Chapter 98

[Third Person's PoV] 

Lucian's danger sense rang in his head, but as he was about to deal the finishing blow, a protective barrier of magical power surrounded her.

A green aura of her magic then quickly expelled, pushing Lucian back with great force.

As Lucian was sent flying back, he did a flip, landing on the wall before he pushed himself towards Baba Yaga, swinging his scythe.

Baba Yaga's hands gained a bright green hue as she conjured another shield with her power. She directed Lucian's attack, moving him away from her and back towards Thalia.

Seeing this, Thalia's shock subsided as she withdrew her spear and shield. Looking at the shield, Baba Yaga felt a shiver run down her spine but quickly composed herself.

The shack then started to shake as Baba Yaga let out a witch-like laugh, "Hehehehehe, the more you struggle, the tastier you'll be! So struggle, struggle all you can, little children."

Lucian and Thalia then looked at each other and nodded their heads. Thalia ran towards Baba Yaga while Lucian ran the opposite way, causing them both to stop and point at each other angrily.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!" they both shouted.

"WHERE AM I GOING? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" they both shouted again, pointing at themselves before pointing at each other once more.

"OBVIOUSLY TO FIGHT THE WITCH!" Thalia yelled.

Lucian looked at her like she was stupid. "WHY THE FUCK YOU FIGHT HER HERE? THIS IS HER HOME, SHE HAS THE ADVANTAGE HERE! DIDN'T YOU JUST FEEL THE HOUSE SHAKE, YOU DUMBASS? LET'S FIGHT HER OUTSIDE WHERE WE HAVE MORE SPACE!"

Baba Yaga looked at them with a straight face, unable to believe they were having such an argument in front of her.

She let out a sigh, "What was I expecting honestly? They're only children after all." Baba Yaga raised both her hands as they glowed with power and sent a bolt of green magical energy towards them.

Lucian twirled his scythe, blocking the attack, while Thalia let it hit her spear blade and directed it towards the ground.

She surrounded herself in lightning and ran where Lucian was going since she realized Lucian made sense earlier.

Lucian disappeared into his shadow and appeared outside, next to Thalia.

"I just want to say that I went to fight her since I thought that's what you would have done."

"Fair," Lucian said, acknowledging it was indeed something he would have done.

The shack continued to shake as it started to rise off the ground. As it continued to rise higher and higher, Thalia gained a confused look. "Is that… Are those… Chicken feet?"

Before Lucian had a chance to confirm, the door to the shack opened like a mouth, and Baba Yaga came flying out on a mortar while holding a pestle.

She flew towards Thalia, swinging the pestle like a club. Thalia held her shield in front of her to block, but unbeknownst to Thalia, Baba Yaga was known to be an Ogress, which meant her strength was undeniable.

Thalia was sent flying back due to Baba Yaga's strength. Baba Yaga then moved back a bit and saw Lucian's scythe pass a centimeter away from her long nose.

The ground where Lucian's scythe struck split apart, creating a small chasm. Lucian's pupils shrunk a bit as they moved and turned to look at the witch, who gazed at him with glowing purple eyes and a large creepy smile.

She swung her pestle once again, but due to Lucian's instincts, he managed to block it with the handle of his scythe. Unlike what she expected, Lucian didn't go flying; he stood his ground with his great strength.

As their weapons locked, they both stared into each other's eyes.

"You have the power of foresight, don't you?" Lucian asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hehehehehe! What do you think?"

"I think it mustn't be that great if you still can't see your own demise at my hands," he coldly said.

Thalia appeared in the sky, twirling her spear before plunging it down, like a lightning bolt striking the ground. 

As Baba Yaga held her weapon against Lucian with one hand, she used the other to conjure a shield above her.

Thalia kept pressing down, causing cracks to form in the shield, but before she could continue, the shack came running towards her and kicked her off with its chicken feet.

"Golurk, Asura," Lucian casually called out.

A stone giant and a six-armed giant with three heads appeared and rushed towards the chicken-footed house.

Lucian then backed off a bit, spinning his scythe around to build momentum before he started slashing his blade at Baba Yaga.

Due to Baba Yaga's age and experience, she wasn't defenseless. The two moved around the battlefield, reappearing and disappearing over and over, their weapons clashing and creating sparks.

"Hehehe! It looks like you can summon companions! Let's even the odds," she laughed excitedly as she took to the skies.

She raised her green-hued hands in the air, laughing maniacally. Bone hands started to pop out from the ground, causing Lucian to curse, "This fucking bitch."

The clouds darkened, but before the hands could fully emerge from the ground, lightning bolts struck them all at once.

"Thalia, I could fucking kiss you right about now," Lucian said as wings made of shadows appeared on his back, allowing him to fly towards Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga, seeing her summoning fail, clicked her tongue in annoyance before maneuvering her hand to conjure bright green flames around her.

Lucian conjured his own black flames, causing Baba Yaga to gain an impressed look. Their battle flashed and bathed the area in multiple colors.

Flashes of black and green flames lit up the battlefield as the sound of metal clashing filled the air.

As they fought, Thalia tried to strike Baba Yaga with lightning, but her power of foresight made her a formidable opponent.

Meanwhile, Golurk and Asura tackled the giant chicken shack. The shack opened its door-mouth and breathed out green flames, but the combination of the two giants was too much for it to overcome.

Golurk appeared behind the shack and held it off the ground while Asura's arms blurred, punching it relentlessly.

The shack creaked and groaned as parts of it were destroyed. Golurk then started squeezing the sides, causing it to cave in with loud creaking noises.

It wasn't long before the shack shattered like an old piece of dry wood, and as it shattered, Baba Yaga let out a devastated scream.

"NOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR SINS!!" she cried out.

The glow on her hand grew brighter as she sent thunderbolts of her magic power towards Lucian, each filled with the intent to kill.

Lucian, using his danger sense, maneuvered around them, cutting them apart with his scythe.

Thalia, seeing that Baba Yaga was blinded by rage at the destruction of her home and companion, secretly moved behind her.

She took a deep breath and surrounded her spear with lightning until it turned fully blue. Thalia took aim like she was about to throw a javelin.

The sound of a thunderclap was heard as she threw it, breaking the sound barrier. As Baba Yaga looked at Lucian with hate, she suddenly stopped.

*squelch*

A look of surprise appeared on her face as she looked down to see a spear coming out of her chest.

Lucian then looked at her smugly. "Like I said, it mustn't have been that great if you weren't able to see your own death."

Instead of looking frightened, the witch continued to smile as she reached out, took hold of the spear, and yanked it out of her.

She reached into the mortar and pulled out a potion, which she quickly downed. The hole in her chest began to close as she looked at Lucian with disdain. "Your mother couldn't have been a great witch if she didn't teach you that we have potions ready for any occurrence. And I should thank that little lass for clearing my head. I'll have fun burning both of you alive."

Thalia clicked her tongue. "I should have aimed for the head."

Lucian, floating in the air, put a hand on his side and let out a sigh. "You just had to go and insult my mother."

His eyes grew colder as he turned his scythe back into a ring.

Baba Yaga looked at him in confusion, wondering why he would withdraw his weapon.

Lucian reached over to his bat-like wings and pulled out his grimoire. He puffed his chest, fixing his posture as a dark red hue surrounded his hands and his eyes glowed red. 

He looked down at Baba Yaga with displeasure. And in a cold voice said "I'll show you the power of the blood that courses through me. You will learn of the power passed down to me by my mother. And you will pay for your sins of even questioning it."