Chapter 124 - The Destruction

Erick POV.

When my brother finally realized what a foolish thing he was doing, I saw that Kaiden was fighting a she-wolf and I knew that the two of them had been destined, my Beast told me what had happened.

I approach Hope and soon I can see several smaller creatures piercing the blockade that is around as the other four chosen are focused on defeating Melvin. Using the movements of my hands, the chains that are at my feet begin to move to wrap around, trap and exterminate those smaller creatures that dared to approach.

It wasn't tiring to do, just boring, because none of them had any power to compare to mine. I notice Hope is standing still, looking at the movements of her chosen ones, she is smiling happily, with a dreamy expression.

She's seeing what the end of that fight will be like, and from the looks of it, it's going to be a good one.

I turn my attention to a shadow that manages to gather closer, it had fed on the corruption that had not been annihilated before and that rain of corrupted ash feeds it, making that creature stronger and stronger.

I used my whip again to try and wrap around that thing, but it just passed through those shadows, I twisted my mouth, realizing that this time I would need to transform. I let my Beast take over, as my body grows, and I come face to face with that creature that was over 3m tall. I had that too, my claws are made of pure electricity, while my hair is conductors of tiny rays that pass through everything, coming from my very soul.

I took the first swipe, and I can feel the corruption trying to envelop me, but I transform the poles of electricity to repel that thing and with that, I manage to hit that shapeless form.

I can also feel it when it hits my belly, but it does almost no damage, just a slight discomfort. I take advantage of the moment to deliver several blows between kicks and punches, precisely to increase the area that I hit that is made of fog.

My lungs start to burn because I'm sucking in those shadows and ashes, but my regenerative power was enough not to let it get in the way of my fight, but I know this creature is full of tricks.

Even though I was ripping off a good part of it with every blow I hit, it still regenerated and returned to its original form. I need to find the energy center, but every time I pass close, that place moves to another space.

I raised my hands and concentrated the electricity between my two hands. I can see the rays forming, and a ball of energy appears, it begins to expand my hand and that energy expands too. As much as I was somewhat vulnerable at first glance, I knew I would deliver a blow that would be fatal.

My body begins to be enveloped by those shadows and if it were someone else, I would be screaming, because that corruption not only burns the flesh, but also the soul itself. Only I already felt something very similar when I went through my first ordeal to be a son of Zeus, so I endured the pain without complaining and even with a smile.

Finally that energy reached the necessary amount to destroy this creature made of shadows, ashes and corruption, I release the ball of energy right above the "head" of that being and soon I see the rays pass through it, hitting everything at once and illuminating that center that at this moment was where his stomach would be, I pull my left hand back, picking up momentum to punch the place and penetrate through the shadows, ashes and electricity, feeling all three things, because this time, that energy I released no longer obeyed me.

I managed to wrap my claws around that center and squeezed hard, feeling its resistance break little by little and I didn't give it any more room to resist, and I fired another blast of energy and finally felt the instant the creature fell apart.

I fell on my feet, holding the pieces of that energy center and used some more energy to destroy everything. I turned back to look at Hope. I can see that she is tired, and I notice that the falling ash is starting to disappear.

A smile forms on my lips as my eyes meet Hope's, but then I taste a metallic taste in my mouth, my blood, I look down and see my chest pierced by a metal tip, a blade I already knew. Hope's karambit, but I raise my head and see that Hope is surprised.

"NO!" She screams and I begin to feel my strength start to drain away as Hope stands up and manages to hold me down.

Her scream echoes but doesn't reach any ears, it's like we're trapped in this moment, and her eyes are pouring tears of blood.

"Erick, no... You need to stay alive..." Hope's voice is one of endless desperation and I know she didn't betray me, but I can't think of anyone who could do that. "I need you to stay alive."

Those red tears touch my face and I want to tell her that it was okay, that I didn't mind dying, after all, I had fulfilled my goal of protecting her, even though it bothered me to know that someone betrayed me.

"You, you're my last resort," Hope whispered and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and then I could see beyond that bubble we were in.

My vision expands, and I'm now in the middle of that arena that has formed in front of the Temple of Dionysus, but it's a few seconds before my body has fallen.

I can see that the attacks converge. Kaiden is destroying the she-wolf that was once his Mate, and I am killing that creature that is made of shadows and ashes, while the blow of the chosen four converges to Melvin.

On impact, a large wave of energy was released, but instead of it expanding beyond that dome, it is concentrated at a point below and I see that it is Hope who is absolving all that energy and I know that she does it to save the entire Capital, with a wave of energy like that, the entire capital would be destroyed, it was like seeing someone absolve thousands of atomic bombs and it is a wonderful sight, as it shows that we are on the right path and that Hope is on the right path.

Then those energies disappear, and I see that Hope is tired, part of the rose armor is cracked, but she smiles at me just that a slight movement of the head makes me look again at the horizon and I see an even bigger shadow start to appear on the horizon.

It was as if that shadow was waiting for us to use our greatest abilities against Melvin to appear. Kaiden, Lestat, Marcus, Dylan and Kendrick are tired, as using those abilities, like summoning divine power itself, is extremely tiring.

They don't realize what's coming, but I'm still on my feet because even though the blow I used expended a lot of energy, it still didn't even come close to the abilities my Father, Zeus, granted me.

So, I'm in Hope's arms again and I know what Hope is going to do, but do I want to let her do it? Do I have any power to stop her? If I did then I would doom this plan.

I gave a slight nod informing her that I released her and understood her request, Hope brushes her lips against mine and I can feel her absorb the damage I had received.

She releases me and stands up. I'm still weak, but I manage to stay on my knees, and I see the blood dripping down the middle of her chest, as she starts running towards where Melvin is, now in a human form.

The Oath she took with me stretches and loosens, but not causing harm to Hope, because rightly I knew that was her last option. She was sacrificing herself for the good of all.

"NO!" All five of them shouted, but none of them could stop Hope, who gathered all the Corruption around herself, even the one that was growing on the horizon and then disappeared, and the first rays of the Sun made themselves present, amidst heavy clouds and the rain began to fall heavily.

It was the Gods' way of informing them that they were also suffering from that decision.