"Stand down," Nala said, her voice clear and commanding. "We mean no harm, but we need to speak with your leader."
The Bloodmoon Gang members exchanged glances, their expressions conflicted. But then, as if by a silent agreement, they stepped aside, allowing Bas and Nala to enter the warehouse.
Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit and filled with smoke. Bloodmoon Gang members lounged around on couches, playing cards and drinking beer. Bas and Nala made their way through the crowd, their eyes scanning the room for any sign of Edgar Stratus or his nephew.
Finally, they spotted him: a tall, imposing man with a scarred face and a cruel smile. One of his arms was missing, but he still possessed powerful momentum. A group of his top lieutenants surrounded him, all armed to the teeth.
Bas felt a chill run down his spine as he locked eyes with Edgar Stratus. If Edgar's gaze could burn, Bas would be swimming in flames already. He couldn't blame the man, as he had slaughtered his heir once and corrupted his former arm with the rot of death ryms.
Edgar probably wanted to roast his bones and eat his flesh.
Bas couldn't help but feel a sense of unease settle in the pit of his stomach. The place was ominous and foreboding, with dark shadows and rusted metal making up its interior. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and decay, and Bas could hear gunfire and laughter coming from deeper within.
"Welcome, friends. We've been waiting," said Edgar while showing a twisted smile.
"I don't like the sound of this," Nala whispered, her hand suddenly coated in her silver fire ryms.
Bas nodded in agreement, his ryms resonating within him. As he circulated his Truth Record, he was surprised to notice Nala's silver flames being slowly drawn into and improving his body. The tiny strands of ryms were so thin that Nala didn't see. The ghost-like, dark, and fiery scales appeared on the surface of his physique. They glowed with a silver-amethyst hue, sharp and rhombus-shaped.
Nala Silverstar also prepared herself for battle, utilizing the silver fire ryms from her innate fire seed. She was a force to be reckoned with, her movements precise and deadly.
"Let's go," Sid said, his voice low and steady.
"We need to move fast," Sydney whispered to his companions. "I sense a team moving about in the back. They could be gone any second now. The boy is likely with them."
"If I can kill him once, I can kill him twice," Bas sneered, with no respect in his heart for such a coward.
Nala nodded in agreement, her eyes focused and alert.
"Let's do this," she said, her voice low and determined.
The group rushed forward without further ado, feeling that words were useless to exchange in WAR. Edgar was peeved at these rogues for ignoring the lines he had spent a couple of hours plotting over but still signaled his crew to attack.
They were met with a barrage of gunfire, but they dodged and weaved around the bullets. Bas used the fire force in the surroundings to coat his blade with amethyst flames, deflecting the bullets easily.
Nala used her silver fire to create a barrier, deflecting the bullets back at the attackers. The group fought fiercely, their movements quick and deadly.
Sid surged forward with feral fury, his spear becoming an unstoppable force that brutally decimated any who dared oppose him. Blood sprayed like rain as he moved, and blades were shattered in its wake as Sid continued to press forward, relentless and unyielding in his rampage.
Sydney and Brenda fought relentlessly from the back, marshaling their full strength to protect Bas. Brenda unleashed mighty lightning bolts that crackled in the air while Sydney intoned a hypnotic chant as he poured ryms onto an ancient-looking tome that hovered before him. Every now and then, Bas would be struck from behind by a brilliant green light that had the power to mend his wounds so quickly that not even a single bullet hole remained.
The team slowly pushed forward as the battle raged on, determined to reach their goal. Nala's silver fire created a path for them by melting through any obstacles in their way, while Bas's amethyst flames lit up the scene with their bright purple glow.
Edgar's crew fought back fiercely, but it was clear they were no match for the precise and deadly movements of the rogue team. One by one, they fell to the ground, their lifeless bodies scattered across the battlefield. Despite their enemies' best efforts, the group fought on. They moved with such precision and deadliness that they soon wiped out all who dared to stand against them. The air was thick with smoke, and the stench of death, but the group didn't flinch as they made their way towards the back of the warehouse.
As they approached the hidden room at the back of the building, they heard the sounds of a scuffle and a muffled scream. Nala motioned for the group to stop, and they listened intently.
"It's him," she whispered. "The boy is in there."
Without hesitation, they burst into the room, weapons at the ready. The scene before them was chaotic and gruesome. The pungent smell of blood wafted heavily in the air, pooling around them like murky water. Bodies lay strewn about the room, missing various organs. Within the mess, an eerie pale light coalesced from a tri-fold magic circle drawn in blood that radiated a sickening atmospheric pressure.
In the center of it all stood a tall, imposing figure with a young boy held gently in his embrace. The boy had his limbs stitched together and lacked any form of light in his dull eyes.
"Is that Francis? He's already..." said Brenda, covering her face in horror.
"Get back, you cowards!" Edgar screamed like a madman. "Did you think I'd let you do as you please?!"
As Edgar spoke, he retrieved a device with a glowing red gem embedded on top, ready to launch it at the group of experts. Bas and Brenda were startled as they recognized this as the device that made the underground attack possible.
"This ends now," Sid growled, ignoring the device, his spear pointed menacingly at the man.
The man sneered, tightening his grip on the boy. "You think you can defeat me? I am stronger than you could ever imagine."
Bas knew that Sid was underestimating the capabilities of that device, but now wasn't a moment for a detailed explanation.
He observed the room again before looking at Edgar and spoke fearlessly, "So this is how you did it? Forcefully extracting the life strands and sacrificing the organs of so many living people? Just to bring back that weakling's husk you're hugging? Did you hope that by attacking the underground, you either kill me or make it impossible for me to win the WAR? Looking at this, I've already won."
Edgar frowned, wondering how this boy could see through the dark magic circle he had drawn. He was indeed afraid that such methods wouldn't be honored by the laws of the War Truth. This was why the boy in front of him had to die, so that his nephew in his arms may yet live.
"Fool, all he needs is another soul of similar strength to serve as the medium for his own to return," spat Edgar with a menacing grin. "You'll fulfill that role quite well!"
"Are you slow or blind?" Bas asked in exasperation. He spoke with confidence from his gut, "I'm easily ten times stronger than that weakling. Even if you kill me and sacrifice my soul so that he may return, his soul would be devoured and replaced."
"ENOUGH!" Edgar roared furiously.
This Bazzy Dagod was absolutely maddening. He didn't bother wasting any more words on the brat, slinging the bomb in his hand at the intruders. Other than Brenda, who had some idea thanks to Bas, the rest of the team didn't even understand the danger they were in.
Luckily, Bas was ready.
The time crystals he had collected earlier were covered in complex inscriptions, many of which he didn't recognize. He didn't understand how that technology was able to activate and dynamize the time crystal, but Bas had a simpler way to activate it based off a few of the inscriptions he could recognize..
Faith Power!
Truth Power!
These were two undeniable sources of fuel.
Meanwhile, Edgar was already feeling complacent. These hunter tools were experimental weapons given to him by that group. That red rym crystal could cause amazing changes, the like of which Edgar barely understood.
No one in Mortalee could stop him with these in his arsenal. His nephew would have been accepted into that group if he had finished that task. Now, whether or not he even had a nephew was a matter of debate. Hatred surged in Edgar's heart.
Edgar grasped the bomb firmly in his hand, feeling the ticking time bomb pulse with anticipation. With a deep breath, he sent his ryms into an inscription on the red rym crystal, awakening a secret formation in the device and creating a powerful wave of energy that caused time to stand still around him. Everything seemed suspended in mid-air as the aspects of reality crawled slowly toward eternity.