Two days had passed since Krampus achieved his full strength. Heroes pummeled him relentlessly, yet he remained strong. His movements would rock and rumble the floating castle, but he was hardly stumbled at any point. Chaz Hamilton stood in the shadows, with his back to the wall, no color in his face, and a trembling hand typing furiously into his note keeper.
Starmaster slammed into the back wall and slid down, crashing to the ground in a heap. He caught his breath and wiped some blood from the side of his face. For a moment he wondered who’s blood this was, his or another hero near him.
Chaz rushed over, “Are you hurt?”
“Obviously. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I have special permission, The Wizard zapped me here. I...watch out!”
“YAH!” Another hero careened into the same wall, just a few feet away.
Starmaster crawled over and helped the woman sit up. “Krystal... Krystal, you okay?”
Krystal Fae sat there, dazed for a moment. “Oh, that came out of nowhere.”
“Can you stand?” Chaz asked.
“Sure, if you would find me my legs first.” She leaned back against the wall. “Chaz, get to a safer place.”
“I’ll try.” He ran toward a dark corner of the arena.
Krystal looked up at Starmaster. “This battle… it feels like the Jinn battle all over.”
“I agree. He’s so strong. I sense a power in him I haven’t ever before.”
Krystal pushed herself up, still leaning on the wall. “It’s his talisman. Once he got that back, he doubled his strength.”
“If we could find it, we could curtail his strength. Bring him down.”
Krystal shook her head, “we can’t find it. It’s a part of him now. He didn’t absorb it, but it’s like he’s wearing it. And, I wouldn’t venture a guess on how to target it alone. No, our only option right now is to pour our strength out at him and hope we are powerful enough.”
Starmaster smiled, “then, I suppose we get back to it.”
Krystal nodded and then both flashed as they teleported back into the thick of the combat.
Krampus grabbed a flying hero and slammed her into the ground. He went to step on her when Hotwings flew by, grabbed a horn on his head and yanked him back. As Krampus reached up to snatch the hero, Midgardsormr punched Krampus directly in the throat.
“FOOL!” Krampus screamed and grabbed Midgard by his throat.
For the first time in any battle, Midgardsormr was the one struggling. He attempted to pry the fingers loose from around his neck, but could not. Krampus lifted Midgard and then slammed his body into the ground, crushing several heroes in the process.
A small team of flying heroes zoomed by, attempting to hit Krampus in the face with weapons fire, but he used the body of Midgard to swat them away. With this throw, he pitched Midgard into the left wall of the stadium, rocking the building to one side.
Krampus laughed and went after Midgard again, gleefully ready to use him as a living weapon. Just then a strange series of symbols appeared in the air around him and his body froze in place. A team of arcane heroes were casting a spell of binding, holding his magic down. This left an opening for the other heroes to attack him.
Energy and weapons scattered across his massive body. Several heroes got dangerously close and punched, kicked, and otherwise battered him. The Closer was launched into the air by help from another hero, and he came down hard on Krampus’s skull with a well-placed punch by his mechanical arm.
“YAH!” Krampus thrust his hands out and the magical binding dissolved. He then used both enormous hands to pound the surface of the arena and cause a huge Earthquake that rattled the heroes. “How dare you think your pathetic magic can stop me! I AM MADE OF MAGIC!”
Then came a scream followed by a brilliant orange light. The sound stopped Krampus, and he turned to see where it came from.
“My lady?”
A red, orange, and white energy cloud was pulled from Lady Phoenix as she screamed. Instantly, this changed the form of the person back into Chase. She writhed and cried in agony as the energy grew further away, yet it was still attached to her, stretched from her by a thin glow that remained connected. The heroes watched this in both awe and horror. The heat growing from this sent many heroes scrambling away. Then the entire castle shook and rumbled. Seams where the metal met to form walls and floors separated. What held this place together was losing all strength. Large sections crashed into the ocean. Still, the power would not leave Chase’s body.
Krampus first reached for her, but then he too lurched and gagged as his body emitted a strange green aura.
Krystal cast a spell and her voice boomed over the din, “HE’S WEAKENING! ATTACK HIM, NOW!”
Midgard came up behind Krampus and grabbed him by his horns, yanking him back hard. He nailed Krampus in the spin with a fist, and they could hear a distinct cracking sound. Zen raced across the ground and hit Krampus in the shin by burying his bladed flippers in flesh. He used this to climb up, stabbing over and over. When he got to a knee, he stopped and then sliced, stabbed, and tore, bringing the enormous behemoth down kneeling. Starmaster opened up his arms and dozens of non-flight heroes appeared over Krampus and rained down on him, punching and slamming him.
Hero after hero attacked. The energy pouring across Krampus now lit up the arena so that from the ruins of Hallows Port to the city of New York, a light brighter than the sun itself shone.
Krampus screamed, “MY LADY, HELP ME!”
No one was certain exactly what happened next. A blinding explosion bisected the castle and sent a wave of immeasurable energy out. Heroes and debris showered across the ocean waters. News media and military aircraft were tossed away and the ensuing waves almost capsized several Navy battleships.
Chromatic Death hit the waters with a hard splash and then felt two hands grab him by the armpits and drag him away. Had he not been saved by this random other hero, that massive section of the old League Wars arena would have crushed him. In any case, it crashed into the ocean waters and sent him and his rescuer even further away.
“Who...” he tried to seek his savior, but water kept filling his mouth.
Skelanimal, kneeling on a shard of floating debris, said, “you okay?”
“YOU! Ah, damn!” Chromatic realized who had rescued him.
“You’re welcome, jerk.”
Chromatic splashed around for a moment, “MY BABY!”
“Baby?”
“My guitar!”
“Oh, that sunk. I couldn’t grab it and you.”
Chromatic nearly cried, “lost at sea… bummer.”
“What the hell is that?” Skelanimal pointed up.
Chromatic looked and saw a ball of spiraling flames growing in size where the castle once was. “I dunno, but I don’t like the looks of it.”
***
Santa rounded a corner and ran with all his strength through the station. Nova, Gar, and Quark were right behind him.
“This guy moves fast for his size.” Quark stated.
Nova replied, “he visits millions in one night, trust me, he’s fast.”
They all came to a skidding stop in the Arboretum's doorway. Santa gasped at the sight of the Mythics floating in the air. A beam of energy connected all of them. Each was in a frozen state of terror, as if time had stopped just as they were on the brink of death.
EB rushed up to Santa, having already been there. “It’s bad, really bad.”
Nova asked, “what’s going on?”
Santa slowly walked in. “I can feel her. She’s connected to them. Pulling the life out of them.” He approached the others and held a hand out, intersecting the energy connecting them. He tensed up and cried out, “it’s her! Oh, god, it’s her!”
“Lady Phoenix?” Quark rushed up.
“No… Chase… she is suffering. What have I done! My magic, it’s causing this! They can’t draw out Lady Phoenix, the magic is in her soul. Oh, god, the pain... the suffering... make it stop!”
“Let go!” Nova yelled.
“I can’t!”
Quark clapped his hands together and then thrust them forward. Santa vanished from where he stood and reappeared next to them.
Sitting on the ground, he gathered his breath. “Thanks. Any longer, and I would be like the others.”
Quark used this again to remove Quetzalcoatl, but it threw him back by the repercussion. “Ow, that didn’t work. They’re too deep. I can’t touch them.”
Nova asked, “what do we do?”
Santa looked up, “the power...it’s so chaotic. She is stronger than before, yet unable to control the power. If we don’t stop her now, it will erupt and take this entire planet with it.”
“Then we stop her.” Gar said.
“Easier said than done. She still is filled with rage and evil, she will resist any attempt.” Santa got up by help from Gar’s stone hand. “But, I have a plan. Nova, call back the remaining heroes. Tell them to regroup, their task is not finished.”
“Okay, and what will you do?”
“Prepare my final gift.”
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