Book 4 | Agent 34 and the Last Gem

Chapter 63 | The Castle

The dragons quickly flew low above the castle, lowering their tails down towards the entrance. Their passengers slid off and onto the pristine grass of the island, taking in the view for a minute. Braunick may have been evil, but he knew how to construct beauty perfectly. The island had a small pond near the entrance, flora and fauna decorating the exterior of the evil castle looming over it all.

Thad quickly pushed against the door, the stone beast not budging. He flagged down a dragon, who quickly landed and approached the giant doors with ease. He rammed into it with strength, breaking it off of its hinges and onto the ground. The scaly beast took off, not before wishing them good luck.

Thad led the Destigems inside, Grari and Wilom by his sides. Agent 34 was following directly behind him, Vrängr and Arenia on both sides of him. Everyone seemed to be very frightened, no one knowing what exactly to expect. Agent 34 felt so bad about what had happened to Ismara and wanted to say sorry. He knew who he wanted now and it was her. He wanted to stop the battle and just hug her as tight as he could and tell her it would be okay. But he can't. Agent 34 screwed up for real this time, and if one of them died in this battle then he would never forgive himself.

Large metal doors stood at the end of the hall, bigger than the rest in the room. "It's probably his throne room," Thad called back to the group. "He will most likely be in there!"

With secrecy and swiftness, two figures jumped out from a room that was connected to the hallway, standing in the way of what the Destigems thought was Braunick's throne room. They slowly turned around, revealing themselves to be a woman and a man in a very dirty and torn red cloak.

Ben, who had been in the back, shrunk. His eyelids dropped and his heart fell, vision getting dizzy. It was the woman whom he had loathed for months now, refusing to even think about her. It was his mother.

Of all the people the kid could have encountered, it was his mother who he had to face. He could've faced anyone with ease, even Braunick himself! But his mother was a difficult fight to be fought.

"Mom?" he said aloud, everyone turning towards him in confusion.

"Ben?" Sarah replied, confusion filling her as well.

"What are you doing here?" Ben exclaimed, pushing himself to the front of the group.

"I can ask the same to you!" she scolded him. "You are not to participate in rebellious acts, young man!" Sarah stuck her finger out towards him, taking a step forwards.

"Shut up," the boy replied. "You betrayed me. You betrayed us all. You killed your own husband!"

"No, I didn't," She denied the accusations. "What evidence do you have for it?"

"Where is he then?" The question piercing the woman.

"He's at home, waiting for me to bring you guys back," she replied, unsure of her answer.

"Why are you here then? Why are you in Braunick's castle?" Ben yelled. "Why are you evil?"

"Fine!" Sarah exclaimed. "I killed your father! Are you happy now? I killed him so I could have you kids to myself! I never loved him anyways!"

"That's all I needed to hear," The boy stated, pulling out his long, silver blade. "You've just unleashed a fury of hell that you'll never experience ever again after this very moment,"

"Wait," the cloaked man said, sticking his arm out towards him. "You remember me, correct?"

Ben turned to him, scanning him up and down. "How could I forget,"

"Good, just checking," Everyone rolled their eyes. "Anyways, allow me to introduce to you our newest member of Braunick's army," Deathbringer extended his other arm back towards the door they came from. A grey figure jumped out of it, landing between Sarah and Laio with his back turned towards them. "Everyone, please give a round of applause to our best work of art yet—Calvin Evilslayer!"

Everyone's jaws dropped when Calvin turned around, his grey skin even darker than before. His brown hair had a tint of black to it now, a certain streak of it pure white now. His eyes had shifted to a red-type color, his clothes baggy and torn. His muscles were big and thick and had visibly grown since their last encounter. His skin, however, was the worst part. Bruises and cuts lined his body, a map of injuries given to him probably in the form of torture from Braunick himself.

"Calvin?" Ben choked, taking a step towards him.

"Get back," the grey human warned. "I won't hesitate to kill," He slashed his sword at them as a warning.

"Don't hesitate," Deathbringer told him. "Do it. Kill them all with the power Braunick taught you to harness,"

Calvin extended his palm outwards towards the Destigems, all of them watching in shock and fear. His body tensed as a ball of black energy formed in his hand, growing until it engulfed it all and stopped at his wrist.

"Oh no," Thad said. "They taught you Black Magic,"