Chapter 89

  Watching Disaster Strike

  Seeing the monster erupt before me, I am tense and about to jump forward, but that’s when a strong hand reaches out to block my path.

  “You cannot stop the danger that is about to erupt, and you’re going now will only add to the chaos that is about to be unleashed,” Mr. Yi’s cold and powerful words echoed out, his eyes still glowing golden showing vertical slits like a snake might have. While the rest of his face and features remain the same, showing that even he is waiting. Had he been ready to jump in, I know from experience that his tongue would be glowing golden and showing off its normal serpentine features.

  Instead, he was calm and standing, but he was not inactive. For while his left hand was held up to hold me back, I couldn’t help but notice the faint flickering trickle of golden energy seeping into the swords at his hip. Again, his ability to prepare for battle was impeccable. While I would have charged in with nothing but my hands to aid my movement, he was already planning two steps ahead.

  That’s when the first disaster struck, the monster that had been hiding within the bubbling shadows erupted forth and began devouring a well-dressed man in a stylish business suit. Immediately the crowd that had been held still by panic and fear suddenly erupted forth, exploding outward in all directions.

  The thick doors banged open loudly and instantly let the waning afternoon light seep into the crowded arena. Showing shadows of fleeing patrons who desperately fled into the protective lights offered by the outside world. Meanwhile I was there watching and waiting, my eyes tracking the monster in horror as it grabbed a body and seemed to swim under the corpse, pulling the body along to form a shadow that the monster could easily sink into.

  Watching it, I felt a wave of fear rise up in me, as I had a sinking suspicion that I had somehow met this creature before. It wasn’t until it emerged a second time, this time lunging up and tackling a panicked and fleeing woman from behind that I saw it in its true form. The second time it emerged, it had its hood up over its head, and its glowingly hypnotic green eyes glowed with a horrifying malevolence that sent chills down my spine. Chills as my mind instantly recognized this creature. How did I know this creature? Well simple, it was the one from my dreams, the one that caused an impromptu trip to the park. And now it was the one that after having its fill from eating not one, but two spectators, sniffed in the air, then turned to face me.

  Our eyes met, glowing green versus my own glowing golden eyes. We held that gaze for what felt like an eternity, a battle of wills occurring in less than a second. I couldn’t have cowered, I could have buckled, but I didn’t. Instead, I just stared back coldly and defiantly letting a deep-seated rage burn brightly within me. A rage that caused a faintly glowing golden aura to rise within my chest and burn forth with a burning pain. A pain that glowed golden from under my layers of clothing and under my dark cloak that I wore, one that made me look oddly similar to the monster before me. A monster that the locals call a Death Eater. After watching it work, I could see that the name was as appropriate as any.

  My eyes were transfixed on the monster and its movements, watching it closely, I began breaking it down just as Mr. Yi would want me to, and no doubt quiz me on after this event was over. That’s how I came to a few key details that could help when I fought this creature, and I was going to fight it, as something deep within me clashed with the very idea and existence of such a monstrous creature existing in my beautiful world. The first understanding I had was that the glowing golden lights from above were causing the creature undue pain and being able to burn away its dark cloak. The second thing I realized was that despite the cloak being gone, it could still move. My mind had originally imagined this creature to be something like an ugly vampire, but that was not the case. Even with the true sunlight from the streets pouring in, the monster was still up and able to move, though it was clear that it didn’t like the light. This is where I made the third understanding, in that it could sink into the shadows and repair its dark cloak from the shadows. There was likely more to that, but that is all I could get from the act. The fourth and final thing that I recognized was the glowing green light in its eyes seemed to represent both power and how much life it stole from a victim. The brighter the glowing eyes, the more life energy it had stolen.

  Logically, I shouldn’t have known that last part from a glance, but it was something deep and primal that clicked into my mind. The way I see my own Life energy being applied to others is the same glowing green that I see in that monster’s eyes. It didn’t take much for my mind to make that connection, but once it did make the mental connection, I could not refute it.

  “Here,” Mr. Yi called out, his voice calm as ever, but it was clear he was not looking back at me, but forward at the same monster that I was watching intently. To my surprise, Mr. Yi handed me my own stone practice blade back to me, all except he had modified it so that it now glowed with a golden hue. Taking the now golden glowing blade I hold it out, and pause for a moment, before I too begin adding my own energy signature onto the blade. Focusing my own DiVoratore bloodline energy directly into the blade, all except there is a slight problem, as the blade now begins to glow with strands of purple and pulsing green energy. Looking at the blade for a second, I pause wondering if this will cause any problems. Then glancing to my right at Mr. Yi who is already in the process of supercharging his own blade with its golden coat of energy I realize that this is something that he likely already thought of and expected. That’s why I go back to focus on infusing more energy into the blade. Yet, there is just one problem.

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  “Deep Chittering Gurgles,” the beast lets out a deep throaty gurgle as it turns to face me. Well not me, as I can feel that the slight pressure on the back of my mind from earlier is gone, instead I just feel the weight of the proximity of the beast’s gaze upon me. With a start I realize that it is now looking at my glowing weapon, which to my eyes seems to glow like a rainbow colored light stick.

  I don’t even know how much energy I have used to empower the blade. My mind tells me that it is far less energy than I used this morning, but I made the mistake of not actually counting as I was too caught up in the stress of what was happening. I mentally think it is about half, or maybe half of how much I was using this morning, maybe five or six full drops of Mana, but that is a guess on my part.

  Worse, I was already expecting to use the full amount of Mana in my blade and had been preparing for just such an event, but when it didn’t happen, I shocked by the fear of the monster still managed to complete the mana conversion within my mind, resulting in an overcharge of Life energy. An overcharge that erupted forth and sprayed like a fountain of glowing green mana into the air.

  “SHRRIIIIIEEEEEKKKKK!” The creature erupted with an anguished screech of want as it turned to face me. Well not me, but the fountain of green life energy that was floating like a layer of pepper spray in the air waiting for someone to inadvertently walk through and be coated in the misty material.

  “AHH!”

  People panicked as the monster that had been content to strike out at victims in ones and twos, suddenly broke from its path down the aisles chasing the fleeing victims and turned to face the arena.

  For a moment I paused, wondering if I had done something completely stupid, for now the beast that had changed direction and began sprinting right towards us. Its movements like a child wearing an oversized costume desperately trying to reach the house that gave out giant sized candy bars for treats. However, unlike my past life, where you knew it was an over excited kid underneath the mask and horrors, this was real. A real monster given corporeal form to stretch out and cut down people with nothing more than the whipping cloth of its dark cloak that covered its body. A dark cloak that seemed to burn away with the lights.

  For a moment, I thought we had a chance, as the dark cloak was being burned away at a colossal rate and there was no way it could stand a chance against us without its swirling dark cloak to protect itself. I was certain of this, just as I was certain that the green energy within its eyes that was even now slowly dwindling was a sign of stolen life energy that the beast had managed to accumulate.

  Maybe it was the way the pressure being released from the charging Death Eater seemed to be easing up as it got closer and had its dark robe stripped away. Maybe it was the way its bones that now had to reach out and touch the floor looked vulnerable, despite not wearing away at all. But there was something about the cloak being gone that let me realize we had a chance.

  Then the worst thing to happen happened.

  Shatter!

  The beast charged through the thick layer of protective polarized shielding. The same shielding that had served to amplify the glowing holy energy from the lights above. With that there was a distortion, before waves of manipulated glass began to drop and shatter on the ground, injuring a few more people who had not yet managed to make it to safety.

  Quickly glancing right and left at the victims, I originally felt concerned for the spectator’s saftey, but ultimately happy that aside from a few cuts and scrapes, no one seemed to be impaled or otherwise severely injured from the glass. However, that one glance away was my undoing as I looked back to the exact section of the ring where I knew the monster had been coming and saw nothing.

  Normally, this would be a good thing, but given the creature’s ability to hide in the shadows a deep seeded fear gripped me as I watched. Everyone took a half step forward, everyone bracing themselves for what would happen next, myself included.

  That’s when Luna did probably the scariest and most reckless thing possible, how did she even get there? Mentally my mind knew she and Lucia had joined us on the ring for protection just before the monster went wild, but then she had remained relatively still. Now though, now she moved forward two steps and seemed to look down over the edge of the ring, looking for something that was not even there.

  As she moved, I saw the lights from behind still cover her, while the far lights were still rattled and apparently out of place from the shattering glass. It was clear that the polarized lenses were held to the same scaffolding that held the overhead lights for the north end of the arena, the same section that Luna was going to now, but I didn’t put two and two together until I saw the fact that Luna now had a shadow. A single dark shadow that stretched from her boots down the side of the ring and off into the distance.

  Then my still glowing eyes picked up on the subtle movement, the faintest trickle of shadows seeming to ooze and glide their way up the side of the ring. Seeing the shadows, my body moved on autopilot.

  “NOOOO!” I shouted out, as the world seemed to slow down around me as I already began empowering my legs to push forward, surging me forward as I held out my still glowing sword straight out and began to aim towards Luna.

  Luna caught off guard by my sudden scream and movement locked up in fear as she saw me charging forward seemingly ready to impale her. This was the worst action, for the Death Eater seemed to know the exact moment that Luna turned her back towards it and chose that exact moment to lunge up from the shadows and strike.

  Boney claws lunged upwards from the shadow, and all I could do was charge forward. Yet, I knew I was going to be too late. Still, I pushed onward, rage filling me as I felt my chest continuing to burn, as more golden light seemed to shine from under my clothes and dark robe, but I didn’t care, not at this moment for I just charged forward, despite the burning ache within my chest.

  Then to my surprise, the world began to blur and fold around me, as I drew ever closer to my goal.