ULTRAMagic Eon 2 - Chapter 32
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“You may not have realized it the last time you were here, Blood-Wraith, but we are indeed in the Outer Void…” The Great Unspeaker pointed out as The Madman, Ozymandias, and Tereza unleashed their fury into the raging Behemoth God across the sands of The Dark Grand Desert.
“So does that mean…?”
“Go all out, my boy, and don’t hold back,” The Vermillion King encouraged.
Blood-Wraith laughed, feeling his might flare up inside him. “Won’t that hurt the beauty of the desert though?”
The Great Unspeaker shook his head. “For this I will happily clean things up afterwards. And Wulfric, give it your all and your father may consider giving you a boon…”
Wulfric nodded as excited winds began to whirl around his blade. “Ha, well I don’t know how I feel about this battle being a test of my mettle, but if Pop’s feeling generous, who am I to object?” he happily stated as he leapt down to the desert from the floating stone platform, being met by The Hunger of Old as they headed off to join the battle.
“Alright, time to make Leif proud…” Blood-Wraith said before getting a running start, jumping into the air, and taking flight in his dragon form.
The Screaming God fidgeted around, getting nervous over the idea of going into battle. “Oh wow, haha, things are getting pretty heated… I-I think I’ll just stay here until Blood needs me…”
The Great Unspeaker exhaled. “Son, it’s just The Behemoth God, no one else.”
“JUST THE BEHEMOTH GOD? Dad, I know you spend pretty much all of your time in the Outer Void, but this is Karnage Dethgrave we’re talking about!”
“I’ll have to side with the lad on this one, Unspeaker,” said The Vermilion King. “Karnage is no laughing matter, and we’re lucky to merely have your assistance in this battle.”
Seeing the battle’s crossfire hitting the glorious monuments of his beautiful realm, The Unspeaker sighed. “Maybe you do have a point, son. This certainly isn’t the battle with The Lich of Old...”
Blood-Wraith flew right for The Behemoth God, landing on the thrashing beast and ripping out a massive chunk of its flesh before firing a shotgun fireball that rang out like a massive explosion as he flapped back. The Madman ran forward and jumped high in the air, landing with a strike to the head of their foe with a great, stone hammer. Ozymandias followed up with an apocalyptic storm of meteors of molten gold, but The Behemoth God was not fazed and stampeded right through them to get to Ozymandias. Tereza responded with a hurricane of anti-ice on such a grand scale that it would have destroyed any planet it afflicted. Without the constraints of the Cosmos weighing down on her, the dance of slashes she followed up with could be witnessed in all of its magnificent glory; the strange, glittering ice-like matter cutting across space and time with no hint of ever relenting. This rendered The Behemoth God a shambling mess of limbs and appendages, but he was quickly regenerating.
“Jeez, he just doesn’t want to stay down, does he?!” Blood-Wraith questioned as he stood up from protecting The Hunger and Wulfric from the crossfire of the attacks.
“No, he certainly doesn’t,” The Hunger growled. “That ungodly power of his is partially what caused my predecessor, The Conspirator of Old, to go mad. And that’s not to mention the death of The Singularity of Old before that.”
“Source, just what kind of monster did I enable?” Wulfric asked of himself, feeling an unbelievable amount of guilt. “That bastard isn’t going to get away with any of this!” Gripping his sword as tight as he could, winds raged around the blade at speeds that were truly impossible, even in the most unhinged planetary conditions possible. The speeds had gone well into the tens of thousands and Wulfric was straining to contain them. It was worth it, however, as he had his honor to redeem. “ALRIGHT, KARNAGE, YOU PETULANT WHELP, TAKE THIS! EF200!!!” The force of the winds collided with The Behemoth God in a great blade of air that destroyed the flesh of the god, forcing it to continuously regenerate or risk its form being irreparably damaged. Once the attack ended and enough of its body had recovered, it roared towards Wulfric with no one able to stop it. “HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, KARNAGE!!”
Wulfric gave a fervent warcry and began dodging the beast’s appendages while slashing at it with reckless abandon. There was a childish glee he felt in being able to go all out, letting his primal side take over. So much frustration towards Karnage he had felt over the eons was being turned into a force of justice, hellbent on destroying the great evil once and for all. Naturally Wulfric’s reckless side got him hurt multiple times, despite the parts of The Behemoth God he severed, causing The Hunger to intervene. Calling upon his void patron, The Glass God, he rained a molten glass upon The Behemoth God to give Wulfric openings to recover. Wulfric was a little miffed over having his glory interrupted, but then he noticed a massive gash in his arm that was steadily healing. He was further annoyed by Tereza racing over to help heal him, of which The Hunger had to remind the Discordant God of War that he was not invincible… He was then flung around by a stray appendage, causing Wulfric to call him out on his lack of diligence.
Blood-Wraith was feeling unbelievably pumped up after seeing Wulfric give it his all and had to follow up with something just as great from his own arsenal of magic. And then something began building up in his core, like a hot plume rising to the top. It became more and more intense as the fires of his body began to blaze with the fury of a sun, and he could not hold it back any longer. Blood-Wraith cocked his head back and then roared with an unrelenting fury that created a firebreath like no other. The Behemoth God met this challenge with a breath of vile, acidic evil that hit the stream of fire head on in a clash that shook the entire realm. For a moment Blood-Wraith forgot who he was and assumed he was Leif himself. A new set of spells from long ago flooded into his mind, and he knew which ones would be most effective.
The clash of breath magic backfired in the face of The Behemoth God, and Blood-Wraith followed up with another mighty spell. “VENGEFUL PROMINENCE-JUSTICE FURY!!!” A colossal torrent of lava and fire erupted from the ground below The Behemoth God, scorching it with the rage of all that he had ever hurt. The painful screeching the monster howled was cathartic to the Cosmos, but he was not going to go down that easily. Sundering its vocal chords, The Behemoth God screamed, the resulting shockwave hitting Blood-Wraith dead on, causing him to revert back to his human form. “ARGH, WHAT WAS THAT!?”
“BLOOD, are you okay?!” Tereza called out as she flew over. He was no worse for wear, if a little shaken from the strange, evil magic.
The Vermilion King touched down before them, his hands glowing with crimson energy. “Catch your breath, Blood! I’ll handle this impudence…” Holding his hands up, two giant fists of black, molten metal began pummeling The Behemoth God and slamming it around.
Blood-Wraith shuddered as he fully recovered, contemplating what to do next. “Jeez, Leif, why did you have to go it alone back then?”
“Ha, have you been able to determine the answer from the echoes of Leif, Blood?” The Hunger inquired as he approached with Wulfric following him.
“Not really,” he replied with a laugh.
“Leif was a bit of a lone wolf-I can respect that,” Wulfric complimented as he caught his breath. “But of course history tells us that’s not always a good idea.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, then focused on the battle for a second. The Vermilion King, Ozymandias, and The Madman were really starting to push The Behemoth God to its limits, but they needed that final push. “We’re so close, we just need… ARGH, I wish Vlastimir was here! His ‘Danse Macabre, Rosso Sangue Overture’ technique would be perfect and… hey, wait a second!”
“What do you have in mind, Blood?” Tereza inquired as she knew he was thinking of something grand and could not help but smile.
“Scream, get in here for a second!” Blood-Wraith called out, with his void patron appearing before him.
The god fidgeted around, quite nervous seeing the battle raging on not too far from them. “Blood, you better have something in mind-I don’t like this!”
“Scream, do you think I could use Vlastimir’s Danse Macabre technique?”
The Screaming God froze for a second, then smiled as he could sense what Blood-Wraith was planning. “Perhaps, Blood. Perhaps…” He then shook his hand, causing them to both glow red for a second. “Give it a whirl and see what happens. We have nothing to lose after all.” He then vanished, going back to the platform with The Great Unspeaker.
Blood-Wraith chuckled as he rubbed his hands together, stepping out a little bit so he had some room to work. “Just wait until Vlastimir hears about this one…” He snapped his fingers, causing his spectral band to appear and start playing their signature orchestral folk tune, but this time it had a special flare to it that told the tale of a battle for all ages that would send The Behemoth God to the grave ten times over if they had their way. With some preparatory step dance moves, Blood-Wraith struck a refined pose to cast a spell and called out “OVERTURE PROMINENCE-DANSE MACABRE-ROSSO SANGUE OVERTURE!”
The music intensified and everyone felt invigorated by a strange force that gave one the impression Leif himself had their backs every step of the way. Wulfric, The Hunger, and Tereza let the beat of the magic take their hands as they tapped their feet along to the rhythm and readied their magic and weapons. The four ran into the battle, joining The Vermilion King, The Madman, and Ozymandias against the pathetic Behemoth God who was struggling to maintain its form. Much like Vlastimir had done in the battle against The Lich of Old from all those years ago, Blood-Wraith led his allies in a series of coordinated and synchronized attacks. Tereza twirled with grace and majesty as her anti-ice danced around her like a majestic blizzard. Wulfric augmented the storm with his winds, causing them to rip into The Behemoth God like never before. And The Hunger finally added his molten glass into the fray, causing a great explosion that sent their foe flying.
Ozymandias had noticed what was going on and teleported over to his wife, taking her by the hand for a dance. This created rolling, awe-inspiring waves of gold to repeatedly slam into The Behemoth God, barely giving it anytime to recover. The Madman was able to command the desert itself, turning it into a hostile landscape impossible for The Behemoth God to stand still on. Capitalizing on this distraction, The Vermilion King drew his sword, which lay across dimensions, and performed the mightiest slash possible. The Behemoth God was devastated by the attack and on its last legs, unable to regenerate from whatever his majesty had done to him. And as for Blood-Wraith? The power of his dance gave him the idea for a new spell, one that would be a tribute to his friends in Universe-23 and the victims of Karnage’s machinations on Earth-231218…
Blood-Wraith ran forward, took a breath, and charged up a glowing fist that would have shaken the entire Cosmos… “RIGHTEOUS PROMINENCE-UNITED STATES OF LIGHT!!!” With a mighty overhead punch, Blood-Wraith hit The Behemoth God with a giant fist of light that created a flash so bright that no one could see what had happened, not even The Great Unspeaker. The realm violently shook like it had been hit with the mightiest earthquake imaginable, and even the constellations above the desert felt the aftershock. When the light faded and the dust settled, all that was left was Blood-Wraith standing on a patch of glass, his fist letting off steam. “Ballo…”
“YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME, BLOOD-WRAITH RAYNOT!!!” Karnage screamed at the top of his lungs as the charred skeleton flew at Blood-Wraith, a final act of desperation so he could have the last laugh. How he had managed to survive Blood-Wraith’s punch was beyond even the greatest scholars of the highest dimensions, but it was of no matter.
Blood-Wraith smiled and shook his head. “Evil can’t create, it can only corrupt and destroy…” he pointed out before assuming his dragon form one more time. “FINAL PROMINENCE-ULTIMA VICTORIA!!!” Blood-Wraith fired off a beam of unbelievable light from his mouth that roared glorious fury, a true retribution for all the evil Karnage had ever committed. What was left of Karnage screamed in agony as the light of God itself annihilated the foul rogue god once and for all. And once he was sure that Karnage was finally defeated, Blood-Wraith reverted back to his human form. “Ballo finito,” he concluded with a bow.
With the spell finished, he returned to the group to a massive round of applause from them. “Well done, Blood-Wraith!” The Madman congratulated. “Well done indeed!”
“Utterly amazing, Sir Blood-Wraith!” The Hunger added. “Ha, are you sure you don’t want to go on rogue god hunts with us?”
“Haha, thanks, but I think I need to sit down for a moment," he answered, a little shaky.
The Vermilion King was looking out to the spot where Karnage finally fell, causing everyone to go quiet for a second. He sighed, then turned to Blood-Wraith with a warm smile that made it clear that he was at peace. “Sir Blood-Wraith Andrew Raynot? Thank you. And I’m sorry for all of the trouble I put you through…”
“It’s alright, your majesty,” he replied as he shook his hand. “It was unconventional and Theobold would have had a conniption over such plans, but I’m always here to help. It’s my duty as a knight after all.”
The Great Unspeaker laughed in joy as he touched down beside them and snapped his fingers, bringing everyone back to the main plaza of The Dark Grand City. “Blood-Wraith, for your help, consider yourself welcome here anytime for the foreseeable future!” He then pointed in the distance where a modest castle rose up. “Yes, the realm is a mess, but your batch is more than worth it if I’m being honest. And definitely bring Drago and the others the first chance you get.”
“Thank you, Great Unspeaker, it’s an honor,” Blood-Wraith said with a respectful bow. “Alright, where’s Anton?”
“Right here, Blood!” he said with a laugh as entered the plaza through a portal, accompanied by Lord Anti and The Virus God. He went to hug his son, then Blood-Wraith. “What a show that was-I’d dare say Karnage wasn’t expecting that much might and reverence, haha!” After a moment’s pause, he sighed, as there was an elephant in the room he needed to address. “Son? We’re… we’re not quite out of the woods yet…”
The Vermilion King groaned with sorrow in his voice, as the suspicion had been there from the start. “Please don’t tell me Karnage had a contingency plan…”
Anton did not want to answer that and ruin the moment, but he had to warn everyone of what he had encountered in The Requiem Cosmos. “Ultinn-Lacksus. I am certain he’s Karnage’s backup plan should anything happen to him. And I can sense Audoin Dethbrand making use of the power Karnage had promised him. As much as it pains me to say it, this isn’t the last we’ll see of The Behemoth God…”
There was a moment of silence, broken by Blood-Wraith. “You know? Ultinn always was the most unsettling character in Grave Requiem Overkill… And now I know that was for a very good reason. Was there nothing you could do back then, Anton?”
He shook his head, the guilt being nearly perceptible. “By the time I found out the truth it was too late. He had already established himself as one of my commanders. The best I can do now is bequeath what’s left of my army to The Onyx Maiden and hope she can hold the lines while we come up with a new plan.”
“People like him-Karnage, never give up, which is bizarre when you really get down to it,” said The Virus God. “Normally evil doesn’t persist like this, choosing to stay at step two rather than going the full distance. As irreverent as Karnage is, perhaps there is still a degree of reverence in him. Regardless, we’ll be there to stop him next time he rears his ugly head.”
Wulfric laughed with sympathy in his voice. “Again, I can respect that, but that doesn’t mean he suddenly gets a free pass… but, hum, Blood… I’ll have to return to my duties in The Realm of Chaos, so I won’t be able to pursue Ultinn with you…”
“That’s completely understandable, Wulfric,” he replied. “You’ve got a realm to protect and Karnage is dead. You’ve earned your victory lap to say the least.”
As if to reinforce Blood-Wraith’s point, something glowing floated down to Wulfric from the sky. When he grabbed it, the light dispersed, revealing a mighty great shield of his heraldry. “Thank…thank you, father…” Wulfric said, feeling his breath go shallow with joy. “I… I thought my father, Mar-Gargn, had grown so advanced that he couldn’t speak to me, Ealdhelm, and Ortrun anymore…”
“A father always has time for his children, no matter how busy or high up they are,” Anton assured him, with The Vermilion King smiling and nodding in agreement.
“Bl-Blood?” Ozymandias said as he stepped up to him.
“Yes, Royal God?” he answered, sensing what was about to happen.
Ozymandias hugged him and patted him on the back. “I can’t even begin to express how grateful Tereza and I are for you giving us the honor to fight alongside you in this final battle with Karnage.”
“We’ve made many mistakes in the past, but thank you for letting us redeem ourselves…” Tereza added.
“Guys, you already arguably redeemed yourselves,” Blood-Wraith pointed out with a laugh.
“I know you’re not Leif, Blood,” Ozymandias put in. “But it felt like I was fighting alongside him. You really did fill those boots of his today, and again, he would have been so proud of you…”
“Ozzy, you’re not going to start crying, are you?” Tereza asked.
Everyone else laughed as Ozymandias wiped his eyes with a chuckle. “My apologies, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh, before I forget-pardon me Ozymandias-Hunger!” Blood-Wraith interrupted. “I want you in the guild, alongside The Fear.”
The Hunger was caught off guard by this. “What, me? Are you sure? As I can be a bit rough around the edges at times, and Fear can be a handful at times…” Blood-Wraith nodded in response, whatever the challenges would be.
“Your expertise in hunting rogue gods is second to none, Hunger,” Lord Anti reasoned. “Plus Hermes has already joined and this could be a great learning experience for you. You have expressed desires to grow your power after all…”
The Hunger exhaled and nodded. “That battle certainly had a few too many close calls for my liking… alright, Blood-Wraith, we’ll join the guild.”
Blood-Wraith gave a fist pump and high fived him. “Welcome to the guild, Hunger.”
The Madman then stretched his back and yawned a little. “Wow, that took a lot out of me. I’m going to go let The Automaton know about the good news so he doesn’t lose his head. Again, well done, all of you.” He then opened a portal of dust that had a dark core, stepping in with it closing behind him.
The group was about to head out themselves when Valentina came flying through a portal and down to them, looking incredibly worried. “Your royal highness, I sensed…” She then realized what she had sensed as she looked at Blood-Wraith. “Did you guys win?!” she inquired with excitement in her voice.
“We won the battle, but not the war,” Blood-Wraith answered. “Ha, I’m going to hazard a guess everyone’s worried about me?”
“Well obviously, Blood. You were in and out before we really had a chance to welcome you back…”
Blood-Wraith laughed and slapped his leg. “Alright, let’s head back before everyone gets too worried!”
Anton chuckled as he opened up his own portal. “I’ll have to take a raincheck on this one…”
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Dunja, Barna, Gratiana, and Gummi, would it?”
“Goodness, Blood, everything you went through and you can recall my history just like that? I tip my hat to you for that intellect…” Anton sighed, then cleared his throat. “It’s going to be a while before I can present myself to them. I did a lot of bad things as Milosh and… I don’t feel ready yet… Plus I’m pretty sure Dunja will try to strangle me if I go anywhere near her at the moment-not to mention Gummi and his feelings towards me…”
“I don’t know, Anton, Dunja’s reconciled with The Shadow God after all…”
Anton looked surprised by that. “Really now? Well, um…”
The Virus God patted Anton on the back with Lord Anti smiling. “You’ve got some catching up to do. Ha, there’s another reason why he can’t come back yet.”
Blood-Wraith shook his head once more. “I know it will take a while, but again, don’t be a stranger, Anton. You’re important to all of us now… I mean, you always have been, for better or worse.”
That made Anton feel better, despite the guilt from his past that he felt. And then he remembered something before he started to leave, summoning a little, glossy book and writing something down in one of the back pages. “There you go, Blood, signed just like you asked.”
Blood-Wraith had a smile of fanboyish glee grow across his face as he read the signature in the back of his Grave Requiem Overkill instruction booklet, with Valentina patting him on the shoulder like a proud Aunt. “Thanks, General Bloodthresher.”
Next: Chapter 33
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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“You may not have realized it the last time you were here, Blood-Wraith, but we are indeed in the Outer Void…” The Great Unspeaker pointed out as The Madman, Ozymandias, and Tereza unleashed their fury into the raging Behemoth God across the sands of The Dark Grand Desert.
“So does that mean…?”
“Go all out, my boy, and don’t hold back,” The Vermillion King encouraged.
Blood-Wraith laughed, feeling his might flare up inside him. “Won’t that hurt the beauty of the desert though?”
The Great Unspeaker shook his head. “For this I will happily clean things up afterwards. And Wulfric, give it your all and your father may consider giving you a boon…”
Wulfric nodded as excited winds began to whirl around his blade. “Ha, well I don’t know how I feel about this battle being a test of my mettle, but if Pop’s feeling generous, who am I to object?” he happily stated as he leapt down to the desert from the floating stone platform, being met by The Hunger of Old as they headed off to join the battle.
“Alright, time to make Leif proud…” Blood-Wraith said before getting a running start, jumping into the air, and taking flight in his dragon form.
The Screaming God fidgeted around, getting nervous over the idea of going into battle. “Oh wow, haha, things are getting pretty heated… I-I think I’ll just stay here until Blood needs me…”
The Great Unspeaker exhaled. “Son, it’s just The Behemoth God, no one else.”
“JUST THE BEHEMOTH GOD? Dad, I know you spend pretty much all of your time in the Outer Void, but this is Karnage Dethgrave we’re talking about!”
“I’ll have to side with the lad on this one, Unspeaker,” said The Vermilion King. “Karnage is no laughing matter, and we’re lucky to merely have your assistance in this battle.”
Seeing the battle’s crossfire hitting the glorious monuments of his beautiful realm, The Unspeaker sighed. “Maybe you do have a point, son. This certainly isn’t the battle with The Lich of Old...”
Blood-Wraith flew right for The Behemoth God, landing on the thrashing beast and ripping out a massive chunk of its flesh before firing a shotgun fireball that rang out like a massive explosion as he flapped back. The Madman ran forward and jumped high in the air, landing with a strike to the head of their foe with a great, stone hammer. Ozymandias followed up with an apocalyptic storm of meteors of molten gold, but The Behemoth God was not fazed and stampeded right through them to get to Ozymandias. Tereza responded with a hurricane of anti-ice on such a grand scale that it would have destroyed any planet it afflicted. Without the constraints of the Cosmos weighing down on her, the dance of slashes she followed up with could be witnessed in all of its magnificent glory; the strange, glittering ice-like matter cutting across space and time with no hint of ever relenting. This rendered The Behemoth God a shambling mess of limbs and appendages, but he was quickly regenerating.
“Jeez, he just doesn’t want to stay down, does he?!” Blood-Wraith questioned as he stood up from protecting The Hunger and Wulfric from the crossfire of the attacks.
“No, he certainly doesn’t,” The Hunger growled. “That ungodly power of his is partially what caused my predecessor, The Conspirator of Old, to go mad. And that’s not to mention the death of The Singularity of Old before that.”
“Source, just what kind of monster did I enable?” Wulfric asked of himself, feeling an unbelievable amount of guilt. “That bastard isn’t going to get away with any of this!” Gripping his sword as tight as he could, winds raged around the blade at speeds that were truly impossible, even in the most unhinged planetary conditions possible. The speeds had gone well into the tens of thousands and Wulfric was straining to contain them. It was worth it, however, as he had his honor to redeem. “ALRIGHT, KARNAGE, YOU PETULANT WHELP, TAKE THIS! EF200!!!” The force of the winds collided with The Behemoth God in a great blade of air that destroyed the flesh of the god, forcing it to continuously regenerate or risk its form being irreparably damaged. Once the attack ended and enough of its body had recovered, it roared towards Wulfric with no one able to stop it. “HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, KARNAGE!!”
Wulfric gave a fervent warcry and began dodging the beast’s appendages while slashing at it with reckless abandon. There was a childish glee he felt in being able to go all out, letting his primal side take over. So much frustration towards Karnage he had felt over the eons was being turned into a force of justice, hellbent on destroying the great evil once and for all. Naturally Wulfric’s reckless side got him hurt multiple times, despite the parts of The Behemoth God he severed, causing The Hunger to intervene. Calling upon his void patron, The Glass God, he rained a molten glass upon The Behemoth God to give Wulfric openings to recover. Wulfric was a little miffed over having his glory interrupted, but then he noticed a massive gash in his arm that was steadily healing. He was further annoyed by Tereza racing over to help heal him, of which The Hunger had to remind the Discordant God of War that he was not invincible… He was then flung around by a stray appendage, causing Wulfric to call him out on his lack of diligence.
Blood-Wraith was feeling unbelievably pumped up after seeing Wulfric give it his all and had to follow up with something just as great from his own arsenal of magic. And then something began building up in his core, like a hot plume rising to the top. It became more and more intense as the fires of his body began to blaze with the fury of a sun, and he could not hold it back any longer. Blood-Wraith cocked his head back and then roared with an unrelenting fury that created a firebreath like no other. The Behemoth God met this challenge with a breath of vile, acidic evil that hit the stream of fire head on in a clash that shook the entire realm. For a moment Blood-Wraith forgot who he was and assumed he was Leif himself. A new set of spells from long ago flooded into his mind, and he knew which ones would be most effective.
The clash of breath magic backfired in the face of The Behemoth God, and Blood-Wraith followed up with another mighty spell. “VENGEFUL PROMINENCE-JUSTICE FURY!!!” A colossal torrent of lava and fire erupted from the ground below The Behemoth God, scorching it with the rage of all that he had ever hurt. The painful screeching the monster howled was cathartic to the Cosmos, but he was not going to go down that easily. Sundering its vocal chords, The Behemoth God screamed, the resulting shockwave hitting Blood-Wraith dead on, causing him to revert back to his human form. “ARGH, WHAT WAS THAT!?”
“BLOOD, are you okay?!” Tereza called out as she flew over. He was no worse for wear, if a little shaken from the strange, evil magic.
The Vermilion King touched down before them, his hands glowing with crimson energy. “Catch your breath, Blood! I’ll handle this impudence…” Holding his hands up, two giant fists of black, molten metal began pummeling The Behemoth God and slamming it around.
Blood-Wraith shuddered as he fully recovered, contemplating what to do next. “Jeez, Leif, why did you have to go it alone back then?”
“Ha, have you been able to determine the answer from the echoes of Leif, Blood?” The Hunger inquired as he approached with Wulfric following him.
“Not really,” he replied with a laugh.
“Leif was a bit of a lone wolf-I can respect that,” Wulfric complimented as he caught his breath. “But of course history tells us that’s not always a good idea.”
Blood-Wraith nodded, then focused on the battle for a second. The Vermilion King, Ozymandias, and The Madman were really starting to push The Behemoth God to its limits, but they needed that final push. “We’re so close, we just need… ARGH, I wish Vlastimir was here! His ‘Danse Macabre, Rosso Sangue Overture’ technique would be perfect and… hey, wait a second!”
“What do you have in mind, Blood?” Tereza inquired as she knew he was thinking of something grand and could not help but smile.
“Scream, get in here for a second!” Blood-Wraith called out, with his void patron appearing before him.
The god fidgeted around, quite nervous seeing the battle raging on not too far from them. “Blood, you better have something in mind-I don’t like this!”
“Scream, do you think I could use Vlastimir’s Danse Macabre technique?”
The Screaming God froze for a second, then smiled as he could sense what Blood-Wraith was planning. “Perhaps, Blood. Perhaps…” He then shook his hand, causing them to both glow red for a second. “Give it a whirl and see what happens. We have nothing to lose after all.” He then vanished, going back to the platform with The Great Unspeaker.
Blood-Wraith chuckled as he rubbed his hands together, stepping out a little bit so he had some room to work. “Just wait until Vlastimir hears about this one…” He snapped his fingers, causing his spectral band to appear and start playing their signature orchestral folk tune, but this time it had a special flare to it that told the tale of a battle for all ages that would send The Behemoth God to the grave ten times over if they had their way. With some preparatory step dance moves, Blood-Wraith struck a refined pose to cast a spell and called out “OVERTURE PROMINENCE-DANSE MACABRE-ROSSO SANGUE OVERTURE!”
The music intensified and everyone felt invigorated by a strange force that gave one the impression Leif himself had their backs every step of the way. Wulfric, The Hunger, and Tereza let the beat of the magic take their hands as they tapped their feet along to the rhythm and readied their magic and weapons. The four ran into the battle, joining The Vermilion King, The Madman, and Ozymandias against the pathetic Behemoth God who was struggling to maintain its form. Much like Vlastimir had done in the battle against The Lich of Old from all those years ago, Blood-Wraith led his allies in a series of coordinated and synchronized attacks. Tereza twirled with grace and majesty as her anti-ice danced around her like a majestic blizzard. Wulfric augmented the storm with his winds, causing them to rip into The Behemoth God like never before. And The Hunger finally added his molten glass into the fray, causing a great explosion that sent their foe flying.
Ozymandias had noticed what was going on and teleported over to his wife, taking her by the hand for a dance. This created rolling, awe-inspiring waves of gold to repeatedly slam into The Behemoth God, barely giving it anytime to recover. The Madman was able to command the desert itself, turning it into a hostile landscape impossible for The Behemoth God to stand still on. Capitalizing on this distraction, The Vermilion King drew his sword, which lay across dimensions, and performed the mightiest slash possible. The Behemoth God was devastated by the attack and on its last legs, unable to regenerate from whatever his majesty had done to him. And as for Blood-Wraith? The power of his dance gave him the idea for a new spell, one that would be a tribute to his friends in Universe-23 and the victims of Karnage’s machinations on Earth-231218…
Blood-Wraith ran forward, took a breath, and charged up a glowing fist that would have shaken the entire Cosmos… “RIGHTEOUS PROMINENCE-UNITED STATES OF LIGHT!!!” With a mighty overhead punch, Blood-Wraith hit The Behemoth God with a giant fist of light that created a flash so bright that no one could see what had happened, not even The Great Unspeaker. The realm violently shook like it had been hit with the mightiest earthquake imaginable, and even the constellations above the desert felt the aftershock. When the light faded and the dust settled, all that was left was Blood-Wraith standing on a patch of glass, his fist letting off steam. “Ballo…”
“YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME, BLOOD-WRAITH RAYNOT!!!” Karnage screamed at the top of his lungs as the charred skeleton flew at Blood-Wraith, a final act of desperation so he could have the last laugh. How he had managed to survive Blood-Wraith’s punch was beyond even the greatest scholars of the highest dimensions, but it was of no matter.
Blood-Wraith smiled and shook his head. “Evil can’t create, it can only corrupt and destroy…” he pointed out before assuming his dragon form one more time. “FINAL PROMINENCE-ULTIMA VICTORIA!!!” Blood-Wraith fired off a beam of unbelievable light from his mouth that roared glorious fury, a true retribution for all the evil Karnage had ever committed. What was left of Karnage screamed in agony as the light of God itself annihilated the foul rogue god once and for all. And once he was sure that Karnage was finally defeated, Blood-Wraith reverted back to his human form. “Ballo finito,” he concluded with a bow.
With the spell finished, he returned to the group to a massive round of applause from them. “Well done, Blood-Wraith!” The Madman congratulated. “Well done indeed!”
“Utterly amazing, Sir Blood-Wraith!” The Hunger added. “Ha, are you sure you don’t want to go on rogue god hunts with us?”
“Haha, thanks, but I think I need to sit down for a moment," he answered, a little shaky.
The Vermilion King was looking out to the spot where Karnage finally fell, causing everyone to go quiet for a second. He sighed, then turned to Blood-Wraith with a warm smile that made it clear that he was at peace. “Sir Blood-Wraith Andrew Raynot? Thank you. And I’m sorry for all of the trouble I put you through…”
“It’s alright, your majesty,” he replied as he shook his hand. “It was unconventional and Theobold would have had a conniption over such plans, but I’m always here to help. It’s my duty as a knight after all.”
The Great Unspeaker laughed in joy as he touched down beside them and snapped his fingers, bringing everyone back to the main plaza of The Dark Grand City. “Blood-Wraith, for your help, consider yourself welcome here anytime for the foreseeable future!” He then pointed in the distance where a modest castle rose up. “Yes, the realm is a mess, but your batch is more than worth it if I’m being honest. And definitely bring Drago and the others the first chance you get.”
“Thank you, Great Unspeaker, it’s an honor,” Blood-Wraith said with a respectful bow. “Alright, where’s Anton?”
“Right here, Blood!” he said with a laugh as entered the plaza through a portal, accompanied by Lord Anti and The Virus God. He went to hug his son, then Blood-Wraith. “What a show that was-I’d dare say Karnage wasn’t expecting that much might and reverence, haha!” After a moment’s pause, he sighed, as there was an elephant in the room he needed to address. “Son? We’re… we’re not quite out of the woods yet…”
The Vermilion King groaned with sorrow in his voice, as the suspicion had been there from the start. “Please don’t tell me Karnage had a contingency plan…”
Anton did not want to answer that and ruin the moment, but he had to warn everyone of what he had encountered in The Requiem Cosmos. “Ultinn-Lacksus. I am certain he’s Karnage’s backup plan should anything happen to him. And I can sense Audoin Dethbrand making use of the power Karnage had promised him. As much as it pains me to say it, this isn’t the last we’ll see of The Behemoth God…”
There was a moment of silence, broken by Blood-Wraith. “You know? Ultinn always was the most unsettling character in Grave Requiem Overkill… And now I know that was for a very good reason. Was there nothing you could do back then, Anton?”
He shook his head, the guilt being nearly perceptible. “By the time I found out the truth it was too late. He had already established himself as one of my commanders. The best I can do now is bequeath what’s left of my army to The Onyx Maiden and hope she can hold the lines while we come up with a new plan.”
“People like him-Karnage, never give up, which is bizarre when you really get down to it,” said The Virus God. “Normally evil doesn’t persist like this, choosing to stay at step two rather than going the full distance. As irreverent as Karnage is, perhaps there is still a degree of reverence in him. Regardless, we’ll be there to stop him next time he rears his ugly head.”
Wulfric laughed with sympathy in his voice. “Again, I can respect that, but that doesn’t mean he suddenly gets a free pass… but, hum, Blood… I’ll have to return to my duties in The Realm of Chaos, so I won’t be able to pursue Ultinn with you…”
“That’s completely understandable, Wulfric,” he replied. “You’ve got a realm to protect and Karnage is dead. You’ve earned your victory lap to say the least.”
As if to reinforce Blood-Wraith’s point, something glowing floated down to Wulfric from the sky. When he grabbed it, the light dispersed, revealing a mighty great shield of his heraldry. “Thank…thank you, father…” Wulfric said, feeling his breath go shallow with joy. “I… I thought my father, Mar-Gargn, had grown so advanced that he couldn’t speak to me, Ealdhelm, and Ortrun anymore…”
“A father always has time for his children, no matter how busy or high up they are,” Anton assured him, with The Vermilion King smiling and nodding in agreement.
“Bl-Blood?” Ozymandias said as he stepped up to him.
“Yes, Royal God?” he answered, sensing what was about to happen.
Ozymandias hugged him and patted him on the back. “I can’t even begin to express how grateful Tereza and I are for you giving us the honor to fight alongside you in this final battle with Karnage.”
“We’ve made many mistakes in the past, but thank you for letting us redeem ourselves…” Tereza added.
“Guys, you already arguably redeemed yourselves,” Blood-Wraith pointed out with a laugh.
“I know you’re not Leif, Blood,” Ozymandias put in. “But it felt like I was fighting alongside him. You really did fill those boots of his today, and again, he would have been so proud of you…”
“Ozzy, you’re not going to start crying, are you?” Tereza asked.
Everyone else laughed as Ozymandias wiped his eyes with a chuckle. “My apologies, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“Oh, before I forget-pardon me Ozymandias-Hunger!” Blood-Wraith interrupted. “I want you in the guild, alongside The Fear.”
The Hunger was caught off guard by this. “What, me? Are you sure? As I can be a bit rough around the edges at times, and Fear can be a handful at times…” Blood-Wraith nodded in response, whatever the challenges would be.
“Your expertise in hunting rogue gods is second to none, Hunger,” Lord Anti reasoned. “Plus Hermes has already joined and this could be a great learning experience for you. You have expressed desires to grow your power after all…”
The Hunger exhaled and nodded. “That battle certainly had a few too many close calls for my liking… alright, Blood-Wraith, we’ll join the guild.”
Blood-Wraith gave a fist pump and high fived him. “Welcome to the guild, Hunger.”
The Madman then stretched his back and yawned a little. “Wow, that took a lot out of me. I’m going to go let The Automaton know about the good news so he doesn’t lose his head. Again, well done, all of you.” He then opened a portal of dust that had a dark core, stepping in with it closing behind him.
The group was about to head out themselves when Valentina came flying through a portal and down to them, looking incredibly worried. “Your royal highness, I sensed…” She then realized what she had sensed as she looked at Blood-Wraith. “Did you guys win?!” she inquired with excitement in her voice.
“We won the battle, but not the war,” Blood-Wraith answered. “Ha, I’m going to hazard a guess everyone’s worried about me?”
“Well obviously, Blood. You were in and out before we really had a chance to welcome you back…”
Blood-Wraith laughed and slapped his leg. “Alright, let’s head back before everyone gets too worried!”
Anton chuckled as he opened up his own portal. “I’ll have to take a raincheck on this one…”
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Dunja, Barna, Gratiana, and Gummi, would it?”
“Goodness, Blood, everything you went through and you can recall my history just like that? I tip my hat to you for that intellect…” Anton sighed, then cleared his throat. “It’s going to be a while before I can present myself to them. I did a lot of bad things as Milosh and… I don’t feel ready yet… Plus I’m pretty sure Dunja will try to strangle me if I go anywhere near her at the moment-not to mention Gummi and his feelings towards me…”
“I don’t know, Anton, Dunja’s reconciled with The Shadow God after all…”
Anton looked surprised by that. “Really now? Well, um…”
The Virus God patted Anton on the back with Lord Anti smiling. “You’ve got some catching up to do. Ha, there’s another reason why he can’t come back yet.”
Blood-Wraith shook his head once more. “I know it will take a while, but again, don’t be a stranger, Anton. You’re important to all of us now… I mean, you always have been, for better or worse.”
That made Anton feel better, despite the guilt from his past that he felt. And then he remembered something before he started to leave, summoning a little, glossy book and writing something down in one of the back pages. “There you go, Blood, signed just like you asked.”
Blood-Wraith had a smile of fanboyish glee grow across his face as he read the signature in the back of his Grave Requiem Overkill instruction booklet, with Valentina patting him on the shoulder like a proud Aunt. “Thanks, General Bloodthresher.”
Next: Chapter 33
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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