Zoalords

Chapter 28

The Battle

Czyvek is best in close combat. He prefers wild melee, using his mandibles, claws and acid spewing ability. His lightning attacks are good, but he lacks control, both of his powers and his emotions. He is a cunning Berserker, but I can outwit him. He has the power of a god but fights like an animal, biting and scratching.

Nguyen has great potential power, but it is wasted. Barcus was a fool for choosing him to wield the Biomass Zoacrystal. He cannot bring himself to use its powers. He is a scientist and has no battle experience.

Fukamachi. Guyver I. He is a highly skilled warrior, tempered in the furnace of CHRONOS' unrelenting aggression. He is impressive, having gone from a timid schoolboy to one of the most powerful warriors on Earth, but he is no match for me. He is soft-hearted. But, why is he now helping CHRONOS? It was illogical to aid the very organization which had murdered his father, ruined his life.

Apollon pondered these things as he and his three opponents headed out of Tokyo and toward an unpopulated area of mountain.

They followed Sho down into the forest and stood, three against one. Hardly a fair fight.

Of course, they would not all attack at once. Honor. Such predictable, amusing beings, humans.

"He is after us," Czyvek said, "And Ali Bin Jamar is a friend. I will fight first."

Czyvek assumed a classic fighting stance, but Apollon knew what his first attack would be. As the Zoalord spewed a stream of Guyver-dissolving acid the creature vanished. The acid burned deep into the surrounding trees, felling several smaller ones. Czyvek sensed Apollon behind him and turned, slashing into thin air.

Czyvek has only a limited amount of acid available for this form of attack. But his blood is also highly acidic, so I must be cautious in the wounds I inflict.

Czyvek hissed angrily. He couldn't risk spitting in just any direction, he had two allies standing nearby. This creature was fast. A green blur passed his multifaceted eyes, slicing his antennae from his head. Zoalord Mikhail Czyvek screamed and fell to his knees as the image of Lord Li Yentsui flashed by.

"You can lose arms, legs without a whimper but scream when your antennae are cut?"

A triangular blade swung down to strike Czyvek's head from his shoulders, but was intercepted by a sonic sword.

Guyver I.

"It's my turn, now."

"N-No. I must finish this fight." Czyvek stood unsteadily. While his eyes were extraordinarily sharp, his antennae were his primary senses. Scent, taste, vibration, temperature. They were tied into his nervous system, regulating balance, coordination. He glared with gleaming red eyes at Apollon. "Thank you, Sho." Acid drizzled down his face, over his eyes. Fortunately, he was immune to its effects, "You insult the memory of Li Yentsui!"

"And you are but a pathetic mockery of Friedrich von Purgstall."

Czyvek screamed in rage and hatred, exactly what Apollon expected. But he did not expect what happened next. Czyvek did not attack in a blind frenzy, but straightened, taking on an almost regal demeanor, "You will pay for that." His voice was calm, cold, almost sinister.

Typhon.

An electrical storm blasted into existence in the blink of eye, catching Apollon off guard. A swirling vortex of blinding lighting appeared around the alien. His armor smoked and bubbled as he vanished into extra-dimensional space. The storm continued, with Czyvek as it's epicenter, forcing Sho and Tran back, vaporizing several meters of trees and stone. Suddenly the storm abated, and Czyvek fell to the ground.

Apollon reappered seconds later, still smoking and no longer in Yentsui's form. Vines erupted from the ground and bored through Apollon like drills. Zoalord Tran Nguyen sat on the forest floor, his head massively expanding, long tendrils trailing from his expanding brain into the ground. He twisted the vines within Apollon, reaching for his brain as trees and roots became giant hands that clutched the alien and tried to rip him in two. A sonic blast destroyed the arboreal attack and Tran screamed as his part of his extended form was destroyed. Tran collapsed in shock.

Sho stepped forward before Apollon could take the fallen Zoalords' crystals, "I believe it's my turn, Apollon."

"Not today, Sho. Perhaps another time." Apollon opened a dimensional portal, but before he could cross Czyvek slashed him across the ankles, nearly severing his feet.

Apollon screamed and fell through the portal as the reason for his sudden departure became evident.

Lords Amniculus, Caerleon, de Galenos, Vorsted and Waferdanos arrived on the scene as Czyvek once again struggled shakily to his feet.

To be continued. . .