Inner Light: The Dragon Within Pt 2

This article was written by Mystogan on 2012-01-05 under Novels & Stories.

25. Chapter 24

    Kaiten sits in the jeep going back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness. He could once again feel the amulet around his neck once more and it was a good thing because it was helping him heal at a faster pace.

    This was not what he wanted, not at all but, yet this is what it was turning out to be.

    Allan drove the jeep as best he could while fighting off sleep so that he may reach his destination. Michael, his best friend, would be able to provide lodging, a temporary one if at all.

    In the meantime, Callyn was finding it hard to believe that he was actually losing, the hail of bullets were inexhaustible and his armor was finally being penetrated.

    The Blood Armor was refusing to hold its form anymore and he sank down bleeding away his lifeblood.

    Running Horse stood triumphant over his opponent, gritting his teeth, trying not to let his enemy know that he too was at the last drop of stamina.

    He knew from the start of the fight that if he managed to hold out against one who used their own blood as an armor they would be unable to keep up.  He watched as Callyn finally lay still and walk tiredly toward the house.

    Callyn had never been so humiliated but, he was not about to die, his blood seeped back in and his wounds began to heal.  Running Horse would pay and he would pay dearly but, for now he will let this go.

26. Chapter 25

    Elra beat Michael on the head, the umpteenth time, as he failed once again in summoning the power of the amulet.  Carla had mentioned to her what had happened during the trip to Farley's Eden, when Michael suddenly exploded into a giant sphere of light and became a knight in shining armor with a pair of white feathery wings, and a long white blazing spear.

    But she does not understand why now he was unable to call out the amulet of release power even though he has been saying the word "Release" now close to one hundred times and each time he fails she would use Farley's Staff to whack him on the head, to discourage him on failing.

    The house has now turned back to look more like a house than the hell it use to be, though by all means it does not look the same as it originally did.  But this was little comfort for Michael as he was still continuously being whacked across the head for failing to transform, however, it seems after the transformation, some powers seem to have emerged from his untransformed self.  For example his speed and strength seem to have magnified so did his constitution and regenerative ability.

    But that was a load of good since he was still pretty much unemployed, no they did not fire him for that incident but, the job is still shut, so therefore he is just not getting paid and therefore he was barely surviving on microwave food.
    It has been ages since he talked to Allan, maybe it was time to give him a ring.  He reaches for the phone then realizes that his connection was still dead, that damn wizard still hasn't fixed the line yet.

    Then a horn beeps at the front of his house, making Elra cease her continuous hitting. 

    "Michael!" there was a shout from the front "Help!"
He rushed out of the house quickly before Elra, Carla, and the rest of the Protector Gang could stop him.

    Standing outside he was surprised to see a heavily wounded man being semi-carried by Allan who seems extremely exhausted and who was standing in the front of an unfamiliar jeep.

    Something had happened to his friend to make him look this way and what had happened to the stranger he had no clue but because his friend was supporting him, he just had to help.

    He almost went to the stranger’s side when Elra appeared, an unknown expression on her face. 

    "Kaiten," she says "Stand back Michael, that man is dangerous," this halted Michael in his tracks.

    Elra, still with Farley's staff in hand, quickly did a diagonal slash with it toward Kaiten but, a tired Allan jumped in front as if to take the blow meant for the stranger.

    Michael had no idea what was going on but rage filled him once more, he would not see his friend hurt.  A sphere of incredible power suddenly exploded from where he stood, sending both the Jeep and the house, as well as the people, flying.

    Michael stood there looking at the wreckage of his house, as well as the unconscious group of people lying far from his feet.  Kaiten and Allan in even worst shape than before wonder if coming here was the right thing to do.

    Michael frowned at what seems to be the wreckage of his house. How was he supposed to explain this to his parents?

27. Chapter 26

    When Farley finally came to he could see Michael looking extremely crestfallen then he saw the house which had exploded, he realized what had happen, as he briefly recalls the power that was unleashed from Michael, only few moments before.

    He, without thinking, grabbed his staff and starts the incantation, the shredded house suddenly and instantaneously rebuild, however, the effect was too good and it had formed a castle.  What the hell was this? First it was totally ineffective and now it was too effective.

    As he looks at Michael he can still see somewhat of a glow still surrounding the reluctant protector.  Allan and Kaiten were sitting side by side. Allan seems to be asleep but, Kaiten was healing somewhat, due mainly to the Amulet’s power.

    Elra seems to be eyeing Kaiten but, did not make a move to injure him.  Carla just stood there as if totally unsure of herself.  Farley did not understand what had happened during the time he was out but, it must have been important.

    "They are innocent, Allan wouldn't help anyone who was not, he is not the sort," Michael said.  Kaiten just looks at the man then looks at the castle and winces.

    Michael just shrugged it off, a castle was still much better than the entrance to hell, "You guys should rest up, it looks like we don't have much time" Michael says.

28. Chapter 27

    Rozek stood there shaking from pure anger, he couldn't even lash out at anything anymore such as was the anger pouring through him, two of his best defeated or failed continuously one after the other. He turns to stare at Ritter who look like he has some kind of determination in him, while the normally arrogant Callyn looks downward.

    Kai Long was so unimpressed with his progress that the Corrupted Dragon had dispatched two other Corrupted Protectors to assist him in the elimination of these troublemakers.

    The two of them just stood there ignoring everything he was saying for they were not here to follow his command, as Kai Long has made that very clear toward them but to assist in the completion of the task.

    Wei Lee and Kokuryu stood there in complete contrast of one another.  Wei Lee had short, black hair and was dressed in black Chinese cloth, and Kokuryu wearing a white suit and tie, and who had long, blonde hair and blue eyes.

    Though they physically contrast, the same look of danger emanates greatly from them, enough to send shivers down many dark wizards’ spines.

    "Kai Long is displeased with you all, so now I will join the battle, we will wipe them all out, to the very last of them, even the women," Rozek said, while the two that were sent just shrugged.

29. Chapter 28

    "Are you sure about this?" Carla asks to Michael. 

"Yeah," Michael replied "They are gonna find us anyway, we might as well face them head on, besides there is no other place to run, like you said they can simply dowse for us anyway so we will go to them."

    "He's right," says Running Horse who had arrived just after the house was turned into a castle.  "Besides they have that guy that can control blood."

    Elra, sitting opposite Kaiten, just eyed at him while Kaiten did the same.  The bus was big but not uncomfortable.  Allan was the driver while Michael sits just behind him.  Carla did the dowsing and Running Horse sat beside Kaiten.

    Carla watches the necklace sway to and fro on the map until it finally settles on one of the business areas, Michael frowns at the spot where the necklace pointed.  It was one of the new towers for an energy drink company.  It belongs to Rozek or some such, it was all over the news because he was a billionaire from Russia.  By bringing his business here, he would have given out lots of jobs to the community.

    This could not be a worse situation because it would mean there will be a lot of people there, and if a fight breaks out, a lot of innocent people could be hurt, but, if they do not act now, even more people could be hurt still.

    It was only a half hour drive but, they made it, the tower was huge and looked to be at least twenty floors.  Michael and Allan look at each other and then walked to the doorway where the door automatically slid open, the other five people just piled in after them.

    The receptionist at the front desk looks up for a brief moment and went back to talk on the phone, ignoring the party completely.

    Michael and Allan look at each other and decide to just walk towards the lift.

    "Sorry the lift is out of order," said the receptionist. She continued with a bored look on her face, "Also please sign in before going up."  A brief and uneasy feeling swept through the party but, Michael just walks up to where the receptionist was and looked for a pen.  The receptionist eyes him up and down, and takes out a knife and plunges it down hard on the desk. "Please sign in blood," she says with a menacing voice.

    The lights blink out and the receptionist grows huge and hair sprouts from her back and then she became hunched over, claws appearing from her fingernails, and black leather wings appear from her back.

    Michael sighed and spoke "Okay but its really going to hurt when I take out all of yours," and he grins too.  Allan just stares blankly, what had come over his friend?

    "Release!!!!" Michael yelled, then silence, as nothing happens.  "Errr...Plan B...run!!!" and Michael sped off toward the lift at an incredible rate.  "The lift does not work," she screamed behind him as she went to tackle him but was stopped by a hail of gunfire from Running Horse which caused her to lay dead in her own pool of blood.

    The alarm soon went off and everything was chaos.  Staff members, mostly consisting of monsters were appearing from everywhere and from various rooms, and also from the stairs.

    A monster jumps out at Michael, swiping its claws at him but, he smacked it once sending it flying into a wall, breaking through it and out into the grounds.

    Allan did not bother to check on the status of his friend but, did what he had just said and ran.  Kaiten and Running Horse had achieved their transformation and were hacking and shooting their way toward the top of the stairs while Michael and Allan both ran for their lives and surprisingly both were beating Kaiten and Running Horse up the steps.

    While Allan did not have much firepower he did have speed and he was in fact waiting for his friend to smack some random monsters down the flight of stairs.

    Following after Running Horse and Kaiten was Carla and again backed by both Elra and Farley.  Elra now a red and gold warrior holding a scythe was kicking them down the stairs.  Farley on the other hand was blasting away at them with his magic turning them into purple mushrooms where ever he goes.

    They were now at the fifth floor with even more monsters guarding the floor, surprisingly, Michael was doing a lot of good sending various monsters to the pavement below as he physically tossed them out through the glass walls.

    "Okay whose big idea was it to run up the stairs?" Allan asked and Michael winces on cue. "We must have run non-stop for fifteen levels now with still no sign of this Rozek, aside from this my legs feel as if they are about to drop off," said Allan.

    "Not to mention there are still trolls and goblins following behind us as we go," said Kaiten in a very non-amused manner.

    As they made it up to the nineteenth floor they now were completely exhausted and glaring at Michael unforgivingly.

    A man in his mid-thirties with ruddy brown hair, and with a goatee appeared, "The name is Rozek, nice to meet you," he said as his eyes turn to a very exhausted Carla and flicks his wrist at her, and she was suddenly flung out through the glass wall by some unseen force.

    Michael jumps, without thinking, to follow her down her path.

    Rozek grabs the amulet around his neck and says "Release" and a huge cloud of darkness swept over him where it remains as a formless mass surrounding the man.

    Allan reaches for an amulet which was not there, only to find Running Horse throwing something at him, "I got a spare, use that."

    Allan once again said the word "Release", though it still seems strange to him, and once again, the wind swept over him once and then he was again standing as a ranger.

    Allan holds his bow up and nocks an arrow at Rozek but a man in a white suit appears also knocking him out through a window.  Kokuryu, still not transformed but holding his own and continue in mid-air to wrestle with Allan on the way down.

    Wei Lee charged out of the door in a black blur and kicks at Elra, but Elra parries only to have her scythe snapped in half by the edge of the man's palm.

    Callyn appears already covered in his blood armor "Its payback time," he says while holding two large jars of something.  Callyn drops the jars which break on the ground spilling the contents everywhere but, only for a brief time as the contents immediately solidify and turn into two blades of blood.

    Ritter eyed Kaiten, both men in their transformed state while Farley eyed off Rozek.

    Rozek just stares at the turtle and starts to laugh, "And you expect me to take you seriously?" he asked before he was tossed aside by the gentle force of the wizard.

    Farley, the turtle, continues walking forward to where Rozek had fallen leaving the other protectors behind to fight their own battles.

30. Chapter 29

    Running Horse has no time for this so he releases his ultimate form and says, "Chain Gun Massacre" and a hail of bullets hit Callyn full in the chest but, the bullets were not enough to pierce the thicker than ever blood armor.

    Callyn laughs and rushes at the man swinging his sword in a wide arc but, the armor made him heavy and he was considerably slowed down. Grabbing Elra’s broken scythe that had fallen to the ground, he cut Callyn in half and waited for a satisfied thud.

    Elra now bereft of her main weapon pulls out twin katanas from her back and starts to fight off the incredibly fast Wei Lee. His strikes were fast and furious, striking her pressure point making her almost useless as she fell silently to the ground.

    Kaiten and Ritter continue to stare at each other both suddenly yelling "Hyper Rush" and Kaiten yelling once more "Supreme", where he suddenly turns completely red and slashes mercilessly at his opponent, striking more than a thousand times on the flesh of Ritter.  As he finally finished "May you die a thousand deaths," he says finally and Ritter exploded into a mass of blood.

31. Chapter 30

    "Release!!!" Michael had cried out and finally everything around him swirled in a static of energy, transforming him in mid-air. He reaches out with his hand grabbing Carla before she plummeted to her death.

    As he held her to him, he flew back up with his mighty wings.  Back to where the room was.

    Kokuryu and Allan continue to beat each other up in the air. Kokuryu still has yet to transform while Allan was tiring from the fight, unable to fight anymore he plummeted downward with Kokuryu still in tow.

    Farley fought hard against Rozek but he was on his last leg. There was just too much difference in powers that he could not win. With one last incantation, a huge energy burst exploded outward vaporising all within its range.

    Which means half of Wei Lee’s body was suddenly gone and so was Callyn’s who somehow managed to stand up. Unfortunately for Farley, that too was his last spell; the power just completely destroyed his body.

    Rozek protected in a barrier he just erected just barely escaped the blast.  Everything was in ruin.

    Rozek staggered out to meet them, his power completely
dissipated, this failure was too much.  "No!!!" he screamed out.

32. Chapter 31

    Finally making his way to the top, Michael regarded the scene, he knew Allan had gone past him and this pissed him off greatly. He gently let Carla go and looked at the crazed leader of the place just before he was suddenly lifted out into the air by some unseen force, destroying the ceiling as he was dragged up.

    Kai Long had watched this fight too long, the man had failed him too much, now to take matters into his own hand as he crush the life out of Rozek, he felt a little satisfied.  The body dropped to the floor nothing more than a bloody mess.

    If this continued any further he would start to look bad in front of the group. He has to handle this himself it seems.

    He floated down into the next room down and stared at the carnage, most of his underlings were dead or dying but, luckily, it seems the little annoyance seems to be too.  All except for one who stands there looking defiantly at him.

    Michael looks at him straight in the eye and says "I don't know who you are but looking at you severely pisses me off!"

    Kai Long stares at the only remaining resistance and flicks his wrist which caused Michael to be sent sliding backward by about an inch, his entire body glowing from the power being released.

    "You know your friend is either dying or dead, there is no longer a need for you to fight, why do you do it?" asks Kai Long.

    "Oh shut up," and Michael rushes at him aiming the spear at the man’s torso. Kai Long dodges easily and flicks his wrist at the man sending him further this time than before.

    Looking a bit annoyed, Kai Long punches out at the air with his left hand sending Michael through the glass wall this time but, Michael merely floats in the air looking at Kai Long and he asks "Is that all you got?"

    "Nom" Kai Long says and launches himself at Michael this time slashing his hand downward like a claw. Michael barely dodges it but he still could feel the pain as the air just sliced through his skin. Michael moved even faster in the air and for some reason the fight had now become an airborne fight.  Both dodging and striking at each other, nothing less than a brawl, but each time they rushed at each other they would vanish from sight as they were so fast.

    "I have had enough," Kai Long says "Dark Dragon Awaken," and in his place a huge dragon appears in mid-air.  He says "Dragon Breath" and he let out a breath of fire so huge that it begins to wipe out buildings and leaving only stumps.  People below were running and screaming now that they could see what was happening.

    The fire had touched Michael and he could barely stand the firepower.  He fell downward, unable to fight anymore, he was completely exhausted fighting his way up the floors. On his way down he could see Allan lying there broken on the ground.  People were milling about as he fell.  Everything had failed but, he was reminded by everyone that had fallen, he too could not fall. By sheer will power alone he found himself floating in the air once more.

    He looks up at the dragon and rushes upward to meet his nemesis, risking his entire life force he rushed forward like a holy lance at the dark dragon.  The amulets within the seal reacted suddenly to his feelings, sending out all the energy within them into his body.  The other amulets reacted too and he was set aflame with holy light.  Kai Long only saw the lance coming to him and did not have time to dodge it.  The lance pierces through his chest and continues out through his back. In the end Kai Long fell downward onto the pavement below destroying a sum of buildings.

    Michael watches on, amazed but, now he was spent, his entire body dissipated into thin air as he was overloaded with power.  The now conscious Carla watches on at the hero's death; shedding a tear as he finally left.

33. Chapter 32

    As he dies, his soul was sent upward into the heavens above. In the air, he was shapeless and without mass. In the clouds they were there watching him. Some of the clouds break apart and change into huge serpents, then there were more of them until the clouds were gone and only dragons remained.

    They spoke without speaking.  “So, you have finally arrived, you were lost to us and now you are found again but, we can not accept you nor your friend”, at which statement there suddenly appeared a turtle.

    “You are too human for your own good so to earth again shall you be sent, in a new body though for your’s was destroyed, and so was his.”

    A beam of light came from above and struck him and the turtle, sending them down to the ground below.  He could see them gathering at the foot of the tower.

    His form began to change and grew as he became human once more in roughly the same shape he was before, however, his hair continued to grow longer and longer, down to his waist.  He was wrapped completely in a white golden robe and he could hear the arrr and awwwwww from the crowd.  The turtle had changed to Farley again, looking slightly less mediocre and more wise than before.

    Michael just could not help himself and said "and let there be light" and half the crowd fainted.

    He looks around and surprisingly finds Allan still very much alive though he looked worse for wear. The others in their little group were also there while Carla came running at him at full speed laughing and crying at the same time. She tackled him to the ground.  ‘Right, she is definitely mad’, he thought.

34. Epilogue

    His parents had come back to find the house looking like a castle but, luckily for him, he was at work at the time.  The call centre had no clue that he was the cause of the fire so he wasn't blamed.

    Carla was his girlfriend now even though he still finds that a bit weird, her job as Priestess of the Seal was over as the seal was broken while all the amulets were destroyed.

    Running Horse went back to the U.S. to find out why he was sent here in the first place. 

    Allan is alive and kicking and still continues to run his tour.

    Kaiten was called back to Japan while Elra went back with him.  It was some sort of clan business.

    Farley of course saved the day when he "revealed" to his parents that the castle was a mere illusion cause by his magic tricks and with one wave the castle was turned back into a house.

    Everything is good and boredom had finally dissipated.

 

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