Chapter 19 UMBRA MORTIS
"Hey," began Xyra, drawing the attention of all but the dragon and Magnus, both still locked in their duel. "He needs a distraction, right?"
"Yeah, but there's no way I'm going out there," stated Darren. "I'd be killed without a weapon."
"You have a sword…"
"It only works well against demons. I'd break it if I tried using it on that thing."
"Well…," she said as she began moving away part of her cloak. "You could try using this."
Darren's eyes widened when he noticed a sword sheath stationed at her side. The sheath was blue, and a dragon was embroidered in red gems along the front. All he could see of the sword itself was the hilt. It was made of crystal with a blue grip. Two dagger-shaped pieces came from the side, both with a small flame design in the middle. He knew exactly what kind of sword this was from its design alone.
"That's a… Khukuri," he said in awe. "Where'd you get one?"
"My dad," she answered as she removed it from its sheath. It gleamed in the light of the flames that lit the arena. The blade wasn't a silver one. It was tinted blue, but the metal greatly resembled an opal. It was a beautiful sword, but it was probably the most deadly weapon ever created with human hands.
"You're saying I should use this?" he asked as she handed it over to him.
"Just be a distraction so he can kill the dragon." Darren only smiled at the demand. With a sword like this, I could probably kill that thing myself.
Without a word, he ran out into the battle, the Khukuri poised. Since the dragon wasn't paying him any mind, sneaking up on it wasn't hard at all. He went to one of its hind legs and swung the sword as hard as he could. The force had been too much though, and to his surprise he nearly fell over from the swing. It had been like a knife going through butter, and now the dragon was howling in pain at the loss of one of its limbs. It turned its golden eyes on Darren, the cat's eye-shaped pupils almost completely disappearing in its rage. Dragons are so quick to get angry, but this one's way different. I wonder why it came here…
Darren jumped out of the way as the dragon's tail came crashing down near him. He then jumped again, and he managed to land on the beast's back. It had been a long jump, but he had made it look effortless. However, that was natural for him. Hunters were agile and strong by nature. He just happened to be a bit stronger.
Without hesitation, he brought the blue blade down into the dragon's back, piercing its hard scales as if they were paper. Again the beast began to howl and shriek as it began thrashing about, trying to get him off of its back. He held onto the sword for dear life, keeping his eyes on Magnus. Now that the sorcerer was no longer running for his life, he had taken up the task of casting his spell again. He was going with the same one. It would be an Umbra Mortis.
"Make sure you control that spell," warned Gareth. "We're all still here."
"Don't worry so much," said Magnus as he focused harder, trying to finish the spell faster. He knew Darren couldn't keep this up for much longer. Just a bit more magic, and…
The spell was finally complete. Now all he had to do was cast it, which would indeed prove difficult. He couldn't let the stadium be destroyed, because with it would go his companions. He also had to make sure that Darren was out of the line of fire. Hopefully, the hunter will be able to get out of the way fast enough.
"Hey Darren!" he called, quickly getting his fellow hunter's attention. "Get outta the way!"
"Don't have to tell me twice," Darren muttered with a smirk as he let go of the sword and began to hightail it out of there. He quickly went back to Gareth and Xyra, and lucky for all of them, the dragon had yet to regain its composure. It was now or never. They were just hoping that this spell would work. If not, there was no telling what would happen. Magnus would probably be exhausted, and then there would be no hope for them, especially since Darren had left the Khukuri with the dragon.
Magnus glanced over at his three friends and then smirked a bit. They were most likely far enough away to be out of range. Please let this work. He moved his palms apart slowly, watching as a point of black light began to gather between his hands. It only grew to about the size of a marble, but Magnus didn't seem disappointed with this development at all. Gotta remember to hold back.
He took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment before a look of complete intensity covered his face. Without another movement, the point of light erupted from his hands into a spiraling torrent of pure black energy. The second it hit the dragon, it exploded into a strong updraft. It looked almost like a raging tornado, and it was growing with the more magic he put into it.
As soon as the spell enveloped the dragon, Magnus finally moved his hands. He clasped them back together again, and with them moved the magic. The vortex that had trapped the dragon had suddenly compacted, becoming a rather thin spiral. A shriek came from the dragon, but the sound was cut short when the Umbra Mortis suddenly exploded in a blast of white light. Everyone had to shield their eyes, but when it finally died down, they were shocked to see that the dragon was no more. Not a trace of its existence was left.
"Amazing," whispered Xyra.
"Yeah…but it's a horrible spell," said Darren, sounding a little sad about it. His eyes were currently on Magnus. "Dark magic is the power of the devil. For him to know a spell like that…you really have to wonder just what kind of sorcerer he is."
"Exactly what happened to the dragon?"
"It was erased," Gareth responded as he began to walk forward. "An Umbra Mortis completely obliterates whatever gets trapped inside. If used by a true master of dark magic, it can even destroy the soul. However…it's only good against non-magic types. Nowadays, any sorcerer can counter it."
Magnus sighed a bit as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Casting such a large spell had really taken it out of him. All the running away and frantic dodging probably hadn't helped any. He looked across the arena where the dragon had once been, and he was shocked to see that Xyra's sword was still intact. Then again, that made sense. He couldn't very well eliminate something that couldn't acknowledge its own existence. Objects were resistant to spells like that.