Round 3, Fight!
“What’s the matter? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this quiet before.” Rocky taunted the still speechless Magus.
Magus took a half step back, feeling the damp air brush across his face from the power surging out of Rocky’s new body, as the power from the transformation withered away, the wind stopped and Magus slowly began to recover his senses as his eyes settled straight at Rocky. The pitch black demon hissed at Magus as what looked like black clouds oozed from around his body and popped in mid air. Magus drew his only remaining arm blade, determined once and for all to settle this. Magus gritted his teeth as his eyes spotted a potential weakness. The humongous demon had a large gap between his legs, large enough for Magus to slide under. With a confident smile appearing across Magus’ face, he decided to go for it.
The Vampire ran towards his demon opponent in a full head-on charge. Rocky smiled as he planned in his head the many ways he could tear Magus apart. When suddenly to his dismay the Vampire slid along the loose rock and right underneath him, before Rocky could react and turn around, Magus was upon him. The Vampire driving his blade deep into Rocky’s back, the demon wailed as he saw the shiny steel poke through his chest from behind. Magus grinned from the thrill he got from his victims screams, he pulled out his blade and punched it through another part of Rocky’s back, amidst the Demon’s wails Magus continued to stab until Rocky’s back was ripe with the stains of his own blood.
Rocky roared as he reached around with one of his large meaty hands, grasping the Vampire by the scruff of his neck, in one fluid motion the Demon threw Magus away, and immediately fell to his haunches, a puddle of thick dark red blood had gathered underneath him. Magus picked himself up and dusted his clothes off, eyeing his victim Magus smiled, his hands and practically the whole front of his body was covered in Rocky’s blood.
“He may be strong… but that oafish form has clearly dulled his speed, something a nimble fighter like me has plenty of. This’ll be even easier than before.” Magus thought to himself, his confidence growing by the second. The Vampire grinned as he began to charge back towards Rocky, his arm blade poised and pointed directly at Rocky’s neck, he would remove the foul creatures head once and for all. Magus drew closer to Rocky; he could see the creatures blood red eyes. Then it dawned on him, Rocky was staring right at him.
OOOOOF!
Magus couldn’t stop in time as Rocky bounced back to his feet; cleverly he grabbed Magus by his left arm, preventing any attack from the blade. With his free arm he landed a powerful blow to Magus’ unguarded chest, the attack leaving Magus gasping for air.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Rocky said admiring Magus’ arm blade.
“You only have one of these left right? See, here is the scar you gave me from the last one. Oh right, silly me, you’re not in a position to
see right now. Personally, I don’t think you respect these little toys enough, and you know what that means? I’m gonna have to confiscate it.”
Rocky thought for a minute.
“Oh! I know just how to remove it.”
Rocky, still gripping Magus’ arm, swung the vampire face first into a nearby wall, with one huge knee he buried it deep in-between Magus’ kidneys, Rocky rested his free arm behind Magus’ neck, and with one swift motion, he proceeded to tear off Magus’ entire arm, from the shoulder onwards. Magus cried out in pain as his arm was removed from his body he fell to the floor as Rocky moved away from the wall, still admiring the craftsmanship of the arm blade.
“They just don’t make ‘em like they used to…Arms I mean. The damn things just break so easy.” Rocky mocked as he tossed the useless limb away the arm blade still protruding from the wrist.
Magus slowly rose to his feet. Rocky looked on confused as, not a scowl, but a grin was on the Vampires face.
“You sure have changed…old friend.”
“Do you really think so? How’s the colour, does it match my eyes?”
Magus began to laugh.
“You used to be so stiff! If that crystal was finally able to remove the stick from your arse. You should ****ing bottle the stuff and sell it to all the wannabe Rocky’s out there, you’d make a ****ing fortune!”
Rocky’s smile turned to a scowl. The demons eyes narrowed as he allowed Magus to continue.
“Do you remember our last mission together…?”
***
“Why don’t you sit down? You look really uncomfortable.” Magus said as he poured himself a glass of brandy from the decanter on the table behind him.
“This is all so plush. I don’t like it, when do we get to leave.”
Magus smiled.
“You tell me big boy, it was your bosses plan for us to meet up like this. What’s taking him so long to send us the mis…?”
Magus was interrupted as the large portrait behind his desk slid to the side, revealing a very large screen. Covered in static, the screen made an annoying buzzing sound that agitated both warriors. Magus walked around his desk and found himself a comfortable spot on the wall to lean against as the static made way for a clear picture, a thin wiry man in a pinstripe suit, sat behind a grand desk that dwarfed Magus’ also rather impressive table. Out of the corner of his eye Magus watched Rocky fall to one knee, his head bowed out of fear and respect. Magus scoffed, quietly as he took out a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it.
“Finally.” He muttered to himself taking a deep drag of his cigarette he blew the smoke out between him and the picture on the screen, emphasizing his defiance of the Dark Lord.
“Gentlemen, I expect everything has gone well with your rendezvous? Good. As you both already know, I have a mission for you, one of the utmost importance.”
Lucifer took a deep breath.
“Legion, a former subordinate of mine from many millennia ago, has finally shown himself to me. He stands guilty for many crimes including treason and the theft of a priceless artifact, the Emerald Crystal. You are to execute him and retrieve the crystal; its value is beyond anything you possess. Failure will not be tolerated.”
“What does this crystal do?” Magus asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“That’s not your concern, you are only required to find it and return it to me.”
Magus scowled, he hated when things were hidden from him. The Vampire took another deep drag of his cigarette.
“I am transmitting the coordinates to you now; it’s up north in the Arctic region. There is a hell portal nearby that you can use in conjunction with the one in your home Magus. Legion is very powerful; I have sent you both to ensure success on this mission. Once complete, I want you both to return to hell immediately. That is all.”
Rocky slowly raised his head as the screen returned to static and the portrait of Magus slid back over to cover the screen. “Legion.” He mumbled to himself, the name was strangely familiar.
“So you’re going up against your predecessor then?” Magus chimed in, interrupting Rocky’s thoughts.
“What?”
“Legion, he held the title of Hell’s Greatest Champion before you, and now we’re going to kill him. Anyway, I’m going to get the coordinates and program them into the scanner, you get to work on the portal.” Magus turned and headed to the next room, putting out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray on the way.
Magus motioned to the machine in the corner, a circular base with two twisting beams coming out parallel to each other. Rocky returned to his feet, his mind still dwelling on the news that he would face the former champion. Part of him was excited, the other part he couldn’t place the feeling. Rocky stepped over to the machine and began to connect the portals. Suddenly he was interrupted as his eyes flicked to black.
“Rocky...”
“Yes, my master.”
“As you may already be aware, Magus intends to betray us. We cannot allow this to happen. He is too powerful already, should he find a way to betray us our plans might be lost.”
“What would you have me do?”
“After this mission, I want you to bring him before me, then I shall finally take his soul and he will become one of my obedient minions for all time.”
“As you wish…My Master.”
“Aren’t you done yet?” Magus burst in just as the telepathic connection was terminated.
“It’s uhh, taking a little longer than expected.”
Rocky turned back to the portal, placing his hands on each other the pillars he thrust in a portion of his dark energy, opening the flashing red portal. Rocky took two steps back as Magus stood beside him. In the distance the two could see their destination, an island of white snow, surrounded by the fiery swirls of the portal that would take them there. Rocky took a deep breath, as he fitted the hood of his cloak back over his head.
“Are you ready?” He asked Magus
“Yeah, I guess, portal travel always makes me feel ill.”
Rocky stepped forward towards the portal, taking another deep breath he plunged head-first into the swirling red mass. Shortly after, Magus did the same the two fighters spinning uncontrollably as they fell through the hole, the bright flashing colours of the portal inside forcing them to keep their eyes tightly clenched shut.
***
On the other side of the world, a lone polar bear looked up as a strange metal device rose up from the snow, a cylindrical base with two twisting parallel beams, finally coming to a rest, a swirling red portal opened in-between the beams and just as suddenly as it appeared, so did two strange figures come tumbling out of the portal. Confused, the bear fell back to all fours and casually walked away.
“Ugh, portal travel is horrible.” Magus said in-between coughs and splutters.
Only a short distance away, Rocky nodded in agreement as he struggled to catch his own breath. Wheezing heavily, the two fighters lay on the soft snow as the portal behind them closed up and sank back down into the snow. Rocky and Magus painfully got back to their feet. Both still feeling the same nauseating motion sickness from their journey. Rocky broke the silence first.
“So, which way and how far is it?”
“Hang on; let me get the scanner out.” Magus pulled out the small device from his coat pocket, pushing a series of buttons on the remote he was able to determine their location and the distance between them and their destination.
“He was right; it’s not far at all, just a little ways up over that ridge.” Magus pointed a finger in the direction he was talking about.
“We better get moving then. I think there’s a blizzard heading this way.”
“What? Are you ****ing kidding me? It’s freezing enough as it is, hey aren’t you cold?”
“I am a Demon remember, my blood generates enough heat to keep me comfortable in most climates. You’d know that, if you’d allowed Satan to turn you.”
“Not this again, I’d rather be cold then an unending servant to him. Surely I’ve told you all this before.”
“We must make sacrifices to get ahead in life.”
“Yeah, and some sacrifices aren’t worth the benefits you get from them.”
Rocky stopped dead in his tracks.
“I…wish I could see things your way. Unfortunately I am bound by my promise.”
“And that’s why you’ll never be any better.”
Magus walked on ahead of Rocky. The demon stood quietly for a while, before slowly falling in behind Magus.
***
A man hurriedly walked across the icy ground of the cavern. The room was strangely bright, despite being underground, except of course for the shadowy corner at the back of the cave. That’s where Legion’s throne stood, crafted magnificently from blue ice. The chair was an extraordinary piece of art, from the polished steps to the intricately designed armrests. The lowly servant quickly snapped his mind out of the daydream and headed toward his boss, who was comfortably resting upon the seat.
“My lord, we have intruders, they appear to have come from the nearby hell portal.”
Legion opened a single eye as he looked down upon the messenger.
“So, after all this time he’s finally found me. I wonder who he sent.”
“W-we don’t know as yet, but the gates are locked, they won’t get in without a lot of effort.”
Legion smiled.
“Now, now, that isn’t very hospitable of us, is it? It’s cold outside and our…guests should be allowed to warm themselves in our comfortable home. Open the gates, Lucifer must think them strong if he dares send them up against me.”
“But my lord…”
”But nothing! Open the gates.”
“As you command.”
***
Rocky tilted his nose into the air, taking in a few very quick sniffs.
“Do you smell that?” He asked Magus.
“Yeah, fresh corpses, and they’re close. I wonder why we didn’t smell them before.”
“I’m not sure, but I think they might belong to our target.”
“Do you think he knows we’re coming? That might explain why we only just smelt it, he’s opened the entrance for us, that’s kind of him.”
“It’s arrogant, who does he think he’s dealing with.”
“Just relax; I think I see the entrance.”
“That’s where the smell is coming from, I think you’re right. Let’s go.”
Rocky and Magus made for the small cave entrance, however small was an understatement, Magus went in first, with Rocky struggling behind, his appendages, even folded in, were getting in the way. Still, the demon persisted as they descended deeper into the tunnel, which appeared to go on for quite some distance. The smell of death and decay only got stronger as they continued, although it was not something that either fighter found unpleasant, the thick concentration of the smell was enough to make either one gag if he focused too hard on it. Still, they continued on, the tunnel began to flatten out as they reached the bottom of the cave, and fortunately for Rocky, began to widen, giving him an easier time of moving through the cave.
“I see a light up ahead, it’s dim, but definitely a light.” Magus broke the silence, much to Rocky’s glee as he envisioned a room where he could stretch his stiff back. The smell had completely overwhelmed them by this point, almost to the point that it felt natural. Then finally, Magus took the first steps out into the cavern and even though he half expected it, what he saw even he couldn’t believe.
“There’s so many of them.”
Rocky cracked his back from behind Magus, thankful at the space he now had to stretch his body, the Demon stretched open his wings, shredding the thin cloak he always wore. Finally satisfied, he looked around and saw what Magus had seen, the tremendous number of corpses lying about on the floor.
“There are people here from nearly every age!” Magus exclaimed as he walked around the cavern, examining the different armour on each body, from Roman Legionnaire to Greek Phalanx, Egyptian Soldier to modern day US Army. Soldiers from every era littered the floor of the cave.
“Well, he’s been here for a while, makes sense there’d have so many. A Demon’s gotta eat.”
“Yes, but something’s not right, even with the cold environment here, these bodies shouldn’t be this well preserved.”
“What do you mean?” Rocky queried.
“Think about it, some of these corpses are thousands of years old, but they look like they’ve only died…recently.”
“Now that you mention it, I don’t think that smell is coming from these guys.”
TINK TINK TINK
Both fighters looked down at the flash-bang grenade that bounced right in-between them. They turned to face each other just as it went off, filling their senses with confusion and disorientation, they clawed away at nothing, the overwhelming white light and loud droning sound preventing them from trying to detect their adversary, almost by dumb luck they found themselves clutching at the icy wall of the cave, just as their vision began to return. However, they soon realized they weren’t up against a single opponent; every single corpse on the floor had risen to its feet, each clasping its own weapon of choice. The cave walls on each opposite end of the room slammed shut, they were sealed in with an uncountable number of opponents.
“Amazing, they must be servants of Legion, I have my own familiars, but this, this is something else.”
“I wonder if this is the power of the Emerald Crystal.”
“You can compliment Legion personally, after we fight our way through his lackeys.”
Magus smiled as he drew his arm blades. He’d been itching for a fight since he’d first caught a whiff of the smell. Beside him, Rocky raised his fists, the Demon obviously poised to use his size advantage against the inferiorly equipped opponents. The two charged forward, Magus thrusting an arm blade right through the helmet and skull of a Legionnaire, his other blade slicing through another man’s throat. Not far away, Rocky was punching his way through hordes of soldiers, ripping through armour and weapons alike. The two fighters reveled in the joy of the slaughter, none of their opponents offering much in the way of competition.
Strangely enough the two fighters found themselves back to back as they fought their way through the oncoming slew of fighters. Their excitement increased with each kill. That was then they heard a familiar sound, the tinkling of a grenade rolling along the ground. However this time they were prepared, both fighters leaping over their opponents and taking cover as the HE grenade exploded, taking out quite a large number of Legion’s soldiers. Magus looked up confused as he stabbed and sliced his way back to his feet. Even if they were mindless familiars, attacking their own kind was not something they would do, there had to be more to it.
Not too far away, Rocky was battling through a group of soldiers, with one quick swoop of his tail he created space for himself, as he continued to break down anyone in his path. Soon enough there were more corpses on the ground around him than ones still attempting to fight. Rocky took a glimpse at Magus who was busy on his side, despite looking deep in thought. The Demon smiled in the thrill of the slaughter, his body covered in blood, he slowly made his way to Magus.
“They’re not tough at all.” Rocky said a broad smile on his face.
“I know, but I got a bad feeling.” Magus said as he pulled his arm blade free of a Marine.
Magus’ worst fears came to life as the two fighters began to inspect the corpses around them more thoroughly, the “dead” ones were beginning to stand up, their severed limbs began to reattach with a green glow and their broken and blood-stained armour repaired itself, the unrelenting army continuing its unquenchable thirst for victory. Rocky swore as he found himself surrounded again, the Demon standing up straight stretching his magnificent body as he prepared to fight some more. Magus wiped the sweat from his brow, round two was about to begin.
Thirty minutes into the battle and still no sign of the end. Rocky and Magus began to feel the fatigue from their endless battle till Rocky suddenly found the frustration too great.
“ENOUGH!”
The Demon, turned to face the crowd of enemies as he clenched his fists, his whole body tensing as he began to concentrate his dark energy, very soon his whole body was covered in the manifested dark energy, till it began to break off and form into little balls, Magus watched curiously between individual battles unsure where this new technique of Rocky’s came from. Till at long last, the Mass Unholy Ball was ready, twelve miniature balls of pure dark energy began to swarm around Rocky’s body, each with its own unique orbit. Magus quickly realized what was about to happen as he jumped out of the way; clinging to the roof he began to crawl around behind Rocky to protect his flank. The demon smiled confidently. As he released all twelve balls at once, each strategically placed to a different part of the room, all with the intention of destroying the indestructible.
BOOM!
The explosion was incredible, the knock-back wind blowing back Rocky’s hair. The Demon finally succumbed to his fatigue as he dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Magus rushed over to Rocky, who was at this point on all fours heaving heavily, the sweat dripping off his face into a tiny puddle.
“Wow, you did it!” Magus exclaimed, as he retracted his arm blades. Unfortunately though, his elation was short lived. The army despite being blown to pieces; was beginning to reform. Rocky looked up, an expression of complete shock on his face as the army had come back and formed into ranks, their weapons sharp and ready to kill. Rocky tried to stand, but the Demon was still out of breath and trying to recover. Magus stood in front of him, ready to fight when all of a sudden they were saved, by the most unlikely person imaginable.
“STOP!”
The booming voice halted everything in the room, even Magus and Rocky who were just as surprised to hear it as the soldiers, but just as commanded, each one stopped and lowered their weapons. Standing completely still they awaited their next command.
“DISMISSED!”
Magus looked on with growing curiosity, as the soldiers began to disappear one by one in puffs of green smoke, all of a sudden he realized what the Emerald Crystal did, and why Lucifer had kept the secret hidden. Magus could barely contain his excitement, with that kind of power; he knew he could amass an army grander than hell itself. His mind began drifting off into all the numerous possibilities that had opened up. All he had to do; was defeat Legion and obtain the crystal before Rocky had a chance to stop him, and in his current condition, Magus was sure Rocky wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with. His daydreams were suddenly interrupted as the powerful voice continued, in his own little world, Magus hadn’t noticed the room was now empty, save for him and Rocky.
“You two are quite impressive, I never expected you to survive this long, and to even release a technique like that. Lucifer has clearly sent his best to me.” The cave door on the opposite side of the room began to slide open. “Come now, if you dare.”
Magus looked back at Rocky, who despite it all was back on his feet, still breathing hard the Demon began to walk towards the newly opened tunnel, Magus suddenly remembered why he had so much respect for Rocky, despite everything he had gone through, he was always ready to accept the next challenge and never failed to continue moving towards it. Magus tried hard to hide the genuine smile that kept appearing on his face as he followed Rocky into the dark tunnel. Rocky groaned as he realized this new tunnel was similar in size and shape to the previous one; he folded in his appendages and began to struggle uncomfortably through the cave. Fortunately for all those concerned this tunnel was significantly shorter than the previous one, and after only a few bends, Rocky saw the bright light of Legion’s chamber. However at the same time, the same rancid smell hit both fighters’ nostrils again more powerful than before. Clearly, whatever made the stench was inside this final room. Rocky and Magus stepped out of the tunnel and into the well-lit room.
“Welcome! Welcome!” The familiar voice boomed from the opposite end of the room, the only section that wasn’t drenched in the pale white light. Magus admired the beautifully crafted throne, although he was unable to see clearly the man that sat upon it.
“Legion! For the crime of high treason against The Dark Lord Satan, you are condemned to death. For the crime of theft against The Dark Lord Satan, you are condemned to exile. I am here to ensure you pay for these crimes.”
A smile appeared on Legion’s lips.
“Is that any way to treat your predecessor? Don’t forget, I know everything you know, I even know all about you. Rocky.”
Rocky’s eyed narrowed as Legion spoke, even though it wasn’t confirmed, he knew that what Legion spoke of was true. The Demon was legendary among Hell’s stories. The only story of course that was missing was how he fell out of favour with Lucifer. Rocky suddenly placed that missing feeling he’d been carrying since he was first given this mission. He admired Legion for the things he’d done, and in the end he turned into just another traitor, one who sought out more despite all that he had given. Rocky felt furious, his eyed flicked to black as he began to mumble incoherently. The very ground shook and cracked as the hilt of the Devil’s Blade began to poke through the ice. When it was finally within reach, Rocky grasped the familiar sword, raising it into the air with one hand, his eyes rested on the dark shadow that was Legion.
“You will die.”
“
Gorshalach…The sword of Satan.” Legion mumbled.
Rocky began to charge at Legion, the massive sword resting upon his shoulder.
“Wait!” Magus interrupted. “I want to know, where is the Emerald Crystal?”
Rocky looked angrily at Magus, as he lowered the blade, the Demon calmed down and regained his composure; he knew Magus was right; they needed to ascertain the crystal’s location before Legion was to be executed.
“And who are you, who thinks he can speak on equal grounds with me?”
“I am Magus, the half Vampire half Lycan from…”
“Ah Magus, your work is familiar to me.” Legion interrupted. “But still, I never expected someone of your skills to be in league with Lucifer and his…toys.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Legion. I may work for Lucifer, but I am NOT one of his minions. My own free will is what keeps me above his, as you said…toys. Now, where is the crystal?”
“The emerald crystal that you seek, no longer exists. I consumed it to maximize its powers.”
A blank look appeared on Magus’ face.
“So the crystal is gone forever?”
Legion smiled.
“Not quite, I reformed it, although I no longer require the crystal to use its powers. I created a new crystal, Legion’s Crystal, which contains all the powers of the Emerald Crystal, plus more that came about as a side effect after being tainted by my blood.”
“Where is it?” Magus shouted, starting to get excited again.
“Not so fast, my friend. The crystal is safe, very far from here. I shall tell you everything,
IF you defeat me.”
With that statement Legion lifted one of his large arms into the air; out of nowhere he materialized a massive trident. The weapon was black gilded with a gold trim, evenly spaced along the shaft were too gold plated hand grips and all along the shaft and in set places on the three prongs, were encrusted with brilliant jewels. Rocky could hardly believe his eyes as he gazed upon the glorious Trident of Legion, a spectacular gift from Satan to Legion, a weapon that had seen many battles, and always victory. Rocky suddenly had an uneasy feeling. Magus drew his arm blades, as Legion rose from his seat and stepped into the light. That’s when finally; Rocky and Magus realized where the god-awful smell was coming from.
Legion looked sickly as he stood before them; the Demon had been stripped of his demonic power. His skin was a pale albino white, on opposite sides of his forehead were horrid scars from where his horns used to be, similar scars were all over his back. The only thing that resembled his demonic heritage, were his pale red eyes, although they were considerably duller than Rocky’s. Rocky and Magus could’ve both sworn that the former Demon‘s skin looked as if it was rotting away. However despite it all, Legion still had an impressive and muscular figure, a relic from his fighting days. He stood over his two opponents, a good amount taller than Rocky; and with the fabled trident in his hand. He looked as monstrous as he did before.
Rocky couldn’t contain himself any longer. The Demon hurled himself at Legion, the blade coming down hard in a vertical swing.
CLANG!
Legion without flinching caught the blade in-between the prongs of his trident. Still keeping Rocky locked in he was able to deflect the attack from Magus, blocking both arm blades with the shaft of the trident. The epic struggle didn’t last for long, as Legion effortlessly threw off both fighters. The former demon smiled as his opponents quickly got back to his feet. Rocky came back charging in with his sword again, and once again Legion blocked, in a similar fashion. This time, he twisted the trident, knocking Rocky off balance as he smashed him down with the shaft. Quickly spinning around, he blocked Magus’ thrust, and then began moving the trident from side to side, deflecting each one of Magus’ attacks till he finally saw an opening and kicked the vampire away. Legion began to laugh.
“You’ve come all this way and that’s all you’ve got?”
The two fighters slowly got back to their feet. Regrouping they attempted a combined attack. Rocky thrust his blade forward in a stabbing motion, narrowly missing Legion, but then Magus leapt over his Demon teammate once against busting out a tremendous combination of slashes, however not being able to connect with any of them. Rocky appeared again, this time behind Legion, he tried the stab again, but still Legion somehow managed to escape harm. Rocky growled as he swung the blade horizontally, putting his whole body into the movement. There he finally felt it, the feeling of blade cutting through flesh. Legion took several steps backwards, as he inspected the damage, which was bad. Rocky had damn-near cut him in two. Legion began to cough as blood began to dribble out the corners of his mouth. His two opponents taking a breath of relief as Legion began to die.
“Now…Tell us where to find the Crystal!” Magus shouted amidst heavy breathing.
However, Legion could only laugh in response.
“I said you had to defeat me to, to get me to talk.” Legion stuttered.
“Give it up Legion, it’s over, you’re beaten. It’s a shame Rocky didn’t cut you in half.”
“Oh, ho, ho, ho, I may have underestimated you two, but this fight is far from over. I guess you’ve earned the reward of seeing my true form.”
“True form?” Magus and Rocky said in unison.
Legion struggled to keep his balance as he prepared to use the power of the Emerald Crystal to transform himself. Suddenly, his whole body began to glow a bright green. The green traveled to his mid-section and immediately began to seal up the sword wound delivered by Rocky. Elsewhere the green energy was concentrating, notably on his back and his head. The energy began to manifest itself as extensions of Legion’s body, horns, wings and other demonic appendages. It even began to cover his skin hardening around it into a thick black hide. It took Rocky and Magus only a short time to realize, that Legion was transforming into his Demonic self, even if it was only a creation of the crystal and not pure demon. Legion began to laugh as his voice hideously changed and deformed into a hulking whisper.
“Behold the power of Legion’s Crystal, the power to restore beings to their former glory!”
Legion laughed uncontrollably.
Rocky and Magus began to unconsciously step backwards as they admired the awesome power of Legion. The demon had almost completed his transformation, and the trident which almost looked out of place in the hands of the albino Legion, suddenly looked far more impressive in the hands of this beast. Legion eyed his two opponents, as his eyes sharpened into a brighter red colour. The former Demon chuckled with the thrill of being in his most powerful form. Legion let out a monstrous breath as he admired the work of the crystal; he gripped the handles of his trident tightly as he began to step back towards the battle ground.
“Where were we?”
Rocky and Magus looked at each other briefly, before they started running towards Legion, the former Demon smiled as he raised the trident back, and in a devastating blow he swung the trident across, sweeping away both fighters in a single blow, the two hit the walls hard, even causing pieces of rock and ice to fall down on top of them. Rocky and Magus let out simultaneous groans as they slowly, painfully got back to their feet. Then they suddenly both got the same idea as they held out their palms and began to collect dark energy. Rocky formed his Unholy Ball as Magus formed his Unholy Orb; the two began to smile as they launched their projectiles at the somewhat confused Legion.
BOOM!
A direct hit! Rocky and Magus smiled as they heard the satisfying sound of energy connecting with flesh, but as the dust settled they received a shock. Legion was nowhere to be found, and in his place were two corpses, similar to the ones they fought in the previous room. The fighters simultaneously swore as Legion quickly appeared in front of them, his trident in hand he struck the cave wall, only narrowly missing his opponents who had quickly dived into opposite directions.
Just then Rocky leapt at Legion, but the former Demon was too quick, he thrust the trident deep into Rocky’s shoulder, then forced the Demon back and up against the wall. Legion began to twist the shaft of the trident, burying the three sharp spikes deeper into Rocky’s flesh. Rocky roared in pain as his entire body began to feel numb. Just when he thought it was all over, Legion pulled the trident out, the former Demon had sensed Magus and had moved to defend against the Vampires attacks, which he did quite easily, this time counter attacking with a sharp swipe of the Trident, carving three lines into Magus’ chest and causing the vampire to stumble backwards, falling to the ground. Turning his attention back to Rocky, who had since fallen and slumped onto the floor. Legion smiled.
“You were talking big before, what happened?”
At this point Rocky grabbed a hold of Legion’s leg, although unable to do any more. Legion looked down on Rocky, so determined in his quest he was willing to stake his life for it. Legion kicked at Rocky, to get his arm off him. The former Demon bent down and grabbed Rocky by the throat; effortlessly he lifted his successor high in the air. Rocky was struggling to remain awake as he felt the large hand constricting around his throat.
“You’re pitiful; you don’t deserve the title of Hell’s Champion.”
With that he threw Rocky aside, over near to where Magus lay. The Vampire had begun to heal his chest wounds, but their situation looked bleak. His dreams for life and humanity began to fade. It was at this point he formed his resolve and with it a plan that might just work. Magus rushed over toward Rocky and began an attempt to revive the Demon.
“Rocky,
ROCKY!” He shouted, trying to lull the Demon from his near death state. Rocky painfully opened his eyes as he tried to move, blood was still oozing out of his shoulder wound as Magus helped sit him up. The Demon eyed Legion, who was quietly watching the scene unfold.
“Listen Rocky, I think I have a plan to beat him. I need your help.”
“Rocky blinked uncontrollably as he tried to focus his vision.
”W-what do you want me to do.”
Magus leaned in and whispered his plan to Rocky, when he was done he helped his ally to his feet. The Demon nodded in approval as the two planned their final assault on this unbeatable foe. Rocky clutched at his wound with one hand, the other hand still hanging onto his sword, as he closed his eyes in concentration, Legion watched curiously as the whole room faded to black. Suddenly he looked to the left, Rocky was charging he motioned to block but…the image disappeared. “Illusions…” he realized to himself as chuckled at the thought of this most desperate last ditch attack. Another one to the right, no behind, Legion turned and felt the satisfying kiss of metal connecting with metal. He’d found the real one, but then…
“Urk…”
Light began to fill the room again as Rocky’s fear factory faded. Legion looked down at his chest and saw the familiar arm blades of Magus, poking through his skin from behind. The vampire grinned as he took a vicious bite out of Legion’s neck. In the confusion of detecting which of Rocky’s illusions was real, he had failed to detect Magus creeping up behind him, and just when he’d found the real Rocky, Magus chose his moment to strike. Legion forced a smile as he suddenly fell to his knees.
“You’ve beaten me.” Legion said, almost sounding as if he was happy.
“Yeah, now tell me where the crystal is, I need it if I’m to succeed in my plans to conquer this world.”
Legion chuckled.
”Very well, as I said, the crystal is far south from here it’s in a cave in…”
SLICE!
Magus could hardly believe his eyes as the head of Legion was cleanly sliced from his body, he watched as it fell to the floor and began to roll away. The vampire looked up at Rocky, the Demon still finishing the motion of his swing. Magus retracted his blades, causing the headless corpse of Legion to slump onto the floor.
“
WHAT THE ****? WHY DID YOU GO AND DO THAT?” Magus was livid.
“You left me no choice; I can’t allow you to accomplish your goals of world conquest. That would be allowing you to defy my master.”
“You’re kidding me, Rocky; do you know what you’ve done? With that Crystal, I could, WE could go further beyond any other deity on this planet. We could achieve things to truly inspire the people and progress mankind through new ages.”
I’m sorry Magus, but I will never see things your way.”
With that Rocky, opened a direct link to hell.
“You must go before Lucifer.”
Rocky didn’t wait for Magus to reply as he shoved his former teammate into the hole. Rocky clutched at his shoulder again, as he dropped his sword, the infamous blade disintegrating back into the ground. He looked at the portal, before turning around and eyeing the defeated Legion. His body had returned to its sickly white colour, he then spied the Trident. Slowly he walked over to the corpse and picked up the legendary weapon. He then walked back towards the portal and stepped inside.
***
“You know, it wasn’t that long ago, when we were allies.” Magus said as his arm slowly regenerated itself.
“And just what were you hoping to accomplish, by reminding me of the past?”
“I just wanted you to remember that throughout everything, you’re finally seeing things my way.”
“If you expect your little story to change my mind on what to do with you…”
In a blink of an eye Rocky was standing up in front of Magus, the Vampire barely had a chance to react before he was hit hard in the chest by Rocky. The Vampire doubled over as he fell to his knees, clutching at his injury. He looked up at Rocky, who had since stepped away, leaving his back to Magus.
“…It has. You’re right Magus, we’re two of a kind, I realize know that our lives are linked and our fates intertwined. I have much anger inside me, and revenge is the only way to free me of this pain. When I finish what I’ve started, I will search you out. Until then…stay alive.”
Rocky raised his arm in the air and created a hell portal. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Magus before receding to his lower demon form and walking into the portal.