Monster Legends - Volume 1: A World Of Monsters

14. Defeat, or victory?

Don't know what I expected to happen to be honest. Life ain't a fairy tale. A kiss ain't gonna wake someone up from a powerful spell like the chip Viktor planted inside Stella's brain to control her. I must have hit my head when I blacked out. No time for laughing at my stupidity. And even though I loved it, Stella did not look the same.

A vine flies from her hand and pushes me backwards. I fly two seconds through the air, rolling backwards when I land to reduce the impact. My back hurt from the fall anyway.

The distraction was enough, and even though I haven't succeeded in 'waking her up', the kiss gave Houglas enough time to regain his strenth. His eyes glowed a brighter yellow than usually,  and he tackled Stella to the ground, his staff pinning her head to the marble floor. "Don't kill her!" I shout. I don't know if he heard or not. For now, my friends were safe. I had a bigger feat on my hands. I run to the table and grab the lightning resistant gloves.

"Tarty!" I shout as loud as I can. Moments later there's a loud crash as the door from the lab's entrance flies off its hinges, spinning to a stop on the clear ground. Breaking off large chunks of the marble wall, Tarty enters, ready to fight.

"Come on." The large cyclops spots me, roars and in a couple steps is next to me. His indigo ragged body was covered in battle scars, burn marks on his stomach and neck. His eyes glazed with anger and adrenaline. My heart skips a beat at the look of him. I would definitely not want to be the enemy fighting this guy. "We have a certain man-monster to catch."

"Viktor!" I shout into the corridors. We're in the main toom again, three Gradies littered the floor. Two dead, one unconscious. "Where are ya, you coward!?" My voice echoes through the large room. I turn around at the sound of a footstep behind me. A man in his forties, emotionless face, fire flowing down his arms. A Gradie. "Tarty! Take care of him."

"With...pleasure!" The giant roars and leaps forward. A fireball strikes his chest, barely leaving a mark on the armour-like skin of the Tartarus. Tarty roars, the ground splitting and cracking, two large stalagmites growing out of the floor, impaling the man. I quickly look away, but not before I see the blood spray the floor. I wish there was another way we could take care of the Gradies, but there wasn't. I hated seeing these innocent people die. Even though they wanted us dead.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? The little boy turns out to be a murderer?" I spin around once again, searching for the source of the rough voice. Viktor, standing just a couple metres in front of us. An idea pops into my head. "Get him to the storage corridor." I whisper, Tarty right next to me. His hearing was much better than you would expect.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where you going  big boy?" Viktor says, not backing off. He had a smirk on his blue skinned face. A smirk I very much learned to detest. Tarty, moving forward, his muscles tightening and getting ready to battle steps forward, club raised. With a single flick of his hand, a thunder bolt flew out of Viktor's palm, engulfing the entire club in destructive flames.

Tarty roars with anger again. "I...like...club." He shouts, tightening his fist. A stalagmite flies from the ground growing out of nowhere, flying forward with incredible speed, shattering into the wall inches from Viktor's face. The man-Monster hybrid yelps with surprise, and runs for it. "Don't let him get away!" I shout a warning. Two large stalagmites smash in front of the running doctor, stopping him in his tracks. Seeing there's no ther way, he turns and runs into the corridor labeled as storage. And if I had any luck, it was exactly where I wanted him.

A short but loud yip behind me stops me before darting after my nemesis. I turn and see Magmie, looking at me with her adorable orange eyes. "Hep!" He says. It doesn't take me long to figure out what he's trying to say. "Help? You want to help?" Magmie nods her head. "Alright! Come on then!" The little Vadamagma runs to my side. "And Tarty, you stay here. You're too large to fit inside, sorry." "No problem." The giant answers in that booming and gruff voice of his. "Go and get...that...bastard!"