The Price of Redemption (Part 2).

"M-mom?" Sean shivered. The boy rushed to Elena, not paying attention to anyone else. A burning blue blade in a woman's chest, her closed eyes, incomprehensible luminous patterns on the skin, like scorched scars, the pattern of which looked like ancient letters. She lay motionless on the ground, as if life had frozen in her body or had left her altogether.

She must be in pain? Sean wanted to pull this blade out, extinguish the cold fire that seemed to melt his mother's skin from the inside. If only he had appeared here a little earlier! The boy looked away and stared at the unfamiliar man.

Rage and hatred began to fill the child's consciousness, gradually erasing everything around.

Marcus did not notice what was happening next to him. He saw only the pale face of his daughter, which was losing its healthy color more and more. Her heart was motionless, as if it did not exist in her chest. There was no blood either.

The blue stone in the hilt of the blade shimmered as if imitating the heartbeats. It looked like a small bundle of energy, stuck between life and death, not knowing where to go to. Marcus had no idea what to do with it.

The wisest thing to do was to pull the knife out of the woman's chest, but Marcus won't be able to heal a wound like this. The man put his palms on Elena's chest and directed as much energy as he could into the woman's body.

Marcus heard a faint heartbeat in his daughter's chest. The jewel in the blade flashed, and all the energy dissipated as if it were being sucked into a black hole. The heartbeats stopped.

The man sent more energy in. He didn't care that this energy was needed for something else. Even if it was necessary to take hundreds of lives to save his daughter, he was ready to do it. What's the point in saving the world if you can't protect what's most important?

"M..us!"

"Marcus, damn it!" Armand's furious shout brought the man back to reality. Marcus looked up and saw his brother. "Stop him!"

Marcus was taken aback for a moment. What was Armand doing here? Behind a wall of sand and stones, Taubert could see Polina's face. Her cheek and temple were covered in blood. The girl bent over David, a green glow was burning under her palms. Armand covered Polina and Elena's husband with his body from stones flying in them.

What the hell? Marcus turned around. Behind him was the shape of a little boy, engulfed in white flames. Air whirlwinds were flying off him in different directions, taking with them stones and everything that was around. The air sparkled with lightning bolts.

Sean's rage and power were directed at Zed. Flares of fire, like ball lightning, fought with all their might against the protection of the ancient king. He did not attack, but did not give an opportunity to break through to himself.

Darkness billowed like a black cloud at Zed's feet, spreading across the ground. The spirit grabbed onto it with one hand, holding it in place like a chained dog about to charge, and with the other hand blocking Sean's punches.

On Zed's chest, in the area of ​​his heart, a black stain like blood spread. The vessels on the body were the same black mesh. The darkness flowing through them seeped through the skin, merging into shapeless balls of energy, eager to attack the enemy.

It hissed and grinned like a hungry beast that had been tethered for thousands of years. The more of this substance appeared, the weaker Zed's defenses were, and he pulled this darkness back in, resisting Sean's growing power.

Marcus felt the boy's growing strength throughout his body. Sean did not take his eyes off Zed, his flashes of fire crashed against an invisible obstacle of the enemy and flowed down to the ground in bright lava, leaving burnt spots of soot on the surface. He didn't even need to move. The elements themselves swirled around the child, expanding their zone of influence like a tornado, in the epicenter of which was Sean.

The earth trembled, a low, drawn-out rumble was heard, as if the planet's crust felt the influence of an unknown force and answered with a heavy groan.

"Marcus, stop him, or we all will have serious troubles!" Armand was immortal, but not omnipotent. He could protect Polina and David with his body, but he could not save them from the angry elements.

To stop him? Whom? Marcus understood that his brother meant Sean. The child's power became uncontrollable, but it was also directed at the one who deserved death.

Taubert turned his gaze to his daughter, his lips curved into a predatory grin. Stop, you say? He will do this with pleasure.

Marcus vanished into thin air, and the next second was next to Zed. Taubert's fist slammed hard into the ghost's head. The king flew to the side, barely managing to dodge another blow from Sean.

One of the fireballs slid tangentially over Marcus's arm, leaving instantly charred skin. Taubert didn't care. He was seething with such rage that he was ready to tear Zed apart with his bare hands, without using his powers. Which he was going to do.

A second, and the new swing almost reached the opponent's face, Zed dodged at the last moment.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Zed cursed, increasing the distance.

"Ha, somehow our almighty ancient king looks bad. Maybe it's time to rest in piece finally?" Marcus quipped, but inside he was surprised. The creature in front of him was different from what Zed had been ten minutes before, before he stabbed the knife into Elena's heart.

Now this ghost looked more like a person. The face was tense, blue eyes were watching the surrounding situation with full attention. And only the black stripes of the vessels, showing through the skin, betrayed another creature in him.

And also a large stain on his chest, spreading like blood from a wounded heart. Elena should have had this, but she didn't.

Well, that's even better.

Marcus waited until Zed was distracted by Sean, moved behind the opponent's back, grabbed his neck and heard the first crunch of the spinal cord. The king twisted around, holding the shield against Sean with one hand, and with the other striking back at Marcus in the stomach.

"We played a bit and that's enough," hissed Marcus. His fiery whip grabbed his opponent's wrists, wrapped around Zed's neck and pulled him to the ground. The last blow remained and it will be done with him.

"Marcus, stop!" Zed snapped.

He pulled his hands, ripping the scalding whip, but it was too late. The darkness that he had been holding all this time broke and rushed towards Sean.

Ziusudra moved forward, grabbing at shreds of seething energy, but it pushed its former master away like an angry dog, and enveloped Sean's firestorm in its black shroud.

"W-what did you do?!" Marcus whispered in horror and rushed to Sean. Mist, like a sticky liquid, wrapped around the child's body and began to penetrate the boy.

Zed pushed Taubert aside, preventing him from touching Sean. "What did YOU do?! The connection is broken now, the darkness no longer obeys me! For ordinary people it is deadly, even for you it is instant death!"

"So take it back and I'll kill you along with it!" growled Marcus, "Wasn't killing my daughter enough?"

Zed chuckled, "Who else killed who," he knelt down next to Sean. The boy was lying on the ground with rolled eyes. Blackness gradually filled the iris.

Zed held his hand over the child's body, "So you are going to join your master, rot? I won't give this boy to you. Go away!"

The darkness hissed over Sean's chest and began to rise upward, forming black fangs.

"You are just a pathetic and worthless piece of your master. As worthless as himself!"

At Zed's last words, a huge black shadow threw itself at the king, biting its teeth into his hand. Its fangs pierced the skin and began to penetrate, spilling poison through the veins.

"Your bites are so weak. The fire dogs of Taaren will be much stronger." The provocation worked, and the black shadow hungrily threw itself around Ziusudra's arm.

Marcus waited as its nasty tentacles unhooked from Sean, and immediately grabbed the boy. Sean opened his eyes, sobbed, and then burst into tears, clinging to the man's shirt and resting his nose on his chest.

Taubert could not tell him that everything would be okay and that he would calm down. He could only hold the child close to him, letting him cry bitterly.

"Marcus Taubert, do you still want to change fate?" Zed asked. Remnants of darkness swirled at his feet as the main part slowly filled his body. Black veins rose up the chest, passing to the cheekbones and filling the eyes with darkness.

"I advise you to hurry up with your answer," Zed breathed heavily and winced as darkness entered his ears and nose, "Because as soon as this creature fills my body, your daughter and everyone else will definitely die."

The blue eyes of the ancient king again turned into two black abysses, and the face became a mask without a single emotion.

Marcus saw the creature's smile turned towards him. The creepiest smile ever.