24. The Powerful One
Chapter 24
The Powerful One
O nce I agreed to the fight, Koro nodded.
“Good. This is my Solomonari, I believe you have already met,” he said, holding out his arm and prompting for the sorcerer we had already encountered to appear from the shadows. At the removal of the long grey cloak that we had once seen covering the being from head to toe, it was quickly revealed that it wasn’t an old, grey bearded man after all.
Instead, a beautiful female with startling white hair pinned back in a Viking style mohawk. A network of small braids and twists clamped with metal rings were interwoven in long straight hair pulled back from her face. Dark eyes looked demonic in nature due to the piercing white irises that were practically glowing.
But this wasn’t the most unusual feature, as half of the skin on her face was pigmented with a dark red color. The line between the red and the rest of her pale white tone contoured her cheekbones, as it went from the bottom of her nose in diagonal lines to the top of her pointed ears.
From her ears were tapered, blood red horns that coiled with ridges until ending at a sharp point back past her head, doing so in a straight line. Symbols and runes were carved into various parts of her skin, with one showcased at her forehead that looked as if it had scared white.
Her lips were black just like the skin on her fingers, as if she had dipped them in ink. Now as for what she wore, or should I say what little clothing she possessed, this was a long length of red fabric. One was used to wrap across her small breasts in such a way that it left the underside of them peeking out. A tantalizing swell of skin that no doubt had many men near begging to see more.
The rest of the material circled from her shoulders and around her back, finishing with a knot at her hip. Her long flowing white skirt was painted with even more red symbols, it was dirty at the hem and left open at the front. This revealed a pair of dark red leather trousers that were skintight. The same material used on her top half, had also been used to fashion simple footwear, and the fabric wrapped between her toes before creeping up her calves.
“Yeah, definitely not Gandalf,” my brother muttered, nudging Marcus who looked about ready to swallow his own tongue.
“Sorina, if you please.” She bowed before running her hands up and down in a fluid way, as if almost dancing with her fingers to her own magical tune. Something that caused all the runes to suddenly sizzle off the bone and becoming vapor. This before flying to her hands as if she were calling back her spells. Meaning I took no time at all before I was taking the bones in my hands and snapping them, my strength crushing the cage enough to now walk through.
“There was a door, you know,” Koro muttered wryly, making me smirk as I caught the jacket my brother threw at me and told him in a satisfied tone,
“Yeah, I know.”
He released a sigh before stepping aside and saying,
“This way.” Then he turned to walk out of the holding area and toward where I gathered was in the direction of the arena. Even from here I could hear the crowd getting warmed up. As for his sorcerer, she fixed the damage I had made with a flick of her wrist, ignoring me as I put on my torn jacket.
“I think I am in love,” Marcus muttered in jest, making Orth scowl before reminding him,
“Tried to kill us, dickhead, or did you forget the giant snake dragon thing she keeps as a pet.”
She looked over her shoulder at them both and winked.
“Maybe she’s interested in petting something else,” Marcus replied winking back.
Licking her lips she gave us a glimpse of her forked, snake tongue, making my brother laugh as he slapped Marcus on the shoulder and said,
“Yeah, good luck with that one.”
One look at Marcus and now he didn’t seem so sure. Not that I could blame him, as she didn’t exactly look like the type out for a good time before having a cuddle in bed. No, what she did look like was the type that poisoned you before consuming your body during the act like some fucking praying mantis.
As for myself, I wanted to get this fight over and done with so I could quickly get on to the next stage of this fucked up adventure we were on. The stage where it meant finding my girl and getting her somewhere safe before I could concentrate all my efforts on finding that fuck Garmr and killing him once and for all.
Now normally I would relish the idea of a good fight, already feeling my HellBeast blood pumping through my veins at the thought. But the mortal part of me just wanted this shit done, so as I could put my hands around Koro’s neck and squeeze the information I needed out of him.
We continued to make our way through the maze of crude tents, propped up like ancient market stalls, reminding me of a less colorful Devil’s Ring. At each stall was a person selling a variety of goods in what was clearly a flurry of activity set up next to the arena. A wide variety of demons in their true form, and those that were masked in their mortal vessels filled the area. Most of which seemed to be making their way toward the arena.
It looked like a crude take on some ancient amphitheater, with its construction made from the same crushed bone and blood mortar that had been formed into large blocks. These had then been used to create a tiered seating area, that was filled with excited demons all waiting for the next fight. Large rib bones curled over the top level and were used to secure the large sails I had seen from the battlements, creating a patchwork roof. Large square pillars the thickness of a redwoods stood like sentinels at the corners that created the octagon shape.
“You two, you can watch from the stands,” Koro said, directing them toward one of the two towers that framed the entrance and obviously allowed access to the different levels.
“You’re fucked in the head if you think I am leaving my brother,” Orth snapped, now being the one close to losing his shit.
“He fights alone, as is his destiny,” the sorcerer, Sorina, said, speaking for the first time, her voice a sultry purr that had Marcus shaking his head as if trying to rid himself the sexual lure.
“No fucking…” At this Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder and said,
“What she says is true, the master of this realm needs to see him as being worthy.” He then nodded up to the highest level in the stand, and one clearly set up for royalty as it came with a large throne made from, yep, you guessed it… bones and blood.
The dark figure was hard to see in detail from down here, but it was obvious whoever he was, that he was the one calling the shots and not Koro like I originally thought.
“It’s fine, Orth, how hard can this opponent be?” I asked, and as if right on cue, we heard a colossal roar, making us both look toward the other side of the arena, seeing now a massive giant trying to break free of its chains.
A sight that made my brother comment,
“You were saying?”
In light of the very obvious giant now trying to burst through the bone gates at the other end, I would say this wasn’t going to be as easy as I first thought. Which was why in response to my brother’s comment I took off my jacket and thrust it into his chest, telling him,
“Hold this!” Then I walked out into the arena, ignoring the roar of the crowd that like in the marketplace, looked to be a mix of many races. Half of which came with horns, wings, spiked tails, or sometimes all three. Each here to watch the show as they hammered their feet on the stands, making the thundering sound echo against the walls of the ring. A bare space of compacted dirt and sand that was encased with the same blocks that had been decorated with the horns of the fallen champions. And let’s just say a lot of demons had died here in this ring, as there were too many horns to count.
They started to raise the gate on my side first, just as I was being announced by a booming voice addressing the crowd,
“Legends will be told of this very day, as our first HellBeast is to grace our arena with his presence! Not just any HellBeast, but I give to you all… CERBERUS, THE FAMED HELLBEAST KING!”
The crowd went crazy hearing this, which I suppose was a boost to the ego. As at least not everyone here wanted to see this big fucker kill me.
“And his opponent is but of course, our Lord’s fighter and undefeated champion, NOVACI, THE POWERFUL ONE!”
“Oh great, that sounds promising,” I muttered sarcastically to myself, now looking to the stands and seeing my brother and Marcus making their way to where Koro was already positioned just below the King. My brother’s face was a picture of worry, and I was not surprised, especially when they didn’t raise the barrier fast enough for the giant, making him burst through the bone gate.
A splinter of white burst around him as he emerged, charging straight at me, his ghostly white eyes glowing with pure rage and hatred. The fifteen-foot giant looked as if he had once been a part of the mountain and when awoken he had simply taken a piece of it with him. His skin like dry grey rock with patches of growing bluish moss and vegetation showing through the cracks. The natural creases on his body were open enough that roots grew and wrapped around his elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists. It looked like his body’s natural way of defense, hiding his weak spots. My eyes continued to scan for more as quickly as possible, because for his size, he was fast.
His long pale beard looked like the finer roots you would find from plants, like fine hairs seeking out nutrients in the soil. The rest of his body was made from rock, hard muscle, and like me, the only part of him covered was his lower half. Although my denim looked to offer more in the way of protection than the ragged strips of leather, fur, and tree bark hanging from his waist.
He charged straight at me, and it wasn’t exactly reassuring to see that he had the luxury of a weapon, even if it was a blunt looking axe made from a giant’s leg bone and blood-stained iron.
I dodged this easily enough, as despite the guy being quick, his size also made it harder for him to stop, causing him to hit the side of the arena hard. A number of the horned trophies fell to the ground on impact, as well as impaling him. But this didn’t exactly do much damage because he knocked them all out of his skin with one swipe of his axe brushing down his thighs.
One thing was for sure, he was clearly a tough bastard.
“Alright, arsehole, let’s go,” I said, now bringing forth only a part of my HellBeast, knowing I would need to keep my wits here. Which meant not turning fully into my beast. No, instead, I flexed my claws out after they grew from Hellish arms. My skin and flesh beneath felt the fire and fed from it as I readied myself for the next attack. One that came quickly as he rose his axe and ran at me once more. I dodged the hit, rolling to the side, at the same time slashing out at his leg, soon discovering that it did no damage.
“Ah fuck,” I muttered when I felt my ankle being grabbed before I was swung around and tossed into the wall. The impact winded me enough that I fought for breath as I rose to my feet, only just spotting the danger that was flying my way.
Again, I was forced to roll in the dirt and doing so with only an inch to spare because I stopped while looking up at the large axe head that was the size of a table and right above my head. He had thrown it sideways, no doubt in hopes of cutting me into two pieces, instead causing it to get embedded into the wall.
He roared at this, throwing his meaty arms back and dipping his bald head down like some savage beast. I had clearly pissed him off with the fact that I wasn’t dead yet, as obviously this guy was used to winning a quick fight. He also wanted his weapon back, and he charged at me again, only this time I was ready to test out one of my theories.
When I ducked and rolled a second time, I slashed out in a more calculated spot. My heated claws cut through the roots behind his knee, making him howl in pain as he dropped on his right side, discovering he couldn’t bare weight there.
Meaning I had been right, those tight knots of roots had been grown for defense. Of course, I was a little quick in my victory as once more my leg was grabbed, only this time he didn’t toss me into the wall. No, he tossed me upward.
I felt myself become airborne like some damn cartoon character, as I was shot right through the sails on the roof. Then as I landed, I bounced a few times, hearing my brother shout,
“You okay up there?!”
“Yeah, fucking peachy,” I groaned as I glanced down the Jared-sized hole I had made in the patch of leather. There was a furious roar from the giant below, the one named Novaci, as he was still trying to get his axe out the wall but with little luck.
“Oh, fuck it!” I said, knowing there was only one way down. So, I reached out to grab a fist full of animal hide before slashing out with my claws. This made a large section of the roof give way completely, so for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, I got to feel like fucking Tarzan. And like last time, I was unfortunately swinging toward something solid.
However, I braced myself for this, kicking from the wall with my feet, ignoring the jarring impact. At the same time, the giant realized he was unable to free his axe, so he changed tactics. He reached down, hammering his hands into the dirt, now gathering up a massive boulder of compacted earth. This he then threw at me just as I propelled my body toward him, now making the quick decision to change completely. Which meant that my HellBeast form was what dove straight through the large projectile of earth, making it burst around me as I did.
Something he wasn’t expecting, and I landed right on him, knocking him back on his damaged foot that crumbled under his weight. Then before he had chance to get up and use his size against me, I slashed out at the rest of his weak spots. This soon rendered him unable to use his arms as I cut through the roots at his elbows first.
Then when he tried in vain to get himself back up, it was no use. Especially when I leapt off him and swiped out at his knees, making him crash to the ground in final defeat. As if cutting through the roots had also meant I had cut through his tendons, rendering his limbs useless.
All the while the giant howled in pain as the crowd roared in sight of my victory. I transformed back into my human vessel, keeping my arms as a weapon and the only part of my beast to continue to show through. Then with a knee to his chest, I got ready to deliver the finishing blow, seeing now the roots wound tight around his neck, telling me of his last and final weak spot.
The one that would kill him.
However, as I pulled back my arm, ready with my claws to strike, I recognized something in his eyes. He didn’t look angry that he had lost the fight, nor did he look panicked in the face of death. No, if anything he simply looked resigned to his fate. The face of someone who had lost everything and rage had therefore substituted all else. And now, it was as if he were finally ready to find peace in its place.
My claws were still held at the ready to issue the killing blow, and everyone around me was bloodthirsty and chanting for it. But I blocked it all out except those eyes full of sadness and soulful resolve. He had accepted his end and nodded for me to finish it.
Any other time, I might have. But now, I lived no longer a selfish life, as I had my girl to think about. My acts were held accountable by my own admission, for how could I face her knowing of the life I had taken when I didn’t have to? If this had been in my own ring, then I knew she would have seen it too, and called out for me to stop. To give mercy above all else.
The fight was over.
The fight had been won.
So, what more was there to gain? The realization must have become evident on my features, as the one known as Novaci took on a look of surprise. Now questioning why I would spare his life, when he knew he wouldn’t have done the same. But wasn’t that what set us apart from being heroes and villains? And I knew what type of man I wanted to be for Ella. So, I rose from where I had him pinned, knowing from his injuries sustained he would not be quick in getting to his feet.
“Your champion is defeated and therefore entitled to his freedom!” I shouted, making the one on his throne suddenly open up his cloak and release his ink black wings as he flew down. I had only ever seen a pair of wings like that on Lucius before his transition when receiving the spear of destiny. Wings of a demonic bat, with long finger like bones between a webbing of leathery skin, each tipped with curled talons.
Which meant that once again, I was faced with a very different type of Vampire, and not one I would have called a friend.
It looked like the myths were true, because here stood…
Nefartatul, or better known as…
Nosferatu.