An Ancient Evil! - Pt VI
The blast destroyed Marduk's golden throne.
Marduk hugged the ground as debris showered down upon him. He looked up at the stranger he thought he had killed and snarled angry. He got to his feet and composed himself. "That was a precious heirloom of over five thousands years!" he said.
"Time you went contemporary," Tommy said. "Life is precious, materialist goods are just things. Free Katrina now or face non-existence!"
Marduk laughed amused. "Your threats are meaningless to me," he said. "Do you really think I believe for a single moment that you would kill the man that stands before you to banish me back to the depths of Hell? You're a descendant of Pallentides and being of his blood you see life as a commodity worth the risk of preservation."
"If one dies in battle with honor the ultimate sin is nullified for the greater good. I am ready to kill Cobra Commander if it means trapping you here for all eternity. I will not allow you to escape to the surface world!"
"Again I see through your obvious bluff. Your heart is not as dark as you think it is. I can see into your soul. You're a man of good behind that shroud of evil you wear." He continued. "I'm curious of how you survived in the outside cavern. Tell me your secret."
"The secret stays with me," Tommy said.
"You're being selfish," Marduk said. "The eternal question of life's existence is a secret all living beings should know. You've been to the other side and come back. I sense a change in you as a result of that. Tell me what you saw."
"Obsession leads to madness," he said. "When I destroy you, only then will you learn the age old secret. Now free Katrina, then I will grant you your deepest wish."
Marduk looked at Katrina standing beside what was once his throne and then smirked thoughtfully. "You came back for her, didn't you? She must have really hit a cord with you when she tried to seduce you. She's damaged goods, you can have her. She has refused to be my queen when this new world becomes mine, so if you want her, the wench is yours. But you'll have to defeat me first. Property can only be transferred to another with the defeat of its owner, otherwise the transaction is void. But she's mine forever and you will NEVER take her away from me."
"Is that all you see Katrina as, property? She is, or was, a living being, but even in spirit, she deserves just as much respect as any other living being or creature."
Katrina started to cry. She had never heard such caring words from anyone before. Tommy noticed her tears. "I will free you, Katrina," he said. "I accept your challenge, Marduk, and I will not lose!"
"I knew you would accept my challenge. You're a man for which fighting is in his blood. You can't refuse a challenge when it is given to you."
"I didn't accept your challenge because of my heritage, I accepted because Katrina deserves better and a demon of your making deserves eternal hell without rest."
"Emotions are a weakness. A warrior should be cold and calculating in battle. I will have your soul and add it to my undead army when I defeat you. Then I will rise from this place to the world above and begin my conquest. And with you as my eternity servant, I will unstoppable!"
"I will never serve you!" Tommy said angry, shaking a fist.
"I underestimated you twice, but I will not be made a fool of a third time. Despite you and Pallentides are one, he will be of little help to you now. I have powers beyond this dimension and with them I control the underworld and its demonic essence. I WILL have your world and its people will tremble at the name of Marduk once more!"
"I will stop you! You are being of pure evil and I will send you back to the eternal darkness!"
Marduk gave a chuckle. "You seem awfully confident, but I know something you don't know. Pallentides designed this tomb not only to seal me away, but also to keep people out. And now it's time to release its guardian. Subdued by my powers, it's time to unleash its fury!"
Tommy looked at Katrina. But he thought she was the tomb's guardian?
There was the sound of brick against brick and debris began to drop from a ceremonial stone statue carved into a far wall. The statue came to life and walked out of the wall like a giant out of a fairy tale. It was nearly twenty meters in height and in its right hand was a large hammer. The statue was that of a Sumerian underworld guardian, but Tommy forgot which one it was. But he knew what it was, because he had read Dr. Dread's research notes. Its face and body was painted in bright red and yellow colours. Even after all this time, those colours were just as vibrate as they were as when they were painted on. It reminded him of one of those Egyptian god statues standing outside the temple of Abu-Simbu; it towered above him like a god!
"I don't know how you survived being crushed underneath tons of rubble in the main cavern, but this guardian will finish the job. I have plans to oversee before I take my place as Emperor of this new world."
But before Tommy could protest, the guardian raised its hammer and brought it down on the very spot Tommy once stood before doing a back flip out of the way.
He recited the chant to summon his new found powers Pallentides had given him and send an energy blast at the guardian's chest. He hit it directly in the centre, but to his shock and dismay, instead of creating damage, the blast was absorbed into an energy shield which protected the statue, adding to its already awesome strength.
It was then that he noticed something was happening with the guardian. Its chest started to glow at the very spot he had hit it with his energy blast, and within seconds, the blast was reflected back at him with ten times its original power.
The blast struck the ground just in front of Tommy and he was flung back several meters towards the entrance of the tomb, hitting the ground hard. He heard a snap and knew his ribs were broken. He hissed in pain, feeling them.
It was useless, he thought. He couldn't defeat this thing.
"Trust in your abilities, Tommy," he heard Pallentides say inside his mind. "The best way to defeat your enemy is to relay on one's own strengths. Do not warrant on the powers I have given you, they are merely a tool. A true warrior's power comes from within his own spirit. You can defeat this creature, Tommy. Believe in yourself and it can be so!"
"But how?" he said. "I've never fought anything like this before and I'm hurt. My body is failing me."
"Then I will heal you," Pallentides said.
Tommy Arashikage thought that was impossible, but suddenly a felt a wave of energy wash through his body and he took a deep breath as Pallentides spirit flowed through his veins. He was engulfed in a blinding light and when he emerged he was completely healed. His ribs were unbroken and all scars and cuts were completely gone! He looked at his body in disbelief! He was healed? "But how?" he wondered, asked.
"Everyone has the ability to heal themselves without the need for modern medicine. The spirit is the key. When the spirit is healed, the corporal body heals itself." Pallentides said. "Mankind has yet to realize this."
Marduk growled angry, and then extended a hand and used his power to pull the spirit of Pallentides out of Tommy's body. Tommy reacted as if he was being tugged by a string.
Pallentides spirit ripped from his body and Marduk trapped it in a spirit cage.
"We will have no more interference from you, Pallentides," Marduk said. "He fights alone!"
"He doesn't need me, Marduk," Pallentides said. "Tommy can defeat you without me."
"I beg to differ," he said. "It's obvious now that you brought him back from the dead."
"I brought him back because his life was not yet over, and that you murdered him prematurely. He will defeat you, Marduk, I have faith in his ability." He then turned to Tommy. "The power is yours, Tommy, use it wisely."
Tommy nodded.
He looked at the monster than stood before him; the situation reminded him of the Biblical story of David and Goliath. But he knew how that story turned out. He knew the only way to defeat this creature was to outwit it. Brutal strength would not do it.
But he had faith.
To be continued…