Chapter 20

Nate fell to his knees and his body began to change. His vision grew clearer and his eyesight improved. His strength increased as his muscles began to expand. The surface of his skin hardened into scales and horns grew out of his temples.

Power coursed through him like a tidal wave. It filled his senses and made him feel invincible. When Nate stood up he materialized a golden colored spear and began walking towards Mendell’s camp.

His transformation hadn’t gone unnoticed. The Guardians were watching him from the base of the waterfall. He should’ve been a little afraid, or wary of his enemies, but he wasn’t. The demon had taken the wheel and Nate was a willing participant.

He couldn’t deny his demon any longer. He always thought of it as a separate entity, a vicious killer driven by bloodlust and revenge. It became easy for Nate to blame the killings on the demon. To stay sane, he filled the demon with his hatred, hatred he carried in his heart for the injustices done to him. And when the demon became so filled with hate, Nate was too afraid to address it. So, he shunned it and locked it away in his mind.

It was only now that they were reconnected he realized the demon was another part of him just like his arms and legs. There was no reason to fear it. It was his deepest and darkest thoughts given voice but that didn’t mean it was something out of his control. Just as he looked at Mendell, he knew he could walk away without a need to kill him.

But it didn’t mean Nate was going to let him off. No, he was half-demon and his demon side called on him to purge any grievances in his heart. He would kill this man because he wanted to wipe him off the face of the Earth.

Did that mean his demon was making him more vicious? Maybe. But Nate didn’t care. Mendell had it coming, and just because he was doing some good, it didn’t mean he could excuse the bad.

As Nate drew closer he could see the look of confusion on Mendell’s face. He was there that day when tribulation lightning struck Nate, so he knew Nate should be dead. Yet here he was, walking towards them with a spiteful look in his eye. The other Guardians didn’t remember but they were aware he was a threat.

Some of the Guardians were afraid of this demon that came out of nowhere while others were confident it would be killed just like the other mutated animals. The wide array of facial expressions made Nate grin maniacally.

…

Ahri watched Nate slink into the forest from the corner of her eyes. She knew from his reaction to Mendell that he would try something. Once he was gone she gathered the students and passed them off to another chaperone.

“You want me to be in charge of two groups? I can’t do that Ahri, this group is headache enough!” Ellen complained.

“Sorry but the instructors want me to help them hunt down the ranked beasts.” Ahri ran into the forest before Ellen could argue. “Thanks Ellen, you’re the best!”

Once she was out of sight she activated her spirit. With a wave of her hand a black wall of shadows appeared. Ahri stepped into it and entered the twilight zone. The twilight zone was the place between the NetherRealm and the human realm.

She was still in the forest, but now the world was grey and she was invisible to anyone outside the twilight zone. It was a place only accessible by very high leveled mages and void walkers. Void walkers were just spirit users with the darkness affinity that could traverse the twilight zone.

When Ahri entered the twilight zone, she was surprise to find she wasn’t alone. There was a man stalking someone through the woods. She could tell he was another void walker because he retained his color in this otherwise grey world. When she moved closer she saw the man was stalking Nate.

Slowly she moved towards the other dweller. Tendrils of incorporeal energy moved towards the man who was so focused on Nate, he failed to notice the danger lurking behind him.

The tendrils slipped into his ears and moved towards his brain. Even if the man were to notice what was going on, it would be too late to do anything now. Ahri read his mind and when she discovered what his intentions where she almost barked with laughter.

She stood by and did nothing as the man tore down a piece of the twilight zone and injected Nate with the potion. Once he slunk back into the twilight zone, back into safety, she pounced.

“It’s done master.” The man said, he looked relieved to have done his job successfully.

His body suddenly jerked forward. He looked down confused, wondering where the ebony blade came from and why it was slicked with his blood.

Ahri placed a foot on his back and kicked him off, dislodging her sword. She stabbed the man through the heart making sure he bled out instantly so that he couldn’t alert Master Andrea of anything. As he fell on his side she began to rifle through his pockets.

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Only human void walkers could travel freely between the NetherRealm and the human realm so they often carried special items on them. Once she was finished searching for anything of value, she stood up in time to see Nate begin his transformation. She would have to act quick if she wanted to help him.

She blurred through the forest. After moving half a mile away, she re-entered the human realm and began to channel her spirit. Once she had gathered enough energy she poured it into her sword and buried it into the ground. A cloud of black energy exploded out of the sword and entered the atmosphere, blacking out the reddish-brown light.

“There, that should give him enough time to handle his business.” Ahri began to laugh hysterically. The mage who wanted to set Nate up would end up helping him instead.

A dozen feet away from Ahri there were a pair of eyes watching her from high up in the tree branches. The two-star shadow panther had happened to be in the area when the crossover occurred. Using its abilities, it was able to slip into the other world undetected by the other mages.

It moved towards its prey slowly, it’s body moving swiftly from tree branch to tree branch. The dark energy around its paws muffling any sound it could’ve made. Once it was in position to strike, it gathered its energy until there was an aura of darkness surrounding it.

The beast leapt. Before it sank its teeth into its prey, it knew the strike was successful. It was already imagining the warm meat that would be filling its belly soon. It was completely un-prepared however, when its prey turned towards it.

Ahri grinned at the shadow panther as it came hurtling towards her. “How fortunate.”

She awakened her spirit avatar. Behind her, a grotesque spirit appeared. This spirit was a fusion of man and beast. It had the limbs of a spider and the torso and head of a sensual female woman. Although the lower half was terrifying, its upper body was young and seductive enough to lure young males into her trap.

The panther, sensing the spirit energy radiating from the woman, tried to retreat. But it was in mid-air and all it could do was flail around as it fell into Ahri’s hands. Ahri overpowered the beast with the sheer power of her spirit avatar.

Despite its giant size, the spirit was fast and powerful. It pinned the shadow panther with its arachnid legs covered in a thick black shell. The spirit’s upper body leaned down and opened its mouth as a river of vile white liquid covered the shadow panther. The last thought it could remember was her wicked smile that filled its predatory heart with fear.

Once her spirit subdued the creature, Ahri walked over and burst into the panther’s mind with dozens of tendrils and began shifting things around. Once she was finished she withdrew her tendrils.

Ahri recalled her spirit, freeing the shadow panther who then stood up and walked towards her. It stood before her like a dog waiting for its master’s orders. A light blue sigil shining on its forehead.

“Go.” She ordered the panther as it filled its head with images of the targets it would hunt. “Create as much chaos as possible.”

Once the order was given the panther took off into the trees. Ahri re-entered the twilight zone and headed towards Nate’s location. My void pulse should’ve canceled out any surveillance, magical or otherwise, in the surrounding area. And now with the two-star beast causing havoc, Nate should have enough cover to let loose. She was finished with her part, now all she had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

…

Andrea thought the conversation between her and Nate had gone well. Something in his eyes reassured her he would see reason, rather than act on revenge. That’s why she couldn’t believe it when she saw him transforming and gearing up for battle.

The other Guardians quickly assembled. They had fought the mutated monsters with an ease that made them overconfident. They even joked as they killed the magical beasts, and turned what should’ve been a scary experience into a competition. That all changed once they laid their eyes on Nate.

Nate’s whole body was covered in obsidian colored scales with violet lines spider-webbed throughout his whole body. There were pure black horns that grew out of each temple, curling upward than spiraling down like a ram’s horns. His eyes were a mixture of fire and lightning.

“Why're you here?” Mendell said uncertainly. 

“I have just as much of a right to be here as anyone else, don't I?” Nate said mockingly..

Those who were confident before lost their faith when they saw the look on Mendell’s face. Anyone who caused Mendell concern was not someone they could take on.

Nate turned to Andrea. “I just want him. The rest of you can go. Or die with him,” He shrugged his spiked shoulders. “I’m good either way.”

“Go.” Mendell said to Andrea.

“I’m not leaving.” John declared.

“Don’t be foolish boy.” Mendell hissed. “You’ll only get in the way. I can’t fight if I’m worried about you!”

John flinched from the sharp rebuke. He was still unwilling to leave his father alone with the demon but he couldn’t disobey his father’s orders. He looked at Nate intensely making sure to memorize every detail of this demon.

The other Guardians exhaled in relief. The demon was giving off spirit energy unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. They would willingly die if given the orders to do so, but they were glad they weren’t the ones facing off with Nate.

Andrea glared at Nate and shook her head. “Did you even try to move on? Or are you so blinded by hatred you failed to see the forest for the trees?”

Nate didn’t have an answer for that so he remained silent. Andrea groaned in frustration before turning to the other Guardians. “You heard him. We’re leaving.”

“We’re just going to abandon my father?! I understand we don’t stand a chance.” John gestured towards the Guardians. “But can’t you do something?”

“No one’s abandoning anyone.” Andrea said.

“I’m giving the orders. Leave now.” Mendell gave John a look. The tone of his voice brooking no argument.

Suddenly everyone turned up towards the sky as a black cloud burst in the air, spreading out for miles. Ahri gave Mendell a look, and when Mendell nodded she gathered the Guardians and left the area.

“I suppose there’s no talking you out of this?” Mendell asked.

Nate shook his head.

“Figures.” Mendell scoffed. “He really went through a lot of trouble getting me here.”

Nate didn’t know what Mendell was going on about. The confusion was evident on his face.

“Oho, it looks like you’re not even aware of it yourself. You’re being used as a pawn boy. That blackout we just saw? Someone knows we’re about to fight and they want to shroud us in darkness to conceal it. Whoever it is has a stake in this fight.”

Nate shrugged. “How fortunate for them then, that their stake and mine coincides. It doesn’t matter either way. Now, can we start?”