Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter fifty six: Demise of Artemis

From green, to burns of red.

From glows of silvery white, to glows of blood.

Siiver Cassano saw how the land that Artemis had shown, turned from beauty and paradise, down to the pit one level before hell.

The burning Artemis was panicking from where she stands, holding her head, her stomach, clutching from pain, screaming chaotically, and doing things she promised she would not do.

Alina and Jiero jumped from where they were standing, as an arrow of fire and light had pierced the ground.

Artemis screamed again.

She was frustrated of what is happening. More so frustrated of herself.

Now, the two barbaric man was attacking her. And she had done nothing but to sweep them with just the burst of fire from her body.

Silver neared Alina. “What do you think is happening to her?” he asked.

Alina then, looked at the burning goddess. “It was of the curse of Apollo. He has been corrupting the soul of Artemis, and burning her. And that's what is happening to her.”

“We have to save her.”

“Silver,” Alina stopped him, who was about to finally move, just like what those two barbaric men did. “We can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember that we're on a game. Artemis is not real. Not even human. This was all just a part of the computer’s program. And, I hardly realized that Artemis, just like what the barbarian-like players say, is the dungeon's boss.”

Silver then looked at Artemis, and at the two men who was playing alongside her.

“Meaning we have to kill her.” Silver's words is not in query, but in a tone stated by the matter of fact. Alina then nodded despite the fact that she was hardly accepting what she herself had said.

“We have to,” she replied.

Two electric zapping figure had appeared at their front. Soon, it revealed Jiero and Yohanna's presence.

“What are we going to do next?” asked Yohanna soon as she fully materialized from the zapping electricity.

“Artemis not get should barbarians,” added Jiero.

Silver then sighed, summoned his burning whip, and said, “We’ll kill her. We will kill the dungeon boss.”

He ran towards the center of the action. At the middle of running, he casted his shadow step, and appeared right at the top of Artemis.

“Skill: Burning Beanstalk.”

His burning whip elongated in its form. It became huge, and as it hit the goddess, it screamed in pain and from the impact. Yet, Silver faces one big problem. His element was fire, and the goddess was also being consumed with Apollo's fire.

His elemental attacks does not give extra damage to her. Only the physical strength of his hammer smash, and the painful whipping of the Vine Whip.

Now, Artemis opened her hand. She was facing at his direction as her eyes were glaring with pain and oozing power.

At the front of her palm, there appeared circular symbols of her. And then a beam of white light (added with bits of red), just like what the Moonlit Wolf's power was.

Silver shadow stepped. But his eyes bulged in shock, as his blinking skill is not activating. Soon as he looked at his feet, a black circular symbol was glowing just below him.

A cursse.

Not from a far, he saw the culprit. The barbaric man.

“Skill: Jiencorso Fin.”

Silver panicked. He cannot easily move, and the beam of light was fast approaching him.

He grunted, and slashed his whip. “Fire god's citadel!”

Wave of fire appeared on his front, and contested the beam that Artemis had given.

He then saw a silvery knife engrossed with intricate design, travelling the air, aiming at him.

He prepared himself to deflect it. But just as how the beast turned shock as they saw his surprising shadow steps, his eyes greeted extreme shock as he saw how from that knife, one of the barbaric man suddenly appeared, holding the blade, aiming for a stab on his chest, and showing an evil smile.

Yet, just before the blade could land on him, a gush of wind had pushed the barbaric man away.

“Skill: Fallen light.”

Soon as he heard Jiero casting a skill, the curse binding his feet had suddenly drifted along with the huge pressure of wind and heat.

He then shadow stepped and neared his allies.

From above, they saw the barbaric players looking at them, smug in their faces.

“These bastards. They followed us here and secretly watched us to suffer in pain of fighting while they hide at our back, so that they could get the dungeon boss. I would never allow them to get Artemis,” said Alina.

“W—Watch out!” Yohanna screamed, and then jumped away of them. Everyone followed, as one giant arrow appeared piercing through them. As they dodged, it pierced the ground. And then an explosion of fire and light.

From the explosion, everyone has been blown away, disoriented, as the blindings of light was absorbed by their eyes.

Silver scrubbed his eyes, and opened it, despite being blurry and difficult to see from the light.

When he finally adjusted his sight, another shot of arrow was about to hit him.

“Bullshit.”

He casted shadow step, and went to a more distanced spot. But the burst of light was still blinding even at the current distance.

He then saw two figure of bright zap of lightning. They were soaring above, swirling with each other as if they were fairies.

Then, they stopped as they got an equal amount of distance, and casted their skills.

From the now dark heaven, a giant, frightening eye appeared. At the center, a storm of high-voltage lightning was brewing. Yohanna and Jiero was closing their eyes, brows are collided, as they continue to cast the incredible skill they have.

Artemis shot numbers of arrow towards them. But Alina intercepted it with her Airbow.

Silver then realized that the two needs time to successfully cast the skill.

“They need a cover,” he told himself.

Then, one of the barbaric man—the man who bounded him with his curse—had appeared behind Jiero and Silver.

Despite him wearing a clothing similar to the barbarians—cloth made of a beast's skin, perhaps of wolves—he was holding a doll. A horribly looking doll.

Its mouth was opened, gathering cursed energy, and aiming to attack them.

But Silver shadow stepped, and immediately slashed the man with his whip.

Indeed, he managed to disturb him, even make him kiss the ground. But he was shocked as he saw how his weapon did not even touched the man. He saw how black circular lights inscribed with unknown letters appeared around him, as if to protect, making him unable to cut the man, or make his weapon to contact his body. Only the circular lights he was able to attack.

A shield. Aegis of curses.

Another knife appeared soaring in the sky, nearing the figures of Jiero and Yohanna. Silver again shadow stepped towards the knife and deflected it with a single s***h.

He saw the man who threw the knife below the ground, smiling. Then, in a blink, it appeared standing at the now spinning knife he had thrown.

‘A blink skill,’ Silver had confirmed.

Then, the man jumped from the knife, spun in the air, and threw numbers of knife—all in different direction.

“Try deflecting all of this!” he said, then laughed.

He then disappeared. Silver grew alert.

Then, just as he expected, it appeared from the knife who was about to pierce Jiero and Yohanna.

He immediately shadow stepped to the man, and wildly slashed his whip. Yet, just like what happened to the doll man, a circular shield of curse appeared around him. He then blinked to another knife soaring in the sky. He threw another ret of knives, all are in direction of who he was protecting.

“This Vikings wannabies!” Silver then shadow stepped, and appeared a Jiero’s back who was still concentrating for the attack.

He then slashed his whip, and casted, “Fire god's Citadel,” to throw and intercept the projectiles of the knives.

The doll-using man appeared beside him. He now has three dolls (two are boy, one is girl) whose mouth is glowing in dark beam.

Silver grunted. Covering Jiero and Yohanna is much more difficult now that there are two of them who is attacking.

A high pressured wind pierced and torn the doll.

“Silver!” From below, Alina shouted, and nodded at him, signaling that she would be at his back.

The burning Artemis now screamed in a pitchy, ear-shattering noise. She pulled the string of her Moon bow, and a wide circular symbol appeared from the center of it.

Silver and the barbaric men stood froze, same with Alina.

The circular symbol was too wide, too powerful that it covers the whole place with its symbol. The only place safe for them is the spot where Artemis was standing; the only safe place was just behind the Moon bow.

It started glowing. It started gathering energy.

“Jiero, Yohanna, until when will you prepare for that skill? We're about to die now,” Silver whispered.

Artemis then laughed. A corrupted one. A glitch of laugh that resembles the voice of the bosses on a video game.

Then, from the wide areas of her symbol, giant arrows started to appear. Its sharp heads was now seen, ready to attack, waiting for the goddess of the moon and hunting to release them.

But Jiero and Yohanna was the first one to finish their skill preparation.

Simultaneously, they both opened their eyes. A zap of electricity appeared beside their eyelids.

And then, they casted; “Behold the entity of lightning bearers born from the heaven. The day had come to blow their verdict.” Their voice, loud and unexpected, was echoing in the whole place. “Fused skill: Thunder Bearers' Verdict.”

And then the eye staring at them from the heaven had widen its glare. The circular center of the eyes grew bigger as well.

And the verdict of lightning had started to punish the sinned. The rain of lightning had come.

Artemis screamed as the lightning started to pierce through her. It attacked her, one by one, hitting her helpless body, cancelling her skill, and making her fall to the ground, weeping, screaming in pain.

The barbarian wannabies had their own verdict too. Their aegies of curses broke from the struck of giant lightnings, and had them electrecuted until they fall off unconscious.

It was then when the strength of Yohanna and Jiero to deplete.

Silver caught them before they could fall on the ground. He then shadow stepped towards where Alina is.

He laid the two heroes on a safe spot, where Alina could check and tend their situation.

“They were alright,” said Aliana as she placed her fingers on their pulse. “We just need to let them drink health and energy potion, and they'll be okay after an hour or half.”

“That’s reassuring,” replied Silver. He got two pairs of both health and energy drink from his inventory, and let Alina to do the caring of the two.

After a while, Alina finished checking and taking care of Yohanna and Jiero.

She sighed, and finally rested her back on a giant boulder through which they were hiding. She was too exhausted. Her body is aching from the series of fight that they have done.

From the Moonwraith, to dealing with their own dreams, to the Moon Phantoms, to the beasts in the tower of Artemis, then to fighting with the corrupted goddess—it was a tiring event. A tiring kind of action that she would never want to have again.

As she sighed for the second time, a red burning light appeared in her front. Immense heat punched her skin. And the swirling fire on a goddess' spear was about to stab her chest.

“Alina!” Silver quickly moved. He shadow stepped at Alina's front, and willingly received the thrust of the spear from the goddess' hands.

“S—Silver!” Alina’s voice trembled. She cannot believe what she was seeing.

Despite the powerful attack of Jiero and Yohanna, Artemis was still alive. Artemis was still willing to kill all of them.

“R—Run, Alina.” Silver said as the pain of Artemis' spear is starting to creep in his body.

Yet, instead of running, Alina grabbed her bow, pulled the string, and give an angry blow of wind towards the head of Artemis.

But nothing happened.

Artemis looked at her, and smiled.

She grabbed the spear from Silver's chest, causing him to grunt in pain, and of his blood to gush out from his opened wound. Artemis swung the burning spear at Alina, but she had managed to dodge, and jump away of her attacks.

Another pulling of Airbow, and Alina tried to attack the goddess. Yet, just like what happened earlier, she was unaffected.

Another insulting smile the corrupted Artemis had shown. From her hand, her Moon bow started to appear.

And Alina did not waste any more time again.

“You know,” Artemis started. It was the first time she heard the speaking voice of a corrupted Artemis. Unlike the real Artemis who helped her, it was different from what her voice is, right now. “I do not understand why are you wasting your time casting incredibly powerful skills at a goddess. Have you heard, we, gods, are immortal?”

Alina did not answer. Artemis then played at her Moon bow.

“We are the great gods who doesn't even mind if we're about to receive a player's powerful skills. It won't be effective anyway,” her smug look makes Alina want to blow her head into pieces. If only she could. “Well, we’re not entirely immortal. We have sworn to father that there shall be one weapon we shall grant the ability to kill us.”

Alina swallowed. She stayed calm and composed. “Then what was that weapon?”

Artemis laughed. “If you think it was your only chance to kill me, I tell you, you won't succeed. I have already thrown it to the sun of Apollo, millions of years ago. And it was already melted. Gone.”

“I just want to know, goddess, what was that weapon?”

“A knife. A knife made by a Babaylan: a healer warrior,” Artemis said confidently.

“You being too high-headed leads you to your own demise.” From behind Artemis, someone spoke. Then a pair of arms covered in fire had hugged and restricted her.

“Skill: Fyr Donjun.” And, “Alina! It's your chance!”

Alina unsummoned her Airbow. She changed it to a small hunting knife, and dashed towards where Artemis was being bounded by Silver's Fyr Donjun and his own arms.

As soon as Artemis saw the knife, her burning eyes became filled with immense fear. The waves of the silvery metal, the glow it radiates, the handle she herself had created, and the whole picture of it—it was familiar to her.

It was the weapon she had granted the ability to kill her. The Punyal of a Babaylan.

And it was now stabbed at her chest. It was now killing her.

Alina saw how the goddess of the moon withered. Slowly, her body turned into sparkles of white light, and be dragged by the unsteady wind.

The Punyal of a Babaylan was the hunting knife she got when they first entered the tower of Artemis, the one whom she had used to cut and offer her blood to make another portal.

She knew everything was planned, part of the game’s story, scripted, and unreal.

Yet, if this was a real world, a real place, if Artemis was a real goddess, a real entity not just living under programs of the game, she would have concluded that millions of years ago, Apollo was starting to betray her.

“Good Job, Alina.” Silver smiled at her. His vest was full of blood, his face pale. Then, he closed his eyes, and let his body fell into deep unconsciousness. He had just secretly hoped that Alina would catch her from the threats of falling.

And he knew she would.