IX
A wicked grin smeared across Tyrannust’s face as he drifted motionlessly at the broken throne doors.
It had been a week following the fall of Cri Oluun, and we had heard nothing of Tyrannust and his Almega Legion since, until now. Ever since the fate of Lord Cryann, we remained all the more closer to King Fulcan, recruiting many more to enlist in his Army of Light and Purity.
We were in King Fulcan’s grand throne room, discussing strategic solutions against the rapidly rising dark forces on Grozorg when Tyrannust barged into Fulcan’s hall. There was no one accompanying him, and even though no one was with him, we were well aware of his capability in dethroning the king with no effort.
With the wicked grin smeared across his face, he drifted closer and closer. Instinctively, I stepped closer to the king. Tyrannust reacted with a cackle, noticing my movement.
“Why are you here?” King Fulcan slowly asked, rising from his throne.
Fulcan reached for his golden broadsword, the same weapon that slew the lykos in the legends, the same weapon that had brought him countless victories in the past.
Tyrannust drifted closer with an unfaltering pace.
“Guards!” The king demanded.
A frown replaced Tyrannust’s expression at the sound of the king’s call for reinforcements.
At once, a squad of knights from the Army of Light and Purity marched in at Fulcan’s command, unaware of who they were approaching.
The frown was quickly dispelled with a devilish smile.
With a flick of his wrist, a blazing black pillar of flame burst upwards from the ground, engulfing the entire squad. As the smoke cleared, nothing remained in place of the knights but a pile of bones and five shattered skulls.
The high lord growled as he neared the king, his grin faded.
A glint of fear shone within King Fulcan’s eyes. He knew of Tyrannust’s capability, but the ease of control Tyrannust demonstrated over his powerful element, and the outcome of it, surely surprised him.
At the foot of the throne, Tyrannust paused and turned to my guild. His message was clear, and we left the room immediately at the king’s nod.
Tyrannust returned his glare at Fulcan, unflinching.
There was nothing we could do. If we tried to stop him, we would be dead with the king. The guild started to trickle out of the throne room, leaving the two doors wide open. We watched the two rulers of conflicting elements from behind the grand pillars in the hallway that led to the throne room. Kadava, who was crouched beneath me, whispered three words to me in sudden realization. At once, we figured out the purpose of the high lord’s presence.
“Chamber of Mancers,” Kadava spoke palely.
Tyrannust was here to retrieve King Fulcan’s blood. It all made sense now. After the death of Lord Cryann, there was only one pure king left on Grozorg, the purest of all kings. With the blood of King Fulcan, he would assemble the Mancers in no time and summon the thirteenth.
Tyrannust flew forwards, ramming into Fulcan and cutting my thoughts off. With great agility trained through years and years of experience, Fulcan spun around and stepped aside, grabbing his sword on the floor and shield that hung on the back wall. Tyrannust crashed into the throne, regaining his footing quickly.
Tyrannust cackled at the sight of the intimidating broadsword, flicking his wrists to summon two dark whips.
The two rulers circled each other, eyes locked. Suddenly, Tyrannust cracked his whip onto Fulcan’s shield. The gold emblazoned escutcheon revealed a crack, a line of black that diffused across the surface of gold. As a mere distraction, Tyrannust cracked his other whip at Fulcan’s lower body. Fulcan reacted swiftly and swung his large broadsword upwards, deflecting it. The sword, unlike the shield, still shone a bright white and had no effect from the whip. In fact, a bright flash broke out and filled the whole room as the two conflicting elements collided together. Using this to his advantage, Tyrannust lunged towards the pure king and slashed at Fulcan’s side with a concealed blade. In a blink of an eye, blood started to trickle down slowly. Tyrannust pulled out a small black vial, collecting a few drops of blood from King Fulcan.
With a wicked holler, the corrupted high lord departed from the palace swiftly.
Dropping onto his throne, Fulcan winced at the pain and applied pressure to his injured side.
“Go after him! You have no time to lose!”
I assigned Foku and Kadava to come with me, and the rest of the Blood Guild to look after Fulcan. We pursued the dark high lord, unable to match his speed. At last, we reached the Chamber of Mancers.
“It’s the second summoning!” Kadava yelled as we stepped into the stone cavern.
“He has the vital element missing from last time too,” I responded.
We were too late when we arrived. The Mancers had already arrived, and they began to bind their representative elements together.
“Wait...is that...Zor?” I asked, surprised. “Where did Tyrannust go?”
“It is Zor!” Kadava confirmed.
“What is he doing here?” Foku asked.
The chamber was no longer flooded, though the aftermath of our intervention was evident in the ruins of the cavern. We entered the chamber through an alternate entrance, arriving on an elevated platform with the twelve Mancers below us as we peered down from our cliff-like vantage point. The chamber was damaged from the explosive, and the crater where I awoke was still deep in the cavern wall.
As we spoke, the Mancers opened their arms and summoned a pillar of their respective element upwards. Each element had its own unique colour, and each colour spiralled up, colliding against the top of the cave. The twelve pillars of different shades slowly angled towards the center of the cavern ceiling. Zor approached the thirteenth stone on the ground, revealing a vial of blood in his cupped hands - the same vial Tyrannust possessed after the confrontation with King Fulcan. Opening the tube, he sprinkled the king’s blood onto the center stone.
“Foku,” I said, “Shoot them.”
“What? You...you want me to shoot a Mancer?” Foku questioned, dumbfounded.
“Yes!”
Foku’s electrical lance was powerful enough to stun even a lykos, and he was one of the best in the guild in terms of accuracy as well.
“As you say,” he replied doubtfully, taking out his lance.
Raising the pole arm to the height of his chest, he knelt down, adjusting it perpendicular to his body. Steadying his lance, he cocked his head to the right and closed his left eye, the tip of his tongue protruding his lips as he concentrated on his target. In a singular, smooth, motion, a bright yellow beam jolted out from the thin lance, sending intense sparks and cracks along its path towards the elemental summoners.
Zor’s reaction was uncanny. As the chain of lightning quickly sparked towards a Mancer, Zor swiftly hurled a black wave against it, creating a bright explosion on contact. After the sudden impact, he drifted towards us, locking his gaze upwards at the three of us. Subconsciously, Zor took the most direct route by crossing the center of the summoning chamber.
I could see him clearly now. Dressed in a long white robe, his priestly garment was corrupted with dark blemishes that protruded the once-holy clothing. His visage was masked behind a black bandana, revealing only crimson eyes that gazed into the depths. Meek and humble, he was one whom everyone sought advice from, but now, this new form possessed an evil unmatched by any other but Tyrannust himself.
Zor showed no mercy. At once, he summoned a beam of black towards the three of us. Without thinking, I commanded Foku to fire again.
“Now!” I shouted.
The electricity collided with Zor’s attack, and a burst of white radiance filled the cavern once more in a great explosion. Zor stood stunned in the center of the arena, regaining his balance quickly.
All of a sudden, a thick colourful pillar of smoke engulfed Zor, who was directly on top of the boulder in the center of the arena set for the thirteenth to rise.
“Oh, damn...” Foku whispered.
The elements from the twelve Mancers had successfully bound together to form a thick pillar of colour over the thirteenth stone. The flaming pillar completely consumed Zor as it rose to the ceiling of the cavern. It was over a meter wide in diameter, and the twelve distinct colours danced upon the central stone, flames leaping and licking the cavern ceiling.
The pillar increased in diameter and colour, the light emitted intensifying until a bright explosion filled the entire chamber. As the smoke cleared, a figure stood in the center, masked by the thick fog from the elemental summoning. The silhouette was taller than all twelve Mancers, who were roughly the same in height. The Mancers, concealed by the thinning fog, bowed down to the thirteenth they had summoned. A pair of red eyes shone through the fog as the face turned towards us. It was the same crimson red we had seen before.
“Oh, damn...” I echoed.
We all glanced at each other, blood draining from our faces.
“The legends have spoken!” Zor boomed, his shrill cackle ringing across the cavern.
It happened. It really happened. The summoning of the final, thirteenth Mancer was finished.
Zor was the predestined Almegamancer from the beginning.