doing the best I can! I don't know how to fight!"
Flint grimaced as a large crack formed in the middle of the shield. "Grab a rock or something off the ground and chuck it!" Ambrosine picked up a fairly large stone which Flint quickly tapped. Ambrosine chucked it over the Guardian's head. Flint shouted, "Verto!"
The Guardian turned and fired Everto into it instinctively. However, the rock didn't switch places with Flint, who use the split second diversion to roar a blank point Mystic Beam into its back and blasting it against the wall. The surprise shockwave knocked Ambrosine back a bit.
"Huh?" Ambrosine gasped.
"Little something I picked up from Tony. Use predictability to your advantage." Flint closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment, and summoned his Guardian again. "Now, Crystallo Growth!" The Guardian punched the ground, sending a wave of magic into the opposing humanoid, and rammed it into the ceiling with a pillar of crystal.
Ambrosine beamed with joy. "You got it!"
Flint's Guardian pulled its hands back and charged a Mystic Beam. "Magnification Rings x2." Flint snapped his digits, forming two rings in front of his Guardian. "That should be enough to—"
"Everto."
Flint gasped as a magic beam pierced his shoulder. He staggered back and fell onto his side while his Guardian faded in response. Ambrosine covered her mouth and cried, "Flint!" She knelt down and sat him up before applying her magic to the wound.
"Impressive, Ambrosine. If you had a bit more talent for battle, that might've put me out of commission for the rest of the day." Ambrosine turned her head and gasped as Zaros picked himself back onto his feet, slowly dusting off the front of his clothes. "You had me there for a moment."
Ambrosine's eyes shrank. "N-No…that's not possible. How are you standing? The spell shouldn't have worn off by now." Upon examining his aura, her eyes shrank further to the size of pinpricks. "No…"
Zaros grinned. "Oh, your spell is quite tricky to counter, but not impossible. It took a moment, but I just needed to know which signals to send out to move my arms and legs. It's not like I need to flip off walls and junk to fight." His Guardian faded from the crystal pillar and reappeared beside him. "You're free to scramble them again, but I assure you the opportunity won't come easy a second time."
Flint got back on his feet, but staggered onto his right side. With his already weak leg and new shoulder wound, he could barely keep himself upright. Ambrosine bit her lip worriedly looking between her crush and the murderous rodent. She balled her fists, building a bit of magic into them.
Zaros waved his finger around casually. "I can take my time with Ravenfield. He's simply second rate to me."
Ambrosine clenched her teeth, then jolted to her feet. She stood protectively in front of Flint, shouting, "I won't let you hurt—"
As if her life flashed before her eyes, she found herself suddenly pressed up to the wall like she was teleported. Zaros clutched firmly to her neck, though his grip felt weak due to his scrambled bioelectricity. He glared into her eyes, wiping away the false bravery.
"What can you do? You're just a worthless doctor and a disappointment. That's all you'll ever be, Ambrosine Lifeblood." Ambrosine's eyes widened, causing Zaros to smirk. "Did you think Chantal wasn't monitoring you loathsome pirates? Well, you, specifically? I had to make sure you wouldn't spill anything about my plans. Now look where you got me." Zaros glared down the tunnel where Callista was trying to wear Gwyn down. "The second she gets her prize, my head's coming off. All thanks to you.
"Hehehe, but you had quite the story, didn't you?" Zaros pressed his finger against her forehead, similar to how he threatened Flint earlier. "How would you feel about a second death? It's not like you had a life to begin with."
Ambrosine caught her breath as her heart started racing at alarming speeds. She felt the signs of a heart attack coming on. "P-Please…don't…"
"Leave her alone!" Miraculously, Flint leaped off the ground and attempted to tackle Zaros. Zaros, of course, disappeared with Tempus Point and let Flint crash into Ambrosine.
Zaros grabbed Flint's mane and shoved his face into the wall. "And once I rid myself of you pathetic Ravenfields, I'll wait patiently until my conquest starts. I'll rewrite history and divulge the world into my own personal future. History makes the world go around, so I'll bring it to a standstill."
Flint turned his head enough to glare through his peripherals. "I won't let you…destroy the past!"
"I prefer selectively omitting details." Zaros threw Flint onto Ambrosine, then lit up his finger. "I'll start omitting a couple bodies first."
"Get away from them!" Vines grappled Zaros' wrist and pulled him right into a surprise clothesline by Gwyn. Right as she dropped his butt to the ground, arrows exploded into her back and tossed her right into her friends.
Flint caught her in his forelegs. "Gwyn!" Fortunately, her Informis Oak form minimized lethal damage as her back regenerated.
Zaros slowly tried to get up until a foot pushed down on his back. He glared up at the arachnid, archer demon joined closely by one angry Ariados. Before he could speak, she slashed across his face. His glasses flew off, and a long cut bled over the bridge of his nose. She pressed the tip of her foreleg against his cheek.
"I wonder what Puck will have to say when he hears of this." She glared him down. "Though we have opposing opinions, he has very little reason to take your word over mine."
Zaros bared his teeth. "Lady Callista, have some reason—"
"Silence." She slashed his face again, then turned toward the downed trio. "Salbon, our target has regenerative qualities at the moment. Make your next attack as lethal as you can."
The spider demon pulled back on his bow. "Yes, Mis—" He paused as the tunnel rumbled again, only much closer than before. "Huh?"
Callista steadied her ground. "The shocks are close this time." She felt dust fall onto her face, causing her to look up. The ceiling seemed to be shaking and cracking alarmingly fast. Her eyes widened. "Salbon, retreat!" She jumped back with her summon right as the ceiling caved in.
Zaros teleported away with Dark Escape, narrowly avoiding the cave in. Flint raised his paw and blocked the rubble and dust with Blockade Reflector. Ambrosine coughed over the dust and yelled, "What's happening?!"
"Hey yo, I think we crashed someone's party!"
The trio's eyes widened as a large figure in silver armor slammed into the ground with three familiar bounty hunters perched on top of him. The armored figure grabbed them with twin tails and chucked them off. They landed smoothly beside the shocked trio.
"Griffin!"
"Holly!"
"Some guy I don't know!" Ambrosine finished off.
Mack turned in offense. "Yo, that's Mr. Some Guy!"
Griffin shuffled back and looked at his downed teammates. "Flint? Gwyn? I didn't realize you two were over here."
"We could say the same thing," Flint responded.
"Where did you three come from?" Gwyn asked.
Mack shrugged. "Oh, you know, we were falling, then we started breaking through walls here and there, then…you know, it was a very complicated cave in."
"Can we talk about this later?!" Holly yelled, pointing to the armored titan.
Voss pulled himself up, shook his throbbing head, and acknowledged the stunned witch behind him. "Evening, Callista."
"Evening to you, too," Callista mumbled. "Having trouble?"
"Second worst day of my entire life, frankly." He raised his sword and ignited it. "You?"
Callista stepped to his side with Salbon and scoffed. "Something along those lines."
Gwyn pulled herself up, huffing heavily as her wooden form shed itself off. "Flint's still pretty injured," she told Griffin.
Griffin glared. "Can you still fight?"
"I'm catching my seconded wind."
Griffin nodded, then ordered, "Holly, Mack, protect Flint and the Steenee. Offer us support whenever you can."
Holly nodded. "Will do."
Mack picked Flint and Ambrosine up and placed them on his shoulders. "There you go, nice and comfy."
Flint panted tiredly, then looked around at the wreckage. Though the extra backup was needed, he was still on high alert for someone else. Where the hell did Zaros vanish to?
The ground became more and more unstable as the fighting waged on. Entire tunnels collapsed on themselves with each superpowered strike vibrating through the maze and destroying what little support the structure had to offer. Even then, the grand scope of the situation was ignored for the heat of battle. In the moment, being crushed under thousands of tons of earth was more of an inconvenience than a dire emergency.
These thoughts were on Ella's mind as she traded hits with Nightmare. Now fueled with resounding determination and anger, she struck back harder than before, offering some challenge to the judgmental boss shadow. Between psychic attacks and shadow magic, the tunnel was widened into an open arena with piles of rubble swept into the far walls from constant, unending shockwaves.
Nightmare socked Ella in the stomach, throwing her through the air. She caught herself on two of Daybreak's batons, then sent out three more to ram Nightmare. He expanded his arms into shields to block the psychic-propelled weapons. They exhausted a great deal of psychic energy like rocket engines, shooting out a fire-like blaze of teal energy as they pushed into him.
Nightmare scoffed and proclaimed, "I have faced giants of strength back in my day. You are nothing." He swatted the batons away, then curled into a ball and rolled toward Ella.
She raised her paws and stopped him with a barrier. "Geez, I was kidding when I called you an old timer. Now you're just making it easier to insult you."
"Is that your way of coping with imminent death?" Nightmare melted into the ground, slid under the barrier, and lunged at Ella as a pair of claws.
She formed another barrier, just barely stopping him. "From a certain point of view, maybe." She channeled energy through her gem, then blasted Nightmare back down.
Nightmare receded into the cracks of the ground, then rose up all around her as shadow spikes. Ella formed an all-encompassing shield, barely stopping the spikes from impaling her. She scrunched her face as the spikes placed pressure against her shield, which was cracking under the strain.
Really wish I learned how to do that Third Eye trick. Ella clenched her eyes shut. I'm still not as strong as Ava yet. I need more time.
The spikes dug harder into the shield, slowly worming its way through. However, before they could invade, a cannon shot obliterated one of the spikes and freed Ella from some strain. Her eyes turned to Julius and Jeffery, both still miraculously alive even after the space got renovated. They weren't looking too good, likely running on fumes now, but we're still kicking and fighting.
"That's enough out of ye, shadow!" Julius taunted as he twisted his prosthetic cannon.
Nightmare took his attention of Ella and formed new spikes toward the duo. "Why can't you creatures stay dead?" He launched the spikes at them.
Jeffery squawked, "We surrender, we surrender!"
With Nightmare's attention off her, Ella closed her eyes again and teleported right in front of the pirates, casting another barrier to stop the spikes. She fired off two batons and had them drill into the ground. "Hopefully this works. Psycho Eruption!"
Psychic energy spilled out from the ground before violently tearing it apart in chaotic blue light. Nightmare's amorphous form flew out wreathing in the explosion before retaking his Chesnaught form. Though he clearly struggled, he endured the blast and charged straight through once it reached its climax.
Ella took a deep breath, then thrusted her paws and fired a psychic pulse that shoved Nightmare to the other side of the arena. Her gem erupted with energy as she pulled earth from the floor and ceiling and piled them onto Nightmare before he had a chance to get open.
She bared her teeth and curled her digits. Focus on the air. Heat it up until the stone starts to deform. Trap him in super dense mud.
Rocks kept piling up onto Nightmare as amorphous limbs tried to leak through the cracks. Ella tore the earth he was trapped in off the ground, lifted him in the air, and put everything into sealing him shut in a stone cocoon. She smoothed out imperfections or covered them with even more rock. Blood dripped from her nose and trickled over her lips. She wouldn't stop until even the darkness suffocated.
Eventually, after tearing out chunks of rock and exhausting a sizable portion of stamina, Ella collapsed and dropped the heavy stone. Jeffery and Julius ran to her side and helped her up.
"Are ye okay?" Jeffery asked.
Ella massaged her forehead and winced at how hot her gem was. "Ow. I did something like this…back in the Water Temple. Holding up all the water and condensing it onto a single point." She shook her weak head. "I need to work on my stamina next."
Jeffery looked at the large stone skeptically. "He is, uh, trapped in there, right?"
Ella lifted her head and smirked. "There's no way he's getting out of there—" She paused as a crack formed in the stone. "…Oh, son of a bit—"
A bright purple flash exploded out of the stone. Rocks bombarded the arena and struck the three hard. A large rock nailed Ella in the forehead and threw her and the pirates backwards. Julius barely shielded himself with his left arm while poor Jeffery got wrecked by a rock his size.
Nightmare staggered out of the smoke, panting heavily. He trembled as he took a few steps, looking visibly exhausted and perhaps wounded. "I have been crushed and mangled countless times in my lifetime, but I've never been put under that much stress before." He wiped his lip. "If you had just kept it up for a minute longer, I might have lost consciousness."
Ella sat up in a daze, but still tried to fire a psychic beam. She cringed as sparks shot out of her gemstone, singing her fur. Upon touching it and subsequently recoiling from the heat, she felt a crack in its surface. A long crack splitting down the middle. It sparked the more she tried to will a psychic command.
"You've…got to be kidding me!" Ella screamed.
Nightmare stared in confusion for a second until it all clicked. He grinned. "If I recall, your power comes from that stone in your forehead. What a shame. You can't even lift a pebble now, can you?"
Ella bared her teeth. Can't say I'm enjoying the irony, but this is better than completely exhausting my limit. The gem can grow back much like how skin can. Problem, I'm not in the best circumstances to wait!
Nightmare suddenly grabbed Ella's neck and lifted her to his face. "I'll give you credit for that last move, but it just proves you creatures cannot defeat the pinnacle of darkness without exhausting every last bit of your power. I've won this bout."
Ella scowled. "Clearly you've forgotten what spirit is. You used to be a knight, right? Someone who valued honor and loyalty more than anything. Though I see those traits in you, you've fallen from grace."
Nightmare glared. "The life I led was one of ignorance to the mortal coil. I have ascended with the darkness."
"If ascending means being a jackass, I'd just be buying myself the same vacation plan." She swung her lower body and kicked Nightmare's jaw, but it did absolutely nothing.
He laughed and held her closer. "That tickled."
Ella smirked. "Then you're going to love this." She swung her head and blasted him with violent sparks of psionic energy.
"AAAGH!" Nightmare threw her away and covered his smoking eyes. "You little—AH!"
Julius lunged and caught Ella just in time, then started running away with her in his arms. "Time to flee!"
"Where?!" Jeffery squawked, perching on Julius' head. "They decimated the entire tunnel! There's barely a tunnel left!"
"I won't let you escape!" The fleeing trio felt the ground explode under their feet with spikes. Julius lifted Ella high over his head and endured the spikes as they grinded against his exoskeleton. Jeffery flew in a blind panic dodging them.
Nightmare came barreling into the spikes and blew the trio away. He morphed his arms into snakes and thrusted them at the flying trio. Jeffery drew a knife from his vest and stabbed one of the snake's heads, but the knife sunk through like quicksand. It bit his neck and slammed him into the ground while the rest caught and coiled around Julius and Ella.
Ella whistled sharply, commanding Daybreak to reassemble itself and swing at Nightmare. Despite the damage to her gem, her mental link to the staff was as strong as before. Nightmare retracted his left arm and blocked the staff. Five batons split off and torpedoed his chest, then carried him into the ceiling. He lost hold of the trio, allowing them to flee again.
"Julius, blow a hole in the wall!" Ella ordered.
"Don't give me orders!" Julius shouted as he loaded his cannon.
"Hurry!" Jeffery shrieked.
Nightmare slammed the back of his fist into the ceiling. "Hopeless Abyss!"
A shadow stretched over the ceiling and toward the floor. Once pitch black covered the entire cavern, the trio suddenly lost their footing and fell through an endless void, even Jeffery as a strong gravity pulled him along. They were accelerating gradually like someone replaced a parachute with an anchor that kept getting heavier.
"We're going to die!" Jeffery shrieked.
"Is this an illusion?" Ella wondered aloud.
"From a certain point of view." Ella looked up and saw Nightmare hovering above them, clutching Daybreak's seven batons in an inescapable grip. While they felt like they were falling, he looked like he was standing on air. "This field will keep simulating accelerated falling until your bodies rip themselves apart."
Ella tried to fire a psychic blast, but sparks blasted back in her face. "Agh!" At the speed she 'fell', she couldn't even move her paws to massage her face. She felt them slowly pulling themselves out of socket. "Daybreak, to me!"
The batons wiggled in Nightmare's grip, but to no avail. He tightened his hold and boasted, "I have you where I want you. It was fun while it lasted, but I can't afford anymore screw-ups for my master. You could've lived happily as a shadow. Now you will rot in the afterlife as we turn this pitiful world into the kingdom of shadows."
Ella growled. "I won't let that happen!"
"There is no escape. Embrace the darkness and fall into the abyss for all etern—"
A light shot through the darkness and pierced his head. Nightmare roared in pain, dropping Daybreak and his illusion. The falling momentum gradually slowed as the dark field receded, dropping Ella, Julius, and Jeffery to the ground.
"You talk too much." Nightmare snapped one eye open, noticing a hole in the cavern walls. Poking out with a smoking gun, Graham sneered at the Shadow Chesnaught. "You shouldn't boast at the cusp of victory."
"Graham!" Julius and Jeffery cried.
Ella pushed herself up and rubbed her cracked gem. "You couldn't have arrived five minutes earlier?"
Graham broke a larger hole open with his axe and stepped through. "You can thank me later. I'm getting everyone out."
"And who decided that!" Nightmare shouted, firing off Spears of Darkness at him.
Graham reached back and threw Smith out of the hole. "You're up!"
The Simisear shrieked. "I'm sorry, what?!" He screamed and flailed his body frantically. He grabbed his sword amidst his flailing and unintentionally slashed the spears apart before accidentally headbutting Nightmare.
Graham ran over to the others and knelt down. "Any casualties?"
"Ella's gem's cracked," Julius summed up.
Graham nodded and snapped his fingers, opening a portal behind him. "The waypoint leads back to the Wasteland's remains. Meet up with the others, patch yourselves up, and return to the village once everything clears up."
"What about you?" Ella asked as she stood up.
"I'll survive. Just get out of here."
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Jeffery shot through the portal, briefly poking his head out to say, "You better save the captain, or you'll feel my vengeful—" Julius shoved his head back in before jumping through.
Ella limped to the portal, lingering a moment to look over her shoulder. It felt wrong to flee from battle, but she wouldn't live with herself if she died and left her friends to wallow. She sighed, then turned her gaze onto Graham.
"Get my friends out of here. I don't care how, but don't let them die."
Graham narrowed his eyes, then nodded. "You have my word." Ella accepted his answer, then jumped through the portal. Graham snapped it closed, then whipped out his battle axe. "Smith, we're leaving!"
Smith sprung up and raced back to his side. "Thank goodness!"
Nightmare shook off his dizziness and snarled in their direction. "Interfering with my fight, boy? I won't stand for this." He curled into a ball and charged at the two.
Smith screamed and clung onto Graham, who remained stone cold. He stood up and bowed to the charging shadow. "My apologies, but I have a crew and some treasure hunters to round up. Good day!" He spun, tracing a glowing circle in the ground, and phased through with Smith in tow.
Nightmare uncurled and punched the circle right as the magic faded. Nothing but solid earth. He bared his teeth, reared his arms up, and roared as he pounded furiously into the earth. The cavern shook and broke apart, dropping around Nightmare as he melted into the cracks.
With all the chaos brewing upside, it was relatively calm in the underground chamber, despite the heated tension between Wes and the Shadow King, or rather, the hero Apollo. When Wes uttered that name, the king stood petrified with a fixed glare. And though Wes sweated a bit, he remained calm in comparison.
"I don't want to believe it, but your face confirms it. Though you are not him in body and mind, you are his ambitions and anger personified. You are the darkness Apollo welled up inside himself. You are his grudges in physical form."
The king clenched his fist and tightened his scowl. "Damn you, Wendrake. You crafty devil…"
"I just don't understand why." He looked up at Wes, who wore a pitiful face. "You were a hero. You saved the world from a great evil, even if it was my ancestor. I don't understand why you would reject the glory and look upon us Pokémon as some disease. Maybe I can understand you holding a grudge against my ancestor. Afterall, he did try to take over the wor—"
"You think it's that simple?!"
Wes froze in horror. Apollo clutched his face, shaking in distress. He clenched his teeth so tightly, they could burst like glass. For once, he looked angry. Not the same anger he spat when talking about his family, but legitimate disgust and spite.
"Dougal…was an ambitious dreamer who wanted to meddle in forces beyond his understanding. The local nutjob wasting his time about otherworldly forces and astral signs. Useless, archaic crap that had no place in society. He always had his head in the clouds, hoping for something more."
Wes blinked. "You…knew him before the battle?"
"I can't say I was personal with him, but I've associated with him. In the beginning, no way paid mind to his ramblings. It was harmless, if not a bit annoying. But he got too deep into something told only in mythology: magus, or what you would call magic nowadays. A deposit of mysterious energy left behind by the gods when they made this world. No one knew it existed, so Dougal had all the time in the world to study it."
Apollo lifted his head, glaring with bloodshot eyes. "I was a simple man in my day. Nothing special, just a farmer tending to the fields like any other. I never got myself involved with Dougal's meddling. It would only end in disaster. And would you know it? I was right."
Wes narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"A mortal shouldn't delve in the power of gods. It's a sin, a punishable offense to the natural order. We were already creatures of formidable power. Times were different. Manipulate the elements, project our energy into a tangible form, etc. But it always followed the natural order of the world. Magus? Magus defied order. Gravity was a move among Psychic Pokémon, yet you can find even a Magikarp capable of twisting the natural pull of the world. Flames that turn to ice. Creating life from ground. Summoning weapons from matter. Turning lead into gold. Stuff you would hear from the gods, but not something anyone should be capable of doing."
Wes frowned. "I don't see what the problem is. Sure, in your time, that might have sounded strange, but we've grown into a healthier society."
"Healthier?" Apollo gestured to Arid, who was seemingly still unconscious. "You call that 'healthier'? A pirate who raids villages and destroys people's livelihoods for satiate their own greedy appetites? What about all the bandits in Mysto with access to magic, praying on those who can't match?"
"Uh, well…it's not that—"
"Magic was much simpler in my day, at the very least. Dougal wasn't able to do half the crap you're capable of." Apollo sneered. "But now I return to a world that has magic divided up into different categories. Storm, Ice, Fire, Weapon, Space, Time, Shade, Explosive; anything you can think of, anyone with a magic aura can do."
"What's your point?"
"When is it too much?!" Apollo yelled. "At what point will someone create a spell akin to that of the Idol of Origin? When will someone obtain the knowledge to erase the world with a snap of their fingers without the aid of the gods?"
"That won't happen—"
"Do you honestly believe that? Five hundred years ago, Pokémon couldn't perform spells as complex as this. It was impossible in their time. What's impossible now that won't be another hundred years? That's the hate I've carried with me ever since the gods forced me to wield the idol."
Wes' eyes widened. "What?"
Apollo sighed. "You still don't get it? I never cared for the glory! I told you, I wanted nothing to do with Dougal's sins. I wanted to distance myself away from him and be rid of all this magic. The gods said I was the only one capable of wielding the idol without losing my mind to its power. I refused, but Dougal didn't give me a choice. He went too deep into that power and terrorized everything I loved. I had no choice but to put him down and make sure he never spawns anymore heretics like him to carry on his legacy. And, wouldn't you know it, my efforts were in vain.
"What really drove me insane was how your family thrived and created the world you always wanted while I suffered for nothing. Dougal took everything away from me in his revenge. The people called him a monster, so he became one. I lost my livelihood in his revenge. That's the reason I took up using the idol, not because I'm some saint who wanted world peace, but because I wanted revenge! And yet, despite everything, his family lived on. All I got was empty praise, celebrated as a hero, while I had to deal with the stress I felt wielding that cursed relic."
"Apollo…" Wes mumbled.
"Do you know what I felt when I had to use that damn thing? I had the power of all the gods at my disposal. I didn't know what I was doing. I…I can't explain what happened to me. I felt…I felt…"
"You felt everyone's despair." Apollo paused, then glared over his shoulder. Arid had finally opened his eyes, glaring back at the possessed Scrafty. "The reason the idol gives reality bending power is because it utilizes the power of all the gods into one. Everything they've brought to the world at your fingertips. That also included Mesprit's ability to empathize with all living creatures. You felt everyone's despair amidst the fighting. And it drove you mad, didn't it?"
Wes' eyes widened. "What?"
Apollo narrowed his eyes. "How did you…"
Arid closed his eyes and sighed. "Call it a guess. After all, what else would drive a man so crazy that he wants to drag the world down with him?" He glared and answered, "Because he knows what that absolute pain feels likes."
Apollo turned around, held his hips, and shot the captain a sarcastic frown. "How astute of you, Captain Arid. It seems former henchmen of mine have been keeping close eyes on me lately."
Arid glared. "Your entire plan is a single-minded hate speech. Surely your shadow is self-aware enough to realize the pointlessness of this. What happens after you cover the world in darkness? I've met your heralds. They're not going to abide by the same logic no matter how loyal they are to you. They have their objectives—"
"All of which will be met within reason." Apollo turned away. "Though I desire to corrupt all Pokémon, I know that's impossible. That, however, is precisely why I leave my dear heralds in charge of this new world while I rest at the top. They will be granted to do as they please while I finally achieve peace."
"And what happens when a grudge achieves what it sought? Spirits can't cling to the world until unfinished business is resolved. What happens when your dream is completed?"
"I will not disappear in the end. I will not disappear until this world evolves into the world I seek."
Arid raised his brow. "Evolved?"
"In time, the direct bond to the shadows will transform the Pokémon into a new species. Eventually, life will go on as normal. Their monstrous states will mellow and they will return to a new normality, one free of despair and irrational thinking. Cold, logical order."
Wes grimaced. "That sounds like Hell."
"You won't experience that utopia regardless if I kill you or not." Apollo traced his finger across Wes' neck. "This is all necessary to extinguish the evolution of magic. Though you mock my claims, can you truly deny that we'll eventually develop a spell that can erase the world? It's only a matter of time before we strip our mortal coils and become gods. Gods…with mortal flaws. Fatal mortal flaws."
The defiant spirit within Wes burned in his chest, but the weight hanging above burrowed down on its flame. Though Wes wanted to deny his claims and prove him wrong, was there any to refute? Sure, it was an extreme justification, but that is how society operates. They went from a time where magic was despised, then secretly practiced, before becoming integrated into current society. You can't go anywhere without a spark of magic in the air. The very land they walk on adopted this change, becoming something more.
Dougal studied magic and went too deep. If he could do it, why couldn't anyone else? Curiosity was a dangerous tool. He should know, it was basically the Ravenfield…
Wes' heart stopped. His ears drooped over his face as a wave of realization slammed into him. He stared through his droopy ears, meeting Apollo's cold, unforgiving eyes. It all made sense now.
Apollo understood his feelings. "Now you see why I hate your family. Not only did Dougal take everything from me for his selfish desires, your family is the beginning of magic. I've been researching your lineage to find the truth. Though many magicians spent generations developing new spells, your family consistently developed new spells ever since the war. Though many branches of your family died off young, they kept developing magic. They are a family of creation. They are the embodiment of chaos. They undo the mortal coil so that we are one step farther from Arceus' light, seeking to become divine beings themselves. Frankly, no mortal should be trusted with the power of a god. I would know. I had to endure that burden for a whole week as I fought off both Dougal and the idol's temptation. Not even I am immune to its calling."
Wes hanged his head, staring somberly at the ground. "You fear my family's lineage…because we're actively trying to break down the walls between mortals and gods?"
Apollo glared. "Do you believe there's a single person on this Arceus-forsaken planet that wouldn't fall victim to the power of a god? No matter how pure one calls themselves, it'd only be a matter of time until they snap."
Wes bared his teeth. "I…I wouldn't…" But he couldn't say the words. He couldn't speak a lie to this intimidating figure. He couldn't utter the lie to himself.
Apollo chuckled sardonically. "That's what I thought. Not even you could handle that power. You would use it for your own selfish, devious purposes. All of you, even your little friends, wanted to use that power to gain something for themselves. That's all anyone wants. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
"You want the idol to spread your influence," Arid pointed out.
"I am already corrupted. There's no harm in a second turn." Apollo lifted his finger and lit up the tip, pointing it at Wes' head. "I can't afford to keep you or your brother alive. You two are the last blood Ravenfields. Once I kill you both, that stupid prophecy will never come to light. I'll make sure the Ravenfield name never cheats death again."
Wes' eyes widened. "Apollo…you're not a monster. You used to be a good man."
"I was never a good man. Just a man." The beam's light intensified in Wes' face and—
"But what is a man but a miserable pile of secrets?"
Apollo was suddenly lurched off the ground and slammed into the far wall. Wes shot his head up in a start, then fell to the floor as his restrains were slashed to pieces, as were Arid's. Wes scrambled to his feet and ran to Arid while he retrieved his gauntlet.
"At least, that's something I thought myself some time ago." Wes froze and looked up. He gawked as Morgan descended from the ceiling on a net of string. The Hypno glared at his downed prey while the corruption spread across his face. "I should know. I had nothing but secrets."
"Morgan!" Wes gasped.
Arid slid his gauntlet on and asked, "How did you get through? That barrier was inaccessible to anyone but him, wasn't it?"
Morgan landed, then rolled up his sleeves. "I'm an infamous assassin who carried out horrific murders back in the day from anywhere. Did you expect an extradimensional barrier to hold me back? Besides…" He flicked his fingers, spreading lines of string around himself. "I know him better than any other."
Apollo pushed a chuck of rock off himself and stood up, looking no worse for wear. He glared coldly at his former assassin. "Wendrake. Finally come to your senses?"
"That's Morgan Tenebris to you."
"Apparently not." Apollo fired a beam at him, but it reflected off Morgan's Grid Wall. "Just as crafty as before. Have you come to kill me?"
"Of course not." Morgan pulled on his right glove. "I'm a doctor. I don't kill my patients. I perform surgery on them." He flexed his fingers and sliced up a stone pillar behind him. "Some more intense than others."
Apollo scoffed. "How expectedly cocky."
"Morgan," Wes called out. "What are you doing?"
Morgan looked back and smiled. "Fulfilling a promise we made as a team, the original Team Ravenfield: protect you kids."
Wes gasped. "Morgan…"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not one to die easy." He glared and turned back to Apollo. "You and Arid need to get out of here. Round up the others and get to the surface. If this place is already collapsing now, it's going to get a whole lot worse in a moment."
"You will be fine, right?" Arid asked skeptically.
"You have my word as a doctor. I won't die in vain."
Wes bared his teeth, struggling to resist his orders, before ultimately caving in. "You better come back, or else!" He turned and ran. "Arid, get us out of here!"
Arid punched the ground and lifted both of them out of the chamber. The shadow dome had been torn to pieces, allowing them to flee. Once the sand pillar collapsed back into loose particles, it was just Apollo and Morgan.
Apollo relaxed his posture and narrowed his eyes. "You know I can't let you fulfil that promise."
Morgan glared. "It doesn't matter. I'm not just doing this for them. I'm doing this for Willow."
"Willow?" Apollo glared. That name…sounds familiar.
"You have something that belongs to us."
"Willow, Willow…ah! The Absol. I could've sworn I killed her." Apollo smirked. "How charming. Has she been alive this whole time? How selfish to bring her back to the living to grieve." He expected a snappy comeback, but Morgan remained dead silent. "What's wrong? Is your overwhelming anger bringing you back to your senses?"
Morgan steadied his glare and remained in a cool stance, hands inside his pockets while the string lightly swayed around him like rings. Apollo's composure diminished into irritation.
"Don't stand there acting cocky. I own you. You know for a fact fighting me will force those buried emotions back out of you, then you will once again embrace the darkness. You can hear its siren call speaking out to you. It's telling you to come home."
Morgan narrowed his gaze, remaining firmly rooted in place. By now, Apollo had lost what little patience he could muster. With a disgruntled sigh, he kicked off the floor and lunged at the treacherous assassin with his hands ablaze in black fire.
"If you intend to bore me to death, I won't abide. This foolish treachery of yours ends today! Take this!" Apollo swung his fist forward, but got his arm got in a tight web of string. He gasped as the threads coiled around his arm while Morgan glared coldly into his eyes.
Without a word, Morgan jumped back and pulled, ripping Apollo's arm to shreds. Apollo bared his teeth and jumped away as a geyser of blood rushed out. Shadows shot out, retrieved the broken flesh and bone, and seamlessly mended them back into a working arm.
Thread tightened around his ankle and heaved him into the air. Morgan tugged and swung on the string, whipping Apollo across the chamber and bashing him into the walls. Morgan increased the string count around Apollo's leg and dragged Apollo through the walls and ceiling.
Apollo tried to fire a spell off, but string coiled his fist and stitched it to his side. Morgan spun on his heel and twirled Apollo around the entire chamber, slicing up the pillars and tearing the room down with his body.
Morgan stopped and whipped his hand down, shooting Apollo straight into the ground with a devastating shockwave following. Morgan jumped over the exploding earth and landed perfectly on a collapsed pillar.
Apollo pulled himself up, dripping blood. His shadows mended the wounds to normal. He turned his glare up at the Hypno, who shroud himself in a curtain of string and the vibrant aura shimmering around him.
"Those modifications you made to Alex's body seem to have increased your regenerative abilities. Not even I can repair a limb if it was torn to pieces." Morgan clutched a handful of string and pulled until they were taut. "You once told me, Your Majesty, that embracing darkness turns you into the dark antithesis of your true nature. I do believe you're right, so let's put it to the test."
Apollo stood up and activated his black aura. A strong pressure exuded from him, clashing with the pressure coming from Morgan. The ground stressed and creaked at their feet. Rock shattered with a mere breeze. One aura illuminated the chamber, the other sucked the light away. The light that pierced through both light and dark was the red of their devilish eyes.
"Let's keep hacking you to pieces until you stay dead. As long as I don't tear anything major apart, I won't stop until Alex is freed from your clutches."
