Moments earlier, in the forest
Trees crashed to the ground, birds scattered into the sky, as Princess Sophia struggled against a formidable foe, the Lumberjack.
She Breathed heavily, blood dripping from her head and arm, she gasped,
'What do you want… ah?'
'Blood!' the Lumberjack snarled, grinning wickedly as he licked the blood stains from his axe.
'Mhm… don't you love the smell, the taste of blood?' he said, trembling with excitement.
Knowing she had no chance of victory, Princess Sophia released all of her magical energy. She refused to fall without a fight.
The Lumberjack grew ecstatic, tiptoeing around before charging forward.
Princess Sophia raised her left arm, unleashing a blast of wind that hurled the Lumberjack away along with the surrounding trees.
Though blown back, he managed to swing his axe into the ground, anchoring himself. Cuts tore across his body, but he held firm.
As the wind subsided, he cracked his neck from side to side.
'My turn. You managed to cut me, but I must say, I'm truly disappointed.' said the Lumberjack.
He dashed forward, swinging his axe. It sliced past Sophia's head, and he drove his knee into her, sending her crashing into the trees before collapsing onto the ground.
Current moment
As the Lumberjack swung his axe for the kill, Liam reacted instantly. Casting Space Barrier, he enveloped himself and the Lumberjack in a glowing purple sphere.
The Lumberjack's axe passed harmlessly through Liam's neck.
'Huh?' he muttered, swinging again. The blade sliced through Liam's head and down his body, but without effect.
Liam's mind flashed back to holding Luthour as an infant. The vision shifted as he sees another vision of Luthour and other children lay bleeding on the ground. Rage consumed him.
'I'm going to rip you apart!!!' Liam roared.
'Now this is what I've been waiting for. Let's hope you can entertain me for long,' the Lumberjack replied with glee.
Realizing his spell's duration was limited, Liam opened a portal and reappeared at a distance.
The Lumberjack scanned the area, spotted him, and hurled his axe. Sprinting rapidly toward it, each step radiated crushing intensity. Liam hesitated, torn between dodging the axe or focusing on the charging foe.
As the Lumberjack leapt, he caught his axe midair and swung it downward with brutal force.
Liam opened a portal beneath his feet, vanishing as it sealed shut. The Lumberjack's axe smashed into the ground, shaking the earth.
A portal opened above him, Liam dropped through, seized the Lumberjack's head, and slammed it into the ground.
Liam leapt back, creating distance. The Lumberjack rose unfazed, releasing more magical energy.
'He's a monster… how is he not fazed? No matter, I'll destroy him either way!!!' Liam shouted, his own energy flaring.
'This is fun! I'm enjoying myself. Hehe… let's go, old man give me more!!!' the Lumberjack laughed, charging forward.
As he closes the distance, the Lumberjack leaps forward, swinging his axe upward before bringing it down toward Liam's cranium.
Liam intercepts the strike, placing both palms firmly on the sides of the axe. The force drives his feet into the ground, but he absorbs the impact. With a sudden push, Liam forces the weapon downward, slamming it into the earth and confiscating the Lumberjack's axe.
Landing heavily, the Lumberjack ignores his fallen weapon and charges straight at Liam, shifting to hand-to-hand combat. He throws a feint left hook. Liam moves to block, but the real strike, a crushing right, connects. The Lumberjack repeats his assault, blow after blow, overwhelming Liam, who struggles to keep up and takes several hits.
Seizing the moment, the Lumberjack grabs Liam by the throat, lifting him into a brutal choke slam. He smashes Liam into the ground, maintaining his grip on the neck. Without letting go, he begins to run, dragging and slamming Liam against the earth with each stride.
All the teachers watched from the windows of the school, as everything was happening a short distance from the school's entrance, afraid to move, all of them couldn't help it but watch as they trembled in fear.
As for Mr Cipher, he also stood and watched everything unfold, knowing if he was to intervene now. He would stand in Liam's way.
Lumberjack then throws Liam against the school's gate wall, while Liam is struggling to get up, he utters an enchantation 'dynamite portal',
Five portals open around the Lumberjack, one on each side, one above, one behind,as the Lumberjack's picked up his axe
' What's this?' said the Lumberjack.
' Ah d..d..die!!!' said Liam as the portals around the Lumberjack's explode.
The Lumberjack's screams would be heard all over the school, Liam stands up struggling to stay on his feet. Hoping he had worn he waits for the smoke to clear as he will not be satisfied until he sees the Lumberjack's corpse.
The teachers sighed in relief, believing Liam's spell had ended the nightmare. But their hope lasted only a moment.
As the smoke cleared, laughter rang out.
'Hahaha! Wow, I've never had this much fun before. Man, oh man, this is it!!!' the Lumberjack roared as his body regenerated before their eyes.
Liam steadied himself, raising his hand to cast another spell.
'Since you have regeneration, there's only one card left to play,' he said.
'Still got more tricks up your sleeve, huh?' the Lumberjack sneered.
'You've decided to use it, Liam, your trump card. If this were your youth, you'd have defeated him easily.' thought Mr Cipher
'Portal Domain!' Liam declared. Instantly, both he and the Lumberjack vanished, reappearing in another dimension.
The sky turned crimson, the land barren with dead trees, no water in sight.
'Where am I?' the Lumberjack asked, scanning the desolate world.
'This is my domain,' Liam explained. 'Since you regenerate, I'll leave you here where you cannot escape.' He turned his back, walking toward a portal.
But the Lumberjack grinned. 'A fine spell… but the wrong match-up.' With a swing of his axe, he slashed through space itself, canceling Liam's domain.
'What?!" Liam gasped in shock as the world shifted back to reality.' He cut through space?' Exhausted and wounded, Liam collapsed unconscious.
Mr. Cipher appeared in a flash of light, scooping Liam up. The Lumberjack charged, axe raised, but Cipher sped away, delivering Liam to the school's medical room before returning to face the foe.
'You're quick for an elf,' the Lumberjack taunted, circling.
'Are elves supposed to be slow?' Cipher retorted, appearing suddenly before him.
The Lumberjack's eyes widened, unable to comprehend Cipher's speed. Cipher kicked him, sending him flying, then chased him down, smashing his head against trees as they tore through the forest.
Cipher soared upward, dragging the Lumberjack, then released him into the sky. With a flurry of triple kicks and a crushing stomp to the head, he drove him back into the ground.
Hovering above, Cipher conjured five spheres of radiant energy ' Light magic, Light Spheres!!! ' and hurled them downward. The forest erupted in a massive explosion, shockwaves reaching even the school.
'Incredible… magic… energy…' the Lumberjack groaned, half his body obliterated yet regenerating rapidly.
Cipher dove, landing a punch to his face. This time, the Lumberjack endured, seizing Cipher's arm and striking his stomach with the back of his axe.
'You may have speed,' he growled, 'but you lack endurance.'
Dragging Cipher down, he released him with a brutal kick. Cipher tumbled across the ground, bleeding, before barely managing to fly away.
'Did he just escape?' the Lumberjack muttered raising an eyebrow.
'I'm in bad shape… can't keep flying… need to recover,' Cipher whispered before crash-landing on the ground.
The Lumberjack trudged toward the school. As he neared the edge of the forest, he stepped onto a glowing yellow magic circle. More circles appeared around him, releasing beams of light that blasted his body.
'That sneaky elf… when did he, ahhh!!!' the Lumberjack screamed as the rays struck.
Though wounded and bleeding, his limbs regenerated slowly. His healing faltered, blood refusing to stop.
Finally, he reached the school gates.the teachers voices whispered urgently , a hushed warning that sent the children searching for cover. They hid under tables trembling with fear ,as the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway.
The lumberjack staggered due to his sustained injuries ,and his pace seemed to slow with each subtle footstep. But he didn't want to give up , killing kids and teachers spurred him on.He kicked down classroom doors yelling ' Peekaboo, I see you !'
In one of the classrooms,Thadeus and Aries exchanged a determined glance. Without saying a word they nodded their heads , a silent agreement passing between them. They were going to face the monster together.
A soft hand grasped Thadeus's arm , a students terrified voice whispered, ' don't go ,there's a serial killer in the premises...' Thadeus's expression softened,and he gently removed the hand loose. ' it's alright, we can handle this. '
Aries smirked upon hearing Thadeus's words. Together they charged out of the classroom, a united front against the horror that stalked the halls.
The Lumberjack smiled devilishly as he came face to face with two would be heroes. He chuckled, savoring the fear that hung in the air.