Chapter 348: Another God Arises
Ever since the fight Laz had that was broadcasted online at the compound where he had rescued Leona, the fights involving infected and chosen had been a hot topic and widely wanted form of entertainment. And on top of that, when Laz had the interview in New Orleans, he was once again put on stage front and center into the nation’s eyes. Laz didn’t know it then and he still doesn’t know it now, but he is actually a pretty popular viral idol.
So when news broke about the attack on Club Star and the company that owns the property decided to check it out, they quickly ended up finding scenes of Laz rushing into the hall to free those trapped in the basement. It became even more of a hot topic that people recognized the members of Cherry Bomb in the mix, leading to it becoming big news. Considering the financial damage that was being inflicted on the club thanks to this attack, the owners and investors suddenly got the great idea to broadcast the goings on at the club to help push interest in their brand. After all, this isn’t the kind of publicity that you can pay for even if you wanted to.
As such, like someone dumping explosives in a volcano, the feeds blew up online as millions tuned in to watch. Even some news stations started broadcasting, although with a delay to help censor the really bloody stuff.
While Laz didn’t know this was going on, many people who knew him did.
In a top floor office, Kennedy, Leona, Ruby, Vivi, and Malene were gathered around a massive screen, watching Laz face off against the killer Raccoon while explosions rang down all around him. The five women were currently sitting down at the conference table while taking in the fight, all while not saying a word. In fact, if one were to look at any of their faces, they would see a complex series of emotions flashing back and forth, unable to settle on one.
As such, the heavy air in the room kept the group of employees incredibly quiet as they watch on in silence. While they might not understand what was going on with the five women, what they did understand was that speaking right now would be very bad for their careers and possibly their health.
As they watched on, the Raccoon underwent it’s transformation, turning into something that was way more human like that anyone was comfortable with. While watching this horrific battle start, the silence in the room was enough to make a sane man question himself. And in that moment, a rather soft and yet angry voice rang out in a soft whisper,
"If he survives this, I’m going to fucking kill him," it said, causing those who were cowering to shrink back even more.
Perhaps the scariest thing was that that massive, 18-person conference table was shaking just from the energy waves coming off from the five women.
It was a different kind of hell for those stuck in the room with those women.
As for Laz, while he was in the dark about the waves he was making around the country and even around the world, he felt a chill go down his spine which strangely had nothing to do with the fierce beast in front of him.
For the moment, he could only shake it off and focus on the task at hand.
Back and forth they raged, while the beast was faster than Laz, Laz could still keep up with it’s movements. He dodged, rolled, slid and stepped, twisting and turning his body in various ways to avoid the onslaught that came from the were beast. While he had been hit several times and suffered several gashes, none of them were deep enough to cause Laz and loss in his ability to fight.
As for the were-raccoon, it had suffered several blows to it’s body and head, mostly the result of launching itself full in and not anticipating Laz’s movements to block and dodge. While the impact hurt and stunned him briefly, it didn’t do any lasting damage as the Raccoon’s ability to recover was far stronger than Laz’s. As long as the battle continued, the Raccoon knew he would wear out his opponent and claim the final victory.
In truth, Laz wasn’t as bad off as it seemed. While he wasn’t exactly able to turn the fight around in with a single punch, he also didn’t have to draw it out as long as he was either. The beast was far faster than he was, but not as strong. While the blows to his body hurt, they weren’t life threatening. The claws of the Raccoon were actually the biggest disadvantage he faced while being unarmed.
But that didn’t deter him in the least. At the beginning, the fight was to reawaken his long dormant body. Now though, Laz was strengthening his fighting ability. Only with a foe like this that was far faster than Laz could he feel an increase in his skills.
After a while, the blows that landed on him were less and less while his counterattacks became more frenzied. The Raccoon, still a beast in the end, just kept up with the same strategy, not understanding that it’s moves had already been seen through. Since it’s plan was to wear Laz out, as long as Laz kept fighting it, it would achieve its goal.
Once Laz had reached the limit and the fight had become boring, he sent the Raccoon flying with a punch to it’s jaw, opening up a space in between them. While the Raccoon struggled to shake off the stunning effect of the punch, Laz took the time to pull out Sever from his pouch.
"I’m done with this," Laz said, sighing a little bit. It wasn’t arrogance that had caused him to feel this way. Instead, he felt like there was something lacking from this battle. After considering for a moment, while this creature could kill him, it didn’t feel like he was threatened by it.
’It doesn’t pose a threat because unless I let it, it can’t kill me...’ Laz thought to himself while leaning back, the blade at his waist. While blade was resting in it’s scabbard, Laz held it back, ready to draw it the next time the Raccoon attacked. While the scabbard was nothing special, it was able to store the blade without being split in half. Laz felt that with the creature’s intelligence, it wouldn’t understand the threat until after it had already died. Laz felt it was the fastest way to finish this up quickly.
Little did Laz know that the senses and instincts of the Raccoon were many times more astute than Laz had given it credit for. As soon as Laz pulled out the blade, the Raccoon sensed it’s life was in danger. And because of that, it decided it could no longer hold back.
To one who doesn’t understand the way the creature thinks, with it’s primal instincts mixed with a higher level of intelligence, the Raccoon knew it could go all out to kill the human in front of it. The only problem was that doing so would cause it to enter a weakened state for a unknown period of time. To be able to maintain leadership of the hordes and not get eaten by one of his own generals, the Raccoon had to never show any weakness.
Looking at his generals being decimated by fire and light shot at them from afar along with the feeling of death that the human with the strange weapon was giving off, the Raccoon decided to leave everything else aside and focus just on killing the man in front of him.
While Laz stood there and waited for it to attack the Raccoon stood up straight screamed at the sky before jabbing it’s massive claws into it’s chest.
As Laz looked on in shock, the once deadly creature’s chest exploded from it’s own attack and blood erupted like a waterfall, covering the ground and corroding the cement. The creature then fell backwards as all signs of life from it disappeared.
Laz, finally recovering from his shock, stood up straight and scratched his head, wondering if it had committed suicide for some reason.
"There’s no way right?" Laz said out loud while not turning his attention from the now lifeless body.
Just as Laz was going to walk forward and chop of it’s head, just to make sure, a massive wave of energy suddenly blew away from the husk of the Raccoon’s body, blasting Laz backwards like he had been hit with a truck. After flying and falling for several hundred feet, Laz scrambled to get back on his feet and looked over, noticing the figure standing over the dead creature.
It’s fur was like obsidian, it’s eyes a colorless white. It’s half opened maw was filled with several rows of razor sharp teeth while it’s powerful claws had a purplish tinge to them.
"What the actual fuck?" Laz said as he started moving forward, the sounds of explosions dying down in the distance, something Laz barely registered and didn’t bother to think about.
"What are you?" Laz asked the Raccoon, whose body now towered over him by several feet.
The Raccoon no longer spoke, but still choose to respond.
*I am the dark trickster god, one who ruled lands north of here long ago. But you human’s hunted us and when that didn’t work, you destroyed our forests and our homes. As we ran, trying to keep our people safe, you spiritual-less dogs kept hunting and killing my kinsmen until even I had to sleep. But now... after so long... I can finally see the light. I shall form my own kingdom before the others can arise. And I will stand on top of the pantheon that will one day rise up. I AM AZEBAN." The creature roared it’s name into the cloudy night, causing the heaven’s to respond in bouts of lightning and thunder, as though it welcomed the arrival of this sleeping god.
Now, Las finally felt it, he finally felt sheer terror from the bottom of his soul. This was a true god, one that Laz didn’t recognize. Unlike the bronze giant from before, this wasn’t just a solder level being. The aura the black Raccoon was giving off was unmistakable.
As Laz again fell back, he pulled Sever out, no longer bothering to keep it contained. This was a real god he would be fighting, not just a fallen ancient being.
As Azeban turned to face Laz, the world seemed to go quiet, the sound of blasting and cries of the dying faded away.
Standing on top of a three story building a few blocks away, War, Death, Famine and Pestilence sensed the awaking of the god as their bodies trembled. Lyssa, with her lower strength, could barely stand on her feet at this new menace. As for the creatures who had been charging towards them? They had stopped and cowered on the spot, the blood inside of them having naturally submitted to the great beast having awoken. The could barely move under the pressure of their naturally predator.
For those watching from afar via the internet, while they couldn’t feel the pressure, they could feel the terror of this beast who looked like it had climbed straight out of the abyss to stand on solid ground.
After hearing it’s name, many of them decided to look into it and called up all info possible.
It truly was a real god, but one that was known as a trickster that wasn’t dangerous or malevolent. Despite what the legends say though, this creature was dripping with violence.
And the one standing in it’s way was a lone, infected human, known as an enemy to normal humans.
For many of those watching, they had no idea who they wanted to win this fight.
