(Lazaros) sighs … Another one bites the dust I take it.

Swaying his head back and forth, Lazaros put his right hand onto his cheek, tilting his head to the left.

Turning his head back towards his followers, liches and humans alike, he let out a carefree smile, his lips making a U shape. Moving his right hand towards his chin, he put his left hand upward at Jerry, making a little stop-hand sign.

Looking down on the ground, he rubbed his chin with both his pointer finger, middle finger, and thumb.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) I could just kill him here and there, but I already did that with that freckled man a week ago. Come to think of it…

Moving his head up, he caught a whiff of one of the black hooded figures next to Kenichi, his height dominating everyone. Smelling the air around him, he took a whiff of the fact that he had humanity in him, as the smell that protruded out of him was nothing more than regular body odor.

Extending his finger at the tallest person, he started to point towards him, lifting his head as he cleared his throat and straightened his back.

(Lazaros) Come here Jason, I think it’s time to use you for something.

The tall hooded man walked towards Lazaros, continuing to have his hands inside of his pockets as his boots loudened the thumps that etched across the room.

Reaching his way towards him, he quickly towered over him, looking down on the old man as he breathed in heavily through his nostrils. Turning his head toward Jerry who continued to point his steel weapon at him, Lazaros dropped his left hand to his thigh.

(Lazaros) I want you to showcase just how deadly you are. I mean, you wanted to be in the fight right?

The man with the black hoodie pulled out his hands from his jacket’s pockets, turning his attention towards the elf with the pointed sword. A bead of sweat rolled down from the youthful figure’s glimpsing cheek, the hooded man stood in a dominant posture with his head lifted high.

As for Lazaros…

He saw the rest of the other liches and humans that were all huddled in a group, their eyes peering into both Jerry and Jason who were in battle positions. Raising his left hand high, Lazaros managed to gather everyone’s attention in the group, moistening his lips as he swallowed whatever saliva he used.

(Lazaros) For the rest of you, I want every one of you to go out and hold back The Dark Angels in whatever way you can.

(Ryan) Hold back?

(Lazaros) It’ll all be explained. After all, it’s all according to plan.

Ryan, Gemma, and the little girl Mia looked towards one another, their faces letting out beads of sweat from their temples as they looked out towards the dimly orange-clouded city.

Letting out a huffed breath from their desolate lungs, Ryan extended both his arms as they stretched unrealistically, his legs turning into rubber as he sprinted his way with a push of his feet.

Gemma quickly turned to mist, her entire body being sundered as she flew through the wind, moving through the night sky air.

As for Mia…

(Mia’s thoughts) Oh, man…

Pushed her normal legs so that she could catch up with the two of them.

Pedro, having the same setup as Gemma, quickly turned to pure oxygen as his entire body became a hotpot of death. Moving through the air same as Gemma, Kenichi looked towards the running Mia, placing his right hand over his barely recovered stomach.

(Kenichi’s thoughts) Guess I have no choice.

But there was one black hooded figure that stayed behind, her eyes peering into Jerry.

Seeing with his old slanted eyes that she wanted to stay to see the battle, a big smile formed on Lazaros’s face, the corners of his lips reaching to where his eyes met. Bending down, he placed his right hand over his stomach, his smile unfaltering as his eyes turned from calm to almost pure evil.

(Lazaros’s thoughts) And I guess I have the best part saved last!

Pointing his finger at the black hooded feminine figure in the back of him, he snapped his finger as he raised his voice, his eyes and face now facing the two men. Pulling out a small metal stool for him to sit, he quickly put his bottom down on it as he tilted his head upward.

(Lazaros) Bring me some popcorn. Also while you’re at it, bring some soda and napkins, a lot of napkins.

Jerry, pulling his blade back into position, kept both hands on the grip as his heels were gripping the cold stone ground, the rust ashes caressing the soles of his feet. His breathing was calm and steady, followed by the unusual lightness of his body, he noticed that his body was much more active and stronger than ever before.

As for Jason, he extended both his hands outward, lifting his head to the ceiling as his palms were facing upward.

(Lazaros) This is where the fun begins!

______________________________________________________________________________

Jerry pushed against the cold stone floor with his right heel, the stone cracking as the weight of his entire foot lifted him from the ground.

His body barreling towards the tall hooded man in front of him, Jerry had his sword tucked in, the grip of the blade being devoured by his right armpit. His pupils and irises shrank at the figure, his teeth clenched themselves shut with his entire body feeling the cold rusted air smack his face during his launch.

As the tall hooded man simply stood.

(Jerry’s thoughts) He’s not doing anything so I’m guessing he’s powerful.

With his left foot, he hurled his body away from the center of the hooded man, causing Jerry’s body to turn right.

Distracting him, Jerry managed to get to the right side of the man, his sword barreling right toward the man’s lower abdomen. Using both hands, the tip of the sword was narrowing its way towards the projected path, with Jerry gripping the helm of the sword tightly.

(Jerry’s thoughts) He’s not doing anything, so I should make it count.

The tip of the sword millimeters away from the fabric of his gray hoodie, the man didn’t have the fastest reflexes to dodge it, as his head was barely looking towards the fast-moving Jerry.

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Yet despite all this…

(Jerry’s thoughts) W-what the…

Looking towards where both of his arms held the grip of the sword, he noticed an all-black hand gripping both of his hands, the black creature's hands crushing his bones and knuckles.

Squirming at the crushing pain, he tugged back his sword, but it only just made the creature tighten his hold on Jerry’s hand even more.

Opening his mouth, Jerry let out a painful yell, his entire body shivering from the abhorrent pain.

(Jerry’s thoughts) It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

With both of his feet, he gripped the helm of the stone ground as he tried to move his body off of the cold stone pavement. Using all of his strength to pull off from the creature, his hands that were completely and utterly being crushed upon were suddenly let go.

Causing Jerry to be dropped to the stone-cold floor ground, hitting the rusted floor with his bottom.

Jason, putting his hands to his sides, looked over to the all-black creature, letting out a carefree smile as the corner of his barely visible lips reached upwards.

(Jason) You saved me in the nick of time. Where are the others?

The black creature was merely a humanoid ghostly figure that emitted black fake air.

Its entire body was almost like a gas that didn’t harm anyone, not smelling like anything.

The black vapors that escaped from its spiritual solid body were on the edges of its outline body, almost as if the creature was on fire, but there was no heat to it.

The creature had white tiny dot eyes, the only part of its body that had something other than pitch black.

The creature only stared at Jason, its all-white eyes staring towards the man as it remained still, the black vapors releasing into the air in motion. As if he could understand what the creature had said, Jason let out two nods in an up-and-down motion, his hoodie remaining as he put his right hand underneath the creature's chin.

(Jason) Well, tell them to come out then. It’s been a while since I last fought.

In an instant, the black creature turned all white seeing stared right towards Jerry, his pupils causing Jerry to take a step back. Pointing the sword, the tip of the blade was inches away from the creature’s stomach, despite Jerry still sitting down on the floor.

Continuing to stare, the creature spread its arms wide, looking down at the elf with the eyepatch as the creature spread its feet apart.

Until…

A slow gurgle of bubbles emitted throughout the creature’s all-black body.

The bubbles continued to boil as the black vapor that was released into the air started to solidify, the vapor growing and growing as many other vapors followed suit.

Many of the vapors managed to drop down onto the floor, the black creature being dissolved completely as many of its ghastly parts were spread all around the floor. In a horde-like substance, the many vapors on the ground started to sizzle, which …

The vapors started to grow out from the ground, the vapors taking the shape of a humanoid form.

(Jerry’s thoughts) What the … are you kidding me?!

Widening his eyes, Jerry saw the extreme multiplication of many of the black creatures, the creatures all huddling into a group as they set their eyes on him.

Standing straight back up, he swayed his head back and forth repeatedly, his breathing hardened and uncontrolled as his fingertips started to crack into the grip, causing the sword to shake. Jason only took a few steps back, extended his right hand, and used his pointer finger to point where Jerry was.

And with a carefree smile, his vocals brushed against each other as he glared at the elf.

(Jason) Legion Twilight.

Walking backward rapidly, dozens of the black creatures sprinted their way toward him, their speed equivalent to the level of steamers. Turning his widened eyes to that of a sharpened glance, Jerry pulled back his single-edged sword, the tip of the blade being stretched outward.

One of the black creatures, being the first of the group, ran towards the elf with its arms and hands widening as if it wanted to hug him.

(Jerry’s thoughts) They grabbed a hold of my hands and grip, so if the same physics work, then…

Pushing his sword forward, the blade of the sword fastened towards the creature, the blade managing to reach onward onto the ghastly humanoid skin or air. The edge of the blade reaching the black vapor of its body, he thrusted it with both of his arms, his muscles expanding as the blade managed to make contact with the skin.

But the blade went through the creature like air.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Wait what…?

And the creature again had the hilt of his hands onto Jerry, holding the sharp blade as no blood nor tar escaped from the cut hands of the creature.

His ears thumping loudly into his skull, he turned his head to see the other creatures many inches from where he was standing, their legs already off the ground as they were in the air.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Am I really that weak, I couldn’t even put up a fair fight…

Landing themselves onto him, all of their hands grabbed a hold of each body part that they held onto.

Feeling the coldness of their touch, Jerry gritted his teeth as he felt their hands scour through his body, his body letting out a hard cold shiver. His eyes not deceiving him, the number of creatures gripping his jacket, pants, and even boots felt as if they could’ve ripped them off, their all-black palms tightening their grip.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Shit, what can I do!?

His hands still holding the sword, he tried to push his sword forward, but even the creatures had their hands placed upon his arms and hands, putting an excessive amount of force on the metal blade. As the creatures saw that they fully contained the troubling elf, they slowly stood him up, placing his legs onto the cold stone floor as they took away his sword with their unholy hands.

Jason, still standing as he saw his black spiritual followers do all the work, made a hand gesture toward the black creatures that held Jerry.

(Jason) Not bad. I thought he was going to give me a run for my money. Guess I was wrong…

Looking towards the light-haired green man, he saw that he was sitting on a small stool with a popcorn bucket in his right hand, using his left hand to feed himself. And next to him, was a black hooded feminine figure having a bottle of Mr. Pepper in both her hands, her face fully hidden behind the hood.

Lazaros, with a frown on his face, squinted his eyes towards both men, letting out a little pout as his cheeks slightly puffed up.

(Lazaros) I was expecting a much greater fight …

(Jason) Sorry sir.

(Lazaros) No worries son, you’re just too powerful for the likes of him.

Lazaros soon quickly got up from his sitting stool, putting his right hand into one of the pockets inside of his robe. Pulling out a handkerchief, he rubbed his fingers and hands rapidly with the cloth, rubbing every corner of his hands with the white fabric.

Putting the handkerchief back into his pocket, he continued to face Jason, extending his left hand right where the black hooded feminine figure was, grabbing the soda hurriedly.

Drinking a little sip of the glass bottle, he licked his lips as he returned the soda toward the figure, letting out a burp with his mouth closed. Curling his right hand into a fist, he put it close to his mouth, keeping the gas from coming out.

(Lazaros) Pardon me. Now to get back to the topic at hand.

Lazaros stretched out his hands as he placed them in the air, making a simple stretch as he arched his old back into place. Looking at Jason, he straightened his back as he cleared his throat, his entire body being light as a wild chicken’s feather.

(Lazaros) I want your shadows to gang up and beat him to a pulp. Pretty easy no?

Jason clenched his fists hard as his knuckles started to stick out like sore thumbs, his face looking downward onto the stone ground as his mouth resorted to a frown.

His Adam’s apple being visible, it started to quiver underneath the black hoodie that hid his eyes. Looking straight toward the old man with light green hair, Jason lifted his head up and down, nodding as his voice shook.

(Jason) Understood…

Extending his right hand again, he pointed his finger right at the black creatures that held on him.

With a simple saying of one line.

(Jason) Don’t kill him.

The black creatures then one by one punched through the unguarded and defenseless Jerry.

Their fists collided against the hardened muscles upon both his stomach and chest, making a requiem of loud thumps that sounded throughout the entire room.

Each hand that struck him caused him to arch his head back, his body contorting as each fist that flew at him made a bruising impact on the given area. As blood started to spurt out from the corner of his lips, he took a bite of his cheek to focus his direction on the pain somewhere else.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Oh … oh shit …

His eyes widened as each punch twitched the pupils of his eyes, and his eyelids straightened as he looked up towards the ceiling, looking toward any heaven or higher power in the sky.

With his vision blurring, the punches only got worse, as if his nerves screamed the dangers upon the exterior of his body.

The punches felt as if someone was stabbing him with an ice-cold sickle, leaving his mouth open wide, his throat still intact as his breath was caught within his throat.

Meaning that he couldn’t breathe.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Sidney…

His legs soon faltered under the pain, he landed on his shins on the cold stone-rusted floor, allowing the creatures to target something else instead. Holding onto his hair, the black creatures almost ripped open his scalp as they held him still, their second assault being upon…

Jerry’s face.

The same thing as before, with nothing to defend himself with, the only thing that Jerry muffled out was a low-wielding yell from his throat, the yell not even audible to both Jason and Lazaros.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Sidney.

The barrage of punches only intensified, as each first landed on his already broken nose and cheeks, blood rapidly pouring onto the stone cold floor as his eyes soon began to bleed out a cardinal red liquid too.

With his broken arm and hand, he thrust it up towards the heavens.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Sidney!

His eyes were completely devoured into the red stick liquid, his vision was deafened, his ears blinded by tinnitus that rang throughout his head.

As who knows how long Jerry was beaten up for…