Chapter 28: The Severed Escape

Celeste sheathed Excalibur and Masamune, then picked up Onimaru and Muramasa, which were lying beside Natsumi. Channeling her magical energy, she infused Onimaru with power and created a radiant barrier around them, shielding both herself and Natsumi from the smaller tentacles creeping closer. The shimmering wall pulsed softly, but she knew it would not withstand a full-force strike. If Legion tried to brute-force his way in, it would shatter instantly.

Alex glanced back across the battlefield, relief flashing across his face. “Good, they’re safe for now,” he thought, barely dodging a swipe from one of Legion’s massive claws. “But Natsumi doesn’t look good. We need to get her out of here, fast.”

Legion’s voice rumbled like thunder. “A futile effort,” it snarled. “Now you are down to one weapon. There was no point in saving the weak and the broken. You have only made it easier for us to assimilate you, to make you one of us.”

As it spoke, Legion’s massive back began to convulse and split open. Two enormous, clawed arms burst forth, slick with black ichor. The creature roared, its distorted face twisting into a grin as it lunged forward, the new limbs stretching outward as it charged straight toward Alex.

Alex’s mind raced as he barely dodged the incoming claws, dirt and shattered trees flying around him. “What do I do? How do we get out of this?” he thought, his breaths sharp and ragged. “If Natsumi were conscious, she could cast her fog spell and we could get around him easily. But she is out cold.” He gritted his teeth. “Think, Alex. Think, damn it.”

He ducked under another strike as Legion’s four arms slashed at him relentlessly, tearing through the ground and trees with brutal precision. Some strikes managed to graze him. Alex leapt back, avoiding the barrage, searching for any opening.

Then an idea hit him, one that made his eyes widen. “Fog… wait. Maybe there is a way to do it myself.” He turned his gaze toward Celeste and Natsumi. The barrier still held, but Legion’s tail kept hammering against it with deafening blows, cracks of radiant energy forming along its surface. It would not last much longer.

“Alright, let’s see if this works,” Alex muttered.

He jumped back again, narrowly avoiding another slash. Raising his hand toward the crimson sky, he poured half of his remaining mana into his next spell. The air around him shook as an enormous mass of earth began to form above his head, growing larger and denser by the second until it became a massive sphere, nearly the size of ten cars stacked together.

“Earth Cannon!” Alex shouted.

The colossal ball of compressed earth shot upward with a roar, vanishing into the sky. Legion paused, its many eyes blinking in confusion as it looked up, momentarily unsure what Alex was planning.

Its instincts screamed danger. It knew when that giant mass of earth came crashing down, the impact would cause immense destruction. The abomination stepped back, bracing itself, waiting to see what Alex intended to do.

Alex smirked. The enormous ball of earth plummeted back through the canopy, and he shifted his stance like a baseball player. As it came within range, he swung Bunyan’s Axe with all his strength, striking the massive sphere with the flat side.

The blow was colossal. The impact shattered the sphere into a storm of dust and dirt that blanketed the entire forest in a thick, swirling haze. The world vanished into brown fog.

Alex quickly stowed Bunyan’s Axe back in his bag before activating his Fast Walker Boots. Energy flared around his legs as he bolted through the obscuring cloud, bursting through the curtain of dust and dirt.

Celeste gasped as Alex suddenly emerged from the haze. Startled, she reflexively swung her blade toward him, but stopped just in time when she recognized his face.

“Alex!” she called out.

He looked down at Natsumi, seeing the severed tentacles still lodged in her wounds, their tips protruding grotesquely beneath her skin. His expression darkened with worry. Without hesitation, he knelt, scooped Natsumi up by the waist, then turned to Celeste and wrapped an arm around her.

“Alex, what are you—” she started, eyes widening.

Before she could finish, Alex reactivated his Fast Walker Boots. “Do not worry,” he said firmly. “I will get you and Natsumi to safety.”

He dashed forward with blinding speed, carrying both of them through the storm of dust toward the tugging direction of the portal.

At last, the shimmering crimson gateway came into sight. Relief crossed Alex’s face until a massive hand slammed down in front of the portal, shaking the ground. His eyes widened as he looked up. In the chaos of the battle, he had not realized that the other half of Legion, the towering, colossal form, had arrived. Its enormous arm blocked their only escape.

“Damn it!” Alex shouted.

Thinking fast, he activated Updraft. A surge of wind erupted beneath them, launching all three high into the air. As they ascended, Alex turned to Celeste.

“Take care of Natsumi,” he said firmly. “I will be right behind you.”

Celeste’s eyes widened. “Alex, wait,” she shouted, panic rising in her voice as she reached for him. In her haste, Muramasa and Onimaru slipped from her grasp and fell. “Alex!”

Before she could grab hold of him, Alex extended both hands forward, thinking to himself, I hope this works. There is no reason it should not, since I am only changing the element of the spell. Then he called out, “Wind Bullet!”

A violent burst of wind exploded from his fingers, striking Celeste and Natsumi square in the chest and propelling them over Legion’s massive arm, angled straight for the swirling portal. “Alex, no!” Celeste cried as the two of them were hurled through and vanished from sight.

Alex watched them disappear with a faint, weary smile. Then, as he plummeted back toward the ground, he cast Updraft again. The air swirled beneath him, cushioning his descent until he landed safely on the ground below, surrounded by the settling dust and echoing roars of Legion.

He looked down beside him and noticed something glinting through the dust. Both Muramasa and Onimaru lay half-buried in the dirt. Kneeling, he grasped both hilts firmly, feeling the weight of each blade as power coursed faintly through them. He rose to his feet, turning his gaze toward the monstrous wall of flesh still blocking the portal.

Tightening his grip, Alex took his stance, the two katanas gleaming faintly in the dim light.

He braced himself, preparing to break through Legion’s towering form and reach the portal, no matter the cost.

Then Legion spoke. “So, this is what your true intentions were. You thought you could flee from us using the portal? No matter where you go, we will follow. You are too precious to let slip through our hands. We will chase you through the ends of Hell if we have to.”

Alex spoke. “Then it looks like I will just have to defeat you here. We cannot have you chasing us the entire time.”

Legion laughed. “There will be no escape for you. And your friends cannot come to your rescue, as you have trapped yourself.”

Then the giant arm of Legion detached at the wrist, and the hand wrapped itself around the portal. The flesh bent and fused around the gateway, sealing it as Legion continued. “The thing about the portals in Hell is this: if one side is obstructed, the portal will not work and nobody can pass through. So your allies cannot aid you. Now we can easily assimilate you. Then we will follow after them once we are done here.”

While it was talking, Legion was combining all of its bodies into one. It grew and grew, towering over Alex and the forest.

Alex looked up. “Damn, he is huge. My only bet is to hit him with Bunyan’s Axe. But he has a way to avoid it. I need to outsmart him and find some way to land a hit. Just one hit will hopefully do the job.”

Determination shone in his eyes as he put away Muramasa and pulled out Bunyan’s Axe, ready for another round.