The next day, Chala stood on top of the few stairs at the entrance of the castle. His arms were crossed, his expression was all silent authority. Jessica stood by his side, looking confused. In front of them, over fifty hunters were gathered."Chala, what is happening?" Whispered Jessica. The hunter didn't answer. He scanned the crowd, then he seemed satisfied. His voice was croaky, but it was loud and calm. "Hunters, we have unveiled a new threat."
The hunters grew silent, focusing their attention on their leader. A few of them glanced nervously at each other. The leader continued, "Tentacle portals have started to spawn again." A shocked murmur rippled through the crowd. Chala held his gloved hands up. The hunters grew silent again. "Yes, it's sooner than we expected. Yes, we still haven't recovered from our last fight against a master anomaly." The men and women present held their breath. "But it doesn't need to come to that. We will do everything we can to protect this world and prevent it from facing extinction again." The crowd stirred, something waking up in them. Chala forced on his voice as he yelled, "This is how we will honor Alios and Gareon's sacrifice! We're the hunters! We accept the mission so others can live in peace!"
The crowd of hunters cheered, half celebration, half war cry.
Only one man didn't join the celebration. A giant of a man, arms crossed, looking at the hunter's leader with restrained fury.
When the yells died down, Chala continued, "Thankfully, we have gathered evidence about the source of those unusual portals." The hunters' attention shifted back to the orator. "We dismissed their power for a long time, busy with the more immediate threat. And in doing so, we forgot to thoroughly investigate what effect their power had on our protective mist. Well, now it's clear, we were mistaken. Their very existence is a danger to this world. That's why we will do what we must."
"DHORROS!"
The giant uncrossed his arms. He knew his cue and stepped forward, fists clenched. Chala looked at him coldly. "You will be the one freeing the world of this menace. I declare war on the whisperers. You will lead the hunters to battle and exterminate every last one of those mist users." The crowd erupted in shocked exclamations. Dhorros didn't move. He waited for the noise to fade away before roaring, "I will not!"
Chala slowly walked down the stairs. Jessica was about to follow him, but a hand softly lay on her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw an older hunter, thin and with a few grey hairs left. He shook his head negatively. When she looked toward the crowd again, the woman saw that the hunters had formed a circle around Chala and Dhorros. "Oh no…" she muttered with despair.
The tension was so high inside the circle, it looked like the air itself was vibrating. Chala said calmly, "I gave you an order, hunter." Dhorros shrugged. "I don't take your orders anymore." Then he encompassed the crowd and added, "And neither will they." The hunter leader had a quick, lopsided smile that he hid quickly. He opened his arms and said, "It's not too late, Dhorros, kneel and swear your allegiance to the hunters." The silence stretched; the gathered hunters didn't even dare to swallow their spit.
Then Dhorros let out a war cry. He raised his right arm toward the sky, and his left arm extended toward the earth. Thick swirls of shadow emanated from his outstretched hands. The whirlwind of darkness joined in the middle, growing thicker and thicker. Dhorros slowly moved his hands until the shadow storm was horizontal. The oily fumes took on a metallic, solid shape. With the end of his battle scream, the hunter raised his hands over his head and smashed his giant battle axe into the ground. A tremor shook the earth, dislodging a few pebbles from cracks in the castle walls.
Chala took a battle stance, palms open, slightly shifting his weight from one leg to the other; it almost looked like a quiet dance. "You improved since last time, Dhorros. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do now." Dhorros adjusted his grip on the axe and nodded toward the gloves, "You're not going to use them?" The hunters' leader shrugged, "No need." The giant gave him a feral grin. "This time I'll force you to use them."
The giant charged with a mindless scream, his axe tracing an arc of death in the air. Chala hopped to the side and slapped the blade on this side. Then he counterattacked with a strong punch to his opponent's ribs and sauntered back. When their eyes locked, the fury in Dhorros' met the amusement in Chala's. The hunter adjusted his grip on the axe, then unleashed a quick combo. He swirled low, aiming for the leg. Chala nimbly jumped over it, his kick finding the giant's jaw in a deafening crack. Dhorros then tackled forward with his shoulder, but he met only air. Chala was already behind him, unleashing a flurry of blows on his back. When his opponents turned around with a backfist, he was already out of range. Dhorros frowned. He moved his hands closer to the blade and lunged forward, swirling the blade in a close combat attack. Chala matched his attacks with slaps of his gloved hands, making all of them miss him, then he wove in counterattacks. A blur of punches found their marks on the giant's body. Dhorros tried to arm his axe, but his arms felt weak, and he fell to his knees, the onslaught of fists not stopping. Finally, he fell face-first to the ground.
Dhorros could taste blood and dirt in his mouth. But something was off. No broken bones this time? He looked up. Chala was not facing him anymore. He was walking slowly around the circle, locking eyes with the hunters. One by one, they bowed and hit their fist against their chest, murmuring the words.
Tears of anger and humiliation stung Dhorros' eyes. "Harlan, I have to make it up to you," he murmured with clenched teeth. Fighting through the pain, he rose. The circle waivered and took a step back. Chala looked at his opponents, an eyebrow raised. The giant held his axe with both hands, then he closed his eyes and tensed. The axe flared up in dark flames. Oily dark veins slithered under Dhorros' skin. Then, dark tendrils erupted from his skin, covering him in a writhing of madness and death. His face disappeared in an unholy fog. It took the shape of a monstrous head, with features constantly shifting, except for two big white almond-shaped eyes. So bright they left an afterimage.
The men from the circles stumbled back. Chala sighed and ordered. "Stand back, this could get dangerous." Then he took his battle stance and activated his gloves, dark, long tendrils erupting from his hands. The expression of the nightmarish figure hovering above Dhorros' face was one of pure unholy delight. Gloves, I never liked you. The words echoed through the witnesses' skulls. Chala felt his gloves stir, but he kept them under control. "Not now," he muttered, "We need him alive." Then the monsters clashed against each other.
The hunters watched in fear and awe as the monstrous shadow beast took on their leader. Its speed and power were impressive. Stones and dirt flew through the air as deadly attacks missed, leaving craters in their wake. Facing the nightmare, Chala moved even faster. He dodged all attacks for a while, only focusing on defense. Assessing the damage they left behind. Then, after a while, he smiled and said, "You lost."
Chala set his feet on the ground firmly. Then he stepped forward, deep in the beast range. He unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, focusing on power and dealing maximum damage to his enemy. The shadow creature hit him back, clumsily. But its power made up for it; deep gashes appeared on Chala's body, reducing his clothes to shreds. The gaping wounds were filled instantly with crawling shadow maggots. They writhed and fused together, closing the wounds almost as quickly as they were opened. Sick jagged lines of grey flesh etched themselves on the leader's body as the blood faded away.
The hovering nightmarish face howled in hatred and frustration. Its shadow body was being destroyed under the never-ending onslaught. Gloves! You're not a fighter! You can't damage me! Chala smiled and said, "We learned together." The speed of the punishment didn't stop until the unholy face disappeared and most of the tendrils on Dhorros' body faded away. The ground was littered with writhing tentacle fragments that slowly drifted away in pestilent smoke.
Chala stopped his attacks and screamed. "DHORROS!"
The hunter's eyes snapped open. He looked confused at his leader. "Call it back," ordered Chala. The giant mechanically went through the motion, moving his hands until the relic disappeared.
Chala extended a hand, tendrils of oily smoke shot toward the giant's eyes, stopping just before piercing them. Then, Chala calmly said, "Dhorros, you either lead the raid, or you die here. Choose now." Dhorros remained silent for a moment, his eyes full of grief. Then he bowed his head, "I'll lead."
Chala nodded, "Good. You trained hard and reached a new pinnacle of power. It would be a shame to lose you." Chala looked at the damage the battle had left on the ground. "You need absolute control now, or you'll be consumed." The hunter leader started walking toward the castle and added, " I'll show you how when next we meet."