Chapter 43: An Unexpected Turn Of Events
Sylar conjured icy tentacles from his arms, Sam once more powered up his Aura of green flames around himself and his katana, and they both charged at each other.
Sam sliced through tentacles just as fast as Sylar was conjuring them. The Sam jumped up in the air and slammed down onto the ground with a shockwave of green fire that shot out in every direction, incinerating a stack of nearby wooden crates.
Sylar jumped up just in time to avoid it, and then kept floating higher. Sam began slashing his katana upward, sending green ribbons of energy flying through the air. They hit the drow and exploded, revealing him to be another ice clone.
An instant later, Sam tilted his head just in time to dodge an ice throwing axe that nearly hit the back of his skull. He spun around to see several more ice axes being thrown by a different Sylar a few feet down the alley. Sam rolled out of the way and then swiped his katana low, sending a targeted flaming shockwave along the ground at the drow.
Sylar launched himself into the air again as he summoned a much larger ice battleaxe, gripping it with both hands. He then flew directly at Sam so fast that the dracozian barely had time to swipe up his katana to meet the drow’s axe.
"You are outmatched!" Sylar growled as he floated there, pushing his axe down against Sam’s blade, forcing Sam to drop to one knee from the intense strength. "And you are outclassed! Surrender now and I will grant you a quick death!"
"Go... fuck yourself!" Sam spat as he ignited his Aura to its maximum, the green flames exploding out, shattered Sylar’s axe, and sent the drow smashing through a nearby wall, broken bricks flying into the room where Sylar was now laying on the floor.
Sam was about to charge into the room, when he felt a sudden icy pain in his side. He looked down to see an ice spike protruding from his abdomen, then looked over his shoulder to see another Sylar behind him.
Sam grunted in pain as the drow pushed the ice spike in more from behind. The teen spun around and beheaded the drow. Another clone. They he heard laughing coming from all around him. He looked up and let out a sigh of frustration as dozens of Sylars now lined the rooftops on both sides of the alley. Fuck!
The real Sylar stepped out of the hole in the wall and clapped his hands, his lips curling into a huge grin. "I must confess, I am impressed! You actually forced me to summon all these clones to defeat you."
"I’m gonna kill you!" Sam spat, ripping out the ice spike from his abdomen and then gripping his katana tighter.
"No, you won’t," Sylar insisted. "But even if you did, you wouldn’t survive long. You have no idea what forces you’ve trifled with here tonight."
The drow then lifted up the back of his hand, running the fingers of his other hand along it. The skin shimmered like a cloaking spell fading, revealing a nine-tailed fox tattoo that Sam had seen before.
"So you’re one of the Nine Tails of the Kyuubikuza... Didn’t peg a royal prince as a pirate captain..." Sam growled.
Sylar raised his eyebrows. "I’m surprised you recognize the symbol. But yes, I have been engaging in piracy on my trips away from Braska for years! I needed allies to take Braska for myself by force, if necessary!"
"That will never happen," Sam promised. "You will die here tonight, in this alley."
"You still don’t understand the forces you are playing with!" Sylar cried out with a laugh. "You powered up to your maximum Power Level during this fight, I could feel it. And I can tell it’s only 18,000! I can also sense that you are still A-Rank! Well, foolish boy, every Nine Tail is SSS-Rank! You will never survive against all nine of us!"
"You’re bluffing!" Sam growled. "I can sense that your Power Level is near mine, and there is no way you’d be hiding power in this fight!"
"There is actually a very important reason why I am not showing my true power," Sylar explained. "I don’t want to draw the attention of certain people!"
"Too late, Sylar," came a third voice from the shadows. A tall elf with pale skin, blood-red eyes, and long white hair stepped out into the moonlight.
"Lucifer!" Sam and Sylar both cried out in unison.
"Wait, how do you know him?" Sylar demanded.
"I killed his son, Ladarsa," Sam professed.
"Oh, he’s gonna fuck you up!" the drow said, shaking his head. "He’s one of the strongest among us, second only to Pirate King Vezeba!"
"I don’t care!" Sam spat. "I’ll kill both of you!"
"Sylar, Nexus City is an important trading hub for us. Why have you put that at risk and involved yourself in this island’s affairs?" Lucifer demanded, ignoring Sam.
"It’s a long story, Lucifer. I’ll explain everything back at my ship," the drow insisted. He then gestured to Sam. "I suppose you won’t let me kill him, huh?"
"No, I have far more... torturous plans for this one," Lucifer said as he turned to look at Sam.
"Fuck you!" Sam spat. A moment later, Lucifer lifted up his hand in a choking motion, just as Ladarsa had done. The father was much stronger than the son, and was able to easily take control of Sam’s heart, making him shriek in pain as he felt that intense pressure once more.
"Sleep for now, boy. Great agony awaits you when you awaken..." Lucifer growled.
"AARRGGHHHH!!!" Sam screamed out as it felt like his heart was being crushed. Before he could try to mount any sort of reaction, he felt himself getting lightheaded, and then fell to the ground, unconscious...
~~~
~~~
~~~
Meanwhile, back on the Emerald Draconis, the girls had already given Brion the sleep potion to keep him unconscious. They were standing on the deck, watching with anticipation for Sam to return. He did not.
"Sam, where are you!" Calista shrieked out. The docks were becoming increasingly unsafe as people began swarming out from the city trying to escape. And to add to that, they also spotted a fleet of pirate ships encroaching towards Nexus City from the opposite way.
"Shit!" Lazula cursed, punching the control panel on the bridge deck. "We can’t still be here when those ships get here!"
"We can’t leave Sam!" Calista barked at Lazula. "We can’t!"
"Guys, I think we might have no choice..." Gabrielle said, sadness in her voice.
"If he’s not back within a few minutes..." Lazula said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Sam, hurry up! Sam! SAM!" Calista screamed out, openly weeping...