Li-On, Demo, and the entire group arrived at their destination after the last person walked through the gate they closed it. They look around and see a level of destruction they've only read about in books. The buildings are either completely destroyed or in ruins. There are dead bodies everywhere. Some of the members started throwing up. Seeing this kind of death and mayhem is a shock their senses couldn't handle. Demo feels sadness as he sees the bodies on the ground but he is able to keep his anger in check. Demo checks his surroundings beyond the bodies but can't see anything. Li-On can sense a good amount of malice coming from what used to be a busy shopping street. He raises his hand and points in the direction of the street.
"Stay alert and protect those close to you, work as a team and we will be fine."
The group starts walking in the direction of the source of the killing intent. As they do, Li-On notices that there are fewer bodies on the ground, and the buildings are scratched but not destroyed. And as he comes around the final corner he sees it. A mountain of dead bodies piled up and on top of them a Palindra soldier with a huge sword covered in blood is sitting looking at the Li-On and the group. The Palindra soldier doesn't move but just stares at the group as they make their way closer to the mountain of corpses.
Once Li-On is in front of the dead bodies, he looks up at the Palindra soldier and starts talking in their language.
"Shaniqu Sorin Vandhi Tindro (Proud Warrior, please stop this war.)"
The Palindra soldier opens his eyes wide in shock at the words coming from a regular person. But the very next moment his face twists in anger at this unforgivable act. He raises up to stand, grabs his big sword, and points it at Li-On as he screams in anger.
"ESH (Silence)"
The sheer volume and rage embedded in his scream make it seem as if the ground is shaking. Li-On and Demo however both seem unfazed as they keep their gaze on the soldier. The rest of the members however are clearly shook as they immediate transform material into weapons to defend themselves. The soldier continues speaking.
"Kromor Vyssara Vishar Nolvar (Scum like you isn't allowed to speak in the language of the Gods."
Li-On doesn't break eye contact. He knows that the soldier can attack at any moment and that the slightest provocation can set him off. But he doesn't have any other way of communication so he tries again.
"Sérin – (Please…)"
Before Li-On can finish his sentence the soldier disappears from sight as if he used extremely high speed. Li-On immediately reacts by speedily transforming the material on his wrist. It turns into a beautiful blade and with sheer instinct, he is able to stop the incoming attack from the soldier who is now right in front of him. The sound of their blades clashing sends a shockwave through the entire area. As everyone is watching the Li-On clash with the soldier they don't notice the slight movements in the shadows of the buildings.
The exact moment the blades of Li-On and the soldier clash a group of Palindra emerge from the shadows right behind the newest members who were told to stay in the back. The Palindra attack without mercy and start slaughtering the helpless new members. As the screams for help grow and they are unable to overcome their fear the new members start running away. Having realized what was happening the B ranked members broke formation trying to help the new members.
Eight looked back, and from his past experiences, he was able to see the flow the battle was taking. He recognized that everything was going too clean as if it was all a trap. He screamed at the B rank to stop them from breaking formation.
"NO, DON'T GO, STAY IN FORMATION!!!!"
But it was too late, the formation was broken and a lot of them were going after the Palindra that emerged from the shadows. But the moment their rank and file was broken the Palindra as if on cue jumped back into the shadows and disappeared. Eight knew that this was now officially a trap and started looking around and that's when he saw a large group of Palindra on the roofs of the buildings. He whispered his fears to himself.
"That's why they didn't destroy these buildings."
The Palindra on the roof let go what can only be described as a warcry and then they let loose a barrage of black arrows that blackened the sky and rained down on the members. Eight screamed as fast as he could.
"SHIELDS UP!!!"
The S and A ranks immediately created shields to protect themselves. The B ranked who went to help the new members tried to do their best to put up shields for themselves as well as the new members. But not all were successful.
Li-On who senses what is going on behind him got extremely angry but you wouldn't be able to tell from his face as he kept his composure. Demo standing next to him looks at the power struggle between Li-On and the soldier.
"Do you need help?"
Li-On smiles at the question and breaks eye contact with the soldier to look at Demo.
"Nah I'm ok. Heads up."
And as Li-On says that he nods his head and looks past Demo as if to warn him that something is coming his way. As Demo looks to where Li-On was looking he sees a big Palindra with an Axe rushing towards him. Demos eyes turn red with excitement and he smiles. This will be his first real fight and the first step towards becoming stronger. The Axe Palindra tries to slash and hack Demo but Demo is able to move out of the way with each one. As the Axe Palindra gets more and more frustrated with the constant misses he prepares for a big swing and the extra motion creates enough space and time for Demo to counter.
"My turn!"
Demo rushes in with the speed of a bullet and punches the Palindra straight in the chest. The Palindra explodes into thin air. This attack shocks even the big soldier Palindra who is facing Li-On as he quickly turns his head to look at what just happened. It's this break in concentration that allows Li-On to fully regain his own composure and he forces the soldier backward with sheer force.
"It seems you Palindra learned a few new tricks while I was retired."
Li-On kneels down and places his hand on the ground. A ring of energy emanates from where Li-On has his hand on the ground. The ring is followed by a circle that grows until it covers the entire area. He looks up at the soldier with a smile.
"Let me return the favor."
Diamond spikes spring up from the ground attacking all the Palindra. The ones on the roof get attacked as well. The ground that was covered in shadows brings forth dark spikes that forced the Palindra that were hiding in the dark out into the open. Most of the Palindra were able to block the spikes thanks to their fast reaction speed and understanding that the ring of energy was to be an attack. But not all of them. The ones who hid in the shadows weren't as lucky as they didn't see the ring, so they were all impaled by the spikes. But the ones who were able to block it were forced onto equal ground with the gym members so that they could now be attacked as well.
Li-On stands back up, grabs his sword, and raises it up high.
"KILL THEM ALL!!"
The gym members scream in unison and they all start attacking the Palindra that have been forced down. The Palindra not afraid of battle regain their footing and charge the members as well.
Unbeknownst to those fighting, there are still several security cameras still functioning. These cameras are streaming the fights happening all over that city. Dragons Gym wasn't the only gym or group that answered the call for help. Several gyms and institutions gathered to fight the Palindra. As each fight was as bloody and epic as the next one, each channel chose a camera to focus on.
Ten had rushed outside to go to his mother to protect her in case the Palindra attacked his area. As he ran he caught a glimpse of one of the channels showing the security camera footage. It was there that he saw Demo on screen. He stopped to look at Demo fighting the Palindra. He couldn't believe the Palindra actually attacked but what shocked him even more was that Demo was able to defeat one of them so easily.
It was right then that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He looked around at what could make his body react like that. He didn't see anything but then he heard screams all around him and someone pointed up at the sky. And there he saw it. A dark wave of shadows making its way down. The Palindra were about to descend here as well.
Chapter 14 Fin