Chapter Twenty Four: The Man Who Dies For Fun

    Sister Heart took a step, and another, while I created two more stone ghouls, sending them after my target. The lioness bared her very pointy looking fangs, as we both ignored the battle behind us. I sheathed One, because it takes a heart to kill a heart.

    She pounced, snarling like how big cats typically do. I was able to punch her face as she landed atop me, my sword the only thing separating us. The pavement broke my fall in the most painful of ways, while a three hundred pound cat tried to put her jaws around my perfect face. My clawed hand grabbed neck muscle, and with all my strength, I threw her to the side, standing quickly.

    She shifted, and there on her back sat a huge broadsword. "You may have bested us once, but not again."

"Wow. I'm quivering," I said, trying to forget the burning feeling in my back. "I guess you're right. Your words have gotten the better of me. Whatever shall I do?"

Apparently that got her a little mad. Our blades clashed, but since she was fucking ripped, I was near thrown off my feet, only able to stabilize enough to parry another swing.

Cringing, I called forth a few dead things, whatever was nearest, hoping to stall this beast of a woman. God, if things were different, I'd let her take me in a furry of passionate love making.

Unfortunately, one of us has to die.

A dead warlock and shifter attempted to stop, hurt, do anything to her, but Sister Heart broke them with ease. But here's the trick for dealing with magic users--distraction. Once her sword cut through the final undead, my own got past her guard and struck the hard flesh of her chest. Which was not enough. Heart didn't even cry out, and let her huge fist do the talking. I dodged, but her face connected with mine, forcing me to the ground. Again.

She tossed my sword aside, and lifted her claymore, coming close. Thinking quickly, I pulled out my pistol and put three rounds into her chest. Sister Heart stopped, looked down, and I watched as her chest regenerated.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled.

Her smile didn't make me feel good. She charged, and I did the only thing that one does in this situation; I kicked her in the crotch. The Sister paused, looking only slightly annoyed. Enough for me. Rolling, I drew One and stood, deciding maybe I needed more than a heart.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Celen had not gotten far, her injured leg keeping her from doing anything relevant. What I needed though was for protein shake here to die or leave. Well, I do have multiple tricks left.......

When I was young teen, after my parents had passed, there was a warlock who taught me teleportation magic. The field itself isn't that impressive, since teleportation can't really take anyone that far. Minus Light Portals of course.

Lifting One, I sent more couch sized stone at the shifter. And while she was maneuvering her way out of it, I wrote on my gauntlet palms, blood bright red. Heart gained her bearings again and charged, ready for the final moment. Sparking up the runes, my left hand hit her chest, and her eyes went wide for but a moment, as she was transported only two hundred yards away.

Or with any luck into the lake.

I sighed. That wasn't the best result I wanted, but it was all I was going to get. Picking up Ever Heart, I round to see Celen running into the city away from the battle, my ghouls more or less destroyed. Well, more like limping.

Her wings were torn up from what I could see, so there would be nowhere to hide. Nowhere to go. Perfect.

I quickly faced the battle. It was not going well, for either side. Thinking rapidly, I took out a piece of chalk and drew a circle with summoning symbols inside. The elemental heard my call, and now a huge stone beast stood before me, it's black pavement body moving slowly.

"If you'd be so kind as to mess up those shifters, that'd be great."

It nodded, and lumbered off.

I went after Celen then, and turned a corner, watching the fae struggle to find a way out. She went down another street, then rounded to face me. "You are the most annoying man."

"Death doesn't give up, so neither will I."

She smiled, fighting through the pain. "Do you even know what this is about? Why we attacked this city?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm not an idiot." Fuck I was tired. My arms were starting to give out. "This was a test. A multi-facet test. You needed to test out an army of shifters, to see how well they fight. You wanted to see how well a half-assed formed City Guard would do in a battle. And you wanted to see if a city could fight back if it ever decided to go against the Sleeping Witch. To be honest, I'd say you're passing on all fronts."

    Celen reeled, like I had stabbed her in the gut. "You.....you can't be serious. How did you figure it out?"

    "Because I'm not an idiot." I pointed Ever Heart at her. "Now, where were we?"

    But Celen backed away, reaching into her pocket. She held up a small pill. "The Witch loves to experiment. I shall put an end to this and be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams."

    Huh. Makes you wonder what dreams she even had. Probably something like gaining immortality and power. Or maybe just like getting a good job.

    She swallowed the pill, and against my better judgement, I watched what happened next. Celen's body healed, then changed. Her blue skin got even more blue, almost black. Her once silver hair now became snow white. I thought Princess Protein was big, but now Celen turned into a fucking giant, standing at least seven feet tall, muscle galore, and her magic energy spiked through the roof.

    The woman laughed. "Yes! This is the power you are rejecting Ditto. And now you will suffer greatly."

    I rolled my eyes. Tossing aside my satchel and jacket, then removing my gauntlets, and shirt, Celen eyed my body.

    "You know," I said calmly. "Power comes from all sorts of places. But since you're stupid, I wouldn't expect you to understand."

    It's time for stage two. My own body transformed. Skin turning grey, the red lines appearing, as before. But now my body got considerably bigger, muscles that would have ripped apart my shirt easily. My hair got longer, everything was warmer, sharp fangs popped out my mouth. I was taller, which never hurt.

Chaos tore at my mind. Power washed over me in massive waves.

Not quite full demon, but pretty damn close.

"So," I said, grinning. "I think this is more fair now."

She hesitated, but her voice boomed anyways. "No matter. This form is enough."

Confidence. I like it.

Her magic shot out, but I moved, far quicker than any normal mortal or Hidden. My fist hit her side, with enough force to send her into a store. The building shook, and Celen pulled herself out of the debris. She snarled, spear like icicles coming for me in the dozens. I released demon fire, a dark red and deadly hot, melting her magic and consuming the fae.

Naturally, she survived. God damn, whatever that pill was it was some hardcore advanced shit. I covered my hands in darkness, running forward, drawing as much energy as possible. Though she was bigger, probably stronger, possibly faster, and had an army just over yonder, I had something she didn't.........um, actually, I'll get back to you on that.

Both punches exploded with darkness, but the fae's magic was infused with some sort of nasty, and her own power exploded at the same time. I was sent flying into a tall building, glass and brick sent everywhere. I groaned, falling and hitting the ground with a thud.

Fuck. I'm so dying today.

Celen apparently felt better than I, for she picked me up and threw me into another building. What is this, a Michael Bay film? Lucky for me demon skin is tougher than normal skin, but there was still pain. Oh yes, still pain.

I watched the fae approach. Her snow blizzards were looking rather insane. "Face it Necromancer. You are nothing."

Nothing huh? Well, hopefully once this is all over, that's how it remains.

I smacked the ground, sending out a wave of lava. And another. And another.

While the Sister moved, I stood with a storm of lava and stone following. "Understand this Sister Celen. I do not fear you or anything. My entire life has been nothing but a trip of fear. I maybe nothing, but you are still going to die."

I charged with my unholy storm. The fiery tempest consumed everything around me, burning and charring, completely covering the fae in a heat so intense it made me sweat. The fae's magic got out classed, and she was now trapped within a cooling pool of lava. Her body strength was going to break through though, so I had to be quick.

I fetched Ever Heart, my hand covering the handle entirely, and brought it to Celen's neck as she broke out. The fae scrambled backwards, her breath ragged and frightened. Hellfire wound around my left arm, ready to strike.

"No," she whispered. "I was promised power. Father said so. Immortality. The Witch was going to be my salvation."

"There is no salvation," I said, barely able to focus. Being a demon takes it's toll. "Not from death. Not from me. Not from anything."

"The Witch is stronger than you. Her power will become unstoppable."

I shook my head. "Fuck. You don't know anything about the Witch do you? You and your pawns are nothing more than fodder."

"What do you know? You, a freak in this world."

My smile got wide. "I've talked to her Celen. I've spoken to the Witch. And you act like you know anything. You know nothing."

Celen's fear went through the roof. She tried to crawl back, but my magic held her down. "Please. I don't want to die."

"Yeah? And I didn't want to go to war. But it looks like we both don't get what we want for Christmas." Speaking of Christmas, two bright pillars of magic shot into the air, one green, the other red, both looking like solar flares. But one was easily going to destroy the other. "Looks like your shaman is on the verge of defeat. Which means the rest will retreat."

"What are you?" Celen asked. "Who are you!?"

Finally, a good question. "Who am I? Darkness and Death are my allies. Blood is my fuel. War is my greatest challenge." I stood taller. "I am the Demon Slayer. I'm the Lord of Death. I'm The Last Necromancer. I am the Man Who Dies for Fun. I am Ditto fucking Night! And may whatever you believe in save those who get in my way."

Ever Heart went deep into her chest, blood splattering me. Celen flailed, arms going about wildly, but I drove harder. I got to hilt, my sword breaking out of her back. She smacked me, but it was weak and feeble. But still I pressed, hands going into her bloody chest, bones poking me.

She died well before that.

The chaos tore at me still. I pulled out my sword and clawed out the woman's organs, her huge body getting decimated piece by piece. I roared in the bloodlust, and soon enough her head was in my hands.

I stared at her blank eyes. A terrible, lovely smell hit my nose.

Get it together Ditto. You aren't a demon. Not in name.

Don't let it consume you. You killed Magmaw, not the other way round.

Oh, but you are a demon. Not in name, but in practice. The world has sworn to hate you.

What other answer is there?

I breathed out. The demon skin faded away, and I was back to normal, shirtless, the tape from before gone. My pants were utterly shredded, and I was stained red and black. Sweat covered every inch of me. Tossing aside the fae's head, I retrieved my things. The bitter air was nothing. Life felt like nothing.

God, I hope the Witch has stronger contestants down the road. Because I'm tired of these weak ass fools. These pathetic pawns who were absolutely useless against me. I didn't break the Magi Laws for this.

Whatever. I headed towards the battle.

And hoped it was over.

Because I was hungry.

XXXX

    Well, good news the battle was over. The bad news, a lot of Hidden were dead. The shifters had fled, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death on their way out. I didn't hear any other battle, so the entire pack must have retreated as well.

    I walked up to see bodies lying everywhere. Shifters, witches, warlocks, magi, enough to make a heart ache. Not mine of course, but you get the idea.

    Fran and another group of Hidden were resting a good distance away from the smelly scene. I went past it all and knocked on a glass window at the convenience store. "Hello? You still alive?"

    Halina appeared, eating a bag of chips. "Hey. You're not dead."

    "Nope. Got any more bags of chips?"

    She pointed to the entire aisle. "Help yourself. I sure did."

I took a bag of sour cream and onion. And a water. "We'll get ice cream later. Come on. I wish to hear what happens next."

We went back to where our lonely heroes were waiting. I counted ten or so. Doesn't matter. Soon most will fight for the Witch, in a civil war. Wonder if I will take any of their lives.

There Fran was, laying her back against a mailbox. She peered at me with tired eyes. "I want chips."

My bag was half empty, but I tossed her the entire thing anyways. "Here. Sorry there aren't many left."

Fran munched away, leaving the others in confusion. One shifter hero spoke up. "Um, what do we do now?"

Many were mourning over their fallen friends, weeping loudly. I smelled the piss and shit and wondered how anyone could cry in such conditions. "I guess we go to the courthouse. The battle is over, so I suppose the councillors will finally appear. Probably."

"Fuck, can't we take a damn breather first?" Fran asked, holding her propped up spear. "That shaman took a lot from me."

Another woman came over, an older magi also covered in grime and muck. "Sorry to intrude, but we are all at a lost. What should we do?"

I groaned. Why are they coming to me, I don't even live here. "Get some rest. Eat. Drink. Sleep. I'm sure the more senior heroes will head to the court to give a report or figure out what's next or whatever. Just rest."

The woman nodded, solemn from the fight. Death does not yield its grasp, now does it? I find it funny that one does forget that after a war. Well, many forget that. Others find that death keeps its horrors tight within them. Who will not forget this day?

I'll forget. Probably.

My mind whirled, fogged with battle residue. Fran stood with a heavy sigh. "The young man is right. Let us go to the court and see if the leaders of this city will greet us. I grow tired of waiting for others to take action."

Halina vomited, retching a nasty color. "Sorry. The smell is really getting to me."

Four total headed for the capital building, ready to face what the leaders have to say. I coughed. "I didn't know you lived here Fran. And we actually have met before."

"Oh, I was just passing thru for a few days," she said, voice dry. "And where did we meet?"

"Back in Side Shanghai City, I was visiting the same time you were. I was going to help take out that vampire triad but you beat me to it. We passed on the street."

"Ah, I remember that. That was awhile back." Fran looked up, the group moving slowly. She coughed. "I guess I do remember sensing a strong death presence."

After a few minutes, we came up to the only place of importance. West's capital looked rather--intimidating. Huge statues of fierce warriors. Pale, white stone formed the edifice. Needless to say, it kinda looked like a castle.

The doors were open, and I saw two people walking inside. The other two heroes sighed with relief.

"Thank God, it's still standing," the other wicth said. "Our sacrifice was worth it."

Really? Was it? Half of this cities forces were probably dead or dying, half a shifter pack was dead or dying, and all this woman cares about is a stupid building. Councillors can be replaced.

As I've already proven.

We climbed the steps and entered a vast room filled with people running around. I've only met one West Michigan councillor ever, and he did not seem to be present. The magi who was with us went off and found someone of importance, bringing her over with a rushed intent.

"We've already heard that the battle is done," the vampire said. Well that's good. She probably isn't working for the Witch then. Being a vampire and all. "Thank you heroes for defending our precious city. I can't reward you or do anything else as of right now. If you would please leave me your names and how to contact you, that would be ideal."

Everyone did, and when the vampire got to me I said, "I've already spoken my name enough today. Call Lake City, who sent me to help, for guidance and resources. Councillor Sasha can tell you how to pay me."

The vampire - Hannah - nodded. "Very well. That will suffice. Now everyone go and sleep. We are far too busy to deal with anything else right now."

"Oh hey," I said quickly. "I'll take care of the dead bodies tomorrow night. Make an announcement that anyone who wants to recover a loved one do it before then. Or else it's too late."

The vampire waved me off, going back to barking orders. I then pulled Fran and Halina outside, away from the capital and into an alley. "I need to talk with you."

"Listen. I'm tired, and I want to go and sleep alright?"

But I held her in place. "Wait. You want to know what's going on? This is what's happening."

I told her the story, the impending war, why the pack attacked. She seemed rather unfazed during all of this. "Huh. I've heard rumors of something emerging........but could have never dreamed of this. I suppose then you are the opposition."

"For now yes."

Fran frowned, rubbing her arms gently. It was clear the battle did drain her. Hell, I feel like total shit. Absolute dog shit. But I must press through. I must move on.

"You want my help. You are gathering an army."

"Meh. Gotta start somewhere." Her dark eyes held so much power. It frightened me. "If you say no, that's okay. But I need Big Boys. And Girls. And anyone else. If I could do it myself, I would. But the cities are going to war. Eventually."

"Why should I care? The cities are always bickering in their spare time. They let the humans do what they want." She didn't look at Halina. "No offense."

"None taken," she replied.

"You need to. The Witch will wipe out the Layers. The cities will war, but it will pale in comparison to what follows."

Fran grimaced. "I don't have to do anything."

"That's true. So I offer payment. What is it you want?" Minus immortality. Because I for one do not offer that. "Name your price."

"I am not someone who can be bought," she remarked. Oh yeah, number seven and all. "From one powerful being to another, you should know this."

"Ah ha, but I can be bought. The price though is something beyond anyone's ability."

She said nothing, leaning on her spear for support. The witch seemed disorientated somehow. Maybe a good thing, maybe bad. "The Witch offers false immortality. How do you know? Or are you just saying that?"

"It's false because she'll just kill everyone afterwards. Or maybe she won't. I'm not a damn seer."

Fran sighed now, obviously starting to make a decision. "I'm older than I look. Seen many things. I've spoken with a few necromancers before. Immortality is just as much a crime to you as as the magi. Will this Witch see your wrath?"

Oh ho, I like the line of thinking. Smart. Precise. "Eventually. But no one's seen it, so even I don't know how it will look."

"Fine. Fine. I will aid you in this war. I for one do not like the idea of a singular entity destroying all we have built. But I demand respect and constant updates."

"Done. And done." We exchanged numbers like high schoolers. I still felt shitty, but less so now than before. Power is starting to take sides. How much more can I get I wonder?

Fran laughed, though it sounded forced. "I wish us luck. Mainly for you, my young friend. Because if what you say is true, the death toll shall be high."

I said my thanks. As did Halina. The witch's sunken eyes said everything.

This is all on me.