Part 12: Path of Destruction

The Ronins and the Sentinels were more than a match for the ninjas. But what the black-clad ninjas lacked in skill, they made up for in sheer numbers. Just when the Ronins and Sentinels thought they’d taken them all out, more would scramble out of an entryway or building. They were slowly wearing down the Warriors.

The north wall of the main building suddenly exploded outward. When the dust settled, they could see a figure standing amidst the rubble--a man who looked just like Jack but wearing blue and silver armor. Sentinel armor. Behind him floated nine black priests somewhat resembling the ones that once followed Badamon. He held up a hand and the ninjas backed away. “Forgive me for not personally greeting you when you arrived. I was otherwise occupied. I hope my followers have made you feel welcome.” A malicious smile turned up the corner of his mouth.

“Where’s Jack? What have you done to him?”

“Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s fine. In fact, he’s doing better than he has in quite a while.” He made an expansive gesture at the wall behind him, inviting them to admire it. “What do you think of my entrance? It certainly makes a lasting impression, but it does nothing for the décor.” He smiled broadly now--a cold smile on the edge of madness. “I’d like to chat longer, but I have too much to do. Conquering the world takes a lot of planning and hard work. I’m sure you all aren’t just going to let me have my way, so of course, you have to die. As will all who oppose me.” He nodded at the ninjas. They advanced again, lightning katanas raised. The Lord of Storms held up his hammer and the sky turned dark. Thunder rumbled overhead as rain poured down.

Mia and Ryo jumped as lighting struck the ground next to them. The Lord of Storms laughed as he watched them scramble when the bolts hit the area at random.

Sage and Astarte were fighting ninjas back to back. He turned his head slightly in her direction. “Can’t you use your mind-control on him?”

“I’ve been trying, but he is protected by Dynasty magic. I have no mind-power over such magic. It must be woven into his armor somehow.”

“Nothing’s ever easy, is it? Well, now we know how the armor got finished—Talpa’s goons.”

Trace hit the ground with his staff, forcing super-tall trees up through the ground behind the Lord of Storms. Sai then blasted him with “SUPER WAVE SMASHER!” The lighting was drawn to the water and trees, striking the building behind him. It was a smoldering ruin.

The Lord of Storms shakily picked himself up from the ground, dusting off his armor. He raked an angry hand through his hair. He picked up his helmet that had been knocked off and put it back on. “Very good. My mistake in letting the storm run wild according to its own nature. But that trick won’t work again. I’ll keep the storm under more control this time.” The dark priests glowed behind him. He threw his hammer at Sai. It struck like lightning, then streaked off to slam into Trace. The hammer then zipped back to its master’s hand.

The others were still fighting the ninjas when Ryo drew his katanas. “FLARE UP NOW!” He blasted the Lord of Storms with fire. The dark priests glowed as the Storm Lord countered with a flurry of bolts.

“Foolish Ronin! Don’t you know lightning is six times hotter than the surface of the sun? Oh, sorry. I guess you didn’t.” He looked up and laughed as the heat from Ryo’s attack created an updraft to feed his storm, making it even stronger.

Rowen looked at Mia. “How did he get so strong? He’s got Sentinel armor—that shouldn’t be strong enough to fight us all!”

“I don’t know.” The Lord of Storms stared at Mia. She held his gaze for a moment before he looked away. Something was bothering Mia. The way their enemy moved, his gestures. When he’d raked his hand through his hair, she’d almost thought…

“Mia! Look out!” Astarte knocked Mia to the ground just as a bolt of lightning was about to strike her.

“That was…amazing! How did you move so fast?”

Astarte lifted her chin imperiously. “Though I am no longer immortal, I am still a goddess-born. My reflexes and senses are beyond the norm for humans.”

“Luckily for me. Thank you.”

Kento and Rowen were concentrating on the ninjas. Kento would knock them off their feet and Rowen would pick off the ones still standing. Rowen was shooting arrows so fast, anyone who couldn’t see it was just him would think they were being attacked by a whole group of archers.

Ryo also turned his attention to the ninjas. He didn’t want his power feeding the Lord of Storms again. He kept his fire blasts to a minimum. White Blaze had recovered from the Priests’ attack and was doing his part helping Ryo take out the lightning fighters.

Sai was also back in the fight. He and Gilgamesh were weakening the storms. Gilgamesh was dispersing the clouds with sonic shouts. The clouds always reformed, but weaker each time. Sai was redirecting the torrential downpour into a “Super Wave Smasher” that he turned and blasted ninjas with.

Zane noticed something odd. Every time Gilgamesh and Sai depleted the storms, the Lord of Storms visibly weakened. Then the silent priests would glow and he would be strong again. He could hear Zoe in his mind. When the fighting had gotten intense, the two of them had merged so their armor would be stronger. “Zane. I think you’re right! I hadn’t even noticed in all the commotion.” Zane/Zoe threw an ice spear at one of the priests. It flew at him, freezing the very air in its path. It went through the spectral creature, incapacitating him with cold for a few minutes. The Lord of Storms faltered slightly. Zane yelled at the others. “It’s the priests! They’re feeding him power—that’s why he’s so strong! Take out the priests!”

Anubis twirled his scythe. “Chaos Fury!” A whirlwind of warping energy formed. The spirits moved so fast, he only managed to catch four of them in its path. They were swept up and completely disintegrated by the Primordial power of his armor.

The Lord of Storms yelled in fury and hurled his hammer at Anubis. He blocked it, but then it made another pass like a fly buzzing around his head. Anubis backflipped, swinging his scythe. The hammer had more weight and momentum than his weapon, so he tried to use that against it. Instead of direct blocks, Anubis would deflect the hammer at angles. He would sort of hook the hammer with his curved blade and swing it back.

“THUNDER BOLT CUT!” Sage started blasting the Lord of Storms with his own brand of lightning attack. Their lightning strikes kept seeking each other out. The Lord of Storms was having a hard time directing his bolts where he wanted them to go. Their bursts would strike each other, flashing and sizzling. Sage swung his no-datchi at their enemy. He threw up his hammer just in time to block Sage, but the blow staggered him back. The remaining five priests glowed darkly and he pushed Sage away from him.

Astarte went after the stray bolts that were getting past Sage. She moved with inhuman speed and agility—sprinting, rolling, flipping through the air to reach her targets before they made contact with anyone. She used her laser blasts to counter them. Light against light. Anyone standing at the base of the mountain would’ve seen strange white and red flashes illuminate the sky.

While the Lord of Storms was distracted, Mia charged the priests. When the Sentinel’s had fought Nemesis and her Spirits of Doom, she’d learned her shadow katana could disperse ghostly entities. Mia jumped through the air, katana ready. The priests zipped back and forth, trying to avoid her. It seemed they could still move quickly, but couldn’t blast her with anything. They must have been channeling most of their energy into the Lord of Storms. Mia stopped for a second and stilled her thoughts. She let the armor guide her to the movements of the evil spirits. Mia leaped up, swinging her blade in a wide downward arc. Her weapon sliced through one of the specters, dispersing it on contact. As she landed, she continued the arc as she spun around, destroying another. She threw her katana at another priest flying overhead. He scattered like smoke.

Sage swung his no-datchi, knocking the Lord of Storms to his knees. The loss of three more of his support team had seriously floundered him. The Lord of Storms couldn’t keep up his direct fight and maintain the storms. The clouds began to dissipate. The rain let up.

Anubis was swinging his scythe, ready to blast at the last two priests. They were moving even faster now so he’d have a harder time. The “Chaos Fury” was hard to control. Anubis couldn’t just point his miniature black hole every which way. He had to plant himself firmly in one spot and aim in one direction to maintain the power—he didn’t want it to get out of control.

Zane could see his dilemma. He threw several spears at the priests to disrupt their movements so Anubis could catch them both in his warping field. The ghostly fiends were unable to move as the ice spears passed through them.

The air rippled as the dark energy of chaos punched and pulled the priests until they blew apart.

The sky was suddenly blue again, no sign of rain or clouds. The Lord of Storms sank to the ground screaming—a mixture of insane fury and frustration.