by Luis Robles
“No… No, no! I knew that you would play magical tricks on me. I will not let you win; your magic will be mine!” Gavril said in a frustrated voice as the ground cracked underneath his feet.
“Let the child go,” a husky, deep voice said from afar.
“Leave us, creature, this does not concern you,” Gavril said as he fixed his gaze to the skirts of the village.
“This is my only concern. I was made with the sole purpose to protect this child,” the creature said as he walked towards Gavril.
“You must have a death wish by walking towards me. If you get any closer, I will simply grant it to you, creature,” Gavril said as he put down the massively heavy child on the ground.
“You seem to be strong, half-blood, preying on innocent Nulians and humans. Nevertheless, I can assure you that you have not faced someone like me. I am a Watcher.” The wolf-like creature emerged from the shadows and kept walking towards Gavril.
“A Watcher you say? And just what do you watch?” Gavril said in an arrogant tone, barking a laugh that was full of confident amusement as he faced the walking creature fully.
“I will watch over the life of the originators of magic, such as this child,” the Watcher said as he got closer to Gavril, walking in a steady pace.
“Are you sure you want to face me?” Gavril said after assuming a menacing fighting position.
The Watcher leaped towards Gavril with its claws wide, landing two powerful blows. The force instantly sent Gavril flying towards one of the villager’s home, instantly destroying half of it.
“You are strong,” Gavril said in between coughs, “but I’m just getting warmed up.”
Gavril ran towards the Watcher with an incredible speed, both his hands already in fists. As he got within striking distance from the Watcher, he flung with all his strength, only to miss the Watcher that had disappeared into thin air in that exact second.
“Ha!” the Watcher shouted. He appeared behind Gavril with a grin on his face that showed almost the entirety of his blade-sharp fangs and teeth.
The Watcher immediately unleashed a powerful combination of attacks that sent the abomination of a human to the ground a few meters away from where Harmony lay. Gavril found it almost impossible to move after the Watcher’s attacks. He knew that he was no match for the Watcher. Gavril found himself coughing out blood and hopelessly outmatched by the beast. He knew that if he did not do something quick, the beast would simply end his newfound existence. As he lay on the floor, Gavril’s brain contorted and twisted, once again coming up with a new way to bend magic. He took his right hand up to his face and coughed on it, covering his palm with blood. While the Watcher did not think much of this motion as he knew that there was little Gavril could do to win the battle, Gavril took his hand covered with blood and slapped the floor with it in a single motion.
“Rise…” Gavril whispered with the last of his breath.
The Watcher instantly assumed a defensive position when he saw Gavril’s move. However, seconds passed and nothing seemed to happen. Not a single noise was heard throughout the town other than Gavril’s agonizing breaths. As the Watcher looked everywhere, expecting something, he suddenly heard a footstep from afar. Then, many footsteps quickly followed the first. A standing mob was emerging from within the shadows of the village. The Watcher could not believe his eyes, shaking his head from side to side to get rid of any form of trickery from Gavril.
“How did you do this? You are truly a monster,” the Watcher said as he growled and looked at the mob that was approaching him.
In order to conserve energy, Gavril did not bother to answer; he simply lay on the ground and listened to everything that was happening. Gavril had given every single human from the tiny village a new kind of life and purpose. They would never die again; they could only listen to what their new master has to say and carry out his orders. Although they looked human, the mob of villagers that was walking towards the Watcher was anything but human. Their bodies moved much like a puppet’s would. They looked colorless and cold. Even when the wounds that Gavril had inflicted upon them were still present on the villagers’ bodies, they seemed to not feel any pain. Gavril had successfully invoked his own kind of army that he would later call, the Rot.
The Watcher kept shaking his head from side to side, unable to comprehend the atrocity that Gavril committed against life. He soon found himself surrounded by the undead villagers. They seemed to do nothing; they were just standing there as if awaiting orders. The Watcher made a growl that would scare any living creature. However, it did not seem to affect the villagers at all. They were emotionlessly surrounding the powerful beast. Suddenly, the Watcher heard a faint whisper coming from Gavril’s motionless body: “Kill him.” The mob went from emotionless to angry in a matter of seconds, instantly attacking the Watcher. Defending himself, the beast took down the undead villagers one by one. It only took a single hit from the Watcher’s claw to send the villagers flying or into the ground. But no matter how many of the undead the watcher took down, they just kept coming. One after another, they kept appearing, surrounding the angry beast. After a short period, the Watcher began to realize that he was defeating the same villagers repeatedly in an endless cycle.
Gavril was still on the floor, motionless, as the Watcher was being attacked by the villagers. He knew that the mob of the undead would not be enough to defeat the Watcher that night, for the Watcher did not seem to tire. As his mind warped even further into the world of dark magic, with every minute that passed, he became stronger in its use. Barely able to move, he used the tip of his index finger to scribe on the floor an incoherent symbol that only he could understand.
“From the Far East Mountains and from the depths of the earth, bring forth a beast with the ability to destroy a Watcher. Dark beast, I summon you here!” Gavril said in a faint voice as the symbol he scribed glowed a vivid red.
A formidable and loud blast of wind emanated from the symbol Gavril scribed on the floor, causing a cloud of dust. The wind sent Gavril, the Watcher, and the villagers flying, causing them to crash into the nearby village homes. As the dust settled, a formidable lizard-like creature appeared, standing above the symbol. The creature was standing on two legs, holding an oversized spiked club with his right hand. Wearing heavy armor, the creature appeared to have no weak spots. The creature seemed to be strong and impatiently awaiting orders.
“Kill the Watcher,” Gavril managed to whisper.
To be continued…
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