Chapter 70: Earth, Wind, and Fire, Part 4

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This was the worst possible situation. One that Sylvester hadn't dreamed of even in his worst nightmares. He had always relied on his mysterious powers. And it was too late to realize that it was a gross mistake and try to fix it.

He had to swim or drown. In the depths of hell.

There were countless monsters around him, waiting for their next meal. Their shadows were alive, and even his own shadow had turned against him. If there was a way the situation could get worse, it escaped his imagination. But...

"Come at me, you bastards!"

That didn't mean he was going to give up so easily. If he had to die, at least he wouldn't make it easy for them. Besides, he had been fighting for so long that he didn't know any other way to live. That's why, deep down... He had always thought he would like to die saving the world. He had no idea what he would do when there were no enemies left to fight.

But this end? Practically defenseless, while the dogs of hell bit at his heels. A meaningless death. A pathetic death.

No. No! He couldn't allow this.

The howl of a crazed beast emerged from the depths of his throat. Berserk. He was used to fighting without worrying about defending himself, but before it was different. Before, he could afford that because hardly anyone could really hurt him. But now, soon... If he continued like this, soon...

The claws of a beast sank into his side. They hadn't been there a moment ago, but it didn't matter. The rules of this place were different. Or perhaps better said, there were no rules. No, if there weren't any, he was already dead, and this was just an execution. But if he couldn't see them, it was as if there were no rules. In other words, he couldn't defend himself even if he tried.

More screams. As the claws sank deeply into his side, leaving red marks. Soon his organs were spilling out of the wound. The image gave him the push he needed.

"I'm better than all of you. I'm a fucking human being! I'm not going to die like an animal!"

He didn't even know what he was saying at this point, but it was important to say it anyway. To express his defiance with every fiber of his being. He would reproach himself for wasting oxygen in a critical situation. But if he couldn't waste it, it would be worse. Then he would have lost even the will to resist.

He decapitated the beast that had trapped him with its claws. It split in two. The shadows of its pieces also split in two, transforming into something else. That reminded him. Sylvester's shadow, which was no longer his shadow, continued to dance under his body. Like a shark waiting for the moment to pounce on its prey. Waiting to smell blood in the water.

Hasn't it had enough yet? he thought, gritting his teeth, mocking despite everything. It was one of the few things he had left.

Despite his fierceness, he knew it wasn't a fight he could win. The monsters were endless. For every one he cut down, it felt like ten more had been there all along, even if he hadn't seen them. Yes. He couldn't hold out, he couldn't kill them all.

So his victory conditions were to escape. But how? Was it possible?

When he didn't even know how he had gotten here in the first place.

His legs were trembling. Of course. They were full of blood. Most of it wasn't his, but that didn't matter. There were also holes through which you could see the bone.

He had lost his powers, but it couldn't have been completely. A normal human being couldn't stand in that state. He didn't want to look too closely at his wounds, but he had seen enough to assure that. It was too optimistic a way to think about it.

Surely the strange thing wasn't his body, but this place.

The colors. Even the density in the air. A space where things that shouldn't be alive were, and the living were closer to death than ever. He had dealt with different worlds, alternative dimensions. But this strange space couldn't even be in the same universe. It was surely a step beyond.

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Humans didn't have a word for that. At least he didn't know it. But he was sure of it.

Sylvester suddenly felt small. It was a sensation like being crushed by an industrial compactor. He knew it from experience.

Of course, the monsters didn't shrink with him. They grew in size. And their shadows... stayed in the middle instead of matching them. They had been something independent from the beginning after all.

At all times he had to remain aware of his own shadow too, which for some reason or another had chosen not to attack yet. It only moved around him, like a shark swimming under the water. He had to remember that detail at all times or he would pay for it. If he let his guard down for even a tenth of a second, he could consider himself dead. And he didn't want to die. He couldn't die.

With or without his powers, I'm the fucking hero of this fucking story!

Despite the sudden change in size, he managed to split a huge bastard, all teeth, literally. Sylvester flew between the two huge halves and the rain of spilling organs, that mountain of flesh could have buried him, but he managed to slip away.

He landed on his knees, graceful as a panther, his body still full of power, of energy.

Ready to shoot off like a bullet.

Which he did immediately, of course. Because hundreds of beasts landed at the point where he had been a tenth of a second ago. He couldn't rest for even a second and couldn't afford to give in to the pain, let it affect him, he had to pass through it, as if it were nothing, not even a ghostly sensation.

This place was hell.

But it wasn't so different from his world deep down.

But he couldn't get comfortable anyway. Soon he received a real surprise. His back suddenly hit something that he was quite sure hadn't been there a moment ago. Suddenly he found himself back to back with another human being, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of hungry beasts. They should cooperate if they wanted to survive. But that didn't necessarily mean anything.

They turned around at the same time.

"Who the hell are you?"

And they asked the same question, naturally.

The stranger looked like a king. That was the first word that came to his mind, and it was no wonder, dressed all in black except for the touches of what could only be pure gold, there was no doubt. A gold chain that tied his short cape to his shoulders, probably had a longer and more pretentious name and, that is, appropriately royal, but it escaped him. The buttons on the jacket were also pure gold.

Sylvester dealt with four creatures that suddenly pounced on him with a single slash and without looking back. The stranger did more or less the same, though not with his sword. He snapped his fingers and more than a dozen monsters died in the air before touching him.

He didn't understand how or why they had died, but that was the least of it.

The fact was that it made it clear that the stranger was a Champion like him. And that his Abilities hadn't vanished.

"Look, we don't have time to talk," Sylvester said, turning his back and hoping it wasn't the last mistake of his life to defend against another attack. The teeth of a shadow half snake, half shark almost closed around his neck, instead biting his sword—. First, let's not die. Then I'll tell you whatever you want."

The stranger considered it for a moment.

Without any concern.

As if in these circumstances one could stop to think about anything. Was he out of his mind? But he was the only help he could depend on, apparently.

"I accept the deal," said that guy, nodding slowly. He shattered the monster that was biting Sylvester's sword in an instant—. Stay behind me. I can't die."

"Do you think you're invincible?"

"I said what I said. No matter how many times I die, I come back to life."

Was he immortal?

If he was telling the truth, it wouldn't be a remotely fair fight if they ever had to face each other. He had plenty of reasons to lie to him. But for some reason, Sylvester was convinced he was telling the truth, plain and simple.

Not because of the goodness of his heart.

Humans were liars and scoundrels, willing to do anything to get ahead. If this man wasn't lying, it was only because he didn't need to. A monarch in title and spirit, used to getting his way regardless of the situation.

He would try to discover the conditions to break his immortality, but later. Now he was busy, with water up to his fucking neck.

He repelled a monster that flew towards him curled up, spinning so quickly its body full of spikes could have shredded him if it had touched him. Instead, it flew away like a baseball, very far, though it wasn't as if the concept of distance mattered in this place.

One less, he hoped, and how many more were left?

Impossible to count.

Maybe endless.

Even an immortal being couldn't kill an endless army. Although at the same time he couldn't be defeated, that wouldn't do him any good. Sooner or later Sylvester would be torn apart in the eternal fight. He had to find a way to get out of this fucking place and back to reality. Because there had to be a way. If he didn't believe at least that, he wouldn't be able to take a single step forward.

Hundreds of ghostly weapons appeared around his new ally. Swords, spears, axes, maces. All kinds, of all shapes and sizes possible, except for firearms, of course. But what did it matter? Those weapons were his projectiles.

With a casual gesture, a lethal rain of steel descended on the practically endless army of monsters that had cornered him, sowing death.

The resulting devastation was like the explosion of a bomb. Not a single creature in the blast radius survived, and even the terrain was left with a deep scar. Knowing this place, the next second it could disappear, but it was still impressive.

"Who the hell are you?" Sylvester couldn't help but ask that, but he didn't expect to get an answer.

The man fixed his cold eyes on him. The eyes of a dead man.

"It's strange that there exists someone who doesn't know me. I am Jonathan Harker, the immortal Emperor of humanity."

Earth, Wind, and Fire, Part 4: END