I keep having this vision….a vision of a girl. A girl…who rivals my strength. Who is this person? Why is she so unbelievably powerful? That eye-patch…that girl…seems so familiar.
******
Armstrong looked out of the window, waiting for Leo to approach the tower from the woods. "Is the tower running?" Armstrong asked. A jinn sitting In the corner of the room with its head down answered slowly in a hostile tone. "Yes." It hissed.
"Perfect. This will make sure they'll come. Leo and his little group have no choice but to enter our home field. This is where we'll slaughter the slayers and him. Ready the jinns, Blukin."
Blukin lifted his head. "With pleasure." Blukin said as the floor opened underneath him. Blukin plummeted down what seemed thousands of doors. Each door had an army of jinns on the other side. "Ready the troops. The chosen one…is coming!"
******
"What a dumb ass plan." Echo sighed. "But it'll work." Leo said. "I believe so, but it truly depends on what kind of man Armstrong is." Euphoria said. Euphoria sat down and licked her paw. "The real question is: are you willing to take that approach to get what you want?" Euphoria asked while glaring at Leo. "It'll be fine. Besides, I trust Leo won't hurt innocent people, right?" Astor asked while putting away his glowing red sword.
"Right." Leo replied.
"Sasha, remember to listen carefully on the ear piece, okay?" Duce asked.
"Of course. But is everyone actually sure?! You all seem so unsure about it." Sasha said softly.
"It's the only way to stop him. You and other people are slowly transforming and dying. I was able to see a formula to craft the shot that'll slow your transformation, Sasha. Other people in the town aren't as fortunate. We have to move and quickly." Leo said.
******
15 minutes had passed. Crickets had stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing, and it was dead silent for miles around the tower. Sasha,Echo, Astor, and Duce were all crouched down and low in the darkness that surrounded the tower. "Don't screw this up, old man. We need to get in there without causing a scene." Duce said to Echo. Echo rolled his eyes. "You little ass! You need to be the one who'll shut the hell up when you need to!" Echo spat back.
"Please. All damn night you've been a pain in the ass. Just shut up and let the jinn slayers do their job. Watch out! I'll do your part." Duce argued as he pushed Echo aside. Echo nearly fell over. He caught himself in time and tacked Duce out in the opening. Duce kicked Echo off of him and began running at him. "Bring it on you damn brat-"
Duce tackled Echo to the ground and pulled his arm back, preparing to punch him. Suddenly, the two were gone in thin air. A massive hole in the sky opened and the two began to plummet from the sky. The top of the tower opened up and the two fell through it.
Sasha quickly picked up her phone and dialed Leo's phone number. Leo picked up the phone and answered. "We got the position of the gateway. Astor is already on the move and it gonna give you a signal shortly." Sasha said. Leo could hear feet in her voice. "Remain calm, Sasha. Thank you for telling me. I'll call you back in a few minutes or whenever Astor gives the signal. I'm about to place a signal of my own for Euphoria. I'll be back there shortly." Leo said.
******
Astor ran as fast as he could through the forest. (I can't use my jinn energy. Not yet. The tower will sense me and they'll send someone after me. I'm close to the position!)
Astor stopped and looked up. He used a small amount of jinn energy and put it around his eyes. He looked up high in the night sky to see a small purple ball. "Gotcha." Astor said as he lifted off and flew towards the ball. Astor shot a massive flame beam into the sky.
Leo could see the flames from his position. "Good job, Astor. I'm coming!"
*****
Duce and Echo both fell through what seemed to be a different dimension. There was nothing but metal shifting everywhere. Doors opened and folded and disappeared. "Grab on to something!" Echo yelled out, trying to grab what he could.
Duce put his hands together and summoned his massive jinn Falcon. The bird swooped Echo up and dove straight down. A door fell in front of the bird and led them into a room. Duce lifted his head for a moment…and in that moment he could see what looked to be an army of jinns just crammed inside of a small room. "Holy-"
The falcon flew through the door and twisted its body to avoid the incoming floors. Duce grabbed Echo and jumped off of the bird. The two rolled on the floor and jumped up. They had reached the bottom of the tower. A metal floor that was cold as ice was beneath them. On the walls of the tower, were thousands of brown doors that twisted like a tornado everywhere. "What a shitty…idea, huh?" Duce asked as he stretched his body and slowly pulled out his staff. "Yeah, tell me about it. I had to be with the man for a couple of days now." Echo said as he slowly pulled out both of his pistols.
"We just have to last until someone comes through, right?" Duce asked.
"Ha! Are you kidding me?! No way I'm I gonna wait. We need to try to find his daughter and get out. Remember what he said? He doesn't believe Armstrong his holding her. He probably has some powerful jinn watching his daughter." Echo explained.
"I see." Duce replied as one of the doors slowly opened to reveal a giant and long black arm slowly reaching out from the darkness. Before anything else could happen, Duce pushed a button that created a blade at the end of his staff and sliced the arm in half. "Behind you!" Echo yelled. Duce spun his head to see a mouth wide enough to eat him whole. Echo shot the creature two times and watched its body drop to the floor. "Thank god for these bullets Leo made." Echo sighed. Duce landed softly on the ground and took a fighting stance. The tower itself began to rumble as hundreds of jinns began to fall from above. "Hurry up!!!" Duce yelled.
*****
Astor flew through the sky and towards the tower. (I'll trust that Leo makes it to the gateway on time. As of now, I need to get Sasha and infiltrate the tower secretly, try to find out where they are holding her!)
******
A woman had just finished pouring herself a glass of tae. She took a deep breath and walked into the living room. She stopped in her tracks and looked around. Her eyes landed on the large clock that was hanging right above the tv. "You're always late." She sighed. The woman sat down and just stared at the floor. A little girl called out to her and rushed down stairs. "I thought you were sleep!" The woman laughed as she picked up her daughter and swung her around. The woman froze in fear. In the corner of the living room was a massive creature with wings that were as dark as darkness itself. Euphoria emerged from the shadows and slowly approached the woman and her child.
"Oh- OH MY GOD!!!" The woman screamed.
"Shh…if you scream like that again, I'm gonna have to kill you." Euphoria said in a calm voice.
"Mommy, what is that?!" The girl cried.
Euphoria tilted her head to the side at the girl. Memories poured into her mind like a flowing river.
******
"Just what in the hell are you?! What is this foul creature?! Did we…did we upset the gods?!" One soldier said.
"Banish them! Kill them!! Do whatever!! Make sure he doesn't see this…THING!" Another soldier ordered. "Please, just wait. I was framed. It was that woman! She did this to me! She's going to kill us all!" Euphoria cried. Euphoria tried to stand but fell to the ground. She looked down to see her claws and animalistic body. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?!?! Why is this happening?!?!?"
******
Euphoria just looked at the two and lowered her head. "They always keep coming back…" she whispered to herself.
*****
Duce and Echo managed to kill 53 jinns in 10 minutes. More and more continued to slowly crawl down the walls of the tower. "Shit! They just keep on coming!" Duce yelled as he pushed three jinns away. Duce aaa behind him, shooting jinns left and right through their heads. Echo grabbed Duce by his shirt and pulled him over him. Duce used the momentum to knock the head off of the jinn. Echo quickly grabbed onto Duce's staff. Duce did a 360 spin and launched Echo at a massive jinn. Echo fell on top of the jinn and pulled out a shotgun. "Bang." Echo said, shooting the jinn.
"Through this door!" Duce yelled. Echo stood up and looked up. "We need to climb up." Echo said.
"Old man…you're not the one in charge here. We need to move! Besides, we don't know what's at the top or how big this damn place is!"
"You're right, but…why would any of the more powerful jinns or Leo's daughter be on the first floor with us?" Echo asked. (Damn the old fart has a point.) Duce thought. Duce opened a door and waved Echo in. "Then we will fight our way up. Trust me, old man."
******
Leo stopped and looked up to see a purple ball in the sky. It was above the night clouds. "I figured it was some sort of a plan you made up in that creative head of yours." Bella said as she walked out from the shadows.
Leo slowly turned his head to face the woman. "You're better off walking away before I lose my temper." Leo warned.
"Hey, that's no way to talk to a woman-"
"You're not a woman. You're a jinn. You'll be treated and talked to as such." Leo said in a firm tone.
Bella chuckled under her breath. "I can't find what's so amusing to you, Bella. I trusted and loved you. Yet, you betrayed me." Leo said.
"I…betrayed you?" Bella asked as she looked down at the ground.
"Leo…hehe…hehe…AHAHAHA!!! LEO, YOU'RE TRULY FUNNY!!! I'm doing this…for Armstrong! Nothing I had was real!! Get it? My feelings for you, our friendship, everything was a lie!!! I do this to stop the ONE jinn they've been hunting. I could care less about some human!" Bella yelled out. "You're going to die tonight, Leo. For humanity. For me. For…jinns."
Leo stood In silence. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Right. Every last one of you will be slayed tonight. AND be going to the maker to be judged. I'm not much of a believer. So I'm not sure as to why I've been given such power. I'll be seeing you in hell, Bella." Leo squatted down and flew towards the purple ball.
Bella quickly followed him, trying to stop him from going through the gateway. (Damn he's fast!)
Leo went through the gateway and was teleported into the tower. Leo's jinn energy alone caused the entire tower to shake and rumble uncontrollably. Leo looked around for only a moment before he was put inside of a room with thick green mist, a metal floor, and darkness that surrounded him. "Tsk. I already know it's you, Bella. Just come out so I can get this over with." Leo said.
"It's not just you in here…I managed to get my hands on someone just like you." Bella whispered in the darkness. Sasha crashed through the darkness and hit the floor hard. "Damn!" She gasped. Sasha lifted her head and locked eyes with Leo. "Leo?!"
"Sasha, how did you get captured? Where's Astor?"
"Astor was about to get me until we both were sucked up into the air and dumped down here. Are you okay?! Where is everyone?!"
"I'm fine. They're somewhere in the tower. Don't worry, we will find them, Sasha."
"Wouldn't be so sure, Leo!!" Bella laughed as a white line approached the two. Leo simply moved his head to the side to move the slash. "We're going to kill every last one of you!!! After you die, Euphoria is next! Leave me and Sasha alone, will you?"
A giant hole appeared underneath Leo's feet. (There separating us. That's a wise move. With all of them being insane-level or damn near it, there's obviously a caster somewhere. Someone with the ability to make their allies stronger.) Leo thought. Leo quickly tossed a sword he had created with a formula from thin air. "Live…Sasha. I believe in you…I always have!" Leo yelled as he fell through the hole.
Sasha ran and scooped up the sword. "D-damn it!" Sasha said. "Leo, how can I possibly…take on a damn high-level?! Maybe even a insane-level?!"
******
Leo bursted through a wooden door and was met with what looked to be millions of jinns. Multiple formulas appeared before him. (All these poor souls. I think…I'm starting to understand what it means…to be a jinn slayer. However, I also understand…that these creatures once used to be human. They are all truly either pure evil or…like Euphoria, just a suffering soul. I've taken sometime to really think about it. God…I know I'm I haven't been loyal or lived a faithful life but, please…give me the strength to lay these souls to rest and to rescue my daughter.)
Leo opened his eyes and began to used his bare hands to grab each and everyone of the thousands of jinn's weak spots, and pull them out.
Now, every creature has a weakness. But Jinns are much different creatures. Leo's ability simply allowed or…created weaknesses for him to exploit. A formula he had to solve and easily could. A formula he at will can summon to almost guarantee victory, depending on the opponent. Yes, the mask…sends formula's for victory and his needs.
A trail of purple aura shot down the large herd of jinns. In an instant, all of the jinns that Leo fell past, had either their hearts ripped out, heads torn off, or all of their limbs. Leo crashed through the herd and landed softly on the bottom of the room. A pool of blood rained down as he put both his hands in his pocket and began to walk towards a massive golden door. (The jinns inside this tower…they have a rather unique energy. The caster…they're close. Maybe even behind this door. However, it would be foolish to have the caster fight me…right? Unless…they're just that strong.)
Leo looked up and quickly solved an equation. He could now see through the door. He could see what looked to be a large man sitting in a praying position. (The caster! That's really him! But…something is off. Why have him isolated? If I were them…I'd have someone come…BEHIND!) Leo spun around to see a green-goopy creature with a white cloak on standing behind him with a hand out. "You were supposed to sneak up on me, right? I'll give you a few seconds to walk away." Leo said as he turned his back to the jinn.
"Fool." The jinn laughed. Leo could feel the wind breaking behind him. Without looking, Leo did a backflip and landed behind the jinn.
The jinn tried to stab Leo through his stomach with his sharp claws. "Hmph! Sure do move…well for human." The jinn said, shaking its hand off. The jinn slammed its foot onto the floor, the entire room filled with green aura. The jinn slowly raised both its arms up and began laughing. "Time to see what he was talking about." The jinn said as it rushed towards Leo.
Leo simply blinked and caused the jinn to be pushed away. The jinn slammed its hand onto the metal floor and wiped its mouth. "You're gonna be fun!!" It laughed. Leo held out his arm and a kusarigama weapon appeared in his hand.
The jinn tilted its head. (I see. He isn't even wearing the mask, yet he can still use its abilities. Interesting. I wonder if…the mask gave him a formula to possibly utilize it's abilities while put away? No, there has to be more to it then that. Why not just have it on? Is it…that the mask is too much for him?) the jinn pulled out a long white sword and held it close to its muscular frame. (I'll find that weakness and exploit it.) the jinn thought.
Leo slowly walked towards the jinn and swung the chain. "Here I come." The jinn announced. The entire room lit up with purple energy. The jinn was now right behind Leo. (The hell?) Leo thought as he barley avoided the white sword. Leo ducked and tossed his weapon at the jinn's feet. And jinn jumped up and held its sword over its head. "Jinn attack: void strike!"
The jinn's sword disappeared. Leo jumped up, thinking he had dodged the attack. Leo was slashed on his left shoulder.
Without even a hint of pain in his eyes or reaction, Leo simply smirked at the wound. "What's so damn funny?" The jinn asked.
"You. You know what you're doing…will send you to hell." Leo said.
"I could care less about-"
"No. I'm saying…you decide to fight with me thinking you'll win? You'll be going straight to hell, jinn."
The jinn smirked and grabbed his sword tightly. "I'll be taking you with me, LEO!!!" The jinn laughed as his long sword almost reached Leo. Leo leaned back and held out his hand. This time, a long sword of his own appeared. "Sorry for what I'm about to do." Leo said in a calm voice.
"Do you know who I am?!" The jinn asked. "I AM BLUKIN!!! I HAVE YET TO LOSE A SINGLE-"
*****
Blukin opened his eyes and was behind held by a woman. "Come home, Calvin." She whispered.
******
Leo snapped his fingers, making his sword disappear. He looked back and watched Blukin's head slowly roll from his own body. "Rest easy, Blukin."
******
Astor thought he was sucked up into the tower, but quickly knew he was In the clear. (I don't have to worry about the citizens. We have her for that. I'll focus on trying to break the ritual that surrounds this tower. The tower itself looks to be normal on the outside and the inside from where I am. Everyone…they've been put into a weapon and a ritual. There's a caster in there. If I can just locate the weak point of the ritual…I'll be able to shatter it …possibly.) Astor crashed through the tower and landed in a small office. "Just as I figured. It really is a ritual in some sort of different dimension." Astor sighed. Astor put his hands together and created a small ball of heat. "You smell. You might as well…COME OUT!!!" Astor yelled, throwing the ball towards the windows on the opposite side of the room.
A massive creature from the shadows leaped out into the moonlit light. "What in the hell?!" Astor gasped, reaching for his sword quickly. (It's a fusion! This is a guardian for the ritual weak spot?!)
The creature was pale, almost completely white. With a long body, two massive black horns, yellow glowing eyes, and a muscular frame. (It's a jinn. I think…I understand what it is I'm looking at.)
Astor took a deep breath and dashed at the creature. "Flame attack: Universal Fire!" The entire area was set to flames. The creature ignored it and grabbed Astor from his head. "Let's talk this out big guy." Astor said, trying to stop the creature from crushing him. The he creature punched Astor and sent him flying out of the window. While falling from the tall tower, Astor used his flames and flew to the ground.
(It's a combination of jinns. Possibly 20. What jinn has the ability to combine others?! After doing research on the strange phenomenon that happened with the other town, we've never seen anything or heard of anything like this. It's someone's ability. But who?!)
Astor readied his sword, as the creature landed in front of him and let out a terrifying roar. (The weak spot is definitely inside of the tower. Possibly even on the floor I was just on. Damn…I should call reinforcements, but what will come of Leo and his jinn?)
Astor thought as he avoided the massive fist. While dodging, Astor swung his sword to slice the creature's arm off. The creature used its free arm and swiped Astor away. Astor balanced himself in the air and stood his body up straight. (Remember…to always give each day of living your all.) a woman's voice echoed inside of Astor's head. Astor looked up at the creature and smiled.
"Mother….Ive always loved by those words!" Astor said, his flames growing in size aground him. "This is going to be amazing!" Astor yelled out, making his body low to the ground. "Flame attack: Roaring fire…BURST!!"
Astor flew at the creature with incredible speed. The creature didn't even get to react or see him, its head was detached from its body in only an instant. "I win." Astor said calmly."
(That creature was only a medium-level…damn near a high. Now…it's time for me to find the weakness!)
******
Sasha was covered in cuts all over her body. She trembled as she fell to both her knees. "So damn…weak. How could someone like you even be happy to be alive, huh, Sasha?" Bella asked, circling Sasha in the dark and misty room.
"Sh-shut up." Sasha said in a low voice. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that." Bella chuckled. "Just…just close your eyes and think of the good times you had, okay?" Bella added.
(She's just trying to make me give up. She could've been killed me, but she's choosing to mess around with me.) Sasha thought. "Sasha, you're supposed to survive this night. Stand up and fight, okay? I love it when they fight me back." Bella said.
Sasha tightened her grip around her sword and smacked her teeth. Sasha raised her arm and swung the sword at Bella's neck. Bella used one hand to catch the sword. Bella smiled at Sasha. "Thank you." Bella sighed. Bella smacked Sasha across the room. Bella laughed and slowly walked towards the woman. Sasha gasped for air as she lifted her head. "It seems…that you've truly underestimated a human. Weren't you…a human once too?" Sasha asked.
Bella stood still and gave Sasha a disgusting look. "Who cares what I was! This…this is what the truth path to happiness is! Just look at it! Im strong! I can create my own destiny! I can-"
"It's not worth it when you're all alone in the afterlife. Besides, you've made a mistake leaving me here alone, Bella." Sasha said as a small piece of flesh crawled out of the darkness."
(What's this? Wait, that's-)
"Pretty sure you've figured it out. Let loose, creature." Sasha said. The ball of flesh emerged into a smaller version of creature. Sasha jumped into the shadows as creature began attacking Bella. (Nina isn't here. She's already mastered a good amount of the creature's abilities. Nina…is a key factor to finding out where Leo's daughter is behind held!) Sasha thought.
Creature landed two powerful blows to the jinn. Bella staggered back and into the wall. "Die!!" The creature roared. Bella moved her head just in time to avoid the killer punch. Sasha jumped from the shadows and managed to slice Bell'a left leg.
(What's going on?! Why? Why is it so strong?! Why is Sasha…NO! I'm a jinn! I'M A JINN!!! She and the creature are nothing compared to me!!)
"I REFUSE TO BE MADE A MOCKERY!!!" Bella yelled out, her jinn energy pushing Sasha and creature away.
Sasha hade to slam the sword into the ground to stop herself from behind blown away. Creature was hanging on for dear life as the door to the room opened to reveal a green portal. Creature roared as it used it claws and climbed back into the room.
"You're going to die tonight, Sasha!!" Bella laughed as she rushed her. Sasha jumped up immediately and ran at Bella.
(I don't know what it is…but I actually have the perfect technique and power to cut her down. Was this…was this from Leo?)
Sasha was able to keep up with Balla and her attacks, blocking and dodging at fast speeds. Sasha avoided a punch from Bella and brought down her sword across the chest of the jinn. Bella had regenerated fast and slapped Sasha off of her. Creature leaped at Bella, grabbing her and throwing her into a wall. Sasha grabbed Creature's hand. It threw her at Bella, breaking through the wall of the room. The two plummeted from the room.
Thousands of doors and millions of jinns surrounded the two as they fell. Bella grabbed Sasha's face and threw her out of the way. Sasha used her sword to stop her fall, slamming it into the metal wall. Sasha looked around to see nothing but jinns in every direction. (Where did she-)
A white line had just barley missed Sasha. Sasha immediately locked eyes with Bella, who was using the large crowd of jinns as cover.
(I don't know how or why…but I'm able to keep up with her. It's like…I was born or trained to attain this talent, when I really didn't. Leo's powers…are truly amazing.) Sasha thought, as she slid down the metal wall, the sparks from her sword lighting the area. Sasha lunged at Bella. Bella smirked and disappeared into the crowd of jinns that covered the walls. Sasha jabbed her sword into a big jinn, making a crater that blew all of the jinns off of her side of the wall.
Bella jumped out into the middle of the tower and clapped her hands together. "Jinn attack: Tornado slashing!" :
Hundreds of white lines appeared around what seemed the entire tower. The jinns, Bella, and Sasha were all still falling. (The lines….why is she killing off the jinns also? Does she not care? What can I do to get out of this? I'm going…I'm going to die-)
Just then, creature roared from above, diving down and catching Sasha. The winds from its speed pushed Bella and the jinns back. Bella focused on the creature and pointed at it. "This is going to finish you off! Now-"
A giant fist punched Bella down and past creature. Bella hit the bottom of the long fall, face first. Creature held out its arm, letting the hand reattach. The creature landed a few feet away from Bella. Get put Sasha down slowly. "Thank…you." Sasha sighed. The creature turned around and gave her a thumbs-up.
"You idiots don't know what your doing! If you just didn't mess with us, we could've been killed Leo before any of this happened!" Bella screamed. Bella lifted her head and could see her reflection from the metal floor. "My…MY FACE!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Bella screamed. Bella lifted her head up to face Sasha and the creature.
Bella was no longer the pretty woman, she was now…in Sasha's eyes, a monster.
Her hair was white, golden teeth, red skin, red eyes,long claws, and a frail body…almost skeletal.
"I've done so damn much…trying to look human again…why…why did you ruin my face?" Bella began to cry. Bella rolled around on the floor as if she was a child. Screaming, scratching at the floor, and banging her head on the floor. "All I ever tried to do…was make you proud…that's all that I ever wanted from you." Bella whispered to herself. Sasha and the beast slowly approached the jinn, their guards up.
(Win. Win at all cost. Kill them…kill them all! You're Bella…Bella from that wretched clan. Show them…who WE are!) a voice said inside of Bella's head.
Bella l bursted her eyes open, her jinn energy blew aggressive winds, almost knocking down the creature and Sasha. "I WILL….SLAUGHTER EVERY LAST HUMAN!!! DIE!!! JINN ATTACK: INVISIBLE LINES!!!"
Sasha turned to face the creature. (What does this mean exactly?!) she thought. Just then, Sasha could see the creature's arm being severed right in front of her. (The lines! They're invisible!)
Sasha quickly tackled the creature to the floor and braced herself. "Foolish woman!" The creature yelled out. It used its jinn energy to reflect the invisible slashes. "I didn't know you could do that!" Sasha said.
"Of course you didn't. You're new to this stuff!" The creature spat out in its deep voice. The two looked at Bella, who put her hands together. "Jinn attack: Apex Cleave!"
A massive white line headed towards the two. In an instant, Sasha was way up near the very top of the massive tower, looking down at Bella and the army of jinns flooding the metal walls. "That cut…will erase us from existence itself, woman. Do not get hit!" The creature warned.
(I see. That's why it moved so fast. I understand.)
"Creature…we need to come up with a plan-"
"Don't you dare say it, woman. You haven't realized it, but the jinn is only NoW trying to kill us. We need to retreat…NOW!" The creature roared.
Bella teleported in front of the two. "Gotcha." Bella whispered, punching Shasha in the face and making her fall through multiple walls of the tower.
Creature pulled his left arm back, preparing to punch Bella, but she was too fast and small. She wrapped her arms and legs around it's arms and smiled. "Jinn attack: porcupine skin." The creature yelled in pain as it tried to shake Bella off. The two crashed from the long fall. The creature rolled over and on top of Bella. "You…die!" It roared. Bella quickly slipped between its legs and swung her long nails towards the creature's neck. (She's too fast. This is it. This body will die here!) the creature thought. But before Bella could cut its head, Sasha came jumping in and slashing Bella's hand off before she touched the creature.
Bella quickly regenerated her hand and pointed at Sasha, who had spun around to face the jinn. "Jinn attack: Air needles!"
The air around Sasha turned into pointy ends. All of them launched at Sasha. Sasha covered her body using her arms, preparing for the worst. However, a large body leaped in front of her, tanking the slashes. "Creature!" Sasha gasped. "Ignore it! Press on, woman!" The creature roared.
Sasha pushed past the creature and jumped at Bella. Bella leaned back to avoid Sasha's long sword. Bella flipped and kicked Sasha across the tight space. Creature again reappeared in front of Sasha. It pulled its arm back again, trying to punch the jinn. Bella crouched down and leaned swiftly to the right. She landed a powerful punch onto the creature's stomach. The creature took the hit and hugged Bella tightly in its arms.
"Jinn attack-"
"I'm sick of hearing that!" Sasha yelled from behind Bella.
(When did she get behind me?!) Bella thought. In a swift and clean cut, Sasha managed to slice Bella's head clean off.
******
Duce and Echo ran higher and higher, clearing each and every door on the floor they ended up on. Each door had more than 100 jinns inside of them.
As of now…the two were running down a very long hallway. "Surprised you're keeping up, old man. A normal human such as yourself usually gives out by now. Just…what in the hell fo you eat?" Duce asked.
"I was a marine." Echo said quietly. It was like everything had turned white, only Duce and Echo were around…nothing else. "I…I see." Duce said, slowly turning his head and focusing ahead.
"Old man…let me ask you something."
"Yeah, kid?"
"You fought in wars? Saw people die?"
"Of course I did. I…saw a lot of things while serving my little five years."
"I see. How do you…coupe with it?"
Echo side eyed Duce. "Coupe with it? What makes you ask me such a question?" Echo asked.
"It's just…recently I lost me best friend. I lost both my parents when I was younger…and I have a hard time not being angry.." Duce planted his feet and stopped running. Echo stopped a few steps behind him. "Me having Jinn energy…it's all mostly from the fact I'm so damn angry. Angry and always trying to figure out how to get over all of it." Duce admitted. Duce balled his fist and smacked his teeth. "It truly…sucks to be alone."
Echo closed his eyes. He remembered his mothers voice in the back of his mind. "Few years back, while I was serving…I lost my mother to lung cancer. I took my anger and rage out of the battlefield. It helped but…I wish I would've went about it better."
"So you're saying-"
"What I'm saying…is to not let your anger control you. Everyone loses someone dear to them…no matter if you're human or not. It takes time, but that feeling of anger and sadness…will never truly leave you, kid. I've managed to cope by drinking and smoking my life away." Echo sighed. Echo put his hand on Duce's shoulder and turned him around. "But you're different. Cope with it by talking to others and truly expressing yourself. You have a mentor who seems to be like a father to you. Live every moment for your friend…and for your parents. Don't think much on the bad. Think about all of the good that's around you to make up for the bad that's happened. Do not let your anger and feelings control your destiny. You've gotta live for them, Duce."
Duce closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Thanks a lot…old man. But…if we manage to make it out of this, I'd like to offer you a job and I want you to not drown yourself in drinking and smoking, okay? You idiot." Duce said with a crack in his voice.
*****
End of this section of story
In the next chapter: All or nothing
Coming In 7 days