Legend: Season Two by Nick Venom (children's books read aloud txt) 📖

wasn’t one of the people kidnapped---and told her to sit still. He would be back for her soon.

He turned around and headed down the stairs, signaling for Jordan. Jordan and Melody had been staying in Astrial Forest to establish a connection between him and Nazifa. This mental link allowed Kira to contact Nazifa for help with the kidnapped people.

“Humans? Why should I care about them?” Nazifa asked through the mental link.

“I’m asking you for a favor,” Kira responded.

“A favor?” Nazifa asked. “Why do-” His voice cut off. With only one of Kira’s pets stationed near Nazifa, the mental link was worsening. He needed both of them there to reinforce the link.

“Say it again, I couldn’t hear you,” Kira said as he reached the front door of the inn. Outside were Ace and Aver scuffling with the Shadows.

“I’ll track them, but I’ll need to request your help soon. When I do, you must return to the forest immediately.” Nazifa told him.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Good-” His voice cut off again. “-warehouse.”

“Can you-” Kira was cut off by a dagger whizzing past his face. “-I have to go.” He cut the link, bolting towards the fighting. He activated Freeze Strike on a Shadow, freezing it in place. 

Jordan arrived behind him, pointed towards the frozen Shadow. His pet activated its Sonic Roar and killed the Shadow in a split second. The roar was loud enough to burst eardrums and brains, a handy skill for Kira.

Ace struggled to kill the Shadow, attacking her with sharp slices. She continued to dodge the attack, throwing a few daggers at him to slow him down. Unfortunately for her, he dodged the daggers and pushed forward.

Angered by them kidnapping his family and the Shadow’s constant dodging, Ace brandished Azroth---his light pistol attached to his hip---and fired point-blank at the Shadow.

Unlike the other Shadows, she was familiar with the gun and ducked from its fire. However, since it was point-blank, it pierced through her defenses and nicked her left hip. 

“Wait, stop, I can-” She desperately shouted. Ace wasn’t expecting her desperate cries for mercy but didn’t care for them. He was angry and wanted his family back, so mercy wasn’t an option. He raised Azroth toward her head and pressed the trigger. 

“I see, my Goddess was right. You’re a murderer.” A familiar voice boomed. The silhouette of a man emerged into the playing field, jumping in front of the bullet. He spared the life of the Shadow but took the damage himself -it wasn’t enough to dent his health.

The man stared into Ace’s hurt eyes before shaking his head.

“Who are you? The leader of the Shadows?” Ace asked him, holstering Azroth. Attempting a close-quarters fight would be disadvantageous to him.

“Nope, my name is John Calamity. I am the reincarnation of the evil god, Calamity. And-” He pointed at Ace, Aver, and Kira. “-you will feed my God and Goddess’s hunger with your lives.”

Ace jumped, striking at John. The attack missed and Ace staggered forward. John used this moment to his advantage, grabbing Ace and shoving him to the ground. He summoned a fireball at the tips of his fingers, gulping down Mana Restoration potions. With his mana being replenished, the fireball grew to a large size.

Everybody, including the Shadows and citizens, watched in amazement as the fireball grew to double the size of the entire town’s length; a terrifying fireball.

“Be grateful that your lives are being put to use. You’ll be the sacrifices needed to revive the evil god, Calamity!” He roared. “Well, let’s-”

“Wait!” Ruben shouted, arriving on the scene. He was informed by Silver about the predicament in the forest, rushing to the inn to speak with Aver and Ariana. However, he stumbled across a predicament far surpassing the other one.

“We are all…” He glanced around for aid, seeing Aver and Kira still fighting with the Shadows and a defeated Ace on the ground. Ace couldn’t move as his Bloodlust---which activated suddenly---vanished without a trace. He ran out of stamina.

“... very thankful to be of use. We wish to be of more use, so how about we organize you more sacrifices. There’s about to be a caravan of slavers and slaves arriving soon, we could use them!”

“More sacrifices?” John muttered to himself. His Goddess wasn’t in his ear, at the moment, so all decisions were for him to make. “I’ll give you one hour. In one hours’ time, this fireball will slam into the city and kill you all. I won’t give you any extra time.” He hurled the fireball far into the air before disappearing alongside all of the active Shadows and their corpses.

The Shadow that Ace was fighting disappeared as well.

Ruben, watching as the fight in the marketplace and the ambush of their guest incited panic and anxiety into the town. His words didn’t help to quell their worries.

Havoc appeared from out of nowhere, standing on a box. “People of Striktin!” His voice boomed louder than his behavior. The meek man that Ace and the others met was not the same person here. He was a different person.

“Yes, there’s a fireball hurtling towards us - yes, Ruben said some disgusting stuff. However, what Ruben said has granted us time. Prepare your carriages and fill them to the brim with supplies and people. We’re leaving before the fireball strikes, so we must work together.” He glanced at a thief trying to steal produce from the marketplace, some distance from the inns. “Thieving and murder will not be accepted. There are still guards here, so, for any evildoers, I must inform you that you won’t be let off the hook. Today is an important day for our future and we have less than an hour to celebrate the new chapters of our lives. I and many adventurers will attempt to subdue the fireball, but if it doesn’t work then be prepared for that outcome. Prepare your carriages, let as many people as you can into your carriage, and leave Striktin. Head to Great Wolfstein and we’ll campaign for support from the government.”

Havoc turned to Ruben. “Anything to add, guild leader?”

Ruben nodded as Havoc stepped off the box. Ruben took Havoc’s spot, facing a worried, angered, frustrated, and saddened crowd. “Yes, I did speak like I wanted to sacrifice my citizens, but that's not my intention. I wanted to give us an hour. Otherwise, the fireball would’ve slammed into the town and killed everybody without resistance. I didn’t want this, so I pleaded for more time. He granted my wish, so let’s not waste it. Go!” He pointed at the crowd. “Let’s leave and open a new chapter in our lives!”

The citizens of Striktin moved quickly to work. The thief who tried to steal produce was beaten---not to near-death---and put on a carriage out of town.

The town worked to prepare all carriages with survivors before positioning them outside of the main gate, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“Wheres the A rankers?” Ruben asked Havoc. Havoc pointed behind him at three adventurers. The first one was named Wolfe, a wolf demi-human with light gray features. Aside from his ears and tail, he resembled a normal human. His short light gray hair matched with his dark grey eyes and resembled a wolf’s. His light skin tone matched his blood-red jacket and blue leather pants. He wielded a battle-ax.

Thorn, a squirrel demi-human, had pale features along with brown hair in a buzz cut style. She wore black gym shoes and wore a loose t-shirt and shorts. The only thing that resembled a squirrel was her puffy tail. The brown tail curled up and stuck out like a sore thumb. 

In her hand was an extremely long dagger, almost resembling a short sword.

Ice, the only human of the A rankers,  wore pink clothes and pink shoes. Her skin was caramel-colored. She paired her skin with pink shoes with fur covering the rim of the opening---which was strange when she was friends with people with fur--- and a matching pink jumpsuit with the words, “you are not alive until you suffered death”. Her weapon of choice was a wand as she was a mage.

“Ice and Thorn will stay and help me stop that fireball. Wolfe you get those boys up and find those that have been captured.” Ruben ordered. The adventurers nodded and went to finish their tasks. They had an hour before all hell broke loose.

 

TBC…

Episode Twelve "Disarray

Rik glanced at the town in the distance, illuminated by the large fireball hovering over Striktin. The fireball laid in limbo, far enough not to scorch the citizens but close enough to threaten them. Within an hour, it would descend on the town and erase it from the map.

He continued pressing forward with his servants following his every movement. They had escaped Striktin after nearly killing Ace in front of his daughter. Rik wanted to escape before he was imprisoned for Ace’s wounds. He fled through the same part of the Astrial Forest that Ace ventured through, but didn’t meet with Nitarr. Instead, they moved quickly to leave through the forest, Striktin, and the entire Edurdale Kingdom altogether.

“Where are we going?” Zoe asked out loud while raising her eyebrows.

“As far as we can get,” Rik responded. He glanced behind him at where Eric was once stood at. He could sense his servant moving to investigate something that he was curious about. “Eric? Are we being followed?”

“Correct, master,” Eric said, reappearing on Rik’s left. “Our followers aren’t displaying any ill intentions towards us. Still, shall I eliminate them?” Eric asked. He brandished his twin blades, moving the daggers from one finger to another. He made the action seem fluid and smooth, but to attempt it was a complex process of moving the individual fingers simultaneously while barely thinking about completing the action. 

“Won’t be necessary. Let them follow as long as they want, but…” His voice trailed off. “... If they chose to fight, then show no mercy.” He instructed. 

Eric smirked and nodded. “Of course, master.” He disappeared, hiding in the faint shadows created by the trees and the fireball a decent distance away from them. The fireball took over the sun’s job for the day.

Rik’s other servants, Zoe and Ashley, looked up at Rik. They looked a mix of confused and frightened. They didn’t understand what was unfolding nor who they were talking about. Fortunately, however, he patted their heads, reassuring them. Everything was going to be fine.

“We will move to a new town, a nice small town in a new kingdom. I heard that three dungeons full of demons popped up in Great Wolfstein and one of them is near the town of Locket!” Rik announced. “We’re going there and exterminating the demons!”

 

***

 

“Stupid!” Elenora shouted, smacking John across the face. The sound of the smack echoed off the thin walls, nearly seeping out to meet with nature. 

Hex, Poppy, and Ela watched as John, seething with anger, stood up and glared at her. He was furious at her but held himself back. “Watch it,” He barked.

Elenora jerked her head back, staring at him, dumbfounded. “You’re a real piece of art, you know that right?”

John simply scoffed at her.

“You gave them an hour? They’re going to escape and flee from this town and there’ll be fewer sacrifices than needed to revive Calamity. Why