by Tyler R Lee
Then, the shadows were unleashed. Peter attempted retreat, but they caught him, pummeling him with blows and slashes. He made it to his feet and attempted a full frontal charge, but, again, the shadows were too fast and too many. Peter was lifted up, then slammed into the ground, where several shadows pummeled him into the rock. This continued for several more bouts, with Peter not gaining any ground.
Yoshitsune looked at his opponent kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. “You have done well, Peter. Honestly, you have come a long way. But, you have not faced anything like me in this game.”
Peter spat blood onto the ground. “What? Am I supposed to be afraid of you? What are you compared to what I’ve seen in here and out there?” Peter now leveled his eyes at Yoshitsune as he stood. “I’ve been neglected by my parents, ostracized by my schoolmates, and bullied by those who looked down on me. I’ve cried myself to sleep from loneliness and contemplated ending my own life. Also, I’m a god damned teenager on top of all of that, which just sucks!”
Yoshitsune narrowed his eyes at his opponent, who was slowly moving towards him. “Since falling for you sick trap, I’ve seen dozens of people die in front of me, and know of over a million more.” As he spoke, Peter felt moisture in the corners of his eyes, but he kept going. “I’ve watched the life fade from the eyes of people who I called friend. I had to watch other friends willingly put themselves in situations that will almost certainly result in their deaths just so I could make it here! And you think I should fear you?! No, Yoshitsune. Not in the least!”
Yoshitsune’s face twitched with the first hint of true anger Peter had seen. “You underestimate my power. This is my game.”
“I underestimate nothing. I see exactly who you are. You’re not a game designer. You’re not an artist. You’re not even a brilliant visionary anymore. You’ve traded in your legacy for infamy. Congratulations. You’ve become the most successful mass murderer in history. And it’s time someone put you down like the monster you are!”
“Enough!” Yoshitsune, enraged, sent his shadows forth.
As they approached, the martial artist placed the palms of his hands out behind him. Then, he fired off two powerful blasts, one from each palm, propelling him forward at a much faster rate than Yoshitsune expected, which was evident from the sudden wide eyed stare the creator shot at his opponent. He pushed his shadows forward directly at Peter, but at that moment, Peter activated his shield. The protective and dangerous barrier burned a bright orange, like a blazing fireball rocketing towards Yoshitsune.
“Not so fast!” Yoshitsune pulled his shadows down and slammed them into the oncoming missile that was Peter, stopping him. However, Peter’s energy blasts were still going, pushing him into the shadows. With a cry of desperation, the energy beams exploded with more energy, pushing Peter further towards his foe. “It’s useless. You are powerful, but you can’t pierce my--”
Before the creator could finish his statement the ground erupted before him cutting some of his shadows down and pushing him off balance. His confusion was put to rest when he looked to where the cracked and uplifted stone led. He followed the upturned earth to see a greatsword thrust into the ground. Gripping it was a grinning dark elf warrior with raven hair and green eyes. Before he could look back, Peter, shield up and energy blasts propelling him forward, slammed into Yoshitsune as an explosion rocked the arena.
***
Artemis continued firing arrow after arrow at the ArchFiend as it continued its onslaught. She fired a single arrow at the creature as it came towards her. When the arrow was nearly at its target, it split into eight, landing all around the beast. Then, bolts of electricity surged through all of them, connecting and creating a painful net that captured the demonic beast.
“Get it!” Artemis called out. “I don’t think it will hold it for long.”
“All I needed to hear.” Lysander slammed his staff down on the ground, and the gem at the top began to spark. The wizard then chanted an incantation, pointed the staff at the ArchFiend, and let loose a veritable storm of lightning, further engulfing the beast in electricity.
“I think we got ‘em,” Lysander called as he concentrated on the spell. However, that hope was dashed when the beast roared and thrashed about, breaking apart the electric net and sending electricity surging all around the room.
“Damn, what is this thing made of?” Artemis continued firing at the beast, each arrow holding a pulsing aura of magic.
“Just keep going.” NoScope was quick to the beast when the prison broke. She moved in and slashed at her foe’s legs, taking him down to one knee, then moved away, dodging a deadly claw attack in the process.
“I can’t...do this much...longer,” Lysander groaned as he struggled to hold such a powerful spell.
“Try,” Artemis yelled as she dodged an oncoming gout of flame, firing magical missiles as she dove away.
Lysander held as long as he could as Artemis pelted the beast with arrows and NoScope continually moved in for strategic slashes. He pushed his magical energy to its limit, knowing that if he could hold on, they would bring this monstrosity down. However, the ArchFiend had other plans.
In one burst of energy, the ArchFiend let loose an intense aura of heated energy from its body with a mighty roar. It filled the stone chamber, leaving no room for escape. Lysander, Artemis, and NoScope were all thrown backwards as flames from the intense heat licked at their bodies. None of them moved right away. Thankfully, the ArchFiend took a knee, having expelled a great deal of energy for being so low on health. However, they knew that once it decided to move, it would make quick work of each of them.
Lysander sat up, groaning as he did so. He looked to Artemis, who had pulled herself up by a wall, not able to stand. He then saw NoScope, breathing hard, but not making any attempt to set up. The wizard himself was short of breath. He had almost no magic left, and his health was dangerously low.
“Damn you,” Lysander whispered as he used all of his will to stand up. His robes were torn and burned, leaving one half of his torso bare, exposing the burned, purple skin underneath. “You devil, you monster. I will not let you hurt anymore of my friends.” Lysander raised his staff into the air, then produced the longsword he kept on his belt but rarely used. “HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU!”
At the sound and intensity of his voice, the ArchFiend stood and started the wizard’s way. “What are you...doing?” NoScope groaned. “Get out of there!”
“Move, you fool,” Artemis added.
Lysander locked eyes with the brute as it moved in. “I am not Scott Huntsman. I am Lysander of the Lightning Edge!” At the sound of his voice, a storm of lightning began to form overhead.
“Herald of the Storm,” NoScope breathed. “But you don’t have the energy for it!”
“And you...obviously...do not know...who you are fucking with!” As he finished, the Storm Herald appeared. A massive warrior on his steed, shaped by the lightning itself rode down from the storm overhead. The beast looked up to examine the phenomenon. At that, Lysander thrust the longsword into the belly of the beast, but it barely noticed the simple sword as it looked to the wizard.
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s more,” he hissed. Then the Storm Herald stopped its approach towards the fiend. Instead, it began to move towards its summoner. Soon, the herald was absorbed into the staff. Lysander let out a cry of pain as the massive amount of lightning moved from the staff through his body. It pulsed and curled around the wizard as it electrocuted him. “Now...Lightning Edge!” At his word, the lightning jumped through his other arm and into the blade. It was then that the beast felt the sword.
The ArchFiend roared in pain as Lysander did the same, massive amounts of electricity coursing through both of their bodies. Artemis and NoScope looked on in horror, unable to do anything as they watched both their enemy and their friend cook from the inside. The fiend’s orange veins glowed brighter and began to pulse erratically with a blue light, and Lysander’s skin began to smoke and
even tear in certain places.
Eventually, the lightning subsided. Both Lysander and the ArchFiend stood quivering, smoldering. Then, the ArchFiend fell, hitting the stone with enough force to crack it, and most of its body disintegrated into ash.
Artemis and NoScope smiled briefly, their enemy finally defeated. Then, Lysander fell. Despite their injury, the two made their way over as quickly as possible. NoScope grabbed Lysander and propped him up in her lap. “Lysander. Lysander! Scott! Can you hear me?!”
The wizard coughed and smoke emanated from his throat. “I think I might have gone a bit too far.” More smoke escaped as he spoke. NoScope now fully noticed how burned and charred her friend’s skin was. His eyes were completely red and small drops of blood had begun to drip from them, and his skin was cracked and bleeding all over from the lightning. “But...we did it.” He managed a smile, which caused burns on his face to crack and bleed.
“Hang on,” NoScope said. “I can’t...I can’t watch someone else die today. Please, don’t.”
“It’s all...up to...Peter...and Ariel…” Lysander’s voice trailed off. He heard NoScope saying something. She sounded like she was crying. He heard Artemis as well. But, before he could make anything out, everything went dark.
Chapter 25
The destruction, the dust, the debris, all of it from the powerful collision hung in the air for quite some time. Ariel, health low, stamina nearly at the same level, stood up slowly as she kept her eyes glued to rising dust from the destroyed rock formation. The dark elf wretched her sword free and rested it over her shoulder, a wary look upon her face as she surveyed the scene.
"Peter?" Ariel called as she cautiously walked towards the scene of the collision. "Peter, are you alright?"
No response came for several of Ariel's heartbeats, and the worry continued to grow. Then, she saw a figure moving out of the still rising clouds of dust. She quickly noticed it was Peter, limping, holding onto his left elbow, tattered clothing, bleeding from multiple cuts and gashes all over.
Ariel rushed over to him, dropping her sword to the ground. She wrapped Peter in a hug as she asked, "Peter! Are you alright?"
"Thanks to you," Peter moaned. "Ow...careful."
"Oh, sorry," Ariel exclaimed as she stepped back.
"No worries. You got some great timing."
"I do my best." Ariel smiled, as did Peter. However, the smile escaped both of their faces as the rubble began to shift and fall away. "Looks like the fight isn't over." Ariel picked up her sword and readied herself for battle. "Stand back, Pete. You're in no shape to fight."
"You aren't doing much better."
"Tell that to a mirror. You look like you were just pulled out of a collapsed building."
Before the argument could continue, the battered figure of Yoshitsune emerged from underneath the rubble. His coat was gone, as was his shirt. His body was covered in gashes just like Peter's, but that wasn't the most striking thing the pair noticed. Yoshitsune's body was also crawling with purplish black veins. They ran all along his arms, across his abdomen, up his neck, and even across parts of his face. His eyes had also taken on the same color.
"I guess that wasn't his final form?" Peter coughed as he tried to make a joke.
"Great," Ariel responded.
Yoshitsune, having previously been staring off into the distance, now directed his gaze at his two foes. His face, once a mask of stoicism and an unsettling calm, was now turned up in a hideous, crazed, teeth on display grin, purplish black eyes to match. Clearly, the state of this fight had pushed him both physically and mentally to a completely different place. After he stared for what felt like forever, he called out to them. "You...will...not...destroy what I have created!"
As he yelled, the creator thrust out his hands and purplish black shadows shot out of the veins running up and down his body. They were faster, more visible, more solid. Ariel reacted quickly, which was lucky for Peter, who wasn't sure he could react much at all. The swordswoman grabbed her friend and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the piercing blades of the shadows.
"YOU WILL NOT BRING MY WORLD DOWN! NO! THIS IS A PARADISE!" The shadows now danced around him, pouring over him as if he was wearing a massive, animated cloak gifted by some dark deity from a fantasy tale’s worst nightmare.
"Sure it is," Ariel said as she moved in for an attack. The shadows targeted her, coming in fast. Though low on health and energy, she was still one of the best sword wielders in Our World. As she dashed forward, her sword began to glow a familiar bluish purple. Shadows came in at her, threatening to skewer her alive, so Ariel whipped her blade back and forth with incredible skill, knocking back the deadly tentacles. She slashed up and down, right to left, and twirled it around her as she spun skillfully, never losing her footing during her run.
"Not good enough!" Yoshitsune pulled back some of the shadows into him, then threw them out at the oncoming warrior like an explosion of black fire.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Ariel responded as she used her sword to vault into the air. She then used the momentum to bring her sword down in a powerful slam upon Yoshitsune, forcing him deep into the ground.
Peter smiled, but only briefly. Barely two seconds past before Yoshitsune burst into the air, lifted by his shadowy cloak. Ariel was knocked back by the sudden retaliation, and as she got to her feet, she was swiped from the right by a massive collection of shadows, sending her spinning several feet away and to the ground.
"No!" the boy cried as he attempted to run to his friend's side. Before he had taken a step, however, he found that he could not move. A thin shadow had separated itself from the massive collection and wrapped around Peter's waist and arms, holding him tight. "What the..." He tried to question, but the shadow slid up to his throat and began to tighten.
Meanwhile, Ariel attempted to get up, but was grasped around the ankle by another shadow. "You die first!" came a crazed threat from Yoshitsune as he willed the shadow to pick up the warrior, then slam her into the ground. Ariel would have called out in pain if all the air hadn't escaped her lungs when she hit the ground. Blood flew out of her mouth as the shadow then wrapped around her waist, lifted her up, and slammed her down again. Once more, the shadow lifted her up. She was barely conscious at this point, blood pouring from her mouth. Instead of smashing her into the dirt again, it tossed her to the side. Her body smacked into a rock formation and then thudded to the ground.
Peter tried desperately to call out, to cry Ariel's name, to curse Yoshitsune. But, he couldn't speak from the shadow tightening around his throat. He could barely breathe.
After tossing Ariel aside, Yoshitsune turned his grinning visage to Peter, desperately trying to rip the shadow from his neck. Suddenly, the boy was being pulled closer to the creator. Once he was right up to him, lifted up so the two were face to face, Yoshitsune hissed, "Very good, Peter. You did so very good. Again, I am so proud of you. You fought me harder than I thought was possible. I would almost guarantee that no one else that makes it this far, if anyone does, will push me to my limits like you have."
"Apparently...it wasn't good enough," Peter managed to choke out.
Yoshitsune's face softened. "Oh, no, no, no, Peter. Don't sell yourself short. You may have failed here. But, if you must die, what a way to go out? Am I right? Fighting for your life, giving it your all. You could never have done that in your reality, could you have?" When Peter didn't respond, he continued. "Of course not. Again, that was the point of this whole thing. You may not live to enjoy this paradise, but you certainly accomplished something you never would have been able to do."
At that, Peter felt the shadow lifting him into the air. When Yoshitsune had him about thirty feet above, he willed another shadow to produce a giant spear, set at the ready to impale Peter when dropped. "Die proud, Peter. You did the best you could--"
Before the final word left the creator's mouth, the greatsword, bathed in the bluish purple flames, carved down through his arms at the elbows
as Ariel drove it down with all her might. "You forgot about me," she growled as the sword slammed into the ground, sending up a smattering of rubble.
As the forearms and hands were severed, they turned into more of those shadows, but thin dissipated into the air, and a dark liquid sprayed from Yoshitsune’s arms. When this happened, the creator lost his concentration as he cried out in pain, causing all the shadows to dissipate, including the one holding Peter. As he fell, he began to build up what was left of his stamina and life into the palms of his hands. He landed directly in front of Yoshitsune as more purplish black shadows sprayed from his wounded arms.
For a brief moment, Peter's determined, angry eyes locked with Yoshitsune's, wide with shock. Then, the boy thrust his palms forward into his enemy's sternum, letting out a roar of rage and desperation as the massive blast of energy erupted through Yoshitsune. It exited his back, a massive explosion of white hot energy that swept over the rock formations in its path. The glow illuminated the area to the point where Ariel had to shield her eyes, and the roar of destruction rose past Peter's cry, drowning out the destruction.