In the alley, the Phantom Man struggled to escape. The bunch of Basnet warlocks were using all kinds of magical weapons to defeat Philip. They chained and locked his body. They wanted to secure that Philip's fate was sealed in steel. A black, slimy mud was almost reaching his neck. The warlocks just watched his end, ready to give him the final blow if necessary. Silene did not want to wait, though. She shifted into a venomous viper. She began to crawl, and she was followed by Maurizio. They both wanted to give Philip the fatal bite.
Meanwhile, shadows rose from the ground and materialized into human beings. They were more Basnet warlocks sent by Klaus to work in his diabolic plan.
Philip tried to draw the sword, but the sticky mud made it hard. What spell could he use to save himself? He tried to remember a relevant one, perhaps something to create a portal through which he could be able escape. However, his mind was too focused on the dangerous situation he had to face at that moment.
"I should have heard Juan's words. Had I perfected my magical skills and accepted the training offered by the monks; I would not be in this disastrous situation now. I think my end lies in the hands of these infamous warlocks. I don't know what will become of this world when Klaus finally rules it... What will become of Alexia?"
Philip's hands were totally paralyzed. He was holding the sword in vain. The mud was almost reaching his mouth. A strong feeling of inertia was growing within himself. He had been totally taken by fear, so he could not reason. The sight of a pair of snakes made him feel even worse. He had detested those creatures since he was a boy. And they were getting closer and closer to him.
Out of the blue, he heard a howl. It momentarily broke the silence of the night. At the entrance to the alley, a white-haired creature positioned itself aiming to call everyone's attention. The young wizard immediately remembered the dream he had had the other night. The enemies as well as the snakes turned to see what was going on. The albino wolf began to change its form. After a while, it was possible to see that the creature had turned into Jonathan, Alexia's grandfather. He was there to save his friend's life.
"I command you to get away now, creatures of the night!" Jonathan shouted energetically.
"Who are you to give us orders, old man?" Silene retrieved to her human form, and so did Maurizio.
She was a strong woman, while Maurizio was a tall man with furrowed eyebrows, which gave him a mean look.
"I am Juan Otts, the one who will send you straight to the pit where you came from."
This revelation caused an immediate uproar, followed by horror. Juan was a legend. This revelation took Philip by surprise. Jonathan was Juan, and now he was assuming his real look, the one of an old man with white hair and beard. This was the way that Philip remembered him.
The revelation distracted the enemies for some minutes. Philip used the opportunity to gather his forces to melt the chains using heat magic. He could finally concentrate. His eyes flashed. He saw many spirits before him. The steel became incandescent. The links broke. He immediately thought of Houdini, the magician who mastered the escaping art. Philip was free from the chains that imprisoned him. Freedom was just a heartbeat away.
"Drop the sword, Philip!" Juan shouted as he raised his hands.
"Why?"
"There is no time for explanations. Do as I say."
Philip opened his hand and the sword flew right to the Juan's hands. The wizard positioned for attack. He bent his knees and put the left hand in front of him. He was getting prepared the soak Night's Fury in blood.
Silene, seeing the senile-looking man, laughed. Her accomplices did the same.
"Get rid of this old wizard!" She shouted.
Men and women went after Juan with their weapons. They all had swords. An intense fight began. Juan found himself surrounded. He did his best to fight the blows that came from all sides. He slashed the flesh of someone who came up behind his back by swinging his sword backwards. With a frontal lethal blow, he pierced the weapon's blade in a warlock's heart. This time, Night's Fury was finally fulfilling its mission of eliminating evil spirits once and for all. Each blow counted one less Basnet in the world. However, there were still many to go. The blades sang and sparked as they met in the cold night air.
"Even though I must admit that you fight like a warrior, it looks you won't be able to handle all of us, old fool...", Silene shouted trying to distract him from his concentration.
In silence, the wizard studied his opponents. At the same time, he kept an eye on his pupil, still entangled in the mud, though free from the chains. Juan had to protect and set him free at the same time. But how could he do it, considering that he still needed to get rid of all those evil spirits?
As soon as the fight began again, two figures appeared at the entrance to the alley. They could not be recognized due to darkness.
Could they be more evil warlocks?
Fortunately, they were Leonardo and Dante, the monks that had talked to Philip. Through deep meditations, they had received a message from the ancestors, a warn of danger. And they were not alone. The couple that kept watch while Leonardo and Dante talked to Philip in the cafe also showed up. They both walked towards Juan as they took out their sunglasses and pulled nunchakus from their backs. Leonardo and Dante had their sticks ready to fight.
"Who are they? Never mind... We shall destroy them, plus the old man and the phantom boy," said Silene, full of confidence. "Kill them all!"
"Buddhist monks! You know, I've always liked your religion. It has everything to do with my philosophy of life," Juan said, feeling relieved.
"We're here to help you out, sir," Leonardo said, and the other monks nodded their heads to reinforce what he said.
At once, they were into fighting position. Maurizio ran towards them with his sword in the front to hit Dante, but the monk dodged him and immediately hit his rival in the chest with his stick. The wizard was thrown on the ground. When he finally managed to stand up, he put his hand on the injured spot. It ached like hell. The other Basnets ran to attack, but since they did not have the best Kung Fu, it didn't take long until they realized that it would be difficult to defeat the monks.
Juan raised his arm to use his magic in order to push away the group of fighters. A path was opened before him, so he could reach Philip. He pointed his right hand towards the ground where the young wizard was standing. Then he made a circle movement with his arm. It created a whirlwind that dragged Philip up and freed him from the filthy mud that immobilized him.
As soon as Philip found himself free again, he retrieved his magical powers. He cast a spell on one of the warlocks that walked towards him, and the man turned into a statue holding a sword.
The female monk used her nunchaku to take down the warlock that was attacking her with a sword. He was hit in the head. Even though he got dizzy for a few seconds, he managed to stretch his arm to throw a spell that tossed her weapon away. Then, he slashed her leg with his sword. As she placed her hand over the wound, she thought that was her end. The warlock's sword was up for the final blow. But before it could hit the injured monk, a stick crossed its way to avoid the hit. Dante saved his friend. Then, with another nunchaku blow, he made the warlock drop off his sword. The warlock and the other Basnets were then attacked by many monks, all of them delivering all kinds of Kung-Fu blows. One of the monks threw a shuriken so fast that it cut the air and hit one of the warlocks' forehead. He fell backwards on the floor.
Philip looked for Silene, the head of the warlocks, but she was gone. How could it be? She didn't look like the type that gives up easily. When he saw that the monks were ruling the fight, he closed his eyes and concentrated to find the woman's location. His body rose many meters from the ground, but he saw nothing. The only thing that he could feel was that Alexia was in danger.
A few blocks away, two men rang the bell of her apartment. Through the door's peephole she saw two firefighters. Since Alexia was worried about her grandfather, who hadn't still come home, she opened the door.
"What's happening? Did something happen to my grandfather?"
"We have news for you. Your days are counted," said Silene, throwing a shiny powder on Alexia's face that made her pass out.
Maurizio took Alexia in his arms and laid her on the sofa in the living room. Then, Silene said some magic words that made Alexia's body float light as a feather.
"Let's use her as a bait to attract the phantom boy's attention."
"It was too easy..."
"The fools are distracted fighting," said Silene with satisfaction.
"Alexia!", Philip's shout called Juan's attention.
"We can't waste time. Let's go!" The wizard said.
The fight kept on as Juan and Philip entered the portal that the young wizard had opened. The Basnet warlocks were being defeated by the monks, and as they realized that they could not stand a fight with the Buddhists, they fled the alley.
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Read #ThePhantomMan by #ChaieneSantos