Legends of the Stars

Chapter 13: Inferno

Chapter 13

Inferno

As the Champions fled from the Malakor, Halldor forced his men to stand their ground. The Centurions unleashed their guns on the fiery demon, but their bullets barely penetrated its armored hide. The primordial devil swung its blade at its assailants, who all screamed in agony as they were relentlessly slaughtered.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!"

The Champions rushed down the hall leading to the right side of the palace. Behind them, the Malakor opened its mouth and a wave of fire came pouring out, incinerating a handful of Centurions. The flames chased the Champions down the hall until they jumped to the side in the adjacent corridor.

Once the blaze subsided, Revan called out to his allies crouching next to him. "We need to get out of here!"

"Hold on!" said Jaden. "That thing must've been guarding the temple. Now that it's out in the open, we have a chance to grab it!"

"He's right," Astra agreed. "We can't let Halldor reach it first."

"All right!" the Ark Knight shouted. "Let's go!"

"No, wait!" Revan's pleas were ignored as everyone followed Jaden down the corridor. Though he was hesitant, Revan quickly relented once they got further away.

All the Champions sprinted through the labyrinth of this ancient palace. Each one of them felt the ground shake and the air quiver as the Malakor furiously searched for them. After navigating this ruined maze, they reached the far back of the palace. Unfortunately, the steel gate leading outside blocked the way. Revan tried lifting it, but even with his suit's strength, it still wouldn't budge.

"No, it's jammed!" Revan declared.

They then saw a couple of bullets fly past them. The Imperials were at the other end of the hall, shooting at them.

"GET THEM!" Halldor ordered.

And so, Revan and Jaden quickly took out their shields to protect their allies.

"I'll take care of this!" said Darek, who started pulling at the door with his own enhanced strength.

Steel bullets burst through the gate's stone frame, just missing their targets. Jesse fired back with his own guns, but his shots barely broke through their armor. Revan, on the other hand, effectively blasted them each away with his gauntlets. Jaden did the same while protecting Astra and Kaylah with his shield. Darek only managed to lift the steel door only a couple of inches a Centurion shot him in the shoulder. He grunted in pain as he fell onto his knee.

"Darek!" Revan shouted.

"Don't stop! I got him!" Kaylah shouted.

She rushed to Darek's side and used an elixant on his bloody wound. Meanwhile, Jaden focused his energy into both hands and released a wave of energy that blew all the Centurions back.

With the Imperials incapacitated, Jaden blasted the door out of its frame, and the Champions continued their escape. Revan held Darek up as they fled, both struggling to keep up. They hurried down the hall until they reached the tower at the back of the palace. They all had a wide-open view of the deepest part of the mines. There, they had a clear view of a large cave at the end of a long bridge.

"That must be it!" Astra exclaimed.

"Let's hurry!" Jaden said.

Out of nowhere, a Gorlok jumped out and let out a piercing shriek. Jaden and Astra recoiled in terror before the Ark Knight slashed the demon back over the edge. As they watched the Gorlok fall into the darkness below, they saw more of its brethren crawling up towards them.