CHAPTER 1119: MERELY PLAYING

Krono roared and launched himself again at Zerathul. His body burst with light, golden lines streaking across his scales as his power ignited within him.

His beat of wings now shook the chamber, sending violent gusts that cracked the red veins on the floor.

He swung his claws through the air and the space itself seemed to distort with his movement. But Zerathul merely raised one hand.

The gesture was lazy, almost uninterested. The air rippled and then the floor beneath Krono split open.

From the crack erupted a mass of flesh, claws, and bone. It rose into a towering abomination that looked half-man and half-serpent. Its body was a grotesque fusion of human musculature and glistening pulsating scales.

Its face was covered by a crude mask of stretched skin, and beneath it dozens of teeth writhed like maggots.

The stench of rot and sulfur hit Krono as the creature lunged at him with a scream that shattered the silence.

Krono’s fist met the creature’s chest. The impact exploded in a flash of golden lights. But instead of collapsing the monster staggered back and regenerated instantly, muscle threads pulling itself together again.

Krono’s eyes narrowed with anger. He had struck pretty hard yet the thing still stood and regenerated instantly.

Erend, Aesa, and Eccar spread out, wings flaring as they prepared to help Krono to end this quickly.

The ground pulsed again, birthing more horrors. Then various shapes emerged from there. There were men twisted with insect limbs, scaled torsos fused with animal heads, abominations that defied nature.

Their voices were not screams but a chorus of ravings of pain and madness, echoing through the walls. There was one for each of them.

Eccar dashed forward first with a grunt. His movements were blindingly fast. His body rippled with power that cracked the black floor beneath each step.

He slammed his fists together and immediately lights spread across his arms as he drove both into the chest of a hulking beast charging at him.

The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, splattering chunks of flesh across the stone floor.

But before he could even exhale the creature’s body convulsed and began crawling back together, bone snapping and muscle stitching itself midair. Just like what happened with Krono’s enemy.

Eccar growled in frustration already knowing that this was going to be troublesome, his hands glowing with brown-golden light. "They’re regenerating very fast, guys!"

Aesa raised both arms. Frost gathered around her in a shimmering vortex. The air crackling with cold.

With a sudden twist of her body she released a storm of freezing winds that shredded through the abominations.

The temperature plunged instantly in that room, frost climbing across the black stone as her breath also came out in pale mist.

The monsters screamed as ice consumed them whole. But moments later the frozen bodies began to twitch. Cracks spread through the icy shells before they burst free again.

Aesa’s cold face didn’t change.

Erend didn’t see any solutions to stop them or to attack them. They must figure out a way to actually kill Zerathul while keeping these nasty monsters away.

His eyes ignited with a blend of red and blue. Mix of flame and lightning surged on his body.

The energy howled. With a sharp motion he unleashed the fire and thunder crashing together into a torrent that tore through the horde.

The explosion rattled the entire chamber. The stench of burned flesh spread like smoke. Yet even as dozens of creatures were vaporized more poured from the walls, the floor, even from the shadows swirling at Zerathul’s feet.

Suddenly they heard Zerathul’s laughter roll like thunder through the void.

"Such magnificent power," he said, his tone laced with mockery. "You burn so brightly... but also briefly. Your strength, rage, and your very essence is all wasted. You could be so much more if you simply submitted to me."

Krono just roared back, his golden aura flaring until his entire body shone.

He lunged, claws trailing arcs of golden light. His first strike tore through the nearest creature, splitting it cleanly in two.

But as the halves fell apart, two more shapes emerged from its remains. They looked more hideous than the last.

One of them swung a massive deformed arm that was so fast it caught Krono square in the ribs, sending him crashing into the black stone.

He forced himself up, his face twisted with fury and his wings flaring wide.

"You think these things can stop me?!" His voice trembled with rage.

Zerathul tilted his head slightly, the red glow in his eyes pulsing with amusement.

"They are not here to stop you," he said, voice echoing through every direction at once. "I’m merely playing."

—

The Astoria Kingdom stirred and became busy. Soldiers rushed to their posts above the wall.

Armored boots thundered against the stone corridors, the rhythmic clatter growing louder with every passing second.

Mages lined the ramparts. Their robes fluttered in the cold wind as blue sigils flared to life beneath their feet above the stone walls.

Adrius now already stood on the central battlement, his cloak snapping in the wind, eyes fixed on the horizon.

He could feel the disturbance in the flow of Magic and the storm. Something vast and terrible was stirring beyond this rain and wind.

—

Far away in Qomore Kingdom, the same tension rippled through the air. The sound of bells echoed from the palace tower, followed by the sharp bark of commands as soldiers poured into the courtyard, forming lines under the storm.

Archmage Sylmira stood before them.

No message had returned from the expedition she sent to the northern valley. The silence had lasted too long and the unease in her chest had already turned to dread. So Sylmira ordered the soldiers to be ready.

Her orders spread instantly.

—

Meanwhile, in another world entirely, Adrien, Billy, and Jessica stood inside the military facility in front of the soldiers that were stationed in this facility.

Adrien stood before a digital display that projected a map of dimensional intersections. His tone was urgent but composed as he addressed the gathered units.

"There might be an attack coming at us soon," Adrien said.

—