Shadow Seed
Jose Rodriguez
Shadow Seed
Copyright 2011 Jose Rodriguez Jr
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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CHAPTER ONE
A world being consumed by the shadow seed sounded like a hurricane, ravaged by winds just as powerful. Echoes of thunder and flashes of lightning filled the air, as daylight faded under a murky sky.
Leon was exhausted, spending much of his blood fighting two Myrmidons that attacked relentlessly.
One of the Myrmidons, Xran, swung a sword half his size from side to side as he rushed forward, driving Leon back with every clash of their blades.
Even attempting a counter was pointless, as Leon had to deal with Xran or Vela at any given moment.
The second Myrmidon, Vela, struck Leon’s mid-section with her staff, sending him yards across the field.
Watching on a nearby hilltop, Nibiru and Marduk were enjoying the battle.
Leon dodged Xran’s next attack and used his sword to deflect Vela's staff at the last moment, inches from his head. When he tried to dart away, Xran backhanded him across the face.
As Leon staggered, Vela jumped backwards through the air firing a ball of energy down at him. The whirring sound of the incoming energy ball got Leon to make a panicked scramble in any direction just to get out of the way before the impact blinded all three fighters.
Although the explosion appeared to engulf Leon, Vela was shocked to see him somehow leap over it and hurtle straight at her.
Leon swung his sword, hitting Vela's staff so hard that both weapons broke. Twisting his body in midair, he landed a punishing kick to the middle of her chest.
Vela hit the ground with a good deal of force and appeared to be unconscious.
When Leon landed on his feet, he found Xran waiting behind him. Thanks to his Vesuvian reflexes and speed, he dodged the oversized sword, causing it to become buried halfway into the ground. Leon leaped forward and punched the hulking Myrmidon in the face.
Xran lost grip of his sword but recovered quickly and countered with a knee to Leon's ribs and a devastating punch of his own that sent the Vesuvian sprawling.
Vela slowly got back up in a daze. It took a moment to regain her bearings.
Xran approached, as Leon held his chest and rolled over on his side.
Cracking his knuckles, Xran was two steps away when Leon, clumsily, scrambled back to his feet and delivered a bone-crushing roundhouse kick to Xran’s face.
The Myrmidon fell stiff as a board a few feet away
Marduk chuckled.
Leon’s breathing was strained. He stumbled a bit as he ran to get away before tripping over his own feet and falling to his hands and knees. On the ground before him was a spent blood glaive from earlier in the battle.
Vela wasn’t too far behind. Still slightly dazed, she grabbed hold of Xran’s sword before realizing what it was. Like some kid who found a new toy, she pulled the sword out of the ground. It took both hands, but she managed the cumbersome weapon.
Leon was still on his knees some distance away.
Vela steadied herself and leaped through the air towards Leon. She raised the sword over her head, but before bringing it down like a guillotine, Leon suddenly spun and jumped towards her at the last second.
In a flash, Vela found herself lying on the ground. All she knew was that she’d been hit hard in the face. Then there was a searing pain that went from her lower jaw on one side across to her eyebrow on the other. She screamed in pain, holding her face with one hand as she crawled away.
Leon dropped the blood glaive. There was a small cut in his palm, one that wouldn’t heal unless he could find some blood to drink. He desperately tried to run but lurched and fell.
Xran stood and shook off his disorientation. With a loud battle cry, he sunk his fists into the ground. Using his ability to transmute just about anything into anything, he pulled out two large battle-axes.
On his knees, Leon could only think of how much the world had changed, how dark and desolate it had become, and it was at that moment he noticed light, strangely, coming from his hand.
Nibiru grinned.
Looking closer at his hand, Leon saw his blood was glowing.
Xran grimaced in pain at the light's growing intensity. With each step he took toward Leon, the light burned him more and more even though there was no heat. He howled in anger, raising his axes as he came up behind Leon, as the light grew so intense it became blinding.
