The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"Everyone stay behind us! If they get too close to you just run away!" I yell to the freed Frodians who all look terrified.

"Don't let a single one of them get away my army!" The Goblin Lord shouts as the goblins run towards all of us.

"Mardian Art: Picasso Blaze!" Mari says as she shoots a huge magic beam with a myriad of colors.

The attack hits at least 20 goblins and destroys all of them instantly.

"Windian Art: Headshot Collateral Arrows!" Sachi yells as she shoots a bunch of arrows with perfect accuracy taking down 10 goblins.

"Crow you know the drill! We'll handle the rest of the horde! You deal with those goblin kings! Bracadier Art: Boomerang Axe!" Jack says, as he throws his axe at the horde and cuts down at least 30 of them.

"Roger that! Scavian Art: Avian Spin Blade Dash!" I shout as I cut through one of the Goblin Kings knocking its head off with ease.

The other two goblin kings try to catch me in the air but they're both too slow. I fly around them keeping an eye out to make sure I don't get caught by their monstrous grips again. Out of nowhere, I notice that one of the goblin kings is crying.

"What? Why is it crying?" I ask as I fly to the ground.

"Please… Put an end to me!" The Goblin King says as it falls on its knees and surrenders.

"Crow! Why are you hesitating! We have to save everyone, don't fall for its tricks!" Jack says as he's still fighting off the goblin horde.

"But… It clearly doesn't want to fight me! I won't take out someone who surrenders, it goes against my code!" I snap, as the other Goblin King also surrenders.

"What's this? It seems their former selves are breaking through my spells! No matter, I'll find much more suitable Goblin Kings! Vedora Art: Guillotine Scythe!" The Goblin Lord says as he cuts both of the Goblin Kings down.

"You monster! You'd cut down your own men? What the hell is wrong with you?" I bellow as I can feel a huge amount of anger building in my chest.

"Wow, you're weak! You won't survive very long in Goliath at this rate! You had two enemies in front of you that were asking you to end them and you apply the mercy rule? I hate to break it to you Chosen Child but the people of Goliath are never that forgiving! No one cares about mercy here, children are used as tools, women are viewed as second-class citizens, slavery runs rampant, and all of the wealthy of this country step on the poor! In order to make it here, you have to put yourself before others! I'm just doing what everyone else does!" The Goblin Lord says as I can tell that he believes in everything he's saying.

"That look in their eyes… They truly gave up on their lives. They felt that there was no meaning left all because of you! I'll never forgive you!" I declare, as all of a sudden, my whole body becomes engulfed in black Taqa.

"Crow? Your body!" Jack says, his face full of confusion.

"Crow?" Sachi asks as she's still fighting off the horde.

"Crow, what's going on?" Mari asks as she swings her staff at a group of goblins.

"Using someone else for your own gain! Treating others like a puppet for your own selfish plans! The only thing I hate is a person who takes advantage of the weak! UGHAHHHH!" I yell as I can feel my body slowly transforming.

My hands turn into sharp talons, my vision becomes sharper, my arms and body become covered in fur, and my wings become even longer!

"That Taqa is dangerous! That's enough! My army go after that Scav! Ignore the others!" The Goblin Lord screams, his eyes full of fear.

"No! You aren't hiding behind them anymore! Scavian Art: Dark Switch Blades!" I yell as I shoot a bunch of dark magic blades from my wings.

I take down half of his forces with that one attack as even some of the goblins look scared now.

"I'll put all of you out of your misery! He won't use you anymore!" I shout as I lunge at the rest of the horde.

The goblins all try to attack me but their attacks are blocked by wings. I stretch out my talons!

"Scavian Art: Predator Attack!" I bellow, as fly through all of them cutting down each on my way towards the Goblin Lord.

"Damnit! He's fast! Vedora Art: Invisible Absolute Shield!" The Goblin Lord blurts, his eyes are full of desperation.

I attempt to attack him, but it proves to be pointless as his spell keeps repelling me. All of a sudden he starts clapping and laughing at me.

"Wow, out of the four of you I never thought you'd be the one with the darkest depths in your heart. You took out all of my forces that easily with that strange power of yours! I can already tell that you lived a very difficult life, just like I did. You were alone, so thus you relied solely on your own strength to survive. It seems Adora brought you here to save you from that type of living, but if there's one thing none of us can do, we can never escape our past. My apologies, if you weren't in my way I might have considered putting you under my wing. Sorry kid, it's time for me to get serious! Vedora Art: Goblin King Mode!" The Goblin Lord says, as all of a sudden he grows 10 feet tall and turns into a Goblin King.

"Crow, get out of there! He's way stronger now!" Jack commands as all of my party prepares for battle.

"Too late! I'll put an end to your little power boost!" The Goblin Lord declares as he starts punching towards me.

"Ugh! That was close!" I say, as I barely dodge his quick attacks.

"Everyone attack him with everything you've got! If we work together we'll slow him down!" Sachi commands as she pulls out her explosive arrows.

"Understood!" We all say in unison.

"Bracadier Art: Earthquake Smash!" Jack shouts as she smashes into the ground trying to knock the Goblin Lord off of his feet.

"Mardian Art: Ray of Adora!" Mari yells as she shoots a giant blue magic energy beam at the Goblin Lord.

"Take this!" Sachi says as she shoots off three explosive arrows at the Goblin lord.

"Scavian Art: Dark Blade Slash!" I scream as I launch a dark magic attack at the Goblin Lord.

All three of our attacks hit the Goblin Lord at the same time causing a huge explosion in the tunnel.

"Woah, did we overdo it on that one?" I ask as I feel completely spent on taqa.

"He had to be stopped, overdoing it was needed." Sachi says, as her quiver is now empty.

"Hopefully that this part of the job is over. We gotta get back outside and help Kira!" Mari sighs, her voice full of relief.

"Leaving so soon?" The Goblin Lord says as the smoke clears.

Our attacks clearly did some damage, but not enough to take him out.

"No way! We put everything into those attacks!" Sachi yells, her face full of disbelief.

"I'm almost out of Taqa too!" I say as I attempt to summon it.

"I am too!" Mari replies as she's struggling to even cast a spell.

"Jack! Get the rest of them out of here! We'll hold him off!" I command.

"No way, I'm not letting you fight him on your own! We're all leaving out of here together!" Jack says as he dual-wields his axes.

"You kids threw the whole damn house at me didn't you? I have to say I'm impressed! But sorry, this battle is over! Vedora Art: Paralysis Beam!" The Goblin Lord shouts as he unleashes a huge black beam from his mouth that hits everyone in the room.

Suddenly, I feel every part of my body become numb from this attack. I immediately fall to the ground and everyone else in the room follows.

"Damn, I can't move… " I say, as I try to reach out to my friends.

"He's just too strong… " Sachi says, as she keeps trying to push her body up.

"Don't give up guys! Fight, fight, fight! We can't lose here!" Jack yells, his voice full of desperation.

"I can't even cast a spell! My Taqa won't even work for me!" Mari says as she clutches her staff weakly.

"HAHAHA! You all put up a good fight, but this is the end for all of you! Once I've captured all of you, I'll do the ritual and use all of you for my army!" The Goblin Lord says confidently as walks over to me staring at me.

"How?" I ask.

"How what?" The Goblin Lord asks as it is obvious he's toying with me now.

"How can you do all of this and not feel bad? How can you have that much hatred towards your own people?" I ask.

"It's easy, our people have lost their way. All of us are hypocrites and need to be reminded of the value of ours lives. With the help of Vedora and the Colossi, we'll make a brand new world with only pure-hearted Frodians who understand what it means to live!" The Goblin Lord says as he returns back to his normal size.

"Oh brother! Shut the hell up! Your little manifestos are giving me a headache!" A familiar voice says as a hole opens from the ceiling with a ladder.

"Huh? How are you still alive?" The Goblin Lord asks.

"Well, I had to go check on my students! You see they're very important to me!" Kira shouts, her eyes full of fiery determination.