Phantoms of the Truth

Chapter 16 Part 2

Live and Learn

“Xero…?” Blaze asked in a whisper but only got a glare in response

“No, Xero is gone, only Zanerif remains!” he spoke in a chilling voice, this was going to be brutal

Both Loki and Blaze readied up as they watched Zanerif approach, his gaze unchanged as he taunted them to attack. Which both of them accepted as Blaze ran with his weapon out and Loki with his fists.

They both then connected with his jaw but he didn’t flinch, not even a millimetre as he upper-cutted both of them with his scythe as they flew. Zanerif then disappeared as Loki ran for him but missed as he quickly rolled away from the scythe from behind.

“Quit hiding like a bi-“ Loki tried to say but was met with the scythe through his face “Dammit!”

“Shut up already,” Zanerif complained as he pulled the scythe out and impaled Loki before throwing him into a stand

Blaze then clashed blades with Zanerif as he tried to fight back but somehow, he was faster and a hell of a lot more durable. Each connection didn’t faze Zanerif as he easily cut away at Blaze’s armour.

Blaze quickly dodged as another swipe flew over him. What he didn’t see coming was a green flame to engulf him as he shouted in pain before being silenced by a fist to his gut as he felt his body stop moving as he fell to his knees.

“Loki, what now? My wounds won’t heal, I-I feel weak...” Blaze thought as he heard the coughing coming through his ears

“Same here, that blade must be a manifestation of their souls, it must be nullifying all healing that we receive when it’s here,” Loki explained through coughs

Then from both their points of view they saw another green flame engulf the scythe as Zanerif raised it against his old friends. Blaze’s eyes widened as he slowly moved to his feet and then somehow broke into a run, his heart was racing as he ran faster and faster.

Sadly, Zanerif saw him coming a mile away as he sighed and soon his extended foot kicked Blaze so hard in the gut that he couldn't breath as he flew back and uprooted the ground around him on impact.

“Blaze!” They all yelled as they faced Zanerif as he swung his scythe without hesitation, the green flash hurdling towards them before they saw Lucifer and Lith raise their hands up as defence as the flames collided just feet from their faces

Everyone winced at the pain from the whiplash as cuts spread across their bodies. Then the attack ended, both Lith and Lucifer dropping to their knees in pain as many more cuts littered their bodies as they panted for breath.

“I really hate that scythe right now,” Lucifer panted as Lith nodded

“Just what has that Nightmare and Human become?” Lith asked as they both heard Twilight pipe up

“It’s unification, ive seen it work on Blaze and if done correctly can lead to tremendous power, but if used for evil…” She then trailed off as Lucifer shook his head in annoyance

“Then you got one big energy vampire of death! Perfect!” He yelled sarcastically

“Enough games, time to cleanse this world,” Zanerif said as he held his scythe to his side

He then prepared to send another wave of attacks at the group as they all watched in fear but then laughing caught everyone’s attention.

“You think just because you fused with a nightmare means your stronger?” Blaze’s voice echoed from the rubble as Zanerif turned to face it

“And leaves you with nothing but your pointless puns,” Zanerif responded but only made him laugh again “Shut up,”

“What? I’m I striking a nerve?” Blaze said amusingly as he continued “You can’t kill us, for we know your weakness,”

“And what might that be?” Zanerif asked as he saw a pointy finger pointing at him

“You have new strength that has yet to grow, and a nightmare fused with something other than another nightmare means they can’t kill the soul of others, only through mortal ways can they do so,”

“And now…” Blaze trailed off as the rubble chipped away into pebbles as everyone looked at Blaze

His grin was slightly wider, with pointy teeth, his fingers now claws, his two eyes turned purple as he laughed.

“Pain… this is so beautiful~” He sung in a different voice as he stared at Zanerif, his head tilted

“You’ve lost your mind…” Zanerif sighed as he threw another group of green slashes as they cut through Blaze as his friends gasped but then as froze as they saw him standing, purple smoke pouring from wounds

“What?!” Zanerif said in surprise as Bla-Neckros laughed

“Loki! Get Lith and Lucifer and open a ‘you know what’!” Neckros ordered as Loki groaned

"Do i have to?" he protested but a purple blast of energy got him up and moving

“Yep, got it, have fun,” Loki said happily as he limped passed Neckros as he grinned

“Sadly, this world must adjust to my being, for now though I guess I can enjoy this,” Neckros shrugged as he narrowed his eyes

“My turn,” He said grimly as he vanished

Zanerif then slashed behind him as Neckros leaped over and buried his claws into Zanerif’s eye sockets as he began to throw his knees into his skull. Neckros then teleported away from the scythe as he kicked Zanerif flying into the dirt. For once he made Zanerif fall.

But then Neckros felt something grab his leg as he saw the skeletal hand pull him down as he was thrown around like a rag doll. Then his body was thrown into the air as the scythe made dozens of marks on Neckros’s body as he vanished again.

Zanerif quickly turned and grabbed the hand with the energy blast and pointed back at Neckros as he winced but he then spun around and kicked Zanerif but it did nothing to free his hand.

“I’m not letting go,” Zanerif said as Neckros smiled and interlocked wrist with him as Zanerif slashed away at Neckros whist he threw claw after claw at him

"Good, because i'm not moving!" He cheered as he shoved a chunk of purple laser down Zanerif's throat

Zanerif then teleported himself as Neckros ducked and jumped to avoid his blows, but failed as he was impaled and thrown into the dirt, his wounds still slowly healing from the cursed blade.

Then Neckros vision filled with green as the earth erupted as the onlookers gasped.

“It’s over.” Zanerif confirmed as the still body of Blaze/Neckros laid beneath his feet as he turned to his friends “Where were we?”

He then lit his hand with a cursed flame as it grew. All they could do was wait for the end as the flames would catch them even if they had the will to move. Then they all looked at Xelor who was standing in front of them all as he glared at Zanerif.

“Xelor? What are you doing?” Sam asked as he just stood his ground

“I don’t care what happens to me, no one is hurting my friends!” Xelor shouted as Zanerif just looked back

“You’re no hero, and if you think this makes you one, then your living in a fairy tale,” Zanerif mocked as Raiden then stood beside him

“We know,” he said as Serafin also stood up

“But if Loki and Blaze are willing to fight, then so are we,” She stated as the rest soon stood against Zanerif as he sighed

“If you wish to die, then I’ll let you all die together,” He said calmly as he threw the cursed flame towards them

“Heh, to think, we could have the courage to do this, sorry Blaze, looks like we aren’t as good at this as you, but will be dammed if we just sat here and died!” Xelor chuckled internally as they all felt the world around them get hotter

“Sadly, Blaze isn’t here right now, please try again later,” Neckros said as they all looked to see the fire attack being blocked by Blaze, or atleast that’s what they think

“What!?” Zanerif yelled as he saw the attack shrink and shrink before it entered through the wounds of Neckros as he burped

“Ahh, that hit the spot! Now then,” Neckros said as he yelled

*BLAZING TRAIL: CURSED FLAMES*

Then his body erupted in green flames as the rest cheered Neckros as he smiled boastfully at Zanerif.

“You said you wanted power? Well I’m gunna give you a full course meal!!!” Neckros shouted as he ran towards Zanerif as he quickly fired more cursed flames at Neckros but was surprised to see him still running. Then he saw the small reflections of metal

*SERRATED EDGE*

Then more shiny blades danced around Neckros as he ran towards Zanerif as he swung his blade towards Neckros, only for him to bite down of the edge of the golden blade.

“Hmm, could use some salt,” He pointed out as he used this advantage to strike Zanerif in the arm as he dropped the scythe “Fast food coming right at ya!”

Then Zanerif saw the symbols on the ground as his hollow eyes widened as the floor began to disappear.

“You were setting me up all this time?” He said in shock as Neckros grabbed him but the face and smashed through the barrier and into the Spirit Realm

They fell through the sky, their speed increasing as they smashed into a boiling hot liquid as it flew upwards from the impact they made with the ground. They landed in the bottom of a volcano, the purple lava shooting to the sides from the force.

“Never underestimate us again,” Neckros warned as he leaped into the air, leaving Zanerif to be engulfed by the flames, Neckros just managed to barrel his way into the Human World as the gate closed

“Woo! That was fun!” Neckros cheered as he leap to his feet, just then people finally got to action, and began to help out any injured people as some called officers and medics

“Umm, Blaze, are you still here bud?” Sam asked as Loki facepalmed

“Now you did it you moron,” He groan as they saw the pissed look on Neckros’s face

“For the love of Gods! Does Blaze laugh like a manic, can take blows that could kill even a cyborg, have purple eyes and sharp teeth, can survive plunging themselves into a volcano!? NO!” Neckros snapped as he rubbed his head

“You want him, fine! I’ve had my fun, now you can all go die for all I care,” Neckros mumbled as Blaze’s features turned back to normal

“You really shouldn’t annoy him, it’s like a migraine for me,” Blaze said as winced from the headache

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Later that night…

After the police arrived with paramedics, everyone couldn’t explain what they saw, only that there was an attack, not a cyborg and sin of hell vs. a skeleton. But after the cops couldn’t get a real report, they gave up a just investigated.

After the attack Zanerif pulled on the group quite a handful of them were injured, but not in need of a hospital. Serafin just sat on her own as she winced at the two cuts on her arm and cheek.

“Another day, another battle, am I right, Flare?” Serafin thought as she sighed but then her train of thought was cut off

“You really should let the medics help you, you know,” Raiden suggested as Serafin kept her cold expression

“I’ll be fine,” She answered as he sat down beside her

“Let me guess, you won’t admit defeat, will you?” Raiden asked with a roll of his eyes

“Neither will you,” Serafin countered as Raiden sighed as he ripped a piece of his jacket until he had a thin strip of it “What are you doing?”

“Well you won’t let anyone help you, then I’ll just have to stop any bleeding or infection myself,” Raiden said with a shrug as Serafin pulled her arm away “Unless you want this to escalate?”

That got her to relax as he began to tie the fabric on her arm as she watched in confusion, but also happiness as he finished.

“Th-thank you, Raiden,” She said calmly as he nodded and then got up

“Like before, no problem but right now I gotta go help the others out so, seeya,” He said as he walked away

Minutes passed as Serafin sat in silence, what was this feeling she kept having? Why did he still help her after she was being stubborn, why did she let him?

“You really love doubting your own feelings, don’t you? then again it's what i like about you, so badass on the outside, but in here it's something more,” Neckros said as Serafin narrowed her eyes but just looked to the ground “so, what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?” She spoke softly as he chuckled

“Well… you wanted a normal life again, right?” Neckros hinted as Serafin’s eyes widened slightly “Checkmate.”

To Be Continued…