Smoked rolled off into the high sky, the mushroom cloud plume of smoke and fire now faded. Rows and rows of trees lay scattered, scorched black and in piles both atop the cliff and at the bottom. Below, where mine and warehouse had stood, there now was a massive crater going a multitude of meters below the surface. Plenty of smoke still rolled clear off and out of the crater left behind by the blast.
Bodies lay visible, some atop and some buried. Among those on the edge of the crater were the likes of Domino Squadron and soldiers kept round them. Plenty of dead lay around however, strung about and half emerged from the entire ordeal. Not far ahead though a fair pace down, Holly and Wesley both stood with a barrier of light gradually in fade around them both.
Both looked down and then around, Holly stepping out from Wesley first. Wesley himself looked left to right, then turned and looked up, seeing Tony stationary.
“What in the hell is this…” Wesley murmured.
“Krrrz- can you hear me?” came the voice of Jarrajod over com.
“Yeah, I read you. What the hell just happened Jarrajod?” Wesley growled.
“An explosion from underground is the best we can tell of. We are not sure of the cause but considering the size of the blast, it would be suffice to guess that a pocket of methane was detonated from below the ground. There’s no trace of the enemy left whatsoever.”
“Well that isn’t exactly true… look down there,” Holly called, pointing out the center of the crater.
Far below in the center, a bubble of darkness had begun to erode, revealing three occupants within. Holly’s gaze narrowed fiercely as she scanned the area.295Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5GYJbLznT
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At the epicenter, Leon stood now back in his base state with little battle damage signs. Around him stood Chromwell and Xander, Xander to the front. Sparkling glitter-like substance blew from Xander, drifting around the two.
“Heh. Good work, Xander,” Leon called, the seal left on him by Vulper now gone.
“Of course boss, that was troublesome,” Xander replied, his single eye looking from his master to up above, “Looks like that cleared the entire place out.”
“Leave it to the girl to come up with something so unique, and then leave it to Vulper to coordinate that with her,” Chromwell replied.
“Admittedly that would’ve been enough to destroy this body, and that would’ve hurt like hell. Quite intriguing I must say.”
“In what regard?”
“Vulper being a Pure Blood and capable of such power. And then that girl being able to turn all of that fire into energy, and to then compress it into a bomb. No- it wasn’t just that now was it. That Star Blade of hers, she managed to manifest it.”
“Rather ridiculous. You have the power to annihilate armies yet one little girl and some washed up warrior were enough to nearly kill you,” Xander chuckled.
“Hold your tongue Xander,” Chromwell replied, “The odds are that even our best warrior would have been dealt a fatal blow by all of that.”
“Ah please,” Leon chuckled, “You both underestimate Cortez’s abilities far too much if you think something like that would’ve stopped him. Now the whole mine detonating like it did, that could certainly do some damage.”
“Well forgive me boss but it looked like you were in some shit there had that actually hit you,” Xander replied.
“As I said, it would have been enough to destroy this body and it would’ve hurt like hell. But as it so happens, that didn’t happen because you chose to step in. Rest assured, I had my means of dealing with that, heh heh.”
“Leave it to you to have a backup plan. Alright now if we’re done with that, shall we be on our way before more of those assholes come down here and-”
“-Hold it,” Chromwell murmured.
“What?” Leon growled.
“Look to your left, up there.”
Leon and Xander both cast their gaze ahead, both growing shock eyed. Laying on the ground was Elise, her sword right beside her, while a distance away leaning against a wall was none other than Vulper completely intact.
“How are they even alive, let alone unharmed?!” Xander choked.
“This whole situation is strange,” Chromwell murmured.
Leon glanced over, looking at his side, “How do you mean?”
“There are too many variables that simply do not add up. Vulper, even as a Pure Drachen, should not be so capable. Then for her Star Blade to manifest and to help her form that blast, when she certainly shouldn’t be that far along with training. And finally, both of them still being alive with no clear signs as to how or why. Doesn’t that just seem odd?”
“I quite agree,” Leon replied, “At any rate, we should-”
Air exploded where Vulper had been position and forth he shot at Leon again. Another wave of air soon followed as hand and fist connected yet again. Leon had turned full on towards Vulper, runes and symbols having spread across his body once more. A scowl was returned by the Drachen Warrior who now looked down upon the Dark Warrior.
“KRAAAA!”
A blast of fire flew point blank straight into Leon while his two guards immediately launched to either the left or right in evasion. Xander skidded way, looking back on Vulper, “How is he even still moving!?”
Leon stood straight in the middle of the blast, his form unmoving even as it let up. Vulper’s tail swung and crashed against Leon’s side, blocked immediately by his left arm held up. Then came the kick as Vulper spun round, back kicking right into him. Leon flew back, flipping through the air whilst throwing his hands together.
“Tch- one should know when it is wiser to just give up!” Leon spat, his marks spreading out and immediately reforming his transformed state.
Water blasted its way straight out of the ground beneath Vulper and slammed into his underside, throwing him clear off as Leon landed, “Trident Of Poseidon!”
Another burst of water flew high, this time a three pronged shot, quickly condensing into the form of a trident. Said trident ripped right through Vulper’s left wing and flew off high into the air as the warrior spun round, unleashing another fire blast at Leon. Dark Energy swiftly coated around Leon as he launched up with a kick off of the ground, barreling clean through the flames.
“Gah!” Vulper choked out as Leon then rammed into him, horned head and all, both of which ripped right into Vulper’s torso.
“Fang of Light!” came Elise’s voice.
The Hive Warrior looked down, observing as a blinding crescent slash of Light Energy flew high at him. Darkness pooled around his eyes, a scowl forming, “{Here we go.}”
His right arm flung out, a jet blast of Dark Energy quickly flew out and slammed into the crescent, resulting in a tremendous blast midair. Elise’s emerald eyes went aglow, peering into the blast and smoke, “Sephiroth!”
“I know!”
“Still trying to coordinate? How futile, haha-”
A single figure flew clear through the smoke, almost gliding along the smoke. A breath of air escaped Elise as she gazed forth. Rocketing through the smoke was none other than an arm and hand, strings of Dark Energy springing around behind the launched limb. The smoke cleared just enough, revealing strings leading from the arm back up to Leon’s right sleeve, his grin growing.
Eight meters from Elise in the air, the hand opened up and from it launched a jetting blast of Dark Energy close to point blank. It was a dense concentration, flying at about the width of a football and widening after only slightly. Light Energy rocketed from beneath her feet and quickly she launched backwards, narrowly evading as the beam crashed into the ground, triggering yet another colossal blast that rocketed up into the sky.
Upon completion of firing, the arm flew back, retracting right back into Leon’s sleeve at double the speed as his left hand was then placed upon Vulper’s stomach, “Next time, don’t come back, hyrrrraaah!”
A blast of Dark Energy ripped clear through Vulper’s lower back, through the gut. Bits of spine and flesh flew, plenty of blood as the energy raced up to the sky.
“Kyaaah-” Vulper grunted.
“Vulper!” Elise called out.
Leon’s horns pulled free of Vulper’s chest, Dark Energy racing around his arms while blood flowed freely from the three wounds on Vulper’s body. His torn wing had begun to droop as he hovered away from Leon, eyes shaken. His right hand moved quickly over the hole in his gut, blood dripping from his lips. A minor cough later and a large splotch of red left Vulper’s mouth, falling towards the ground below.
Leon’s smirk faded as his eyes locked straight onto Vulper’s, “Who do you think you’re dealing with? I am not some kindergartner looking to take candy from some stranger in an alleyway, I am the Master of the Hive!”
Swiftly he shot in front of Vulper once more, bringing his right leg around. The back of his leg connected as he swung down, launching Vulper with tremendous strength. A blast of dust flew high into the air following, Vulper’s impact displacing it. Quickly the darkened red skin and horns chipped off, blowing away as pieces in the wind as Leon hovered there looking down over both Vulper and Elise.
His grin returned, blades of Dark Energy launching from his sleeves forming gauntlet blades, the edge of said blades then drifting back along the sleeves and up the forearm. Once formed, the blades increased in size many times over, becoming practically as big as his own arms as they stuck out of and around his arm. Down he shot, launching like an arrow with arms trailing behind him as he nose dove, heading straight for Vulper.
“Bloody bastard,” Vulper growled slowly standing as steam emitted from all of his wounds, now slowly closing up.
Vulper’s hands flew forth as did Leon’s blades, the two slamming into one another. Dust once more flew high around both as they impacted, a scowl resonating from Vulper while a pleasured grin lifted from Leon, both looking into the eyes of the other. Leon dropped, feet to the ground as both pressed hard against the other.
“{Gyeh- what’s with this guy?!}” Vulper growled in his own head, quivering with teeth gritted as he stared into Leon’s face, “{He’s back in his base form and he’s still fighting as if he was in that demon form of his. Is it all an act to just screw with me?}”
“Heh-” Leon chuckled.
“Hmm?”
“You appear to be strained, Drachen Warrior. Have your reserves run low already? Or are you still trying to come up with some clever way to defeat me at this stage of the fight?”
“What in the hell are you,” Vulper growled, “I’ve seen many a Dharkanian in my day from millennia long ago. Even Azala didn’t have power this great!”
“Heh, you underestimate our kind you impudent brat. I’ll give you credit for recognizing that I’m far from being serious, even now after that little trickery of the girl’s. There’s simply no reason to be serious at this point. The power of the Thirteen is something mere mortals can never grasp properly.”
“Mere mortals? Hate to break it to you bud but you’re just as mortal as the rest of us. Vampires die, Lightonians die, and Dharkanians die!”
“Heh, from a certain point of view that is granted. The truth of the universe however is that those with power can never fall. Age does not plague us as it does the normal humanoids of this world. If we can not truly be defeated in battle, we can never be silenced. If we do not submit to disease and other trivial shortcomings such as hunger and thirst, we can not die of natural cause. You see, we do not falter for these factors for we are strong. The Thirteen Phantoms of the Hive are among the most elite entities in the entire cosmos.”
“Tch-”
“While the Lightonians grew weaker in power from peace time, we have been sharpening our prowess, mastering new abilities and new skills. We Phantoms are now the new Gods, the new immortals! Although… where is the fun in simply never dying? Where is the fun in not using this power of ours? Where lies the point in which we should rule alone? I’ll tell you something, Drachen. There is no point in isolation, just as there is no point in allowing our enemies the chance to grow stronger. For our allies though- that is a different story. Think of it Vulper, a warrior of your capabilities would be of great use to us. As the new Gods, we could offer you power beyond your wildest dreams to forever protect your clan, to protect your people. You would never be challenged again, to be granted the beauty of eternal life. What say you?”
“Nyeh!” Vulper grunted, gaze fiercely opening, “I get it now- this entire time, this entire fight you-”
“I’ve been playing you the entire time. As you should gather by now, my power is far beyond normal understanding, just as it can be said for any of my comrades. If at any point I truly desired to, I could have put an end to this without any difficulty… but I like to learn about those I fight. Heh- I can certainly see why some within my ranks are so interested in the girl, her perception of events is staggering. And then you, a relic of the past so bold in power and flavor. It is stunning Vulper, and I do mean that. What I said earlier to the girl, I will now offer you in full. Ally with the Hive, and Vulfax will never suffer again. I can assure you that the Tribe will make use of you until you expire, then discard your very lives as if they were never anything at all. We Dharkanians, however, do not play by such games. We seek strength, we desire value!”
“And why should I believe you? You’re looking to start a war, we’d just be sacrificial pawns in your schemes either way, forced to survive or perish!” Vulper spat out.
“HA! You’re dead either way genius but have it your way. If that is your answer then I will be happy to accommodate you!”
A cloud of darkness roared out of Leon, spreading quickly through the air like a fine mist. His hands immediately released the dark blades, darkness streaming out and around his arms, sleeves blowing fiercely. Vulper stepped away, dropping the twin Dark Energy blades to the ground with a clang, looking dead onto Leon as the darkness surged around him. His head lurched back, eyes wide as can be.
“SHIT!” he barked.
“Vulper!” Elise called, dashing from her position straight towards the confrontation, Sephiroth in hand.
“Die, you filth. Dharkanian Art Number Five O One. Fallen D- hrgh!”
His gaze shot left, his body carrying right swiftly with a single leap as a blast of white blew right beside his position. Elise skidded to a halt, Vulper simply blinked. The blast of Light Energy dissipated quickly as Leon landed fully turned towards the blast, skidding back on the ground with rocks kicked way by his boots. A simple blink as the darkness faded way, then his gaze opened wider.
A pot hole was left where the blast had struck. Further up the crater, beyond that blast, facing front and center towards Leon himself, was none other than Holly and Wesley. Holly with her right arm out and a bit of smoke drifting from her outfaced palm, Wesley with large rock gauntlets formed into fists.
“Tch- you,” Leon growled.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it,” Holly murmured as a glow of white swiftly surrounded her, her coat tails flapping as she looked down on Leon, eyes full of glare and death casting, “Leon Sycamore.”
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