章 36: True Target
It had been a while since the dark energy erupted from Zanetor, yet Edem and Leticia had their attention elsewhere.
The blonde little girl wore a fierce expression on her face as she glared in a particular direction. Trees blasted into the air as something drew near. Leticia's hair began to rattle violently as it sensed the disturbing aura approaching them.
Edem didn't wear a friendly expression either. Whatever was approaching had energy patterns similar to the aura surrounding Zanetor at the moment.
If this thing had a link to Zanetor, then...
*SCREECH!*
An enormous black monster with deep red lines all around its body and eight frighteningly intimidating limbs lunged out from within the forest, landing before the two with a powerful force.
"Fibre spell!" an explosive aura burst out from Leticia as her eyes glowed.
The ground began to rumble, and root-like structures emerged from below. They seemed to be sourced from the surrounding trees as the roots pulled them along, amalgamating into a large, bulky creature made of wood.
"Arboreal Fusion!"
A powerful roar swept through the area as the wooden golem sparked to life. Snake-like roots then emerged from the wooden creature's arms, binding the black monster and raising it high above the ground.
*SLAM!*
The golem threw the evil monster in the other direction, parting the snow at the site of impact.
"What is that thing!?" Leticia held on tightly to Jackie. "It's spirit energy... It's just like Zanetor's."
The black cat in her arms let out an aggressive hiss as its fur rose.
"That thing certainly has an ominous aura similar to Zanetor's," Edem answered. "But there's something more to it."
Blood-curdling screams boomed from the black monster as it attempted to gain footing. But just when it was about to stand on all eight limbs, a large golden circle appeared right above it.
Strange tunes emanated from the golden circle, and immediately, the monster's movements ceased.
"Whatever the case," Edem began, "we shouldn't let it get anywhere near Zanetor."
Leticia nodded, determination filling her eyes. "Right!"
The golem's eyes shone in response, lunging itself towards its target and grabbing its limbs with its two arms. Once again, the beast was lifted into the air, and this time, the golem relentlessly slammed it into the ground.
Violent vibrations rocked the ground as the golem continued its assault, determined to keep going until the black monster was completely smashed to bits.
Satisfied by its attack, the golem lifted the creature up for the final time, only to have its head chopped off by a dark tendril that shot out from one of the bumps on the black creature's body.
The golem gave an otherworldly shriek as it fell back, allowing its target to stabilize itself on all eight of its limbs.
A dark red aura burst out from the top of the creature's head as the tendrils on its body began to spin rapidly, creating a mini-cyclone that tore the trees from the ground. The golem was shredded to pieces as it met the full brunt of the attack.
"Tch," Edem snapped his fingers as he stood right before Zanetor. "Leticia, get behind me!"
The little girl obeyed, moving to Edem's back as his magic circle appeared right before them. The raging winds slammed against the barrier that Edem had created, gradually pushing him back.
"It's clear that this thing is aiming for Zanetor," Edem thought, his eyes narrowing. "I initially thought it was an opaque, but there's something within this thing's body that's giving me doubts."
"U-Uncle Edem!" Leticia's eyes widened in terror. "The magic circle! It's-"
Edem's attention shifted to the golden circle that spun before him. It began to waver as he lost total control over his spell.
"Damn it," he muttered. "It's going to blow us to shreds."
The golden circle violently disfigured as it fell apart, and it seemed like the creature's attack was finally going to get to them. That is, until...
*BOOM!*
Flames suddenly ignited from thin air, travelling along the cyclone's length and creating a vortex of fire that ominously shifted towards the creature's direction.
Before Edem and Leticia knew it, the black entity was totally engulfed by the intense flames.
"I'm not done yet!" a familiar voice boomed from somewhere above them.
Meoww!
Jackie broke free from Leticia's grip and leaped high up into the air.
The flames cleared, and the cyclone dissipated, revealing a soul donned in a black uniform with intricate red lines lining the sides. Kekeli descended from high up, targeting the red core on the top of the creature's head.
A faint red light appeared around his body and travelled to Jackie, igniting into a magnificent crimson aura upon contact. Jackie began to grow in size, baring its large, sharp fangs.
"Fire spell."
Jackie's eyes glowed an ominous red, and runic patterns adorned its black fur as it opened its mouth, revealing a steadily growing ball of fire.
The target of the attack found it difficult to coordinate itself as the flame cyclone's smoke jammed its senses.
"Devastating Hell Sphere!"
The black cat released the sizzling ball of heat, propelling it with a force that could be felt several feet away.
*BOOM!*
An explosion rocked the ground as the fireball made impact with the large creature.
"Did he get it!?" Leticia took a step forward.
Edem turned back and stole a glance at Zanetor. He was still in an unconscious state, and the black aura was still leaking out from him. He sighed and then turned to face the sight of the explosion.
"It's not over yet," he muttered.
Leticia heard him and then squinted her eyes. "But, it took a direct hit."
Jackie landed on the ground with Kekeli on its back as they stared at the rising flames. They did it! They had landed a perfect one!
Kekeli was about to brag about how awesomely amazing he and his soul core executed their attack when suddenly, a shockwave extended from the heart of the flames.
The fire was expelled, and the black creature was exposed. Only part of its body had melted away, filling the air with the unpleasant smell of burning flesh.
*SCREECH!*
The red aura surrounding the beast got even more intense.
"Uhm, i-is it mad?" Cold sweat slowly trickled down the sides of Kekeli's face.
'The way its aura changed,' Edem thought. 'No doubt about it. It's just like a demon's rage mode. But still, something's different.'
Gravity seemed to intensify as the creature bent all eight of its limbs, aiming for a specific direction.
Edem's eyes widened. "Shit! It's coming this way!"
The cloaked soul tried to get closer to Zanetor in an attempt to get him out of the way, but whenever he got close, the dark aura would rage.
"Tch! Damn it!"
"Uncle!" Leticia stepped back.
Vast amounts of snow flew high up into the air as the creature lunged in Edem's direction, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
"Little Miss! Mr. Edem!" Kekeli turned to chase after the beast. "Dang! It's so fast!"
Several golden circles appeared between the incoming beast and the three souls, but it simply tore through them with ease.
"Stupid weakness," Edem cursed.
The creature slammed into the three souls, causing Kekeli's heart to sink into his stomach. He was too late!
"Little Leti!! Mr. Edem!!"
An ominous aura permeated the air as the creature rose to its feet, turning its body left and right. It seemed restless for some reason.
"W- What's it looking for?" A fierce expression appeared on the flame warrior's face. "Doesn't matter, we're going to burn it till there's nothing left!"
Jackie nodded in response.
Kekeli began to circulate his spirit energy within his soul core when suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye.
Several holes drilled into the creature's body in a split second, powerfully lifting the terrifying monster off its feet and sending it crashing into the ground.
A blue flame appeared within Kekeli's awareness, and he knew immediately who it was.
"This spirit energy," he muttered. "Zanetor!"
An ominous wind blew in from the east as the shadow soul's body loomed over the creature. There was dead seriousness in his eyes as he took a few steps back.
"This thing nearly slammed into me," he said to himself and then looked to his left. "Edem, this thing. Its presence feels very familiar. What is it?"
The cloaked man emerged from a heap of snow, followed by Leticia, who threw the white substance off her hair.
"Straight to the questions, eh?" Edem smirked. "You're not gonna say you missed us?"
Zanetor raised an eyebrow. "I doubt this thing would allow us that time."
*SCREECH!*
The black beast rose to its feet. Its body had fully regenerated, and it didn't look like it was having the happiest day of its life in the slightest.
A red stream of negative energy burst out into the clouds from the creature's core. Its single eye seemed to be focused elsewhere as it continued to pour out the stream of energy from the top of its body.
"It doesn't seem to have time for us," Edem stood on both his feet as he thought. 'Something else is coming.'
Zanetor and the others looked up at the stream of energy and noticed a point of light descending from the clouds. The light spiralled down the outer circumference of the energy stream, and as it descended, the ominous red colour of the creature's energy turned into a blinding white.
The creature focused every single bit of its energy into its attack. It desperately tried to get rid of the light, but to no avail.
At that moment, the light broke off from the stream, and from it came a highly condensed beam of light that sped towards the creature.
"Everyone! Move back!" Edem commanded.
*BOOM!*
The ground exploded along with the creature, throwing heaps of snow into the air. Luckily, everyone had managed to get out of harm's way just in the nick of time.
"Isn't this…" Edem muttered.
The snow cleared, revealing no trace of the creature, except the source of that light, which had now descended to make itself visible.
Zanetor's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and rage, "You."
The source of the light was a female soul. Her hair was a silver-white hue, and half of her body and clothes were drenched in a white light, while the other still retained the black color of the Spirit Warrior Corps' uniforms.
A small wing hovered above her head, and a larger one on her back.
She stared down at the shadow soul, and the winds began to dance around her as her spirit energy slowly began to surge.
Edem's gaze fixated on the shining object on her forehead as he thought, 'W- When did she revive it?'
"Shadow soul," Xoese muttered.
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