Chapter 18: Out in the Light

(3rd person POV)

The Stygian Worm and The Dark Warlock stood before Alex on the rooftop of the broken library. The odds are not in his favor but it still needs to be done.

However they are out in the open, so they were news helicopters and billboards of our live feed. But neither of us paid any mind.

The Dark Warlock began to launch dark orbs at the reaper as he sprints while dodging then the giant worm dove its head on him and Alex jumps away, landing another platform.

Alex pulls out his gun and shoots the warlock but he blocks it, the Stygian Worm goes for him again and he jumped away in time.

He then proceeds to jump at the worm and run up on its skin, he then hack and slash at it as it screams. The giant worm tries to shake him off, he eventually jumped off and grabbed on the broken pole that sticks out and flipped himself up like a gymnast and landed on the roof.

Then jumps back on the worm's face and aimed for the other eye that he hadn't slice off yet. Just when was going bring down his scythe for the eye, he was suddenly levitating before thrown forcefully into a wall, bringing him face to face with the Dark Warlock.

"You think you're clever, but I'm afraid you're out of luck." The Dark Warlock said.

Alex shot up a glare as he struggles.

"My master wants you alive a little longer, so I can't kill you. Instead I'll extract your soul." He continues as he engulf his hand with dark magic.

But suddenly a bullet went through his hand, losing his grip Alex as he falls, then he slams the blade of his scythe into the wall and he hangs on to it.

"Didn't think I'd let you have all the fun this time, did you?" Sara said through his comms.

Alex looked to the nearby building and saw the brunette pigtails and green gas mask with the sniper rifle, waving at me.

"Impudent human! Very well, the odds are now fair. You can play with the Earth Eater." the warlock snarled as he flew to Sara's direction. She makes a run for it as he threw his dark orbs at her.

Alex prompt his body to swing a few times before flinging himself up, running up the wall and grabbing the ledge until he's back on the roof. Face to face with the Stygian Worm, it roars and dives to Alex who rolls away from the attack.

____________________________________________

(Sara's Fight)

Sara ran through to the rooftops as the warlock was chasing, she dodges his blasts and occasionally shoots him with the sniper rifle without having to aim.

They both ended up on the nearby construction site and as she leaps, she threw a smoke grenade at him. He blocked it but still lost sight of her, looking around for her but nowhere to be found. He began levitating forwards as he summons a dark orb in his hand.

"You can run human, but you can't hide" The Dark Warlock called out.

Unbeknownst to him, she hid behind the crates while checking the cartridge.

"Last shot, why not?" she mumbles.

Just as the warlock stops as he felt a disturbance, he quickly turns around and put up a barrier to block the bullet. He then noticed the sniper rifle that's coming to him, so he put up his hand and uses telekinesis to stop the rifle.

He then heard the beeping and saw knife with a beeping red lights attached to the rifle and suddenly it exploded. The Dark Warlock flew back from the impact and Sara landed on the floor.

She pulls out her two revolvers and starts shooting at him, the warlock blocks it all as the two starts running while exchanging shots. The warlock unleashes dark lightning and Sara side flips to avoid it and retreat behind a pillar. She unloads the cartridge cases from her guns, then pulls out another rounds and threw it in the air, while spinning the revolvers and catches the bullets as they are perfectly slotted into the cylinders.

The warlock launches another blast but she ran out and power slides while shooting, he dodges and waved his hand upwards. Sara knew what was coming so she got to her feet and back flipped away to avoid the dark purple explosion that erupted from the ground.

While in mid air, Sara threw a knife and it hits him on the warlock's chest, he grunts in pain she landed and shot at the explosive knife, causing it to explode, sent him flying and crashing to the floor.

Sara walks to the warlock and saw his body with a gaping hole in his chest to face and burnt skin. Acknowledging he's dead, she began to walk away to help her reaper friend. But then she suddenly felt a spike of disturbance behind her.

"The jester's on you human! I don't die a mortal death!!!" The warlock howled as he regenerates his burnt flesh until he's back the way he was.

The Dark Warlock engulfed his hands with dark magic and dashes to the gunslinger. Sara turns around sharply with a shocked look on her face as she braces for the incoming attack.

____________________________________________

(Alex's fight)

The battle with the Stygian Worm is quite chaotic per say, Alex is seen falling from above to the worm as it tries to attack him. He uses his scythe to bounce from it and landed on the roof.

The giant worm was about to attack but was interrupted by police helicopters that were shooting at it with their machines and rockets. They only did a good job in angering and as expected, it lashes out, destroying the helicopters.

Alex was panting, he's running out of options, but he has an idea. It's a crazy idea, but it's all he has now.

When he recovered, Alex leaps and dashes towards the giant worm. Upon landing, he sliced it then jumped away. He landed on the on the broken too floor of what's left of the library and bounce back at it, slicing the flesh as he passed and does the same thing again, and again, and again, until the last landing he jumped high up in the air and falling down to its mouth.

The Stygian Worm swallowed Alex, thinking it finally ate him. But it was the giant worm's mistake when it felt a sharp pain at its throat. A scythe blade pierces through the throat before it slices through the entire neck and lopped off the head. Alex emerges from the decapitated worm before jumping back to the roof, looking back and witness the giant worm falling to its death.

Alex sighed in relief as he catches his breath.

"One down....one to go." he huffed.

He was about to head for Sara and the Dark Warlock but he failed to see the incoming blast, he was hit and thrown back to a broken wall, he coughed out from the pain of the impact.

"It's no surprise you'd vanquish the Earth Eater." a hoarse voice said.

Alex looked up with a struggle and saw the Dark Warlock levitating towards him with Sara at his hold. He then drops her to the ground, though she appears to be unconscious.

"Sara!!!" Alex called out.

"Perhaps you and this girl have proven not to be taken lightly." the warlock said.

Alex let his anger soar then he gets up, picked up his scythe, and run towards him. He leaps up to air to strike at him but the warlock raised his and puts up a barrier to block it.

Alex tries to push through but no struggle comes to fruition.

"Pointless!" The warlock bellowed then he creates a dark orb and threw it at Alex, was sending him flying to the ground. He struggles to get up as the warlock approaches him and talks.

"As I said before, you have skill, but it was never about physical capabilities. It is about the soul."

The Dark Warlock stops in his tracks as he continues to explain.

"Someone should've really told you all this, you see there are to sides of realities. The physical and astral, body and soul, flesh and spirit. They are different forms yet two sides of the same coin, as you humans say. Pain and pleasure are all in the physical world, and in it you combat with violence. As for the soul, or the astral or spirit form, a realm of unseen and untouched, unaffected by all but one, Magic. Sure magic does affect the physical world, but it also affects the soul. Think of many ways to manipulate the soul, often it is used for fuel of strength, others for their other means, but it only depends on how strong is your soul."

Just as the warlock explains, he then walks over to Sara.

"My master wants you alive, so I can't just take your soul. I think I'll settle with human instead." The Dark Warlock said with an evil smile.

He began to hover his hand over her and purple wisps began to leave from Sara and absorbed into the warlock, leaving Sara to scream in agony.

"Let her go! I SAID LET HER GO!!!" Alex yelled.

The Dark Warlock ignores the reaper's pleas as he continues to absorb Sara's soul while she continues to scream.

When the warlock presents a satisfying evil grin, black and red smoke-like trails suddenly seeps out from the warlock, feeling as if his life force is being sapped out, this is the work of magic.

The stream ends and warlock soon recovered to see Alex, who held his hand up covered with black smoke and red wisps, is eyes glowed red and his expression is full of anger.

The warlock scoffed and then laughed.

"So you finally unleashed your power boy, but I've had ages of practice in the dark arts, let's us see how you fare boy!!!"

The warlock summoned dark orbs and threw them at the reaper. But Alex twists his body to the side to dodge it and continues to drain him. Alex runs around, dodging his magic blasts and draining him while the warlock does the same in a dark magic duel.

Alex twists his body to dodge the dark orb once more before he repeats the process.

The Dark Warlock is seemingly getting weaker every time Alex drains him not only of his magic, but his life force too.

The warlock then conjures a barrier to prevent him from draining him any further. Seeing the warlock overwhelmed, Alex uses his magic to call upon his scythe as it flew into his hand.

He leaps upward, while in mid air he concentrated his magic on the blade of his scythe and prepare for the attack as the warlock adjusts his barrier to block it.

He struck down through barrier as it shatters like glass, causes the warlock to stumble. Seeing this, Alex then grips his scythe, still engulfed with his magic, for a second swing and cleaves the warlock in two by the torso.

The warlock's upper half fell to the ground, leaving Alex to catch his breath. He then runs to Sara, kneel down and took off her gas mask to see if she was alright.

"Sara...Are you okay?...Sara!" he asked with worry as he clutches her shoulders trying to wake her up.

Eventually she wakes up and saw Alex.

"Yeah, just peachy." she said with a smile.

He sighed in relief then helps her up her on feet. Then suddenly a big black and purple wisp flew out of the cleaved warlock which causes Alex and Sara to draw out their weapon at ready, it emerged out and takes form of the robed man in his ethereal form, through there appears to be rift in his stomach where Alex slashed.

"Argh!!! You're powerful than I thought boy, but still a novice. I am intrigued to see the lengths of your power in the future." The warlock said.

Alex narrowed his eyes and grits his teeth, glaring at the warlock as he engulf his blade with dark magic again.

"Oh! How foolish of me. I know of your name but I never gave you mine. My name is Klauser and we might meet again." the warlock now named Klauser took a bow before createing a portal behind him and flew in it.

The portal disappeared and the warlock's body disintegrated. Alex dispelled his magic and looked down below, they can see people gathering around the dead worm.

Police, reporters and citizens, and billboards shows the live feed.

"There's no way the government can hide this now, this might play into our favor." Sara said behind him.

Alex stood there in silence looking at his hand for a moment then Sara puts her hand on his shoulder.

"We should get out of here."

Sara walks away while putting on her gas mask and leaving him to brood, then second later he walks away with her away from the scene as a lone crow flies over them.