CHAPTER SEVEN: SHALL WE NOT AVENGE?

Amalek waved his hands, and a wave of ebony flame launched itself at the heroes. They staggered back under the heat, trying to withstand the pain of the flames. As they were weakened, Amalek cast another spell. Strange, glowing orbs hovered above their heads, and exploded in a dazzling flash. Bolts of energy rained from the orbs onto the heroes. Lemia created magic shields to defend them from the deadly energy bolts. While the shields took the brunt of the impact, some bolts still made it through, causing significant damage. Nevertheless, they still rose to their feet, ready for more.

Now Dyne and his friends went on the offensive. Ghaleon cast a spell, and a plasma beam launched itself at Amalek. It struck him full in the chest. Amalek barely registered the blow. Lemia followed up with her Power Drive spell, casting it on Mel. The beast-man charged forward and swung his axe in a mighty arc. But Amalek's sword was already drawn, and he parried almost effortlessly. Amalek lunged with unbelievable speed, and his blade cut deeply into Mel's left arm.

Dyne closed his eyes and chanted, "Red Dragon of Althena, hear my command! I summon your anger to defend the children of the Goddess and to destroy her enemies!"

Once again the image of The Red Dragon appeared, launching magic flame from the sky. Huge fireballs tore through the roof and slammed into Amalek with incredible force, knocking him back a few feet. Amalek looked at Dyne in amazement at the force of the spell.

The rest of the heroes took advantage of this and redoubled their efforts. Mel lashed out with his axe again, the mighty blade slamming into Amalek's shoulder, biting through his onyx armor. As Amalek howled with pain, Lemia cast her Blizzard spell. Massive shards of ice lashed out at Amalek, one of them grazing his cheek, leaving a huge bloody gash. Ghaleon cast a healing spell on Mel's arm, healing his wound, and launched his Inferno spell at Amalek. He winced in pain from the magic flames.

Dyne gave Amalek an arrogant smile. "Not as easy as you thought it would be, huh?"

Amalek laughed. "I'm just getting started!" He swung his broadsword in an arc, launching a powerful energy wave at Dyne. Dyne blocked with his shield, but the force sent him flying back. Dyne responded with a high-powered flame spell. Amalek blocked it with the blade, and cast another spell. A huge scorpion tail composed completely of energy formed behind him. The stinger on the end of the tail fired a powerful energy beam at Dyne, which he barely managed to dodge. The tail suddenly lunged at him. Dyne was still off-balance from the last attack, and the stinger grazed his left side, knocking him to the ground again.

The tail faded away, and Amalek lunged at Dyne with his sword. Blade met blade as Dyne parried with Althena's Sword. He leaped to his feet, ignoring the pain of his wound, and launched a series of attacks with his sword. Amalek, despite his greater size and strength, was forced to retreat as Dyne pressed his attack.

As Dyne continued to advance, confident of victory, he saw the worried look on Amalek's face turn into a sneer. Amalek had merely been holding back. Amalek now advanced, and it took all of Dyne's skill to defend himself.

But in his eagerness to defeat Dyne, Amalek had forgotten about his comrades. Mel struck at him from behind, Lemia's Power Drive spell doubling his already considerable strength. The blow sent Amalek stumbling to his knees, and Dyne prepared a finishing stroke. But Amalek blasted Dyne with his eye-beams, and knocked Mel across the room with a roundhouse kick. Ghaleon and Lemia combined their efforts in a Thunder Shot spell, but it had little effect.

Amalek glared at the four heroes sardonically. "If you are the best Althena can send against me, then I've already won!"

He cast another spell. A huge ball of energy formed in front of him, and streams of energy flowed from it. The energy streams turned into serpents, and from their mouths, they shot powerful magic bolts at the heroes with blinding speed. One struck Dyne right in the shoulder, leaving a bloody wound. Another struck Ghaleon in the leg. Lemia quickly created magic shields, which prevented more serious injuries. "Snakes," muttered Mel, staring at the magical serpents. "Why does it always have to be snakes?"

The magical shields were quickly weakened by the onslaught of the serpents, and eventually faded away. But the Serpent Fang spell faded away as well. Once more the heroes pressed forward, using every spell and every fighting technique they had ever learned. But no matter how powerful the spell or how serious the injury, Amalek showed no signs of weakening. His power seemed unlimited, and his spells were becoming more powerful and destructive.

Suddenly, Dyne remembered his dream. He remembered witnessing his defeat at Amalek's hand, the crimson rain destroying Lunar…and Althena mourning the devastation she was witnessing. No, Dyne swore, whatever happens to me, Amalek will not win! I won't let him destroy all that Althena has created!

He charged at Amalek once more with his sword, lashing out at the demigod with everything he had. His comrades, and even Amalek, were surprised at the look of pure rage and hate on Dyne's face. Again and again Dyne struck at Amalek, and this time Amalek truly was on the defensive. Seeing Amalek falter, Dyne put everything he had into a final blow. It sliced through Amalek's own blade, and bit deep into his armor as well. A thick bloody line appeared through the silver eye on Amalek's chest. As Amalek and the four heroes looked at the wound, the room became eerily silent.

Suddenly Amalek launched himself into the air, screaming with rage. Green tendrils of energy rocketed from his hands, wrapping themselves around Dyne. Immediately, Dyne felt searing pain all over his body. He struggled to break out, but the tendrils held him fast, and every movement was agony. The pain was so intense he thought he would pass out.

"We've got to get him out of there!" Ghaleon cried, launching a magic bolt at Amalek. Although the bolt did no damage, it broke Amalek's concentration on the spell. Dyne weakly staggered to his feet, his sword at the ready.

"Fools!" Amalek roared. "Do you not know when you are beaten? You cannot stand against my power! My time in the hell that was The Void has fueled my hate and anger to a limitless degree! I will crush you like the insects you are, and the people of Lunar and the dragons will follow. Then my master Zophar shall be freed from his prison, and all the universe shall be his!"

Something about Amalek's speech triggered something in Dyne's mind. The four heroes grouped together, and Dyne whispered his plan.

"Are ya sure about this?" Mel asked grimly.

"It's the only way," Lemia said.

Ghaleon agreed. "If that's what it takes to rid Lunar of this monstrosity, then it's fine with me."

"All right," Dyne said. "But you'll have to keep him busy until I can finish the spell."

Mel grinned. "Just leave it to us, kid."

The four heroes faced Amalek, smiling confidently. Amalek narrowed his eyes, and prepared another spell.

But Mel suddenly leaped into the air, his axe raised over his shoulders. As he landed, he brought his axe down on Amalek's chest with all his might. The axe slammed through the onyx armor, the force of the impact echoing through the entire room. Amalek howled in agony as blood cascaded from the wound. Lemia followed up with her Flame Bomb spell, and Ghaleon cast his Nitro Dagger. The extreme heat, followed by the searing cold, sapped Amalek of his strength, and he slumped to his knees, already weakened from the wound.

Finally, Dyne was ready. "Black Dragon of Althena, hear my command! I call upon you power to banish mine enemy to the void, to remain for all eternity!"

Amalek looked up in alarm, as the image of The Black Dragon began to form. The Dragon roared, and a massive back hole appeared behind Amalek. Amalek stared at the forming hole, and a look of panic spread across his face as he felt himself being pulled in. "No! No!" he cried. "Please! Anything but this! Kill me, if you must, but do not send me back into The Void! I beg of you!"

"Well, well, well," Ghaleon said with a sardonic smile. "How the mighty have fallen, eh?"

"Please!" Amalek howled. "I cannot spend another minute trapped in The Void! Please, kill me, but I cannot withstand any more of that living tomb!"

If it were anyone else, Dyne might have felt pity for Amalek. But Dyne felt only scorn. This fiend had taken innocent lives, helped destroy The Blue Star and tried to do the same to Lunar. He would grant Amalek the same mercy Amalek had granted his own victims - absolutely none.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Amalek struggled against the pull of the vortex, screaming like a maniac. But the pull was too strong, and at last it drew him in. With a final scream, Amalek disappeared within the vortex. The vortex disappeared as well, followed by the image of The Black Dragon.

The heroes looked at each other, sighing with relief. "It's over," Dyne said with a smile.

The Tower suddenly began to tremble violently. "We've got to get out of here before the Tower collapses!" Ghaleon cried. "Our battle with Amalek must have been too much of a strain on the Tower!"

"Do ya always have to state the obvious?" grumbled Mel.

Before Ghaleon could reply, the ceiling above them was blasted apart. From the huge hole, the four heroes could see the Dragons waiting for them. Each Dragon seized one of them in their paws, and soared away.

The Dragons deposited them as gently as possible on a nearby hill. As they unsteadily rose to their feet, they watched as the majestic Ebony Tower continued to tremble, as if it were a person who had just been stabbed. It rocked on its foundation, and collapsed to the ground.

The heroes watched solemnly. Dyne looked sadly at the ruins, a reminder of what had been, and what was a reminder of humanity's darkest hour. Yet there was a feeling of satisfaction. Those who had perished on The Blue Star at Amalek's hands were now avenged.

Above them, they watched as the crimson cloud started to fade, the sky once again shining a clear blue. The sun and The Blue Star shone side by side brightly above them, looking brighter than ever. Amalek's shadow was at last gone from this world.

Dyne smiled at his companions, the eager light of victory in their eyes. "Let's go home," he said with a grin.