Chapter 483 - The Real Gary

Harry was dumbfounded about what had just happened. A few seconds ago it felt like he was about to die at the hands of someone he trusted and used to call a friend. There was no way out and he was unsure if he would live to see another day. 

But then, at the last second, an unknown stranger had come to help him, or at least that's what he first thought. Slowly he started to put things together. The red hair, the voice, and when he looked into the pit for a brief second, he saw the man's facial features. 

'Was that Ray?' Harry thought. 

His heart started to beat faster at the excitement that Ray was alive, but why did he look so different? His hair had grown in length significantly and his face, although it looked like Ray, looked as if he was a middle aged man. Harry had seen him at the all kingdom tournament only a month or so ago, he couldn't have aged that quickly. 

However, there were a few times when he saw Ray's figure change like so, and each time he would come back stronger with a new strength. The happiness and excitement in Harry soon dwindled down as he noticed the two of them had fallen into the pit together.

Even just peaking over the edge, Harry could feel the horror and darkness seeping out from it. If he got any closer he would fear he would go mad, perhaps just like Monk and Gary. Any thoughts he had of possibly going after them were gone at this point, but there was something else he needed to do. 

He needed to warn the Redwing army, to let them know that the surrender was only to buy time. Bliss was right and they needed to act now. 

But it would be a giant task, to get out from the centre of their forces without being seen, but it needed to be done.

As the two of them continued falling, Ray hadn't let go of Gary for a second and pulled him in. 

"Gary, were you really going to kill him, what happened to you!" Ray shouted. 

A strange laughter started to emanate from Gary. 

"I knew you would turn up, Ray." Gary said. "And what happened to me? More like what happened to you. Before when I looked at you I could see it, you had a deep hatred for this whole world but now your eyes tell a different story. You are not the Ray I used to call my friend!" Using the Dragon gauntlets, a strange energy appeared and as if a small shock wave was created, Ray was pushed off and away from Gary.

Using fire blast from his hands, Ray was able to move around freely, going from area to area, and each time he would hit Gary before he could even react, punching him here and there. 

Gary tried to blast him with the strange force transmitting from his gauntlet, but Ray was too fast and he was unable to keep up with him. 

"You have gotten stronger in this past year I see."

"I haven't gotten stronger." Ray replied. "I have just regained some power that at one point was lost to me." Opening up his hand, a strange force was felt and Gary even though in the air could feel himself being pulled forward to Ray like a magnet. 

"Skill Attract!" 

Feeling something pulling him forward, he lifted his gauntlet hand, the only thing he could rely on at this point. He started to fire the strange force at Ray, but lifting his other arm, Ray was able to activate his gauntlet's skill, creating a shield from his gauntlets and blocked everyone of the attacks. 

Finally, Gary was now within grabbing distance again and he held on tightly to his shirt, he pulled Ray's face right close up to his own. 

"You have grown weak, relying on the power of that Gauntlet. You would have been far stronger if you practiced the swordsmanship you were gifted with!" Ray shouted. 

"Non-" Before Gary could even reply back, his body had slammed into the ground, with such force that the area around him was destroyed with it. His eyes started to wither and it looked as if he had passed out. 

This had come to a surprise even to Ray. While the two of them were falling, the fog was so thick, it was nearly impossible for them both to see where they were. 

Ray, seeing Gary get hurt in the brief second, had raised his body with Ki so he was able to receive next to no damage from hitting the ground. On top of that, his body was beyond what would be called human by now. Even if he didn't enforce it with any Ki, he would have survived.

The fog was still thick and even Ray was finding it hard to see where to go through this mess. When using his dragon eyes, everything seemed to be a part of the shadow, making it impossible to see Gary who was directly in front of him. 

After a few moments, it looked as if Gary had come to. He slowly lifted himself off the floor to find Ray standing above him.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you, Gary. Just like you were about to kill Harry." 

"Wait, Ray it's me!" Gary pleaded. "We don't have much time and I can't explain it, but when you knocked me out, it seems to have suppressed the demon. He seems to have gone to sleep but he could wake up at any moment."

It was hard for Ray to tell if this was all an act or the truth, but deep down Ray wanted to save Gary and bring him back from the Shadow. He felt partly to blame for Gary being possessed in the first place. When they were younger, his life had been saved by Gary, if it weren't for him he wouldn't be here today.

"While you're not trying to kill me, let me explain." Gary pleaded. "A strong powerful beast, originally from this shadow world was unleashed under Avrion during the time we were students. Back then that was what had killed the Dark guild members and the rest of the beasts. It was also what was going around the Avrion area eating every beast in existence. 

"This gauntlet that I have Gary, holds many powers but the main one is to control the beast. I'm not proud of what I have done, but I couldn't help myself, the demon ordered it and controlled the beast. When we eventually returned here, using the last bit of my will I controlled the beast forcing it to go back into the pit and hopefully stay there forever.

"This whole time, I would allow the demon to control my body, but I would never let him go back to this pit to summon it out again. Slowly the Demon knew it would take over me though, and it plans to summon it back out again to take care of the Redwing army.

"The seal on the beast is weak and will only last a year at most. I must redo the seal again while I still have control. Otherwise it will be let out. Please Ray, if you don't believe me then come with me. Help me, and if the seal breaks or the demon tries something then kill me or fight the beast with me."

Again, it was hard for Ray to tell if this was the truth. He tried looking around and could sense no such thing. If he tried to find this seal, or where the beast would be summoned from in this fog he could do nothing. He would have to rely on Gary for that. 

"Fine." Ray said and nothing else. 

He allowed Gary to get up from the floor, and the two of them continued to travel through the heavy fog. The gauntlet was still glowing, but Gary reassured him that it was him and not the demon using it. He needed to navigate where they were going in the fog. 

Eventually, they had come to a strange podium, and beneath it a magical circle had been drawn. 

"This is the place, Ray just in case, you should stand outside of the circle. Maybe the demon is just pretending to sleep and will do something. If I feel him trying to take over, I will shout out to you and then you break the circle." Gary said. He sounded sane, and sounded nothing like the demon man before.

Ray wanted to believe it was Gary and he was telling the truth. He stood in front of the podium and placed his gauntlet on top of it. 

Slowly it started to light up, and then a smile appeared on his face.

"You are not the man I thought you were, to be fooled by that pathetic act!" Gary said. 

Soon the light underneath lit up, and something appeared from the ground, forming the large magical circle. The light had blinded Ray temporarily. When he could eventually see again, he could see Gary standing on top of the creature's body. 

"Behold!" Gary said with his arms lifted. "The greatest enemy of mankind, a creature that even the Gods of this world feared. With this, the Redwing Army will be defeated, for I have a Dragon!"

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