Good Versus Evil, A Classic Struggle

The undead step closer and closer.

The living ready their weapons and will.

The tension in the air is so thick that you could only cut it with a chainsaw.

Suddenly, the undead horde let out a unified roar and not a second later, the living follow suit and as the battle cries end...

The war begins.

The undead rush forward and immediately, the front row are met with cold, blood-thirsty steel.

John and Kyuala stand side-by-side, cutting down Imoga's hungry beasts. While they do, Kyuala says to John, "Hey! After we win this, I am definitely fucking you for at least a week straight!".

"You're seriously thinking about that right now?!".

"I can't help that fighting makes me insanely horny!" Kyuala replies as her axe cleaves one of the resurrected soldiers clean in-half.

Not too far from John and the horny Kyuala, both Amilia and Terra fight together. Terra uses her staff to drop one of the undead to a knee and Amilia finishes it off by driving her dagger into its brain.

"Nicely done!" Terra remarks.

Amilia quickly replies, "Thanks! I've had a lot of practice tonight! You're doing pretty good with that stick too!".

"I've had a lot of time to master the staff! You would be surprised at how many uses it has!".

Terra's response somewhat surprises Amilia who says, "Maybe you can show me a few tricks after all this is done?!".

"I'd be happy to!" Terra replies, causing Amilia to gleefully smirk as she plunges her dagger through the skull of another undead.

The living seem to be cutting down the undead with ease however their fight won't stay easy for long...

Imoga raises her hands again, that same red glow emanating from them and an echoing roar coming from behind her.

"She's bringing more friends to the party!" Parlo shouts.

"How many more fucking friends does she have?!" Nartoko responds.

Those "friends" then appear, immediately running over to bolster the undead's ranks back up to near a hundred.

As the arriving undead run over, Terra and Cidal combine their power and create a dome around the living, forcing the undead to claw at the protective dome.

The group attempt to catch their breath for the moment as they look at the literal **** surrounding them.

"I'm not the only one that's pissing their pants right now, right?" Radvar says through panted breaths.

Nartoko takes a knee for a moment, "Hell no, I've already went twice".

Amilia looks at the larger man and takes a step away from him.

"Okay, we need a plan here... hacking and slashing is only gonna get us so far before they overwhelm us" John says out to the others as he scans the undead.

There's a silence within the dome, everyone unsure of what to do but that's when they all hear...

"FIRE!".

Just then, the sound of firing crossbows ring out with their signature thuds as the bolts leave the grooves before they hit the practically unmissable amount of targets.

The group look around, seeing the copious amount of bodies dropping around them, followed by some of the undead running over to something.

The signature roars of battle can be heard, most importantly, the roars of men and women battling away at the dark forces attacking them.

John and the others continue to frantically look around but it's Parlo who finally sees who it is, "It's Johtun and Mordroe! They finally showed up!".

The group all let out a cheer as they hear Parlo's words. Cidal then begins to speak, "We need to help them! They'll get swarmed out there!".

"He's right! We need to get out there now!" John adds with the others all agreeing with the plan. They all then ready their weapons, nodding to the mages to signify that they are ready.

Cidal and Terra then combine their power once more but this time to take the dome down and as it dissipates, the group let out their united battle cries as they charge at the distracted undead.

Heads fall, arms drop and bodies thud to the ground as the living cut through the undead like weeds, slaughtering the monsters from both sides.

As they cut through, eventually Johtun, Mordroe, Parlo and Nartoko all reunite with Nartoko saying, "Johtun, you old bastard! What the hell took you all so long?!".

"We got side-tracked! Your mother showed up, so we decided to take turns!" Johtun responds, earning laughter from all four men.

Mordroe is the next to speak as he says, "You all had to go and kick the hornets nest huh?!".

Parlo quickly responds, "That's what happens when you actually fight on the front lines! Not like you'd know anything about that Mordy!".

Another round of laughter ensues as the soldiers continue to slay the undead.

Meanwhile, Imoga looks on, seeing her army fail as they get slain one-by-one. She lets out a more animalistic growl than before, almost sounding like one of her undead however the Queen of Necromancy has one more card she's yet to play.

Imoga then growls once more, gathering as much of her power as she can. Her hands glow bright, her neck glowing next but then, a ball of dark red light begins to burn within her chest.

That ball of light within Imoga begins to turn almost supernova, beginning to attract the attention of the group.

They all eventually turn to look at Imoga as the last of the undead are dealt with.

"Uhh, that can't be good right?" Manseer asks.

Cidal immediately recognises what's happening and says, "SHE'S ABOUT TO GO PHOENIX! STOP HER!".

The group all immediately go with the plan which is to just make an absolute mad dash at Imoga with Johtun leading the pack.

Imoga at this point is now completely engulfed in a blood red light and as the group get ten feet from her, Imoga releases that power and a huge wave of red energy flies directly toward the group.

As the wave hits the group, they're all sent flying back with intense ****. That ten feet gap between the group and Imoga is now turned into fifty feet as they land, hard.

The sickening collective sound of flesh colliding onto cobblestone and shattering bones echoes all around the square. As the echo of crashing bodies fades, it's replaced with groans of pain and suffering.

John looks around, the stone digging into his stomach as he examines his friends, "Is everyone alright?".

Everyone lets out some sort of grunt that non-verbally acts as a "yes" or "fucking ouch" however John looks around, he notices one person is missing, Johtun.

As he scans around, the group all hear Manseer shout, "Help!".

Everyone gets to their feet some way or another and eventually make their way over to the distressed Manseer. As they do, that's when they find Johtun sitting at the base of the statue...

With a sword in his gut.

The commander lets out pained and faint breaths as the sword sticks out, his blood coating the blade, his pants and the base of the statue that he's currently sitting up against.

Johtun eventually coughs, a small bit of blood leaving his mouth as he barely says, "Well... I guess this... is karma for... Nartoko's mother..." His words followed by another weak cough.

Cidal immediately kneels down to examine his friend, "Don't worry Commander, you'll get out of this, I give you my word".

"Don't... make promises... that you... can't.. keep... Cidal".

Terra then kneels down and examines the wound, "The sword has hit an artery. We can't risk pulling it out or...".

Cidal interrupts Terra, "He'll bleed out before the spell can take enough affect to counteract it".

"So.. what you're saying is... i'm fucked?" Johtun casually asks like he's just shooting the shit with some friends and not currently bleeding to ****.

As the mages are trying to figure out some way to safely remove the sword, Radvar turns around to look at where Imoga was and that's when he sees it, "Uhh, guys? The bitch is still alive...".

The others all turn around and see that Imoga is indeed, still alive or rather, still standing. The half of Imoga that still had flesh clinging onto her bones is now pulsing with her red power, like veins filled with lava. No words leave her mouth, instead she lets out a growl just like her minions.

As they all look at the monstrosity in front of them, Terra says, "She survived going Phoenix? How?".

"She didn't survive" Cidal answers, "Her body may still be moving, but she isn't even a quarter of who she once was".

Cidal's words cause Terra to look at him with a raised brow before looking back to Imoga and she then understands what he meant.

Imoga lets out another growl but it eventually forms into two simple but strained words, "Kiiilllllll..... yoooouuuu".

As the exhaling words of Imoga end, she weakly raises her hands which barely get to her hips as the pulsating power glows just a bit brighter.

The group stands confused but before they can even attempt to stop whatever it is she's doing, a shadow appears next to the necromancer. Just then, a new shadow appears, then another and another. The shadows begin to appear rapidly now, popping into existence one after the other until the living are swiftly outnumbered by three hundred shadows.

The living all group together, weapons in hand as they form a protective line in front of Johtun.

MEANWHILE:

Sylus and Daffy are still up in the building with the former now almost healed from his earlier wound when they see the shadows surrounding the group.

"Ho-lee shite" Daffy says, nocking a new bolt in her crossbow.

Sylus' nostrils flare, seeing the last ditch effort from Imoga filling him with anger the old bull hasn't felt in years. He grabs his axe before saying, "I need to get down there!".

Sylus begins to make his way to the stairs when Daffy says, "We're supposed tae stay up here".

"That was when I was hurt, now i'm not. If staying up here just means we're dead later, I plan on seeing my grandchildren again!".

Sylus then rapidly descends the stairs and leaves Daffy who sighs in annoyance, but she eventually and reluctantly follows.

The two rush out of the building and head over to the group with Kyuala saying, "What are you two doing?! You were supposed to stay up there!".

"We're here to help finish this thing Ky!" Sylus responds. Kyuala looks at him and gives a nod which Sylus reciprocates as they ready themselves to fight.

The shadows stand completely still, no features discernible on their bodies. The legion simply staring at the group, the only noise is the panted growls of Imoga who looks. Imoga then lifts her finger and points at the group before breathily growling, "Kill them".

The shadows all move forward like smoke in the wind as they begin to practically engulf and attack the group.

The group swing their weapons but as expected, they just pass through the shadows, and they reform before continuing to attack.

The group all try to defend themselves, their skin being literally clawed and torn into. Screams of agony pour out as the shadows literally tear into the flesh of the living.

BACK IN THE OTHER BUILDING:

Hidden away in the other building, Lani watches on in horror as she sees her friends being overrun by the legion of shadow spawn.

The fairy gets a feeling of dread within her stomach as she watches some of the soldiers unknown to her get literally torn to shreds.

That feeling then begins to change, transform into something more intense.

That dread she felt before is now replaced with anger and it's more powerful than anything she's ever felt before. It's even at the point where it begins to literally burn within her core.

Lani is then hit with an immense wave of courage and bravery as she decides to not stand by and let her friends be mauled to ****. She then leaps up and begins to fly out of the window.

Outside, she sees the shadows and against the voice in her head, she shouts, "HEY! I'M OVER HERE YOU FUCKING FUCKERS!".

All of the shadows gazes collectively snap toward the fairy and soon, Imoga's does too.

"You! I knew you were here!" Imoga just growls out.

The necromancer then raises her finger, pointing to the fairy before calling to her shadows, "Get her!".

Half of the shadows do as Imoga orders and stop attacking the living who are all slashed and bloody before heading storming over to Lani while the other half of the shadows continue their decimation of the group.

Lani simply floats in the air, staring at the shadows as they draw closer. She scans around, trying to figure out some sort of plan as she hadn't thought that far yet.

As she looks around at the incoming shadows, her heart beating fast and rapidly as she gets more and more nervous.

That burning feel from before comes back however but this time, it's increased tenfold. Her stomach feeling like molten steel is swirling around within it.

Lani prepares to somehow fight against the shadows who are getting closer when all of sudden, she hears a familiar voice...

"It's time fairy, time for you to fulfill your destiny! You're about to learn of your true nature! Like I told you that night, you're not just a fairy, you are something... more!".

That burning feel returns but it gets even hotter and it continues to do so. Lani curls up as she feels like her insides are about to burst. Lani's body then shoots back up as she lets out a piercing scream.

As she does, a huge wave of pink energy shoots out from her, reducing all of the shadows around her to nothing.

As the pink wave fades, Imoga looks and is shocked at what she sees...

Lani, now no longer the size of a fairy but rather, the size of a regular woman. Her entire body has shifted from its fairy form into this new powered form. Her wings are easily two feet long, her hair now down to the small of her back, even her body itself has changed into a slim toned yet still muscular build. The biggest change however is that all of Lani's body glows with her pink magic, her eyes now burning pink, her wings shimmering with the magic, and she has an aura of pink magic around her new, larger body.

Lani looks at her new body in complete shock, "What happened to me?!".

That's when the inner voice comes back and explains it to her, "You're not just a fairy Lannielli! You're a pixie! Now go and smite this bitch!".

Lani doesn't have time to question anything as when the inner voice finishes speaking, Lani's right hand begins to glow and after a brief moment, a pink ethereal sword brimming with magic appears within said hand.

Lani brings the sword up and gives it a little swing to get a feel for the weight of it. She then looks up at the remaining shadows who have all stopped attacking and are staring at her.

Imoga looks at the transformed Lani in both shock and fear as she says, "You... you're... a pixie?! No! No! NO! You were supposed to give me the power to rule this forsaken world!" Imoga growls in anger, "Now... I will show your little friends what happens when you rip the wings off a pixie!".

Imoga lifts her fingers, silently ordering the shadows who now run toward Lani.

Lani brings up the sword, readying herself for a fight when the voice speaks again, "Hey Lannielli! That sword you got... let's just say it packs a hell of a punch as you'll soon see!".

Lani doesn't respond, instead she narrows her eyes and focuses on the closest shadow who only ten feet ahead of her.

The shadow crosses the five feet mark and just as it's about to attack, Lani swings the sword and the shadow dissipates upon contact. That isn't the only thing that happens however, because as Lani swings the sword, a beam of energy flies a few feet ahead before cutting through another three of the shadows.

Lani looks at the sword in shock, surprised at its secondary power, "Woah... that's awesome!".

She wouldn't have much time to bask in the swords power as the shadows are about to reach her. Lani looks at the shadows with a newly formed grin on her face as she says, "I've wanted to say these words ever since I saw you... you're soooo fucked".

Lani twirls the sword before flying a few feet forward and goes... to... town.

Shadows get wiped out left and right, evaporating back into nothingness with every swing of Lani's sword. The energy beams cutting through bunches of the shadows at once after every strike.

By herself, it only takes this new Lani just over a minute to eradicate every shadow in sight. She stands victorious, sword in hand and that grin now turned into a full-blown smile as she looks over to her friends who she just saved single-handedly.

Lani's smile is short-lived as she drops to her knees while roaring in agony.

Imoga stands behind the transformed fairy with her hand glowing red. This time however, there's a beam extending from Imoga's hand and said beam is going directly into Lani's back.

Lani keeps screaming in pain as Imoga twists her hand therefore twisting the beam.

Back at the group, John is slowly getting to his feet while groaning in pain of his own. His face, arms and legs are all covered in claw marks with some of his clothes are torn to shreds.

As John gets to his feet, he looks and sees Lani is completely different from last he saw her but also sees that she's being tortured by Imoga.

John quickly limps over before saying, "Hey! Let her go!".

"NO! First, you kill my daughter! Then you destroy my army and now my conduit for complete power isn't even a real fairy! I will lose no more! Now, it is time you all lost something!".

Imoga's hand begins to slowly glow brighter and so does the beam.

John sees this and realises that he can't get to either Imoga or Lani in time. As he realises this, he begins to brainstorm every potential idea he can think of but no matter what he thinks of, nothing will work.

As every idea fades away, one particular memory pops into his head.

"When all looks bleak, look within and you will find what you seek".

Elliyah's words ring out within his head and as they do, everything around him begins to slow down.

John then begins to do as Elliyah said and looks within himself. Initially, nothing happens however after a moment, John begins to feel something happening in his arm.

He looks down at his right arm and sees that his mark is beginning to glow a bright blue colour. John looks at his arm in confusion, unsure of what's happening to him but that's when he hears a voice he's never heard before,

"To wield the Mark of the Angels, the human must be willing to do what is needed to smite evil. We must be ready for this soul, because one day, it will return, and we will need the champion to help us smite the chaos incarnate".

The mark then burns brighter, beginning to almost pulsate as it does. As the mark gets brighter, John's mind clears and only one goal remains within...

Save Lani.

Time then resumes with Imoga's plan nearly complete. John looks at the necromancer and raises his own hand before shouting, "HEY!".

Imoga looks at him, confused at what he's about to do.

John looks her dead in the eye before saying, "TASTE THE DIVINE!".

Just then, an intensely bright beam of baby blue light burst from John's hand and heads directly toward Imoga.

The beam hits Imoga dead center and then... the necromancer screams in sheer pain unlike any other as she is literally burned away by the divine power of the mark.

Imoga's beam fades away as the woman is turned into literal ashes, causing Lani to fall forward onto the ground with pained pants.

John however is barely standing, his legs shaking, his head weak and vision blurry as sweat begins to drip down his face. All of the energy of within his body being completely drained for the blast.

The **** of the combined effects become too much for John as his legs finally give way, and he falls backwards onto the ground, his eyes closed with only shallow breaths following...