Chapter 13

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

It was another exchange, Bad felt the energy drain out of his body, as he began to teeter over. He fell to his knees and nearly hit the ground but was caught by Sonic before it happened. "My King, your sacrifice is commendable, but you must stop!" he pleaded.

"More… get more of those bastards here to me!" Bad demanded as he saw the latest group of Nagas slowly wake once more. But he noticed that it was becoming more difficult to do. Was he not strong enough?

The Nagas themselves could barely say awake from the whole ordeal. Many collapsed and passed out, however, they were alive. Jima returned a short time later, this time he and the Nagas carried the survivors out as Bad slowly recovered. "More, now!" he demanded.

"My King, you cannot…" Sonic began to stay.

"Are you denying me!"

"No… For the remaining Nagas in the village cannot be saved." Sonic peered down at one of the bodies. "Some of these have become difficult for you to save for their souls have already been harvested. You cannot revive them if the soul is already gone. Which is why I say they cannot be helped…"

Bad paused as he looked down at one of the bodies, he could somehow sense what Sonic was saying. It felt as if it were nothing more than a hallow shell. Those he saved he could still sense and felt something within, but the rest… they are cold and lifeless. "Damn it!" he cursed.

"I have never seen the King's power used like this before," said Galewind.

"Never in the years I have learned of the Shadow King has something like this occurred, let alone the King getting directly involved." Stated Hellfire.

Bad sighed aloud as he turned to the Ninjas. "Are there more of them?" he demanded.

"Mere handful of survivors." Sonic stated.

"Find them, but keep them where they are and notify me as soon as they are discovered. You three do that, I don't need the whole legion after them. But the rest of ya, look for survivors, there are children hiding and I have no doubt there are some still out there too scared to move, find them and take them to the castle." He ordered.

They merely bowed and left it at that.

Bad however kept staring at the fallen Nagas, those he couldn't save. He saw a few children among the dead, and his heartbreak. "Shit… SHIT!" he cursed aloud.

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

Bad froze as he heard the voice of Garou come from the sky. He landed but was started to how pissed he was. "Garou?" Bad asked.

"Why the hell did you leave without telling me? I WANTED TO HELP!" he demanded.

"Garou, not now…"

"YES NOW!" he protested. "You have no idea how things are done among the Others like this, you don't know what the proper channels are!" he stated, but then, he sneered. "You don't think I don't want to kill these bastards too!?"

Bad froze to his outburst. "Wait… what?!"

"They… are attacking a good friend of mine, Snek's been there for me ever since this whole mess started with my mother, he helped hide me when I needed to be hidden. He knew my secret safe all these years… this would have been the VERY LEAST I could do for him, to get revenge on those who harmed his family!" he protested. "You also don't realize… what you are doing to yourself… EVERYTHING has a price Bad, what you just did…"

"I took the souls of the dead and swapped them, what of it?!" Bad snapped back.

"You are making yourself weaker…" warned Garou. "It takes… incredible amount of energy, life force to do such a thing. You do realize that, don't you? And if this asshole of a druid is around and you are in a weakened state, don't you think he is anticipating this? Waiting for the moment to strike?" Garou asked as he looked down towards the fallen. "I know you want to try and save everyone, but the thing is, you can't. I've been there. Even with your great power Bad, you cannot save everyone. Not even the rest of this village. The druid already got to them, all we can do now is hunt him and make certain he doesn't take any more lives."

"We can do more than that… we have to do… have to…" Bad suddenly teetered. He collapsed into Garou's arms unable to move, he was out like a light…

#

"Bad? Can you hear me?"

Bad felt he was awake, somehow, and yet, where he ended up was a place unknown. All around him was nothing more than a dark void. "Whoa… what is this?" he asked aloud.

He suddenly jumped as Death appeared out of nowhere. Looking about, Bad tried to figure out where he was, where did Death take him. "I am sorry for this, I had to speak with you in private…"

"Just where the hell are we?"

Death looked about and nodded. "How do I explain this to you… this… is your capabilities and power." He explained.

Bad looked about. "Uh… huh…" he said with great uncertainty.

Death smiled for once. "This is the potential of what you possess. I have unlocked it for you, however you are not quite ready to access it all. I saw what you did… you really touched me there. You risked your own life to save that of others!"

"Risked?" he asked in a bewildered tone.

"Indeed, I heard Garou explain to you, the death exchange you performed… it requires life force to do, since you killed the criminals for the exchange it had no choice but to use that of the one who is performing the exchange… yours!" he explained. But the smile grew on the face of Death. "You have… an unlimited source of it. I wouldn't dare take you from this world for a selfless act! No, I wish to encourage you still I want you to continue to do what you were doing to save those who did not deserve to die. But I need to show you how to do it."

"Why not tell me out in the open?"

"Absolutely not!" Death protested. "If one other learned this method, do you have any idea the damage that could be done? Armies that could be raised and civilizations destroyed?"

He froze to the sudden outburst. It was that serious!

"I didn't know…"

"Which is why I will show you here and now, you are currently asleep, out cold from what you just did. But you need to be careful, Garou was also correct on the Druid being behind this. Had he known you were here and in a weakened state, he would have certainly struck you down and take what isn't his. I REFUSE to see that bastard with my power!"

His anger was terrifying. His eyes glowed a blood red as these sudden jagged fangs peered out from Death's mouth. If anything, he could turn into a monster if pushed far enough, but Bad wouldn't say a word about it. Instead, he merely nodded his head. "I'm ready to learn,"

Death settled himself and nodded. "Very good then. Now. Listen closely. You were nearly right on your attempt. It's better to keep the ones you are using to revive the dead, alive, the transfer occurs much easier that way. However, when you are exchanging the souls, you need to calm your mind, and let it happen natural. The pain you feel is when the exchange is done, you're trying to hold everything together. Your body is too tense and must relax when this occurs. You don't need to worry about those bastards trying to worm their way into a new body, your power won't allow it." He paused. "Let me do this…"

Bad suddenly gasped as he felt something push through his core. "What… the hell…" he said and then, the sensation stopped.

"That, dear child. Is what it should feel like. You weren't in pain, you merely felt a tightness, that's all you should feel. Understood?"

Bad grasped where he felt the odd sensation occur, but he did feel it and it was odd. "Wait, if this requires life force… and mine needs to be used…"

"You are a rare one, do you know that? The Shadow King is able to use life force from those around him. Think of all under your command, they are souls are they not? Whenever one of your warriors is stuck, they do not die, they merely vanish and repair themselves. They can cultivate what has been lost. So can you. I promise you, you will never die from the loss of life force, for one, it's too great within you. Second. I am the one who takes it if I wish to do so" Death said and gave him but a wink.

Bad almost felt sick to his stomach, he began to wonder if Death would ever let him die!

It's not a bad thing, however, he doesn't wish to ever outlive Zenko or his own son.

"So… what do I do now?"

Death paused. "This, cannot happen again. What needs to be done now is to unite those within this land to look out for each other. However, before that can happen. You need to stop this threat. More humans are coming this way as we speak. Those who have survived your onslaught will need to be dealt with as soon as possible. But Bad, know you are doing the right thing. There maybe others you can still save. The victims that these bastards have skinned, still have their souls… They can be saved still, and you could use the practice."

Suddenly, his eyes shot open. Bad sat up in a bed but found himself oddly alone. He no longer ached from the event of the night, but he was slow to stand up on to his own two feet. The room was massive, worthy of a king no less. Yet he wondered who put him in here?

He slowly inched his way out of the bed and stood up. He thought over what Death said and agreed. If there are those who can be saved, he will do what he can. After all, if the process won't kill him, and a life can be restored by the one who took it, there was no downside in his mind.

Making his way to the door, he opened it up and walked down the hall. He found the royal courtroom where the Nagas were speaking with the new King on the matter at hand. Yet, the moment Bad appeared, every conversation stopped. All of them dropped to the ground, bowing their heads to him.

But none said the greeting.

'Huh, when I don't hear it, it's kind of awkward walking into a room…' he thought to himself.

Snek's older brother Hydrin descended the throne, when he stood before Bad, he did just as everyone else his. His forehead even hit the ground as he offered his sincerest thanks. "You came… when you didn't have to, for it was not your fight. They aren't your people and yet…"

"Whoa, hold it." Bad demanded. "What the hell makes you think this ain't my fight?"

Hydrin slowly stood up once more. "Shadow King…"

"Listen and listen good. I'm a hero first. Heroes help people. That's why I am here, that's why I came. When I heard what happened and why… that's when I stopped being a hero… and became a true Shadow King. But this fight ain't done. More of 'em are coming and I am going to make certain I greet them personally!"

The Nagas whispered, worried about more humans coming. "Great Shadow King, how will you deal with the humans? Even if these ones are taken care of, more will come!" protested Hydrin.

"Not when I am through with them."