Dang Convergence Vol. 1

Chapter Twenty The Darksent, Part 2

Chapter Twenty

The Darksent, Part 2

Six of Dante's clones flew through the air, their golden wings of flame leaving a trail in the air as they went right at Arkanis. Arkanis slashed at them with shadow but the clones dispersed into flames in time to avoid the slash and reformed immediately after. They aimed their hands at Arkanis and created flaming chains that wrapped around the monster's neck, hands and feet.

The monster bellowed and attempted to break free of the chains. The clones held on by summoning even more chains that they wrapped around themselves and attached to the ground below for added resistance.

Dang and Dante went at Arkanis simultaneously. Dang launched himself at Arkanis' chest and struck him with one of two escrima sticks that he was now wielding. The strike was delivered with such pinpoint precision and frightening force that it cut the monster's flesh and sent thick purple blood gushing out of the wound. Arkanis roared in agony. Dante zipped through the air, the jets of flames firing from his feet propelling him. He arced around Arkanis, slicing across every inch of the monster's form with a flaming sword before propelling himself a little above the creature.

He held one hand out above his head and his eyes glowed. "Inferno Spear," he commanded. At once, a spear of dazzling flame materialized in his hand. He blasted it through the air, launching it right at Arkanis. The spear struck the monster in the chest and upon contact, it exploded, engulfing Arkanis entirely in flame.

Dang raised a hand to shield his face from the searing heat of Dante's flames, watching through the cracks between his fingers as Arkanis burned. The seconds ticked by, and extended into minutes. The flame raged on still.

And then, the air turned cold.

Dang's eyes shot wide and a gasp escaped him. He felt the pain before the impact. A slicing pain, one that seemed to cut through his entire being. The pain was intense, enough that it blurred his vision out of focus entirely and brought him down to one knee. He drew shuddering breaths as he tried to process what had just happened.

He heard Arkanis laugh, feeling the air turn even colder. He knew another attack was coming. Move, he commanded himself. GET OUT OF THE WAY!

But his body wouldn't budge.

CRAP! He cursed silently.

The air got even colder and he knew it was about to happen. He was about to die. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end to come.

And then came the heat. He felt hands grab him and felt an intense breeze against his face. He cracked his eyes open to find that he was sailing through the air. Dante set him down some distance away and stared at him, his face filled with concern.

"Are you okay?" Dante queried.

Dang blinked his vision back into focus. He made out the cuts on the back of his hands. Diagonal cuts. And it wasn't just his hands. Judging from the way his body stung, he must have been cut everywhere.

He stared in the direction of Arkanis. The flames that had engulfed the monster had dissipated now and there it was, still standing, unscathed. Smoke issued from the monster's skin but there was nothing to hint at any significant damage having been done.

"Are you okay?" Dante repeated.

"Yeah," Dang nodded and pushed himself to his feet. "I'm fine. Just had to catch my breath for a moment."

"Can you, uh, can you heal?" Dante asked.

"Not quickly enough," Dang gritted his teeth. "But it's fine. I can still fight; I've got enough energy left in the tank. But if I get caught by another one of his attacks like that, it'll be–,"