Magus Bloodlines.-Chapter 65: Gavin finds Xenon.

To say Gavin Johnson was exhausted was the understatement of the century. His entire body burned and throbbed from the exertion he was forcing upon himself. His mana, though nearly unlimited thanks to the Alpha Overdrive skill for the next forty-five minutes, was still being exhausted at an unprecedented pace. The cost to keep this many undead souls bound and bodies reanimated was staggering. If it wasn't for the new skill, he very much doubted he'd have the strength to pull off such a feat.

His undead army was making efficient work of the enemy mercenary army. He had little in his way as he walked up the hallway towards the Grand Arena. The gun fire and explosions still rang out all around him. But now it was accompanied by screams of sheer horror and terror from the enemy forces. They never dreamed that someone would be capable of using forbidden magic against them in this fight.

Gavin was tired. Oh so very tired as he made his way down the final hallway. Ahead of him was the Grand Arena itself. He imagined by this time, most of the students were down in the various panic rooms scattered all across campus. He hoped so anyway. He didn't want any more lives lost than the brutal amount already claimed.

He continued his quickened pace as he walked down the final corner. Ahead of him, however, was a group of men, maybe twenty or thirty in number. They formed a semi-circle as they worked together to try taking down as many of the undead army as they could. They used a combination of magic and weaponry to deliver punishing amounts of damage that finally succeeded in putting his forces down slowly, one by one.

He noticed there there was a man in the middle with long blond hair and a red anarchy symbol on his tactical gear. He appeared to be the one giving commands as he looked around the Grand Hall for any and all threats. When he turned and Gavin could see the side of his face, he felt his anger and hatred surge. He had the same face as the leader of the last attack. What was his name again? Gavin wondered. Oh well, it didn't matter. This was most likely the enemy commander and the final boss of this fight.

"Found you again, you blonde bastard!" a male voice growled out in anger and hatred as a red wolf came charging at them from outside Gavin's field of vision. It was his grandpa, Principal Shepard.

Gavin watched as Shepard used a combination of magic and physical abilities to try getting closer to the enemy group. Every time Shepard thought he had a way in, he was blocked by a spell or gunfire.

"You won't catch me by surprise a second time wolf!" the blonde man called out as he aimed his pistols and took shots at the red wolf. Shepard managed to keep moving and dodged the gun fire. His eyes blazed with fury as he threw a few fireballs towards the enemy group. He had to find someway to break through their defenses. If he could kill that bastard, then this fight would be as good as over. Right now, he wished he had Okeeba with him. That man was the most experienced Magi that Shepard had on staff and the two of them should have been able to easily out maneuver these fools. Unfortunately, he had sent Okeeba to protect the students still in their dorms from the attackers.

Something caught Shepard's eye as he noticed a hulking form creeping up from behind the group. A sly grin formed on his lips as he had a guess who it was. This battle, just became interesting.

Gavin walked forward, sticking to the shadows of the burned and damaged hallway. He felt it, with every inch of his body. This was the man responsible for all the death and destruction today. All the lives that were lost, were because of him. His rage and his hatred began to boil over at an ungodly level. He threw his head back and let lose a mighty howl. The keening sound could almost be described as a banshees wail of legend. Those that hear the banshees wail, know that death stalks them closely.

"Evolved Hunters Howl activated," Veronica's voice called out. With everything going on, some of his skills had evolved to the advanced level. The hunters howl being one of them. It's effect was much stronger, lasted a lot longer, and potentially could affect more people.

Gavin let his anger and hatred fuel his body as he threw his head back and howled at the sky. The sound was defeaning as his magic kicked in. His Hunters Howl skill was activated by Veronica as he did so. The sound was hauntingly beautiful as it reached the men in front of him. Over half of the men turned, their face pale as a ghost as they noticed the giant, hulking sized form that was Gavin walking their way. His eyes burning red in the shadows of the darkened hallway.

Sweat poured down their faces, their hands shook with fear as their weapons dropped to the floor. These were skilled, trained and experienced men of war. Bloodshed was all they knew and like mothers' milk to them. But upon hearing that haunting howl and seeing the face of utter death and destruction stalk them made many of them forget their training. Forget the fact that they were here to kill and slaughter the mangy shifters. This being in front of them made some of their hearts freeze in tower as he howled towards the sky.

The sound was hauntingly beautiful but terrifying as a god's wrath. That was what this was, one of them thought. The very embodiment of the god's wrath coming down on them from on high. Gavin began running forward then. Desperate to rip the head off the blonde man.

Xenon cursed in frustration at the emergence of the second, larger wolf behind them. This was the worst case scenario. Not only did they have the army of the undead to deal with. They now had two werewolf fighters to contend with, in a narrow-confined space. He clicked his tongue as he threw his hand out, and a stream of concentrated fire went directly at Gavin's face. He was not going to let this new, larger wolf get close to them. That would be a death sentence for them all.

Gavin easily jumped to the side, avoiding the stream of fire magic that came from the blonde man. He was beyond furious. He opened his mouth, fire concentrating at the opening as he ran and dodged the incoming attacks. The blonde man's attack seemed to snap some of his men out of their daze from the hunters howl skill. They began working together to open fire on Gavin and keep Shepard away.

Gavin concentrated his magic and a large ball of condensed fire appeared between his jaws. He poured more and more mana into this spell, increasing the potency and size of the skill. He jumped into the air, flying over the group as they continued to fire bullets and magical blasts at Gavin. He threw his head back, then flung it forward as he shot the giant fireball at the center of the group.

The blonde man cursed as he gave orders to his men. They worked in tandem to summon a giant wall of black stone like material above their heads, blocking the giant fireball from Gavin. The sound of the impact was deafening as the fire collided with the stone. The heat began melting its way through as the velocity of Gavin's spell kept propelling it down. The men underneath cursed as they tried to layer the barrier with multiple stone walls to protect them.

Gavin landed near Principal Shepard and looked at his grandfather. He could tell from his connection, not many of his undead army were left in this vicinity, so he couldn't use them to push the enemy apart. Principal Shepard glanced at Gavin in concern as he asked, "You good?"

Gavin, bleeding from his nose nodded. His body was growing weaker and more fatigued by the minute. In fact, he honestly doubted that he would last the full hour before the skill expired. "Fine, but we need to end this, soon," Gavin said, panting between his words. His body burned, his blood felt like it was on fire as he stood there glaring at the enemy group. It took almost everything he had just to remain in his shifted form right now.

Shepard noticed the signs of battle fatigue in Gavin's stance. The boy was beyond exhausted, but he was still pushing through. Not to mention the fact that he was larger, and more feral in appearance than he was before. Something was wrong, only that Shepard did not know what it was.

"That blonde man is the leader of the enemy forces. If we kill him, the rest should scatter like they did last time," Shepard said with a low growl, his voice rumbling.

Gavin nodded, "I already figured that much. He looks like the other one you killed," Gavin said quietly, never taking his eyes off Xenon.

"Then shall we take them down together my boy?" Shepard said as he let out a howl of anger and excitement. This would be the first time he went on a hunt with his grandson. He was more than excited at the prospect, though he did wish it was under different circumstances.

Gavin joined his grandfather's howl. The two howls merged into one beautiful haunting song of hunt and war. They would slaughter everyone here, none of them will survive. Right as Shepard went to move forward, a loud bang rang out through the Grand Arena as a high caliber round pierced Shepards shoulder, slamming into the wall behind him.

Shepard snarled in pain as he tried to jump to the side, avoiding more gunfire. Gavin heard the sound and saw his grandfather get hit. Rage clouded his vision as he used his magic and summoned a giant stone wall, blocking them from sight from the enemy forces.

He rushed over to check on his grandfather. The round went through and through his left shoulder and blood poured out of the wound like a waterfall. His grandfather's face was pale and filled with pain as his features were scrunched up while he held his paw to the wound. "I'll be alright boy. This is only a flesh wound," Shepard said to Gavin. "Keep your head on straight. This fight isn't finished," Shepard said. He was not going to let his be the end of him. He was a proud member of the Lykos clan. Principal of the most prestigious academy of magic in all of Allario. He would not be dying here today.

Gavin growled low and deep. He had enough of these bastards. He focused on his mana flow. He felt the deep unparallel power he had access to. Screw being cautious. Screw conserving his strength. He was going to end this right here, and right now. For his school and classmates. For his grandfather now injured while fighting to protect them. For his mate and pack. For his unborn child. He would make sure they all saw the light of the next sunrise.

He concentrated as he held his hands close together in front of his chest. He poured nearly countless amounts of mana into this singular spell. He condensed it over and over, folding the layers of mana on top of another at a singular point. He built layer after layer of mana in his hands.

A single ball of blue white flame appeared between his clawed hand. The heat burned his skin and singed his fur. The pain was becoming almost unbearable as Gavin put more and more energy into this ball. He had to make it stronger, faster, deadlier. It had to punch through every single layer of defensive magic the enemy could erect. He had to put everything into this blast.

Xenon felt a chill run down his spine suddenly. Something wasn't right. He heard Malachai fire his shot and it appeared to have hit the red wolf. But then the newcomer erected a giant stone wall blocking them from sight. What was going on over there? Why did he get this sudden feeling of apprehension? He issued orders for his men to spread out, they were too bunched up for his taste right now. One powerful spell and they would all be killed if it got through.

Xenon ordered several of his men to try flanking the wolves from behind while Malachai kept taking pot shots at the wolves. He was particularly determined to claim the life of that red wolf. If he hadn't moved when he did, that first shot would have gone right between the red wolf's eyes.

Screams came from Xenon's left as more of the undead came from a nearby hallway into the Grand Arena. They weren't just walking; they came from the nearby hallways at a full-bore sprint. Screaming and clawing as they ran towards their group. Blood, guts and body parts barely hanging on gave them such a horrible sight that it even made Xenon feel a little nauseous. He gave orders to open fire on the undead army. They could not allow them to get close and overrun their position. He wasn't sure if the undead was something contagious like old horror movies, or if it was simply done by control from a caster. Personally, he didn't want to take the risk.

The hair at the back of his neck rose suddenly and he had a bad feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly, the stone wall that was protecting the wolves was gone. All Xenon could see was the black wolf holding the brightest ball of white fire he had ever seen. He could feel the traces of heat all the way at his location, several dozen yards from where the wolves were huddled.

"Oh, shit," Xenon muttered as he realized the strength of this spell. He turned to his men and called out, "Retreat! Fall back to the hallway!" Only he didn't make it in time.

Gavin looked up at Xenon as he called out a full retreat to his men. Only he wasn't quick enough. Gavin extended both his hands out in front of him, throwing the giant ball of pure white fire and light magic at the group. He was determined to end this fight here and now. The ball went flying right towards the center of the group. They tried to summon defensive walls of magic, earth, fire water and wind barriers were erected as the mercenary group tried to block or stop his spell from getting through. The result was the same. With each layer of defensive magic, Gavin's spell burned through them all, like a hot knife through butter. As it reached the center of the group, it instantly expanded.

The bright white light consumed everything it touched as it grew in size. What was once the size of a soccer ball, now was the size of half the Grand Arena itself. Both organic and inorganic matter burned as the light enveloped it. The dying screams of the mercenary arms were all that could be heard as the like enveloped and devoured them all. None were spared from this powerful and deadly spell.

Gavin had read about a certain spell, while going over the restricted and forbidden magics in the library. This was meant as a spell that only the highest level of Magi could wield and summon. Most people alive couldn't have the amount of Mana neccesary to use, nor the affinity for both fire and light elemental magic. If it wasn't for Veronica memorizing the information and being able to control his mana to such a degree, Gavin wouldn't have had a chance of pulling off the spell.

"Supernova" the spell was called. It harnessed light and fire magic to expand and burn with the intensity of a star's final moments. One of the ultimate offensive magics. Shepard stood there, stunned beyond belief at the chaos that unfurled around them. His grandson just pulled off one of the ultimate offensive magics like it was nothing. Immense pride and a tinge of fear filled Shepard's heart as he looked at his weary and exhausted grandson.

The light was so bright that both the wolves had to look away, unable to bear witness to the true destruction. The roar of the flames was deafening to their sensitive hearing. Once the spell ran out of mana, the light dimmed down, and the spell vanished from sight. What was left was a giant crater several dozen yards across. No bodies, no ashes, nothing remained of those that were struck down by the supernova spell. The lack of the roar from the fire, the quiet from the lack of gunfire, everything seemed to stay silent in the aftermath of the explosion.

Gavin looked around, panting with exhaustion as he tried to locate the main target. Where was the blonde man?