The Overlord Saga
Vol I. Past, Present, Future
Chapter 25: The Final Confrontation
(Part 3)
THE THEURGIST AND THE EVOCATOR, COURTYARD, EAST SIDE-
“Remind me why I listened to you again?” the Theurgist glanced sideways at the Evocator as the dark mass gathered before them, the little insects swarming by the millions. The Evocator held up an orb of fire in the palm of her hand, extending her arm and waving it about to keep the insects at bay. The two had ventured into the courtyard after the Insurgent Leader and the Overlord, staying as hidden as possible as they attempted to catch up to their leader. They had made it to the east side, where the back wall was located. As a flash of light enveloped the area, the Overlord had seeming vanished, the Insurgent Leader and the Uberlord gone as well.
“I saw the Overlord go this way, and she’s bound to need help,” the Evocator replied, wincing as a little bug shot at her, landing on her arm. In a flailing motion, she knocked it away, watching as its tiny katana flew to the ground.
“So, these are the infamous ninja mosquitos I always hear about,” the Theurgist commented, “Wish I’d remembered my bug spray.”
“Oh well, no use complaining about it now,” the Evocator remarked, holding up both of her hands. She watched as a large flame began to spin between her hands, similarly to a pinwheel. Reaching back with one hand, she tossed the fiery wheel at the swarm of ninja mosquitos.
“Nice toss,” the Theurgist complimented her smoothly, then held out a hand, calling out, “Physis!” A series of spirals came from the earth- a column representing each of the elements. As they soared into the sky, they spread out, individually striking the swarms of ninja mosquitos.
“Ouch!” the Evocator winced as a little ninja mosquito prodded her with its katana. Angrily, she pulled it up by the wings and promptly incinerated it. Overhead, the lightning spiral had taken out a good portion of the ninja mosquitos, leaving the fire spiral to surround the Evocator and the Theurgist to protect them from the annoying bugs. The water spiral crashed into a platoon of ninjas attempting to cross the fiery barrier, while the ice spiral merely froze the remainder of the ninja mosquitos.
The spirals died away as the Theurgist realized that the fight was over. The Evocator bent down and picked up a shard of ice, glancing at the frozen mosquito inside. She tilted her head to the left, then tossed it away carelessly, “Good riddance, I say.” She cast a glance at the Theurgist, then added, “You’ve got a nasty bite on your chin.” Dismayed, the Theurgist touched the itchy bite, fighting the urge to scratch it. The Evocator put her hands on her hips and glanced up at the Fortress, wondering where the Overlord could have gone.
“Maybe... This is her fight,” the Theurgist suggested, “It’s not our place to interfere.”
“It might not be, but she at least needs the emotional support right?” the Evocator replied, “You saw her before the battle. She wasn’t looking too confident at all!”
“We’ll help her if she needs it,” the Theurgist replied, “We have our friends to help, too, remember? They’ll need us in case the Zilant comes back...”
“I don’t think he will,” the Evocator replied, “It’s not even a real monster, if you understand what I’m saying.”
“Actually, Evocator, I’m completely lost on this one,” the Theurgist admitted, rubbing his goatee.
“The Zilant? It’s the Uberlord. The Overlord knew all this time that the Zilant would vanish if the Uberlord was in danger of being attacked,” the Evocator replied, continuing despite the Theurgist’s confused look, “The Zilant is an embodiment of the Uberlord’s soul. I read about it in a book once. It’s his spirit in its most natural, basic shape.”
“Are you trying to tell me that the Uberlord is a chicken lizard?” the Theurgist asked.
“Not exactly,” the Evocator sighed, head leaning on one of her shoulders, “It’s really hard to explain.”
“So what happens if the Uberlord decides to use his... chicken... Zilant... power?” the Theurgist asked, “What happens if he decides to use it on the Overlord and the Insurgent Leader?”
“I can’t imagine that it’d be anything good. But the problem is that the Uberlord’s body is left completely open and vulnerable,” the Evocator replied, “So, he wouldn’t change into the Zilant if he was in his right mind.
“Are evil villains ever in their right mind?” the Theurgist raised an eyebrow.
“Good point,” the Evocator conceded.
----
THE OVERLORD AND THE UBERLORD, BLACK AND RED ROOM DARKNESS THING PLACE-
Muramasa clanged loudly against the blade of the spear, sending sparks flying. The Overlord pressed against the lance with the sword, throwing in all of her weight on the blow. The Uberlord pulled back and made a move to stab the Overlord, but missed. She spun around, the blade twirling as she tried to strike the Uberlord across the back. He turned, the handle of the metal polearm blocking her. The Overlord gritted her teeth in frustrated and bounced back a few paces.
“You’re letting your emotions take over,” the Uberlord replied, “You need to focus!”
The Overlord held up her hand and sent out two orbs of green magic, watching in frustration as the Uberlord took his lance and knocked them right back at her. As she moved to avoid her own spells, the Overlord swooped in for a strike. The Uberlord was expecting it and merely knocked Muramasa away with his lance. The Overlord barely was able to keep a grip on the massive sword as she staggered back, glaring at her enemy.
“Focus!” the Uberlord barked.
“You killed Thomas!” the Overlord yelled, moving in to attack. She leapt into the air and clashed with the Uberlord’s lance, using the momentum to bounce back. In a flash, she hooked the lance with Muramasa, the tip of the sword coming within an inch of the Uberlord’s chest. She flipped the lance into the air, watching as it sunk into the ground.
“That’s more like it!” the Uberlord laughed, glancing at the sword tip at his chest, “But can you keep up with me, still?” The lance flew into his hands, missing the Overlord by a couple of inches. He caught it and raised it into the air, the entire room darkening. The Overlord felt the ground turn slightly liquified, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She leapt up as dark magic began consuming the floor, summoning a semi transparent platform to land on. As the Uberlord began levitating in the air, the walls of the room around her began to solidify into thick, black rock, towering up until it reach a ceiling what seemed like a mile away.
A gander below and the Overlord saw the dark liquid as it began to rise. She watched the Uberlord glide out from the room, through the ceiling and into the light. At once, the Overlord summoned a second platform, leaping onto it as the liquid rose. As the first platform faded, she turned and cast a third one, jumping onto it. A fourth, a fifth, a sixth- she climbed the interior of the darkness-infested room, still unsure as to where she truly was. As she reached the ceiling, she glanced down at the darkness, extending a hand. Flying from the bowels of the liquid, her scythe landed in her free hand, drenched but unharmed. She hopped through the ceiling, wincing as a blinding light filled her vision.
Landing on the stone floor of the entrance hall in the Fortress, the Overlord dizzily leaned against her scythe. ‘Here? How’d I get here?’ she wondered, glancing at where she had come from to find nothing. Merely solid stone floors and a blazing crimson carpet. She frowned, dismayed and began toward the throne room, figuring this would be where the Uberlord had disappeared to.
“You can come out now... Coward...” the Overlord sheathed her scythe, her free hand dangerously moving toward the handle of the handgun she carried. “Uberlord?” She asked, strutting through the doors into the throne room.
“Oh... There you are,” Gabriel’s wings fluttered and he put his hands on his hips. The Overlord almost groaned aloud as the Archangel asked, “Where’ve you been? We require the souls to be turned in by sundown and it’s an hour past!”
“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a crisis?” the Overlord demanded, a maddening rage consuming her. She seized Gabriel by the collar, jerking him toward the stairs to the Dungeon, “And, to be honest, I don’t give a damn about your rent policies!” She roared.
“You... You can’t do this!” Gabriel cried out, “You’ll regret this, Overlord! I promise... You’ll... AHHH!” She promptly threw him in an abandoned cell, and locked the door as she turned away. With her pointer finger, she embedded on the wall a quick apology to the Apprentice for leaving an angel in her home, and took her leave from the Dungeon.
As the Overlord re-entered the throne room, she took a glance about the emptiness, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise. She began toward the throne, glancing at the stubborn chair and scowling to herself. However, a stirring behind one of the pillars to the left made the Overlord jump almost out of her skin. She pointed Muramasa at the figure, who was sitting up in the shadows, seeming to be gazing about the scenery.
“Who is it?” the Overlord took a threatening step forward. As she pointed the tip of Muramasa to the back of the stranger’s neck, the figure jumped, holding its hands up.
“It’s me!” the Insurgent Leader exclaimed, “It’s the Insurgent Leader! Who...” He glanced around his shoulder and stopped, staring wide-eyed at the Overlord as she threatened him with his own sword.
However, the Overlord let Muramasa fall to the ground, ignoring the ear-splitting crash it made. She threw her arms around the Insurgent Leader, stunned and very silent. The Insurgent Leader remained still, eyes still wide and cringing. She released him, fighting back tears as she whispered, “I thought you died.”
“I’m not dead,” the Insurgent Leader said blandly.
“Good... Because... I... I don’t allow that,” the Overlord sniffled, then glanced at the figure behind the Insurgent Leader. Eyebrows raised, her gaze moved from Nard, who looked as stoic as ever, to the Insurgent Leader.
“He saved me... I think,” the Insurgent Leader shook his head, “I don’t know how...”
“Good boy. I’mma give you a cookie later,” the Overlord bent down and patted Nard on the head. She saw the Insurgent Leader pick up Muramasa from the corner of her eye, trying not to smile too widely. She picked up Nard, holding him like a baby. As she turned to say something to the Insurgent Leader, Sexist came into view, running at the two in fright.
“There you two are!” he yelled, “We’ve been looking everywhere... There’s something happening outside. There’s a vortex over the Fortress!”
“Yeah, no kidding, do something about it,” Jamie remarked as she walked down the stairs, “Isn’t it your job to fix this mess we’re all in?”
“Yeah, yeah...” the Overlord sat Nard down, and promptly glanced at the Insurgent Leader, “Now that we’re together again, he doesn’t have a prayer. We can reach the vortex on the roof. I know the way up.”
“What are your orders from here?” Jamie asked.
“Secure the castle. Make sure no more of his troops are in here,” the Overlord nodded to Jamie and beckoned for the Insurgent Leader to follow her. As she began up the stairs, she cast a glance back at where Sexist and Jamie were watching her. Tearing her gaze away, she reached up, running a finger over the blade of her scythe.
“How are we going to stop him?” the Insurgent Leader asked as they reached the Overlord’s office.
“I have no clue,” the Overlord admitted.
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