...This is Chaz Hamilton.
Oh, my sweet lord,I’m so sorry. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t believe it. I know… That’s…
<pull it together, Chaz! You have a job to do.>
Moments ago, I witnessed the mighty heroes who managed to bring Krampus to his knees. Winter’s Knight, Highlander, Apollyon 666, and Major William delivered the final blows that fell the villain.
Moments ago, Krampus finally dropped to the floor of the reformed B.A.D.G.E. League Wars Arena, overcome by over thirty hours of constant battle.
Moments ago, I found myself wishing there had to have been a different way.
Just before everything ended, I had made my way into the arena to get a first-hand report on the scene. The heroes circled around Krampus. Some in the air above the mangy beast-man. Some running like freight trains around his feet. Others blinking in-and-out of thin air. Everyone of them was doing their part to end the threat to the world from this ancient, legendary nightmare.
Their combined heroics were inspiring. Leagues who fought tooth and nail against one another in League War competitions standing side-by-side with their rivals, working together as a cohesive force for good. It was a tough fight. I could see the weariness in many of their eyes. Their blood ran down their faces and out from their snazzy uniforms from wounds that Krampus inflicted.
The ground had become a slurry of that red, but our heroes could take solace from the knowledge that most of it was Krampus’s. Having made himself massive once more, he had far more to spill that any of the heroes on the field.
I’d been ordered to take cover by a group of heroes, as Krampus efforts had become akin to fighting a trapped beast. I heard an explosion of flames erupt from the far side of the arena. The corner where Lady Phoenix had laid in wait.
Krampus called out to her for aid, a plaintiff wail of frustration and rage. A green light shone from his body, radiating outward over the ocean.
And then an explosion broke out from the being once known as Krampus. No. Not an explosion. An apocalypse. A destructive force the likes the world has rarely felt. Everything flared into a light as bright as that of a thousand suns.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself deposited on the coastal shores of the destroyed Hallows Port. One of the heroes must have teleported me away from the impact zone.
My eyes took what seemed hours to recover from the immense light, but it could only have been a few scant seconds. The few seconds it took for the pressure wave from the explosion on the arena platform to reach the mainland. It knocked me off my feet.
And that is where I am now. Sitting on the rocky shore, looking out at decimation. Bodies of hero’s bob in the water between me and the still raging fires of what used to be Lady Phoenix’s strange castle.
I don’t know who is dead or who is alive. Some have survived, as I can see them in their battle-ravaged costumes as they attempt to rescue their fallen comrades. Helicopters that once searched over the ruins of Hallows Port have now turned their searchlights over the Atlantic. Coast Guard cruisers are surveying the water, collecting survivors and… and… the remains of those who didn’t make it.
Say a prayer, people of the world. I may have asked for such before as I spun my story of what was occurring on that dark arena. Now I plead with you. Pray. Offer hope and well-wishes for these brave warriors. I fear that we will soon need them again if Lady Phoenix survived that blast.