CHAPTER TEN – RUN! SHE’S COMING (1/2)

Liana watched as Leo walked into the machine, without even the slightest resistance. She had resigned herself to fate. When he was completely in, to the gods' surprise, Liana giggled. She sat on the floor and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Esther was irritated and Kai, a bit worried. Only Goliath was calm. What could she possibly do in that situation? "What's so funny, Liana?" Kai asked.

"All the pieces are finally in place. Leo is as good as dead," She gloated. And Liana wasn't one to make empty threats. Kai was well aware. Should he rush to get Leo out or should he call her bluff? Kai was torn in-between. For all it was worth, it could be a desperate attempt by Liana to get Leo out. But that second's worth of hesitation was the decider. And from within the machine, Kai began to scream.

"What did you do!!!" Esther cried. She wanted nothing more than to be by Roman's side. No matter what his plan was, no matter who stood against them. But she was about to lose him again. She ran towards the machine to save Leo but Liana acted first.

"Lero, ichi." Liana said calmly and her seal extended through the entire machine turning it pitch black. And the deed was done. The elder gods had lost.

Esther came to a halt. All the gods were in distraught. "You witch!!!" Esther cursed. "I will rip you in shreds!!!" She was beyond furious. This was the second time Liana stole Roman from her, but by Esther's counting, it was the third. Esther had always loved Roman. But Roman proposed to Heress instead. Even though she hated Heress for it, she couldn't help but Heress was better than her in all respect. And in that, she took solace. 'Roman deserved nothing but the very best', she always said. But Liana just had to break them up. How could anyone pass up the chance to be with Roman. And since that day, Roman grew colder to everyone, even her. And she knew who the blame finger was pointing at. Liana.

Liana chuckled. "You really don't get it. You never fooled me. Not once. I had my suspicions about Leo and Erica confirmed he was Roman. So, I placed a reverse seal on him when he came to the grill. I knew you were watching, Kai. But even you could never have noticed. I knew you'd come after me if our team split. Wasn't too sure about Erica, but I warned her nonetheless. I didn't know what you planned to do, but Leo made his intentions clear. He wanted to release the hunter. So, I made sure that any attempt by Leo to regain his power would cause him to be sealed instead. I don't know how you made this machine, but for it to be able to absorb my power, I'm impressed. And activating a seal through something that already has my energy is a piece of cake." And that was the reason she had Kai take away Alice's powers. Because her reverse seal would only take effect when exposed to the energy of a gifted. Which was the only way to release him. Only that Heress's power was the exception to that rule. She wasn't a gifted but her powers could tamper with the seal. And her reverse seal wouldn't take effect.

"You're not getting out of here unscathed; I promise you that. Auron's parents, your friends, I'll kill every single one of them before I come for you," Esther threatened.

"What parents?" Liana wore a mischievous grin. "You seem to forget that you're not the only person that can change people's appearances. What you captured are two dragon eccentrics. But I have to say, you did a good job on Leo. Totally fooled me." An explosion occurred in the prison were 'Auron's parents' were kept. And from the fire, two young men with large wings approached. Dragon Eccentrics! "I am quite the actress, right? I learnt from the very best," she said, winking in Kai's direction. The two dragons walked towards Liana confidently. The gods watched as they ignored them. Such audacity. "Cover me. I need to end this once and for all," she said and the two of them stood in front of her, with wings fully stretched.

Kai burst into a hysterical laughter. "You seem to think you have won. Let me show you just how wrong you are," he conjured a whirlwind that threatened to separate Liana from her dragons. She put up a hex barrier around them and they retracted their wings to fit in. Liana was giving it her all to stay on the ground, until the whirlwind matured into a full-fledged tornado that took apart the entire facility. Liana and the two dragons were unhurt, thanks to her barrier. But now they were in the open. The gods clearly had the advantage. They no longer had a reason to hold back. "You're in big trouble now," Kai said.

The dragons took to the sky and began a shower of fire. Esther conjured a whirlpool to counter it and almost hitting the dragons, who had to fly higher to evade it. "You two stay out of this. I'll handle it," Esther proclaimed. From a distance, she took control of the two dragons' bodies.

"Excelsia!" Liana sent a force field towards Esther, but she erected a wall of water to dispel it. She sent the two dragons straight at Liana. Liana charged at them and covered them in a hex ball. They fell right to the ground. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here while I deal with these three."

"You're not built for combat, love. I'm sure you don't mind if we join now, do you?" Zora said. He and Erica had arrived. Slowly and confidently, they walked towards them. None was more surprised than Kai. Erica that he had killed, was alive.

"Took you long enough. But Zora, she can manipulate you too. I don't think you're of much help being here." Liana said and Zora shrugged.

"Erica?" Kai was flabbergasted. He was sure he killed her. The hole he left in her wasn't something anyone could recover from. And yet, there she was.

"Why is she still alive?" Esther questioned.

"Missed me?" Erica teased.

"Are you mocking me?" Kai was infuriated. Before anyone realized, Kai appeared in front of Erica with superhuman speed. Even the gods didn't notice him move. He attempted to take Erica's head off with his hand sharpened with the surrounding wind, but Lucas made it just in time. He appeared beside Kai with great speed and kicked him to the side. Kai didn't see him coming, so he took the full hit.

"Guess we made it in time," Lucas said, much to Liana and Erica's delight. Liana dropped her barrier and the two dragons were free. Kiro arrived carrying Alice. "Hope you kept that body in good shape?" Lucas asked Liana.

"I did. But why is Alice here?" Liana asked.

"Ask her," Lucas replied.

Kai got up. "It would seem we have quite the troublesome one here," Kai said as he got up.

Goliath charged straight at Lucas. A clash of titans. Goliath was putting pressure on Lucas but he wouldn't give up. Kiro went at Esther, while Zora went at Kai. Although Alice could no longer use Heress's powers, she possessed her combat ability and she intended to utilize them to the fullest. For of all the gods, none had better hand to hand combat skill that Heress. And she had the chance to. Eccentrics approach them at top speed and Alice, Erica and the two dragons kept them at bay. Liana played back up for them all.

The dragons rained fire from a height which the eccentrics countered. They were eccentrics from the other four elements. Fire eccentrics were absent. Erica and Alice dazed their way through the crowd of eccentrics, evading their elemental attacks swiftly and taking them out one after the other.

Zora was holding his own against Kai. With his ability to conjure fire, his insane speed and sensory abilities, he was holding his own. But Kiro had the worst luck. Although he couldn't be controlled by Esther, she could conjure more water than he could conjure fire. And water was his natural weakness. Among all the fire gods, only Heress could conjure more fire than Heron, the god which resided in Kiro. But Esther was an elder god, which put her on a level that surpassed his. But Kiro's fire use was efficient and somehow, he was matching her well.

Lucas pushed his way back up after Goliath's attempt to tackle him. But Goliath stopped his movement with the earth beneath them, holding his feet firm into the ground. One punch from Goliath sent him flying. Relentless he was, as he charged straight at Goliath. Goliath could have stopped him in his tracks with earth but he didn't. He relished a contest of strength. And Lucas was a worthy opponent. "Come, let's see how much your punch weighs." Goliath challenged Lucas. Lucas hit Goliath directly in the face, forcing him a few steps back. Goliath's perk was 'steel'. His body was as strong as steel making him almost invulnerable. Lucas's punch went through his defences like they weren't even there. He had felt Lucas's strength. He wasn't strong enough to deal that amount of damage. But he did. Lucas went for his next attack, but Goliath aimed to push him high up with the earth beneath him. But it barely pushed him up and he went straight for a kick.

An attempt by Goliath to block him using earth as a shield was futile. Lucas cut through it like kicking through snow. And a kick to Goliath's head sent him straight to the ground. At that moment, Goliath realized. The one with 'nullify' wasn't Erica. It was Lucas! Kai and Esther were holding off their opponents, but had to call it off for a bigger goal. Goliath screamed, "The one with 'nullify' is Lucas!!!"

Kai and Esther pushed their opponents out of their way using their elements and charged straight at Lucas. Lucas went deep into his mind. Trying much to expand his power. And as the gods charged at him with their elements, they all skidded pass. Nullify. They tried using their powers but failed. And Lucas took advantage of it. He went head on against the three of them, beating them in physical combat. For they never stood a chance against him without their powers. And his god killer powers were still intact.

"Let's finish the seal!" Liana said. Liana had Zora plant some items in different parts around the world. They would stand as beacons for the seal. The seal that was meant to end the reign of the supernaturals. The same seal that Liana first activated and if not for Heress's interference, would have wiped all the supernaturals at that time. Liana drew a hex circle on the ground. Five points were needed. Liana, the two dragons, Zora and Kiro stood for each point, while Erica and Alice battled on. "Ecri, Elicri. Ecru, Elyria!" And the seal activated. Lucas made sure the gods couldn't interfere. But what followed, was not part of the plan. Goliath had protected the machine before Kai destroyed the place. And now it absorbed all the energy from Liana's seal. Leo awoken and the lightning that struck after, meant one thing. Roman was whole again!