In a nearby swirl of chaos, Ren's car touched down, its landing far from graceful. The car tumbled haphazardly before coming to a shuddering stop. Ren, despite the disarray, managed to emerge from the wreckage, wearied but alive. Quickly, he assisted his passengers, Kenny and Kelly, ensuring their safety.
"How are we still alive?" Kenny's voice trembled, a mix of awe and shock.
Ren wiped off the sweat forming on his brow, explaining, "Iron Hide. It hardens the outside and softens the inside."
They surveyed the scene, trying to comprehend the ordeal they'd just faced. "Did we lose him?" Kenny inquired, a hint of hope in his voice.
Before Ren could reply, the unmistakable sight of a blazing car caught his attention. "Holy shit..." he whispered. Kenny and Kelly followed his gaze, their expressions turning from relief to horror.
"Oh no..." Kelly murmured, her voice barely audible.
As they stared at the inferno, something began to move amidst the flames. Ren squinted, trying to discern the figure, "Wait, I think I see something moving..."
Like a phoenix emerging from its ashes, Udo, covered in snake-like scales, slowly emerged. The sight was both horrifying and mesmerizing.
As Udo stepped closer, emerging from the fiery haze, a chilling realization hit Ren. "Is that... Udo?"
But the true horror was revealed when Udo, in this monstrous form, stepped forward, holding something in his hand: Stirling's severed head. The very sight was enough to chill one's blood, marking a dark turn in the night's events.
Amid the fiery chaos of the scene, Ren felt a sudden tug, pulling him behind the shelter of his coupe. He looked down to see Kelly, her fingers clutching his wrist, her eyes wide and full of alarm.
"Shh," she whispered urgently, pressing her finger to her lips.
Ren blinked in confusion, "Huh? Why? That's Udo—"
But Kelly shook her head, her gaze fixed on the monstrous figure looming near the burning wreckage. "That's not Udo," she murmured, her voice trembling. "I can feel it. His aura... It's the Fiend. It's taken over."
Ren's heart raced, "What do you mean?"
Kelly started to reply but never got the chance. Suddenly, the coupe they hid behind was violently lifted into the air, revealing them to the creature they had been hiding from. They froze, terror locking their limbs, their eyes wide, and their breaths caught in their throats.
A chilling voice broke the silence, the tone dripping with malevolence. "So this is where you were hiding?"
They followed the voice and saw Udo, or what was left of him. The creature's eyes, reptilian and cold, bore into theirs, seemingly looking into the very depths of their souls. Without thinking, all three instinctively sprang back, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the monstrous Fiend Udo.
Fiend Udo tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his gaze. "Oh. Didn't mean to frighten you." He looked at the coupe in his hand. "You can have your car back. I don't know how to drive."
With those words, he hurled the car at them with unimaginable force. Instinct took over; Ren, Kelly, and Kenny flung themselves to the ground, narrowly avoiding being crushed by their own vehicle.
Kenny was the first to recover. Rising to his feet, he chanted, "Kalo: Beautiful Game." A football materialized before him. Without hesitation, he slammed his foot into it, propelling it straight at Udo.
Udo seemed to predict the trajectory, trying to bat the speeding ball away using the crushed coupe. But the ball was too fast, tearing through the metal with ease. Fiend Udo's reflexes saved him; he jerked his head to the side, narrowly dodging the oncoming projectile.
Yet, the true surprise was still to come. As the ball whizzed past Fiend Udo, Kenny appeared, as if from thin air, right behind the ball, poised for a follow-up attack.
Fiend Udo raised an eyebrow, momentarily taken aback. "He can teleport with the ball too? Interesting..."
Kenny swiftly drew his leg back and drove it forward, sending the ball hurtling towards Udo. The Fiend, with confidence radiating from his every move, extended a hand to catch the rapidly approaching projectile. But as the ball neared his waiting hand, Kenny whispered two words, "Vibration Multiplication."
Suddenly, Udo was faced with not one but three balls flying at him. He managed to snag one out of the air, but as he looked to his right, Kenny had replaced one of the balls. Using the momentum of his teleportation, Kenny delivered a powerful kick straight to the side of Udo's head.
From the sidelines, Ren cheered, his voice filled with hope. "Go on, Kenny!" Kelly, on the other hand, watched the scene with growing dread. Her voice, a mere whisper, held a note of foreboding, "Kenny... no..."
Udo, undeterred by Kenny's unexpected move, smirked, revealing a glint of respect for his opponent. "Not bad, kid." With a swift motion, he seized Kenny's outstretched leg and sent him skidding across the cold, unforgiving ground.
Kenny, battered but unyielding, got to his feet. Bruises marred his skin, and blood trickled down his face. He brought his hands together, summoning the ball back to his feet. With an expression of determination, he flicked it up, preparing for another attack. But before he could act, Udo materialized in front of him, faster than the human eye could follow.
"...But I'm getting bored now," Udo's voice dripped with cold malice.
The next moment was an eternity of horror. Udo, with otherworldly strength, seized Kenny's floating ball with one hand, while with the other, he decapitated Kenny in one clean motion. The night echoed with the grotesque sound of the act.
Ren and Kelly were paralyzed, their eyes locked onto the grisly scene before them. The ground seemed to tremble beneath them, though it was more from the shock of what they had just witnessed.
The air was pierced by Kelly's heart-wrenching scream, "Kenny!" Tears streamed down her face, as she collapsed to the ground, consumed by grief.
Udo, with Kenny's head in one hand and the ball in the other, tilted his head back, seeming to revel in the despair. His voice, filled with a mix of satisfaction and madness, rang out in the stillness. "You hear that, Udo? Those are the cries of Dovanity, the same cries we've heard for decades. But it will all be over soon. Our power will save us all."
The ball vanished into thin air as he gracefully moved toward the severed head of Stirling. He bent down and cradled it, lifting it to examine the lifeless face. Its vacant eyes reflected nothing of the vibrant life it once held.
Udo's gaze then shifted to the figures of Ren and Kelly. Ren stood frozen, every muscle tense, every ounce of his being focused on the menace before him. Kelly was crumbled into sobs of despair, her cries echoing through the night.
Udo, his voice dripping with a malevolent amusement, broke the silence. "I don't have much time with his body," he began, casually gesturing to the borrowed vessel he now occupied. "And you two," he continued, his eyes scanning them as if evaluating their worth, "don't seem like you have a lot of fight left in you."
A beat of silence, and then a chilling smile crept across his face.
"So, I'll grant you this small mercy: I will let you live." As the weight of his words settled, he added, "However..." The grin widened, revealing a dark promise. "I think I know where I might be going next."
The air grew thick with tension, the gravity of his threat hanging heavily between them. The horrifying implication of his words left both Ren and Kelly with a bone-deep chill, realizing that their ordeal was far from over.