Whiteclay IX

It was official. 

Irwin hated Native-American magik. The perverse, corrupted version used by Elder Hawkins and his kin, not the original one.

The original magik had been purely based on Pagan Magik and had been once the closest magical system to a pure network of Natural Order, barring the Celtic Druids and the Shamans of Scandinavia. It had been the system of magik used for millennia when the Human, Infernal, and Pagan Magik of the Old World had corrupted the very essence of magical energy in the continental North America.

Now it reeked of Purgatory Magik and was a perverse combination of Natural Order and Human Magik, all rolled up into an abomination that could interact and interdict the very nature of humanity itself. A sludge of what had been once the purest magik anyone could ever access.

'God. Now I have another reason to hate Columbus.'

At least according to his Supernatural Record. 

It has given the set of information, along with many irrelevant details, after Irwin had bought the Tracking Talisman and dealt with the three Wendigos that Elder Hawkins had sicced on him.

He hated it more so because it was keeping the Tracking talisman he had left on the book from doing its singular purpose. It was essentially keeping the Talisman from locking onto the location of the book, so Irwin had to use the other half of the item–the tracker part–as a makeshift radar, which was a terrible idea in a blizzard, of all things.

"I think he's in a car." Scott said as he tightened his grip on the steering wheels when the car passed by a curve.

"Oh, thank you so much for that information." Irwin responded almost immediately. 

"Whoa, boss. I'm just suggesting–"

"I know. Sorry." Irwin sighed in exhaustion, rubbing his blackened and bruised neck. "First time I broke my neck. Kinda bitchy when I'm this pissed off."

"Apology accepted." Scott emphasized his acceptance, eyeing Irwin as if to say that their relationship was not a one-way street.

'I really need to look at the fine print of that contract.' Irwin thought for a moment before returning to the matter at hand.

The Tracking Talisman on their end let out a brighter white glow as he pointed it towards the road. They have been using the luminescence created by the Talisman as a way point with Irwin injecting magical energy into the mystical item every few seconds.

While a single injection was enough to track the book, the corruption had forced Irwin to essentially refresh the Talisman to gain new information about the book's location.

"Stop." He ordered Scott, gazing at the forest line to his right where a gray hatchback was hidden beneath a mound of snow and foliages.

"Shit. They went on foot." Scott cursed his luck. "I should stay–"

"You're coming with me, sissy Zeus." Irwin scoffed, exiting the vehicle with Scott following after him.

This would be the second time Irwin would trek the woodlands of Central Nebraska and, although the first time was relatively successful, he was sure that Elder Hawkins had laid a trap for him.

That was why their trek was slow and steady, footsteps almost methodical as the Tracking Talisman did its magic. Half an hour into the snowy and deep forest plus another ten minutes for Scott's resting time because the Special Child may be a powerful electrokinetic, he was also so terribly physically unfit for hiking in extreme weather.

Still, even with the snail-like pace, the two were eventually led towards an innocuous hill a notch shorter than a mountain. Unlike the Wendigo's hill, there was but only one cave hole in this landform.

"Rest for five, then we'll go inside." Irwin pointed towards a fallen tree beside the hill, allowing Scott to take control of his breathing before taking out the weapons inside of his spatial bangle. "Here, pick one and arm yourself."

"I don't know how to use any of this," Scott said, rifling through the Angelic weapons and custom-made guns before settling on a button grenade. "Maybe this?"

"Yeah, sure. That's a good idea." Irwin voiced his agreement. "Cave, tight spaces, explosion… all that is a good idea."

"You're grumpy when you're in a lot of pain." Scott observed. "Don't you have painkillers somewhere?"

"I don't want my second born daughter to be blind, so no." Irwin picked up the Angel Blade for and the Indestructible Hex Bag while ultimately giving Scott his pistols. "Here's the plan: You shoot him in the head and we don't return to Whiteclay."

Scott scratched the back of his head. "That's it? What if I suck at it, boss, and he lives?"

"Then you should run away."

Scott took out the grenade and smiled at Irwin.

"Fine. Carry the grenade, just in case." Irwin relented with a sigh before the Tracking Talisman glowed again. "He's moving again. Let's go."

Scott dragged his feet, aiming his handguns downwards in fear of setting it off and killing Irwin in the back, and followed after the latter as he entered the cave and away from the freezing hell that was outside.

The walk was short, barely a minute inside of the damp, claustrophobic tunnel before the two entered an enormous cavern that was bereft of any rock formations that were a staple of any cave system.

Concentric circle was engraved into every bit of the smoothened limestones of the dome ceilings, runes smelling of blood and burnt flesh. The ground, however, was littered with bones, chains, and scrapes of entrails that had seeped into the very soil.

In the center of the cavern was a near-naked man with closed eyes who sat in the middle of a raised platform; Circling him was a slew of iridescent flowers and pendulous branches.

Elder Hawkins opened his eyes and grinned at the sight of the two. "Welcome… to my humble a–"

"Shut it, man." Irwin cut him off. "My friend here is tired as fuck, so he's just gonna shoot you in the head."

And Scott did or at least tried to for all fifteen shots from both guns, either missed the man's form by a few inches or, even if it did hit, the bullet ricochets off Elder Hawkins like he was wearing an energy shield.

"You are in my Sanctuary, a domain with which I control solely." Elder Hawkins chuckled with a grave undertone. "In here, I am invincible, I am undefeatable, I am god!"

Irwin and Scott shared a look, the latter dropping his gun at the former's silent command before running away under the confused gaze of Elder Hawkins.

Elder Hawkins shook his head, arrogance blowing it up to massive proportions. "Have you finally realized the folly of your actions?"

"No, he's just training for the Olympics." Irwin twirled his Angel Blade. "In any event, I feel like I need to give you a chance to explain yourself or at the very least, tell me how you made those Wendigos."

Elder Hawkins grumbled under his breath before settling on a frown as he whispered, "For years–"

"Oh, god. You're really going to do it?" Irwin couldn't help but burst into uproarious laughter. "Jesus. I'm just going to kill you!"

Irwin rushed forward as cast Flaming Whip and wrapped the spiked weapon around his arm. Not a second had passed as Irwin crossed the halfway point towards Elder Hawkins when the latter roared in utter defiance, unleashing a torrent of magical energy.

The sheer might of which caused winds to pick up and blast Irwin off his feet, sending him tumbling down a few dozen feet away. If not for him stabbing down the Angel Blade onto the ground, then he would have flown all the way to the start of the cave.

"How dare you mock me!?" Elder Hawkin's voice reverberated across the hollow cavern, causing more winds to blast Irwin's body. The former professor slammed his hand on the ground and blood burst out of every facial orifice.

"Rise, children of the soil. Rise and serve me!" At his words, there rose twelve gangrenous corpses from underneath the corrupted soil. Born out of eternal hunger, twelve Wendigo answered the call of one man as they screamed in defiance of nature itself.

"Devourer of men… take out your hunger and kill that piece of shit!" Elder Hawkins pointed at Irwin and all twelve barreled towards him like craven madmen.

Irwin would not have thought twice to run away, but the fact was that even if he could outrun all twelve of them and leave Scott to his demise, Elder Hawkins would still be alive and would then have time to discover and remove the tracking device planted in the book.

As such, Irwin took out an iridescent stone that felt hollow and full at the same time from his spatial bangle, allowing its sheer power to reach the eyes of Elder Hawkins.

"STOP!" The man roared as he caught sight of the stone and the Wendigo obeyed his command, halting within a foot of Irwin. "W-What is that?" He asked, "S-s-so powerful."

"Soul Bomb." Irwin introduced. "Incomplete, but powerful enough to decimate the very hill and this cave."

"Y-you wouldn't…" Elder Hawkins dared.

"Normally, I would not," Irwin saw the twitch in Elder Hawkin's glower. "But I also have this."

He procured a silver card from the Trade Store, one that glimmered with magical light. "Do you know what it is?"

"Some kind of… ancient magik."

"Teleportation magik." Elder Hawkin's eyes widened as the card burned with a greenish fire, enlarging and swallowing Irwin with its unholy light.

As Irwin disappeared in verdant fire, the Soul Bomb dropped onto the ground and lit up the whole cave as its flames licked the very edges of space. The cave crumbles under the weight of a thousand souls exploding in magik, scorching the Wendigo into nothing before doing the same with Elder Hawkins.

Irwin didn't have to know what had happened inside afterwards for the very explosion that centered on the caverns made the whole hill crumble into dust and ashes, blanketing the white forest with its dust.

There was something he did know, however, and it was that he would never be coming back to Whiteclay.