Wudang: Legends Of Qi Earth 203 The Veil IV : Fallen Hero

30 seconds was just not enough time for someone to make such a decision, it was obvious to everyone here that all Alex aimed for was to kill everyone. But Finn was not just a hero or spirit king, he was also a politician that had lived a lot longer than Alex. When it came to things like this, he reckoned he would always be able to get the upper hand. Besides Alex was just a child, what kind of fight could he possibly put up.

"I admire your fire and tenacity boy; it reminds me so much of myself; back when I was nothing more than an ignorant sniveling pup." Finn said to Alex as he walked out of his army, taking such massive and majestic strides it was as if he was going for a fight but a victory speech.

"I guess that explains a lot about you, seeing as you were nothing more than a dog as a child. Never the less you're very smart, or stupid I'm not so sure, you must really care about your army." Alex said to him as he got up from the ground and a mask appeared on his face.

Finn scrunched up his eyebrow as quite similar to Alex a mask appeared on his face, the only problem was half way through completing it appearance, the mask suddenly shattered and the shocked face of Finn McCool was left exposed to the world. Alex held (Nameless) in a tight grip as bright orange flames covered its frame as he spoke to Finn, loud enough that the rest of his soldiers could hear.

"do you not know the rules Fionn Mac Cumhail? there can only be one spirit king in this universe, not the planet, but this universe! The fact that I'm here can only mean one thing, and that's the fact that you've lost the privilege to be a spirit king, you're just an almost dead man that can use spirit energy, nothing more.

There are no spirits that would heed your commands anymore, not after the rather painful death of your loyal hounds. If I had to be honest I would say you never deserved them from the start, such loyalty is wasted on you. But it's good that you're finding this out now, sometimes people can be so blind to the facts they end up hurting themselves. So I'll be nice and tell you just how fucked you are before you die, or better yet, I'll show you!"

*BANG! *

Alex had vanished from his position, leaving behind a trail of flames as he slashed his spear at Finn's chest, however the previous spirit King had pulled out a spear of his own and defended against Alex's assault. There was a shockwave released from the impact of their spears against each other, pushing a lot of people backwards for a few steps before they were able to properly regain their footing and shift their attention back to the fight. Finn gritted his teeth in an obvious rage induced mode and said to Alex.

"If you think I'll go down without a fight then you're sorely mistaken! I will not be bested by a child, whether I'm the spirit king or not. You're just a child, I would like to see just how much strength you have to defeat me."

Alex didn't even bother trying to check out his power base or if he used qi or mana along with his spirit energy. Because in the end it wouldn't matter, all Finn had was a deep pool of spirit energy, that might seem enough to him, but Alex was seeing it from a different angle. All he had wad the energy, but there were no spirits to rely on, and he definitely couldn't come up with a ritual in the middle of a fight. He just had a very large energy pool that would enable him fight longer and give him defense against mana or qi techniques, but other than that, all he had left was his years of experience as a fighter, but that can only take him so far in the face of Alex's absolute strength.

Finn was still a head taller than Alex, but it was still enough for the young boy to smash his head forwards and hit the jaw of the legendary hero. Finn reeled backwards but smashed his right foot forwards as Alex defended against the hit with his spear and had to take a few steps backwards, giving Finn enough time to regain his footing and pierce his spear forwards towards Alex's chest.

Alex shifted to the side and swung his spear over his head with a single grip, creating more momentum as (nameless) whooshed through the air, its blade heading for Finn's temple. Finn still had his spear extended so he ducked under the swing and suddenly surged forwards, his body leaving behind purple afterimages. He smashed his shoulders into Alex's body, throwing him backwards and driving the wind out of him for just a second, but he didn't stop there as he chased after the still airborne Alex in an attempt to run him through.

Alex stabbed (Nameless) into the ground, creating furrows as he brought his momentum to a halt and twisted his body to the side, as Finn's spear went past him with barely an inch of separation. But never the less, the move still brought Finn close enough for Alex to make a move. All of a sudden wind and lightning gathered around his right fish as he punched it forwards, and since he was still using his fire mask, wisps of flames could be seen dancing with lightning and wing around his right fist.

(Wind God Martial Series: Fist: Storm Judgement)

*BOOM!*

Finn's body blasted backwards digging meter deep furrows into the ground as he was blasted through his army and their camp. Still that wasn't enough for Alex as he surged forwards, very much intent on finishing this fight as soon as possible. But he wasn't the only one aiming to finish the fight as all of a sudden, two massive hounds, or rather their heads made out of purple spirit energy surged out from under the rubble of tents Finn was under and attacked Alex.

The reversal was swift, so Alex hadn't seen it coming, the dogs smashed and bit into him, leaving bloody wounds on his body. Looks like Finn wasn't as helpless and skill less as he thought. The flames on (Nameless) blazed even higher and hotter in that moment as Alex swung the spear through the images, leaving garish blackened marks on their form as they vanished into nothing. Then Alex swung his spear downwards, the image of a ferocious green dragon suddenly showing up on it.

(Dragon Fall)

Finn already knew something was off about the dragon, so he raised his spear above his head and began spinning it rapidly to create a dome above his head and the heads of his army. The dragon made of green flames fell from the sky, guided by Alex's spear, but halfway through, the neon green flames suddenly changed, and what followed after was an all-encompassing blackish red. The regal and powerful green dragon had transformed in a black dragon of death and destruction and not even the defense Finn had put up could save him and his soldiers from this.

*BOOM! *

The barrier didn't even last a second before it was swallowed and destroyed, the flames of black ash surged into the camp and into the ranks of his armies, burning and poisoning them from the inside out. Hundreds of his soldiers were caught in the blaze, their bodies burning from inside out as they became nothing more than blackened statues of ash. Finn was right at the epicenter of the strike, though he fared a bit better than his comrades, he was still not spared the horrors of Xeron's black ash.

He watched as people he had trained with, trained, raised and loved all burned, dying a fiery death before even getting a chance to live the life full of glory he had promised them. And it was all the fault of this fucking child! But maybe not, he knew the truth, he knew whose fault this really was; and it was his! He did this, he killed his family.

In his quest to run from death he had pulled them along, stuck them in a life of stagnation. They couldn't go forwards, and they couldn't go backwards. He let them suffer and guard his stolen body as age had already eaten away at his original, but now look at them, they were gone. Without the Fionna, Fionn Mac Cumhail aka Finn McCool was nothing, he was no one.

The storm of flames came to a stop, and all that was left behind was death, only few of Finn's army was left standing, and even they won't survive for long. The black ash was already airborne and they were breathing it in, it would spread from the inside out, and theirs's would be much slower and painful. But eventually, even the temporal zone wouldn't stop them from dying, and it would happen soon.

Alex stopped in front of a kneeling Finn, half his body had already been eaten away by the black ash, and it was spreading rapidly in the form of garish black veins. This was a spirit king? It was disappointing, but Alex had the feeling that everything he's just experienced with Finn was lesson. Michael had repeatedly told him not to lose himself to his darkness; Finn was a prime example of what would happen when a spirit king loses himself, the results definitely aren't pretty.

"Ahhh! You really did a number on me boy, but I guess I deserve it. You must go and slay giants just like I did…. just don't...fall…. for...power…. she's…. a…. fickle…. fick…. miss…."

by this point the black ash had completely covered his entire body, he was dead. And as if the universe was agreement, a gust of wind blew through the camp, carrying everyone that had turned to ash statues, Finn included, and breaking their bodies down. All that was left was a sky filled with black ash that kept on flying into the horizon, those still alive will follow soon after. Alex sighed, this was what it meant to be a spirit king, sometimes the ghost you face aren't really ghost. His work here was done, the only thing left however was to find out why that salmon can sing?

Chapter end