As soon as the blood creature reappeared, White Shadow knew he couldn't be caught by it again. He needed to end the Pope, or he wouldn't have a chance in this fight. It was then that he made a dangerous and bold decision. He used a spell similar to shadow substitution and switched places with his pet. At that moment, the chimera that reappeared in its place next to the Pope ignored the blood monster and directly attacked the Pope, who was its summoner. The blood creature ignored the Pope's well-being and flew towards where it believed Shadow would be.
When White Shadow reappeared in the middle of the flames where his chimera was, he saw that the surroundings were still in flames. He also saw Blood Armor still alive with his strange armor, but it was almost completely burned, and its wearer was breathing with difficulty. Only the soul of Master Baron Bones remained in the surroundings, also killed by the powerful spell of the relic.
As soon as Soul saw the powerful Black and White Master, she hid in the sand, disappearing, as did Master Poison Soul, leaving Blood Armor alone with him. But Shadow's plan was not to fight anymore. He was weak and had few remaining spells that he could use that were still useful against these Masters. It was then that he completely ignored the injured Blood Armor and flew towards Kalindor and his last living student. As soon as he entered range, he used his third and final innate spell, Shadow Palm, to kill the last man who maintained the barrier.
"BANG"
Despite the sun, the spell's impact sent large amounts of sand flying. When the powerful giant hand made of shadows crushed his body into pulp, Shadow then reached Kalindor's animal and gave it a powerful punch, freeing his female angel from its tentacles and branches.
At that moment, as the barrier was falling apart due to the death of Kalindor's last student, the angel flew away from the island in a frenzy of white light, and the blood monster finally reached White Shadow and Kalindor. In that split second, Shadow saw that the creature was going to explode and used his last trump card by switching places with the angel who had fled the barrier, leaving him behind to be killed.
But the angel was resilient and attached to life. Seeing the terrible explosion, he abandoned his body, and only a fragment of light escaped the area of the explosion. Kalindor, seeing death in front of his eyes, escaped using the lightning-type instant movement spell, and his body in the form of lightning flew toward the fleeing Shadow.
When Shadow thought he was finally safe, he saw Kalindor chasing him at high speed, and at the same time, he was surprised by the soul of Master Poison Soul, who was one of the first to die. The soul attached itself to his body, and a poison along with a terrible curse spread throughout his body, slowing his flight speed and making his powerful white shadow armor disappear. At that moment, Kalindor reached the group and with a third Thunderclap blew the entire head of the powerful Shadow Master off. His body finally lost its strength and fell into the sea, only for Baron Bones' soul to possess his corpse and take him back to the island.
In the sky, seeing that the battle was over, the Court Jester stood up and gave a sinister laugh before two items flew towards his hand. One was a black seed the size of a sesame, and the other item was a piece of a deformed pendant.
"Keke. What a sinister method to escape, White Shadow, but you need to pay for the crimes of having murdered one of us."
As soon as he said those words, he crushed the tiny black seed.
"ARGH"
White Shadow's painful scream as his soul was destroyed was heard by everyone who was still alive. The Pope, who was next to the Court Jester, looked at the few survivors of the fight and saw the Black Goat devotee covered in wounds next to the dead chimera. He felt a little angry at seeing this hateful man still alive. He also saw Blood Armor limping with wounds and knew that he was one of the candidates to be the new guardian of the key.
The way he fought without relying on magic was something that his group greatly appreciated. Among the corpses of Kalindor's students, he saw only a drop of blood come out of one of them flying away; the other had no method of survival, just like the two leaders of the Asshai alliances. He then asked the fool about the female angel.
"Keke, she abandoned her physical body and is seriously injured. Now that her master is dead, she is a free creature, there is no need to go after her. Besides, I said that plan C was not necessary, and you lost the bet with me."
"Alright, I'll give you that item, but you know that this man's death wasn't just for revenge, but to retrieve part of the key. He had long since become a nuisance in Asshai with his false morals and honor. Asshai must remain a cruel place, and this battle today must be a reminder to everyone here… Speaking of which, one of the Kings is coming…"
As the Pope of Bacalon said these words, clouds began to cover the sun, leaving the previously illuminated island full of shadows and losing the daylight, almost getting dark. In the sky, a pile of shadows began to form the figure of a 2-meter tall man with a black crown made of shadows. As soon as his body was formed, a consciousness descended into his body, and he opened his eyes, observing the entire island, its survivors and the corpses, before his eyes turned to the undead bird in the sky. His hoarse voice then said only one sentence:
"What happened here?"
The Pope of Bacalon stepped in front of the Fool and answered in a low voice. High:
Master White Shadow stole something that belonged to me and we had to fight... During the fight, Master Golden, Master Sahar, Master of Greed, Master White Shadow, and Master Yarial lost their lives.
"Hmm, I will notify all the Masters of Asshai of their deaths. Who is this?"
When the Master of Whispers and current King of the Shadow Men asked his question, his finger pointed to Kalindor, who was looting the corpses of his two students. The Pope simply said that he was a surviving Master of Valyria. That was enough for the King's shadow to nod and disappear.
As soon as he was gone, the clouds that covered the sun disappeared, making the island return to its sunny environment again, removing the cold that remained in the region and the flames of the powerful fire spell that still burned in the center of the island. The Court Jester then turned to the Pope and said:
"Keke, let's go. The journey to Lorath is long, and the others are already waiting for us."
As soon as everyone left the island and the Master of Whispers spread the word about what had happened, a wave of sighs, terror, and disbelief spread throughout the City of Shadows. The consequences of such a battle were still far from over. Later, it was considered the main event that led to the dawn of a new era full of conflict, creating a chain of irreversible events that would change Asshai forever...
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan!
Magical Apprentice: Parsa, Pato Senalima, Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Vinnie, frimorigo, Scott Robertson, Takatchi, Leery Falcon, Austin, mandeep singh, and Kobe Robertson!