I'm not going to lie – looking at the vicious monsters of Phantom running towards the enemies and slaughtering each enemy was quite satisfying.
I had totally forgotten about Red One's part of the deal. But he kept his word. He wasn't physically present but every now and then, I would hear inside my head, him teasing my skills. "Really? You take this much time to kill?! Puny Darknorians!" His voice boomed inside me. But I wasn't agitated by these comments. I had a wide smile for he had kept his promise. And his teases were just a way he showed his concern. Once while fighting an enemy, I heard him say, "Although you worship my father, Ison, I find you quite interesting. A guy who bravely accepts my challenge – you deserve my Grace even after the long history I have with my father." He laughed and I smiled too. His teases were mixed with sweetness and I loved seeing him try to hide his concern for the army and Darknorians.
Druk and I, along with Sounge - we were wrecking whoever stood in our way. Red One's army had really strengthened our confidence. Even Drakolleus, the enemy dragon felt that it was time. He flew and breathed fire, burning many soldiers. I turned towards the south, where Colloseus had been patiently waiting. The dragon understood and started flying to clash with his brother. This time, we ourselves went towards Trikallous. "Let's put an end to this massive ugliness for once and for all!" Druk shouted. I agreed. The humongous monster was flying in the sky. He spotted us and roared. His roar was deafening more than scary. The creature rushed towards us from the air. Druk had his pointed claws ready and I held the battle-axe tightly. I was soothing Sounge, commanding him to move at the right moment. Just when Trikallous was about ten feet in the air, extremely close to us, I pressed my leg against Sounge and the hermit galloped at top speed. Druk jumped high and went face to face with the creature.
Even though Druk was one of the bravest friends I had, he was still tiny compared to the large monster. He was barely the size of Trikallous's mouth. He thrust his claws on the thick skin of the foe but the monster smashed him on the ground with his weight. I had gotten out of the radius of attack when the creature would land. That was the only way, I would have a chance. The moment, he smashed Druk on the ground, Sounge rushed towards the scene. Trikallous didn't notice me and I used a lot of my power and slashed through the thick skin on his back. The monster, being so large, didn't feel much affected but surely enraged. He turned his head, glaring at me. I ignored him and yelled, "Druk! Get up! Where's your male ego, buddy?" With a hand on his head, Druk slowly sat up. He took some time to take in all that had happened. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a sweet blow by Trikallous.
The monster ran towards me and I didn't back away. I galloped towards him and got the battle-axe in an attack pose. I knew that killing him wasn't possible with normal power and energy. Beasts like Trikallous had to be killed with some energy which was more powerful. Hence, I decided to use the Zantai Power! I closed my eyes in between the fight! I tried to focus and sensed the monster come closer to me. I realized that he too had been using the Zantai power. I saw the outline of his figure raising the right arm to smash me on the ground. "Your call, pal!" I told Magnum, smiling even in such a situation. "Hang on the right side of Sounge. The hermit can take it. Then attack his chest. Finish him off!" Magnum's voice boomed in me. I laughed.
My eyes were stilled closed but I sensed the figure about to hit me. I hanged on the right side of the hermit, my legs almost on the ground. Although Sounge slowed down a bit due to the extra weight on his right; as Magnum said, he managed. Trikallous missed. I thrust the battle-axe into the monster's chest immediately. But the thick skin was like an armor for him. He glared at me and I knew that nothing had happened to him. He used the Zantai Power and threw me off Sounge's back while the hermit gallop forward. I fell on the ground with blood coming from my right arm. Of course, I didn't care for my blood!
But this beast was taking no damage which was concerning. Druk again tried to use his claws but Trikallous gulped his whole hand, not letting go. It came to the point where Druk had to thrust his left hand on the creature's face to release his right arm. The saliva wasn't the problem; the injury was. Trikallous had used his fangs on Druk's arm. Druk fell down, trying his best not to wail.
I got back up, my legs barely having the strength. The monster looked at me. Just then, I saw Mark arriving for the rescue. Oliver kept all the small enemy soldiers at bay, creating a protective radius for us. Amanda rushed to check Druk's injury. Xavier was flying above in the ship, helping Oliver in taking down all other foes. Trikallous was in the middle and Mark and I looked at each other, nodding. We charged together.
Mark's grappling hook came in handy. He used Quester to force the monster's neck down and I threw the battle-axe on his forehead. The monster did take some damage but still seemed unaffected. Mark used Porticallius, his crossbow and shot on the chest. Again, nothing seemed to happen. I tried to use the Zantai power but Trikallous's power and mine were cutting each other off. I slashed the creature's left foot but he just grabbed my neck and threw me far off. I slowly got up and ran towards him. Mark too, was sent flying but he was much more aggressive than me. He didn't give up.
He shot with his crossbow directly on the monster's right eye. That gave Mark a chance to attack. He climbed on top of the humongous creature and used his grappling hook on the back of his neck. I was in awe looking at his bravery and skills. I decided to help and used all my strength to smash the ground hard with the battle-axe. I didn't expect it; but the ground shook and Trikallous was bent to his knees. Mark kept slashing his grappling hook on the monster's back, but soon he was thrown far off. I could see that Mark had taken serious damage. Though Oliver and Xavier were helping to keep the enemy forces from entering the radius, some of them managed. Two or three of them stabbed Mark with swords as he was trying to get up. More than his armor, I could now see blood. His chest plate had cracked from two places he was very vulnerable. Even Druk hadn't totally healed up by Amanda. He needed some time to rest. But he had to maintain himself in an area inside the radius, safe enough so that no foe would come up to him. Amanda was standing there, protecting him. When the time to fight arrived, their differences didn't matter. They were together, protecting and fighting for each other.
But overall, our group wasn't looking good. The two reckless crack pots in our team, Druk and Mark, both had taken serious damage. I was now determined to kill Trikallous. If he lived any longer, many more people could die. Thinking thus, I marched forward towards the enormous beast. He looked at me and got ready. He flew high up in the sky and took a turn downwards. He was coming directly at me but I wasn't scared. He had to be dealt with. I brought all the energy including Magnum's strength and the Zantai power together, and then jumped high up to meet his blow. With both my hands holding the battle-axe tight, I roared and clashed with the monster. I fell far away, no doubt; but I wasn't the only one who was injured this time.
Trikallous fell on the ground totally and it took him a few moments to get back up. Me? I took me a couple of seconds more to stand. But even after such a clash, the creature wasn't dead. I threw the battle-axe with all the energy left and ran forward towards him. The monster tried to grab it but I summoned it back in my hand and jumped and smacked him on the face. I tried to thrust Magnum into Trikallous's gut but this time, something horrifying happened. The creature, stopped the battle-axe, and with a roar, he used all his power and thrust it into the ground. Magnum was stuck.
When I saw this sight, I was aghast and went out of my senses. Picking the right moment, Trikallous used his Zantai power on me. I wasn't able to summon the battle-axe back from the ground. No magic occurred. My mind went blank due to his Zantai power. I couldn't even fight the monster back with my power as I was totally dumb-found. I managed to dodge some of his attacks. But when I tried to pull Magnum out of the ground, I just couldn't. All the DELTAs watching this sight were astonished. All of a sudden, all my powers were taken away from me. The battle-axe was half-buried along with the Zantai power fixing it there. Due to this evil magic of Trikallous, I wasn't able to pull Magnum back up.
Using all my strength seemed to go in vain. Mark noticed this and decided to buy me time. He attacked the monster, gesturing me to continue trying to pull the battle-axe. Oliver who was trying his best to block the crowd of enemies was now becoming weak. Although, he was still quick with his pace, his attacks were slower. Xavier was still going on with his firing from above and he was doing a great job in fighting the soldiers below and the ravens in the sky who tried to attack him.
I still was unable to lift the battle-axe. Trikallous flew high up in the sky and turned towards Mark to smash him on the ground for once and for all. I knew this was a final clash. Everyone seemed very serious. I looked at Mark. He knew I was sorry for all the trouble I caused him. He smiled and replied, "Never say sorry, Blaze! You have helped me way too many times in the past. And remember, you are our only chance against the King!" His words were soft and totally different from his serious war cries.
Unlike Lily, he just smiled and whispered to me, "Victory to the DELTAs!"