Chapter 8

17 years ago

Deceit was lying down on a park bench in Netherworld's capital city, gazing up at the sky. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar. As he stuck it in his mouth, a small bolt of lightning fell from the sky, hitting the tip of it and igniting it. Deceit turned his head to see War standing a few feet away.

“Oh, you're here,” he said. “Thanks for the light and all, but would mind if I asked why?”

“I know you well enough to know that you'll be more inclined to listen to what I have to say if I light your cigar for you,” War said.

“I see,” Deceit said. “So what is it you want?”

“I have to leave my family,” War said. “I won't be able to see my son anymore.””So?” Deceit asked.

“When he comes of age, I'd like you to deliver this to him,” War said, handing Deceit a magnificent sword with an intricate golden hand guard.

“And what makes you think I can be trusted with this?” Deceit asked.

“I trust you more than any of the other Terrorspawn,” War said.

“Ironic, considering my name,” Deceit replied.

You may be a natural born deceiver, but there's a good side to you,” War said. “You're not a monster like most of the others were. Elizabeth knew that.”

“Elizabeth,” Deceit said, as tears began dripping down his face. “I case you've forgotten, I killed Elizabeth with my own two hands.”

“And it's haunted you ever since,” War said. “A monster wouldn't feel such regret.”

Present day

David and John, on his horse, charged at each other. David's fist clashed with the morningstar in John's hand, and the sound of thunder filled the air. David stomped on the ground, causing another earthquake. John's horse jumped into the sky, and remained there, standing on thin air. The horse galloped higher into the sky. David jumped after it. John raised the morningstar, which was struck by another lightning bolt. He swung it with all his might as David reached them in the sky. The morningstar met his fist once again, and the enormous burst of thunder sent David crashing into the ground bellow. David fell unconscious and changed back into his human form. John landed on the ground and dismounted the horse. He lifted David onto the horse and got back on. He then heard the loud roaring of an engine behind him.

“The hell is that?” John asked, looking behind him.

He saw what appeared to be a flying lawnmower with a pair of claw-like mechanical arms.

“Oh shit!” John said. “Back to the house! Let's go!”

Meanwhile, in the living room

The body of the last Towerborn fell to the ground, dead. The entire roof had been torn off in the fight.

“Impressive,” Krysix said.

“Those guys were nothing,” Kaiser replied.

Kaiser's wings and sword flickered briefly.

“What's this?” Krysix said. “It seems your bird took more damage than you thought from that explosion.”

“Kestrel's still strong enough to-,” Kaiser started to say, but paused when he heard the sound of engines outside. “What was that?”

“I think that's the lawnmower,” Krysix said. “I modified it a bit. But that's not what you should be worrying about right now.”

Krysix raised its energy sword, pointing it at Kaiser. Kaiser gripped his katana with both hands and charged. The two of them clashed blades. Kaiser quickly swept Krysix's legs from beneath it and flew up into the air. He slashed his sword, and a barrage of feathers began pelting Krysix. Krysix vanished and reappeared in the sky above Kaiser, flying with a pair of jets in its feet. It threw a handful of small disks, which hovered in midair and began release loud screeching noises. Kaiser swung his katana again, releases even more feathers, which pierced through the disks and destroyed them. He charged at Krysix, and the two of them began sword fighting in midair.

Outside Miss Dragen's bedroom

John's horse stopped outside of the hole in the wall. He jumped off, gentle picked up David's mother, and set her on the horse.

“Take them somewhere safe, and try not to drop them,” he said. “Can you do that?”

The horse nodded its head and took off. John turned to see that the flying machine had almost caught up to him. He raised the morningstar and shot a bolt of lightning at the machine. It raised one of its claws and absorbed the lightning bolt.

“Oh crap,” John said, just as it shot a beam of energy at him.

He swung the morningstar in and attempt to deflect the attack, but was blown backwards. The weapon was knocked from his hand. He tried getting back up, but the wounds he had suffered before were beginning to hurt again. He looked around and saw his broken sword lying a couple feet away from him. It was broken, but it still had about half of its blade left. He might be able to use it. He reached out and gripped its hilt. A voice then sounded in the back of his head.

Jonathan, it said. Stand up and fight. Claim your true power.

The blade repaired itself and began glowing brightly. It rose into the air and split into ten glowing orbs, which circled the air above John. He grabbed one of them, and a blinding light filled the air. The orb transformed into a sword larger and more beautiful than the old one. Despite its size, it felt almost weightless in John's hand. The other nine orbs shrank to the size of marbles and began orbiting his wrist. The flying machine fired another energy beam at him. He dodged it and ran outside. He propelled himself into the air with a blast of thunder and sliced the machine with his new sword before falling back to the ground. He touched one of the orbs circling his wrist, and the sword was suddenly replaced by a giant moonring blade.

“The hell is this thing?” he said out loud.

He heard the machine above him turning around to face him. He had to figure out how to work this new weapon fast. The world around him slowed down. He examined the machine's arms, looking for weak points, and took into account the way the wind was blowing. Time began flowing normally again. He threw the blade, which spun through the air and sliced through one of the machine's arms, severing it completely. The blade flew back to him. He caught it and threw it again, cutting off the other arm.

He caught the weapon again. He decided he'd need something different to destroy the machine's body with. He touched another orb, and the moonring blade was replaced by a sledgehammer. He propelled himself through the air again, and struck the machine as hard as he could with the hammer, sending it flying higher into the air again. As he fell back to the ground, he touched another of the glowing orbs, hoping for a ranged weapon this time. A longbow appeared in his hand. He landed on the ground and examined the bow. There was a glowing sphere near the hand grip. He touched it, and an arrow appeared in his hand. He drew back on the bow string and aim. Time slowed while he examined the machine, looking for a weak spot. He found it. The slash he had made earlier revealed the machine's gas tank. He fired the arrow, which pierced the gas tank, causing it to explode and destroy the machine. He heard something else above him. He turned and saw Krysix battling Kaiser in the sky. He summoned another arrow and aim. Time slowed down again. He examined Krysix's movements, predicting where it would move next. He released the arrow, which tore through the air and struck Krysix through its knees, disabling its jets and causing it to fall to the ground. John ran up to it and pointed and arrow directly in its face. Kaiser landed nearby and pointed his sword at Krysix as well.

“Who the hell are you and why the hell are you here?” John demanded.

“Conquest sent me to capture you,” Krysix said. “But it seems I was unprepared. I won't maje the same mistake next time.”

It than vanished without a trace.

At the stable

John's horse came to a stop and allowed David and his mom to slide gently off of his back. David came to and looked around. He saw his mother lying in the grass next to him.

“Mom!” he said. “Are you okay?”

She coughed and opened her eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered. “I'm...”

She started caughing again.

“Mom, you're gonna be okay,” Dacid said, crying. “I'm gonna go get help. You're gonna make it.”

“Listen to me,” she said, graqbbing him by the sleeve before he could leave. “You're not a monster. You're my son.”

She released him. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her breath came to a stop.

“Mom?” he said, checking her pulse. Nothing. “No. You... you can't be dead! No!”

He broke down, crying over her dead body.

A couple miles away

“This is a shame,” Omnipotence said. “Krysix has struck down Rage's wife.”

“So Conquest is getting serious?” Fade asked.

“It seems so,” Omnipotence said. “Despite this tragedy, John has displayed tremendous power. He was even able to detain David in his enraged state.”

“Interesting,” Fade said.

Suddenly, Hell Talon dropped to the ground behind Fade and placed a hand on his shoulder. Electricity flowed through Fade's body, incapacitating him. Shadow appeared beneath Omnipotence and rose into the air, taking the form of jackal heads. She grew chitin claws over her fingers and slashed through the shadowy hounds. A man appeared before her. His right arm, the left side of his face, his hair, and various other parts of his body were composed of pure darkness. A sword made of darkness appeared in his right hand, and he swung it. Omnipotence tried to defend herself, but he overpowered her and knocked her to the ground. Hell Talon electrocuted her as well.

“Well, that was easy,” the shadow man said.

“Yes, it was, Bill,” Hell Talon said. “Now come on, let's finish the job.”

A very large bird flew down from the sky and transformed into a large sword, which Hell Talon grasped in his hand.

“Sometimes, I'm amazed at what the Crown is capable of,” Bill said, raising his own sword, ready to behead Fade.

Something zoomed past them, and Fade and Omnipotence both vanished.

“The hell was that?” Bill demanded, shocked.

“Nice try, jackasses!” Deceit said, several yards away, carrying both Omnipotence and Fade in his arms.

“You!” Hell Talon said.

“Yeah, me!” Deceit said, turning and running away at tremendous speed.

“Damn it!” Bill said, starting to chase after him.

“Don't bother,” Hell Talon said. “Neither of us can catch up to him. Let's report back to Lord Strain. He's gonna want to know about this.”