Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 40
Viktor was prepared to fight, but he wasn't sure how much he would be up against. Alpha, certainly, but he felt a thrill of fear as he saw Elena take a few purposeful strides forward, her evil eyes staring at Viktor, or at least he assumed so. It almost seemed like Elena was glaring at Alpha's back, but Viktor couldn't dwell on that.
"Watch it. We've dealt some serious damage to Alpha, but that'll drive him only that much harder to slay us," Epsilon warned after he fastwalked over to Viktor's side, raising his ivory sword to a ready position. Several of his plant warriors surrounded him.
"True that. He's bound to fight like a pirate with his back against the wall," Viktor commented dryly, gripping his cards tightly as he watched Alpha and Elena advance. Kelly, Ashley, Makoto, and Devin prepared their decks too, but Viktor was ahead of the game: his Ulamog's Crusher was still here, and the huge Eldrazi was prepared to do battle.
"Crusher! Are you ready?" Viktor asked, craning his neck to look up at the Eldrazi's featureless face. The Crusher nodded, rumbling its bloodlust.
"Man, I'll never get used to that," Devin said with nervous humor.
"Focus!" Viktor warned his friend. The words were barely out of his mouth when Alpha teleported out of existence, re-appearing within whispering distance of Viktor. Snarling his fury, Alpha swept his clawed hand blindingly fast through the air, and only Epsilon's equally fast sword block kept Viktor from getting beheaded. Alpha's claws and Epsilon's sharp sword strained against each other, and both Hunters violently broke their deadlock, leaping back from each other. Three of Epsilon's plant warriors shot forth to attack Alpha, and were aided by Makoto's Unnatural Speed.
Alpha simply raised his mana leech aura to wither the plants when they got close and halt their attack, but Kelly took her chance to step in. Her Drag Down created a thick swamp under Alpha's feet, the mucky tendrils reaching up to envelope the blue-black Hunter. Viktor's Fighting Drake, augmented by Oakenform, joined forces with Devin's Inferno Titan to assault the trapped Alpha. Both creatures smashed into Alpha with titanic force, throwing a fierce gale from the point of impact. Everyone cowered and covered their faces, and when the dust settled Alpha was missing.
"You're not bad... children," Alpha gasped, when he re-appeared a short distance away. The vampire spirit clutched his stomach and doubled over as he talked, but there was still a gleam of defiance in his eyes. "Your creatures grazed me before I could escape. They, however, cannot escape their doom."
"Huh?" Viktor whipped his head over to the Fighting Drake and Inferno Elemental, both of which blinked blankly before they cried out and started writhing in place. Viktor saw the cause: Rho's acid spores were in the air over the swamp, and Viktor guessed that Alpha had released them right before teleporting away. Ashley hurried forward to help the creatures as their bodies were corroded, but two large wounds appeared on their chests, crippling them further.
"I gave them each a good slash with my knife, too," Alpha gritted out, and both the Drake and Titan fell dead and dissolved away.
"Freezing Attack Level 2!" Epsilon shouted, throwing his Gamma-based power at Alpha before anyone else could do anything. Alpha raised his mana-leech aura to wither the attack, and both the Freezing Attack and the aura clashed against each other.
Alpha must indeed be weakening if he needs time to hold off a Freezing Attack Level 2! Viktor thought, elated at the sight of weakness. Elena was still coming closer, but Viktor tensed his muscles as he prepared to finish Alpha off first. Epsilon leaped forth with his plant warriors for the attack, and Viktor sent forth his Crusher to help. Devin's Volcanic Dragon, Kelly's Nightmare, Ashley's Baneslayer Angel, and Makoto's Takeno, Samurai General all joined the fray. Once again, Viktor had to brace himself against the resulting collision, actually casting a Vine Trellis to protect him and his friends from the force.
"Did... did we get him?" Makoto asked uncertainly, peeking around the corner of the Vine Trellis. He looked hopeful, but then his face fell. "Oh, what the hell? Guys!"
What? What is it? Viktor thought frantically as he got around the Vine Trellis to see what the big fuss was about. Everyone else joined him to see that Elena's right arm had grown huge, a mass of body parts and assorted flesh. This gigantic arm had clamped down on where Alpha had been standing, a cocoon of flesh. All of the assault creatures had been stymied by it, frustrated that Elena had stopped them.
"Elena the Defiled One! You dare interfere?" Epsilon roared, pointing his ivory sword at his former master. His surviving plant warriors thrashed in place, sharing Epsilon's anger.
Elena looked over at Epsilon and burst into laughter. "Why yes, good Epsilon!" her humored expression changed into malice in an instant. "Alpha was a great warrior, but he is slowing me down. I'll finish you all myself! Let's absorb a Hunter."
She's going to absorb Alpha and get all his powers on top of her own? No way! Viktor mentally defied Elena, shouting for his Crusher to resume the assault. The towering 8/8 Eldrazi growled its agreement, swinging its arms to Annihilate Elena's vastly oversized arm. Particles of ash drifted from the arm, but not nearly as much as other Annihilator victims. The other creatures hastily helped the Crusher, supported with Devin's Branching Bolt and Ashley's Arrow Volley Trap. Elena frowned in frustration as her giant arm withstood the assault, and the arm started to pulsate as the trapped Alpha was being absorbed.
Then, Elena's defenses came into play. A thick, purple tentacle shot out from within the cobbled-together arm, and the tentacle slapped aside Kelly's Nightmare with shuddering force. The magic horse was thrown though the air and tumbled away, scrambling back to its feet. Devin's Branching Bolt was re-cast and aided by Viktor's Convincing Mirage, using an alternate effect to duplicate the lightning. The combined electric storm stunned the purple tentacle, but not for long. The tentacle snapped out like a fleshy whip, smashing into Baneslayer Angel. Takeno drove his sharp katana halfway through the tentacle, intending to slice it right off. He was interrupted by a an insectoid limb sprouting from the giant arm, and the new limb tried to hack Takeno in half. Volcanic Dragon took the brunt of the attack to allow Takeno to cut the tentacle off, but then a swarm of humanoid limbs came out of the giant arm too, tearing the Volcanic Dragon apart piece by piece.
"She's one giant collage of creatures!" Epsilon cursed, watching the battle take place. "Thousands of body parts to use at her whims..."
Viktor watched his Crusher tear off some of the limbs on Elena's giant arm, but that only slowed her down. Barely even damaged, the arm lifted off the ground and swallowed up Alpha, a noticeable lump going through its length to the rest of Elena's body. Elena took a few step backs and smiled in delight as she successfully ate Alpha, ignoring the literal loss of limb she had suffered against the summoned creatures. The arm shrank back down to normal size, returning Elena to normal proportions. She stretched both arms, flexing her fingers.
"Well, that was most exciting, wasn't it?" she glowed. "Wasn't it?"
"Die, creature!" Epsilon shouted, fastwalking over to Elena swinging his sword. "Assist me, creatures!"
The creatures moved to help their Hunter ally, but a pair of huge white angel wings sprouted from Elena's upper back, and she flapped them to create strong gales and lift her body into the air. Epsilon and the creatures were thrown back from the gales, and Elena delighted in her power.
"Do not forget that I possess every creature type and power there is to be known!" she crowed. "Why, I am a living catalog of what the Multiverse has to offer! That is only fitting, as I am to be the master of it all. I would rule the Earth plane, too, but it looks dreadful to me. I'll simply have it destroyed."
Viktor clenched his teeth in frustration as he looked through one of the portals to see Enslaved creatures tearing apart cities from around the Earth. We've got to stop her! The stakes have never been higher. But how? She has the power of countless creatures at her disposal!
Right now, Elena's body looked normal except for the angel wings sprouting from her back, but Viktor knew that she could morph her body parts into whatever she wanted. Viktor and the others sent their surviving creatures after her, but Elena drifted higher into the air and stretched out her arms, splaying her fingers. Both of her arms expanded and stretched out, her fingers fusing into what looked like lizard-like heads. Viktor watched in horror as Elena's arms became dragon heads and necks, the heads blinking and opening their toothy maws.
The head on the left had red scales, but instead of fire, a cloud of spores were exhaled, and these spores washed over the creatures attacking Elena. The creatures cried out as the acidic spores started to dissolve their bodies. Acting fast, Ashley conjured up her Wall of Denial, spreading the Wall out like a bluish membrane over the creatures to protect them from further harm. Viktor's Vine Trellis spread over the Wall of Denial, reinforcing it further.
"Now! Hit her with everything you've got!" Viktor shouted to his friends over the din. He and the others whipped out their cards, but were too late. The other dragon head/arm exhaled a white, misty cloud that washed over the Wall-Trellis barrier, settling onto it like dust. The breath was in fact ice, and the Vine Trellis was frozen solid, brittle and hard. Makoto's Comet Storm flared up, sending dozens of flaming space rocks at Elena, only to be stymied by the flapping of her angel wings, sending the comets scattering everywhere and crashing harmlessly onto the ground. Meanwhile, Elena pointed downwards and flew down like a peregrine falcon, morphing her dragon heads/arms into the brawny, rocky arms of an earth elemental. Both huge fists slammed down one the brittle, ice-crusted Vine Trellis, making cracks spread out from the point of contact.
"Graaaah!" Devin yelled out, pumping his red and green mana into a Fireball intent on roasting Elena to cinders. He overtaxed himself, however, and fell trembling to the rocky Jund earth. Ashley rushed over to his side to help him with a Withstand, while Kelly used her Darkness card with an alternate effect. She infused Devin's huge Fireball with the flesh-rending power of pure evil mana, with veins of deadly black mana threaded throughout the Fireball. Makoto added his bit, casting Unnatural Speed onto the Fireball to speed it up.
Now that's got to do some damage! Viktor thought with triumph, watching the overpowered Fireball rage toward the distracted Elena. Just as the frozen Vine Trellis shattered and the Wall of Denial was disrupted, the uber-Fireball washed over Elena, arms, wings, and all.
Viktor ordered his Crusher to steer clear of the inferno, and the 8/8 Eldrazi was only too happy to escape the flames. It, Nightmare, Takeno, and Baneslayer Angel got back to their masters, leaving the pieces of Volcanic Dragon behind. The four powerful creatures stood their ground and waited to see what would happen. Then, a very familiar and unwelcome sound shuddered Viktor's eardrums: CLANK-TOCK! CLANK-TOCK!
"Ugh! What is that?" Kelly winced, falling to her knees and covering her ears against the deafening metallic clanks. It was like being inside a gigantic clock tower.
"Oh, no..." Makoto muttered, knowing as well as Viktor what was probably going on. Indeed, the uber-Fireball suddenly slowed down to a crawl, barely inching forward like a mass of molasses in midair. The outline of a huge, ghostly clock face was visible at the front of the Fireball, and Elena herself flew up from behind the Little Clock Slug, her angel wings flapping hard to keep her airborne.
"Not too bad, children!" she praised breathlessly, calling down to her earth-bound opponents. Her body was slightly burnt, her skin charred, even her angel wings. "You don't hold back or give me a chance, which I admire. Too bad, though, because nothing you do will be enough!"
She laughed, a horrible gloating laugh that churned Viktor's stomach. Not for the first time, a raging Epsilon stepped forward, brandishing his ivory blade with his plant warriors in tow. "I don't care what you say, demon! I'll destroy you! Get down here, why don't you!"
"Epsilon...!" Ashley warned him, knowing that acting without thinking would only get the gang killed fighting Elena, their biggest enemy. Unfortunately, Elena took Epsilon's words to heart.
"A demon, am I? I can arrange for that," Elena smiled form way up high above the slowed-down Fireball, then curled up into a ball and released a flare of white, blue, purple, red, and green mana, completely enveloped by the aurora-like curtain of mana. Then, she flew out of the aura and arrowed down at the kids, with a completely new body form.
She really was a demon!
"Holy Day! Rrrrrrgghhh!" Ashley shouted, straining to put all her energy into holding back the demon-form Elena with her heavenly magic. Elena's body resembled that of Rakdos, the Defiler's, but she had three whip-like tails that each ended in a huge blade. Elena's demonic body was caught in the huge glowing aura of blue-white magic, spitting mana sparks as she strained to get through and tear the kids and their creatures apart. She squirmed in the mana field, swinging with her huge black talons to hit her enemies.
"Get her! She's trapped!" Viktor cried, watching Ashley fall to the ground in exhaustion. Damn it! We have to push ourselves to the limit just to stand a chance! We can't keep doing this. Isn't there a way to take Elena down without getting ourselves killed?
Viktor knelt by Ashley to give her a Regenerate to replenish her exhausted mana stores. Devin was back in operation, and he bolted to his feet to help out his allies. While Nightmare, Takeno, Ulamog's Crusher, and Baneslayer rushed toward the trapped Elena, he summoned his Predator Dragon to help out and shot a Branching Bolt at both of Elena's eyes, hoping to blind her. Viktor's Cytoshape granted wings to Takeno, and Makoto gave his samurai an Indomitable Will to boost his already formidable fighting skills. Epsilon's plant warriors joined the fray, too, brandishing their thorny vines and acid pollen-emitting flowers.
"Grrraaaaagh! Foul things!" Elena cursed as the creatures harassed her while she was still trapped in the holy mana field. Takeno's sharp blade, the plant warriors' thorns, the Predator Dragon's fire, the Crusher's Annihilation, Nightmare's cursed hooves, and the Angel's blessed sword rained destruction on Elena's demonic body, tearing apart her skin and flesh. Elena wailed in a loud guttural tone as she was ravaged in the holy field, writhing harder than ever. She snapped closed her jaws, trying to bite the Predator Dragon in half. The dragon evaded the bite, but Elena wasn't done yet. When she opened her mouth, a spike-covered tentacle shot out, strangling the Predator Dragon around its long neck. Takeno came to its rescue, slicing off the tentacle with his mighty katana.
Ashley's strain showed on her face as she fought to keep the holy aura up, but her strength abandoned her. The Holy Day card's light faded away and the holy aura dissipated, freeing the demonic Elena. The vengeful shapeshifter wreaked havoc on her tormentors, using her demonic fire and claws to crush the creatures. Only Ulamog's Crusher was able to stand up to her, assisted by Viktor's Oakenform to boost its toughness. The wood-armored Eldrazi threw a punch that missed, and then Elena seized its outstretched arm and hugged it tight.
"Is she going to throw it over her shoulder or something?" Makoto wondered out loud, watching the Crusher and Elena grapple with each other. His guess was wrong, however – instead of harming the Crusher, Elena melted her right arm's flesh, fusing it onto the Crusher's wood-armored limb.
"What – no! She's trying to absorb the Crusher's body!" Viktor realized, taking a nervous step back. He dimly noticed that the battle around him was dying down, and that the Planeswalkers and Epsilon's now-ragged Azorius army carried the day. The last of Elena's present Enslaved creatures were hoarded onto a corner of Jund's precipice while the Planeswalkers massed around Viktor and the others.
"So, it's come to this," Ajani Goldmane commented grimly, watching Elena's progress with his one good eye. The Leonin twirled his double-ax in his furry paw; or rather, his broken double ax. One of the blades had been broken off in the battle.
Viktor nodded. "Yeah. It's just down to her now, but she's too much! Her shapeshifting..."
"Well, don't just gawk! Attack her! This is your chance!" Chandra Nalaar put in, rushing over to Viktor's other side on a surfboard of fire. The fiery woman was breathing hard from mingled excitement and exhaustion from the battle. She drew back her arm and flung a long fireball at the Elena demon. "Hey-yaaaaaah!"
"Not so hasty! We need a plan!" Ajani barked, throwing an arm in front of Chandra to stop her. He was too late, and the fireball was already streaking toward the demon Elena. Having no other choice, Viktor and the others threw their own spells at their arch-nemesis. Comet Storm, Fireball, Consume Spirit, and Curse of Chains were all cast in Elena's direction, while Viktor cast a Twiddle to break Elena's hold on his Crusher.
"Not so easy, little ones!" Elena rumbled in delight, waving a huge hand before the combined assault. Viktor's ears throbbed as another Little Clock Slug was cast, and the huge ghostly clock face absorbed all the magical spells, slowing them down to a crawl.
"Curse you, witch!" Epsilon roared, but it was no good. Elena tore off the Ulamog's Crusher's right arm and absorbed it completely, and the wounded Eldrazi stumbled back, bleeding dark green blood from its gaping shoulder wound. Meanwhile, Elena's own right arm started to morph and shift, growing longer and mottled gray and purple. The arm became a copy of the Crusher's own lost arm, and clearly had its same power. Elena stomped forward, sweeping her Crusher arm in a wide arc. The Planeswalkers cried out as her newfound Annihilator ability activated, proportionately powerful to her huge body and tremendous reserves of mana. It was all that Ajani, Elspeth, and Ashley could do to protect the Planeswalker army from destruction against the horrifying power.
"Got any... good ideas, anyone?" Devin gritted past the strain of resisting the Annihilation through the protective shield. "Huh?"
Jace had something else on his mind. "Where... ugh! Where is Sarkhan Vol, Viktor?"
"H-he was warped away by Alpha," Viktor gritted back, barely able to see Jace through the clashing mana. He held up a card and re-absorbed his wounded Crusher back into it. "Something about warping him back to his home Plane and reverting him back to an infant. He's just now been born."
"I see," Jace said slowly, sounding confused by his comrade's strange fate. "If we survive here, one of us can go and retrieve him. In the meantime, we need a strategy to defeat the Defiled One. Nothing else... urgh! matters right now."
Elena made a bellowing laugh. "No strategy can harm me!" she boasted, but her body's injuries were being aggravated by her overuse of the Annihilation. Even she was hard-pressed to harness the terrifying and alien power of the ancient Eldrazi. Clearly off-put, Elena stepped back and thrust her mismatched hands to the ground, pouring multi-colored mana into Jund's rocky surface.
"What now?" Kelly cried. The protective mana shield was still up, but wavering.
"If I were to guess, she's going to release Naya, Jund, and Esper and put them into the Maelstrom to harness the full power of Alara's five shards!" Jace shouted, and he was quite right. Viktor watched as the distant Naya and Esper shards started to drift forward like earthen battleships in invisible water, approaching the incomplete Maelstrom at a slow but accelerating pace. The Maelstrom appeared to grow in size as Jund itself lurched forward, intent on joining its shard brothers at the nexus of power. Viktor didn't even pay attention to the Planeswalkers as they started to gather and do something with their combined power. Instead, he watched as Naya, Esper, and Jund joined with Grixis and Bant to complete the Maelstrom, adding their primordial green, blue, and red mana to the storm. At once, the Maelstrom flared up, pulsing like a huge heart with the mana added to it. Elena reached a hand into the swelling mana nexus, sighing in relief as she started to harness the Maelstrom's nearly infinite power.
She wasn't the only one.
"Could it be? My chance?" a certain Elder Dragon grated with dull excitement. Nicol Bolas had awoken, uncurling and stretching out his wings and tail. He yawned hugely and stood to his full height, managing to be even taller than the gigantic Elena. The Elder Dragon forced his age-tattered body forward, shuffling toward his long-awaited Maelstrom. He flared his wings completely out and took to the air, rising well above Elena.
"Not so fast! I will have this all to myself!" Elena roared, charging up green mana between her demonic horns. She fired a beam of superheated green mana at Bolas, and the Elder Dragon swooped to avoid it. He was a little too slow, and the beam grazed his left leg's haunch, singing off his scales and burning into his muscles. Bolas growled his discomfort but couldn't be stopped. Once he gathered enough speed, Bolas started to fly in orbits around the Maelstrom, opening his jaws wide. Mana started to peel off of the Maelstrom and flow into his mouth as though magnetized there. Bolas gulped the life-giving mana continuously, his body strengthening with each gulp.
"It's like an eating contest! I'm betting on Bolas!" Gerbie commented excitedly, squirming out of Elena's pocket to watch. He didn't want to miss this.
"Hey! The fate of the Multiverse is being decided, and you're making jokes?" Ashley protested.
"Hell yeah, baby! Wouldn't I? This is the best stuff!" Gerbie roared as loudly as his squeaky little voice would allow.
"He's so dumb," Ike yawned, as the little Simic gerbil emerged from Viktor's own pocket. "Seriously... wait. What is that, man? Check it!"
Viktor spun around, seeing Ike point in a certain direction. He gaped as he saw nearly every Planeswalker gather into a circle, their arms outstretched. All their different-colored mana was being poured forth into a sphere of pulsing power, growing stronger with each second.
"Hey. Are they making their own mini-Maelstrom to provide power against Elena's?" Kelly wondered, approaching Viktor's side to watch.
"Beats me," he shrugged. "I don't understand much of what's going on here. I feel so small."
"Join the club," Kelly said with a small grin that Viktor appreciated. Epsilon wasn't a part of the circle, but he watched as the hundreds of surviving Planeswalkers strained themselves to put even more of their mana into the orb of magic energy. The sphere was being compressed into a small size despite the amount of energy in it. It pulsated threateningly, but didn't burst or break apart.
"You're a fool, Elena!" Nicol Bolas shouted as he made yet another orbit around the Maelstrom. "You think you can devour this storm faster than I can? I have plotted for years to create this energy source! I won't let you take it from me."
Elena drove her arm deeper into the Maelstrom, grunting as she leeched more if its power. "Is... is that so, you big lizard?"
"Bolas! We need your help with this! Your power is the greatest among us!" Nissa cried from the Planeswalker circle. "Join us!"
"Oh, look! I was invited to a party," Bolas joked cruelly to Elena, apparently knowing something that Viktor didn't. "Very well, Elena. I have enough energy. The Maelstrom is all yours. I have something to attend to."
"Eh?" Elena wondered, but Bolas ignored her as he angled toward the Planeswalker circle and added his own blue, black, and red mana to the orb of mana. With his input, the mana sphere rapidly grew in strength.
"You Plane-skipping weaklings will owe me a lot for this," Bolas reminded the Planeswalkers as he settled down among their ranks to add his energy.
"Yes, Bolas," Jace grumbled. "Now hurry! We don't have much time."
"Hey. I want to know what the heck you people are doing!" Devin shouted, aware that Elena was almost done with the fading Maelstrom.
For an answer, the Planeswalkers poured the last of their mana into the sphere and collapsed as one, depleted. The orb of mana flashed white, then became steady, humming and buzzing with energy.
Nicol Bolas lumbered forward, enjoying the strength and smoothness of his movements with his rejuvenated body. He gingerly picked up the watermelon-sized mana orb with his huge talons, nearly dropping it.
"Is it hot?" Devin asked him.
"It is our key to destroying Elena once and for all, little monkey," Bolas rumbled, looking down at the tiny Devin, who didn't appreciate being called a monkey.
"But what is it?" Kelly shouted, impatient. Elena started to turn around to face the Planeswalkers, fully charged up with Maelstrom energy.
Nicol Bolas took a heavy step toward Elena, his feet talons digging into Jund's surface with ease. "This, card-children, is the incomplete Mana Detonator. A bomb."
"Of mana?" Viktor repeated faintly, aware of how much power had been put into it.
"Yes," Bolas nodded, "But it is not operational."
"Say whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Devin protested.
"Silence, morsel!" Bolas bit back impatiently. "The Key Creatures have to be cast into this Detonator to complete it. This is what the Key Creatures are for. This Detonator has been planned from the start, but only now do we have the means to use it correctly. Now! Cast your Key Creatures and charge the Mana Detonator with them! Before Elena destroys us all!"
"Oh, just you wait, dragon!" Elena huffed eagerly, charging toward Nicol Bolas. Her power was far beyond any other being in the Multiverse right now.
Without delay, Viktor whipped out his cards, frantically shuffling through them to get out his Thorn Elemental. He cast the wooden Elemental, admiring the thorny beast's size and ferocity. In short order, Kuro, Pitlord, Konda, Lord of Eiganjo, Isperia the Inscrutable, and Ryusei, the Falling Star joined the Elemental. The five giant creatures looked at each other blankly, not knowing what they were supposed to do against the super-charged Elena.
"Guys! Get into that mana orb Nicol Bolas has!" Viktor shouted at them. "Go!"
Of the five creatures, only Thorn Elemental responded, shuffling toward the Mana Detonator at Viktor's command. The Elemental poked its finger into the Detonator and was sucked in, converted into pure green mana as it went.
"Idiots! Order your own creatures to move! Now!" Bolas grated hysterically, aware that there was little time left; Elena was getting close. So, Ashley, Kelly, Makoto, and Devin ordered their Key Creatures into the Mana Detonator. Kuro was converted into sizzling purple mana, Konda into blinding white mana, Isperia into azure and gold mana, and Ryusei into fiery red mana. With the five new additions, the Mana Detonator pulsed with the five colors of the color wheel, doubling its strength in Bolas' hand.
"Now! I can... finish it!" Nicol Bolas roared in victory, charging toward Elena and clutching the Mana Orb to thrust into Elena's gut to destroy her. Chuckling, Elena considered what she was up against.
"Oh? Going to hurt me with that tiny ball of energy? You can barely even hold it!" Elena taunted Bolas, speaking of how miniscule the Detonator was in Bolas' scaly hand. Indeed, it looked silly to watch Bolas acting so bravely with such a little ball of mana in his hand, but Viktor knew that the Mana Detonator had a crazy amount of magic energy in it. He muttered his sincerest hopes that Bolas could finish the job, finding Bulgarian words come from his lips.
Well, the mother tongue is the most comforting to me, Viktor thought with a wry grin. He and his friends plus Epsilon watched breathlessly as Bolas and Elena closed in on each other, and Bolas grappled with the demon Elena to get the Mana Detonator onto her to decide the Multiverse's fate.