"It won't be long now..... unfortunate...."
"Shut up Rhaast." Kayn, The Shadow Reaper
You didn't get a chapter the day before because I was trying to make this chapter fun and it is difficult to write a 2v1v1. And with me trying to explain it like turn based combat it is hard to write a lot and have it make sense, since it ends up feeling like a documentary/ recounting than an actual battle.
Enjoy! Leave comments and stones!
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Gregori flew out back first.
The ground, unearthed, rained down as Gregori floated in the air.
"That's the Void alright."
Gregori followed Caalyx's eye onto Viktor, who pushed out of Tybaulk's closed jaws, the incorporeal state of which offered the opportunity for escape. "More metallic than purple."
"I guess things change with time." Caalyx answered, "There always used to be metallic hues but never this much..."
"DIE!" Styraatu flew out of the hole.
BWENGGGG
Gregori raised his shield just as the slashes hit.
THE CHILDREN HAVE ESCAPED ALREADY!
Tybaulk's words echoed out to Gregori as it spotted his transformed state.
"Look at that Styraatu." Gregori spoke as he pointed to Viktor, "Do you think I'm lying now?"
Three of her eyes spun around to where he pointed and they froze. Slowly the other eyes also turned toward Viktor.
"The enemy....." Styraatu whispered.
Taking the opportunity, Gregori pushed further, "Now..... are you willing to focus on the Void or continue to try and kill me instead." He flew closer to Tybaulk, "Or are you even sane enough to recognize the reason you have this form?" He watched as her torso turned around and she raised her harp.
"It seems you have enough honor in you to recognize the true enemy." Caalyx muttered.
"What manner of creatures are you?" Viktor spoke, calmly assessing the newcomers to the battlefield.
BWENGGGG
Slashes flew toward Viktor.
He couldn't see the slashes fly at him but he could recognize the magic in them. He waved his arms as whatever puppets he had left flew into the sky blocking the attack. The claw on his back instantly spun about and began to glow.
BZZZZZ PHEEWWWWWWWW
A burst of magic erupted from it crashing into Styraatu. But it did nothing as it just passed through the floating eyes.
BOOM
It exploded behind them.
Meanwhile, Gregori spun around looking for his children. It barely took him a second to find them begin to emerge from the metal casing they were inside.
"I'll be right back." He informed Tybaulk.
And then he disappeared.
-x-
"Did we come out far enough?" Rell groaned, unable to stay standing as Daani slid her hand over his shoulders.
"Yes." Annie answered, "He is here."
"He brought a friend?" Daisy asked as she peeked out of the deformed shell around them.
Groaning from the impact, Sydell shook his head, "No. That is an enemy. Its been attacking him all the way from the ground."
Mel turned her head as the curiosity of the man who had her mother bow down to save her was too much to bear.
"Th.....That's your father?" She sputtered out as she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The titanic figure that floated in the sky, bones jutting out, blue flames burning in the horns and..... were those wings?
"Are those eyes on the spear and shield?!" Vi spat out in shock.
"You gloss over the one with floating eyes?" Faye turned around and asked as Styraatu attacked Viktor.
Jayce looked at the battlefield in despair, "Your father is a monster?"
"Temporarily." Sydell answered.
And then the titan disappeared from vision.
BOOM
The delayed sonic boom erupted as Gregori appeared above them.
"What part of stay put and stay out of trouble did you not understand?" His voice thundered.
Annie looked at her father, "The circumstances were out of our control."
"Out of your control?!" Gregori felt his anger rise.
"Yeah." Annie answered without fear, their father wouldn't do anything, even when angry, "Briar tried to save Isha." She pointed to the cowering girl, "And then their father returned from the grave as a monster and started killing everyone."
Gregori looked at the two siblings, Vi clutching her sister in her embrace while staring up at Gregori with defiance.
"Then we tried to help heal him so they would have a father too." Annie continued. She pointed to Viktor in the sky, "He offered to and that's how we got here."
"And you didn't think that it seemed too good to be true?" He asked.
"How would they know idiot?" Caalyx spoke up, "They'd do the same for you."
"Hi uncle Caalyx." Annie said.
"Hi Annie." Caalyx's eye spun around the group, "Hi kids."
"Hi uncle Caalyx." The rest of the kids replied.
"They knew that Hextech was connected to the Voidand a man wielding the full might of that would obviously be corrupted." Gregori grumbled.
Caalyx rolled his singular eye, "Again... they did it to help fix a family. They would do it for you too. But that wouldn't happen since you got me."
"You are the cause of everything happening right now." Gregori shot back.
"Who got to the new one before you?" Daisy asked as she leaned back against the metal, fully relaxed now that her father was here.
BWENGGG
Gregori turned to see Styraatu send another wave of slashes at Viktor, "That spy girl. Maddie. She overheard my search for the weapon and made a deal with that demon to find it first."
"Maddie is that monster?" Caitlin asked in shock and awe.
"The body? Yes. But is she alive? No." Briar replied, "The weapon has full control now."
"And that means I need you to leave this place and move any living creature away from here." Gregori spoke, "Tybaulk and I will beat the two of them. As long as that one-," He gestured toward Styraatu, "-doesn't get any blood this is finished."
"TRAITOR ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY?!" Styraatu's voice echoed as one of her eyes spun to look at him.
"Man they really hate you huh uncle Caalyx." Daisy muttered.
"They cannot fathom my immense presence." Caalyx replied sadly, "You hate what you don't understaaaaaaa-"
Caalyx disappeared into the distance as Gregori threw him at Viktor.
A burst of flames erupted from his back and horns. The next instance, he was gone.
The sonic boom that followed knocked everyone to the ground leaving their ears ringing.
-x-
Viktor glanced up barely to spot the spear heading for his head. His magic rippled off him as he sharply pivoted to the right, narrowly dodging the spear.
"Stop its movement!" Gregori ordered as he flew past Styraatu.
BWENNGGGG
Gregori's body halted mid air as he held his shield out in front of him.
"Fuck."
He watched as Viktor was frozen too but his claw was aimed at him.
"ALL OF YOU MUST DIE!" Styraatu's voice echoed from behind.
BWENGGG
The melody continued to play as Viktor's claw charged up for another attack.
BZZZZ PHW-
The claw was knocked out of position by Gregori's returning spear as the laser flew past them
HEEEWWW
BOOOOM
Then his movement returned as Tybaulk swatted Styraatu out of the sky, the torso slamming into the ground. Her magic completely ineffective against his body that did not hold form.
He threw the shield at Viktor and then flew around him to attack from behind.
Viktor noticed his movement return and summoned all the puppets to his location before flying to the side and dodging the shield. "Your appearance and your magic are both unnecessary for this world." He announced as he swung his arms out wide.
BWEEEENG
A wave of slashes flew out from the ground where Styraatu slammed into, all aimed at Gregori and Viktor.
Tybaulk's giant body leapt off the ground and slammed into the tower of puppets forming to get to Viktor.
NO PUPPETSNOW!
His voice echoed gleefully across the battlefield.
Gregori grabbed the shield that Viktor dodged and blocked the slashes flying at him the force of which stopped him in his tracks preventing him from reaching Viktor.
Avoiding the slashes were easy for Viktor due to his smaller size, he spun around and raised his arms to the sky. The arcane halo behind him shimmered for a moment before glowing brightly as an orb of arcane energy formed above him.
Looking at the orb, instinctually, Gregori knew that he needed to avoid the next attack. His body wouldn't be able to return to normal if he got hit by that.
"Styraatu!" He yelled as his magic began to rush out of him. In the same moment, he placed the shield in between him and the orb.
BWENGGGG
Styraatu played her melody once again stopping both Gregori and Viktor from moving. She noticed the attack coming and why stop it when it would eliminate or at least gravely wound Gregori and judging by the attack..... Viktor would be unable to repeat it for a while giving her enough time to kill him.
BURN!
A tornado of flames erupted from the ground, engulfing the skies and the orb as it kept on charging.
Viktor's body began to deform from the heat but it was too late.
BZZZ
BZZZ
BZZZZ
Bolts of pure magic erupted from the orb striking all three.
Gregori braced as the shield blocked the almost lighting like strike, it sent him flying. Steam rose from his arms as another bolt raced toward him.
The orb needed to be stopped.
Otherwise it would be too late.
And with a thought his spear was pulled toward it.
Styraatu slammed back into the ground with a shriek as the harp fell from her hand.
On the other hand, Tybaulk tanked the attack, not believing that it could manage to harm him. But he was wrong.
Wherever the bolts landed, it left behind a zone where the magic itself was corrupted. Not a permanent one but a temporary one.
But in that moment, it was dangerous.
The frequency of the bolts from the orb started to increase like it was getting warmed up.
The three facing the attacks tried moving around in desperation, trying to dodge the continuous barrage.
"You were interesting." Viktor spoke, "But you have failed to hold my attention. Succumb to me. Accept salvation."
"How about no."
Viktor looked down at the source of the voice as a spear flew at his head. He leaned back, the spear missing by a hair. But the claw of his was not as lucky as the spear ripped through it continuing in its path right toward the orb.
BLINK
The spear met the orb.
The entire battlefield went silent.
BOOOOOOM
The orb exploded in a burst of light as a wave of corrupted magic burst out, the sheer force of which slammed into Viktor.
THUD
His body was embedded into the ground.
"I think its about time we...." Gregori began as he pulled his shield back, preparing for a punch.
ENDED THIS!
Tybaulk lunged at Styraatu ripped the arms off her body and threw her into the air. Her body struggled to reform itself as a consequence of both the bolts from the orb and the duration of the fight. The eyes spun around trying to figure out a way to survive but without her arms she was useless.
"NO!" She screamed, "NOOOOO-"
The scream was cut short as Gregori's spear flew into her torso and pinned her to the wall.
CRACK
THUD
His attention shifted as he spotted Viktor push himself to his feet, his body reforming and healing.
MELT!
Tybaulk roared, unleashing a burst of flames that rained onto Viktor. Viktor could do nothing but face the flames, he raised a hand upward but it began to melt almost instantly from the fierce heat. The very ground began to first expand and then crumble away.
The flames continued as Viktor melted away, leaving just his torso in a puddle of molten metal.
But the nature of the Void.... it wouldn't go away that easily.
Viktor's body tried to reform once more.
BANG
Gregori's shield slammed into his head, pushing all the way through and into the molten metal that slowly began to harden.
BANG
The earth shook with each impact. The tonnes of force from a being of that size beating something a fraction of its own size.
He pulled his hand back and slammed the shield once more, as he watched the metal wriggle.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
His body moved like a machine, not giving the Voidany time to reform or even try to move.
He stopped once he noticed the metal began to lose its shape and just become an unmoving metal structure.
Pulling back, he looked over at the puppets scattered around the battlefield and watched as they began to dissolve into puddles themselves.
"Burn all of this once more." Gregori said as he began walking away, "Just to be safe."
MY PLEASURE!
Every single puppet as well as the true body was then torched until there was nothing remaining.
"You are one annoying Darkin." Gregori said as he stood in front of Styraatu, whose body had begun to disperse. The harp floating beside her started to wobble.
"T...Traitor...." She said as the body dissipated, the harp clattering to the ground. Completely dull from the lack of blood and losing the size it boasted throughout the fight.
Gregori let go of his transformation, collapsing to the ground from the strain. But summoning the smallest amount of magic he could manage he summoned his backpack from the hole it was in.
After a while of waiting the backpack returned to him, torn and tattered but barely holding onto its contents.
With trembling hands, he pulled out the runic wrappings and completely wrapped the harp, covering even the strings.
After which he leaned against the nearby wall and inspected his body.
The effects had spread. The price of the transformation.
His body hadn't transformed back fully.
His arms were in between him normal state and his transformed state. His legs were also in a similar state.
"A full transformation took a lot more out of you than I could have imagined." Caalyx said from beside him.
"Blame the way we took out your brother." Gregori muttered.
Caalyx's voice grew heavier, "The next transformation.... it will be your last."
Gregori looked at the distance as his children ran toward him. Tibbers might have told Annie. He looked at the expression of concern on their faces and a small smile broke through, the original anger at them fading away, "I know."