'What do you mean, "What are these descendants?" You're one of them you bastard!' Quickly shot Nergal to the rude kid.
'How am I one of these descendants? First of all, I don't even know what they are! Well, I guess I could somewhat guess…' Answered Kellen.
'They're the inheritors of a god's bloodline, although their power usually fizzles out a bit with each new generation.' Explained Osiris nonchalantly.
'Yes, the most powerful ones are the direct descendants, which are akin to the power of the gods themselves sometimes. So count yourself lucky as my direct descendant kid!' Said Nergal.
'Well, what about the whole inheritor story?' Questioned Kellen in confusion.
'Didn't you hear me? I said "inheritors of a bloodline".' Reiterated Nergal sarcastically.
'Alright; Alright; I get it.' Said Kellen while looking back over to Axus's battle.
He watched as the legionnaire was forced to relentlessly deflect and parry away the blazing arrows that were rapidly shot at him from many directions. The descendant of Apollo gave him no leeway while the barrage continued, as he disappeared in a cloak of flames and reappeared to repeat the process.
Kellen figured that the tactics used by the other party seemed to be a battle of attrition. However, neither opponent seemed to be getting exhausted yet.
"Monsters…" Mumbled Kellen to himself as he watched the insane fight.
He knew he had to scurry around to the other side but the problem was the gorge that was in the center of the throne room. It spanned from the entrance to nearby the throne where the battle was taking place and was too wide for him to cross. It would take too much time for him to run all the way back around but he didn't want to get caught up in Axus's deadly fight either.
'Shit… What should I do?' Thought Kellen.
From where he was now, he could see Tommy's group huddling under their shields at the base of their staircase. Arrows continued to rain down on them from above just like it did back at Kellen's group. The problem was that Strom's group would be rushing up the stairs soon and expected the other group to do the same under Kellen's guidance.
If he didn't make up his mind soon and get over there, then the whole operation would be a bust.
'Come on! Get yourself together!' Thought Kellen as he began to muster up the courage to race into Axus's battle. He didn't have to support him or fight the descendant, but simply passing through wasn't going to be easy either…
'Have you forgotten about my gifts already?' Asked Osiris with a grudging voice.
'That's right!' Exclaimed Kellen.
He had totally forgotten about the abilities he had been given from Osiris since the issues he had faced with his demonic powers had been occupying most of his mind recently.
'Just because that bastard can short teleport, it doesn't mean his soul is not still present…' Realized Kellen.
If he used the soul sensing, then he theoretically should be able to pinpoint where the archer was at all times. Therefore, making it far more plausible to sneak through without getting surprised or pounced on out of nowhere.
Kellen closed his eyes and used the familiar power given to him by the god of death. His pupils shimmered as a dark and golden light shined from them.
A massive red fire erupted into his field of vision from behind Axus's blazing white aura.
Kellen carefully studied the battle for a short while longer to get used to the teleporting movements of the descendant of Apollo.
Although the descendent's movements were erratic and followed no apparent pattern, Kellen was able to clearly identify his path. When the descendent was shrouded in the cloak of flames and appeared somewhere else, Kellen could see the soul of the invisible man move to the next location.
'Got it.'
Kellen climbed over the mound of stone figures and raced towards the throne. Kellen was amazed by the sheer amount of power displayed by the legionnaire's soul but what was even more incredible was that the descendant of Apollo's soul matched that power level.
'Don't worry kid. You'll get there eventually.' Consoled Osiris, who noticed Kellen comparing the power of the two monstrous opponents facing off in front of him.
Kellen knew he would one day reach that level as well. What really concerned him more was the fact that there were others out there far more powerful than this. If these two could be considered monsters, then what were the gods who were in their prime like?
Kellen didn't want to fathom the sheer amount of force the god Apollo had held if this was only his descendant that he was now seeing.
"Axus! Behind you!" Shouted Kellen from behind the pile of stone figures after noticing Axus was about to be caught off guard.
Axus immediately thrust his spear behind his short body at an elevated angle. He estimated the area his opponents chest would be and aimed for that general height.
A clang of metal rang out near the tip of his spear. The scarlet bow that had just materialized at the end of the spear had deflected it. But only barely…
"I don't mind some spectators since you're all going to die soon. But commentators… Are unneeded!" Angrily said the descendant with a murderously heated glare which was shifted towards Kellen.
'Ah shit… So much for sneaking around…' Thought Kellen while biting his lip.
The descendant disappeared from Axus's eyes again but did not emerge near him this time. Instead, Axus looked over to find Kellen frantically scrambling over the stone figures while pointing and shouting.
"Axus! He's on my ass now! Do something!"
Kellen pushed aside the stone figures in his way and raced over towards Tommy's group as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and confirmed the descendant's movements close behind him.
The descendant's fiery soul aura was advancing on him quite rapidly. Kellen knew that there was not going to be enough time for his escape.
"He's at my ten o'clock! Near the pile!" Desperately shouted Kellen while pointing towards the general direction he had previously ran from.
White flashes pulsed in Axus's eyes as he hefted his golden spear over his right shoulder. He charged the spear with energy causing its white halo to brighten while taking careful aim at his directed target.
"Eat this you sneaky bastard!" Roared Axus before releasing a flash of energy from his spear.
The blinding light shot forth from the small man's spear like a cannon. The stone statues and cracked floor beneath them disintegrated as the column of blinding light crashed down across the old floor.
Dust kicked up along the trench that was carved across the hall by the light like a smiting ray.
Kellen did not stop his running but still looked back over his shoulder to determine the result. His eyes widened in disbelief after seeing the faint red glow of the descendents soul wavering behind the cloud of dust.
"He's near the other end of the gorge!" Shouted Kellen while shaking his head.
'This descendant is a slippery one. Isn't he?' Commented Osiris who continued to thoughtfully study the scene.
'That or just ridiculously strong.' Added Nergal with a grunt.
'At least he hasn't materialized…' Said Osiris while snapping his ethereal fingers.
'True. They'd all be fucked if that happened probably…' Agreed Nergal while leaning his head to the side.
'Why? Does that bastard have something even worse up his sleeve?' Nervously asked Kellen as he jumped over the rest of the fallen stone statues that were between him and Tommy's group.
'Possibly? I mean we can't know for sure how much that kid knows…' Replied Osiris.
Kellen balled his fists and gritted his teeth. He still didn't quite understand what these two old demons were discussing but it obviously wasn't anything that helped their survival.
What he needed to do now was regroup Tommy's group and his at the balcony. If they could gather the men, then their chances of surviving this confrontation would increase. Even if those chances were only by a small margin…
He ran over to Tommy and helped him pull the injured men to the side from the staircase.
"Tommy, we need to get up there onto the balcony to meet with the rest of my group. I don't know how much longer Axus can hold that bastard off for… So it's gonna be a time crunch." Instructed Kellen.
"Is that going to be even possible? There's still a bunch of those cultist-looking scum up there though!" Nervously whispered Tommy after they removed the injured from their active ranks.
Kellen pointed towards the other staircase where soldiers were already making their way back up to the balcony.
"Strom is leading the other side over there. His orders are for us to pinch the enemy between our forces from this side. We've still got men and Strom already dealt them a blow… Come on! We can make it!" Encouraged Kellen while grabbing onto Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy narrowed his eyes and lowered his head before nodding in acceptance.
"Alrig, but if we die here… It's on your ass!" He stubbornly added before pushing their remaining troops up the staircase with them.
"Everyone up to the balcony! We're attacking with Strom!" Shouted Kellen while leading their wave alongside Tommy with his sword unsheathed and tightly gripped in his hand.
He was unsure what the results of this would leave them with but it was better than standing around and dying without trying. He wondered whether his words were actually meant to encourage himself more than Tommy.
When their small group got to the top of the stairs a line of archers in crimson robes were waiting for them with drawn bows.
"Shields!" Yelled Kellen.
A wall of shields pushed forward and blocked the line of arrows that flooded their ranks. Some soldiers were unfortunately unable to react fast enough and hit the floor pierced with arrows. Their dead bodies fell off the cracked balcony to the floor around the throne beneath them.
Tommy and Kellen nodded to each other while ducking behind the shield wall placed in front of them by the remaining troops.
"Push forward!" Yelled Tommy while raising his sword up from behind the shields.
Kellen prepared his blade as well. He followed the spearmen directly behind the shields as they pushed forward towards the firing archers. The wall slowly and carefully advanced towards the archers as the romans hid behind their raised shields while noting the cracked and crumbling sections of the balcony beneath their feet. One misstep and the soldiers would end up falling from the partially destroyed balcony.
As the wall of shields encroached on the archers, Kellen noticed some of the crimson robed men reveal small jars from beneath their robes.
"Kellen!" Shouted Tommy after realizing what those jars contained.
Kellen recognized the jars that were filled with oil that the order had used before to stop them at the staircases.
"I know! I'll handle it! Keep pushing them!" Shot back Kellen as he poured flaming demonic energy into his sword.
The blade in his hands burst into flames before he jumped over the crouched soldier holding a shield in front of him.
The space between him and the order was only a few feet now, but if he let them toss those oil jars onto their soldiers and ignite them then it would all be over.
Realizing that he did not have enough time, Kellen charged the sword with more of his energy before carefully throwing it towards the order. The flaming blade flipped through the air like a red flare as it accurately traveled to its target. The enemy closest to Kellen had raised the jar in his hand and was about to throw it until the sword cleanly sliced through it.
The flames engulfing the sword ignited the oil inside and exploded right next to the man's hooded face. In a chain reaction, the members surrounding the man burst into flames. The oil jars in some of their hands ignited while lit drops of oil flew onto their robes, causing the entire line of the order to explode into a sea of fire.
Their agonizing screams echoed on the balcony as the robed order burned alive. Through the flames, Kellen could just make out the blue arching tendrils of lightning produced by Strom causing a similar event on the other side.
"Got you! Ya bastards!" Yelled Tommy from behind their line of soldiers.