Chapter 64: A never-ending battle

In what seemed only a moment, I lost two of the most important men in my life; my father and my first love. There are no words to describe my feeling, the emptiness, and the numbness that pierced through my body. I had no time to mourn for my lost ones, not when I had to kill their murderers…

My body lifted on the air, and I twirled around, feeling the soft breeze playing with my hair. A bright silver light was radiating from me, and a weird energy coursed through my veins. Every single scratch on my skin was healed, and I wasn't in any physical pain anymore. If only the soreness in my heart could also be mended…

I had no idea how Lucas could control so much magic; my body barely bore all the energy. When my feet touched the ground again, everyone looked at me in awe, probably because of the pure power radiating through me.

"We must end this…" I said determinedly.

First, I burnt Ivan alive; his screams and cries made me feel a tad better, but this wasn't enough. I wanted to end his miserable life; he would pay with his life for all the people he'd killed. With a small movement of my right hand, I pulled his heart out, letting the fire burn his soulless body to ashes.

My attention went back to the black dragon, who kept spitting fire and killing with his paws everything in his way. The fire around him turned into a purple color and consumed him. The beast screeched as the blazing fire burnt his scales. I didn't expect this to work, but it seemed like the dragon wasn't immune to my magic after all.

"Go back, I'll force him to shift," I ordered the three people that raised me up.

"We can't let you alone, Ophelia," my mom complained.

"You'll be safer with the witches now that Lucas' gone!" I glared at her.

"Angel, we…"

I didn't let my grandfather finish his sentence, though. "I'm not afraid of him, but of myself, too. I can't control my powers, and I don't want to hurt you…" I explained, seeing Alpha Blackwood approaching us.

"Ophelia's right," David said, giving me a small nod.

"Alpha, escort them to the witches, and please take care of Ethan's and Lucas' bodies," I told the black wolf.

The wolf simply nodded, and I averted my eyes towards the dragon. I couldn't watch my family leave, nor could I say anything else to them.

I was both a Keeper and a witch, not by chance. I used my mind-controlling abilities to force the dragon to shift. Force shifts weren't an enjoyable, painless experience, especially for the one suffering it. The dragon's roars and growls confirmed my thoughts, and everyone seemed perplexed about the beast's sudden discomfort.

Most of the vampires had left the arena too scared of the dragon's screeches, and that made it easier for me to concentrate on one enemy at a time.

I watched the beast changing form as his bones and wings reshaped into a weird shape. At last, the dragon was consumed by the purple fires, and his howls died down.

Could this be the end? Did I manage to kill the hybrid?

I moved closer, and that's when I noticed a shadow move inside the blazing fire. Suddenly, a large four-legged animal jumped towards me, a loud roar leaving its jaws.

"Seriously? A fucking lion?" I muttered under my breath and braced myself for the attack.

The lion came towards me at full speed. I stepped on the side at the last minute, resulting in the animal land behind me. I was about to turn around when I felt a piercing pain burn my back; the wild animal had just scratched me. I ducked down, avoiding another attack, and then I hit it on the neck. My extra strength as a Keeper destabilized the lion, which roared once again.

I reminded myself that Marcus had no control over his inner creatures. Thus, I was really fighting with a wild animal.

The lion managed to knock me on the floor, and to be honest, I enjoyed the fight this time. We rolled over repeatedly, the animal trying to bite me and scratch me while I kicked and punched it.

A few more scratches and bruises would form later, but this was the least of my worries. I threw the lion off me and pulled the dagger out of my pocket. It was time to find out what else this thing could do and how I could use it to kill the hybrid.

I managed to scratch the lion's foreleg and stab its abdomen. The animal whimpered and licked the wound on its leg before sending a threatening growl my way. Should I slice his neck or something to finally kill the hybrid?

The lion roared and ran at me once again, its brown eyes glistening with anger. I used its neck as leverage and straddled the large animal; a proud smirk formed on my lips when I landed on its back. The wild beast tried to get rid of me, but I grasped the hair on his mane tightly. After that, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as I could.

Who could imagine that one day I would be doing a headlock on a fucking lion?

The animal writhed underneath me futilely as I tightened my grip around its neck. A sigh escaped my lips when the lion collapsed on the ground and, after a few more moments, stopped moving.

I stood up, panting from all the physical effort I had used to knock out the large lion. My eyes scanned the area around me; I was alone with the hybrid, while the battle with the vampires had shifted closer to where the witches and warlocks were. Alexander was once again fighting with Robert and had a lethal look plastered on his face. Obviously, the only vampire that was on our side wanted nothing more than to kill his father. My mom and David looked tired; I could notice a few scratches and bruises on their body. Papa Peter had a large cut on his face and was slightly limping. Chris was still fiercely fighting beside the werewolves shooting and killing the remaining vampires.

How many things could one notice in only a few seconds…

I turned around and walked towards the unconscious lion holding the dagger in my hand. The blade touched his neck when suddenly the hybrid's body started changing again. I slightly frowned, curious to see what was the next form the shifter could take. I watched his body elongate, taking a lithe shape.

An enormous, green anaconda was now facing me. The snake hissed towards my way before it crawled to me. I noticed the snake's body bleeding from two different places. This was unusual since shifters could heal quickly; it seemed like this dagger was crafted to overcome this hybrid's ability.

The anaconda crept its way towards me, but I just stood there immobile, watching it move. The snake slowly wrapped its body around me and started squeezing tightly. This was the way to kill its enemies since they didn't have any poison. The tight grip around my body reminded me of the nightmares I used to have and the chains that suffocated me.

For a few moments, it seemed like a good idea to let that snake kill me. I had failed to protect Ethan and Lucas; I'd watched them die while I was incapable of saving them. I wasn't afraid of death, but I was dreading my life without them, a life full of remorse.

"You must avenge them," I heard a voice inside my head, and I smiled softly as a few stray tears rolled down my cheeks.

I had to keep fighting for them because otherwise, their sacrifice would have been pointless. Ethan wanted nothing more than to kill his parents' murderers; I had already killed Ivan. Lucas fought all his life to find a way and stop Marcus. If only he had accepted earlier that I was the only one capable of ending the hybrid's life.

All my sadness and pain transformed into anger and rage. My mind begged me to kill the snake quickly and end this madness, and my soul craved for revenge. My whole body was on fire, or to be more precise, I was covered with this purple fire. I felt nothing unusual, but this didn't apply to the snake wrapped around me.

The anaconda hissed and slowly loosened its grip. I threw the snake off me when I was able to move again. The purple fire kept burning the snake, and I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. Nothing but ashes was left behind, and I broke into mad laughers, unwilling to believe that I had finally killed the bastard.

However, this didn't ease the pain inside me, not even in the slightest.

My laughs died on my lips as I saw the ashes moving. I frowned and blinked a few times, trying to understand what was happening.

How could he be still alive?

And that's when I noticed a flaming bird coming into life in front of me. I took a few steps looking in awe at the Phoenix that was regenerating from its ashes.

Another mythical creature?

Marcus was definitely one of the strongest shifters that roamed this planet…

This time, I quickly cast a spell to form a tornado using the air and the seawater around me. My opponent could manipulate fire, and, unfortunately, I learned it the hard way. A fireball hit me, sending me several feet away from my previous position.

A loud groan escaped my lips, and I tried to stand, but I was dizzy. I felt several other fireballs land on my body. The weirdest thing is that none of them actually burnt me. It seemed like my body was immune to fire, yet it felt like someone was throwing huge rocks on me.

My mother screamed my name, and I realized that the others must have gone crazy. I bit my lower lip and mustered all the courage left inside me.

The Phoenix hissed, watching me getting up, and shot another fireball at me. This time, I dodged it and attacked back, moving the tornado closer to the mythical creature. The bird squealed and breathed out fire towards the hurricane. I created another tornado and a storm to extinguish the fires. Using lightning bolts and blasts of my magic, I tried to attack the Phoenix. However, the bird either dodged my attacks or looked to be unaffected by them.

I tried to remember what I had read about the mythical creatures when I was younger. Apparently, Phoenix had a regenerating ability, and that's why my attacks didn't cause any harm to it. In any case, I had to find one of the flaming bird's weaknesses.

The Phoenix continued manipulating fire and shooting fireballs that exploded against my protection dome. Thankfully, it was preoccupied with me and didn't pay any attention to the other supernaturals further away from us.

"Iron!" I exclaimed as another fireball was launched towards me.

A lopsided grin formed on my lips as I started casting a spell. In a few moments, it was raining but not water. Hot melted iron fell from the sky only above the Phoenix. The bird's high-pitched screeches filled the air, and it desperately tried to fly away.

But I wasn't going to let the hybrid escape. I kept it trapped on the ground with iron chains.

"You want your freedom, and I'm the only one capable of murdering you," I yelled, unsure whether Marcus could hear me.

I walked closer towards the Phoenix, which seemed weakened from the iron attack.

"I challenge you into a duel with your human form. If you manage to kill me, you're free," I stated.

While waiting for an answer, I managed to take a glimpse from the other side of the battlefield. With the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something that made all my blood drain my face…