Chapter 13
"Quite the power there." Koga flatly commented. His gaze fleeted over the hole in the wall where Steve burrowed through. Dust and smoke clouded over the area. The area was slowly crumbling apart.
Zoey sent him a sharp look before exploding from the ground. She speed-headed towards Koga. Koga stayed stationary. He stayed indifferent to her intimidation with both of his hands inside his pocket. His cold red eyes held no interest and held no fear.
Zoey bellowed as she stretched her arms at Koga. He smiled lopsidedly and merely jumped back. Zoey's pointed nails punctured the cemented ground. Zoey snarled, her hands stuck.
"You got faster kid."
"Shut up!"
Zoey crushed the ground and resumed attacking again. She swung her arms, left , right, left and right multiple times. Koga swayed and stepped back, foot after foot. Zoey was hitting anything but Koga. She was fast but he was faster.
"You may have become quicker." Koga uttered in between Zoey's attacks, completely evading without any effort.
"Stay still damn it!" Zoey grunted, frustrated by her wasted attacks.
"But you're upsettingly predictable." One more missed attack and Koga took hold of Zoey's arm, it got her surprised. He pulled her towards him and hit Zoey's face against his shoulder. Zoey shuddered back but Koga didn't let go yet. He pulled her again and kneed her abdomen. He tightened his grip on her arm and threw her up like a discus.
Zoey hit the metals sheets of the roofing and crashed to the ground. She let out a sharp cry.
The crowd went wild.
"KOGA! KOGA! KOGA!"
"Don't think speed is all there is in combat." Koga remarked. He tapped the cloth of his blazer that was stained with Zoey's blood. He made a 'tch' sound. "This will not do." He muttered to himself. He removed his blazer and dropped it on the ground. He loosened his tie.
"No matter how fast you get, if your opponent is always one step ahead. It's useless."
Zoey tottered up. Her wounds smoked again and she healed.
Koga was right. She was attacking recklessly, trying so hard to get a hit. It was lame. She needed to step her game up. But how exactly?
'There's gotta be more than speed and regeneration in this form.' Zoey thought. She then remembered how she finished up Johnny.
Koga cracked his neck. "Come." He stood low and defensively. "I know there is more under your sleeve." He coolly added. "It's what you're thinking right?"
The sea of red eyes cheered for Koga. He was surely someone not to be messed with. He was a veteran, formidable and always unfazed. She cussed. She was having a hard time and he was not even in his metamorphosis yet.
"Shit."
Koga noticed the glint in her eyes. Zoey was planning something. He just smirked.
"Try me kid."
Zoey exploded from the ground again and copied exactly what she tried to do the last time. Koga cocked an eyebrow. "Again?"
She dived harder than the previous. He stepped back again and her bullet dive missed as expected. However, Zoey made sure it would miss so her impact would create an explosion of dust. Dust from the impact created a smokescreen.
Koga used his arms to protect himself from the dust. He coughed. The dust barely made anything visible. He was about to jump back away from the cloud of dust all over him when a tiny flash in front of him caught his attention which was then followed by a sharp piercing noise.
Koga tilted his head to the left immediately, something grazed past his ear. He jumped back away from the dust cloud.
A fine cut trickled blood on his right ear.
The dust settled down revealing Zoey with her lengthened nail.
"A second later before I saw it and I would have been Johnny'd." Koga wiped the blood with his hand. "So you smoked the area so I couldn't see your attack." He continued. "Plus you used an attack I didn't expect." He smirked. "Commendable."
Zoey lengthened all her nails by a few inches. She was like holding ten kitchen knives in both hands. She growled. "I'll shred you to pieces!"
He raised an eyebrow. His tone grew darker. "Playtime ends now."
Zoey was about to pounce when a huge cold scaly arms locked her waist. It was no other than Steve. Of course a single blow wasn't enough to kill him, even though she poured as much strength as she could to bat him to the concrete wall. It wasn't just powerful enough to take him down.
He could have batted Koga but seeing how skilled he was, he would have evaded that too.
Steve was already in his devil form. His skin was dead gray and reptilian. His body became even more bulky. Against her warm body his flesh felt like steel – cold, thick and inhuman. He had no horns but rather he had two enormous black tusks growing out of his upper jaw. His barren head grew bony spines the lined crookedly along his back down to his one bulky and bony tail. His feet and hands were huge and calloused packed with thick reptilian claws.
Steve locked her tight. He was humongous compared to her. Zoey could feel her stomach and diaphragm crumble inside. How could she scream in pain when she couldn't even breathe? She gasped painfully from his unbearably painful body lock.
Zoey tried kicking his shin. She scratched his arms and banged her head against his jaw. Her knife-like nails did nothing against his skin. Nothing worked. Steve was a living tank. She could feel the crushing pressure breaking everything inside of her.
"THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR HUMILIATING ME!" Steve enraged. "I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET FOR THIS SHAMEFUL BETRAYAL!" He tightened the body lock even more and shook her wildly from side to side like a rag doll.
Zoey could feel every inch of her skin and flesh slowly rip apart. It was a very savage process.
The crowd roared in excitement.
Zoey blindly pointed her nails backwards. One desperate attempt and her nail managed to hit Steve's eye and he immediately threw her away. "BITCH!" Steve staggered back.
Zoey rolled on the ground and gasped. She craved air, finally free from his body lock. And before she could get up, Koga was already in front of her. He raised a foot and stomped. Zoey barely dodged the attack. She crawled back. Her wounds started to heal, but it was healing slower than before.
Koga stepped forward and showcased a series of kicks. A hit after hit and then a block, another hit and a block, Zoey managed to block a couple of hits but most got her. It wasn't as powerful as she expected them to be but they came to her in quick sequences. It was too fast that most were unavoidable. She crossed her arms in defense. She tried hardening her arms as it hit Koga's last kick. A shockwave was released from the collision. A wave of pain traveled all over her body. She flew back. What met her behind was Steve.
"Oh shit." She cussed.
She hit against Steve's chest. She could have dodged and crawled away from him but the pain from Koga's kick earlier crippled her. Why was she healing so slowly all of a sudden? Was she reaching her limit? Was her healing not able to keep up with the damage she'd been taking?
Steve smirked and grabbed her tail. With his huge arms, he raised her up and viciously slammed her to the ground, left and right, cracking and destroying the cement with each impact against her body. Zoey's body shuddered from the violence. Her flesh and bones splintered.
A spin and Steve threw her up where Koga was waiting. He had jumped earlier and was now already above waiting Zoey's brutally battered body.
He was also already in his devil form. He had red bright skin. His body was lean and muscular, unlike Steve and Johnny. He had two short horns growing at the side of his head. He had no claws, no scars and no spines. But instead he had red, thick and bony legs that looked like it could destroy the strongest steel with one kick.
He raised a leg.
Zoey was already half-dead from the beating. She had no idea of what was coming to her. Sad to say she was deeply overwhelmed by the two.
"Farewell kid."
She reached the peaked of her projectile and met Koga's overpowered kick against her back. Every bone in her body cracked so loudly that everyone in the stadium heard it. The remaining caged humans all cried in horror of what they were seeing. It was a one-sided merciless slaughtering.
Zoey cried out as she sped towards the ground at incredible speed like a shooting star. She crashed violently. She was bruised and torn beyond healing. Every centimeter of her skin was bleeding. Her insides were all shattered. She was bleeding both inside and out. All of her bones felt like they were powdered.
This was the first time Zoey felt such overwhelming pain.
Her rabid seizures turned into painful convulsions.
With everything of her shattered and fractured, Zoey couldn't believe she was still breathing.
She could faintly hear Koga landing on the ground. The blood in her eyes made her vision hazy. She shakily looked up and saw two figures – Koga and Steve without a doubt.
Her eyes scanned through the audience left to right. Her vision was getting worse, not only that it was getting hazier it was starting to darken. She was looking for the cage, the cage that both held Dawn and Kenny.
"Don't worry kid, we'll take care of your friends." She ignored Koga and continued searching. "They'll follow you soon after."
It was no good. Zoey wasn't healing anymore and her senses were all starting to shut down.
'Not now please.' She prayed. 'Give me more strength to fight. For the ones I care.'
Her red fur slowly disintegrated, her tail vanished. Her horns withdrew into nothingness and her nails turned back to normal. She had lost her metamorphosis. She was back to the old and weak Zoey right before she had entered this sick gymnasium filled with red-eyed maniacs.
'Please grant me more strength.'
Somehow, a part of Zoey wanted to die. After hearing what Will said about Marilyn, she wanted to meet her mother again and confirm it personally. However appealing that was, she couldn't leave Dawn and Kenny behind for such a selfish reason. And not now especially that she finally saw Kenny again.
She wanted to hug him. She missed him so much. His auburn hair had grown longer and it was now darker. His built was already sturdier than she remembered, but of course that would be logical – it's been ten years since she last saw him.
If only she could hug him one last time. Or even see him one last time.
But no matter how much she wanted not to die, it was impossible. She was dying and she definitely knew it.
'Please.' She prayed again. Tears streamed from her eyes. 'I just wanted to see him one last time.'
But before she could see the cage, Zoey's eyes finally closed. Reality was cruel. Her dying breaths were slowly running out.
The sea of red eyes went insane and jumped on their seat. They were all enjoying the carnage they all saw.
"Steve, you take care of those brats." Koga ordered. "I need to catch up to Master Will's meeting with Prince Lance." He reverted back to his normal form and went to get back his blazer. "This shouldn't have taken long."
"Got it." Steve replied. He also reverted back to normal.
"And also, don't forget the remaining humans." Koga added. He placed his blazer over his shoulder and started walking away.
The platform holding Dawn and Kenny's cage lowered down. He abruptly opened the cage of the two still unconscious individuals. "Now what shall we do with these two?"
"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!" The crowd thundered. "KILL THEM KILL THEM!"
Steve's sick and red eyes bounced in between Dawn and Kenny. "Now who do you want me to kill first!?" He asked the crowd which only replied an unintelligent uproar.
He studied the two for a bit. He scratched his head and reached inside the cage. "Guess I'll kill you first. I really hate girls."
He was about to grab Dawn's tiny wrist when a peculiar scent wafted over the whole gymnasium.
Koga, who was about to leave the stadium by the gymnasium door, even paused when he caught the scent that drifted in the air.
Everyone in the gymnasium slowly caught the whiff. It was faint, but it was there.
Koga quickly looked back and locked his eyes at the top-most area. The top door swung open revealing a young boy with purple locks who just got in. He was wearing a simple purple coat with blue faded jeans. His fist was balled tightly in deep resentment. His expression was cold and threatening. For someone who has been a veteran, Koga felt a chill ran down his spine for the longest time. Who would have thought that anyone other than Prince Lance was capable of making him feel that nightmarish fright.
And what surprised Koga were his eyes – one purple and the other was red.
"Cursed half-blood.." Koga uttered in great disbelief. "They exist?!"
Paul's scent intensified at what he was seeing. Paul gritted his teeth in anger. The atmosphere suddenly thinned that Koga found it hard to breathe. His knees buckled, his skin went pale and he felt all his strength surging away from him.
"What unbelievable pressure!" He uttered as he held the walls for support.
Paul let out a low menacing growl and glared at Steve.
"Don't you dare lay a single finger on her." He warned. "Touch her and I will kill you." He added as waves of devils from the crowd closer to him started dying one after another.
Chapter 13 End: Enters the Diablo