Chapter 61

Offensive and Defensive Magic

Luso stood tall in front of the coven members, bolts of lightning shooting from his palms and fingertips as his eyes were engulfed by sparks.

"I warn you, Willbringer: Do not try my patience!" Luso growled loudly. "Not only do I have control of advanced magic, but I also have taken time to study physical defense via marital arts, which I also blend in with my spells!"

Damion looked on at Luso for a few seconds, then threw down his rifle and held up his hands in a similar fashion to the mage, which quickly filled up with concentrated fire. "Impressive, boy... Most impressive. However, you are not the only one here who has access to magic, fool! Do you really think that Vhaldaria is the only place in the universe where people learn to harness magical energy? Even on my home planet of Earth, as well as several-thousand other worlds in the Galaxy, people can learn to access and control these energies! I will admit, your display so far has been impressive... But do you have what it takes to PLAY WITH THE BIG BOYS?!?!!"

Damion then slammed the fire orbs in his hands together, unleashing a flaming shockwave of magical energy around him that ran rampant across the castle grounds! Luso quickly brought up a magical ward, shielding himself and the coven members from the wave of fire and heat that spread out from Damion like a tsunami!

Luso was amazed by the force of the magic wave of fire Damion cast! The force, heat, and energy was so great, Luso was barely able to maintain the strength of his ward spell! After the smoke cleared, Luso saw Damion charging at him, his fist engulfed in a magic aura, ready to land a punch! Luso quickly jumped out of the way as Damion's fist impacting and leaving a cracked indent on the limestone path the fox was standing on, flipping and landing at the top of the stairs to the entry of the castle, assuming a martial arts defense pose while readying more spells of his own!

"Also, be warned young mage fighter: I also know a good deal of martial arts as well! So don't take me as an easy opponent: NO ONE FUCKS WITH THE WILLBRINGERS, AND LIVES TO TELL THE TALE!!!" Damion roared, charging after Luso again! The ten drones with Damion then emerged from the smoke, covered by energy shields, and started to fire on the rest of the coven with automatic blasters and micro-missiles, some of the barrage of projectiles blowing down the door! Luso had no choice but to retreat into the castle, blocking and dodging strikes along with ice and fire spells from Damion, while retaliating with counter-hits and lightning spells of his own, and even used magic to take advantage of the dust in the castle to cast sand spells, hurling the substance at Damion with force that was multiplied by adding magic energy!

Despite using everything, even the castle's layout to his advantage, Luso knew he was in trouble: The force and intensity of the spells Damion was using not only showed power, but great skill! On Vhaldaria, only expert and master wizards and mages could handle such magic! Luso knew his skill, power, and knowledge was above average, but compared to Damion, Luso felt like a lowly apprentice! He backpedaled into a large room, the dining hall, hoping to limit the fight to this area and minimize any damage from the fight! He also hoped he could use some of the objects here to his advantage as well via levitation. After all, nothing screamed bad-ass magic user like using a telekinesis spell to throw a bunch of knives at your opponent...

Damion followed Luso into the dining hall, not backing down. The fox mage felt relief. As long as he could keep Damion busy, he wouldn't be hurting anyone else. He channeled on Telekinesis, lifting knives and forks into the air, from both the large table, as well as the drawers and cabinets on the sides of the hall where they were stored, lining them up at his sides! By the time he was ready, Luso had over five-thousand sharp, pointy eating utensils at his side, ready and waiting!

"Impressive feat with the fire shockwave, don't get me wrong... But let us see how you handle a torrent of a thousand blades!"

Luso then sent one-thousand pieces of the sharp silverware at Damion, throwing them with Telekinesis at the WarGreymon with a flick of his wrist in a long, concentrated stream!

# # # #

Galen fought the drones head-on with Uniko and Zhal at his side, firing his automatic blaster rifle at the mechs with rapid, precise bursts joined in with blasts from Uniko's shotgun and Zhal's hand cannons, as they jumped and flipped around and in between them, sometimes causing the mechs to hit each other with their own weapons! Hatred hunkered down behind one of the fallen doors to the castle with Amon, using his automatic blaster shotgun, leaning on it more than the missile launcher to save those shots for heavier targets or coup de grade finishing strikes! Amon was taking full advantage of his cover spot, laying down literal streams of weapons fire from his gatling laser, only pausing momentarily to allow the barrels to cool to avoid overheating the weapon!

Chaos joined Bishop, taking the high ground in one of the guard towers with better cover, using their powerful sniper rifles with great effect to cripple the mechs, while Galen, Uniko, and Zhal moved in to finish them off! Tommy and Eli were also aiding in the fight, flying through the air using quick hit-and-run strikes with their blaster machine gun!

Eventually, the last mech fell to the groud cortesy of Galen, who cut the machine down with his greatsword.

"That takes care of the mechs!" Galen said. "Now where did Damion get off to?"

His answer was a loud scream of pain coming from the castle's dining hall. The voice that the scream came from sent chills down Galen's spine, as a knot formed in his gut!

It was Luso!

# # # #

Luso screamed in pain as Damion held him down, gripping one of his arms and sending an intense heat through his hand with a burning touch spell! The heat radiated from Daimon's hand through Luso's skin and flesh, permeating his arm down to the bone! Once Damion let go, the portion of Luso's arm he had gripped was left with a deep, searing burn on the fox mage's flesh in the shape of his tightened palm.

"That should leave you with a reminder of who you tried to fuck with." Damion growled as he stood up. "Let that sink in, while I hunt down Egad Nob."

Damion then walked out of the dining hall, blasting down guards that blocked his way with his magic. After the first three waves, the guards knew anything they tried would be ineffective, and gave Damion a wide space. Damion heard one guard contact Egad on a radio, profusely apologizing and praying that "Master Egad" would not be hurt, and that he could take down this beast. Damion didn't pay the words any heed, though, as he found the staircase to Egad's room. Quickly running up the stairs, he found the door to his quarters closed. Not that it was a problem... It only took an explosive fireball spell to blast it down.

Walking into the room, he saw a horned wolf, kneeling on the floor in a meditative pose, facing one of the windows, the light of the full moon shining in brightly, covering the wolf in it's rays.

"You have invaded and damaged my master's home, harmed and killed some of his men, and have maimed a bystander who offered his aid to help protect us. I hope when you reflect on this, you realize just how egregious the actions you have taken are..."

Damion scoffed, still under the control of Cailus' chip. "Who are you to lecture me on egregious actions, Zarch? Yes, I know quite a bit about you, demon! Before deciding on becoming Egad's fuck-toy and pet, you yourself left quite a trail of death and destruction... The lives you have taken out-class even the bloodiest intergalactic conflicts on the GCOG's record! So don't even try to lecture me, you hypocrite!"

Zarch stood up slowly, preparing himself for battle. "Even so, I realized the wrongs I had done once I swore myself to Master Egad's service and have taken multiple steps to repent and redeem myself. Not in just one specific faith, but many others. Even under Cailus' control, I doubt you have put in as much effort as I have, if any at all, for your crimes and transgressions."

Zarch then turned to face Damion, opening his eyes, which glowed red with rage and power, spreading and priming his wings, showing that the demon wolf meant business as he gripped a heavy iron ball in his hand.

"That is the difference between me and you, Damion. After all, as the old saying goes: The distance the ShotPut goes depends on the effort you pour into it... In my case, the effort I poured into my ShotPut of redemption is quite high, and after looking up your records, I cannot say the same for you."

Zarch then wound up his arm and threw the iron ball at Daimon, who quickly jumped out of the way! Damion was able to dodge the projectile, but only by mere centimeters as it brushed past his head, ruffling his hair before impacting the stone wall, embedding itself into the indented stone!

Zarch then extended his claws, baring his sharp canine fangs and teeth, quickly walking up to Damion, ready to tear the intruder to shreds with his hands and claws...

Unfortunately, Damion quickly reached into a bag on his waist, and thrust his fist out at Zarch, holding multiple holy amulets of multiple faiths! The amulets started to glow, shining light around the room, and onto Zarch! Zarch hissed loudly, covering his face with his arms and hands as he stumbled back, while Damion stepped forwards, driving Zarch into a corner as the demon-wolf's strength left him.

"One disadvantage to being a full demon: You end up being quite venerable to blessed artifacts, along with a few specific materials, such as silver and oak." Damion said as Zarch tripped oh his feet, shielding himself with his arms as Damion brought the amulets up in front of his face. "Judging from your expression, as well as your sounds of effort and pain, this must be quite excruciating for you. Don't worry, I won't leave you here. For long, anyway. In the meantime, I will let these keep you company." Damion placed the amulets in front of Zarch at the demom-wolf's feet, then walked over to Egad's desk, right in front of the fake wall that concealed the door to the Citadel Room!

"Be a good puppy and settle down until I get back." Damion then stepped back a few paces and took out a new weapon via a storage buffer: A rocket-propelled grenade! He then fired the weapon at the wall, blasting down the only remaining obstacle in his way!

"If you don't make any messes, I might just give you a doggie biscuit when I get back up here." Damion walked down the stairs to the citadel room.

Zarch growled in irritation, despite being weakened and in pain. "I am not a dog, you idiot... There is a difference..."

# # # #

Egad watched with Codec, Symon, and Jet as Damion walked into the staircase to the Citadel Room after blowing down the door.

"Clever bastard..." Egad said. "Cailus has given him not just training in magic, but also weapons and strategies to use against us."

"Indeed. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he's formed his own database of info on the coven from what he can look up from public files." Codec said, arming himself with an Egyptian-style tech spear, as well as a plasma launching crossbow.

"In that case, we are going to not only work together to take this guy down, but we must also be unpredictable." Jet said as he loaded a magazine into his pistol.

"Agreed." Symon said as he loaded a multi-shot dart gun, the darts filled with the heaviest sedative known to the galaxy. "Codec, I recommend you put up some sort of barrier around the terminals and supercomputers, just in case things get messy down here."

"Already ahead of you, Symon." Xen said, inputting a few commands into the main terminal. Several walls made from thick layers of reinforced transparent aluminum dropped down in front of the hardware housingthe supercomputers, and energy barriers popped up around the supercomputers, as well as all the screens and terminals as the keyboards and buttons were covered with armored panels that deployed. Xen then stood up from his chair, and primed his personal hand cannon, the Dragonclaw X, as well as unfolding his other weapon, an eight-bladed chakram, ready to fight as well.

"Just remember: Stick to the plan." Egad said as everyone moved into position, out of view while Egad stood in the center of the room. "When Damion closes in to try and land his strike on me, hit him with everything you have! Subdue him and knock him out! Once he is out cold, we will remove his chip, and go from there..."

Everyone settled into cover and out of sight. A few seconds later, the door to the Citadel Room was blown clean off its tracks! Damion then stepped in through the smoke, discarding another Rocket-propelled grenade.

"I must give you kudos, Egad. You have powerful and skilled fighters under your wing. But they are not without their flaws." Damion spoke.

"Sad, but true." Egad replied, both starting to circle one another. "So, the assassin has overcome my final defense, and now he has come to murder me... Tell me, Damion: In the end, what separates a man, from a slave?"

Damion paused, unprepared for this sudden question.

After a few tense seconds, Egad spoke again. "Well, Damion? What do you think? What separates a man from a slave? Is it money? Power? Strength? Political influence and clout? No... It is none of those things. In fact, that question has a very simple answer: A man thinks for himself, chooses for himself, forges his own noble path, regardless of being a master or a pet. A slave, on the other hand, does not have the ability, nor the willpower to do such things. A man_chooses... A _slave simply obeys."

"Just what are you getting at, Ryan Foxmoore?!" Damion snapped, losing his patience.

"Simple," Egad answered. "I am making a point: That despite your political influence, despite all your power, all your wealth, that you are not a man, Damion. You don't think for yourself or choose for yourself. You now let Cailus do that for you. Damion Willbringer, you are not at all a man. You are a slave, no more and no less."

Damion let out a loud roar of anger. "How dare you lecture me on such things!! I am just as much of a man as you under those definitions!! Do not try my patience, Ryan!!!"

"Really?" Egad said, standing still. "If that is true, if you have any control over your will and mind at all, then you will not strike me down, even if you are given a clear shot. Instead, you will choose of your own accord to leave this room, and this castle." Egad held out his arms, not even making the slightest move to go on defense. "Go on. Make your choice and show me the answer for yourself."

Damion's eyes widened in astonishment. Even though he had a clear shot at Egad, he hesitated. Damion grabbed his head as pain shot through his body, Cailus engaging the chips' disciplinary settings to force him to comply with his wish. To kill Egad right there, even though he was doing everything to fight against the control, even more so than before! He grunted, stumbling around as he gripped the sides of his head tightly, his skull feeling like it was going to crack open from the pain.

"Go on. Make your choice, Damion. I'm waiting..." Egad spoke again.

Damion started to fight against Cailus control with everything he had. He stood in place, throwing back his head as he let loose a loud scream of pain and frustration! Finally, Cailus was forced to engage the chip's full action override, and Damion lost all control of his body. He was fully under Cailus' control and will, all he could do was watch as he dreaded what he was now going to be forced to do...

Damion looked at Egad again and roared, starting to bolt towards him when a shot rang out from the shadows! The next thing everyone knew, Damion was knocked into one of the transparent aluminum walls protecting the supercomputers by the force of an exploding projectile! Jet had hit Damion with his grenade shot!

With that, all of the others jumped out of hiding, firing shots at Damion to knock him out! Jet and Xen fired multiple shots from their blasters on heavy stun, while Symon hit Damion with five close-grouped tranquilizer darts, Codec joining in with electric bolts from his crossbow!

Damion slid to the ground, falling out of the indent he left in the transparent aluminum wall. Egad stood over Damion, watching him as he lost consciousness, repeating the fact he told Damion earlier:

"A man chooses... A slave obeys..."