The Last Crusader

12

Devlin finally found his refuge, returning to his training before Chris brought his dad to bother him. He was tired enough that he needed a nap but had enough energy left to repeat what he did at The Fortress, to the Mafia Compound. Then both would be wiped out of Nadia for good.

Devlin shook awake from napping on the wrestling mats, looking around him in all directions. They had come for him.

The metal grate opens wide, locking itself open. A tailwind swept Devlin out of the gym into the open. A fist of water turned to ice at the final moment knocking him to the ground. Then a freight train of stone ran Zenith down.

Zenith got himself up on one knee, smiling as he stood tall trying to find a single target's location. Their energies moved swiftly.

He turned about face, confronted by another solid fist of ice. As he tried to move, his legs were embedded into the concrete. A gale of wind sent cold sharp knives through Zenith's body.

Zenith's eyes glow red and he looked up, clotheslining through the concrete armor knocking Badger out cold. Behind him, he threw a ball of ethereal energy knocking Draco from the sky. He switched his focus on the strongest target, Mariposa.

Mariposa drew out into the sea, calling for his attention with balls of water, enough to irritate him without real lethal intention. Mariposa met Zenith at the pier of the harbor. Zenith hid a ball of ethereal energy behind his back, gasping as he countered hundreds of ice balls the size of his head raining down at his location. Zenith felt his bones crack, and snap under the weight and force dropping him flat on his face. Mariposa stood over Zenith raising the ocean to the sky into a spear of ice. Zenith sneered until she shattered it into a million pieces. A hail of spears fell from the sky and Zenith had no real escape.

He teleported away, too tired to transport far enough away to avoid the attack. Badger shielded himself and Draco. Watching in terror at Mariposa's true power, if she hadn't been holding back. Struggling to even protect himself from her attack.

When the spears of ice stopped a half hour later, Badger and Draco finally found it safe to move. Searching for Mariposa and Zenith.

They found Mariposa sitting by Zenith's body. Zenith bolted into the ground, with spears varying depths into his body or pinning his clothes down.

"We finally got him." Mariposa smiled boldly at the duo.

"You're the true number one, huh?" Draco rubbed his neck feeling dwarfed by Mariposa's capability.

"It's not about rankings, it's about results. So, do we give him to the Regime or the Mafia?" Mariposa asked sitting on Zenith's back.

"His father." Badger frowned staring at the ground.

"Come on, now. We can end this all right here, right now." Draco clenched his fists, but Badger had truly saved his life.

There would have been no way to fly away from Mariposa's attack.

"Hey, Big Red, we caught him." Badger pulled out his phone, calling Valencia and Crimson.

"I see." Crimson applauded, revealing himself with a few ice spears lodged into his shoulder.

"You saw?" Badger looked at his phone, putting it away.

"I thought I would play support in case you all needed help." Crimson kneeled by Zenith's side, pulling the mask from his face.

Zenith's life filled his body, seething with rage as his mask left his face—the ultimate disrespect. Zenith's aura flared up all around him. She was sending them away from the sheer shock wave of force. The mask from earlier manifested before Devlin.