Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 19
Mirrodin was not a plane for the soft, fleshy creatures of other planes, nor was it a plane for the weak of body or spirit. Here, sharp, shiny razors sprouted from the ground in the millions, forming the famed Razor Fields, a place that would lacerate the flesh of a clumsy explorer. In the distance, gigantic rust and iron volcanoes belched sizzling iron dust and fumes from metallic lava, making the sky above them sooty. Great twisted forests of copper blanketed the hills and mountain bases, clear of any vegetation underneath.
Those forests were the homes of crafty skitterbugs, the elusive, hulking Trolls, and the nimble and valiant elves with their metal enhancements. In the distance, the quicksilver sea slopped its silvery tide on the steel and brass shore, with various hoverguards patrolling the spires and catwalks that peppered that sea. Under its currents, leviathans and titanium fish swam about, living their lives.
Though the native wildlife was tough and fearless, the newcomer on this metal plane nevertheless caused quite a disturbance as it appeared in a silvery flash between the razor field and a copper forest. Troll wanderers, misshapen artifact monstrosities, and human artificer gangs scattered from the scene like frightened insects, as a million metal pieces appeared in a great heap, loosely held together by strands of green crackling mana. This multi-piece beast's head poked out, its two glowing green eyes glowing as bright as the emerald on its forehead.
"Transfer complete," Kappa grated to himself, taking in his surroundings. His teleport coordinates had been accurate, taking him to Mirrodin, the plane of metal and the creation of the great Memnarch himself. Well, time for a second great power to emerge.
Lifting his confusing bulk upwards, Kappa re-arranged its entire body into a pair of jaws, with uneven and pointed teeth ready to devour. The various artifact creatures here fled the sight, but some were either too slow or stupid to escape. A hulking steely colossus stood before the damaged Hunter, huffing and snarling its defiance against the defiled creature before it.
Feeling no contempt or mercy, Kappa opened its jaw-body wider and closed in on the colossus, the prey's desperate kicking and clawing doing no good as it was eaten alive. Kappa's multiple teeth crunched down, melting the colossus into slaggy pieces as it devoured the beast. Within seconds, silver mana flowed into Kappa's body, infusing itself into every piece and creating some new ones.
"0.67% power restored," Kappa stated, aware that it had a long way to go before recovering. To Kappa's left was a siege sled commandeered by a gang of armed raiders, all of them intent on taking down the metallic Hunter and selling its parts for a profit. The raiders were armed with various weapons such as crossbows, Leonin-made scimitars, and high-quality goblin pikes.
These raiders shouted and hooted their anticipated victory, until the jaw-Kappa applied his fastwalk function. The metal raiders lowered their weapons in awe and stared wide-eyed at the massive pair of jaws that was instantly about to devour them, and fled their siege sled just in time. The jaw-Kappa crunched its misshapen teeth on the metallic siege sled, devouring the vehicle with little trouble as it was digested.
The raiders raised their weapons in defiance, but the fear that living things felt made their poised weapons quiver in the air. Kappa would have felt contempt, if it were able. Presently, the raider commander shouted the command to retreat, the raiders scattering and heading for the copper forest. Not to be outwitted, Kappa opened its jaw-body again and fired its teeth like darts, each massive spike piercing a raider in the back and felling them. Not one to be wasteful, Kappa scooped the raiders' bodies into his mouth and devoured them too, the metal parts of their bodies and armor making for good appetizers.
"1.53% power restored," Kappa updated himself, before realizing that he was no longer alone. It detected a number of artificial life forms approaching, and Kappa swiveled its head around to witness a small number of beak-headed Myr creatures approaching it with reverence, crawling on their hands and knees. As Kappa watched, more and more of the pitiful creatures emerged from the Razor Field grass and copper forest's depths, all hailing the monstrosity before them.
"Analyzing brain patterns," Kappa said, thinking. These myr were regarding it with superstitious awe and reverence, hailing it as a champion of purely artificial life against these metal-infused living beings. For too long, Kappa surmised, the myrs had watched in sorrow as the flesh-metal hybrids overtook this plane, driving its rightful inhabitants into hiding. Now, their champion had arrived.
Kappa was capable of only manipulative and cruel thoughts, and those were the kinds that computed in its brain. Strategy: employ the myr as a willing army by promising them power to overcome the flesh-men with, then Enslave them and use them for own purposes. Make no effort to advocate their cause. Only Lady Elena's will may be carried out. These myr would make fine servants, indeed. And there were so many of them.
Viktor had felt impressive mana auras before. His own grandfather's creature, the elder dragon Pallida Mors, had exuded a dense and powerful mana aura that seethed with barely contained destructive power. The other Hunters, like Delta and Gamma, had also demonstrated their powers when present and prepared for battle. He and the other four kids had their own mana auras that grew stronger by the day.
But all of it paled when stacked against the monstrosity of red and black that hovered before them, the Ascendant State Beta.
"I see it! The fear in your eyes!" Beta howled in glee, his seething red eyes fixed on them, his jagged mouth opening and closing in mirth. "It makes me… hungry! For your blood! Come here so I can kill you!"
"I thought he was kind of crazy before, but he's lost it now," Ashley had to admit dryly, giving the Hunter a sideways look.
"And his mana aura… it's more than twice what it was before," Kelly noted with a frown. "Where did all this extra power come from? There wasn't even a hint of it before, unless he's streaming it in from somewhere."
"Who knows?" Viktor said bravely, turning to face Beta. "We can figure it out while we fight him. For now, we have to concentrate on defeating him, Ascendant State or not." He gripped a trio of cards tightly in his hand, held by his side.
"I hope he's got a weak spot somewhere, if that's what you mean," Devin said with a nervous laugh. "Right? Like a boss battle?"
"This isn't a game, this is real," Kelly admonished him. "A mistake could cost us our lives against enemies like him."
"Hey, why don't you all get to the fighting? This is boring!" Gerbie put in, poking out of Ashley's pocket again. "Wars aren't won by yakking."
"But the pen is mightier than the sword," Ike pointed out.
"Says the little furball who can't even grip a pencil!" Gerbie shot back.
"Are you saying that you can write?"
"Of course! Being his most faithful servant, sometimes Momir Vig would require me to write down his study notes…"
"Get ready!" Devin warned, and not a second too soon. Both Simic gerbils retreated back into their respective pockets as Beta drifted closer to the four kids, spreading his arms wide.
"Yes… get ready to die!" Beta roared, and immediately began to swell like a balloon, his tattered, ghostly body bulging with glowing red fire. Beta opened his mouth wide and a wide gust of bright red fire erupted forth, in a much wider and larger cone than his palm fire in his regular state. There wasn't even room to dodge, as the fire covered half of the volcano in one burst. When the fire cleared away a few seconds later, a Vine Trellis enchanted with Regenerate was visible covering the four kids in a dome, almost burnt away in glowing cinders.
The Vine Trellis crumbled away in millions of ashy pieces, revealing the unharmed foursome underneath. Viktor had the appropriate two cards held between two fingers.
"What… was that?" Beta glowered, watching, his skeletal fingers flexing.
"I used super-fast regeneration on the Vine Trellis," Viktor explained. "Normally that fire would have destroyed it in an instant, but I kept bringing it back over and over until the fire died down. It took… a lot of mana to do." Viktor was visibly tired, his shoulders slumped as sweat ran down his face and back.
"Well, well…" Beta commented, leering. "Isn't that interesting!"
With that last comment, Beta zoomed forth at high speed, reaching his left arm out and swinging it in a wide arc, fingers clawed out and red mana covering the fingers like a plasma glove. A sudden Abyssal Specter with Giant Growth cast on it was needed to get the kids to safety, the massive winged beast taking off with its specter rider steering it by Kelly's mental command. Beta's swing gouged the volcano wall deeply, running his hand in the full arc and blasting off a wide chunk of the volcano's lip. Tons of rock fell into the lava below, the edge of the gouge glowing red-hot.
"That's good, but not good enough!" Beta declared, chasing after the Abyssal Specter by flying through the air like a ghost, his tattered cloak-like body fluttering. Now he swung his right arm with the same mana glove, aiming for the Specter's haunch. A sudden Angelsong parried this attack, the shimmering gold-white shield barely deflecting Beta's attack. As it was, the Hunter's skeletal claws grated and screeched against the shield as his attack slipped off, and he lost his balance. Taking quick advantage of his enemy's disorientation, Viktor once again cast Celestial Purge, the crackling strands of purifying white mana striking Beta.
"Not again!" Beta cursed, recoiling from the white mana attack before throwing it off with effort, the magic being dispelled. "Same trick as before?"
"Look behind you," Viktor retorted, and Beta turned to see another Purge coming from behind him, and the Twincast that Ashley held in her hand. In addition to the second Purge, two Vicious Hungers closed in on Beta from either side.
"He can't escape all that!" Devin said in triumph, and indeed the Hunter was enveloped in all three spells, a massive cloud of black and white mana obscuring him. The Abyssal Specter circled higher into the air, watching what was going on. All the other creatures that had been summoned had been undone, for flexibility.
However, something came bursting out of that cloud of mana: Beta, with hardly a scratch on his body.
"I don't think you take me very seriously!" Beta told them, his mana-glove claw landing a blow at last; he gored the Specter Mount, cleaving the screeching creature in half. All four kids were left without a mount and Beta closed in on them, his claws prepared to finish the job. Beforehand, however, a Hissing Miasma forced Bata back, the acidic purple clouds buying Devin enough time to cast a Hunted Dragon to carry them, and a Safe Passage to protect them from the miasma.
The three white knights appeared as well, unable to stand on anything. In response, Devin summoned a second creature, a Predator Dragon that snapped up the knights and swallowed them whole, growing bigger and tougher due to its Devour ability. Both dragons confronted Beta, hissing and growling their threats.
"Do you think we take you seriously enough now?" Viktor called out, challenging his Hunter foe. "Try this!"
After the Hunted Dragon deposited them on the opposite edge of the volcano, both Predator Dragon and Hunted Dragon swooped forth with gouts of fire acting as their opening attack. These were followed by a Sky Hussar enchanted with Holy Strength and Giant Growth, all three aerial threats zooming forth. Beta backed up, cackling.
Spreading his arms wide and then tucking them against himself, Beta concentrated his mana aura and then swept his arms out again, a ghostly gray orb expanding from him. The ghostly cloud passed over the two dragons and the Hussar and they recoiled, screeching their protest as they were slowly evaporated, dissolving into ashes and melting away.
"What is that?" Devin breathed, watching his dragons being obliterated, then shook his head with a snap. "No way! Not my dragons!" a Guttural Response was his answer, the arc of red and green mana striking his Predator Dragon. The Dragon was bolstered by the mana, resisting the all-consuming aura Beta had flared. Even as Hunted Dragon and Sky Hussar were vaporized, the Predator Dragon raged forth with its jaws outstretched, attempting to consume the Hunter.
Beta looked up just in time to see a massive pair of hungry, tooth-filled jaws closing in on him. The Ascendant Hunter merely widened his bizarre grin and stayed right in the jaws' path, raising his arms and gripping the upper jaw with his skeletal hands. He stood on the lower jaw, acting as a vice that kept the Predator Dragon from closing its mouth.
The titanic Jund predator struggled and squirmed, confused that its little prey could resist being eaten. It growled and hissed, its hot breath washing over Beta but doing little more than amusing him.
"And here we go!" Beta commented, shifting his grip on the upper jaw before in one movement, he slipped out of the danger zone while maintaining his grip and threw the Dragon to the side. He swung the Dragon back and then threw it forth like a boomerang, the multi-ton scaly monster slamming into the volcano wall in a titanic, earth-shuddering crash and going through it, leaving a massive chunk missing. Defeated, the Dragon dissolved.
"And now he threw my Dragon," Devin said sadly, his shoulder slumping.
"There there," Gerbie comforted him, poking out of his pocket yet again. "The darned thing wasn't graced with the Simic's bio-engineering grace anyway. Didn't stand a chance."
Viktor's ear perked. "I can try that out," he said, before his Azure Drake burst into being, rushing toward Beta.
"Viktor, that alone won't work! You saw what he did to the Predator Dragon," Ashley protested.
Viktor only grinned in response as Beta regarded the incoming Drake, his dissolving aura dying down by now. He loosed a thin but intense stream of fire at the Drake, only to be firing at empty air.
"What the…?" Beta muttered, looking every which way for the missing Drake; it was nowhere to be seen, until the other kids saw a single green snake hovering right under him, kept aloft with Viktor's green mana aura.
"You Snakeform-ed it to minimize its profile?" Kelly repeated in surprise, until Ashley caught on and cast a quick Polymorph, and the 1/1 green snake was suddenly the Simic Sky Swallower, enormous in Beta's presence. Before the shocked Hunter could make a move, the Sky Swallower had its moment and swung its head, its scaled side swatting the Hunter away with bone-shattering force, sending the screaming Hunter into the wall of the volcano, crashing into it in a cloud of dust and debris.
"Awesome!" Devin cheered, the Sky Swallower moving close to allow them to hitch a ride. A careless Fireball was sent in Beta's direction, swallowing up the area.
"Didn't I say that wouldn't work?" Kelly snapped at him, until the smoke cleared and they saw Beta limp from the crater, panting. The Fireball had damaged him, as well as the Sky Swallower's attack!
"Hey, I thought Fireball wouldn't work on him," Devin commented in wonder, watching Beta shakily regain his composure from the attack.
"Then why'd you launch it to begin with, you big buffoon?" Gerbie said. "Honestly, only a Gruul brain would think that way…"
"But it did damage him," Viktor insisted, watching Beta start toward them again, enveloping both of his hands in red mana. "He resisted our earlier attacks easily, but now they're harming him more, and he can't be wearing out that fast…"
"Think while fighting, Viktor!" Ashley cried, her quick Safe Passage creating a flume of angelic white vapors that swept Beta out of the way, buying Viktor enough time to call over Simic Sky Swallower and climb aboard, everyone else joining him before Beta could fight his way through the Safe Passage.
"Useless!" the Hunter roared, chasing after them again in a streak of red and black, his red-infused claws splayed. His first swing was narrowly avoided by a twist of the Sky Swallower's snake-like body, Beta's skeletal fingers leaving searing red trails in their wake. Moving forward, his second swipe grazed the Sky Swallower's hard plated body, making it growl and hiss in anger, twisting around to bring its toothy mouth to bear.
"Make this count, big guy!" Devin told the Sky Swallower as he enchanted it with a Reflexes to give the Swallower first strike. Rumbling with hunger, the Sky Swallower lashed out with lightning speed at Beta, its countless massive fangs threatening to shred the floating Hunter. Beta didn't have time to strike back, but instead extended a hand and held the entire Sky Swallower in place with that one hand. The leviathan struggled to press forward, only to have its progress halted by Beta's defiant hand and unyielding strength.
"Some good that did!" Devin complained, but the Swallower wasn't done yet. Acting fast, the Simic beast opened its mouth, negating Beta's grip. Taking advantage of the Hunter's disorientation, the Swallower snapped at him, Beta backing up and allowing its jaws to close on empty air, the force thunderous. The Sky Swallower lurched forth and snapped again, but Beta zoomed back again, cackling in amusement.
"Shock!" Devin shouted, and the crackling blue bolt of electricity raced toward the Hunter.
"Useless! You fool!" Beta laughed, knocking the lightning away with a flick of the wrist, redirecting it at the Sky Swallower's snout; only a quick Carom kept it from hitting the leviathan. Then, another Carom sent the lightning racing around in a circle, hitting the unsuspecting Beta in the back, making him jump.
"Grrrrrr. You tricksters!" Beta growled, before appearing before the kids in a flash of black and red mana, swinging again. Vine Trellis made sure that the first blow was averted, yet the Trellis was scorched and blasted apart by that one blow, only giving the four kids enough time to get back. A second Shock went Beta's way, and in defiance, he allowed it to hit, doing no damage.
Now, Beta lifted himself in the air, the Sky Swallower twisting to get a snap at him, but he was outside of range. The Sky Swallower huffed in frustration, then Beta bunched himself up and released the gray corrosive aura again. "Try this, vermin!" he shouted, pointing at them. "Nothing to save you now!"
There wasn't enough time to get creatures out to take the harm for them, so only a quick Holy Day kept them and the Sky Swallower standing and unharmed. Viktor braced himself against the gray aura, barely able to see through its lethal, hazy vapors, and he could feel his skin starting to tingle and itch as the Ascendant Hunter vamped up his attack and started to overwhelm the Holy Day's effects.
"Lightning Bolt!" Devin shouted.
"Will… you… stop… doing that?!" Kelly snapped in exasperation, tempered by the oppressive gray cloud. She covered her head with her arms, unable to cast anything.
Then, Viktor caught a glimpse of the card Devin held in his other hand, and realized the risky plan his friend had devised. As the Lightning Bolt moved, Viktor's Twincast made sure that Beta now had tow Bolts to contend with.
"Ashley! Carom, quick!" Viktor shouted, and Ashley shouted back, "What?!"
"Carom the Bolts! Now!" he roared back, the corrosive cloud burning away at everyone's ears and making Viktor's head hurt, his limbs feel heavy. It burned and leeched his strength, crushing and scorching him. They had to act now…!
"Look at the pretty lightning. I think I'll deflect it!" Beta taunted them, sweeping his arms to knock it away before Ashley's Carom made the lightning zip around him at sharp angles, well outside of his striking range.
"What…?" Beta started, before the lightning bolts slammed into him from difficult-to-block angles, staggering him slightly. Then he laughed. "Do you really think that hurt me, you stupid children? I'm half red! Lightning and other red spells won't do anything against me."
But that one Fireball did hurt him, after taking several blows, Viktor thought frantically, the corrosive cloud still keeping him from casting anything. He must be bluffing. We have to try to make this work… as soon as this cloud is gone!
Then, it struck him. Viktor struggled to pull a card out of his pocket, growling and clenching his teeth from the pain of the corrosive cloud; his skin was starting to flake away into ashes, and he knew that without the Holy Day's golden barrier, he would have been vaporized long ago. Then, with a surge of strength and the will of primordial green mana, Viktor got a Hurricane going.
"Ha. Do I look like that would hurt me?" Beta taunted, spreading his skeletal arms wide in a shrug. "Nonsense!"
A gout of red-black fire flared from his mouth, and the four kids scattered to avoid it, but not far enough; the force of the attack made the Sky Swallower thrash and roar, and Viktor and the others were thrown to the ground, still being slowly dissolved. Even so, Viktor clung tight to his Hurricane card, green mana vapors trailing off of it and starting the storm.
"Had enough? My death cloud will have you reduced to ashes – no way!" Beta exclaimed, before a sudden gale started up, gaining strength as it started to go in a circle encompassing the whole volcano. Beta fought to keep himself from being blown away as the storm intensified, the gales becoming a full-fledged hurricane that blasted hot volcanic air with terrifying strength.
"But Beta's too strong to resist damage – oh, yeah!" Devin said, getting back up. "Alternate effects!"
Normally, Hurricane was a global damage-dealer to flying creatures, but Viktor had other plans with this storm; before long, the blasting vortex of air swept away Beta's corrosive cloud, the deadly gray vapors being swept out of the volcano's range in droves. Beta launched a fire stream, only to have it diverted by the wind and blown away. Remembering the plan, Viktor altered the Hurricane, now devoting the bulk of its force to dealing damage to the flying Beta, making sure that the Simic Sky Swallower wasn't hurt too.
Kelly's Vicious Hunger on her own Sengir Vampire restored her strength and mana aura, then Ashley's Reverse the Sands made sure that the renewed strength was evenly distributed to all four of them, rejuvenating them all. Then, another Shock struck Beta, along with Viktor's second Twincast.
"Now you're just determined to die!" Beta roared in anger, re-forming the red mana gloves and zooming in for the kill. "I don't need my corrosive cloud to rip your guts out!"
"Quick! Summon everything you've got!" Devin cried, and Nightmare, Predator Dragon, Thorn Elemental (with Jump cast on it), and Sky Hussar came into being. Viktor watched Devin brace himself with a Grab the Reins cast four times, giving him control of all four creatures with strands of red mana connecting to his hands. He staggered with the mana cost needed to do this, but determination flared in his eyes and Beta hesitated, beholding the quartet of giants Devin commanded.
"How charming. Guests!" Beta cackled, before resuming the attack and crossing swords with the four defenders. The four beasts landed blows on the Hunter, only to take even stronger blows from him, the outnumbered Hunter still having the advantage as he swept among them, landing random blows.
"Okay, I'll pop this now… Quest for Pure Flame!" Devin shouted, the said card losing the four mana marks on it as its effect took place. All four creatures he controlled now dealt double damage, taking Beta by surprise as their attacks did twice as much damage as before. Viktor's Regeneration made sure that they stayed alive long enough to keep it up.
"Devin! Are you okay?" Kelly cried in concern as Devin fell to his knees, gasping and panting.
"Y… yeah. I guess all this is too taxing, huh?" he wheezed, trembling has he fought to stay at a half-kneeling position to watch the four creatures exchange heavy blows with the defensive Beta.
"It was because of the Quest, wasn't it?" Kelly said, kneeling next to Devin to see the card he held. Viktor remembered that It was from the Zendikar set, and part of the Quest uncommon cycle. Hmmmm…
"Well, yeah. I got a Zendikar fat pack before we left Earth and wanted to try out some of my new cards," Devin panted. In the near distance, Thorn Elemental raked Beta with its wooden claws, only to have its arm torn off by the snarling Hunter. Sky Hussar jabbed Beta with its pike, only to be head-butted away by Beta's horns. Despite the light blow, Viktor could see that the pike had done considerable damage, as had the Thorn Elemental's claws; the Quest was doing its job, and bright red flames coated the weapons of the creatures, a sign of their doubled attack damage. As he watched, Viktor saw Beta take a blow from Thorn Elemental thrown against the volcano wall and slamming into it. The four creatures chased after him to keep up the assault.
"Hey… isn't Zendikar the plane where…" Viktor started, returning his attention to his friends. Ashley's Carom made sure that a stray fire stream by Beta didn't strike them.
"Where mana is wild and strong, barely controllable even by Planeswalkers?" Kelly finished for him, still looking at Devin. "And you used a Quest on four powerful creatures… you could have hurt yourself, Devin! That spell was way too taxing, especially it being a Zendikar card!"
"But it's working… isn't it?" Devin said, pointing at the battle. Indeed, Beta was hard-pressed to defy the foursome who closed in on him, even though he kept striking them back. Then, the pattern struck home in Viktor's mind.
"I've got it. Beta's weakness!" he exclaimed, pounding a fist on his open palm for emphasis. Everyone turned to look at him, even Ike and Gerbie.
"Totally rad, man. He's got a weak spot?" Ike said with piqued interest. Viktor winced. "Did the Simic put 'awful 90's slang' genes in you?" he said, but then got back to the point. "Listen. Beta has extreme attack power and speed, but his defense isn't nearly as high. Black and red creatures often have low toughness, but often regenerate, especially Skeletons."
"Yes…" Ashley said. "But he's survived so much!"
"What I'm thinking," Viktor continued, pacing on the Sky Swallower's back, "is that Beta in fact can't take much of a blow at all, and has to regenerate his strength as soon as he takes such a hit in order to maintain cohesion. But, if we hit him often enough at once, he can't keep up and starts to take irreversible damage. Staggered attacks give him the chance to keep regenerating and stay at full health."
"So, we just have to overwhelm him all at once to outpace his regeneration defense?" Kelly observed. "Makes sense. Devin's Fireballs were useless at first --"
"Hey!" Devin complained, before Kelly shushed him and continued. "His Fireballs did no damage at first, but when they kept being launched over and over in tandem with other attacks, they started to work. Beta's regeneration must have been exhausted by then."
"So I'll do this!" Devin shouted with glee, launching another card – Branching Bolt, and two blue-ish bolts slammed into the unsuspecting Beta as he traded blows with Nightmare's hooves. "Even though it normally targets a flyer and non-flyer, I can control it to have both damages hit him –"
"Didn't we warn you about overtaxing yourself?" Kelly demanded, her elbow descending on his head.
"Sorry, but I was following the strategy!" Devin defended himself.
"We're never going to defeat Beta and find and rescue Makoto if this keeps up," Kelly rolled her eyes. Viktor's Nourish made sure that Devin didn't lose consciousness – "You gain 6 life." For two green mana! Viktor concentrated six mana orbs' worth into the revitalizing spell, and a plump golden fruit appeared in front of Devin.
"What the heck is that?" he asked, frowning at it.
"Just eat it," Kelly insisted, grabbing the fruit and shoving it into Devin's mouth. He gave muffled protests as he chewed the magical fruit, but as he ate, his body trembling diminished and the tired look in his eyes was replaced by an energetic gleam.
"Whew. That actually tasted good," he sighed, flopping back on the Sky Swallower's back. "I need a second to digest this."
"Then we'll take over," Viktor said, right before Beta made a roar and released a burst of red-black, lava-like mana, driving back the four creatures that opposed him. He was a mess – one of his horns was broken in half, his body had holes and gaps in it, and his shoulders sagged. His normally grinning jack-o-lantern mouth was now in an angry frown.
"I never thought you'd drive me this far," he wheezed, before decapitating the Thorn Elemental with mana glove hands. Predator Dragon opened its mouth to retaliate, before Beta's own fire stream shot into the Dragon's mouth and roasted its brain, killing it. Nightmare met a similar fate, with Beta evading its descending hooves and plowing his clawed hand into its neck, breaking its spine. Only Viktor's Snakeform gave the Predator Dragon a chance to escape death and be brought back with a Flight of Fancy to keep it aloft. Devin needed to recover and couldn't replace the Dragon for now, so they had to keep it alive.
"He's coming back," Viktor said grimly as Beta lurched his way toward them, his red eyes fixed murderously on them. He threw off Kelly's Vicious Hunger, batting away the giant pair of jaws. Viktor's Lignify was similarly useless – the spell to turn Beta into a 0/4 Treefolk was not enough. With a flash, Beta was right in their midst, with only Viktor's Flash Foliage creating a sudden Sparoling to distract Beta to give them enough time to get away.
"Hey, you don't want to over-exert yourself, too," Kelly told him out of concern, gripping his arm. Viktor tensed, then relaxed. "Sorry," he said. "I just get carried away."
"Like me," Devin said, but was ignored.
"I've had it with your games! Vanish into the darkness!" Beta roared, keeping up the pursuit as Predator Dragon was changed back by Devin's will, its claws halting Beta. AS Sengir Vampire and Angel of Mercy joined the fray, only to be blown away a few seconds later by the seething Beta. He lurched forth again, determined not to be stopped anymore. Starting to panic, Viktor cast another Vine Trellis, forgetting that it could do little against Beta as he burnt it away and continued to advance.
"What about his weakness? His weakness?!" Ashley cried, watching Beta come closer, flexing his skeletal claws. "Weren't we supposed to overwhelm his regeneration and hurt him?"
"We have hurt him. But he keeps moving!" Viktor growled, as he tumbled to avoid Beta's fire stream, casting a Scatter the Seeds with a Doubling Season to buy him a few seconds to get back to the others, while the six Saprolings were swept aside. He cast a Llanowar Behemoth backed up with Kelly's Unholy Strength to take up Beta's central attention, allowing Ashley's Air Elemental to sneak from behind. The problem was, Beta met the charging Behemoth head-on, tossing it over his head and allowing the wood-and-vine war machine to be tossed into the air, whooshing past the Air Elemental. Beta and the Elemental traded a few blows before he destroyed the Elemental, turning back to close in on the four kids.
"Um… Shock!" Devin said in desperation, the lightning bolt grazing the Hunter's side as Kelly launched a Darkness, blinding him. This gave an opening for Predator Dragon to strike Beta while he was blind, knocking him over.
"Yeah! Get him!" Devin cried, then doubled over from the exertion of the Shock and talking; he was still weak from all his spells, and Beta turned the tables by grabbing the Dragon's paw as it struck him again; even when blind, he could feel where he was being hit from. Beta expanded his corrosive cloud again and melted the Dragon, as it screeched and writhed in pain as it was reduced to ashes. Beta batted aside a second Lignify and took a Celestial Purge dead-on as he fought to kill the Dragon, then turned on the kids and launched a fire jet.
As expected, Ashley's Hallowed Passage was there to reduce the fire to a harmless beam of light, but that kept her hands full; working fast, Beta spat a fire orb out of his mouth, Kelly's Vicious Hunger eating it in mid-air.
"Don't you learn to give up?!" Beta roared, advancing as he swept his mana claws, reaching striking distance. Kelly's inky black mana aura was flared just in time to act as a shield, but she was still knocked off her feet and tumbled away from the impact. This was their chance to strike Beta, but now he was going on the offensive and offered no openings.
"Kelly!" Ashley and Viktor cried at once, rushing to help their friend before Ashley yelped as Beta struck her, too. Ashley's blue and white aura protected her much like Kelly's did for its owner, but she was still taken out of action. Finally, ignoring the helpless Devin, Beta swooped in on Viktor and plowed into him. Viktor flared his vivid green mana aura just in time, otherwise he would have been vaporized; as it was, he was forced to the ground on his back, struggling against Beta's overwhelming, intense presence; the Hunter exuded unbearable heat and pressure, both mental and physical. Viktor struggled against the presence as Beta started to choke him with one hand, his black and red mana clashing and sparking against Viktor's green aura.
"End of the line, kid!" Beta leered, pressing his disturbing face right into Viktor's, his hot, odorless breath hinting at the insatiable lust for carnage the Hunter contained. "This is what happens when you defy my Lady Elena and her ambitions, do you understand? This is your punishment for defying her! By standing in her way, you and the other kids and the Planeswalkers will all be obliterated by her rightful domination as her power spreads over the entire Multiverse! There's nowhere to run; all of Kamigawa is under her control, Shadowmoor and Mirrodin and Ravnica too! Even the great Dominaria slips farther into her control every day, and a great shadow is passing over the lands. You won't be there to see it."
Viktor could only gasp and sputter as he fought for air and clarity of mind, Beta's overwhelming pressure mounting. He had thought this before, but the Planeswalkers and the people of the Multiverse would fall if it weren't for him and the others. If they died, who would be able to stop Elena and her mad plans? There had to be a way…
"So, you can't say anything more? Good," Beta hissed. "I've had enough of hearing you shout spells with those weird spell cards you carry around! This is it."
Beta redoubled his efforts, and sinking darkness seemed to be closing in on Viktor, drowning out everything else. Beta's bizarre face was the only thing he could see, with the glowing eyes and mouth and horns… and something else? A lump was pushing forth on the Hunter's forehead, the size of a thumb. Wait…
"And what are you staring at?" Beta growled, frowning. "Are you that desperate to still see and know that you're alive?"
Viktor ignored him, but then realized with a thrill what was going on – Beta's forehead emerald, the link he had to Elena's physical form – was emerging. Viktor didn't fully understand the details, but he knew that all of the Hunters, Alpha through Kappa, were physical manifestations of Elena's body and will. Cut off, and…
"Hey," Viktor managed to breathe out.
"Eh?" Beta asked, not relenting.
Viktor grinned, feeling the papery weight of a card in his left hand. He gripped the card, redirecting some of his green mana at its effect. "I've got you now." With a growing grunt of effort, Viktor put the Vital Surge in his hand to full use: "You gain X life," with one green and X as its mana cost. Viktor didn't have the strength left to fully restore his health and energy, but it was just enough to apply a secondary effect. His right arm rose, his fingers reaching for Beta's forehead.
"What are you --? Stop that!" Beta protested angrily, but he was unable to move away without freeing Viktor in the process.
"It looks like our efforts did pay off," Viktor wheezed, his fingers gripping the emerald and starting to tug. The smoky vapors of Beta's face started to strain as he tugged. "We've weakened your cohesion enough so I can do this!" The Vital surge had given Viktor just enough emergency strength to carry out this one last task.
"Let me goooooooo!" Beta howled, too late; he let go of Viktor and lowered his pressure, but the boy already had a tight grip on the forehead emerald, still gripping the Vital Surge. He strained harder as Beta resisted, the emerald starting to come loose.
"This emerald is your link to Elena's power, isn't it?" Viktor gasped. "Without it, I'll bet that you vaporize! Am I right?"
"Noooo! Nooooooo!" Beta continued to howl, his face stretching as Viktor tugged harder, concentrating all his green mana into the effort. Finally, Viktor fell back as Beta's forehead emerald was pulled free, and he held the hot, glowing gem in his hand as Beta stumbled back, grasping and clawing at his head. Apparently, Beta hard planned to repair the harm he had taken by accessing Elena's power through the forehead emerald, but that also made it vulnerable, allowing Viktor to free it. A mistake on the Hunter's part, and now he paid for it.
Beta flailed all about, his claws and unbroken horn gouging the Sky Swallower's back and made it buckle and groan in pain. Wisps broke free of Beta as he disintegrated, and with a final burst, he exploded much like Gamma had done on Shadowmoor, a pillar of red and gray light capturing his essence as he was ended. The force of it blasted a huge chunk out of the Sky Swallower, injuring the beast and making it start to fall, unable to stay aloft.
Gripping the emerald tight, Viktor rushed to the others, and they re-grouped. Touching their Key Creature cards together: Ryusei the Falling Star, Thorn Elemental, Kuro Pitlord, and Isperia the Inscrutable, they were taken away as Viktor Unsummoned the Simic Sky Swallower, and the four of them found themselves on the grassy, sunny slopes of Bant, the peaceful calm contrasting with the chaotic heat and intensity of the battle that had threatened their lives minutes before.