As the battle went along, and every shouting got louder, people ran from every side to every other side. Trying to block themselves from the incoming spells, crying and searching for their loved ones, and just trying to get to the furthest point from where the battle began.
Everything was developing so fast, that Pelena knew that she had to get out of there.
The only option for her, was that she quickly had to rush to Chief, and ask him questions about what was going on.
And luckily, she had found him just a short time later,
"Chief! What is happening? Why are they attacking us?"
"One of the men that came here is an old witch. It is potentially the best option that he is golding this grudge for something that happened in the past. But still, it makes no sense that he would attack us for such an unbelievable reason."
"Is this because we warned him about that?"
"No, I don't think so. It's probably Miron. Everyone knows that he starts searching and makes sure to research about his preys, just to get to know the littlest detail they have."
"But wouldn't that put him at a disadvantage?"
"He is just a person that gets the littlest hint, just like it had happened here, and attacks without even caring who is in front of him as an enemy, or even an ally. So I don't think he would care about this at a time he is close to what he is hunting."
Chief didn't want to keep this conversation going on. He had to save his people as soon as possible, and find the best way possible to ensure their safety.
"Let's not talk about that now. We have to defend what we have, and with what we can do at best."
"But what will you do?"
"I will save my people, at all costs. So for now, do not worry about me and find a way to save the others."
Chief then shouted, turning to his soldiers,
"All of you! Secure our people, do not let them kill even a single person! I will deal with the Elite soldiers, so you all will be protecting our land from those vicious soldiers that stand on the back!" He turned towards his men with such power in his heart, "And do not forget, we have no excuse for them hurting anybody! So stand your positions with all of the will you have!"
The village of witches, had turned into a battlefield.
The place, that people knew as their homes, those sacred lands where all this information was stored, along with the passion for revenge that a person carried inside him, had become an area where death looked out for lives to take. Those houses where people were laughing happily now had turned into a point where they had to stay away in order to survive any longer, just as they had disappeared in front of their eyes.
And although the witches easily repelled the attacking soldiers, they could not touch the Elite soldiers, not even for once.
But just in time, appearing once more in their way, Chief had stopped them, and talked aggressively as he saw their demeaning manners upon attacking,
"Get out of my village! I'm warning you for the last time!"
"You really don't understand, don't you? Defying the epics is death." He talked, as his hand moved sarcastically, "And as a witch, I know your "Peoples" pride. Which that is meaningless, and the one that you die for with your eyes closed." He then put on an evil grin on his face, and continued talking as he leaned forward, "You exactly know why your people are in so much misery and pain. So why don't you give up on this ancient tradition that you have old man? Who knows, maybe you may be able to save your people."
All the words that the witch said made the chief even angrier.
The fact that he was humiliated and scolded by his enemy at a time when his people would suffer like this, was perhaps the most humiliating and unworthy act for him at that moment.
He had to save his people, and most importantly their lands, from those vicious monsters that killed everyone mercilesly.
That's why he wanted to personally prevent his attitude in his speech from flying so high in the air.
"You call yourself a witch, but you are not. You are an evil soldier who has ruined the honor of witches, and betrayed his own bloodline upon the matters that our people have provided you. And now you are here to teach me how it matters and can for me." He squinted eyes with anger, as he got his foot and stepped firmly on the ground, "Who are you to teach me what is important and what is not?"
"You do not have to get angry Old Man. I'm just trying to help. And as you can try to "see", there is a possibility you can do this. But only if you can leave that useless "honor" and "pride" of yours."
"And you're trying to take our people away from us. You have no right to talk here!"
They wouldn't listen to each other on either side. Perhaps at that moment, they were saying what they wanted with their mouths open, at the highest point within the reach of their voices, shouting and screaming with ego, pride, honor, anger, misery, and want of redemption.
But even though they were so eager to be on top of their words, the willpower and perseverance in their hearts and eyes left the real conversation in their hands on both sides at that moment.
And so the war between two leaders, had begun.
As they started to run at a point, both elite soldiers began to attack at the same time.
Nozu, the dangerous orc creature, with its huge size, was still able to catch up with the other two, and had started the battle using its strong arms effectively quite quickly in a short distance. He had attacked close, trying to destroy the area where the chief was standing. As Jixus attacked from afar with his sorcerer powers, causing the chief to block every movement he could see.
And as both swiftly combined their moves, the chief didn't stand back and did everything he could to be untouched against their attacks, and his feelings were fighting alongside him.
*I will not allow such betrayers to take over our village!*
As the creature tried to land a heavy blow at him, he was able to get through the blow, thanks to his fast set of moves. But even though he had run away from the second blow that Nozu threw, at the last moment, Nozu was still unaffected by his kick and responded with his fist just then.
-Huh!?-
Chief was able to block the blow with the inside of his palm. But due to the impact of the punch, he was thrown back a little bit, and had to regain his control.
He then started running back to the creature, with very sequential steps that followed the other. It didn't take much for him to reach, since he ran very quickly, just enough to get beside him, and prepare himself for another punch.
But just as he was about to move as planned, he went from punching him, to bursting every elemental fire he had gathered in his body, to Nozu's face, right after that he had gone up to his arm, running towards his head and aiming to land a solid blow.
And because of this, the left side of Nozu's face was burned due to the effect of the spell, and had been damaged very badly.
As he was stunned by the wound to his face, the chief had concentrated his magic on his right hand and dealt a solid blow to his deficit.
With the impact of the punch he threw, Nozu's entire body was cut off from the ground starting from his feet, accelerating at extremely high speed, causing him to start flying towards the forest in front of them.
His fist was so effective, that it broke all the trees in the forest behind them one by one, causing Nozu to crawl to the ground.
But as Nozu was trying to understand how powerful and fast how he was, their battle was cut half, as Jixus approached smiling widely and clapping his hands,
"Bravo! Bravo! It was absolutely amazing to see how you dealt with those, even though your body is old enough to collapse any second."
"I will not fall back, when you creatures are trying to lay fingers on my land. So back off!"
"Then, I hope you'll entertain me enough, old man."
"You shouldn't underestimate the power of a chief."
While running at him, chief tried to attack him with his spells, without giving him a single chance to repel or create an attack on his own.
But he easily fended off his attacks.
As he got closer, he tried to strike a magical blow, but he escaped from his fist and it had landed on the ground, creating cracks in the floor and creating a second wave that was bigger than the first.
Their fists seemed to prove more than killing each other what form their current anger had taken. That war, in which they were striving tenaciously against each other, was intended to take the priority of causing more harm.
And that was exactly what was keeping them going too.
As they both fell to each other's moves in desperation, Jixus had turned his position into an opportunity, and had landed him good kicks with solid blows.
Then, just as he was about to attack with his spells, he pulled chief's fist out of the ground and responded to his spells with much greater ones.
They both proceeded on a close attack, throwing punches at each other, but neither could strike a blow. They were quickly blocking and striking, which shortly after continued as Jixus whirled back in mid-air and attempted to kick him, and ending his move, as chief stopped it with his right arm.
He suddenly then retreated and jumped into the air, starting to throw many circular magic objects, that were filled with a big power source.
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These circle-shaped powers, which Jixus's inner power kept stuffed, were magical weapons that he had prepared himself by mastering the advanced basics of sorcery.
They were power bombs that worked like real-time bombs, and were extremely sensitive to reaction.
Of course, it would only have occurred to someone like him to use something like this, and he hadn't forgotten to use it as an advantage to himself by using it now.
"Now you will see!"
"No! Don't!"
He almost threw hundreds. Hundreds of bombs, just for the satisfaction of seconds passing by.
By risking the lives of so many people, he managed to scatter bombs over as wide a territory as possible, and took it further, as he concentrated all the forces in his body on it.
Of course, it was also his desire to destroy the will of the chief on the battlefield. But it gave him an incredible pleasure to see his fear and be able to leave him in a difficult situation.
So to protect his people, the only thing the chief could do to, was to prevent and cover those who could be in close of the attack.
So he made a quick move, tried to act as quickly as possible, and continued his war without not forgetting that important spell that his ancestors had passed on from period to period, from war to war, that was "The Shield spell".
By creating a power source around a certain object, his technique was something that could protect many things from incoming attacks or protect those things with another force that is the same as the other attacking.
It was a certain technique, that allowed many sorcerers before him and will after him to protect those who were in need.
So, seeing that he had protected his people, and after heavy smoke had filled the region where both powers collided, he turned back to Jixus and began to defend his position once again,
"There's no point fighting anymore! You killed half your own men with your spells! How many more will make you understand that you are only killing for enjoyment!"
"I gave my own men a chance to participate in this war and acted according to their agreement. They could have taken it under or could run away scaring themselves to dirty their pants and leave it here, but they didn't. So when they get in front of me, why would I throw away the victory and just let them get in the way?"
"If you can't even lead your army, you can't win any war! And how can you even think about victory, when you don't care about the lives of your people! You'll get nothing!"
"We'll see about that."
As long as they continued their conversation, Jixus got away from the chief and got into a position where they could no longer land each other punches or kicks quickly. He also then started talking slowly, saying something with his arms wide open.
But he was so far away, that he seemed to be muttering, not being able to tell or understand what he was saying, as long as few of the words he said were readable.
But that only continued, until his voice was heard once again on the battlefield.
"Let the evil fill my heart, and let me show them, the true darkness...."
It was dark sorcery.
*Oh, no. He's using black sorcery. It is forbidden that we can even let him. I must stop this.*
As he turned around, he shouted,
"Everybody, get out of here now!"
The magical words, as it was said, transferred the power of black magic to Jixus, which, in fact, was protected by a number of spells that personally held and blocked the doors of great black magic.
That was the main reason why such spells were banned from being spoken even in public, and were in any way excluded from being the subject of discussion. It was even only discussed and so many council decisions kept this in place.
However, with Jixus removing the limits of magic at that moment, he would now be able to obtain the limitation of his powers through a dark path.
Breaking down all boundaries, even though he would fall into the clutches of creatures with evil desires, even spiritual beings, and he would carry the burden of thousand-year grief on his shoulders, the desire for power at that moment carried him further, and prevented him from obtaining power because of his greed.
And all of a sudden, his eyes turned black, and the blood in his veins became visible, with a much darker color. The air coming out of his breath had turned darker and darker, as thick as a cloud of smoke, became the only thing that entered his body.
It was so futile and hopeless to help him, his body was almost rotten, and his skin color was fading, as if he had taken on a new form.
"Now. Let's put an end to this stupid war, old man."
After he said the magic words, he pointed both hands at the chief, and started attacking him with his spells.
As his attacks were many more times faster than the previous one, he acted as if he knew exactly the points where the chief would escape, not even giving him enough time to think about his next move, in a much more serial manner.
Even he tried to avoid his attacks. But because they were at a level that he couldn't prevent, it was no choice but to try another thing.
He approached him while blocking the incoming spells. Tried every move to escape from his attacks and just swiftly be able to put himself at a point where he could once again hit him to make it even. He blocked the incoming spells, that roughly and powerfully came from the air, at left and right with such speed.
He jumped and crouched. Ran away and tried to see his next move.
But it was all useless after a moment.
After trying to fight with the new style that he had faced, he realized that he couldn't do anything, not only with the spells, but him in general.
And as soon as he realized that the chief was approaching, he grabbed him by the throat, and squeezed his throat, as Black Magic gave him the strength not only magically, but also physically. He then threw him into the woods with all his power and caused him to hit the trees just like Nozu did.
"It seems that you are pretty vulnerable to these kinds of attacks."
With being all worn out, the chief's whole body was covered in bruises, and soon blood started to come out of his mouth. He thought that the attack would only affect him physically from the outside, but he did not notice the spell that worked until his internal organs, until he fell.
He even tried to get up quickly, but his hands, trembling with high violence, would not let up. As if there was an even better way for him to cover himself, they didn't want him to get up.
His will was breaking down, faster than he would try to attack him.
And because Jixus's new power made him quite strong and fast, he had used his power long-distance, as well as in close combat. Just before he felt the huge ego inside him burn strongly.
Jixus then turned to his men, and said grinningly,
"Now that we have taken care of our enemy personally, we can now return from where we left our important conversation, right?" He turned against the crowd of people that was kept held right behind him, "With that being said... Oh, right! Pelena. Which one of you is Pelena?"
Nobody talked.
Jixus's brutal beating of a person known to the village people, their leader, from place to place, in a cruel and murderous way, made them shut up out of fear not only as a single reason, but also caused their anger against Jixus to increase, ensuring that they did not open their mouths to any insults.
But that had Jixus only angrier.
"Listen to me. You cowards." His eyes grew wider as he talked, "If Pelena doesn't show up, you'll all end up like your chief!"
No one had wanted to open their mouth during the entire time Jixus was talking. They all just wanted to stand there and just hope that it would all end.
However, everything went badly for people, and good for Jixus, as Pelena had come where they were.
"I'm the one you're looking for! These people are not to blame!"
He was surprised for a few seconds.
At no point did he burn down on the battlefield, the person he could not find at every end and corner, was now standing in front of him, looking into his eyes, furious with anger at the insult to her people.
"Oh! Oh! So you are Pelena! And I thought I wasn't going to find you forever!"
"I will go with you on one condition. On one condition I say."
"Oh, What will that be?"
"That you will not touch the people here!"
Jixus smirked.
Pelena's courageous behavior was already enough to make him laugh after his previous battle.
"Of course! As your people are of great importance to you, they are not interested in me either as you can see. So you can make sure I don't touch them." However, his eyes became even more hoarse, his tone thickened, and he began to speak extremely seriously,
"Of course, but it depends on your cooperation with us."
The way Jixus spoke had already shaken Pelena quite deeply.
This man, who could take the lives of his people, was not just harming the environment. He was having fun doing it, enjoying it with smiles and laughter, and was causing people pain.
He wasn't just a simple killer. However, he had bigger bad ambitions in his heart and it was more of a mystery what he would do to people. And because of this, it was a big inuence, that Pelena began to deny the fact that it was happening and stepped further away, as everything grow like the fear in her heart.
Her hands were sweating inside, and she had difficulty looking into her enemy's eyes.
But nevertheless, she approached Jixus with slow steps.
"You really thought you were in a position to condition me."
It was too late for Pelena to step back, as Jixus grabbed her by the throat.
"You'll watch your village disappear!"
It was impossible for her to get away now.
As she was being held captive, It was etched on Pelena's mind that there would be no more salvation from this, and the enthusiasm that he had, as she was grasped by the throat, choked forcefully, and held aloft with the help of Jixus' current wrist strength and dark sorcery.
So with all that cursing going through her heart, she shouted out with anger,
"You're a disgusting person! You'll pay for what you've done!"
Jixus once again grinned and laughed, being the one who was in lead at that moment.
"Is that so? So who's going to stop me?"
But as she was struggling to get away, both of them also heard someone yell. Among the people, her voice was loud enough to echo and be heard by many.
"Let my mother go now! Or you will...."
However, Lezlie's voice was interrupted.
She came all the way here in a fit of rage and gathered up her courage. But when she saw that Jixus was holding her mother captive, and when she looked at her village full of ruined ruins, it was as if all the perseverance in her heart had been extinguished with a simple move.
Her previous angry voice had come to an end with her lips hitting each other, gradually becoming silent.
At that moment, all she could only look at, was Jixus, and in fear while trying not to succumb to her assumptions of what would happen next.
"So you have a daughter?" said Jixus, as his joy was coming back to him.
"No! Lezlie! Get out of here! It's too dangerous for you!"
Pelena tried to warn her. She knew that it would be the very end of her daughter's life if she came any closer. So she tried her best not to let that happen.
*I cannot let her die!
But her voice, only could reach the walls that were in front of her.
"Isn't it ironic that fear is something you two have in common?" He turned his face towards the trembling little girl, "Well, then you should know that I won't hesitate to take care of your daughter, either."
He started looking at Lezlie, with those black open eyes, that even his eyeballs weren't visible.
Even Lezlie was now trembling with fear.
He came to say a thing to her. But his plan, was cut in half like every step he took today.
-Crack-
Just then, a bullet entered Jixus' right eye.
A bullet that flew out of an uncertain place, had just hit him in the head and made him release Pelena's throat.
*Huh?*
They watched time stand in front of their eyes, holding their breath on both sides, confused about everything. But as she started to fall down after a few seconds, her heart started beating with fear right after, and everything started to accelerate.
And luckily, just as she was about to fall, someone grabbed her.
"Pelena, Are you okay?"
The familiar voice softened Pelena's heart, as she raised her head to see who it was.
"Ryuu."
That was needless to say, that it was Ryuu.
He was the one who came to the battlefield, saved them, and pulled them out of this fearful situation. In front of Pelena, who was standing with an expression of courage and a confident face, with his messy hair covering most of his head.
*Finally, somebody that will put an end to this. But how did he manage to get here?*
However, although she was glad to see Ryuu, she was very confused.
If Ryuu was the one who came to save her and caught her falling, then who was the one who shot at Jixus?
Ryuu didn't carry a gun, and Pelena had never witnessed him carry a gun before, which was never someone she thought would do something like this. He was someone who loved to fight with his bare hands, and thought that power came from within a person. So it was pretty confusing for something like this to happen.
Which then, she soon found out.
There was someone right behind Ryuu.
It was a person standing right at the top of the stone path they were on, and standing steadily on high land. With black boots, trousers, a vest, a white shirt, and a black cowboy hat, he was someone who made his presence quite obvious.
The fumes were still coming out of the area where his gun had exploded seconds before, and his hard-bearded face kept getting colder as he continued to stare at Jixus.
Pelena was able to guess that he was a middle-aged man, but she did not know who he was.
"Who is he?"
Ryuu just replied, with a smile on his face,
"Oh! He is somebody that I know. We just met a couple of weeks ago."
Pelana seemed surprised to see them together. It was as if they were together forever. Many times before encountering dangers.
And just they were staring at each other, Hiroshi took a deep sip of his cigar and started talking from the corner of his mouth,
"I do not need to say what you did was dumb, but still you managed to do the same dumb moves."
He then lifted his hat up, "Who do you think you're messing with, partner?"
"Who are you to mess with my business!"
Jixus became so angry.
The fact that Hiroshi took a hit strong enough to dislocate his eye, even if he had black sorcery and its power, had hurt and angered Jixus beyond reason. Now he would have to use only one eye, as black blood flowed from one eye on the one hand.
"We're the kind of people you don't want to get involved with." said Hiroshi, still mocking the sorcerer.
"I don't care who you are! Get out of here or I'll kill you too!"
He then turned to Ryuu and said,
"Hey Kid, you want to save these people right?"
And Ryuu replied just as angry as him,
"We can never let them die Hiroshi. We have to save them."
"Then it's showtime, kid."