In the altar room.
Kylian watched in horror as Adama appeared before Mei Li who seemed to be in so much shock that she wouldn't even be able to raise a finger to defend herself.
But then, Akotal's voice came. "I think they are beginning to get the idea of what they have gotten themselves into."
Adama halted his claws in mid air and in a flash had moved back a dozen meters away from Mei Li, leaving her to suck in her breath. She wouldn't have been able to save herself if Adama was to kill her.
Even though she had a sword which could shattered through rocks and pierce anything on the surface of Earth, she's still a human.
Akotal grinned, his burned face looking even more ugly as he did.
Kylian's eyes were filled with rage and pain as he gazed at the Primordial vampire Lord. But if one looked deeper, it wouldn't be too hard to see the helplessness and perplexity that still lingered deep with within his silvery eyes.
Akotal's grin didn't falter as he began. "I remember, the last time I was challenged. It was epic."
"I had a soulmate connection with a woman. A beautiful and powerful Primordial, just like me. But she didn't feel the same. She was going to be matched to a Primordial Vampire, Lead Skull. Because of that, someone as powerful and invincible as Lead Skull was brought down by me. At the expense of my dwindling existence. But yet, I couldn't get her.
"Someday, she'll accept me, I thought. At the end of the day, we Primordials are immortal. We can't be killed. So I had eternity to get her. But things changed when I couldn't find her anywhere anymore. It seemed she disappeared from the surface of Earth. I looked for her everywhere. Took over four centuries to find her. I was quite disappointed when I did rather than feel accomplished.
"My beloved soulmate is with a vampire of the casual bloodlines. Not even a Primordial. She carried his child in her belly."
Kylian listened, but his attention was on Heald, who was struggling to heal from his open belly, and Hector, whose body lay there, unmoving.
Akotal's figure appeared before him in a second. Kylian blinked and looked up at Akotal's burnt face. Kylian's lips curled as his sad face took on a taunting expression. "That must have been hard for you."
"Yes." Akotal grinned more, playing along. His face then hardened as he continued. "But do you know what ended it all? I killed her and her baby. If not for the mark of my family on the vampire, I would have killed him too."
"Well that sounds fair." Kylian gritted his teeths as he said.
Akotal nodded, the grin lingered on his lips as his crimson eyes glinted. "I did that to someone I felt a soulmate connection with. Do you have any idea what I can do to people so ignorant as you kids, I really don't want to think about it."
Kylian gulped the lump in his throat as he watched Akotal turn away from him. The perplexity in him only grew as Akotal walk towards the altar.
"Caius took her from me, but I took away his happiness. And I'll do it again by wreaking havoc on his coven after I'm done with you kids. I will make Caius suffer even it means shredding this whole city of bright lights apart."
Mei Li gawked in shock.
Kylian couldn't believe his ears as a pang of realization hitted him hard. The vampire that the Primordial woman loved was Caius. But something bothered him. However he couldn't think more as Akotal turned back to him.
'Akotal said he killed the Primordial woman and her baby. Then how is Adrian alive or is Adrian not the true son of Caius'?.' Kylian couldn't help the frown on his face.
Akotal had his eyes on the empty space as he pondered. "He had thought he could get rid of me in my weakest moment by sending you kids. He was wrong this time." His red eyes connected with Kylian's horror filled silver balls, the grin on his disfigured lips unwavering as he repeated. "Ultimately wrong."
The next second, a roar of pain resonated as Heald felt every bones in his body being pulverised to dust.
"Monster!" Mei Li screamed as she held up her sword, the runes on it glowed deep gold releasing a deathly aura.
Adama turned to her and grinned. He licked his lips as his husky voice came. "You're brave. Your blood should be delicious, I think."
Mei Li took a glance at Akotal who had a playful grin on his lips, at Kylian whose ugly look gave her many warnings, then she shifted her gaze to Adama. She clenched her grip around the hilt of the sword as she muttered. "Then come get it."
Graaaaaa!
Adama lunged at her.
**********
Sarai bleeded from every opening on her head as she struggled to stand on her feets. Her feets were wobbly and her eyes were like dying candles as she clutched her chest, with agony visible on her face.
Anna breathed heavily as she clenched her scepter. Her body was also not looking so good as she struggled to stand well but her eyes were still as sharp as before. It's clear she'll still be able to hold up much more.
Even though the two witches were still on their feets, the one who'll last longer is clear as the Dark Witch lifted her scepter again.
"Stop now, girl. The mind spell will kill you."
"I don't really care about my life now. Akotal is still gonna kill me if he survives this night."
"I don't want to kill you. Even though your ancestors, the Armadis, hated our ancestors, the Dark Witches, I still don't want your blood to be on my hands. So stop now and cut me out of this your mind state."
"Of course I can't do that. I can't let you die."
"Uh?! I should be telling you that."
"No, I will tell you that. Do you know that whenever Akotal does his ritual, the Witches that does the spell castings don't come out alive with him." Sarai's weak eyes flashed as she said, "the spells are too powerful so they die."
"Our ancestors made an oath to serve Akotal to their death and now I am doing my own part. Everything has a price. If dying is the price, then I'm willing to pay." Anna said.
"What's your own with your ancestor's oath to the sucker?!" Sarai snapped. "Akotal doesn't care whatever happens to you, he is only gonna use you. He used the Dark Witch Geeta to put a curse on the Skulls and had Aro to help him hunt them down. He used them both to accomplish his goal. He's using you too, now."
"And that's none of your business. Now get me out of your head or I do it myself."
"Oh! I knew you wouldn't listen. But the deed is done anyway."
Anna frowned hard. "What deed?"
"You attacked me in my mind. You used your magic even though it isn't real, it's in my head. We fought but it's not us fighting, it's our soul. Our soul is weak now, so is our magic. Now you wouldn't have enough magic to complete the ritual." Sarai grinned. "You shouldn't have given your all."
Anna's chest rose and fell as rage coursed through her eyes. Her eyes blazed as she pointed her scepter at Sarai. "You shouldn't have come here."
Bang!
A dark magical blast so huge that it seemed to cover everywhere erupted and struck Sarai hard.
The whole mind realm trembled heavily and then,
Bang!
Everything blasted up.
*
*
In the reality.
Sarai snapped out of her dream state and spurted out blood as she clutched her neck.
Her face went pale like there's no more blood in her system.
Her hands clutched her chest and she struggled to breath.
Her feets gave way and she collapsed to the ground, laying unmoving, in the dark hallway littered with dead bodies and flowing blood of the warthogs.
**********
The altar room.
Mei Li and Adama engaged in a fierce battle. Adama flashed around Mei Li, stalking and preying on her while she anxiously swung her sword here and there.
Every now and then, Adama would move closer to Mei Li and before she could bring up her sword, would slash her, giving her a medium grade slash injury.
As seconds passed, the slashes increased and soon Mei Li began to be exhausted as her movements reduced in speed and fierceness. Her lithe body was all drenched in sweat and her hands, with which she held the sword were trembling.
Akotal enjoyed the view, grinning side to side, while Kylian watched with sadness, expecting Adama to do what his master says.
'Rip out Mei Li's heart.'
But it never came until something came on que.
The High Dark Witch finally came out of the mind realm Sarai dragged her into.
Anna gasped very loud as she got back into reality.
Akotal tore his gaze from Mei Li and Adama. His eyes flashed as he asked. "Anna, my dear. Something wrong?"
Anna's eyes were wide as she gazed at her hands and her scepter.
Her hands were trembling and the aura of power her scepter exuded is reducing by the second. She could feel it.
Her eyes went wide. Sarai was right.
"We need to proceed now!" Anna screamed in alarmed.
Akotal frowned hard. "What do you mean?"
"We need to complete the ritual now!!"
Akotal's red eyes flashed with calculation and in a second, he got a hang of what's wrong. He gritted his teeths as he muttered with venom. "That little Armadi witch."
Adama stopped attacking Mei Li all of the sudden. His eyes went void black and dark veins appeared all over his body.
He gasped and a mouthful of black blood gushed out of his lips.
Akotal's eyes flashed to him. "What's happening to you?"
Kylian chuckled. "I can't control the curse in me and I can't seem to out of its grip. But it seems my cursed blood can still kill an enemy, if I want."
Adama's eyes widened in disbelief.
He had licked Kylian's blood earlier without even thinking it twice. Now the cursed blood is affecting him.
Akotal's frown only deepened as he stared at Adama. The witches also watched.
Mei Li, seeing an opportunity to rest leaned on the cold wall of the room, but still held her sword, tight in her grip as her exhausted eyes glittered with caution.
All of the sudden, Adama's ears, nose, mouth, eyes opened up and dark blood gushed out of it like a river. His head exploded into pieces and his body fell on the ground, dead.
"You kids!" Akotal roared in anger and his dark fangs came out, his claws elongated too as he glared at Kylian.
However,
"My Lord, now!!" Anna yelled, urgently.
Akotal turned away from Kylian, reluctantly and blasted towards the altar with speed so high that all Kylian saw was a blur.
Akotal appeared before the altar and leapt on it in a flash. His eyes were vicious as he spread his claws in the mid air and prepared to plunge his hand into the chest of Christa's, who is now conscious but was only staring, mindlessly.
"Noooooo!" Kylian yelled with a clenched heart as he watched as his soulmate is about to be killed. He couldn't bare the sight but he knew for sure that even if he ran for it, he wouldn't be able to get to Akotal before he ripped Christa's heart out. And the witches wouldn't even let him get near the altar.
But, all of the sudden, Akotal halted his hand in the mid air. His eyes widened in shock the more he stared at the Auburn haired girl beneath him.
Disbelief was all he could feel as his dead, dark heart banged and pumped for the first time since his birth as a Primordial vampire.
His voice was imbued with incredulity as he whispered. "Ava?"
Bang!
On que, the air pressure shattered as thousands of large bees appeared from thin air and flooded the altar room.
Anna and the two other Dark Witches saw the bees and knew at once what they were.
One of the two other witches casted a spell loudly and stretched her hand forward.
An uproar of dark flames burned half of the bees.
But another ones took their place and the witch was overwhelmed In a second as her horrific scream resonated around the room.
Anna and the other witch quickly casted a spell and an invincible shield erected, blocking the bees from swarming them too.
However, an extremely fast moving creature flashed across the room.
In the next second, Anna and the other witch were sent flying.
All this happened in no more three seconds that even Kylian was taken aback by what's happening.
"Akotal, you die tonight!" A voice filled with venom bellowed.
Akotal turned back and he caught a glimpse of a scarlet cloak billowing at the wind brought about by the breaking speed at which the bees flew around.
BANG!
Akotal watched as several hundreds of bees swooped at him. His face was etched with an indescribable puzzlement and he didn't have time to react when the swarm collided with him.
BOOOOOOOOM!
**********