Lily was right. It wasn't over yet. We needed to fight Raptor and also take down the dragon. But I assumed Raptor was the leader and defeating him would mean victory to us. Hence, I yelled and charged into the battle once again.
The others joined me and together, we surrounded the beast. Raptor didn't really find it difficult to fight all of us. After all, he was the commander of King Jalaar's army. He simply used his hands and we were sent flying. Some of us got the chance of getting a few hits but it wasn't enough for defeating the monster.
I had been using the Zantai power all this time. But even Raptor could use it, being a Xorain. So it was obvious that we were fighting each other with the same kind of energy. "Blaze, we need Magnum." Oliver said during his attacks. I understood. Magnum was the only way Raptor could be defeated. I needed to use his strength.
The last time I had used Magnum's power on Raptor, I had lost. But this time there was more to it. Magnum was now even stronger and also had a few tricks. This was it. I held the battle-axe tight and ran towards Raptor. The beast had already been ready for this and he used the same move he had the last time. His hands glowed white just like Magnum and we clashed. This brought out old memories. Bad ones.
I had become stronger and so had Magnum. We pushed further and this time, Raptor was thrown back. He was still on his feet, a few meters away. He looked at me and smiled, "I see you have got stronger. But who cares. I'll still crush you!" He used his hands and lifted the ground. I was lifted and thrown down from a newly made hill. Yes, that hurts.
There was no time to grief. I got up, almost as fine as before. My friends were fighting during my absence. I turned back and watched Wade and his men firing the giants who didn't seem to decrease in number. Above, Colloseus was doing his best against Drakolleus. The only thing I noticed odd was Lily.
She stood near the fight but wasn't a part of it. Her hand held her right broken leg. It hadn't healed and fighting in that state could be annoying. But there was more to it. Her expression told that she was in a deep thought, as if thinking about all the reasons she needed to battle. I knew she was tensed. But before, I could reach to her, Raptor roared and threw the others back. God Ison, his magic never ends!
I decided to go and charge once again. As I ran, Raptor got conscious. He looked at me, as if waiting to tear me apart. But just then something happened – something I did not appreciate. I saw Lily jump behind Raptor.
Lily yelled, "Victory to the DELTAs!!!", and climbed the monster's back. Raptor felt uncomfortable and tried shaking Lily off. But she stuck to his back like glue and did not give in. She thrust Uniclaw into Raptor's shoulders and the beast cried in pain. He could barely stand, his legs giving way. He used his hands to catch Lily. She didn't care and kept striking with her daggers.
Raptor's whole back was now filled with blood. He had no choice but to use his magic. He raised his hands as Lily got her daggers near his throat. She was about to cut his neck off when Raptor used his magic. He made a gestured of closing his fist and Lily was immediately chocked. He threw his hand forward and she was being pushed away. But of course, the stubborn girl didn't give up. She used all the power she had and attacked one last time. She shouted at the top of her voice as she slashed Uniclaw through Raptor's throat. Then she was sent flying.
I was standing there like an idiot, showing no sign of help. It was when Lily fell that I came back to my senses. We all rushed to her. The dust covered the surroundings. I made my way to her through the mist. My hand held her shoulder and she wasn't even in a state of crying. She just looked at me and made noises which may have meant, What? Stop staring and fight, you idiot!!!
"Amanda, help." I demanded and she immediately came into the picture. She held Lily's hand and closed her eyes. Some kind of healing power maybe. Then I looked back where Raptor had been. The dust had settled and the mist was no more. I saw Raptor lying down. His face was to the ground. He then suddenly melted into the floor. Yes, that was gross. And I couldn't understand what had happened until I saw Mark's awestruck face.
Was it really true? Had we defeated Raptor? Was he dead? Silence filled the air as each of the DELTAs learnt what had happened. I turned to Lily. She had her eyes almost closed. "Did you just… kill that beast?" I asked. Lily tried her best to shoot me an annoyed expression. Yes, she had killed Raptor!
"Holy Ison!!! You killed Raptor!!" Xavier screamed in excitement. The war had stopped. The dragons didn't fight anymore. Nor did Wade fire the giants. They all understood that it was over. But Amanda looked tensed. "Um, I am not able to heal her. I'm a bit worried." She declared. We looked at Lily whose face had sunken with tiredness. She still didn't give up on her mean look.
Suddenly, something sparked in me. Mean look! Before I could think anymore, I heard a sound. It was from behind me. I turned around and held Magnum tight. About twenty meters away, Raptor was regenerated. His melted body was gaining form again. His whole body was back along with his ugly face. Why god? Why?!!
"Death will come to the Mean…" He growled as he caught his knee and stood back up. He turned his head to me. "With that, the ancient boon shall be seen!" He finished. We looked at each other, bewildered. "You still don't understand?" He barked. "The mean girl you have as your teammate – she is bound to die!"
I too had felt that before Raptor had stood up. The word Mean actually meant Lily, who was a mean and rude girl. Well, this proved one thing. The prophecy also had a sense of humor, calling Lily a mean girl. But I did not appreciate the joke at the moment. My friend was dying in front of me, just as the prophecy said. But if that was the case….
I looked at Raptor for a detailed explanation and he understood. "The second phrase talks about an ancient boon. A boon given to me by my lord. Long before you were born, Zakostroph, I had worked for your father and had been loyal. In return the king lent me a vile of healing created by his best magicians. I consumed it and the vile became a boon to me. An ancient boon which would heal me during death. So Zakostroph, now you understand that you aren't the only one who has come back from the dead." Raptor announced.
All this had made me dizzy and I could barely stand. The worst part was to see Lily die like this. Every second, her face went paler and she was going closer to death. "There has to be another way. We need to save her!" Oliver demanded. But Lily had already accepted her fate. I knew that she would die and there was no stopping a prophecy. Even Amanda didn't respond.
I felt totally useless but what else could I do? Lily had almost closed her eyes. But then she shot me one last look. Her eyes said it all. I knew that she wanted to say, You need to win. And then, the DELTA laid her head down.