Upon hearing that her friend Rellie had been killed, Kalista broke down into sobs, trembling uncontrollably as Jesse hugged her tight, her heart sobbing as well. Jesse didn’t know Rellie that well, but she knew that she would have loved Rellie had she been alive and Jesse had gotten to know her better. Kalista jerked her head up to shoot Dove a stare, venom and hatred in her eyes. If Kalista was stronger and more powerful than Dove, she would have avenged her friend’s death by now … and she knew that going up against Dove would be a suicide mission.
“I instantly saw to Rellie’s death once the circle of the Great Darkness was complete,” Dove continued. “Once I killed her, I was able to access infinite amounts of dark energies from the Dark Pole, and it boosted everything within me.” Dove’s blue eyes turned to an ominous shade of black when she finished the last sentence. The blackness in her eyes looked like black holes, reeking with unimaginable evil and darkness. Then, the black shadows faded away back to the blue of her eyes, and she focused her gaze on Catan once more. “Do you know why I’m here, Catan? Do you know why I’ve come to pay you a visit?” Dove let out a brief shrill laughter, which sounded so sickening to Jesse’s ears that she cringed. Dove cast a quick glance at the others around her before returning her gaze at Catan. “I’m here for one purpose. I’m here to kill you!”
“Over my dead body!” Catan howled, creasing his forehead so hard that veins emerged conspicuously on his forehead. “You shall not lay a hand on me! You shall never kill me! I’m Catan, the most powerful vampire in the world for centuries! Nobody has been able to defeat me! Nobody! And you never will!”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Dove taunted, an evil grin playing on her lips. “I can’t let you live, Catan. There can be only one Supreme Ruler of the world, and that person shall be me! I won’t let you snag that away from me! My great great grandmother had tried to become the Supreme Ruler generations ago, but she failed. But I will not fail this time. I will kill you if it’s the last thing I do. I will bring glory to Athena Havens’s name, or my name isn’t Dove Havens!”
Catan growled in defiance, his arms raised, black swirls forming around like snakes and daggers. “You shall not kill me, Dove! I’ll fight you to the very end!”
“Oh yes I will, Catan. How could you even think of defeating me when you haven’t even amassed enough powers from the Pole? I’ve learned that the Good Pole is still locked up, and all the great powers are still contained within. You haven’t unlocked the Good Pole, have you? How can you even think of defeating me when you don’t even have any ounce of power from the Pole?” Dove laughed wickedly, shaking her head deliriously. “I have all the powers of the Dark Pole, and I can say with utter confidence that I’ll be able to crush you under my feet like a pathetic tiny ant! I shall rip apart your lair! I shall annihilate every part of the Maze of Doom, the place you have called home for centuries! I shall destroy your most precious home! You will be no more, Catan! You shall go down in the annals of supernatural history, and I’ll make sure of that!” After Dove finished saying those words, she turned around to face Jeses, Kalista, and all the Sigma men. “Once Catan is killed, all of you shall be under my reign!” Then, she paused for a brief moment, as though something flitted across her mind. “Or maybe I’ll kill all of you, and wipe out your entire race to start a new one. To create a new race who will obey my every whim, serve me, and if any of you turn against me, I shall instantly end your life as I please!” The satisfaction in Dove’s voice was chillingly obvious, fueling the anger within Catan’s chest into a state of inferno.
“I’ll never let you become the Supreme Leader!” Catan shot back passionately, unwilling to give in to Dove. “I’ve always dreamed of becoming the Supreme Leader, and I shall not let you take that dream away from me!” Catan stretched his arms out, black swirls funneling up like tornadoes, ready to be shot in Dove’s direction. Without a moment’s hesitation, Catan tossed the deadly swirls at Dove, who snuffed them out like blown out candles by raising her hands. The swirls magically dissipated into the air, completely gone, drawing gasps of shock from Catan’s throat.
“What did you do with my swirls?!” Catan demanded. “They’re gone!”
Dove cackled, her face glowing with gratification. “Don’t you see, Catan? No matter how hard you try to defeat me, you’ll end up losing. I’m ten times more powerful than you … wait … make that ten thousand times more powerful than you! Deep down inside, you know that you can’t defeat me, but still, you refuse to believe the true fact like a stubborn little child! I’ve all the powers of the Dark Pole, all the energies of darkness surging within my body, and nothing in the Universe can defeat me … not even you!”
“I’m never going to surrender to you! Never!” Catan raised his arms again, and new black swirls formed again around his hands.
Something struck Kalista as odd as she watched both Dove and Catan engaged in a final battle in which Kalista was sure that Dove would emerge as the victor, seeing that she had the great powers of the Dark Pole inside of her. How was Catan able to conjure up black swirls from his hands? Wouldn’t he be rendered powerless due to the Great Darkness that had completed its circled? Kalista had read once in the Urukan Bible about the Great Darkness, which would strip almost all the supernatural beings of their gifts and powers. Wouldn’t Catan’s powers be stripped off by now? Why was he still able to use his powers? Something just didn’t add up. However, without a doubt, Dove was able to use her powers which were derived from the Dark Pole, which was responsible for initiating the Great Darkness in the first place. By right, all supernatural beings in the entire planet would have lost their powers by now, except for Dove, of course. She would rise up to be the Supreme Leader, the only one in the entire world who was bestowed with great powers, and with those powers, she could choose to build a new army, a new race, all under her reign.
“Wait!” Kalista cried, startling everyone as she had been quite quiet at the corner of the room. She cast a glance at Dove. “I still don’t get it. Why is Catan still able to use his powers? I thought that the circle of the Great Darkness is complete, stripping of everyone their supernatural abilities. So why is Catan still able to call out th-th-those … what do you call those? Black swirls?”
Dove shot Kalista a condescending look, slightly shaking her head. “Oh, you’re Kalista, right?”
“How do you know my name?” Kalista asked with a gulp down her throat.
“Of course I know everyone’s name! I’m the most powerful Enchantress in the entire universe now, given that I’ve swallowed up the entire powers of the Dark Pole. Just one look at your face and your name pops up in my head. Having such great powers is so … emancipating.” Dove laughed again, her lips turned into a sinister grin. “To answer your question … well … Catan is still able to use his powers as long as he’s inside the Maze of Doom. The Great Darkness is not able to penetrate into the Maze of Doom, which had been specially built to ward off external magical energies. So once I destroy this Maze of Doom like a cracked shell, Catan would not have any protective magical shell anymore and he would be completely powerless.”
“So you mean to say that as long as all of us remain inside the Maze of Doom, we would still have our powers?” Kalista ventured.
“Yes, you imbecile!” Dove snapped, frustration drawing lines on her forehead. “But even though you’re still able to use your powers within the confines of the Maze of Doom, you’re still not that powerful enough to kill me. So don’t even think of trying!” Dove narrowed her eyes at everyone around her, daring anyone to challenge her. The Sigma men were huddled along the perimeter of the room, remaining still and silent, their expressions unreadable behind those black masks. No one dared to make a move, for fear of provoking Dove and making her unleash her wrath on them.
But Catan wasn’t going to be like the rest of them. He had had this aching desire to be the Supreme Leader, and he wasn’t going to let Dove snatch that away from him.
While Dove was distrac
ted by Kalista’s question, Catan took this opportunity to fire his swirls at Dove. With his mind intent on finishing Dove once and for all, the fiery anger burning within him, Catan gesticulated wildly, letting the swirls swell like giant black clouds and instantly, and then he blasted those swirls right in Dove’s direction.
Dove caught sight of the oncoming missiles of swirls from the corner of her eyes, and instantly, she whirled around, trying to fend off those swirls. Before she had the time to raise her hands to snuff out the swirls like she had done earlier, the swirls crashed against her with an explosive sound, erupting around her like black molten lava.
Catan pumped his fist into the air victoriously, thinking that he had finally defeated Dove. The explosion had created remnants of black mists around where Dove had stood.
Both Kalista and Jesse held their breaths in anticipation. Had Catan finally destroyed the most powerful Enchantress in the universe? It seemed too good to be true. Even the Sigma men locked their gazes at the swirling mists in the center, the spot where Catan had blasted Dove with his powers. Was Dove finally gone for good?
All of a sudden, a familiar sounding laughter ripped through the air, startling all of them who were standing around the foyer. When the last ribbons of the black mists faded away, they finally saw a figure standing in the center, unharmed and grinning from ear to ear. Dove was still alive! Catan’s blast had failed to pulverize her. Dove was practically indestructible.
“You fools!” Dove shrieked, her voice drastically losing its composure. “You think you can kill me just like that! I’m the most powerful Enchantress in the entire universe now! And no one, I repeat, no one, is able to stop me!” Dove turned to look at Catan, her eyes narrowed in slits. “Catan, even your powers can’t kill me. Disappointing for you, right? Why don’t I show you what real power is?” Dove started laughing again, her face twitching in amusement.
Catan gulped, shock plastered all over his face. He had mustered all the powers he had when he tried to kill Dove, and it failed. Now, he had no idea what to do anymore … he was completely at a loss. He’d never felt so helpless, so powerless before in his entire life … until he met someone as equally as, or more powerful … than him. Throughout many generations, Catan was able to stir massive fear in the hearts of his victims, and if he chose to kill any of them, he always succeeded. He had defeated powerful wizards and other vampires in the past, crushing those who dared to oppose or provoke him. Never in his life had he ever failed like he did … now. He thought that he had succeeded in killing Dove, but he was wrong.
“Th-th this …” Catan trailed off, shaking his head incredulously. “This is preposterous! This is an outrage! I’ve used up all my powers on you! This can’t be happening! No! I refuse to believe that I’ve just failed to defeat an Enchantress like you! No! No!” Catan jerked his eyes close, so tight that he wished that it had been all a dream, and that when he opened his eyes again, Dove would be gone. He was in a deep state of denial. He couldn’t accept the fact that he wasn’t able to defeat someone for the first time in his life.
“Catan!” Jesse cried, feeling utterly distressed at the sight of his defeated form. “Face reality! You can’t defeat her! Don’t you know that Dove is charged with the whole powers of the Dark Pole?! Get that in your mind, Catan! Face the fact that she is ten thousand times more powerful than you!”
Dove turned to look at Jesse, a pleased look on her face upon hearing that. “Yes, I’m more powerful than the most powerful vampire in the world!” Then, she swiveled her gaze back at Catan. “Have a taste of my powers, Catan!” Dove lifted her arms, and instantly, Catan was jerked upward into the air, as if held by invisible hands. Dove swung her hand from one side to the other, laughing as she did that. Catan swung in the air like a pendulum, moving the way Dove moved her hand. All of a sudden, Dove made a swift punching motion in the air, and Catan was sent barreling in the air, and crashed against the wall right in of him, literally crushing all his bones as he howled in pain. Catan collapsed onto the floor like a crushed tin can, looking completely battered, stains of blood smearing his face. Dove edged closer toward him, the expression on her face showing that she was relishing all of this, torturing Catan at her every whim as though he were her toy.
Kalista was deeply sickened by the sight of Catan being tortured like this. She had never seen Catan look so frail and weak, and for the first time, Catan actually seemed very vulnerable, like he would shatter like glass at the crush of a foot. She knew that Catan was the most evil vampire in the whole world with darkness in his heart, but she couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the Sigma men exchanging glances at one another, as if giving each other secret signals. Kalista wondered what they were trying to do, and when she saw Henson mouth something to her, she thought that he was saying something like teleport, and she finally got the drift. Kalista nudged Jesse softly on the shoulder, and Jesse turned her gaze away from the torturous scene to look at Kalista.
“I think Henson wants us to move closer to him,” Kalista whispered as softly as she could. “I think he wants to teleport us out of here. We need to make our way slowly to them without arousing Dove’s suspicion.”
Jesse nodded, and started to shuffle quietly toward the Sigma men, who were just about a few meters apart from them. Kalista trailed behind Jesse, her heart pounding so heart that it almost leapt out of her throat. Kalista kept her eyes focused on Dove, who was now making wild gesticulations in the air, causing Catan to growl with such thunderous intensity that it almost shattered the walls around them. When the women finally crept up to the Sigma men, they all linked their hands at the same time, ready to be teleported out of here.
Closing his eyes and keeping his focus, Henson was able to teleport all of them, and they all evaporated into the air like particles, zooming toward the Peak at lightning speed.
However, as Henson teleported them out of the Maze of Doom, Jesse felt as though something had slammed against her like heavy punches, causing her body to be racked in searing pain. She landed onto the ground with a loud thud, feeling as though her whole body had been hit by an oncoming bullet train. She thrashed around the floor in pain, trying to make sense of what had happened. Did teleportation actually feel this painful? She had never been teleported by anyone before, so she had no idea how it felt like. Once Jesse was able to strain against the pain that was stabbing through every part of her body, she scrabbled to her feet, and looked around. It seemed as though Kalista and all the Sigma men had gone through the same thing like she had. They were all writhing on the floor, groaning in pain. Jesse couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Didn’t they just teleport out of here? Why were they still in the same place?
Jesse jerked her head around at the sound of Dove’s laughter. Jesse’s eyes swiveled to Catan, who was lying akimbo on the floor, unsightly bruises all over his body. Jesse’s heart sank like an anchor to the depths of the ocean at the sight of a battered Catan, who was sadistically tortured by Dove. From the most powerful vampire who had stirred fear and hate in those who had crossed paths with him, Catan had been drastically degraded to the point where he seemed like the most pathetic vampire in the entire universe, looking so helpless and weak that Jesse couldn’t believe that this vampire was actually Catan, who always had had this aura of invincibility around him.
“Wh-what happened?” Jesse stammered, trying to help Kalista back to her feet, her eyes warily set on Dove in case she wanted to torture the rest of them as well.
“I know what you were all trying to do,” Dove snapped, her eyes narrowed at Jesse, and then at the rest of them. “You guys were trying to teleport out of here, right? When Henson tried to teleport out of here, I can sense magical energies bursting from him, and I knew he was up to something, and eventually I was able to figure out that he was trying to teleport out of here. So as you guys were halfway teleporting, I was able to break that trajectory using my powers, sending all of you crashing down back here again
. You will never escape my sight … I can assure you that. I know that Henson will use his powers at every chance he can get, so I will make sure that no one in this room has any powers, except for me, of course. In order to render all of you powerless, I shall do something I should have done earlier.” Dove paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect. “I’m going to destroy the Maze of Doom.”
“No …” Catan croaked, turning his head slowly to cast a defiant look at Dove. He was lying on the floor in an almost comatose state, looking like every bone in his body had been crushed. He had to strain hard to move his head, as though the bones in his neck had been detached. “Not my lair …”
Dove ignored him, looking upward at the large gap where the roof had been, before she had destroyed it. “I’m finally going to destroy this entire place with all the powers within me … with all the great powers of darkness!” She uttered every single word in a chanting voice, her face turning into a somber shade. The blue in her eyes faded away, filled with a void of darkness that looked as black as the blackest coal. The white glossiness of her hair dimmed, slowly turning into the shade of midnight black, and her hair billowed around her face in tangles, as though it had a life of its own. The aura of evil emanating from her was so strong that it made everyone around her cower in anxiety. Dove slowly rose up into the air, a few inches above the ground, and as she stretched her arms out in front of her, the whole foyer was whipped by a sudden strong gale which appeared out of nowhere.
The wind was so strong that it almost blew Jesse off her feet, and she clung as tight as she could onto Kalista, hoping that the combined weight of their interlocked bodies would prevent them from being swept off by the tornado-force wind. Jesse flicked her glance sideways to see how the Sigma men were doing, and they too were clutching onto each other with all their might. The forceful wind swirled around them like a tornado, slowly dragging them across the floor as they strained against it. Catan’s limp body was tossed around on the floor like a rubber toy as the merciless wind whipped him like windy daggers. Catan had probably fallen into an unconscious state, seeing that he wasn’t even remotely trying to struggle against the force of the wind. Then, Jesse swept her glance upward when she heard a loud crackle.
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