Chapter 22
The shadow world shook.
Those within the realm froze as their world felt as if it were crumbling. "Our King! What is happening to our King!" demanded Bloodbore.
"We cannot reach to the mortal world, something is wrong! MY KING, PLEASE! ANSWER US! DO YOU NEED HELP!" called Jima.
"It's a lunar eclipse… as well as a spell." Came the voice of Sonic. "Those within the shadow world cannot escape. But at the same time, something is trying to break this barrier… our King has put up."
"Barrier?" asked Jima. "What Barrier?"
Sonic didn't know, but he felt it. "Right now, something is trapping us here, to prevent what is happening from occurring… I feel… it pulling me. Wanting to wrench myself from the shadows and into the mortal world. But our King is blocking it…"
"What do we do?" asked Bloodbore.
Sonic was silent, he didn't know. "Our King needs help, but we cannot do a thing. For we are here."
The shadows froze, just as another strong tremor broke through the world. They ached, and felt horrible pain throughout themselves, and yet when it stopped, they were weak and unable to move. "Why… why is he preventing us from leaving?" whispered Jima.
"He wouldn't do this without reason…" Bloodbore whispered. "We have to be ready for when we can leave. Our King will need us!"
"But… what if it is too late?" asked Jima. "We're feeling his pain, each and every time he suffers, but why does he suffer for our sake?"
No one had the answer, however they hoped that their King can be saved soon…
#
Meanwhile.
In an old abandoned underground monster shelter.
The legions gathered. Druids, witches and sorcerers were all awaiting for their fair share are the end of the deal. It took some work, but they managed to convince Metal Knight that the best use of the Shadow King's power belonged to those who knew magic. However, Metal Knight wanted the shadows for himself. "The legions will be enough to ensure our association is well financed for years to come. I wish to have many of the strong shadows for my own purposes. The rest can belong to you when I am finished, you have my word,"
"We are really trusting an old man hiding behind a tin can?" asked a witch. "It's bad enough we had to let him have first crack at the Shadow King!"
"It does not sit well with me either, but men of science are easy to please, they get their curiosity fix, and in the end we get what we desire!"
"If you believe such a thing…"
"More importantly, we have to discover this undead druid who has drained the power of most of our underlings! No one has come to say who this being is, when they try to speak his name, they freeze up or are unable to utter a word!"
The head witch, a beauty among the table turned her nose up at it. "Necromancers are so gross!" she muttered. "Using the dead like puppets, it's disgusting!"
"As well, isn't that a very high level to obtain in order to control the dead?" asked one of the Druids. "I have heard those who attempted to become one… only to be killed by those they summoned. They lacked the power to maintain control."
No one at the table went into that form of magic for those very reasons. Despite the power gained, it was a very tricky and a double-edged sword for those who fail to learn how to control their new found abilities. To this day, there have only been five within the legion. They don't tend to live very long after awaking this ability.
"Perhaps, but this druid should be dealt with. If he has such control that he takes down our legions, it won't be long until he comes for us!"
"Too little too late on that…"
The table snapped to its feet. Everyone armed with their best spell as they froze.
He stood there, lit a smoke!
"Wait… Zombieman? You are a hero… what is a hero doing here?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we got wind of your little plan and aim to stop it. Seems we are a little too late on that, but that doesn't mean we can't settle things here and now with you…"
"We?" the head sorcerer demanded.
Zombieman however appeared a little strong, he teetered as a powerful force left him. "Okay… just me then, cool…" he muttered.
"KILL HIM!"
They were barely able to finish their strongest chant, when shadow claws broke through from the darkness. Everyone in the room became pinned to the wall, Zombieman merely stood there and nodded to his work. "I was expecting a bit more of a fight but, oh well." He said as he finished his smoke. "Now, for the next part…" he appeared to take in the room, but shook his head. "Such a shame this couldn't be worked out. But all within this room do not deserve the power they possess. So, I got a choice for you. Surrender it now… for battle me. I strongly suggest you consider your options here. Since I single handedly stop the lot of you from doing a damn thing."
"This… this is impossible. How can you be this strong?" the lead sorcerer asked.
Zombieman sighed. "Not exactly my choice, but, I ate something from a dragon…"
The room fell silent.
"He… he knows all magic…" a witch whispered. "We… we stand no chance against him… even if we all combine our strengths…"
"Good to see you notice that. Okay, then I suppose this is the best I can do then." He snapped his fingers. The shadow claws began to extract their power and then, absorb into Zombieman! He began to glow until it all settled once more. He nodded with satisfaction to it all and dropped everyone from the wall.
They tried to call upon their magic again, but to no avail. "Our… our power!"
"Yeah… that's getting old…" he muttered. "Now, you are going to tell me something… I know my friend is in trouble… Metal Bat… Where the hell is he?"
They smirked.
"We won't tell you anything! After all, when all is said and done, what you took will be nothing compared to what is given to us as a reward!" the sorcerer laughed. In fact the whole room did until suddenly, black smoke began to fill the floor. Zombieman watched in horror as wisps jumped towards the mages, latching into their nose and mouths before their souls became ripped out! Their bodies dropped to the floor. It was a startling sight considering Bad was the only one who did this.
"Shit just got real… Hang on Bad, I'm on my way!" Zombieman announced.