Chapter 105 (CV) Narrow Victory

Jackson groaned and opened his eyes as he slowly sat up, looking at his surroundings. His vision blurred slightly until his gaze focused, and his surroundings became clearer.

His right shoulder ached as blood trickled down toward his elbow, dripping onto the floor next to his leg. Khione and Umbra fought valiantly alongside Renee and Lydia as they were barely able to fend off the Templar Lord, his two blades still jammed into the monstrosity's back while Jackson was disoriented.

He stood on unsteady legs and glanced around the area, seeing the remains of the battle. The streets were littered with corpses of the fallen, some of which were charred beyond recognition.

'NOW!' A voice in his mind shouted as he turned back to face the hulking Templar Lord while it lifted its great-axe with its back facing him. He quickly dashed forward, vanishing into lightning as he flew through the air toward his blades, gripping their hilts.

The Templar Lord swung forward with one of the most powerful blows Jackson had ever seen. It efficiently cleaved through the space in front of the monster, breaking the sound barrier and creating an intense shockwave. Sending everything and everyone flying in all directions.

Jackson tightened his grip on the hilts, kicking back, using the momentum of the swing to propel him back as the force of the blow sent him flying through the air.

Jackson landed on his feet, staggering backward as the Templar Lord raised its foot high above him. The momentary pause gave him enough time to react, his instincts kicked in, and his speed increased as the mighty warrior slammed the earth next to him, sending him flying high into the air.

Jackson flipped his swords, catching the handle, and threw it in the direction of the Templar Lord as the colossal creature spun around and aimed for him.

Jackson caught the spinning axe in midair, twisting to dodge the incoming strike as his body once again vanished as lightning arced through the air around the Templar Lord before shooting toward the lodged Twin Moon scimitars in his back.

Moments before reaching, he reappeared, spinning rapidly as he used the Templar's axes to break through his armor, slicing deeply into its back. It immediately turned around, throwing its arm, forcing Jackson to drop the massive axe and dash to his blades.

Jackson dodged the attack, jumping away from the Templar Lord as the monster swept its great axe into its hands, twisting as he heaved it high into the air and cut downward, creating a massive explosion. He quickly connected his scimitars into the WarGlaive, raising the barrier in the middle as he was knocked backward.

He crashed into the wall behind him, cracking the stone, as the Hollow roared as it dropped its great-axe and crouched down, digging its claws into the ground as its armor began breaking and falling to the ground as the Templar Lord became bestial and feral.

Jackson pushed himself to stand, watching as the creature slowly transformed before his very eyes, growing larger as the armor fell to pieces, exposing the skeletal structure underneath. Its skin darkened, becoming more like stone than flesh, as the bones grew longer, stretching out from the muscles that covered them.

The skull that served as the helm cracked open, revealing the glowing red eye within, pulsing with rage as it stared at Jackson. The creature's arms grew much thicker, becoming more defined, and its claws extended into wickedly sharp points.

Jackson took a step back, taking a defensive stance, waiting as the creature roared, a terrible noise that seemed to shake the world as it charged at him. The ground beneath them began shaking as the entire city began trembling, a low rumble that built into a deafening roar.

The monstrosity leaped forward, pouncing toward Jackson as his WarFrame began emitting steam and purple lightning danced around his body as he braced for impact, raising his WarGlaive and erecting a barrier as the colossal beast landed on him, crushing him into the ground.

Jackson screamed, wincing as the weight of the beast pressed against him, the breath escaping from his lungs. He struggled to maintain the barrier and gritted his teeth as the force being applied against him increased.

Cracks formed along the surface of his shield as he continued to struggle against the immense pressure. Jackson roared loudly as the barrier was destroyed. His WarFrame hummed as he released the damage back as a dark clouds quickly appeared overhead.

"Get off me, you bastard!" He shouted as deep thunder rolled as his WarFrame reached critical mass and unleashed its stored power. A humongous bolt of red lightning shot down from the skies consuming both Jackson and the Templar Lord.

The ground shook and rumbled as the lightning created a massive crater and released a powerful explosion.

Jackson's vision swam as he lay there, trying to regain his composure. He looked over to see the lifeless husk of the beast lying beside him, smoke rising off its body, its skin being burned and floating in the breeze before vanishing.

"Jackson!!" Renee shouted as she ran forward, Lydia grabbing her wrist and stopping her as she shook her head. Immediately Khione landed in front of the sisters, growling fiercely as Umbra landed on her back and roared into the air.

"What happened?" Renee asked, "Where's the enemy?!?"

"It's dead... Jackson killed it." Lydia said, shaking her head once more.

Renee gasped, "How??" She paused as the pair stepped forward once more, "I can't believe he survived that. I thought he was done for."

Lydia shrugged and smiled weakly, "It seems like he's a survivor."

Khione snarled and growled, stomping the ground as the two women tried to approach.

"What's the big deal? We were just fighting side-by-side!" Renee yelled at the sizeable white panther.

"I think we should just wait for him to come to us..." Lydia replied, grabbing her sister's shoulder and smiling softly.

Jackson groaned, lying on his back in the center of the crater, staring up at the bright blue skies.