Beastforged Bond

B4 Chapter 49

My legs were wobbly, and I nearly faltered and collapsed to the ground. I was drenched, exhausted, and weak, neither of which were particularly helpful against the Hellhound.Not being alone in the struggle against the Hellhound was likely the only reason I was alive.

Turning to the fight, a pair of mingling lifesources unfurled. One belonged to the Hellhound, which only made sense since I was looking at the Hellhound. The other was none other than Volix, who had taken it upon himself to rip the Overlord beast a new one.

I’d never seen the Elemental Phoenix this enraged. He was furious and struck the Hellhound seemingly without a care in the world. His superior control of fire weakened the Hellhound considerably, and it turned out that Volix’s phoenix fire burned through the beast’s lifesource as well.

That did not stop the Hellhound from trying to stop Volix. Darkness oozed out of the beast only to surge back, piercing its own body. The Elemental Phoenix was stabbed in the process, but he burst forth with more power even as the Hellhound riddled itself and Volix with holes.

The Hellhound’s actions didn’t make much sense to me. Did it really believe it could get rid of the Elemental Phoenix by killing him, or was it panicking? Maybe there was more to it, but all that mattered was the weakening lifesource. And maybe Nox was nearly killed when he attacked the Hellhound.

Aureus was already severely wounded and resisting my attempts at pulling him back into the World, and now Nox leaped at the Overlord beast like he’d lost his mind as well. That had to be the reason, because there was no way an Unblemished beast was foolish enough to believe it could kill an Overlord.

Aureus had to conjure a solid wall between the Hellhound and the Ferronox Mantis to protect the latter, but the Earthheart failed to fully negate the damage. Nox sustained an injury that nearly severed one of his scythes, but even that was not enough to stop him. The Ferronox Mantis continued to attack, this time with Cosmo’s help.

Following the turn of events, the Cosmic Chipmunk teleported Nox around dozens of times in a few heartbeats. Nox slashed around wildly even as Cosmo blinked him around, his trust in his family unparalleled. It worked.

The Ferronox Mantis slashed the Hellhound several times, as Predator detected with deadly precision where to strike to hurt the Overlord beast the most. Nox was almost struck every time he inflicted a wound, but Volix, Aureus, and Cosmo were present every time.

That was until Aureus collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood forming beneath him. Cosmo followed, not from pain but exhaustion after teleporting Nox far enough to survive yet another attack.

I screamed at the Ferronox Mantis, unleashing my authority upon him. That wasn’t something I was proud of. It was not something I wanted to do to my Soulkins, to my family, but if the power I had over my Soulkins was necessary to ensure their survival, so be it.

Almost dead! Need kill!

Nox hissed angrily, but the Ferronox Mantis no longer had the strength to resist my pull. Maybe he would have prevailed for a few seconds if he hadn’t been injured and bleeding badly, but he could not.

He, alongside Cosmo and Aureus, was shoved right back into my World, their pain and suffering transmitted through the soulshare. It was bad, really bad, but they were still alive. And they would survive as long as I made it out of here as well.

But for that, the Ruler of Fire had to die. And before that, the Hellhound had to suffer the consequences of his Blessed’s actions.

“Raffael!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, my head snapping up to the most devastating battle I’d ever witnessed.

The gargantuan dragons were no longer clashing in the sky. They had fused with their Blessed, coating them in armor that resembled lifelike knight armor.

But while Merlin was engulfed in thick brown scales, his head adorned with majestic horns and mighty wings sprouting from his upper back, Raffael Torch was… more.

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His wings were greater, a tail had grown from his lower back, and he looked larger, wider, and much more powerful than before. Even though the magma-like substance that coated the Magma Dragon was restrained by the Solar Orb embedded in his chest, the fusion between Raffael and his Soulkin was still much greater than Merlin’s.

As they clashed, ripples of power rocketed across the battlefield. They spread far, swallowing the ether and sound of the world around them.

Muttering a few muffled curses, I teleported closer to them. A shockwave struck me the moment I emerged near the fighting powers, but I blinked closer once more.

“RAFFAEL!” I shouted once more, infusing my voice with ether as I prayed for the best. Hoping I was doing the right thing, I shouted even louder, “Your Hellhound is killing the phoenix!”

Merlin heard me. His brows furrowed, and he faltered for a moment, likely worried about our plan failing. A punch to his chest shattered the thick scales covering it, hurling my ally aside.

Then, I saw Raffael. He looked ferocious, like an ancient, deadly beast. He was like an unstoppable force as his attention shifted to me, and I nearly forgot the next step of my plan.

Do it!

Volix shrieked, having read my plan, preparing for an all-out strike.

Regaining my senses in time, I used a combination of Mirage, Illusion, and Inflict Fear. Not to make the Ruler of Fire fear me, of course. No matter what I did, Raffael Torch would never fear me.

But what about his fear of losing the Elemental Phoenix? Was that strong enough to affect him? I hoped so as I created an illusion in the distance, where Volix was fighting inside the Hellhound. The illusion was simple: it depicted a scene where the Hellhound’s darkness ripped through the Elemental Phoenix, killing him slowly.

“What are you doing?!” Raffael Torch roared at the top of his lungs, draconic wrath consuming all reason. Or maybe it was simply his obsession. I didn’t care–we did not care.

A moment of distraction was all we needed.

The Hellhound froze, clearly having been ordered to stop fighting the Elemental Phoenix. As confused as it was, Raffael Torch had full control of the Overlord beast, forcing it to heed the order to a fault. And that was exactly what the Hellhound did.

It stopped fighting, and not even a heartbeat later, Volix shot toward the Hellhound’s head and heart. His body split into a stream of rolling energy that burned even brighter than before.

Watching the fight through the Elemental Phoenix’s senses, I felt the explosions. Minuscule explosions that tore through the Hellhound’s heart, brain, as well as core. Veins burst, arteries burned, and the core cracked. Volix struck the Hellhound with all he had, and the beast didn’t even defend itself.

“What?!” It wasn’t clear whether Inflict Fear or the Illusion failed first, but the Ruler of Fire saw through the sham. Only a second, two at most, had passed, but the tide of the battle had changed entirely. Raffael stared at the Hellhound as its brain fell victim to thousands of tiny explosions. The beast collapsed to the ground, its death a matter of seconds.

The moment the Hellhound died, the bond was severed. Raffael’s scream tore through the air, the sound echoing in my ears. It was the first time I’d heard the Ruler scream, in pain at that.

The sudden loss of the bond was as clear as day. Raffael’s scream rose another notch. Blood flowed down his nose and eyes, forming small, crimson rivers all over his face. His body twitched uncontrollably, twisting and turning. A myriad of expressions flashed across his face–some of anger, others of pain. Then there was disbelief and unfiltered hatred.

His scream transformed into a terrifying roar as a heavy presence descended upon me. In the next heartbeat, time slowed as a brown flash burst past me.

I didn’t see Merlin until he arrived before the Ruler of Fire, but his voice echoed in my mind.

he said, his voice laced with melancholy, sadness, yet happiness all the same.

Just as the last words rang through my head, Merlin snapped forward. His soulfused body rippled as the dragon scales and flesh surged toward his right arm. The same arm that shot toward Raffael’s chest, the center of his chest where the Solar Orb was embedded.

Raffael twisted and turned. Power erupted from him, but Merlin just smiled as he did something I never knew he could. He blocked the flow of ether around him. The effect didn’t last long, but it reached me as well, sealing my core and preventing me from using any of my traits. I fell to the ground until I regained control of my core.

I dropped to the ground, my head flicking to the sky. That was when I saw it.

Merlin’s hand had transformed into a massive lance made of Dirk’s body. Was that a Soulfusion as well? I had no idea, but it was as impressive as it was terrifying. My heart was racing, but it skipped a beat when I saw where the tip of the draconic lance ended.

It pierced Raffael’s chest, shattering the Solar Orb with one smooth thrust.

That was the moment I realized Merlin Zerog never planned to leave this fight alive.

He was ready to die to kill the Ruler of Fire. No, he would die. It was just a matter of time. Seconds, minutes at best.