Guardians: The Sacred Scrolls, Nick Venom [good book club books .txt] 📗

time. Ready Zoe?”

Zoe had already left, sliding down to meet the attackers head-on. “Really?” He asked the air. “It would be nice if the girl had the decency to wait for me, before… Whatever.” He slid down, seeing her charge into the swordsmen waiting for her. Something seemed off, but Griff couldn’t put a finger on it.

Meanwhile, Gold and Violet began their chanting. They summoned their respective skills and threw them with great force. Gold’s fireballs decimated individuals like a sniper while Violet did massive damage. 

“We’re decimating them!” Gold shouted after finishing a chant. “We’re winning! I can imagine what look Zoe will give me.”

Violet finished a chant, decimating a section of the mages with her Earthquake. She glanced at Gold, shaking her head. “Shut up Gold. Focus on the mission at hand. Worry about women later.”

“Don’t worry, you’re always on my mind.” He smiled at her.

Ugh, he could be charming and annoying at the same time. She turned away from her, being nicked by a massive fireball. The fireball clawed at her dress, but missed it entirely, burning the edges.

The fireball passed by her and hit Gold head-on, the fire engulfing him. He crumpled to the ground, consumed with fire. Violet stared at him in shock. He was burning up. She quickly sprinted to the kitchen to grab buckets of water to help Gold.

Zoe and Griff, meanwhile, were having troubles of their own. After decimating lines of swordsmen and mages, Griff’s sense was correct. A large golem strolled outside the forest, facing them. It was moving with magic, a large number of mages pooling their mana to run it. Avene, her hood down, revealed herself in front of the golem.

“I am Avene, the Captain of the Artifact Collection Squadron. Surrender and we will spare you. Otherwise, we’ll plunder by force.” She declared.

“Like hell, you will!” Zoe declared, facing Avene. “I’ll die ten times over before I let you step into this fortress.” She pointed Freedom’s Touch at Avene.

Avene smiled, her blue hair tucked behind her ears. “Let’s see if ten deaths are enough.”

 

TBC…

Episode Four "Freedom's Touch"

Zoe and Avene stared at each other, both glaring. Zoe held Freedom’s Touch while Avene carried an iron sword. Neither made the first move.

Griff, by this time, had approached Zoe’s side, facing Avene alongside her. “You are the leader of this?” He intruded.

“Yes… I am.” Avene declared.

“Then all we need to do is defeat you and we’re done here.” He raised his ax, resting it on his shoulder. “You charge head-on, I flank?”

“Yes, that’s-” Zoe was interrupted by the golem roaring to life and launching itself forward while activating multiple chants simultaneously. It wasn’t a simple-minded golem, but a rare complex one that needed a large amount of mana and multiple sacrifices to create. There was blood inside the golem’s body.

The chants summoned Fireball, Electricity Smite, Earthquake, and Wind Strike against Zoe and Griff. The fireball collided with the ground in front of them, the radius of the explosion nearly consuming them. They jumped back in time to avoid the brunt of the fireball attack, but the whiplash nearly knocked them off-balance.

As soon as the dust from the fireball let up, the Electricity Smite and Earthquake struck. The Earthquake shook their already crumbling foundation and the Electricity Smite dealt damage to them. They were electrified by the attack, falling to their knees as the Wind Strike threw short and sharp knives at them. It ripped into them, tugging at loose strings before ripping them out - their clothes and skin were damaged.

With the attacks over, the golem began preparing the next spells, but it needed more mana. Griff could tell that easily. “Let’s go.” He told Zoe, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. The pair raced towards Avene as the golem recovered. Zoe faced Avene first.

She raised Freedom’s Touch, clashing swords with Avene. The two women snarled at each other, baring their fangs. “Get out of my parents’ land.”

Avene laughed in her face. “Not without completing my mission.” She broke away from Zoe, pointing her sword at her. “A broken sword can’t fight. I’ll show you that.”

Zoe brought her sword to block the quick succession of attacks that Avene delivered. Every slash she threw brought weight, piling them on Zoe.

I can’t get an advantage here. She’s on the offensive and assigned me on defense. Zoe thought before glancing at Griff. He had flanked Avene, prepared to strike. He waited for her to launch one more slash before moving forward, throwing a sideways swing to avoid hitting Zoe. The sideways swing cracked against Avene’s side, the momentum throwing her to the side. She hit the ground harshly, croaking out blood. Magic enhancing her thin cloak had prevented the ax from slicing into her gut.

Zoe, now switching sides, moved forward. With Freedom’s Touch in her hand, she was ready. One swing and Avene’s head would go flying. “It seems like my broken sword can fight.” She remarked as she neared her. 

Avene rose to her feet. She gripped her sword tightly. “No worries… I’ve brought a golem for a reason.” She said with a smile.

Zoe and Griff’s heads snapped towards the golem, realizing that its recovery period was over. It now stood ready, the chants prepared. With a single order from Avene, the spells were launched. The attacks---four Fireballs---flew towards Zoe. She raised her sword in an attempt to block the attacks. The first one bounced off the sword, nearly hitting Avene. The second one took more effort to deflect, but it bounced off as well. However, the sword had gotten a new chip in the process.

It’ll buffer out. She thought before the third fireball collided and created another chip. The fourth and final fireball collided with the sword, threatening to shatter it. Survive. Survive for a few more seconds and we’ll get out of- Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of iron shattering. Her sword, which had been given to her by her father, had shattered in front of her.

Without the sword protecting her, the fireball raced forward and collided with her. She was thrown far back, nearly charred by the fire. She still held the hilt of her sword in her grip.

Griff, who wasn’t close enough to help, now raced towards Avene. Defeat Avene and the golem stops. Zoe… be okay. Pretty please for your brother. Be safe.

He faced the mastermind who, at this time, was grinning smugly. She had noticed Griff panicking, now racing towards Zoe to take her hostage. Griff raced to reach Zoe before her, but, unfortunately, Avene reached Zoe first, grabbing her head and pressing her sword against her neck. “Don’t move or she dies.” She threatened. 

Griff glanced up at the top of the fortress and noticed Violet on her own, half-attending to the black-cloaked army and half-attending to who Griff guessed was Gold. He couldn’t see Gold anywhere on the roof of the fortress. 

He looked at Avene, his hands in the air and his ax on the floor. “I’m not moving, so don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Avene glared at him, pressing the sword closer to Zoe’s neck. Zoe was still alive, however, she was struggling to remain in her current state. Soon, she’ll be reaching death’s door. 

“Tell your friends to surrender and nobody dies. She’ll get medical treatment if you surrender now.” She told Griff. 

Griff nodded, slowly going to his knees. “I’ll tell them to surrender as long as you don’t kill her.” 

Avene nodded. However, Zoe wasn’t agreeing with that plan. She opened her eyes - which darted around for a weapon. The hilt she carried wasn’t something she could use. It was worthless.

Or that’s what she believed.

Father help me. Mother help me. I need a weapon. Something to defeat them and protect your creations. Please help me. I need your help. A tear escaped her eye. “Please help me.” Her thoughts left her mouth. A cyan-colored blade appeared in front of her like magic. It emerged from the hilt, stretching out to restructure the iron sword. 

It’s released. The real Freedom’s Touch has been awoken. A voice resembling her parents entered into her mind. Another tear was shed. 

She raised the sword and thrust it over her neck at Avene. Avene had been shocked by the sudden sword that she couldn’t react to as the sword dug itself into her face. Zoe ripped the sword down and to the right, killing Avene through decapitation. At the same time, the golem deactivated. It crumbled to ashes when the mastermind died. 

Griff rushed to Zoe’s side, grabbing a hold of her shoulders. “Are you okay?” He shouted.

Zoe nodded her head. “She’s dead right?” Griff nodded his head. “Then the fortress is saved.”

Griff looked up and noticed that the army was nearly destroyed. Violet took care of the stragglers, ending the sudden attack. The black-cloaked army was defeated with some casualties on the Guardians' part. Gold and Zoe had been badly burnt by fireballs to different degrees. Zoe fared better than Gold, her sword taking some of the brunts while Gold felt the full heat. He needed time to recover. They all did.

***

A week passed and spring was here. Gold had recovered, thanks to medics, but he was nowhere near his usual strength… or confidence. He felt broken, everything inside him burnt. He was transported to a clinic in the nearby surroundings before being sent to a larger clinic for treatment. 

Violet left the Guardians to attend to family matters with the promise of returning. She wanted to be by Gold’s side, but she had other matters to attend to. 

Griff watched over Zoe’s recovery. A week in, most of the burns proved to be treated with ease and the scars were superficial. She had gotten out of bed and jumped into training. With her new weapon, she was training herself to get used to it. In a few months, she would be efficient with Freedom’s Touch. Throughout her training, she felt her parents looking down at her. She felt loved.

“Our daughter has survived,” Michelle said.

“I knew she would,” Prince said. “She’s our daughter after all.”

“Do you think she would do better now? Fewer tears?”

“She’ll fare better. She has my sword with her. She has Freedom’s Touch.”

***

“She failed. She was killed by the one known as Zoe.” A cloaked man remarked, kneeling. He was in a forest

“As I expected.” The greyed-out man said. His hologram was faint against the sunlight. “Did you get the object of interest?”

The man nodded. He brought something out of his pocket. It was a leather scroll. “The Scroll of Immortality was the only one I had time to snatch. The others were out of my reach.”

The greyed-out man chuckled. “Good… your service to me has been bountiful. Return to me Shadow and I’ll reward you well.”

The Shadow shook his head. “If the organization allows me to return, I will. If they say I have more to do here, then I must stay.”

The greyed-out man nodded his head. “If the organization says so.” He said sarcastically. “Get that scroll to me quickly.”

The Shadow nodded. “As you wish.”

 

Hello All!

 

This marks the finale of this limited series. There are no plans to make future seasons, but the characters introduced here will have the next chapters of their stories told in other series. The Guardians will