Gate of Life and Death (II)

Rabbit let out a sigh, shaking in place as tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought she was going to get eaten by the monster, happy that she was saved. No words could be formed.

Tamaki didn't dally; he flew to the closest Blemmyae, which was near Leo and Cleo. It didn't take much of an effort to take down another, which came bumbling over towards him. One down, the other threw a punch, scratching Tamaki's cheek.

Barely ducking out of harm's way, he flicked the sword out of his sheathe in an upward motion. A vicious crack could be heard as the Blemmaye's jaw was broken.

"Did you see that?!" Cleo clapped out loud, adoration forming in her gaze. "He just took three out in seconds!"

"Sis, calm down. We need to help him." Leo spoke, running in to assist.

"Help?" Cleo shook her head. "Really? You think someone like him needs help after beating the crap out of three?" She didn't move in to assist.

Leo fumbled with his wand, mumbling magic under his breath. "Earth protection!" He yelled, creating a thin layered earth shield in front of him. The Blemmyae threw his claw downward in the hope of breaking Tamaki down but was stopped just in time by the shield that appeared before Tamaki.

Instantly, it broke, shattering and blinding the Blemmyae.

Tamaki used this chance to slice the arm, twirling behind it to stab its back. Blood spurted out from the monster, falling onto the ground dead.

"Thanks." Tamaki nodded towards Leo, who seemed to moon over Tamaki's expertise. He blushed, looking away.

"I call dibs," Cleo spoke behind her brother, placing her arm on his shoulder. "He's going to be my husband."

Leo hiccupped, giving his sister a furious nodded.

"Wait, gramps!" Cleo realizing that they have forgotten about Mr. Everrett rushed over to help him, but just as they arrived, they weren't needed.

Mr. Everrett had mysteriously defeated the two Blemmyae, barely touching them as it collapsed onto the ground, choking. They turned black and blue, flopping around into an epileptic shock that made anyone back away in fear, wondering what just happened. It didn't take long for the two monsters to die with foaming bubbles.

Cleo raced over, jumping up in joy. "I knew gramps were always amazing." She cheered at his survival.

"Cleo." Mr. Everrett stepped over Blemmyae's body. "I saw you had trouble taking care of the monsters."

Freezing in place, Cleo bashfully commented in a low voice. "I was just not ready."

"We will get you back into training when we get back home."

Cleo hiccuped, she tensed. "Okay…" She said in a whisper.

"And Leo. Good assistance with the earth shield, but your timing needs to be faster." He stroked his chin. "We shall go back to basic magic training as well." Leo stood up straight, and furious nodded as his whole demeanor changed, instantly understanding what Mr. Everrett was implying.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Mr. Everrett checked the twins to make sure that they were okay.

Not too far away from Mike and Dairen, who were still struggling, was finally able to overcome its first injured Blemmyae with one hand. Most of the time it was Mike, drawing the uninjured Blemmyae while Dairen harassed the injured one until he was able to sneak in an arrow into the back of its unprotected head. It was a miracle; they were able to pull off a disjointed feat between the two as they were both cursing and shouting at each other. Eventually, harmonizing to one another's beat, allowing them to overcome one.

"What are these guys even made of? I can barely cut through its skin." Mike harrumphed, swinging his sword whenever he got a chance to.

"Keep its attention. Just because one's down doesn't mean the other one won't try to kill us." Daren arrow flew true, stabbing it into its right eye. Darkness and ice mixed. It crackled and wrapped around half its head, making it impossible to pull out.

The Blemmyae faltered backward; Mike rushed over, kicking it in the shin. Buckling under the sudden hit, Mike stabbed his sword into the other eye. Falling together into the ground, he huffed and puffed.

Mike swore through his teeth.

"Tired?" Dairen walked over, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

"No." He pulled away.

"Sure. Sure." Dairen shrugged, turning away.

The silver Blemmyae snorted, eyes twinkling with annoyance at almost all of its lackey.

Snow noticed that one of the monsters that was beside it was gone. She quickly scanned around, finding for the trace, when suddenly her instincts screamed to dodge. Her reaction went into hyperdrive, rolling out of harm's way as a large crater formed from impact where she stood.

The last Blemmyae yanked out his hand from the ground. It looked towards Tommy, who was still unconscious and went over to eat him.

Alarmed, Snow rushed in. Her sword out in front of her as she yelled to grab its attention. The Blemmyae twisted, it's claws stopping her blade. Snow let go, ducking under its arm. Her claws extended out, slipping underneath it's underarm as she used all the force she had in her arms to dig into its side.

The Blemmyae screeched, reaching over to yank her out.

She didn't let him take action, her mechanical like tail wrapped itself around the arm above, yanking it to the back to make it difficult to reach her.

"Got ya, you ugly bastard." Snow hissed. She knew that the force in her hands wasn't enough. Already, she could feel the muscles around her hand contracting pulling her into its body as if it wanted to devour her whole.

Yanking her hand out in a hurry, she flipped. Using the momentum, the Blemmyae was thrown into the ground. Her tail let go, she shuffled quickly over towards her fallen sword. Her hand wrapped around, pulling it towards her as she rushed back in to finish the job. With one fluid movement, her sword pierced true in the gaping mouth of the Blemmyae that was thrashing on the ground. Silenced followed; the Blemmyae died.

Relieved, she pulled the sword out of its body, ready to engage in final combat.

At that moment, the Silver Blemmyae let out a terrifying magical yell. Everyone present froze. Unable to move, they stared as the Silver Blemmyae grunted and huffed, annoyed that all of its pawn was gone.

Snow instantly knew that they were in trouble. Her body wouldn't listen to her command. Even speaking was not possible as her eyes were the only ones that blinked.

The silver Blemmyae casually walked over towards Rabbit, who was sitting down on the ground frozen in place. It reached over, grabbing her by the arm as it pulled her up in the air. Sniffing Rabbit, it evilly smiled.

Within seconds, the magic that was stopping her body unfroze.

"Gaaaahhhhh!" Rabbit screamed.

The Silver Blemmyae growled, walking towards the blue fire in the center of the larger gate. She screamed and kicked, throwing helpless magic that barely did anything to the Silver Blemmyae.

With a grunt, the Blemmyae snorted. It grabbed ahold of her body. He snarled at Rabbit at her face, Rabbit went silent, unable to scream for a moment, but her voice cracked as she finally screamed again. Annoyed, the Blemmyae ripped her head off her shoulder, snapping it in half. Silence followed.

Everyone stared in horror. Rabbit was dead, and none of them could do anything about it.

The Blemmyae threw Rabbit's body into the blue fire. Suddenly, the light changed into an ugly black fire, giving off a sinister glow. It sparkled and popped, letting out a horrid smell of death. Everyone instantly understood now why and where the smell had come from; the fire that ate human bodies.

The Silver Blemmyae smiled, pleased at its achievement. It thumped its chest a few times and stomped its feet while holding Rabbit's head.

Snow dove deep into her soul; she struggled: hard. The magical energy that bound her wouldn't let her go. She knew that if she stayed in such a state, she was going to die. With every ounce of magical energy she could find, even the power from the lake that was leftover, she twirled it into a spear and broke the seal that bound her.

Finally, free from the spell that locked her, fear prickled in her heart as she saw the whole incident that happened, and she couldn't do anything. What kind of magic was this to be able to hold them in place for a duration of time? All she knew was that the next time the Silver Blemmyae used the same magic, they were screwed.

Suddenly, the black fire spat out a black gem in front of the Silver Blemmyae. It reached down and picked up the jewel and swallowed it.

A torrid of energy pulsated out from the Silver Blemmyae, its muscles contracted and exploded into its growth. The silver fur quickly dyed black, spike-like needles that appeared around its elbow and neck. Its eye turned bloodshot. Black armor covered three-fourths of its body as it merged its face with the armor itself, creating a more oni like grin. Flames of black fire appeared over its shoulder, flickering into excitement.

Holding Rabbit's head, it placed it into the burning black fire, warping it into a scowl. Red blood popped and sizzled, disappearing. Red eyes glowed open into a demonic glare; a floating head was present. Once again, the body shifted and changed, compacted into a more feminine form.

"A Dullahan." Mr. Everrett hissed, he was able to break free a second behind Snow. "We need to kill it now."

Snow cursed, "Rabbit?"

The black flaming head snapped towards Snow to answer. "My name is Raz."