Elise stumbled backwards, huffing. Azala lay just a few meters away on his back with a hole in his chest, his body as limp as can be with blood coating the lower half of his face. He attempted a gasp for breath, breath which would not come for he had no lungs to take it in. She fell backwards, then onto her side with eyes shut for a brief moment.
Slowly she picked herself half up, looking at him.
“Gyuah,” he gurgled, “Defeated by a child, such as this… what even is my life right now?”
“That,” she muttered getting on one knee, slowly trying to hoist herself up, “Was a blow for everyone you’ve ever wronged.”
“It is inconceivable. You, who were a nothing, defeating the likes of me?” he groaned as darkness began to drift out of his wounds in the form of black mist.
“It’s as I said, you’ve no right to our freedom, to our lives, to our spirits. They are something that should never, no, something that can never be taken. Especially not by the likes of you.”
“H-heh heh, well played,” he groaned, his voice drifting.
Elise glanced from him to the right, “What even happened to you old man? I’ve heard stories of your greatness, a greatness I never saw. What changed you? What lead you to become this?”
“Urk, guh- power corrupts, as they say,” he grunted, the color slowly reverting back to normal in his eyes, “I… I was once a proud warrior, this is- true.”
He wheezed, several times, “I-I-I, I had to get that power, had to take it. My people- urk.”
“Is it true? Did the Priests actually kill off your crew hundreds of years ago? Is that why you worked with Dustin and Shadow?”
He said nothing, simply laid there with a barren expression and dulling eyes.
“Heh, ask that to someone who cares,” he grumbled in a low tone.
His eyes glanced up, locked to the sky as they dulled further and further, “It- looks like this is it for me. Heh… Elise, beware child. What you have done here today, what you will face ahead is beyond what you have seen thus far. That overwhelming dark power, to destroy- mountains, subjugate cities. You don’t know it yet but, they will win.”
“It didn’t have to be this way you know Azala,” Elise murmured, her eyes shutting and her head lowering, “You could’ve done something different, something so much more for your people.”
His eyes very slowly moved across back to Elise, “H-head up p-proud warrior.”
Her head lifted, eyes opening as Azala continued speaking, “Elise. I-I leave, I leave Vulfax in your capable hands- you and Vulper both. Take good care, of your people. It seems that I- won’t be able to… much… longer- gyuh.”
His body ceased movement as his eyes rolled back, the glow and shine in them departing completely. The dragon let out one more howl of pain, darkness now exploding out of its sides. Its eyes burst with darkness jetting out, beams of it ripping out all around.466Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NOsPuq0yf
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All eyes looked up, all watching as Dark Energy ruptured out of the dragon. It howled one last time until its head blew clean off and burst into energy, the rest of the body then exploding. Vulper stepped forward, “Elise!” he wailed.
“There, I see her,” Holly stated.
Through the clouds dropped a form, Elise, heading towards the ground. Callie quickly shot forward with water rushing around, “I’ve got her-”
She skidded to a stop, the water flying high. Elise fell faster and faster. Callie shook as Elise after nearly thirty seconds crashed into the water, her descent ceasing. Down the water drifted, a quick green glow emitting from it. Callie quickly sighed as the water lowered itself.
“I caught her with my Soft Healing Water. She’ll be as good as new soon, hopefully,” Callie called back.
“Way to go Callie,” Sora laughed joyfully.
Toby appeared with a flicker right behind Callie, a sword held up and thrusting forward. Her heart skipped as slowly her head turned. Sora’s eyes filled with horror, “Callie!”
Toby flew back, caught in a burst of light. Holly stood now beside Callie with her sword flung up having deflected Toby’s strike.
“That’s enough of that traitor!”
Another burst of movement now from behind Holly, the skidding of rock. Shadow stood behind with a gun near identical to the one Holly had given Elise, only instead of gold rings there were silver rings.
“Miss Holly!” Sora shouted out.
“You’re mine,” Shadow muttered, his finger squeezing.
BANG
Shadow flipped back and crashed a distance away on his back, an explosion having gone off in his face as Holly flew off to the side. Callie looked in shock backwards, Maxwell standing with smoke drifting from his back. A hole straight through his torso. Blood sputtered out, “Gah!”
“Father!” Holly shouted.
“Guh, I-I can’t feel my power. What is this?”
“Oh no, that’s-”
“A refined version of the drug that was used on you Holly,” came Shadow’s voice.
All eyes turned as slowly Shadow sat up, all eyes filling with shock though as he did. Once up all looked upon his face where the blast had hit. His left eye shot wide open and fierce, a pale white complexion around the eye with cracks spread. What appeared to be chipped paint lay around the eye, though in reality that was his skin.
“Wha-his face is,” Callie stuttered.
“That was intended for you Holly Bell, though I suppose Maxwell can be considered the greater threat. His connection to the Celestial River is now gone for forever,” Shadow muttered slowly standing.
“Hrk- bastard,” Maxwell mumbled standing straight now.
Another figure dropped down. Dustin stood though as with Shadow something was off. His uniform lay burned off. Dustin’s face sat split, half being what it was before, the other being paler. Amber eyes with snake slits, long flowing silver hair.
“Arkaza!” both Chino and Basilisx spat out at the same time.
“Arkaza?” Callie murmured.
“Second in command to the King of Vampires, Hisan,” Holly muttered, “He’s a foe that Tribe and Hive both had to fight for several years. I never-”
“Would have imagined that I survived? No of course you didn’t,” came the chuckle of Dustin, or rather Arkaza.
Shadow looked to him with a smirk as Arkaza backed away, “I must say, the fight with Elise was most illuminating. I need to work on my game plan a bit. Though now that I’m exposed, I won’t need to restrain myself next time. Thank you, Dharkanians, Lightonians, for such a great performance. And above all thank you, Vulfax. I enjoyed my time masquerading as Dustin Abbott of Stark Pack, as a lowly Wulfn. It was, shall we say, fun to experience it all.”
Pink flower petals quickly began to swirl around Arkaza with a brisk swirling wind, his body slowly beginning to phase out, “I do look forward to our next encounter-”
The petals scattered as did the wind, Arkaza now gone.
“I can’t believe this, Arkaza was right under our nose the whole time? How did we not notice!” Chino spat out.
“It hardly matters now, what’s done is done. Now we have two fish to fry,” Basilisx growled.
“Hmph. Toby, Basilisx, Chino, we’re done here,” Shadow muttered.
“What?” Chino growled, “But-”
“No, we’re done. We’re leaving while your zombies are playing with the Special Forces. We’ve accomplished our mission.”
“Oh alright, ugh, killjoy. Come on Basilisx,” Chino muttered as black flames engulfed her.
At once black flames engulfed Basilisx and then Toby, their bodies fading out as Wes and others started to close in. Shadow turned to them as their bodies disappeared, then to Holly and Maxwell, “Know that this is not over Bell family. Know that this is only the beginning. We will have this planet. There is not a thing you can do to stop that now.”
With that Shadow burst into black flames as well, his eyes narrowing fierce, quick to vanish as Wesley arrived.
“Tch, that dastard,” Holly growled.466Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzg5VcFRtu
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