by Ryan Johnson
Valverno sighed with great relief that the Piper didn’t have any daggers that could do harm or penetrate. Valverno was wearing more armor than he was hoping the knives won’t be able to penetrate. He could test the armor’s durability to see if it couldn’t be penetrated.
However, from the lesson he learned after receiving a scar from the person he was fighting, Valverno wasn’t going to find out; he was going to fight and slay the two enemies he has been an enemy with for so long.
After working on the defense, Valverno swiped his tail to the Piper, who then flipped backwards from Valverno’s whipping tail.
Valverno sent out a large windy shockwave to blow the Piper away or at least put the Piper at a distance. That was because Lusìvar became charging in and again Valverno worked on the defense.
Lusìvar had a bigger body mass than Valverno had imagined; Lusìvar was two feet taller than the demigod was and was being pushed backwards. Lusìvar was swiping his sword against Valverno’s two swords.
Valverno went flying backwards and took to the sky from the overwhelming enemy. At first, he was using one sword to block Lusìvar’s strong, brutal attacks. After many seconds, Valverno had the room to maneuver and fly into the air.
“Catch me if you can,” shouted Valverno.
“Don’t mind if I do,” Lusìvar shouted back.
Of a shock to Valverno’s eyes, Lusìvar soared high and high enough to see Valverno eye-to-eye.
“How are you this high up?”
“Titans have more power than you think. You spent too much time in the Second and Third Generation you don’t know what the First Generation of Living Life could do. We can fly, even without wings. There are many abilities a Titan can have, and we don’t even need to take a bath in the Pool of Shadows. We have greater power than your Pangaeans could never have, and your early ancestors started out as small fish in the oceans of the First Generation.”
Lusìvar was towered in the air with no wings, and he exchanged many blows against Valverno. Not just using his sword but also kicking his own legs at Valverno.
Valverno could barely keep up as to what attack Lusìvar was pushing. Lusìvar was faster and taller than Valverno. The demigod couldn’t keep himself safe as his armor was taking a beating from the attacks like a small kid getting picked and carried by an adult.
Valverno quickly used his wings to wrap his entire body, and he felt a great pounding from Lusìvar’s endless strikes. He felt Lusìvar’s sword slashing on his wings and thankfully Valverno’s wings were armor themselves; no metal of what kind could penetrate his wings.
For the briefest moment, he was in no match against Lusìvar. He was just too fast and big to maneuver around, but Valverno wasn’t going to retreat yet. He needed to take some time to know how to fight Lusìvar and what kind of different methods Lusìvar was using. And from this fight, Valverno was gaining the knowledge of knowing how Lusìvar was fighting: like a big bully.
And in the purest moment of a quick second, Valverno opened his mouth and moved his wings away. He unleashed a gush of dragon fire from his mouth and blew it at Lusìvar.
Lusìvar used his sword to block Valverno’s dragon fire, which absorbed all the fire Valverno exhaled. Then Valverno was flying backward and keeping his distance from the powerful foe he was deeming too strong for him. He really needed the last armor artifact in order to regain his full power. The current level Valverno was at is nowhere near Lusìvar’s max level.
He felt the needed to retreat, but he wasn’t going to until he had the location of the third armor artifact. And the quickest way to do that was by entering the mind of Lusìvar, although it was going to be difficult yet alone impossible.
Before he could try anything, Valverno quickly felt the air changing behind him. His ears picked up a breathing noise and flipped a wing from getting stabbed in the back from the Piper who was also in the air without wings.
Soon enough, the Piper ended up falling to the ground. This served as a brief distraction to Valverno’s focus of battle and slowed his speed.
Lusìvar gained great speed and was coming at Valverno in full blast, despite Valverno’s endless blaze of fire.
Then Valverno stopped breathing out fire. He circled himself into a ball and aligned his tail’s end to the two swords. He spun his swords and threw them at Lusìvar’s sword, which sent him flying back to the mountaintops.
Then Valverno uncurled himself from his ball shape and reopened his mouth. His spikes on his spinal cord charged an electric beam going from the bottom to the top of his neck. From his mouth, a large puzzling spark shown and he exhaled it from his mouth.
Valverno unleashed the same power he used to kill the first Minotaur. His electrifying beam hit Lusìvar and the surrounding ground. The blue beam was wide enough to blow an entire mountainside to a hill of sand.
After thirty seconds of exhaling out the powerful energy blast, Valverno gazed down. He saw the blast left behind a large black circle that dug deep into the mountaintops. In dead center, Lusìvar was lying on the ground if he was dead, but he was still breathing.
Valverno, in his greatest speed, flew and landed upon Lusìvar. He placed his foot on Lusìvar’s forward and dug his claws deep into the red hair and into the skull. But this only lasted a few short seconds; Lusìvar used his legs to kick Valverno away from him.
Lusìvar jumped back up and charged after Valverno.
After getting kicked from Lusìvar’s quick reflexing legs, Valverno tilted his body upside down and used his wings as legs and his legs as his arms. The claws of his feet grabbed the two swords by the hilts and fought against Lusìvar banging his sword at the upside-down, fighting hybrid.
In one spot, Valverno used his free arms to make a wind-pulling power and Lusìvar’s legs slipped, if he failed to do a perfect split.
Lusìvar tripped into the ground but not for long. It was a few seconds Valverno bought time and grabbed hold of the two swords in his hands and soared back into the sky.
During the few seconds he had, he saw blood on one claw he grabbed Lusìvar’s head by and a few small drops of blood on a hilt his claws carried while fighting upside-down. The blood from Lusìvar’s head would be enough to use to detect where Lusìvar had hid the armor artifact.
Valverno learned a year prior he could access someone’s memoires and see what private stuff an induvial was hiding. All that was required was one drop of blood, and Valverno had what he needed: Lusìvar’s own blood. With the small amount he has, it was enough to find and get the armor artifact.
However, before he could retreat, Lusìvar came soaring up again and charging at a great speed.
Valverno looked at Lusìvar coming his and there was no way the demigod was going to retreat now. Instead of going on the defense, Valverno went flying on the offence. He blew out dragon fire of a blue color and it surrounded him.
Both he and Lusìvar went flying toward each other at a thundering speed. Valverno’s heart was pounding. He felt his skin sweating beneath his armor. His legs were shaking of a great, sudden fear that was feeling like his legs were going to be torn off.
Then, as both were inches from clashing, Lusìvar swirled past Valverno. The Shadow King soared pass the descending demigod, and the demigod passed by the Shadow King.
Valverno slowed his flying and stopped in midair. He also stopped his fiery breath power and looked where Lusìvar was flying. Instead of going upward, Lusìvar was aiming downward. The Shadow King was flying slower and he was flying toward a flying object soaring in the air.
It was a flying chariot astride to two black Pegasi. “This isn’t over, hybrid,” shouted Lusìvar. “When you find the location, I will be waiting, and you will feel a certain something will happen. Something that will make you feel so and completely drive you into a great despair. You will end up feeling that you need to end your own life.”
Lusìvar se
emed to have reached a certain limitation of flying in the air. His chariot was carried away and the Piper appeared to be on it, standing right beside Lusìvar. Both disappeared into the horizon.
Valverno breathed heavily. For the first time in his life, he felt a twinge of fear and his legs shaking. He was so afraid he felt his heart pounding fast then back to its normal beating rate. He’d never felt so afraid of wanting to meet death.
He spent nearly half an hour soaring up high and breathing in the air that was helping him calm his nerves. And after he was done breathing, Valverno went on his way back to the capital city.
A HERO’S ENTRANCE
Marina was standing on the capital city’s top level. She was in the courtyard and the spot she and Valverno got married. She was the only one walking person walking on the platform. She was dressed in a blue gown and wearing a blue crown around her forehead. Her hair was braided into a ponytail. Around her neck was the neckless of sapphire diamonds Valverno gave to her years ago. Being a Siren, she was quite found of sapphires and any gems that were of the blue color like her scaly skin.
Since becoming the Queen of Shimabellia, she took great responsibility of the city. She ordered many orphanages to shelter homeless children and made sure good food was served to the homeless children. Many of the people loved her, but there were those still loyal to King Uragiru.
Many of those loyalists tried to assassinate her but they underestimate her. She was a capable archer and one who can use her singing voice to place her attackers in a trance. There was at one time about fifteen assassins tried to kill her, but her singing voice placed her attackers into a trance and used bow and arrows to make short work of them.
During her life in the castle, she undertook training from the king’s trainers and was well trained in combat. And being a Siren and not a human, she had fierce, strong muscle. It took her a year to completely master every training session King Uragiru had set up.
For the longest of time, Marina thought Uragiru her father and treated him as such. To this point, she still couldn’t believe the man who raised her had joined the Shadow King but only to try to kill Lusìvar and try to take hold of the remaining Titans.
But she had more family than ever before. She had Valverno. Since he stole the throne from her foster sister Stephanie, Valverno has been busy taking down the late king’s loyalists and trying to unite Shimabellia the rule of the demigod. Even though he doesn’t go by the name of a King, Marina goes by a Queen.
While he was busy being away, Marina kept her home city under watchful eye. She helped improved the lives of its citizens. Many of those who loved her followed her everywhere she would go.
Growing up, she was an outsider to the city. Sirens were known to be monstrous creatures to have a tasty tongue of human flesh. Marina was a loner in the city, and she wanted to be with the hybrid that saved her life. And they remain separate for five years until the news spread of a mysterious specimen killing a Minotaur. And since then, they have spent much time together and married each other. That was a perfect day of her life.
Over her time as the outsider of the city, the people began to warm up to her and saw how much of an ancient Siren she was and not how legends and stories were told out to be. During her second year at the castle, she sang a song of true love near a large fountain and many of the people loved her singing voice.
Over the course of the next few years, she would do the same thing again and again and again. She loved to sing in front of many of the people. And as the Queen, she still loved to sing, mostly to children who didn’t have parents. Every time she sings, many adults would go and adopt a single child or two or three.
Not only did she sing to orphans or to people; her singing was an enchanting power to employ many adults into adopting children who didn’t have a parent or know a parent’s love. Instead of enchanting sailor to deaths of being eaten, Marina was using her enchanting music voice to enchanting many people to adopt orphans.
Many of the people call her the Queen of the Homeless Children. Marina’s soft heart toward kids was the same love she shares with Valverno. A fierce fighter and a seemly warming-loving mother was a perfect Siren to be Queen of Shimabellia and the capital city.
On this day, she was walking all around the platform. It was an hour earlier Sora came flying in. Her sister-in-law had a quite worried face Marina could tell something bad was happening.
Sora warned that Valverno was taking on Lusìvar. Marina then had a struck of horror on her face. Her husband was single-handling taking on the most powerful being in the world. Marina was frantic with worry.
Nonstop for a full hour, Marina was walking on the platform they had their wedding on, and it was just outside the throne room.
During the time, Sora was walking to a frantic Marina who was walking nonstop in straight lines. “You’re worried, are you?” asked Sora.
“You left my husband behind in a fight against the Shadow King,” complained Marina. “What are you thinking? He’s my husband and your brother, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Valverno is my brother. And believe me, sister, I wanted to have stayed behind and help him fight our common enemy.”
“Then why did you?” Marina asked sternly.
Sora sighed. “If he was an ordinary mortal, I would gladly to have stayed with him. But he is a half god. It is believed that anyone who is killed by a demigod won’t be able to go the Realm of the Gods or go downstairs where fire burns your entire body: foot-to-head. It is believed a demigod has a ‘divine influence’ that can harm a soul of a person.
“I don’t know what your views are of the spiritual form, Marina, but that is mine is. A demigod can do great harm to a person’s ghost, and I don’t want to risk my soul being transferred into an unknown place that isn’t a paradise or a tormenting oven.”
“You believe he has power to do damage to a person’s soul if that person were to disobey him?” asked Marina, a bit calmly.
Sora nodded her head.
Marina also sighed. “Now I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have married the demigod. But too bad. Marriage is fist come, first serve. I have kept myself loyal and lovable to him. And I need to believe he will come back, and that he will be back unharmed.” Marina walked over to a bench and sat down.
Sora walked over and joined Marina at the bench. “I still can’t get over the fact my brother ended up having you,” said Sora.
“Is that a surprise to you? Seeing how ancient you are. Being from an old, ancient country that turned into two islands. You said yourself my ancestors were once fish. Seafood to your tasting.”
“I’d never eaten fish nor had any seafood. Too much bones and not enough flesh. None of the White Knights or Valverno ate any fish or meat for all I know. We lived on herbs, plants, and fruits when Shimabellia and Isla Maeli came into creation. Animals were sadly scarce and humans weren’t really that intelligent when they were living in caves. Their brains no bigger than the size of an empty stomach. But look at them now: grown from cavepeople to civilized people. Evolution can be an amazing wonder or it can be a curse.”
“To you it sounds like a curse,” said Marina, with a frown.
Sora frowned as well. “It is,” she admitted. “My mother. My father. Other friends. Millions of Pangaeans I remember faces of and their names. All of them. I was born in the final years of Pangaea. Everyone’s face and name I remember are all gone. Gone from the Mortal Realm. I hate being alone in this world, but I had my brother to keep my company when the days were dark, along with the other three surviving Pangaeans.
“We were the only survivors, and we did what we needed to survive. Now, time has passed over. My brother and I are the last of the Pangaeans, the last of our kind. We’re going to do with what time we have left in this Mortal Realm. The sad thing is Pangaeans can live up to some thousands of years, but I’m willing to give up my Pangaeans blood to beco
me a human.”
“You can do that?”
“Pangaeans have natural sources of magic power, unlike the Titans that have bathed in the Pool of Shadows. We Pangaeans had a Pool of our own: a Pool of Light. Full of purity and no corruption, each Pangaean had bathed in the Pool of Light and we would be blessed with the pureness of Light.
“Like the Pool of Shadows, the Pool of Light has its own powers. We use to for Light and love. It amplifies a person’s personality and makes them a pure heart and a kindred mind. The Tians had their bath time with the Pool of Shadows, and Pangaeans had their bath time in the Pool of Light, Marina.”
“That is really amazing,” said Marina, cheerfully. “But where is the Pool of Light now? We saw the Pool of Shadows near at the base of the buried city, but where is the Pool of Light?”
Sora shook her head. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I don’t know where it is. Even if I do find it, I wouldn’t want to bathe in it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s what led the Pangaeans to their doom. Like the Pool of Shadows, the Pool of Light is considered to be a forbidden Pool. Many Pangaeans bathed in it, because they didn’t want to become like the evil Titans. And when Pangaea’s destruction arrived, all the people, each head of a family clan were giving their magic power to save both their family and their homes.
“Saving both the children and a house every family lived in were too much for the Pangaeans to handle and ended up watching their magic drain their own live-force. My mother and father were one of the few Pangaeans not to have bathed in the Pool; they knew the Pool of Light would not just only increase love for family but love for houses and homes.
“Staying attached to physical objects means saving a building and a mortal family at the same time, but it was all too much. It was either to save a family or save a building, it couldn’t be both. My mother and father decided to save me and my brother, and the parents of the White Knights chose to save their children than to save both the houses and the kids. Ah, I wish the three others were still among the Mortal Realm. Those three people: Desmond, Herus, and Hector. My old friends, or more of my brother’s old friends.”