Gatekeepers Book 3: Redemption

The end caps on the pole seemed to glow for a second before the light faded away. The next instant, bright blue light erupted from each cap and stretched out into the air. Without even looking around, Zero moved the pole and jabbed the end of it into the gut of a dragon trying to grab him from behind. A loud zapping sound rang out as a blue aura briefly flashed around the victim. Zero withdrew the pole and turned around to watch the dragon, now charred and smoking as if lightning had just struck him, fell out of the air and plummeted through the clouds below.

“Physically touching plasma will do more than give you a little shock,” Zero warned them, holding the weapon out before him. “You’ll be lucky if you aren’t cooked alive in an instant.”

Vinkex’s soldiers halted their advance when Zero brandished the pole. They eyed it cautiously while Zero lifted it above his head once more.

“What are you all waiting for?!” Vinkex roared from his position below. “There’s well over two hundred of you; overwhelm him with your numbers!”

“There’s no point in you going anywhere,” Zero announced in a low voice. He tightened his grip on the pole, and the blue plasma extended even further from the tips of the weapon. “There’s nowhere left for any of you to run.” Twirling the weapon around in his talons, Zero slammed the plasma into the dragons surrounding him. A few soldiers on the outside of the ring managed to duck or fly over the weapon, but the rest of them fell victim to Zero’s since they were packed so closely to one another. The smell of burnt scales and flesh quickly filled the air as dragons fell out of the sky by the dozens.

Two of the dragons who escaped the first attack quickly closed in on Zero from opposite sides, charging their fists with magic as they prepared to throw enhanced punches at Zero. Zero didn’t even bother to dodge as the fists nailed him squarely on the helmet. Shrugging off the attacks, Zero held the pole higher above his head. After emitting a brief flash of light, the plasma shifted its shape. It all gathered on one end of the pole before condensing into a shape that resembled a hammer. Gripping the pole with both hands, Zero pivoted on the spot and slammed the hammer into the dragons around him. A lightning bolt rained down from above as the two dragons shot off like they’d been fired from a cannon and disappeared over the horizon.

Zero remained silent and looked down at Vinkex with a quiet look in his eyes. He lowered his weapon and rested it on his shoulder while the plasma withdrew into the pole. As angry as Vinkex was about this unexpected development, he didn’t let it show as he returned Zero’s cool stare.

“That’s quite an interesting set of armor and weapons you have there,” he finally commented, managing to keep his voice level. “Would you care to explain to me exactly what they are?”

Zero responded with a snort. “Do you think I’ll answer you just because you asked?” He shook his head while he tapped the pole against his shoulder. “I’m not dumb enough to give away vital information during a battle, and I don’t think you’re not smart enough to connect some dots.”

“Can I assume that it’s based on the plasma technology that was already lost during my time?”

Zero nodded. “See? You’re smart enough to come to a correct conclusion without any help.”

Vinkex shook his head. “But this should be impossible. Researching plasma and developing new technology with it as a basis was banned over two thousand years ago for its destructive nature. All the research and items related to it should’ve been destroyed, either by force or by time itself.”

Zero snorted as he twirled the pole around like a baton. “As you can see, not everything was eradicated. I wouldn’t have dreamed of creating something like this from scratch if I didn’t have a reference.” He paused for a moment to tap his armor. “The technology two thousand years ago was too archaic to properly use plasma-based weapons and armor. The creations made back then were massive, bulky objects; too hard to use conveniently during a battle. Nowadays, we have materials such as zeronite and antimagnium, so we’re now able to fully utilize the properties of plasma.” Zero suddenly grinned. “It makes it even better now that Theravor lifted the taboo on it for me.”

Vinkex glared at Zero before taking a deep breath to compose himself. Assessing his current situation, Vinkex estimated that around forty percent of his troops had fallen due to the petrification weapon and Zero’s assault. The enchanted fog had been blown back thanks to Corax’s weapon, but it was now steadily flowing back in. Out of the elite group Vinkex had gathered from the five generals, only Corax remained as the rest had been dealt in by Zero. The rest of his troops had finally recovered from the shock they suffered from the weapon and were now gathering below Vinkex’s location in a solid formation.

I can’t afford to make any more mistakes from this point onward. Vinkex closed his eyes as he thought while talons curled into a tight fist. I’ve already paid the price for my past hubris; any more wrong moves will cost me this war.

Opening his eyes, Vinkex focused his attention on the dragons gathered below. “There’s been a slight change in plans, everyone. I want you all to split up into pairs and take down any enemy you find as you make your way to the enemies’ stronghold. Do not attempt to fight one-on-one; it’ll only drain your stamina, and you won’t last long like that. Overwhelm your opponent with your numbers as quickly as you can and rendezvous at Dragonspire Castle’s gate.” Vinkex clapped his hands together. “Move out now!”

As one, Vinkex’s troops nodded their heads before diving into the fog surrounding them.

“Do you think I’ll let you get away from me like that?!” Zero roared. He held up the pole and snapped it in half before dive-bombing a large contingent of the soldiers that had yet to split apart. Plasma formed around the two halves of the pole and shaped itself into twin blades. Like a bat out of hell, Zero swooped in onto the soldiers and forced his way into the group, swinging his swords madly. With every swing of his sword, one dragon would be electrocuted and fall from the sky. Cutting his way through the crowd, Zero emerged from the other end while about a hundred or so soldiers fell out of the air behind him.

“I’m not gonna let you keep taking down our soldiers!”

Zero’s head swiveled in the direction of the furious voice. Reacting quickly, he barely managed to raise his pole in time to defend himself from the sudden oncoming attack. Sparks flew as the two weapons grinded against each other, and Zero realized that the one who attacked him had been the wielder of the antimagnium weapon, Corax. There was a furious expression on Corax’s face as he tried to push his lance through Zero’s defenses.

“How many of my comrades have you taken down now, you bastard?!” Corax roared.

“Bastard?!” Infuriated, Zero pushed back and managed to force Corax off of him. Clicking the ends of the two poles together to make it a single weapon once more, Zero readied himself for single combat. “What gives you the right to call me a bastard?! It’s your leader that decided to go to war with us in the first place!” Plasma leaked out of the G.O.D.P.O.L.E and took the shape of a massive greatsword. Corax began charging his lance with magic, and the tip gradually turned red before changing to black. The two dragons dashed forwards and began exchanging blows with one another.

Theravor observed these ongoings from his distant perch atop Dragonspire Castle. He had heard pretty much everything through a transmission he forcibly opened on Zero’s communication crystal.

It looks like Vinkex is finally taking us seriously. Theravor continued to observe the enemy forces as they emerged from Boreta’s magical fog, where his own troops were lying in wait for them. A fierce clash immediately broke out as the two forces engaged one another. Although he had his troops waiting to ambush Vinkex’s troops to catch them off guard and quickly take them down, Theravor could see that his men were quickly losing their advantage. While they focused on engaging in one-on-one combat, another enemy would come flying out of the fog bank and strike them down from behind.

Vinkex’s soldiers are fighting to win, no matter how dirty they have to fight. It’ll end up being unfavorable for us if we continue to fight while restraining ourselves.

A distant shockwave made one of Theravor’s eardrums pop underneath his scales, and he turned his head to see bright sparks flashing across the inside of the fog.

To think that Zero had already recreated the ancient plasma-based technology to such an extent without any of us knowing.... Theravor placed a palm on the side of his head and forcibly popped his eardrum back into place. He and I are going to have a few words when all of this is over....

At that moment, two crystals on Theravor’s communication gauntlet lit up and started beeping almost simultaneously. It was Vinzgar’s orange crystal, and a white crystal hidden from view on the underside of the gauntlet near Theravor’s wrist.

Concerned, Theravor tapped the orange crystal first. Before he could speak a word, Vinzgar’s desperate voice filled the air.

“Theravor, we’re in a tight spot over here,” Vinzgar wheezed.

Alarmed, Theravor’s hands tightened into fists. “What happened?! I thought you had your troops with you, in addition to Reothad and Drax?”

“I do. Did, rather. Most of us have been taken out,” Vinzgar responded flatly.

Theravor’s eyes widened in shock. Vinzgar, Reothad, Drax, and almost the entirety of the Killwing family soldiers had been tasked with dealing with Río, the Rogue Dragon King. Nothing had indicated that defeating him was beyond their abilities.

“We either had some wrong info, or something else is going on here,” Vinzgar went on, his voice filling with rage. “The bastard is literally sucking our blood dry!”

What? Theravor was too stunned to respond for a second. “But that makes no sense! According to eyewitness reports over the years, Río should be a Fire elemental! It shouldn’t be possible for him to use Blood magic!

The beeping from the white crystal grew louder as it was left ignored. Theravor absentmindedly tapped on the white crystal just to make it shut up.

“This is the medic team here,” an unfamiliar voice called out. “King Theravor, we have a bit of a problem.”

“What is it? And who is this speaking to me right now? I gave a communication gauntlet to Damrabe, but you certainly aren’t him. What’s going on?”

“Our problem actually concerns Damrabe. A few minutes ago, he just handed me this crystal and rushed out of the medical ward like a madman, without so much as a word of explanation.”

Perplexed, all Theravor could do was remain on his perch as he tried to process all the information he was given. What in the world is going on now?

Damrabe shot out of an opening in the walls of Dragonspire Castle, flying at top speed. There was a very concerned expression on his face as he flew as fast as possible towards the battlefield, and towards the source of the sense of unease he’d been feeling all day long. It started off as a slight feeling of concern that appeared when Theravor returned from removing Vinkex’s storm barrier. Try as he might, he was unable to shake the feeling as it grew stronger as the day wore on. Finally, it suddenly settled a few minutes ago, leaving an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach that seemed to pull him towards the battlefield.

I hope I’m worrying over nothing. Beads of cold sweat were ripped off Damrabe’s face by the fierce wind the moment they appeared on his skin. His hair rippled in the wind, making his silhouette resemble a flying lion as he dashed across the sky. But I have a feeling that this sensation isn’t unfounded.

The sound of battle reached his ears, and Damrabe saw the massive fog cloud Boreta’s magic had produced up ahead. Countless dragons fought on another on the outskirts of the cloud. Letting his gut guide him, Damrabe ignored the fighting and flew underneath the cloud. Damrabe could smell a strong scent of iron hanging in the air. Breaking through a stray cloud, Damrabe saw something that made him freeze on the spot.

Dozens upon dozens of dragons hovered in the air before him, but their appearance was far from ordinary. Underneath the armor emblazoned with the Killwing family crest, Damrabe could see their bodies were shrunken and shriveled, like the skin of dried fruit. It was as if they had become living, mummified corpses.

A loud screech rang out. Twisting his head in the direction of the sound, Damrabe saw another Killwing soldier fixed into place with an expression of absolute terror on his face. A dark red liquid began flowing out of his body in several tube-like formations. The dragon’s body became more shriveled and shrunken with each passing moment. When the last of the red liquid flowed out of his body, the dragon exploded into a cloud of brown dust. The dust was blown away in the wind while the empty armor fell to the ground below.

The dragon’s blood flew through the air until it merged with a large orb of blood hovering in the air just above an outstretched palm of a dragon Damrabe had never seen before. Damrabe’s heart skipped a beat when he laid eyes on the dragon. A cold expression filled his face as he stared at the enemy with dead eyes.

The dragon, noticing Damrabe’s sudden appearance, turned to look at the new arrival. The two sets of green eyes with maroon scleras locked onto one another as the two dragons stared at each other silently.