"What was that?" With a thought, the blue and gold [Pharaoh's Law] materialized on Jody's head, and he sent a strand of spiritual awareness to investigate the scene.
Inside a dust-filled crater was a heavily bloodied and battered Hughes Song. Jody was briefly excited that Hughes had made it out of the forest alive before he realized that Hughes was currently trashed and his opponent was likely not far away. Anyone who could trash Hughes like this was definitely an existence that he would be powerless against! Jody quickly jumped down and ran over to the crater, sliding down to Hughes.
"What are you doing, you idiot, you need to hide!" berated Sylvester harshly.
Jody ignored this and proceeded to shake the mountain-like elf.
"Hughes wake up, don't die on me big guy!"
"Young…young master!? No, no you can't be here!" Hughes struggled to sit up.
His words startled Jody, "What do you mean by that, Hughes?"
"Hahaha, is this where the trash bitch ended up? My, my, you flew so far from a mere love tap. You damned insect. To think it was you who first deflowered my muse," This was the first time that Jody heard this arrogant and sinister voice. The ice in that tone was something he would remember for the rest of his life. "Oh? What's this?"
Floating down from the hole in the still standing portion of the coliseum's roof was a tall, robust middle-aged man. His skin was a honey brown, and his face was exceptionally angular and handsome. His head was bald with blue flood dragon tattoos on each side. His brown eyes had an eerie purple glow.
He wore white robes that had golden-purple snake hieroglyphs made up of runic markings. The snake hieroglyphs moved around on their own. In his embrace was a spectacular looking woman wearing a beautiful white dress, while totally bound by curse seals. This gave her the look of a stolen beauty, and was surprisingly first lady Isis! Only, her trademark blue eyes were a startling and beautiful pink. In the lady's embrace was also an unconscious Kamila Trillwolf!
"Fuck!" Hughes stood up, stepping in front of Jody. He swore and raised up his combat gear, a huge golden glaive. Hughes looked like a wild savage as he bellowed, "RELEASE HER!"
Jody snapped, titanic rage erupting from his body as he dashed directly at Basalt, "Let my mother go you bald piece of shit!"
His words almost made Hughes pass out. Xavier and Sylvester both face-palmed. Even Jody felt a bit embarrassed when he realized what he had just said.
"Your…mother?" Basalt's eyes glowed purple as his attention now fully shifted onto Jody.
When their eyes made contact, Jody felt all the energy in his body become instantly suppressed! He tripped and skid on his face a couple meters across the stage. Basalt snorted then snickered as he spoke to Isis, "You wench, see how this thing dares to appear in front of me? AHAHAHA, how utterly convenient. I can clean up this betrayal of your other self now, my dear. I say, come lick the underside of my sack. Do it well, and I may not kill your boy."
"No! I'll do whatever you want, just release him, let him leave!" begged pink-eyed Isis in a tone Jody didn't recognize at all. "Let him, hmprf."
A purple film of sticky force covered her mouth forcibly.
"Release? Why that's no fun at all. Shhh, don't worry. I'll cut that boy's arms and legs off, and stuff them full of spirit cotton. Yes, then I'll refine his corpse into a stuffed puppet, and put him in you, my latest wife's, new bedchambers so he can always watch us unifying. Consummation is, of course, a holy crossing. A witness would surely make it more thrilling!" Said the terrifyingly calm but sinister voice of Basalt.
Pink-eyed Isis visibly cringed.
"Josiah stop, run, go far away now!" screamed Hughes at Jody.
The boy had said the absolute worst possible words! Was this the price of keeping him in the dark all these years?
"As if a dead scourge could run," Suddenly, Basalt was in the air three meters away, glancing down at Jody with a colossal spear made up of pitch black fire in his hands. This spear looked so sinister and deadly that Jody felt the taste of death along with the blood in his mouth. Without wasting time, Basalt launched out the dark flame spear, intent on reaping the little bastard's life away!
"Jody, quickly surrender your consciousness to me! We have to make a move now! I have to use our last ditch effort." shouted Sylvester urgently, waking Jody up from his apprehensive shock. "NOW, Jody, NOW!!
Jody stood petrified and watched as he saw the spear of dark flames flying straight toward him, but he couldn't react at all. He was pinned in place by the enormous pressure of this bald creep! He could barely even breathe. In the next second, he felt the heat and thought he was going to be melted alive.
Riiiip~
*Clang!?*
*BOOM!*
In front of Jody, the pressure binding him eased a little as there were terrifying sparks formed from the sharp collision of attacks in front of him. The shock waves made Jody want to puke blood.
"Die, you cursed mutt!"
"Yield, you old snake! You are unworthy of your bloodline!"
In the sky above Jody, Osiris looked like a brutal, red-winged werewolf ,equipped with death legion armor and dual combat sabers. Incantation runes were constantly forming hundreds upon hundreds of wind blades and behind Osiris' back were two crimson angel wings. The power symbols on these wings were radiating an eerie grey light. Curse seals crawled out of those symbols, spilling into the void.
Opposite of Osiris at equal stature, wearing a sinister face full of white scales and a now serpentine countenance was Basalt battling fiercely with a black halberd in hand.
Floating in a violet energy bubble 100 meters behind Basalt were Isis and Kamila.
Jody didn't even have a chance to react to the sudden appearance of Osiris. This unexpected turn of events left him stunned and frozen, unable to move or even think straight. All he could do was watch in shock as the two ancient entities, both of them once formidable warriors, clashed in a fierce battle.
Osiris' wings flapped powerfully, creating gusts of wind that threatened to carry him away. His dual combat sabers slashed out at his opponent, leaving behind trails of crimson light. Basalt's halberd, now imbued with black flames, struck back viciously, creating dark energy that crackled and hissed in the air.
Osiris and Basalt seemed to clash hundreds of times, and Jody was barely able to witness the fight through the blinding flashes of light. Curse seals spiraled in the air transforming into terrifying hurricanes. Incantation runes formed sparks of flame, and hurricanes of red wind immediately became deadly flame tempests that were sent crashing into Basalt. Basalt sneered as curse seals flew out of snake symbols on his head, forming layer after layer of serene ice walls.
In the meantime, Hughes was frantically trying to find a way to break Isis's curse seals and free Kamila. He knew that every second counted, and he was desperate to get her out of Basalt's clutches and away from the ongoing battle.
"Well done, Osiris. This is indeed the legendary bloodline of the Ancient Ones," Basalt acknowledged, his voice cold and calm. "But you will pay for your trespassing, just as your lineage before you, has been punished by mine."
"You're wrong, Basalt. Ancient Ones were never punished because they were the keepers of balance and harmony. They only acted when necessary. But you, you use the darkness for your own benefit, like a greedy little worm," Osiris replied, his eyes ablaze with defiance.
As the battle intensified, Jody felt a sense of determination rise within him. He had to help Osiris and save Isis from the clutches of Basalt. The flaming tempest slammed into the ice walls shattering them one by one. Osiris was just about to activate his forbidden spell when he heard and a terrified true essence sound wave that shook his soul.
"Jody!"
While Osiris was busy attacking Basalt's main body, a curse clone was only a few meters away from Jody, a more powerful black flame spear in his hands as he suddenly stabbed forward. Force momentum erupted outward, but Jody focused on a twilight prompt and felt the world slow around him. Seeing the still uncomfortably rapid descent of the spear, Jody felt that he was about to actually die this time.
Riiiip~
Splat!
Crash!
There was a terrible explosion as the dark flame spear ripped through flesh and collided with the other side of the Coliseum. Jody's eyes were wide open in horror as he fell to his knees. Tears begin to flow down his face, and when he glanced at his mother, she was emitting muffled screams and struggling fiercely. She seemed frantic like she was losing her mind. His impression of her at this moment was weak. Fragile. Two sensations that were foreign in relation to his mother.
"It's not her," Jody thought with confidence.
He wasn't sure who that woman resembling his mother was, but it was not Isis Trillwolf.
"You're right, but less of that. Did you notice you were alive? Look ahead." Sylvester replied coldly.
Directly in front Jody, having appeared at the last moment, was Osiris standing tall and proud with his arms outstretched. Only now, a huge bloody hole lay in his chest, black flames drowning his body in their heat. No blood was leaking as the insides of Osiris seemed charred to the max, his wolfish form slowly returning back to normal.
"Dad! Dad, no!" Jody screamed in horror.
Never had he imagined that his father would receive the attack on his behalf. Nor did he think that this attack was strong enough to heavily damage his father in a single blow!
"My son…you must get away, you must… get... away… save your mother…save." The House Lord's weakened plea entered Jody's ears causing his chest to tighten terribly as he finally panicked.
He was staring at what Sylvester surmised was Jody's finger. Sly felt his earlier guess was likely correct. Jody's mother had handed him something excessively precious. Unnoticed by Jody, the woman resembling Isis sighed in relief when she saw that Osiris was impaled instead of Jody, 'Thank Gaea, he made it in time.'
This left Sylvester feeling confused. Jody, on the other hand, felt distraught!
Due to being young, he would lose control over his emotions when certain hormones influenced his judgment. After all, his dad was dying! Murdered in front of his face, all to rescue himself! Jody was so touched, but it also hurt like hell. He felt angry and hopeless like never before. How is this possibly the outcome of this event?
Jody truly didn't understand how the whole world had just flipped upside down in one day! Wasn't everything fine before? The Young Wolf Celebration Dinner was supposed to be a magical event commemorating the progress of the House's young nobles. Instead, it had turned into a slaughter, resulting in the unexpected defeat of the House Lord!
Their enemies were this terrifying the whole time?
"I'LL KILL YOU!!"
It was at this point that Jody totally lost his mind in rage. His body entered a unique state, as the surrounding heaven and earth forces were rapidly drawn in. Titanic Rage circulated on its own, and Jody looked to the sky with a roar that slightly shook the void. A pillar of black and green flames erupted into the atmosphere from his body. Both Basalt and his mother's imposter stared at the boy in complete shock.
What on earth was that force?
"This boy must be destroyed immediately," Basalt's face suddenly turned evil and solemn, his body releasing a full killing intent.
His eyes lit up with an eerie greenish pink light and sent a shock wave of force that penetrated into the young boy's eyes, making Jody shriek in pain. It felt like his head was splitting open! His consciousness was almost ripped to shreds.
"This is bad! X, buckle up, I have to take the reins!" Sylvester quickly became one with the flames, and the emerald pillar reduced drastically, becoming a fiery atmosphere surrounding Jody. Jody suddenly stood up incomparably straight and stared at Basalt Congo with absolutely calm eyes that showed no emotion.
Basalt actually felt a tinge of apprehension at this moment. 'Oh, the brat's still alive? How? Something seems to be amiss.'
"What is your name?" asked Jody, in an emotionless voice filled with ice.
Basalt could tell the current look in his eyes was absolutely not the same as when he first arrived. It was like an entirely different existence was speaking to him. Basalt's eyes narrowed as he studied the boy before him. He had thought that the youngster was just a mere pawn in this battle, but now it seemed there was more to him than met the eye.
Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through the Coliseum, tearing apart the ice walls that Basalt had painstakingly constructed. It seemed that the forces of nature themselves had taken offense to his actions, and now even the elements were rising up against him.
"You may be strong, but you are not invincible," Osiris said, his voice booming across the battlefield. He rose from the stage floor, his skywolf form disguising his wounds with imperial might, "We will not let you destroy everything we hold dear."
Basalt's face twisted into a snarl, and he raised his hand, unleashing a powerful spell. Dark energy rushed forward, enveloping Osiris in a twisted, seething mass of shadows. Even the powerful wolf's roar of protest was drowned out by the cacophony of magic and destruction.
But as the darkness closed in, a spark of light appeared in the air around Osiris. It grew, brighter and brighter, until it became a blinding ball of pure white energy. The darkness recoiled at the sight, and Osiris's form began to shift, his wolfish features giving way to something else entirely.
Basalt watched in horror as Osiris transformed before his very eyes. The wolf gave way to a towering, radiant figure that seemed to be made of pure light.
"I am the fallen god of nightmares, the vampiric liege lord of White Demon Castle, the legendary White Hydra, and I am here to take your little life, scourge." Basalt licked his lips while condensing energy in his palms.
"Your name," repeated Sylvester impatiently from Jody's mouth.
Basalt frowned, before turning back to the brat and grinning evilly, "I am Basalt Congo. Remember my name in hell, brat..."
"Ten years from today, asshole. Thirteen at the most. This will be the anniversary of your death, Basalt Congo." the boy's suddenly frigid yet infallibly confident tone caused Basalt's eye to twitch, and he hesitated briefly.
A small serenity stone hanging on Basalt's hip lit up, and he reached down to receive the message. His face darkened and turned serious.
"Foolish welp, you will die today!" Basalt landed on the ground, shaking the entire stage and releasing his skyrocketing energy. The origin phenomena formed in the void. At the same time, the space around Jody rippled uncontrollably.
[Warning! Compatibility severely impacted! Source spirit stability compromised.]
"Sly what are you doing!? You're going to hurt yourself! Our souls can't take that kind of strain in this state," shouted Xavier via telepathy.
However, Sylvester remained unperturbed.
"If I do not do this, we will surely die here. I suggest you do your best to help me. None of us will be in a great state once all is said and done. Figure out a way to wake up the kid, I will not be able to maintain us in that place indefinitely," responded Sylvester indifferently.
Xavier felt like flipping a table as he desperately pondered a solution. As the spatial fluctuations increased in intensity, Sylvester who was in control of Jody's body unblinkingly stared at Basalt, his killing intent not at all hidden in his calm gaze. Basalt had never felt such a horrifying intent to kill. It felt like a galactic beast was staring him down.
"Altis and Trevor should be unable to continue distracting that old wolf for very long. It is time to wrap things up. Kill!" Basalt shot forward with full momentum, his hand transforming into a big and vicious looking claw made of flaming dark energy.
The claw slammed down at Jody in an attempt to reap his life and mince him into fragments. He wanted to quickly end this future trouble before finishing off his brother. However, the claw was destined to hit nothing. Taking one final glance at this fearsome opponent and the 21 fist-sized red light spheres, Sylvester sneered.
"Teleport!"
The spatial fluctuations rippled fiercely before the claw passed right through as if there was nothing there. In fact, in the next instant, there really wasn't anything there!
The last things Jody saw were the woman who resembled his mother's incredulous expression, as tears of blood stained her face; Basalt's nervous eyes when his attack landed on air; and the never-ending rain of fiends from the dark sky which made it look like the sky itself was falling.
[Warning! Compatibility is dangerously low! Source spirit damage eminent.] .
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Author's note: Hello my loyal readers! We are approaching the conclusion of volume two. For this volume I tried to incorporate more of Jody's upbringing and also his family's struggle to maintain the state of temporary basis with their enemies. The last few chapters will answer a couple of questions while inspiring countless more. Be sure to leave me a review if you're still enjoying the story!