Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons 298 CCXCVIII. The Sound Of The Horn

The Jotunn slightly turned his face towards him, looking at him.

His eyes widened as his body began to shrink, releasing a watery liquid as if it was ice under the Sun.

When the process of transformation into his human shape was over, the enemy unveiled his true form: he was a boy, perhaps even younger than Dag, who held the axe still next to his neck, despite his surprised expression.

"This guy will be about Karl's age, but he used magic excellently... he was also able to transform into Jotunn and keep the mutation active until now!" he thought, looking the young warrior in the eye as life flowed away from his body. 

He grabbed him by the thick black hair that had sprung from his bald head and lifted him, continuing to threaten him.

"I asked you a question! Why did you kill all those people?! What do you want?! Are you going to declare war on Okstorm?! Are you allied with other Clans?! Speak, for fuck sake!" Dag continued, in the heat of gathering as much information as possible, brushing the boy's neck with the fiery blade of his weapon.

"Urrgh... they told me... they told me..." the young enemy warrior whispered, his mouth full of blood.

Dag turned him upside down, trying to hear his words.

"What?! What did they tell you?! Who?!" he replied, crouching, now sure that his opponent would not be able to get up.

The young warrior looked at him again, tears streaming down his eyes, surprising Dag, who did not expect such a reaction. 

"They told me... that I would not be able to kill anyone... *cough*" the boy continued, breathing hard and coughing blood, which mashed his chest, devoid of tattoos or symbols of any kind.

Dag put his weapons down and shrugged his shoulders, shaking them forcefully: "No, no! Hold on! Keep talking! Why did you get my axe?! Because of its powers?! Answer me!" 

The boy slowly closed his eyes, exhaling his last breath, and Dag dropped him to the ground, rising to his feet and continuing to look at him. 

At that very moment, the sound of the same horn heard before the attack rumbled in the air, but this time it came from the larger boat, docked in the hidden beach of the crag.

As Dag continued to look at the boy with a perplexed air, all the Jotunns in the village quickly began to run away, heading in unison down the descent that would allow them to escape from Okstorm.

Dag sighed deeply and turned, opening his eyes slowly and looking at the retreating enemy troops, who were running right towards him, that was the last obstacle between them and the boat.

Flashes crossed his mind, in the form of images: they were the dried-up bodies of the victims of the villages, who still lay there, in the same place, becoming sand and leaving no trace of their existence.

"They were families... men, women..." he whispered, opening his hand to the hammer, which was drawn into his palm, that tightened his grip on the weapon.

"children..." 

He also grabbed the axe, which as soon as it touched the hand of its original owner, became even more glowing, emitting a strong warmth.

"They were all innocent and you slaughtered them for no reason. I can't see these evil acts anymore... that's enough..." Dag continued, speaking to himself, while subtle tears ran through his face.

"Daaag! Move from there!" 

"Daaag!" 

"Daaag!" 

Gridd, Ellen and Kjell began screaming in that direction, trying to alert their teammate, who was about to be run over by an angry mob of mammoth beings, who running simultaneously shook the slope of the coast.

Reidar stood still and watched, hoping that some sort of miracle would happen.

Dag could not hear the voices of his companions, due to the bustle generated by the advance of the Jotunns and that in his mind, which as the level of anger increased, began to lose lucidity.

"nuq loS SoH? chaH Qaw', HoH!" 

A deep voice whispered words in the alien language in his head, while his eyes were closed, focusing on his own body.

The right arm was enveloped by a kind of electric spiral, emitting sparks and purple lightning bolts, becoming more and more charged, while the runes engraved at its top glowed, shining with white light.

The left one continued to hold the Giantbane firmly, which emitted a blaze, firstly enveloping the wrist, then the entire arm, which despite the heat of the fire did not burn, as if it was immune to it. 

While Dag's two weapons spontaneously activated their potential, a large bundle of dark fluid came out of his back, winding upwards and splitting into two large black arms, which seemed ready to defend their creator. 

From a distance, Gridd and the others saw only a set of bright colors that enveloped Dag, not understanding what was really going on.

"We must go there and help him! There's no point in staying here! My crazy brother's not going to run, look at him! Dag wants to fight, he must be out of control again! He gonna die!" Gridd shouted, trying to engage the others, who were too exhausted to rush to his rescue.

Realizing that she had no other choice, she began to walk slowly toward her brother with the last forces she had in her body, starting to cry.

The sunset had come and the orange sunlight illuminated the sea and the coast, while about 50 Jotunn warriors ran to their boat, ready to wipe out Dag, who was their final hurdle.

The ground around his feet began to vibrate more and more intensely as his enemies approached.

Chapter end