New Dawn of Scare (Second Lordi Saga - Story 1)

Chapter 20 - Ycnarr'Orveh

In the village, the situation turned even more to the disaster. Most of the SRDO soldiers had perished, and all the monsters, still continuing the fight, were injured and weakening.

Ian Redfield, himself wounded in the arm, having no more ammunition for his assault rifle and now firing his berreta pistol, tried to make contact with the command center.

_ "HQ, here Alpha Red Wolf! The situation is critical! I have lost more than half of my men! We need reinforcements, now!"

_ "Alpha Red Wolf, this is Oracle." answered a voice in the communicator. "The request for reinforcements can no longer be considered. The council has triggered the "Scorched Earth" protocol. If you can, evacuate the area as soon as possible."

Redfield's heart jumped in his chest. The "Scorched Earth" protocol? Without wasting a minute, the squad captain ran, pushing his way through the chaos. Amen, Mana, Kita and Magnum had all been thrown to the ground, beaten violently by the abominations. Enary fought like a lioness, but was quickly overwhelmed too. Otus and G-Stealer were unconscious, and Kalma was struggling to protect them as best he could. Redfield ran without stopping and managed to reach the circle of megaliths. Awa was in excruciating pain, kneeling and still struggling to hold the spell of the portal. Ox had come to protect her and also to keep her awake, Awa being on the verge of sinking into unconsciousness.

_ "We have a big problem!" Redfield said breathlessly.

_ "Oh really? What could be worse than that? We're getting slaughtered!" Ox told him, losing his temper.

_ "But listen to me, damn it!" Redfield retorted, losing patience as well. "A Hammerhead nuclear warhead is going to be launched by the SRDO! The whole valley will be pulverized! We have to leave now!"

_ "We can't! Our friends are still inside the vortex, and I'm telling you, we won't leave without them!" Ox asserted.

**********

Meanwhile, in the Darkland, Mr. Lordi, Emily, Hella and Mathias had walked through the door of the Room of Illusions, and now stepped into a new location that left them speechless.

An open space that stretched endlessly through and through, a desert of ash, rock and black dust. A threatening cold prevailed, along with an abominable smell of decay that almost made the two humans vomit. The logic of this place was just as nonexistent as the first room. There were mountains floating in the air, or others being squarely in the sky, upside down. From the black clouds that covered the whole sky, huge lightning bolts exploded, hitting the mountains and the ground.

But what captured the group's attention was the strangest and most intimidating thing. In front of them, or more precisely levitating at fifty meters high, was a gigantic obsidian pyramid, upside down and floating. The structure must have been tens and tens of meters wide. It looked like the prisms, but much larger and was only accessible by a small black stone staircase that connected it to the ground. The staircase seemed to lead by the only visible exit on this whole pyramid. The giant sprawling spirals on its surface glowed with the same light as the prisms. This pyramid was surely the heart of it, feeding them all.

_ "Oh my god ..." Hella breathed, contemplating this structure that shouldn't even exist.

_ "Neither he, nor the devil, nor anything we know could have designed that ..." growled Mr. Lordi.

Emily and Mathias were grimacing, having difficulty looking at this pyramid. The whole group felt it. The overwhelming, dark aura was even more powerful here, and every second was a constant struggle not to waver.

At the top of the pyramid was something the group noticed. It looked like some kind of big obsidian throne, and sitting on it, still ... Immediately Mr. Lordi, Hella, Emily and Mathias felt their hearts leap and took a step back.