Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 193: CXCIII. The Couple Of Strangers

The woman turned in that direction, looking up, when he struck her, releasing a huge amount of energy, which exploded into a cloud of dust and lightning bolts.

Karl and Reidar rose from the ground, aching and retreated to others, fearful of the new enemy, whose strength was out of the ordinary.

Dag, after hitting the old woman, noticed with amazement that some kind of invisible barrier had surrounded her, absorbing any damage.

She moved her arm forward, opening the palm of her hand towards him, which for the second time was thrown away, without even being touched.

"Daaag!" shouted Gridd in panic as she pulled out her two swords, ready to help her brother in danger.

"Stop, you all! Don't attack! The strength of this enemy is far greater than all we have encountered so far!" said Dag, rising from the ground.

The woman kept looking him in the eye and he did the same, trying to identify her.

After focusing on her face, he opened his eyes wide, in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"You... I know you! You offered us soup, hosting us at your house and your husband trapped us in the barn!" he shouted, pointing to the old woman.

"It can't be... she's Kenneth's mother!" said Reidar, continuing to retreat in fear.

The elderly woman was the same kind woman who long before offered them a hearty meal, before turning out to be a cheater. 

She stood still, in front of Dag, without looking away from him.

Both of her eyes were of intense purple.

When the magic barrier that enveloped her disintegrated, the earth beneath her feet moved slightly, as dislodged by the wind.

A freezing cold swooped on the adventurers, who rubbed their arms to warm up, as they beat their teeth to the low temperature.

"What... what's going on?!" asked Dag, his voice flickering, both in the cold and in fear.

After about a minute's silence, during which the old woman merely looked at Dag, a second figure appeared behind her, walking slowly in the same direction. 

He was her husband, the man who had locked them in the barn with the Thurs rune and had alerted his son Kenneth, allowing him to take possession of Dag's emblem.

"Does anyone explain to me what's going on? Why is it so cold all of a sudden?!" asked Gridd, unaware of what was about to happen.

Karl failed to respond and Reidar grabbed another arrow from the quiver, holding the Failnaught firmly.

"What do you want from me?! I felt very sorry for your son, I offered him a peaceful option! No one would have been hurt if he had accepted!" exclaimed Dag, trying to communicate with the two enemies, who were unmoved by those words.

The man also had purple eyes.

"All right, there's no point in pretending" he continued, stepping forward toward them.

"I know you are Xis. Your eyes, this cold that surrounds us. Why are you hunting for me? What have I done to deserve this?" 

"813666... Dag" said the woman, in an inhuman voice, as if two people were speaking at the same time. 

"Yes. It's me... what have you done to these two old men? You have taken possession of their bodies without restraint!" Dag said in a low voice, clutching his weapons in his hands, believing it was time for the reckoning.

"This? It's just a poor container. 813666, you can't continue living here among humans. You will come with us" the woman continued, looking at her hands as if she hadn't even noticed her appearance until then.

"Hey, you! Old hag! Who the fuck are you two, what do you want from my brother?" asked Gridd, approaching with a grumpy air towards her.

"Gridd, stop! Don't get in the way! Risking your life is just useless! If it's me they want, they'll have me then" Dag continued, beginning to let the gray smoke out of his arms.

At the sight of those powers, the woman's purple eyes stopped, enchanted by the grayish gas. 

Before Dag could synthesize it in liquid, the woman with a very fast shot, more like teleportation, materialized in front of him, hitting him with a punch on the chest.

"Aaagh!" yelled Dag, kneeling in pain, as she grabbed his arm and lifted him off the ground, looking at him as if he were a precious commodity.

"It's incredible" she said, amazed at what she was looking at.

*cough* "and you haven't seen anything yet..." Dag exclaimed, coughing when the smoke suddenly turned liquid and entered his arms, freeing him from the grip of the woman, who stepped back, continuing to observe every detail.

The skin of Dag's arms turned black and enveloping his entire chest, the darkness reached up to his neck.

His right eye turned purple.

"Excellent" exclaimed the old woman, turning her head unsettlingly, to watch Dag from another angle.

Dag clenched the handle of the hammer, which began to release purple lightning bolts, which slammed into the ground, burning it and leaving blackish marks on its surface.

"I'm not going anywhere. Tell me why you keep spying on me! The crows, the dead bodies that came back to life... what the fuck are you doing?" exclaimed Dag, seeking for answers. 

The old woman returned serious again, firm with her hands down her hips.

The man behind her was several meters away and witnessed the scene without intervening.

Dag's companions stood still, holding Gridd, who would otherwise try to strike enemies, ignoring their immense powers.

"Grr... aaagh!" yelled Dag, who got no answer, tried again to hit the woman, charging towards her.

Magni hammer's head turned full black, after absorbing the liquid and circulating with electricity, which caused the air to vibrate around him before hitting the target.

The woman remained motionless until the last moment: Dag was certain that this time the blow would hit her, she would not be able to dodge it.

When the hammer was inches from the enemy's body, the woman raised her arm in a sudden motion, grabbing the stone head of the weapon and blocking the blow, releasing a shockwave that spread circularly, moving the air around them, like a drop falling into a pool of water.