Battle at the Mausoleum
After meeting with the elder dragon, Talak, the onyx dragon returned with Koga's swords and roughly shoved the blades into the wanderer's hands. Koga and Talak glare at each other, causing Bean to step between them.
"This is no time to have a dick-measuring contest; calm down." She looked over at Talak. "Um…I guess you don't have a—well…you know…"
"We use our tails for pleasure…" Talak replied straight-faced.
Bean blinked. "Like with the spikes and all?"
"That's where we get the most stimulation,"
"Ok, yeah, we're done here," said Bean, grabbing Koga's arm and hurrying them away.
Oscar walked over to the onyx dragon. "Is there any way for me to participate in one of these events?"
"Come on, Oscar!" Bean grabs his arm and pulls him along.
Three dragons escorted the group down the halls as they made their way to the castle entrance. Along the way, Elfo explained all the details the elder dragon had told him and Bean. The little elf retold the tale of Rulo the Second and his best friend, Azure, to Koga, Oscar, and Luci while Sorcerio and the knights listened in. Elfo explained all of this in a much more dramatic tone than the elder dragon did. Oscar was blown away by what he heard—in awe and tears by the tragic tale Rulo the Second had gone through to bring back his lover.
"Oh yeah, and Bean's ancestor is, like, super evil and committed genocide," said Elfo.
"How am I not surprised?" said Luci.
"Man, it must suck having a terrible bloodline on both sides of your family. Next thing you know, you're going to be smelling like cigars and pickles," said Koga.
"Yeah, yeah, my family sucks, you don't have to keep reminding me," said Bean, bitterly.
"What's the fun in not reminding you?" The sub-demon said, hopping onto Bean's shoulders. "Hey Bean, do you remember your whole family is of genocidal maniacs and tyrants? I think it's pretty—OW!" The princess smacked Luci and knocked him to the ground.
"So, how are we getting out of here?" Elfo asked.
"The same way you came in," said one of the dragon guards. "We activate the key, which allows you all to leave. Simple as that."
"Well, despite the utter disappointment that we didn't get immortality for King Zog, it was a nice experience to meet real dragons, I guess," said Sorcerio.
"It makes me wonder if Immortality is even achievable. Is it possible to live forever?" Pendergast pondered.
"Yes, you can!" said Oscar. "My ex Malfus is immortal!"
"I always wondered about that. How did Malfus become immortal?" Elfo asked.
"Malfus wished for Immortality through some weird relic he found on his travels in exchange for something. I don't remember what it was, but while he became immortal, he lost something valuable."
"What was it?" Bean asked.
"He lost his joy of ANYTHING! While he lives forever, he's cursed to complain about how mundane and boring everything is. The repetition and the monotony," Oscar sighed.
"So, he became a cynical asshole?" said Koga.
"Pretty much," Oscar nods.
"Being cynical is just being a realist. Although it is fun seeing them lose the joy of life in their eyes," Luci chuckled.
The group stopped strolling through the elder dragon's castle halls when a loud boom shook the foundation. "Was that one of the dragons?" said Bean, looking at the trio and then at one of the dragons. One of the dragon guards leaves the party and flies out one of the windows. The remaining guard assured the group of moving on, but a flash of light shined outside, followed by an ear-piercing cry. "What the hell?" Elfo exclaimed. Koga shields Bean with his body as the wall next to the window explodes, sending everyone flying back. A dragon with a large wingspan and beige scales going down its arms and legs appears through a destroyed wall. Its hair was long and black, and it shielded the view of its face.
"Bean, you ok?" Koga asked, holding Bean in his arms.
"Yeah, I'll be fine when you stop squeezing the air out of me!" said Bean as Koga released her from his arms.
It was then that Bean got a good look at the dragon. The dragon itself was human-sized, as tall as Bean. Its red eyes shone vividly through its messy black hair. The dragon guard rushed forward with its spear to attack the humanoid dragon faster; it caught the spear in its right hand, then shoved its other through the dragon guard's chest, ripping out its heart. The guard fell back with blood oozing from the hole in its chest. The humanoid dragon shoves the heart into its mouth and eats it like a starved animal.
"We're in danger," said Turbish.
Koga drew his sword and attempted to rush toward the humanoid dragon, but it was too quick. It leaped forward with incredible speed and grasped Koga around its neck, squeezing him to the point that he dropped his sword. The wanderer looked at the humanoid dragon's face and was shocked to see that he recognized the dragon. It looked just like—
"Akane," said Lucius, floating up to the hole in the wall; his body was now green with shiny scales glistening in the sunlight, and his eyes were yellow; three other dragons his size were behind him. The sound of roars and the smell of fire and brimstone filled the air as he entered the destroyed hall. "Don't kill that one. We're going to need him." Akane turned her head towards Lucius, then back at Koga; she slammed him to the ground face-first, pinning him where he couldn't move.
"Wait a second," said Elfo, squinting his eyes at Lucius. "Oh my god, it's that guy that Diana turned into an ice cube!"
"Why does he look like a weed with wings?" said Luci.
"It's a pleasure to see you two again," said Lucius, scowling at Elfo and Luci. "I'll make sure to have my lieutenant kill and eat the two of you slowly."
"Wait, that's one of the dark legion guys we ran into in the real world?" said Bean, shocked.
"Like what you see?" Lucius smirked, descending and landing on the hallway floor. His dragon followers follow him. "I quite like it myself. I feel excellent, powerful, and, dare I say, invincible. I haven't had a proper chance to use that spell, but now that I'm here in this glorious world, I finally had the ultimate opportunity to put it to use."
Oscar's eyes widened. "You didn't!"
"Did what?" Elfo looked at Oscar, confused.
"You evil man! You used the Soul Steal spell!"
Lucius grinned proudly. "That I did, Oscar. It was the first time I had ever used that spell. I had no idea what was going to happen. I was going to die, or it would work marvelously. And, as you can see, it did just that. It even worked for my lieutenant right here. Now, she's more useful and stronger than ever."
Akane glared at Koga as she held him down to the stone floor. Her eyes were wide, and her chest rose and fell as she took in deep breaths of air.
"Wait, he took someone's soul? How in the hell did he do that?" said Elfo, terrified.
"The soul steal spell is what the knights used during the war of enchanted creatures to harness the power of dragon's forms and abilities. It was a spell that originated from the land of Cremorrah. It takes the soul, which you can control or mold to your liking. You can even take other souls and give them to someone else or place them in inanimate objects like weapons and so on…"
"A marvelous spell indeed. Now that I'm here, I will acquire all this world's secrets and magic! And don't worry, I'll make sure not to exterminate all the dragons in this world…just the useless ones," said Lucius.
"Is that so?" said a brutish voice from down the hall.
Everyone looked to where the voice came from, and Talak, followed by four other dragon guards, appeared. Steam flowed from the onyx dragon's mouth as he stared down at Lucius. Oscar took this opportunity and cast an ice spell at Akane, hitting her directly in the chest and knocking her off Koga. The ice crackled and snapped as it spread across her chest. The wanderer grabs his sword, leaps to his feet, and swings his mighty sword at Lucius. Lucius leaps high into the air, dodging Koga's swing, and his sword slashes through his followers. Talak leaps at Lucius with a furious roar and swings his axe. Lucius catches Talak's axe with one hand, uses his other arm to grasp Talak's tail, then flings him into the wall. The four dragon guards rushed towards Lucius with spears at the ready; Lucius took a deep breath, and a stream of blue fire burst from his mouth, burning the four dragons to a crisp. "Now…for the elder dragon…" He said, smoke resonating from his mouth as he flew down the halls.
"NO!" Talak roared, bursting from the hole in the wall and flying down the halls.
"Oh no, that's not good!" said Elfo, getting to his feet and running after Talak.
"Elfo, what the hell are you doing?!" Bean shouted.
"We can't let that weirdo do anything to the elder dragon!" said Elfo.
"What the heck are we supposed to do? Especially you!"
"I don't know! B-But I can't sit by and do nothing!" The little elf turns around and runs down the halls.
"ELFO, COME BACK!" Bean gets to her feet and hurries after him.
"Oh, that's just fantastic…" Luci gripes as he follows Bean and Elfo.
"YOU IDIOTS!" Koga yelled, getting to his feet to hurry after them. But Akane grabbed Koga around the waist and yanked him forward, sending him sliding across the room. The ice around Akane's chest had melted away, and she glared at Koga. "Son of a bitch…" He murmured. The wanderer looks over at Pendergast and the knights and screams at them. "HEY! MAKE YOURSELVES USEFUL AND GO HELP THEM!" He ducks and dodges all of the swift attacks from Akane. "NOW!"
Pendergast blinked, shook his head to snap out of his shock, and leaped. "R-Right! Come on, men, the princess needs our assistance!"
"But we've never fought a real dragon before! Only small lizards!" Mertz whined.
"We don't have the time to sit here and be fearful! Princess Tiabeanie needs us! We fight, or we face King Zog!"
Mertz, Turbish, and the rest of the knights looked at each other, drew their weapons, and let out a battle cry as they ran down the hall.
"I'll cheer you all on from afar!" Sorcerio said, waving at them. "I'll be here! Hiding and contemplating my career path!"
Akane turns to stop them, but Oscar shoots another ice spell at her. Akane leaps out of the way as the spell hits the wall near her, and the ice spreads all over the wall. Akane roared at Oscar and charged at him. Koga leaps in front of Oscar as Akane swipes at Koga's sword. Upon contact, seconds before Akane's scaly hand leaves the blade, he swings his sword at Akane with a horizontal slash, leaving a cut on her stomach.
"Impressive swordsmanship, Koga. Especially with a sword of that size," said Oscar.
"You can go hide somewhere, Oscar," said Koga. "I can't focus with you and that dumbass former apprentice of yours clouding my mind."
"I might be old, Koga, but much wisdom and experience come with old age!"
"Says the guy who wants to bang a dragon."
"We have our needs in our old age, too,"
Akane breathes a stream of fire at Koga and Oscar. The grand wizard waved his hand, and a sphere surrounded them. The fire hits the spear, covering it entirely, but the two are unharmed. But following the fire came a laser that clashed against the shield, sending cracks all around.
"I'm going to try something a bit risky!" Oscar shouts.
"You better know what you're doing!" Koga shouted back.
Oscar waves his hand. Koga, Oscar, and Akane switched places in the blink of an eye; her laser fired into the ground and traveled up a wall, then through the ceiling. Akane turned around to see Koga in the air with his sword raised, and he brought it down with a mighty vertical swing that left a deep cut across her upper body. She let out a sharp cry as the blood burst from the wound, and she fell flat on her back with a thud. Akane was spread out on the stone floor, breathing heavily in pain.
Koga turns to Oscar. "What the hell was that?"
"A small teleportation spell. Its main use is to teleport to the bathroom without the effort of actually moving," said Oscar.
"It seems like a lot of magic is created from laziness."
"You are not wrong to come to that conclusion,"
"Is it over?" said Sorcerio, peeking his head from around the corner.
"Not yet," said Koga, raising his sword and staring at Akane. She could barely open her eyes when she saw Koga, raring to bring down the final blow to her.
"Hold on, Koga, the fight is over!" said Oscar, grabbing his fist.
"What the hell are you doing?" The wanderer exclaimed.
"We don't have to kill her! We can change her back!"
"Change her back? Why the hell would we even bother? She's the enemy AND the one who kidnapped you."
"Yes, yes. All of that is true. But I can't stand that evil man Lucius molded someone's soul against their will. Just think of the pain that she's in!"
"Yeah, I cut her twice on the chest. I'm sure she's in a lot of pain. That's why I'm trying to finish her off," He said bluntly, glaring at the grand wizard.
"Have a heart that I know you have, Koga. Look at her…" Oscar looked at Akane.
Koga looks down at her. He saw the fear and tears in her eyes as Akane struggled to breathe. The floor beneath their feet crumbled; it had caved in from the damage caused by Akane's laser breath. Koga reached out, placed his arms around Akane, and shielded her as they fell to the second floor, his back hitting the floor.
"Argh…ow…" The wanderer let out a muffled groan as Akane's large wings pressed against his face.
"A nice show of chivalry, Koga!" Oscar applauds, gracefully floating down to the second floor. "I knew you had a big heart!"
"So, I'm guessing you two don't need me for anything?" Sorcerio asked, peering down the hole. "Dragons are beyond my expertise."
"Everything is beyond your expertise!" said Koga, pushing Akane off him. "So how the hell are you going to cure her exactly?"
"I'll have to perform the Soul Steal spell and separate the other soul merged with hers. That being the dragon soul Lucius forced into her," Oscar kneeled, slowly wiggled his fingers, then gently placed them between Akane's chest. A bright light illuminated the center of her chest, and she began to twitch slightly, and her face twisted. Oscar slowly pulled back his hands and revealed a reddish glowing orb from her body. The reddish soul lit up the room and pulsated within the grand wizard's hands. Akane's eyes were now pitch white and lifeless.
"Behold, Koga, what you're looking at is a corrupted soul!" said Oscar. "It looks like this because of the conjoined souls…but—" He carefully placed his fingertips on the glowing spear and gently pulled. The spear's colors began to mix and swirl from the inside. "Gently…gently…I almost got it…" The grand wizard began to sweat. "Almost….ALLLLMOOOOST"
POP!
"And done!" said Oscar, holding Akane's now pure blue soul while the soul in his hand vanished. "I can't do anything with a soul of another that's already dead, but hers—" He lowered Akane's soul to her body and, using his pointing finger, placed it back into her body.
Akane's scales and wings shrunk into her back; the scales that littered her body were now clearing away; her hair, once long and ragged, shrunk to its original short-haired style, and her eyes were now back to their original crimson color.
"And that is how you conduct a soul transplant! Impressive," said Oscar cheerfully.
"Just when I thought I'd seen everything," said Koga. The building shook violently, and he fell back to the tremors. "That did not sound good."
"Hurry, Koga, I'll tend to Akane's wounds!"
"If this place ends up falling apart, you and that quack of a wizard fly out of here!" said Koga, leaping to his feet and sprinting off.
"HEY! I heard that!" said Sorcerio from above. "Quack of a wizard, he says…I made a horse have an uncontrollable laughter…" He crossed his arms and pouted.
Bean, Elfo, and Luci watched as Talak and Lucius battled. Turbish and Mertz were laid out across the floor, unconscious and wounded. Pendergast sat on one knee, his sword pierced into the ground, catching his breath. The elder dragon watched helplessly as Talak and Lucius fought to the death. Lucius formed an Ice sickle and plunged it into Talak's shoulder. Talak uttered a piercing roar as he swung his scaled hands at Lucius, sending him flying back into a wall. The onyx dragons rip out the ice sickle and lunge at Lucius. Lucius opens his mouth, and a red orb shoots out, hitting Talak directly in the chest, but he powers through and collides with Lucius. The false dragon sputters blood from his mouth. Talak grasped his hands around Luciu's neck and leaned in close.
"You are no dragon!" Talak snarled. "You use the soul of my brothers to gain power, but you know nothing about what you hold. You humans are scum! All you want is to gain more and more when you are unsatisfied with your existence!"
Lucius coughed. "Oh, how wrong you are…" He shoved his hands into Talak's chest, and he let out a sharp cry. A flash of light appeared around Talak's chest, and Talak collapsed to his knees. The elder dragon screamed in shock as Lucius held Talak's soul. Lucius placed Talak's soul into the center of his chest, and he doubled over as the onyx dragon's soul entered his body. Lucius grew to Talak's size; his tail grew longer and thicker, his arms widened, and his eyes became red. "We humans…are the superior race…" His voice deepened, and a growl lingered after his words.
"No…no, not again…" The elder dragon whimpered.
Luci looks over at Pendergast. "So, umm…you going to fight or…"
Pendergast pants. "I…sir Pendergast the great…am…" The one-eyed knight wheezed. "I am…dreamlands noble knight! Unguard!" He slowly made his way over to Lucius.
WHACK!
Pendergast slid back over to the trio. "Don't worry…I'll…be up in a few hours…"
Elfo glared over at Lucius and ran over to him. Bean called out to Elfo, but the little elf ignored her. "STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!" He screamed. "I don't understand why you're doing this! Why would you go through all of this just to become a dragon? It makes no sense! Is having all of this power worth it?! To make all of these innocent creatures suffer?"
Lucius towered over Elfo and gazed at him with his red eyes. "Is it worth it? Of course it is. This power is human evolution! We humans are the dominant species! This power belongs to us! You are not superior to us. We deserve this power! ALL OF IT! ALLLL OF IT!" Red fire shoots from Lucius's mouth in a fit of rage.
The elder dragon just shook its head. "There's always going to be people like you…but just like the others…you will meet your end…"
Lucius turned to the elder dragon. "Not unless I become immortal…now…tell me where the eternity pendant is!"
"You dumbass!" Bean shouted. "There is no eternity pendant! It never existed!"
"Unless you want to go find some relic and get Immortality. But then you'll be an emotionless loser. But it seems like you already have that down-packed," said Luci.
"Is that so?" Lucius turned to the trio. "It doesn't matter…all of my knowledge and power, I will create Immortality! And, from what I see here," He gazed at Elfo. "I'll use all the blood of the elves…you'll take me to them…won't you, little elf?"
"STAY AWAY FROM ELFO, YOU JERK!" Bean screamed at the top of her lungs.
Luci snaps his fingers and sends a flurry of fireballs at Lucius, hitting him in the face and blinding him. Bean snatches a sword from one of the knights off the ground, rushes at Lucius, and stabs him in the stomach. The sword barely goes in due to Lucius's tough skin and the princess's lack of strength. Lucius swung his tail at Bean, but she ducked, the tail missing her head by a few inches. Luci leaps onto Lucius's head and stabs his tail into his eye. Lucius grabbed the sub-demon and chucked him away. Lucius swung his arm at Bean, and she held up her sword to block, but Lucius's impact and mighty strength sent Bean flying back and bouncing on the ground, her sword flying into the air, landing in the air, and sliding over to Elfo.
Lucius looks at Elfo. A devilish grin formed on his face. "So, what will you do, little elf?"
Elfo backed away, whimpering in fear. But that same fear had vanished as it came. This man, this evil, evil man, was threatening him and his race. If he gets ahold of them, who knows what he would do? Rulo the Second appeared in his mind. He would fight, Elfo thought. Rulo the second defeated Bean's ancestor…if he could do it…so can he. Elfo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. Lucius laughs at Elfo.
"And what exactly are you going to do with that?" The evil hybrid dragon asked.
"Use to kick your ass!" Elfo shouts as he sprints toward Lucius.
Lucius opened his mouth to unleash a wave of fire at Elfo. Once the fire had stopped, Elfo was gone, but there was no burnt body. That's when Lucius felt a sharp pain in his neck. Elfo was on top of his shoulders; he yanked the knife out of Lucius's neck and stabbed him repeatedly in the cheek and his right eye, hopped over Lucius's neck, and stabbed him in the chest while Elfo grasped onto the knife and used it to descend, causing a large wound to open. Lucius's eyes widen in shock. How? How did a little Elf such as Elfo inflict this damage onto him? No elf should be able to do this.
"You little BASTARD!" Lucius bellowed, holding his right eye. "To think I was going to spare you—BUT NOW!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Elfo screamed, flinging the knife at Lucius, and it pierced his head.
Lucius stumbles back with his hands held out, falling flat on his back.
Elfo pants, and he wipes the sweat off his head. "A-And…y-you stay down!"
Bean and Luci's jaws dropped. The small, kind, sweet, and loving elf they've known for months just killed a hybrid dragon with what might as well be a butter knife.
Elfo turned to the two. "Did you guys see that? Did you? Oh my god, I kicked his ass!"
"Am i…dreaming? Did I really just see that?" said Luci, dumbfounded.
"I…yeah…I did too…" said Bean. Her eyes went wide, and she screamed out to Elfo. "ELFOOO BEHIND YOU!"
"Wha—ARGHH!" Elfo yelled. Lucius had stabbed his claws through Elfo; Lucius's fangs were drenched in Elfo's blood.
"NOOOOOOO!" Bean cried. Lucius yanked his claws out of Elfo and kicked him over to Bean and Luci.
Bean quickly wrapped her arms around Elfo, his blood seeping out of him, panting Bean's blue shirt and brown pants red. "ELFO! ELFO PLEASE! J-Just…just hang on! It's going to be ok!"
Elfo coughed, blood from his mouth leaking down his cheek, his eyes watery; he reached his hand out to Bean, and she took his little hand, grasping it tightly. "B-Bean…I…did I look good? Did…did you think I was cool?"
"Yes! Yes, Elfo, you looked great—no—you were amazing! Please, Elfo, don't die on me! Please, just stay with me!" Bean's voice cracked, and the tears began falling from her eyes.
"Come on, Elfo! You just can't go out looking the most badass you've ever been!" Luci pleaded to him.
Elfo smiled up at Bean. "Heh…thanks Bean…thanks…Luci…" He closed his eyes. He didn't move, and his body had become cold.
"Elfo?" Bean whispered. "Elfo…Elfo no…" She placed her head against his and began sobbing uncontrollably.
"You gotta be kidding me…no way…Elfo…" Luci closed his eyes. His eyes sizzled as steam appeared.
"Crying over an Elf?" Lucius scoffed and licked his claws. "Why even shed tears when you can go find another one?"
Bean's sobs had stopped abruptly. She gently placed Elfo on the stone floor and lifted her head. Her eyes were pitch white, and black and blue lightly sparked from her eyes, then traveled up and down her body. "You…You…" Bean clenched her fist; veins appeared around the base of her hands, and black and blue lightning surged around them.
"YOU KILLED MY FRIEND!" Bean whaled as black and blue lightning flashed around the room.
Lucius glanced at Bean in utter shock. This was magic that he had never seen before.