CHAPTER 33

"Hahaha, I should have known," the creature said. "You're all the same, regardless of your race or gender.

"You're all copies of the same soul, linked together," the creature continued. "Did you really think you could kill me?"

It let out a sinister laugh. "I only wanted to kill Damian before, but now you've given me a chance and an excuse to wipe you all out from this world."

As the creature spoke, its red eyes glowed even brighter, its claws glinting in the sunlight. It spread its enormous wings, casting a dark shadow over the entire battlefield.

[CHAOS LORD TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE]

"Calm down, Daniel. You're not..." I tried to say.

"Hahahaha! He called me Daniel! Your little Daniel's dead, you killed him yourself," Chaos said, grinning wickedly.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Almost dying must have made him lose his mind. What fickle mental fortitude," Damien said, disdain evident in his voice.

While everyone was talking about how Chaos seemed to have lost his mind, me and Noah - another version of me, wearing glasses and a lab coat - remained contemplative.

"Might you be some kind of split identity? Like me and the rest?" Noah asked.

"Close, but not quite right," Chaos replied.

"Hmmm... a split personality, then?" Noah mused. "Let me guess: You've existed since Daniel gained his power, but couldn't surface because he was suppressing you. At some point when Daniel was trapped in that cave, he lost his grasp over you, and you took over.

"Haha, you've always been the...," Chaos began, but Noah interrupted him.

"Shush! I'm not done yet. You shouldn't interrupt a scientist at work," Noah said, eyes flashing with annoyance.

"You little...!" A vein popped on Chaos's head, but he managed to rein in his anger.

"When Alexa here impulsively attacked you, you released your hold on the the body and thus reverted to your natural form..... The will manifestation of chaos."

"Chaos is almost the same as matter, since both can neither be destroyed nor created," Noah continued. "I'm not sure if chaos can be converted, though. Perhaps I should capture..."

BAM!!!

A punch landed on his face, sending him flying like a broken kite.

"Shit!" Chaos narrowly dodged the blade of a scythe by arching his back to the extreme.

"I remember teaching you to always keep an eye on your surroundings," a female voice sounded, but the owner was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn, Patricia! I don't have time to play hide and seek with you," Chaos said, dodging three small needles flying towards his neck.

GRAB!

!!!!

BAM!!

The ground cracked as Noah smashed Chaos's face into the ground.

Chaos hit the ground with a sickening thud. Noah lifted him up, and slammed him down again, causing the cracks to grow wider. Then, he tossed him up towards a newly formed magic circle.

[JUDGEMENT]

A huge golden beam struck down on Chaos, sending him eleven feet deep into the ground.

"You, of all people, should know better what kind of costly mistake it is to fight all nine of us at once," Judith, the elf, said, dropping her raised hand.

"Really?" Chaos's voice sounded from behind her. She turned to look, but there was nothing there.

"You should also know how formidable I am since our abilities are merely fragments of one ability," the voice said. "Well, you said it yourself. It's a mistake to fight all nine of you.

"Why don't I reduce the number by one, then?" the voice said, with a sinister undertone.

Everyone's eyes widened as they turned in Damian's direction.

"DAMIAN!!!" they all shouted, desperately bolting toward him.

Suddenly, a small ripple in the air, so slight it was almost imperceptible, appeared above the scene. Before anyone could react, a glowing ball of light shot out of the ripple, and everything turned white.

[ SPIRIT JUDGEMENT]