Legends of Amacia Attack on Tartarus
Chapter 27: The Kartoom Gateway part 2

They swept forward like saber cats on the hunt. The trio darted across the bridge and into the temple. The darkness deepened in their minds as they set foot inside the cursed edifice. Hideous visions of incredible carnage wreaked by indescribable things flooded their minds, testing their fortitude and sanity. The visions showed the nameless horrors feasting upon living in a gruesome clarity, literally eating them alive. It affected Andrew the most, bringing him to tears. However, he did not sob openly because of their precarious position. Instead, he gritted his teeth and allowed his rage to rise to fight the horrid visions. Hannibal saw Andrew’s reaction to it and briefly stopped to assist him. “I know,” Hannibal said softly, touching Andrew on the arm, seeing and feeling his rage rising. “I see it too in my mind. The nameless horrors the Cadre are trying to summon here are reaching through the veil and affecting our minds. This is why I warned you to fortify yourself. Don’t let the horrors of the visions shake you. You must block them out; ignore them.”

“I’m trying,” Andrew hissed angrily. “But the visions are so horrendous and the things so alien I’m having trouble coping. Only my anger is keeping it at bay.”

“Then use that anger,” Hannibal insisted, feeling his own berserker rage rising from the horrid visions of the Old Ones. “But don’t let it consume you. Use your anger as a shield. Oh, Father, merciful and holy Ancient of Days, be merciful and shield Andrew’s mind from this horrid onslaught of the darkness. Strengthen his mind and resolve so that he may retain his humanity and light in this literal heart of darkness. Touch Tyr’s mind as well as my own that we may not be overpowered by the heinous blasphemous evil surrounding us that mocks your most holy name. I pray this in the name of your most holy son, Jesus. Amen.” The moment Hannibal prayed, the terrible visions let up, becoming ghostly phantasms lost in the mists. A semblance of peace came to the minds of the trio, but left their growing rage in place.

“Thank you for that prayer, milord,” Tyr said gratefully. “The assault on my mind has subsided to a manageable level now. I was about to go mad from it.”

Andrew briefly hugged Hannibal, saying, “Thank you, Uncle. I think I can manage now. You weren’t kidding about this place driving you mad. Where were those visions coming from?”

“The other side, maybe even from within the Nexus itself,” Hannibal stated grimly. “The Cadre is weakening the boundary between realms, allowing the Old Ones to reach through to infect our minds with their crawling chaos and evil. We have to stop this now. If we don’t, the madness we just felt will explode out of this place and infect everyone on the planet, driving the entire planet bat-shit crazy.”

“Then let’s stop this madness in its tracks,” Tyr declared stoutly. “I’m all for letting my axe speak for me now. It thirsts for the blood of demons and wizards as much as I do now.”

“Me too,” Andrew agreed. “Let’s finish this.”

“Then let’s move,” Hannibal ordered, hefting the Caverias sword in defensive manner. “Come on.” He again took up the lead with Andrew and Tyr following closely. Almost immediately, they encountered another group of six guards. This time, they consisted of three Xenian spiders and three Xenian reptiles. The trio fell on the Xenian guards with unparalleled brutality, killing all six inside of a minute before they could call for help. Three minutes later after killing seven additional human Cadre guards, they penetrated to center of the temple where the chanting was the loudest. They hid behind the crystal columns as they gazed upon the center of the temple with utter horror and disgust. The center of the temple was an exact crystal replica of Stonehenge with the exception that it was much larger and housed inside the larger pentagram structure they saw from the outside. Furthermore, the circle was complete, and not in a ruined state like the Stonehenge Hannibal knew in England. The crystal pillars and lentils as well as the stone floor were carved with ancient cartouches and hieroglyphs that Hannibal immediately recognized as the same symbols he’s seen in both Acheron and at the gateway in Tiamat. However, the symbols on the floor inside the circle were exceptionally large and lined with crystal. The symbols lay arranged in a specific pattern or formula around the centerpiece of the circle: a sacrificial altar made entirely of crystal four feet wide by seven feet in length standing four feet off the floor on a pedestal of carved human-like crystal skulls. Like everything around it, blasphemous arcane ancient writing and symbols of immense dark power lay etched into the altar. Every crystal in the temple glowed brightly, making the writing and symbols blaze with intensity. In this place, the smothering heinous evil the trio had felt was at its peak.

Gathered around the altar were five wizards in black hoods and robes with scarlet belts. On the altar lay the sacrifice: a gorgeous red-haired teenage girl with pale white skin. She wore a pure white linen dress with a simple leather belt around her waist, and lay chained hand and foot in a spread-eagle position with chains pinning her shoulders, torso, and thighs down tightly to the surface of the altar. Hannibal immediately noticed the chains were made of an electronium alloy he wasn’t familiar with, and that it was binding the girl so tightly she could barely move. He also saw a leather strap kept her head from moving and a bit-type gag kept her from speaking intelligibly. Despite the tightness of her bonds, the girl struggled against the restraints, moving as much as she could while whimpering in terror as the wizards circled her and the altar, chanting their infernal forbidden incantations. As the wizards circled her, Hannibal discerned that one wizard had the Atamé, or sacrificial knife. It appeared to be constructed out of an unknown metal and shaped like a human spine right down to the cavity where the spinal cord would be. A vicious-looking vampire skull sat on its pummel.

The scene horrified Andrew far beyond what he’d felt upon entering the accursed temple. It pushed Andrew’s rage to the breaking point. His face reddened with righteous rage and indignation. Deep inside him, Andrew felt something new stir for the first time...a fury of such power it startled him to the point he immediately tried to control it. He feared what it would do if he let it go, though he felt the heinous wizards deserved what came from it. Yet, he held is peace and reigned in the fury.

Tyr was likewise incensed at the scene, his rage holding no bounds at the atrocity they were witnessing. Only Hannibal wearing Grimm’s Mask kept him from charging madly in to save the girl.

“Come on, we’ve got to help her, Uncle” Andrew urged impatiently, ready to spring like a crouched tiger. “They’re going to kill her.” Hannibal heard the fury in Andrew’s tone and realized he was about to experience his first taste of the Caverias Berserker Rage.

“Just a moment,” Hannibal ordered urgently as he watched the cloaked wizards chant and circle. “We can’t just charge in. It would be extraordinarily dangerous to do so. We must interrupt ritual at the precise moment of sacrifice; otherwise, they can resume it without having to go through the preparations again. Timing is everything to stopping this insanity. Trust me, I know about these things.” The chanting made his blood run cold because of the memories it revived. Suddenly, the wizards stopped circling the altar and lowered their hoods. When Hannibal saw the one with the knife...the leader, his blood run like ice, and then the fire of fury flowed through his veins as he hissed, “Zeus! I should have known he would have been brought in on this!” His berserker rage blossomed instantly at the sight of his old enemy.

Just then, Zeus raised both hands in the air with the knife in his right hand, chanting loudly, “Terirad comdar resiast soular gex; Cari septar incomutati orisis soular gex!” His voice echoed off the crystal circle, making him sound like a god. The symbol formula on the floor and the crystal altar with its heinous blasphemous writing and symbols abruptly brightened to the point they cast shadows. An ethereal moan rose from every direction; a moan that defies all human capacity to describe...an inhuman sound from beyond this reality mixed with a slopping, slurping, chewing, growling sounds Hannibal knew intimately. His fellow wizards raised their hands and chanted in response, “Hreit scom piratatz septa comitar soular gex!” The blasphemous sounds increased with volume after the response.

At that point, Hannibal knew the time for consideration had passed. The moment of sacrifice had come. If they didn’t act now, it would be too late to stop them. “Let’s do it. Kill all of them except Zeus...the one with the knife. He’s mine,” he ordered as Zeus continued with his profane archaic chant and the other wizards chanting their responses. Grimm’s Mask grew even more menacing, glowing like a demon’s head with Hannibal’s blossoming rage. It sent out a wave of dread directed at Zeus and the wizards as Hannibal charged in with Tyr and Andrew. “Zeus!” Hannibal bellowed, Grimm’s Mask making his voice sound like an enraged draken, striking terror into his enemies. It echoed off the crystals, making his voice boom as if he were an angry god.

Zeus and his four wizard helpers froze at the sight of Hannibal in Grimm’s Mask charging in armed with the Caverias sword and backed up by Andrew and Tyr. Deep utter terror filled their dark minds and souls, making them completely forget about the ritual. “Fate be merciful!” one of the wizards cried out in dread, “What’s a Grimm Draken doing here? We’re done for!” The paralyzing fright of the sight suddenly lifted and the other four wizards fled for their lives in a panic leaving Zeus standing frozen in terror with the knife in the air.

Tyr threw his axe with expert precision, cleaving one wizard’s skull in two before opening fire with his plasma blaster three seconds later, killing a second fleeing wizard by literally blowing his head off. Andrew ran down the other two fleeing wizards, cutting them down brutally with his sword. For the first time, Andrew felt the raw power of the Caverias Berserker Rage as he split one wizard in half diagonally across the chest and then threw his sword at the last fleeing wizard, running him through the heart. He could feel the rage enhancing his speed, strength, and skill just as it did for Hannibal. When he retrieved his sword, Andrew loped the dead wizard’s head off just to spite him.

Seeing Andrew and Tyr dispatching the fleeing wizards with no difficulty, Hannibal moved menacingly in on Zeus, who stood paralyzed with terror...the Atamé still in the air over his hapless sacrifice. The eyes of Grimm’s Mask glowed scarlet, as did the strange alien symbols on it. “You’ve taken your last life this way, Zeus!” Hannibal growled deeply in a draken-like voice while approaching. “Your time has finally come.”

A platoon of spider and reptilian Xenians came out of nowhere, invading the inner circle when they heard the wizards being slaughtered. “Intruders; get them!” the spider captain of the platoon ordered. “Kill them all!”

Hannibal paused as Andrew and Tyr retreated towards the altar as the platoon advanced. “Where did they come from?” Andrew asked, his battle rage still burning in him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hannibal growled, turning to the advancing guards as his long-forgotten elemental fighting instincts welled up with his blossoming berserker rage. “The stupid fucks still don’t realize my enemies die. My enemies die. They always die!” Grimm’s Mask glowed as it targeted all sixteen guards simultaneously. A brilliant white aura swirled briefly around Hannibal...the Caverias sword and Grimm’s Mask absorbing the aura in less than two seconds. He stepped forward, stomping his left foot while clenching the blazing Caverias sword in his right fist. The floor crushed under his left foot as if it had been a giant hammer smashing the floor, his foot sinking four inches into the solid rock as it crumbled. The crunching floor echoed loudly off the crystal circle. Half a second later, Hannibal flipped the Caverias sword and stabbed the floor while eyeing the attacking guards, strange electrical energy arcing over the blade. The charge instantly drained into the floor. Two seconds later, sixteen large lightning bolts arced from the crystal circle around them as if summoned, striking each of the attacking guards, literally blowing them apart before they could blink. Pieces of the Xenian spiders and reptiles scattered everywhere, their blood splattering over the standing crystals and floor.

“Holy shit,” Tyr breathed. “How’d he do that? That’s the sort of shit the Emperor does.”

“It’s got to be an elemental attack,” Andrew answered, stunned at the display of brutal elemental power. “I’d heard he could do that, hit multiple targets with an elemental attack, but I’ve never seen it before now. I hope he doesn’t turn that power on us.”

“Don’t worry, nephew,” Hannibal growled, hearing Andrew’s comment while turning back to Zeus. “I’m still in control. The Rage hasn’t completely taken me yet, though it’s damned close. Grimm’s Mask seems to be helping me keep control over it.”

“That’s a relief,” Andrew replied, moving in on Zeus with Hannibal and Tyr. In seconds, they’d surrounded Zeus, who stared in terrified fascination at Hannibal in Grimm’s Mask. He still had his hands up with the Atamé still in it.

Glaring at Zeus in righteous indignation through Grimm’s Mask, Hannibal ordered with the utmost seriousness, “You move, or even breathe; I’ll cut you down where you stand.” With a flick of his wrist, Hannibal batted the sacrificial knife out of Zeus’ hand with the Caverias sword, sending it sailing far from his grasp. Andrew already had his sword point to the back of Zeus, poking him. Tyr stood back three steps to the right with his plasma blaster trained on Zeus’ head.

“What are you?” Zeus finally asked in puzzled terror. “Are you truly a Grimm? How can a Grimm have such power?”

“You’re a fucking fool, Zeus,” Hannibal snarled. “If I were really a Grimm Draken, I’d have eaten your sorry ass already. No, you pestilent piece of dog shit; I’m not a Grimm, but something far worse for you.” He opened the visor on Grimm’s Mask, revealing his real identity. “Maybe you recognize me now, Zeus,” Hannibal hissed venomously, his eyes flashing with great rage. “I’ve come back as I swore I would. Your ass is now grass and I’m the fucking lawnmower.”

“Beowulf!” Zeus replied with utter hatred, and a bit of perplexity. “How are you still alive and a man? I thought the mutation was permanent!”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Hannibal snarled with great malice, resisting the urge to kill Zeus outright. “The Darkness is no match for the power of the Light, and you know it. The tide is turning, Zeus. This madness must stop, and it will. The Old Ones must remain locked away or else.”

Zeus shook his head grimly. “Still interfering in things you have no business in, aren’t you, traitor,” he snapped back venomously, having lost his fear of Hannibal. “We’re not going to tolerate this interference any longer. The Emperor will deal with your treason personally.”

In a flash, Hannibal pushed the edge of the Caverias sword up under Zeus’s chin so hard that it started drawing blood from his throat. “Shut the fuck up, you brainless shit,” he barked viciously, “I’m not interfering. I’m stopping this insanity right here and now. Interference has nothing to do with it. And don’t even think of calling on Samhein. If you say another word, I’ll send you to meet him where he is the boss, not you. Now you listen to me and listen good you lousy piece of worm shit. The only reason I’m letting you live is I want you to deliver a message to the Emperor.”

Zeus tried to speak again and Hannibal pushed the sword even closer, making him shut up. “Shut the fuck up, you goddamned idiot. Don’t speak. Listen! You tell that lousy son of a demon bitch that his days are up,” Hannibal said maliciously, his tone dripping of hate and rage, “You tell the Emperor I’m at Srandi. Tell him to come get me if he dares. I’m not going to back down, nor I’m not going submit to his insanity. Tell that slimy cock-sucking demon shit that the people belong to the Almighty Ancient of Days, and he will not leave this land in one piece, if you catch my drift. Also, tell him that Selina is mine...mind, body, and soul. He will not have her as he had Ariel. You tell that foul slimy pestilent thing that pretends to be an Emperor that his time is up. I’m the Beowulf and like the epic goes, Beowulf took hold of Grendel’s arm and held fast till he pulled the arm off. I am the Beowulf and I have latched on to his arm to the death. I will tear his right arm off this very day. In less time than you think, Anastasia Karac and Nemesis will have reached the core with Horace and triggered the self-destruct mechanism on it.” Zeus’ face paled and the temple rumbled ominously as if on cue.

“If you have done your homework on the machines of this fabled land, you will know that there’s no going back once the self-destruct is activated,” Hannibal declared icily, “We had two hours in Acheron. What do you think it will be here: two hours, an hour, fifteen minutes? We’ll find out in a very short order.” He lowered the sword and clubbed Zeus in the face with the hilt and his Draken Gauntlet, knocking him senseless and drawing blood. Zeus crumpled before the blow and lay heavily stunned on the stone floor, but still awake.

“Get the knife, Tyr,” Hannibal ordered as the rage subsided slowly. Tyr retrieved the sacrificial knife while Andrew stood over Zeus, guarding him with the point of his sword at his throat. Hannibal turned to the frightened teenage girl on the altar. She was petrified of everyone, but quickly realized that Hannibal was her savior, even though he did look a bit like a demon with the visor open on Grimm’s Mask and his spiked armor. He looked down at her and said sternly, “Hold still.” He cut her chains with the Caverias sword, and then sheathed the blade. Removing the head strap and gag, he tossed them aside and smiled warmly at her as he offered his hand to her. The gesture caused her fear of him to wane, especially when she saw a friendly human face behind Grimm’s Mask.

The girl grasped Hannibal’s hand and he pulled her up. She immediately threw her arms around his neck despite Grimm’s Mask and showered him with kisses, crying, “Thank you; oh, thank you. You saved me!”

Hannibal briefly returned the hug, and then pushed her back, saying, “We aren’t safe just yet. Can you walk?”

“I can sure as hell walk out of here!” the girl cried, sliding off the altar onto her feet.

“Just one moment, Miss,” Hannibal told her as he went back to Zeus. Andrew backed away as Hannibal roughly kicked Zeus on his back so that he could see him. With a stunned and dazed look, and a very nasty bloody gash on the side of his face, Zeus looked up at Hannibal as he looked down harshly at him. “Remember my words, Zeus,” Hannibal said frigidly, “Take the message to the Emperor and be sure to tell him EXACTLY what I said, word for word. Then pray you never see my face again, for if you do, you will surely die and be Samhein’s bitch for all eternity. Moreover, I would suggest after you get your wits back to leave this place for it will be ashes in less than three hours. Andrew, Tyr, Miss, let’s get out of here.” He closed the visor on Grimm’s Mask and pulled the Caverias sword. “Andrew, Tyr, Miss; stand away from the altar. I’m going to make sure it’s never used again.”

Andrew pulled the girl well away from the altar, seeing her immediate fear of the closed Grimm’s Mask. “Don’t be afraid, Miss,” he told her as Tyr eyed the temple for Cadre guard reinforcements. “Hannibal uses Grimm’s Mask to strike terror into his enemies. You’re not an enemy, but a friend so you have no reason to fear him. He will protect you with his life.”

Hannibal held the Caverias sword in the hasso position on the right with his right foot back, consciously engaging his elemental abilities. The sword and its runes started glowing brightly. Grimm’s Mask also started shining, its six red eyes blazing like scarlet fire. A red aura suddenly formed around Hannibal and the Caverias Sword. With a loud bang, the Caverias Sword opened to its most powerful orientation, the blade expanding to seven inches wide with its runes blazing brightly and its blade covered in a blue flame. Grimm’s Mask and the Caverias sword drank in the swirling red aura until it disappeared. “Now to destroy this thing,” Hannibal said icily. With a thunderous shout that echoed off the crystal monoliths surrounding them, Hannibal cleaved the solid crystal altar in two to the floor with the Caverias sword. The flaming sword passed through the crystal as if it weren’t there. A second after the hit, Hannibal turned the sword sideways, shattering the altar into hundreds of pieces that flew everywhere. Andrew shielded the girl with his body so the crystal shards wouldn’t hurt her. Tyr used his ax to shield his face while crouching down. Pieces of the altar bounced harmlessly off Hannibal’s armor and Grimm’s Mask.

Pulling the enlarged glowing Caverias sword out of the altar’s wreckage, Hannibal turned to Zeus, gazing down at him through Grimm’s Mask. Zeus stared in fearful wonder at what he just witnessed, utterly impressed at the immense power Hannibal now wielded. “Remember my word, Zeus,” Hannibal said coldly as the Caverias sword closed up to its normal orientation with a bang. “Tell the Emperor exactly what I said and what you’ve seen here. Tell him the Last Caverias is here and will be the end of him. Had he just left me alone, he wouldn’t be in this position. Now, he’s called down the thunder. Before this is over, he will die very badly.” With that, Hannibal quickly retreated with Andrew, Tyr, and the girl, taking the scepter slung across his back in hand. “Stay close to me, Miss,” Hannibal told the girl in a friendly voice, “And don’t be afraid of this strange helmet. It’s our friend and allows me to do some amazing things, some of which you’ve just seen.”

Hannibal’s warm friendly tone helped settle the girl’s fear about him and the Mask. “Okay,” she replied, staying close to him as they fled the temple. They decimated two squads of ten guards each on the way out without Hannibal engaging his elemental power. When they crossed the bridge, the entire cavern rumbled again and began to shake visibly.

Briefly stopping on the bridge, Hannibal said, “Throw that cursed dagger into the lava, Tyr. It will never drink of human blood again.”

“Right,” Tyr answered, throwing the Atamé off the bridge into the lava moat. It sizzled briefly when it hit the molten rock, dissolving in seconds.

“One less cursed artifact to deal with,” Hannibal declared as he saw the sacrificial knife burn up in the lava. “Come on; let’s beat our feet out of here while we still can.” With that, the team raced off the bridge and onto the stairs, heading for the exit. One hundred fifty yards from the exit tunnel, a monstrous basilisk spanning one hundred twenty feet long and five feet thick swept out of the shadows, barring the way. It reared up twenty feet in the air, opening its mouth as it hissed, revealing its eight-inch needle teeth dripping of venom.

“Get back and don’t look it in the eye!” Hannibal shouted as the giant snake struck at him with great speed. Tyr, Andrew, and the girl quickly fell back fifty yards towards the bridge, taking cover among the stalagmites and columns next to the stairs where a brazier sat flaming. Hannibal jumped out of the path of the strike, throwing the Caverias sword with great accuracy into the basilisk’s eye while getting out of the way. He rolled to his feet as the sword found its mark, penetrating the basilisk’s eye up to its hilt. The basilisk shrieked...writhing violently as the sword penetrated into its brain. Without warning, the long-forgotten elemental fighting instincts smoldering within Hannibal rose yet again. A yellow aura swirled briefly around Hannibal...the Scepter and Grimm’s Mask absorbing the power. The eyes on Grimm’s Mask turned briefly yellow as Hannibal pulled the Scepter and stabbed the stone floor in front of him with the scepter’s spear-point head while looking at the basilisk. Half a second later, the stone floor and stair beneath the writhing basilisk exploded in half a dozen giant razor-sharp shards that impaled the giant snake in multiple places, including the head. With a groan, the basilisk slumped dead with a ten-foot spike of solid rock run through its skull and five other giant rock spikes impaling its body. After the elemental assault, the eyes of Grimm’s Mask returned to its normal red look.

“Holy shit,” Andrew said softly, coming out with Tyr and the girl after Hannibal killed the basilisk. “He used an elemental earth attack to kill it. I’ve never seen him use an earth attack before.”

“He must be a god,” the girl breathed in awe. “The very earth itself answers his command.”

Hannibal heard the girl’s comment as she, Andrew, and Tyr ran up. “I’m no god, miss,” he corrected after clambering up on the basilisk’s head to remove the Caverias sword. “I’m just a man with some extraordinary abilities. It’s obvious now that this Mask greatly enhances my elemental abilities and targeting skills. This is only the second time I’ve launched an earth attack like this. The last time it happened, I was a mutated woman in the Black Fortress’ Arena fighting for my life and soul against a tarok.” With a heave, Hannibal pulled the Caverias sword free of the basilisk’s head and jumped down. “I’d like to tell you about it, but we haven’t the time,” he declared urgently, “This snake isn’t the only thing here. Just another four hundred feet and we’re out of here!” He swung the Caverias sword, cleaning it before sheathing it. Taking the girl by the hand, he led her around the dead basilisk with Andrew and Try following close behind.

As soon as they cleared the dead giant snake, the team heard shrieks and abominable curses from the temple in the distance. Suddenly, the atmosphere became much viler and darker as they raced up the stair. A dreadful, unspeakable stench from the temple wafted towards them while the shadows around the cavern physically deepened becoming much more ominous and threatening. “Hurry!” Hannibal urged them on as they raced to the top of the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs and the tunnel, he paused, looking back to the temple from the top landing of the stairs at the end of the entrance tunnel. A hellish roar echoed forth and a vile monstrous abomination emerged from the temple that looked like a living gelatinous shadow the size of a semi-truck. It oozed forward, flowing menacingly uphill towards them. “Oh, shit!” Hannibal cursed, seeing the shadowy blob moving with incredible speed towards them. He turned, pushing Andrew, Tyr and the girl toward the doors. “Go! Get out of here,” he ordered urgently, turning to face the terrible protoplasmic thing. “I’ll handle this.”

“We can help,” Andrew protested.

“No, you can’t,” Hannibal declared forcefully, “This demon beyond your power. Fall back to the door with Tyr and the girl now! I’ll do what I can to slow it down. Maybe I can reason with it.”

In that moment, Andrew, Tyr, and the girl saw the gelatinous shadow flow over the dead basilisk, consuming its flesh as it moved. They stared in stark horror as the shadowy blob completely obliterated the body of the basilisk, dissolving and sucking the giant snake into its monstrous form. Only then did they realize they were seeing a true demon monster from the nether world. It continued up the stairs towards them with great speed, appearing to grow larger and more menacing as it approached; a mountainous mass of hideous black jelly that stank of decaying death mixed with sulfur, oil, and feces. The closer it came, the darker and viler the atmosphere became. Two hundred fifty feet down the steps, the dark blob abomination stopped and stood up, showing its true demon form. A semblance of a body formed out of the blob, rising thirty-five feet in height on a tangle of countless tentacles. Two arms with enormous claws pulled from the side of the blob’s body while an indescribable head formed on top of it. Six glowing eyes appeared in its hideous head. The thing appeared to be a monstrous living shadow. Its semi-solid body looked like the blackest tar and flowed with the consistency of mercury. No light could penetrate its black gelatinous form. Without warning, it roared, revealing a colossal mouth filled with fire and five-inch needlelike teeth that could easily swallow a human. It rattled the souls of Andrew, Tyr, and the girl, who promptly retreated as Hannibal ordered.

When the monstrosity resumed slithering up the stairs towards the exit, Hannibal stepped back out onto the landing outside the tunnel. He glared at the beast, clenching the scepter in his left hand as the beast approached. At one hundred feet away, the abomination stopped and hissed venomously, “Beowulf.” A fetid reek spewed from its blazing maw that would make even the most hardened warrior gag and flee. Fortunately for Hannibal, Grimm’s Mask filtered his air, removing the reek.

“Samhein,” Hannibal replied coldly through Grimm’s Mask. They face each other in a Chinese standoff, not making a sound. The six eyes of Grimm’s Mask blazed with scarlet intensity while its markings shined brilliantly. The demon grunted and glared, recognizing both Grimm’s Mask and who wore it. Hannibal stood his ground, facing the demon down. For five minutes, they stared each other down.

When Hannibal saw the demon’s clawed arm move and he growled, “Oh, no you don’t.” He tapped the scepter lightly on the floor and its crystal head flashed brightly like a strobe, briefly driving back the shadows for six hundred feet.

Samhein shrieked and retreated fifty feet down the stairs away from the light. “Curse you, Beowulf,” he snarled. “How the fuck did you get hold of Grimm’s Mask? It’s been lost since the Days of Grimm in the 1st Age.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hannibal growled icily. “The fact is Grimm’s Mask serves me and me alone. You obviously saw what I accomplished with it in the temple. Why do you tempt Fate by confronting me while I wear it? It protects me even now from your corrosive fetid reek.”

“You traitorous malignant ape,” Samhein roared, knowing Grimm’s Mask gave Hannibal an edge over him. “I’ll consume your flesh and soul for this, Beowulf! You’ll not leave this place alive!”

Hannibal glared at the reeking shadowy abomination, saying, “Oh, I think I will, and if you’re smart, you will too. You see, I have friends who have activated the self-destruct mechanism on the core in this place. Now we have two options. I can take you down like I did the Baal, Dagos, and the Devourer at the Acheron gate, or you can get Zeus back to the Emperor and I can get out of here too. Understand; I want the Emperor to know where I am going now. It doesn’t do either of us any good to fight. Besides, I know that you want to see the Black Prince dethroned as much as Dezarcus, Baal, and the Devourer do. Give me a chance and that may happen, or we can pursue this fracas to its ultimate stupidity.”

Samhein slithered forward a few feet. His shadowy gelatinous face seemed to get a wicked smile as he replied, “You defeated them?”

Hannibal pulled the glowing Caverias sword, saying confidently, “This should convince you.”

Samhein saw the sword and hissed malevolently, “No way did you get that without besting them. All right, go. But be warned; the next time we meet, I will consume you, body and soul. There will be no escape for you.”

Hannibal sheathed the Caverias sword, replying coldly, “You can try, demon. But I know your weakness. Go back to the Shadow where you belong, Samhein.”

“Next time, Beowulf,” Samhein snarled venomously. He headed back to Zeus, slithered back the way he came, resuming his form as a dark gelatinous blob.

Hannibal sighed; deeply relieved he was not going to have to fight Samhein. Turning, Hannibal rushed up the passageway towards the door as the klaxon sirens began to wail announcing the impending destruction of the core. Andrew, Tyr, and the girl were at the door, waiting for Hannibal. The place began to shiver and rumble as he reached them.

“What happened?” Tyr asked. “How’d you reason with that abomination?”

“No time for that,” Hannibal said as he pushed through the doors. “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here!” They followed him through the doors only to be met by Nemesis, Ana, Horace, and the hybrid named Po. Horace was genuinely surprised not only to see them, but also that they had what appeared to be a sacrifice with them. “Where’s the rest?” Hannibal asked.

Nemesis shook his head, saying grimly, “Dead, but their sacrifice did allow us to do what we came to do. The Core was heavily guarded and fortified, much more so than I anticipated.”

“How much time?” Hannibal asked quickly.

“Two and a half hours,” Ana stated. “Before we set the self-destruct, we overloaded a number of Kartoom’s systems, including the energy shield that surrounds this place.”

“Can we leave now?” Andrew asked urgently as they heard sounds of approaching Xenians from the core control center.

“Yes,” Hannibal stated. “Let’s get the hell out of this hell.” Everyone took off running. To everyone’s surprise, the girl was able to keep up without ever having to stop for a rest.

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