Chapter 184: The Decision
<Phil View>
The forest was on fire. Everywhere Phil looked, he couldn't help as his heart cringed with pain at the thought all of nature was being twisted into ugly knots.
The loss of the forest enraged him.
He could feel the bubbling anger swelling in his heart, and every time it took another life, his darkness simmered even more deeply into his core.
Phil despised the Destruction of the land, especially the land of the sacred tree that he had known for a long time. The elven part of him was raging.
"Move out!" Phil shouted. He was leading the group of Eleven Warriors that he was allowed to lead.
There were three major armies, and Phil was directing the third. He was allowed such honor because of his heritage, but he knew that the council only did it for show. The number of elven soldiers wasn't the best, and they were considered the worst of the worst.
Still, he did not care. He knew what he had to do, and all the elven warriors felt it. They were going to fight to the death to protect the sacred tree.
Quickly but efficiently, they all headed forward to block the oncoming swarm of dark creatures that were pouring into the forest.
Each monster was filled with dark energy. Every step the monsters took eroded the very plants and contaminated the area. Soaking it to the very bones.
Phil felt his stomach-turning. It was a terrible feeling to see everything burning.
"Hold your position!" Phil commanded. He was leading in the front with his sword in front of him.
The elves ready their bows and swords.
The first monsters burst through the burning forest. Their morphed animalistic bodies were misshapen into bulkier muscles with terrible scales and spikes.
Large canine teeth and tusk protrude out of their lips as evil twisting horns curl forward. Some monsters had bull-like bodies; others were sublime and sleek, giving them a sense of speed.
More monsters appeared from above as miniature Phoenix-like birds that burst into black flames every chance they got to harm them.
"Fire!" Phil shouted.
The arrows were let go as they flew up into the air and took down as many monsters as possible.
A spike of adrenaline courses throughout his body. His eyes focused as he took down more and more monsters that were coming at him in droves.
There was no time to think about the sorrows of the fallen, the wounded, or helpless. All Phil could think of was getting as many of these monsters down before it overwhelmed his army.
They weren't the best, but they were still his people that he needed to protect and keep alive.
"Get the sparks ready!" Phil roared. He knocked another arrow into his bow.
The elves started to push forward a cannon-like device that was brought to the front. With quick fluid movements, the cannon clicked and clanked and were put in motion. One of the elves lit up the wick.
A few seconds later, a loud boom erupted on the forest floor, shaking the very ground. The ground shook with heaviness as the cannonball flew.
Phil and a few elves, who had their arrows knocked, raised it up and shot into the air at the cannon.
Upon impact between arrow and cannonball, the cannonball unraveled in midair. Strings upon strings burst out from the cannonball and spread like a spider web as it cast its nets downwards.
Hundreds of monsters were wrapped up and tangled in the webs that wrapped around them upon contact. They crashed and fell to the ground. Upon impact, the vines, which had tiny blue flowers, sparked off, exploding like firecrackers.
Pieces of their body exploded, disappearing as the vines devoured it into pieces, leaving behind a sapling. Then, it suddenly changed and grew, leaving in place was a shrub or a tree.
More and more canons were sent off into the air. Then, finally, the elves precisely hit the released cannonballs, allowing the plants to spark off and attach themselves onto the monsters as saplings littered the floor.
The elves moved with synchronicity, a lot better than the other army.
At first, they struggled. Then, getting the streams of monsters under control, a few handfuls were injured as the swarms bulldozed their way in.
Phil jumped into the fray of monsters that broke through, pushing them back or killing them on the spot. This allowed them to have better reaction time against the swarms of monsters. Quickly but efficiently, they moved with Phil's command. Taking down the monsters that came in swarms.
The first wave of monsters, they were able to take down as many as possible, eventually helping the other army in the process.
Phil kept moving, jumping in and out between the monsters trying to take over and destroy everything in the path. At the same time, he was able to control the number of monsters that were trying to run havoc, which failed.
He saw flashes of light not too far away, followed by a thunderous roar that he instantly knew who.
Looking above, Berry and the Phoenix were fighting not too far. Clashing and spitting out the fire as light and darkness have battled for supremacy over time. At one point, the spread of darkness had taken a chunk of the forest area entirely, burning the other monsters that were unfortunate to be under the two fighting.
It was as if a flash of hot and cold were happening simultaneously, stripping and healing between darkness and light.
Phil, at times, herded the monsters under them, fighting as best as he could. This allowed him to take care of the monsters every time he felt the energy around Berry light up as he dashed away.
What was left behind was the slew of burnt-up monsters that left a black scorch mark on the ground.
Suddenly, Phil felt a prickling gaze from behind him. With a snap of his attention, he turned around. His bow and arrow were in hand as he pointed at the person who was standing not too far away from him.
"It's you." Phil glared. He wasn't too thrilled to see Julia here of all places. The last time he remembered seeing her was when she summoned up all the legendary creatures to cause havoc. Now, she was back to cause the same problem over again, but worse.
"Yes, it's me." Julia smiled. She walked with confident steps toward him; her hips swung side-to-side.
"Why are you here?" Phil pointed the arrow at her. "Stop, don't move."
Julia stopped in front of him, holding up her hands above her. Showing that she was harmless, but Phil didn't buy it. But, of course, he never did when it came to her.
"I did not come to harm you."
"Lies." Phil hissed.
"Truly, I am not."
A shower of arrows was left loose as it rained down.
Julia raised her hand, and with a simple wave, a black and silver barrier formed around her, completely bouncing off all the arrows that tried to harm her.
The arrows fell down onto the ground.
"Pointless," Julia replied.
Phil fired his own.
The arrow sliced through the air and smashed into the side. A chunk of the arrow cut through, leaving behind a gaping hole. But, it still missed as Julia moved her head slightly to the left, leaving an injury on her cheeks.
Julia frowned, not happy that she had a cut on her face.
Reaching up, she wiped her face.
The blood was wiped off, leaving behind a smudge of blood on her cheek.
"It would have been better if you had listened to me," Julia replied, annoyed that she was harmed. "I only came here to talk with you."
With a motion of her hands, she sent out a shockwave of energy that threw everyone back but Phil himself.
When she saw him still standing, she was impressed. "Not bad." She shook her head up and down, observing him with interest.
Phil frowned. He was battered with cuts as he glared at her.
The elven army was all littered on the ground, dazed or unconscious.
"Then talk then." Phil shook himself loose of his energy around him.
"Oh, I will, Love."
"I am not your love."
"But you will."
"What are you talking about?" Phil was getting annoyed at her statement.
"Everything." Julia smiled a big angelic grin that made her features even more beautiful. She stepped out of her barrier, and she disappeared. Reappearing in front of him.
They were nose to nose. Julia's hot breath touched his cheeks as she whispered into his ears.
"I came for you, my demon king," Julia said with a low chuckle.
Phil pushed her back. Flaring up his energy around him. He wiped his ear with his arm, disliking how she breathed on him.
Julia gave him a graceful bow. "Your highness."
Phil snarled. "I am not your king."
"Oh, but you are," Julia said with enthusiasm. "The coming of the demon king was written since the beginning of creation. It is the sign of the end of all things and a beginning of new. When all six legendary creatures are reborn in the same era, the demon king shall rise to his rightful throne."
"So, you are saying it's me?"
"Yes."
"Bullshit."
Julia chuckled. "You know just as well as I that this is the truth."
"I don't think you know me like that."
"But, I do. Don't you feel the lull of the darkness calling you?" Julia took another step forward towards him. "They call that you know for a fact that what I say is the truth."
"No."
"Then you don't know what I am talking about."
"Please explain. Why me?"
Julia spoke with a wag of her finger. She shook her head, looking at him with a coy smile. She then straightened up, took a moment to take a good look at him.
There was a strange atmosphere around Julia that Phil did not like. It made him itch and uncomfortable. The closer she got, he could feel his skin crawl.
"Because the call of the demon king has a mark on your back."
Phil squinted his eyes at her with disdain.
Julia chuckled. She winked at him.
"I'm not coming with you." Phil adamantly spoke.
"But, you will."
"No."
Julia strolled around Phil. "I know you love my naive little niece."
Phil didn't reply.
"She is your world, no?" Julia raised up his hand and placed it on Phil's shoulder.
A shockwave of disgust ran up and down wherever Julia had placed her hand. Phil pulled back in disgust, baring his teeth at her.
Julia didn't care. She took another step closer, invading his space even more.
Phil violently pushed her back.
Julia slid across the ground and hit against the tree. She blinked a few times, dusting off the dust, debris, and dirt.
"That's not nice on how you handle a lady."
"Well, you don't know me then," Phil replied. "It's different from a bitch."
Julia scowled. She got up and straightened herself.
"So, is that all you got to say?" Phil crossed his arms.
"Absolutely not. You won't be able to say no after this." Julia smugly replied, "Berry will die."
"What do you mean?"
"After she finds all six heroes, she will die. This is the life of someone like her. All her energy
will be used to slay all six legendary heroes." Julia bluntly replied.
Her words brought a shock into Phil's heart. "You're lying."
"No, I am not," Julia replied. "Do you think I am lying?"
"Yes."
Julia cackled, throwing back her hair. "Oh, my poor demon king. You have a lot to learn about what fate has decided for you. You are born into this world to accomplish the impossible. This is what the world wished." She waved her hand in front of her. "The people wish for a change, and in return, the world delivered it with a birth of a king."
"Preposterous."
"You can believe whatever you want, handsome, but this is the truth. Berry will die when all six
legendary creatures are dead."
Her words shook Phil to the core.
"Make your decision, my King. Become who you are meant to be to stop the terror of the death that will befall on your love, or you can change all that and take upon your rightful throne."
Julia showed her hand, showing him that she really came here not to do harm.
"So, would you take what I offer? To save Berry?"
Phil hesitated.
"I won't bite." She winked. "Time is ticking; Berry will die."
Phil hesitated at first, then he reached forward, grabbing her hand.
"That is a wise decision." Julia smiled. "I look forward to this relationship."
"Don't think too much about it." He let go, disgustingly wiped his hand on his pants.
"Don't worry, you won't regret it." A black portal appeared, stepping back. She disappeared, leaving him alone in the forest.
Phil wondered if he had made the right choice.
Suddenly, from behind, he heard a loud explosion that rattled the very ground and air.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone