Chalu clashed swords with Athos, the latter's weapon made of pure darkness. The intensity of their battle sent shockwaves across the battlefield.
"I will end you!" Chalu shouted, his aura-infused sword sparking against the dark blade of Athos.
"Then end me!" Athos retorted, summoning a mass of darkness. "Dark Slice!" he commanded, launching a large, dark energy slice towards Chalu.
Chalu met the attack head-on. "Valor Slash!" he cried, empowering his sword with his aura and cutting through the dark slice.
Athos, furious, summoned even more darkness. "You fucker!" he yelled, forming a massive wave of darkness. "Dark Wave!"
As the wave surged towards Chalu, he realized he couldn't deflect it easily. Planting his sword into the ground, he invoked, "Log Barrier!" Energy formed a protective barrier around him, holding back the dark wave.
Everyone watching was in shock.
"Is he really not a mage?" Roki asked, unable to believe his eyes.
"That's what he told me," Bale replied, still healing Roki's injuries.
"No, that power must be magic," Lory insisted.
"It's different. I can't describe it," Lucy said, trying to make sense of Chalu's abilities.
Gori, teeth gritted, muttered, "You outshine me again, Chalu."
Raro, observing the fight, realized Chalu was exhausting his aura. Knowing Chalu couldn't sustain the fight much longer, he decided to intervene.
"I need to assist Chalu," Raro declared, preparing to join the battle.
Gori, though not fully healed, stood up. "Let's go. I'll join you."
Rika, also injured, added, "Count me in!"
Bale, having healed Roki and Bax enough for them to fight, said, "Let's join Chalu."
Roki and Bax nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I want to know how that guy has that much power!" Bax exclaimed.
Lyro turned to Lucy and Lory, who were also partially healed. "Um, ladies, do you mind joining the battle?"
"Yeah," Lucy said, determination in her eyes. "We're in."
The group, despite their injuries, prepared to back up Chalu. They knew the battle ahead would be fierce, but they were ready to fight together to bring down Athos.
......
Meanwhile, Outside the Universe
As I watched the world of Eldan, I couldn't help but feel anxious about the ongoing battle against Athos. Even though the combined strength of Chalu and his comrades seemed overwhelming, I couldn't shake the feeling that something might still go wrong.
The system chimed in, breaking my thoughts. "Host, you are overreacting."
"I know, I know. Maybe I'm just... you know, overreacting. This is my perspective, after all, reading to all of you viewers. Ahem, now back to the story."
.....
With renewed determination, Chalu's allies began to close in on Athos. Despite their injuries, they were ready to lend their strength to the fight.
Athos, still radiating dark energy, faced them with a twisted grin. "So, you all wish to die together? Very well!"
Chalu, his sword gleaming with aura, charged at Athos again. "We won't let you harm anyone else!"
Bale shouted, "Ice Arrow!!" as she cast a spell without a circle.
Athos countered, "Dark Arrow!" The two spells clashed mid-air, freezing and disintegrating upon impact. Athos looked at Bale and said, "You are... from the Lomius family!!!"
Bale's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?!"
Roki, gritting his teeth, said, "That bastard... I think if he eats our people, he gains their knowledge, their memories. Although it's just my speculation."
Athos laughed maniacally. "You are indeed right!!"
Bax, enraged, said, "You monster!!!" He then used his earth magic, infusing it with fire. "Meteorite!!" A flaming rock lunged towards Athos.
Athos blocked it with a shield of darkness. He then turned his attention to the advancing Rika, Chalu, and Gori. "Enough!!!" he roared, unleashing a dark shockwave.
Rika and Gori were knocked to the ground, but Chalu remained standing, albeit struggling to keep his balance.
Athos looked at Chalu, impressed. "You are really strong!!!"
Roki, still recovering from the shockwave, shouted, "This monster is weakening! We can kill him!!"
Bale nodded. "That's what I'm thinking too."
Lyro and Raro combined their water magic, channeling their energies together. "Water Wave!!!" they chanted in unison.
Sensing the impending danger, Athos quickly summoned another dark shockwave, this one more powerful than the last. It hit everyone with a tremendous force, sending them flying backwards, except for Chalu.
Chalu stood his ground, his aura flaring up in defiance. "Athos, your reign of terror ends here!"
Athos, panting and visibly weakened, glared at Chalu. "You think you can kill me? No I will devour you all and become unstoppable!"
Chalu tightened his grip on his sword, the aura around him intensifying. "For Marlo, for everyone you've hurt... I will end you!"
Raro, lying on the ground and writhing in pain, muttered, "No... My power is weakening. The shapeshifting will be gone soon... aurg!!!" His thoughts were consumed by the fear of losing his shapeshifting abilities. Due to his injuries, he knew they didn't have much time.
Everyone else lay scattered, holding their injuries, struggling to recover.
Bale managed to stand up, her determination evident despite the brutal impact of Athos's power. As a member of the renowned Lomius family, it was expected that she could withstand such an assault.
Lyro, from the equally esteemed Spera family, also managed to rise. Catching his breath, he looked at Raro and went to aid him. "Are you okay? You look pale."
Raro, clutching his injuries, replied, "No-Nothing." He knew he couldn't reveal their secret. He could only hope that Chalu would defeat Athos before their disguises wore off.
Meanwhile, back with Chalu and Athos, the battle raged on. Bale approached Chalu, determination in her eyes.
Chalu glanced at her. "Bale, you..."
Bale interrupted, "I will join you. Don't worry, I'm still fine."
Chalu nodded, determination flaring in his eyes. "Let's do this."
Athos, seething with rage, snarled, "You bastards!" He lunged towards them, summoning his dark magic. "Spear Darkness!" Multiple dark spears materialized and shot towards Chalu and Bale.
Bale quickly cast a defensive spell. "Chalu, don't worry about his attacks! Focus on attacking him—I'll support you!"
Chalu nodded. "Thanks, Bale."
As the dark spears hurtled towards them, Bale's defensive magic formed a barrier that deflected the projectiles. Chalu took advantage of the opening, his aura flaring brightly as he charged at Athos.
Athos, visibly weakening, struggled to keep up with Chalu's relentless attacks. "You... you cannot defeat me!" he roared, though the desperation in his voice was clear.
Chalu's sword, empowered by his aura, clashed with Athos's dark blade. Each strike pushed Athos further back, his defenses crumbling.
Bale, maintaining the barrier, cast additional spells to weaken Athos further. "Ice Chains!" she shouted, as frosty chains erupted from the ground, entangling Athos's legs and hindering his movements.
Athos roared in frustration, summoning more dark energy to break free. But Chalu was relentless, his attacks growing stronger with each passing moment.
"You've caused enough pain, Athos!" Chalu shouted, his voice echoing with the power of his aura. "This ends now!"
With a final, mighty strike, Chalu's sword, blazing with aura, pierced through Athos's defenses, striking him down. Athos's dark energy dissipated, and he collapsed to the ground.
The battlefield fell silent. Bale lowered her barrier, breathing heavily. Chalu, panting, look at Bale and smiled at her.
As Chalu and his allies thought they had won. Athos who lay on the ground, seemingly defeated. But it was a deception. As Chalu turned to catch his breath, Athos's voice cut through the air.
"You think you beat me?" Athos sneered. He conjured a sword out of darkness and lunged towards Bale with blinding speed.
Before anyone could react, the dark blade pierced Bale's chest. She muttered, "Chalu..." before collapsing to the ground.
"Bale!!!" Chalu screamed, rushing to her side. Panic surged through him as he saw the gaping wound in her chest. Desperately, he placed his hands over the wound, willing his aura to heal her. "Nonono, I can't let you die! Please, please work," he muttered frantically.
A spark of light appeared in Chalu's hands as his aura responded. Slowly, the wound began to close, and Bale's breathing stabilized. Relief washed over Chalu, but his relief was short-lived.
Lyro and Raro, who had been watching in horror, saw Athos preparing to strike again. Lyro shouted, "Not on my watch!" He summoned a fire arrow and shot it towards Athos.
Athos conjured a magical shield to block the arrow, then distanced himself from Chalu and Bale. Realizing he was too injured to continue fighting, Athos decided it was time to escape.
"Bye bye for now," he taunted.
"But mark my words, when I become stronger, I will end you all—especially you," he said, pointing at Chalu.
Raro, despite his pain, shouted, "No, we can't let him escape!"
Roki and Bax, still lying on the ground, tried to shoot Athos with their magic, but Athos had already vanished into the shadows.
"Damnit!" Gori who saw Roki and Bax attack failed muttered a cursed,as clutching his own injuries.
"Fuck!!" Bax shouted in frustration, slamming his fist into the ground.
As the dust settled and the adrenaline began to fade, the reality of their situation hit them. Athos had escaped, and they were left battered and bruised.
Raro, sensing that his shapeshifting power was wearing off, shouted urgently at Gori and Chalu, "Chalu, Gori!!!!!"
Gori, still on the ground in pain, and Chalu, still healing Bale, looked at Raro with confusion.
"Let's get out of here!" Raro urged.
But it was too late. Raro, Gori, and Chalu began to revert to their original forms. Raro, who had been pretending to be an Eldoan, transformed back into his original form: a cat beastfolk with yellow, almost orange eyes and orange fur. Chalu returned to his chimpanzee beastfolk form, and Gori became his gorilla beastfolk self once again.
The transformation shocked everyone.
Bax shouted, "You all are beastfolk!!!"
Lyro, who had been close to Raro, looked at him in disbelief. "Raro, you're beastfolk?"
Raro, filled with regret, said, "Yes, I am. I'm so-so-sorry."
Chalu stood up and addressed everyone. "I know all of you hate beastfolk. I know our factions are at war, but all I want is to unite the two factions."
Lucy, with tears in her eyes, said, "No! Beastfolk are mindless beasts. They killed my eldest brother."
Chalu looked at her with genuine sorrow. "I'm sorry."
Lory, looking at Lucy and then angrily at Chalu, said, "Why are you even here anyway? Are you just pretending to unite when you're here to spy on us?"
Chalu shook his head. "No, it's not like that."
Bale, now healed and standing with some difficulty, looked at Chalu. "Chalu..."
Roki, trying to piece everything together, said, "Now I get it. Why you're so strong. That power—is it from your fok?"
Chalu replied, "No, it's not."
Roki pressed, "What do you mean?"
Before Chalu could respond, a voice shouted, "What happened?"
Chalu and the others turned to see their teachers from various subjects approaching: Colerio Sapher, Shen Mort, Petra Haws, Aro Lupe, and Ms. Lerona Everdale. They were led by Colerio Sapher.
Colerio, with a nonchalant expression, looked at the transformed beastfolk. "What's going on here?"
To be continued