“Ugh… it smells like hell,” Albert growled, pinching his nose to keep from vomiting.
“Good,” Ginshu said. “Tell me when you feel that strong concentration of Koa nearby.”
“Yes, it’s there,” Gonzo said, pointing toward a cave partially hidden by the mist. “Right at that entrance.”
But as they approached, a group of zombified monsters was already waiting, blocking the way. They prepared for battle… until a whisper, cold as a breeze that pierced the bones, emerged from inside.
“Let them pass.”
The creatures immediately stopped, forming an improvised corridor. The group moved forward, without lowering their guard.
“This is far too strange…” Gonzo murmured as they advanced. “If that being already tried to kill us before… why let us pass now?”
The path was long and bleak. The walls trapped that same stench of decay, and the dense fog made it hard to see more than a few steps ahead. The temperature dropped with every meter. The rock was stained with dried blood, and the ground was littered with scraps of skin, bones, and fragments of unrecognizable creatures.
Mason swallowed hard.
“Lord Ginshu inspired me with his fire… maybe I should use my new long-range attack… will it be necessary?”
Albert shuddered again.
“Ugh… this place smells worse and worse.”
Gonzo, however, seemed uneasy for another reason.
“I don’t understand…” he whispered. “I feel something familiar… very familiar… but I can’t identify it.”
Ginshu, his gaze firm, kept his ears alert to any sound.
“If that necromancer managed to subjugate creatures this strong… then they must be of power similar to mine.”
They advanced until they saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel.
“There,” Ginshu said. “I imagine that’s where the necromancer is.”
“Everyone stay alert,” Gonzo ordered as he released his Eagle Koa. “Prepare for combat.”
The cave suddenly opened into a wide chamber lit by black candles. The stench of decay was unbearable. Piles of bones, scraps of skin, and preserved remains decorated the place like a macabre shrine. And at the far end, seated upon a throne made of bones, rested a hooded figure.
From it emanated the cold, sinister mist that had permeated the entire mountain.
The boys felt their blood freeze.
Gonzo and Ginshu immediately took combat stances.
“Hello, Gonzo…” the figure whispered in a female voice. “It’s been a long time, darling.”
Gonzo frowned.
“Who are you? How do you know me?”
The figure let out a soft laugh.
“Don’t you recognize my voice? How cruel… then perhaps I should show you my face.”
Slowly, she pulled back her hood, revealing a woman who appeared to be the same age as Gonzo—attractive, with a piercing gaze, but marked by dark tribal tattoos that ran across her skin like corrupted veins.
The color drained from Gonzo’s face.
“No… it can’t be… Neemus… Bianka Neemus… You’re the necromancer? You did all of this?”
Bianka smiled with a mix of flirtation and madness.
“At last, you remember me, darling.”
“Master… who is that woman?” Mason asked nervously.
Bianka gave them a playful smile.
“Aww… are these two your students? Delighted, children. I’m Bianka Neemus… a very, very close friend of your master, hehe.”
Gonzo clenched his teeth.
“Answer me, Neemus. What are you planning?”
She exaggerated a pout.
“Shhh… I hated it when you called me by my last name. You made me feel like one of your tavern buddies.” She sighed. “Very well, darling… I’ll tell you.”
She leaned forward, smiling like a dangerous shadow.
“I just wanted to be left alone. That’s all. An isolated place for when what’s coming finally arrives. But of course… whenever something strange happens, you or the Great Ecclesiastical Order have to step in. The paranormal police, hehehe.”
Albert muttered:
“The Great… Ecclesiastical Order?”
“I’ll explain later,” Gonzo said without taking his eyes off Bianka. “Answer me, Bianka—safe from what?”
The necromancer’s eyes shone with a nearly feverish madness.
“Gonzo… my love…” she said as she caressed her bone scepter. “A war is coming—one that will involve all worlds. I just wanted a remote place for when it happens. And an army of zombies, just in case I have no other choice but to fight, didn’t seem like such a bad idea, you know? Hehehe.”
Then she stretched a hand toward him.
“Join me, Gonzo. Be my king. Stay with me. You know the oracle showed me things… The boys and the stinking fox can leave unharmed… just stay with me.”
Ginshu snorted.
“Quite bold of you to call me ‘stinking,’ when I’m the only being in these lands you truly feared… don’t you think?”
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Bianka burst into laughter.
“Feared you? You? Hahahahaha…”
And then she released her Raven Beast Koa.
A dark aura erupted from her like an explosion of black feathers.
The temperature plummeted.
The entire cave trembled.
Bianka raised her bone scepter. The black feathers surrounding her tensed like blades.
“NEVERMORE,” she whispered, her voice fractured by hatred and madness.
Thousands of black feathers shot forward like a dark torrent, rushing straight toward Ginshu.
“Reiki no Kekkai,” Ginshu tried to activate, raising his Legendary Koa barrier.
But Gonzo shouted:
“Ginshu, dodge!”
The fox moved at the last second—fast, agile… but not fast enough. Several feathers struck his left forearm, piercing straight through his barrier as if it were made of paper.
“Argh! What the hell was that…?” Ginshu growled, clutching his wounded arm.
Albert swallowed hard.
“We came prepared to fight… but this is a whole different league…”
Mason stared at the necromancer, trying to analyze her energy.
“Lord Ginshu… maybe you should get serious again,” Albert whispered, his voice trembling.
“He is serious,” Mason replied without taking his eyes off Bianka. “Too serious… but that woman is monstrous. She’s far stronger than Simon the Psychic.”
Bianka laughed with almost childish mockery.
“Awww, what’s wrong, stinking fox? Does it hurt? You only stayed alive because if anything happened to you, they’d come looking for me faster. It was easier to just seal you away, but you had to go snitching.”
Her eyes shifted to Albert, whose Bull Koa was beginning to manifest without him noticing.
“Oh… you want to fight too, kid? If the little fox isn’t even good enough as a warm-up… why do you think the two of you stand a chance? Hahahahaha.”
“And what does it matter?” Mason suddenly said.
Bianka stopped laughing.
“What did you say?”
“What does it matter if you’re stronger than the three of us?” Mason repeated, his voice growing steadier. “A Thaumaturge’s duty is to help others. Not to seek personal gain. Maybe I can’t defeat you… but I’ll die fighting.”
Mason released his Dog Koa, resolute and unyielding.
Albert stared at him in shock.
“Idiot… you’ll get yourself killed,” Albert said. After a few seconds, he let out a small smile. “Well then… let’s cooperate again.”
The boys’ words struck Gonzo like lightning. The fog filling the cave—charged with Bianka’s mental influence—began to dissipate within him. Clarity returned to his gaze.
“I’m sorry, Bianka,” Gonzo said, releasing his Eagle Koa once more. “But my duty is to these boys. I am a Thaumaturge. I protect humans and paranormal beings alike.”
Bianka pursed her lips, disappointed.
“Awww, my beautiful Gonzo… then protect the stinking fox.”
Her aura expanded violently.
“Zone of Influence: Lenore.”
The dark mist thickened even further, as if the cave itself were breathing her corruption.
“Now die, fox… NEVERMORE — INFINITE.”
“Uzumaki!” Ginshu roared, extending his uninjured arm. A massive vortex formed before him, swallowing the feathers like a black hole.
The air screamed as each feather was devoured.
“So that’s why the atmosphere felt so heavy,” Gonzo said. “We’re inside a Zone of Influence…”
The boys didn’t understand, but there was no time for explanations.
Bianka spread her arms with cruel delight.
“You won’t last long, little fox. Your Uzumaki consumes an enormous amount of Koa… and for me, maintaining my Zone of Influence is like… breathing.”
Her psychotic smile widened.
Gonzo and the boys lunged forward to attack, but the zombies from the entrance burst into the cave, surrounding them. Gonzo stepped ahead.
“Eaton.”
His Eagle Koa tore through the zombies, but Bianka didn’t stop attacking.
“Raven Shadows.”
Dozens of dark ravens emerged from her Koa and detonated upon impact with Gonzo, hurling him against the wall.
“Master, are you alright!?” Albert shouted.
“Yes, boy… but Ginshu won’t hold out much longer. We have to do something!”
Bianka raised her scepter once more.
“Dreaming Demons.”
The shattered zombies began to reassemble, bone by bone, muscle by muscle, as if dreaming of being alive again.
And then…
“Pallas’ Raven.”
All the piles of bones in the chamber merged together, forming a colossal, monstrous raven.
Bianka licked her lips.
“Looks like I’m the winner.”
But Mason was watching the scepter closely. Something didn’t add up.
Every time Bianka used a powerful technique… the scepter glowed.
“Master, is it possible that her power has some kind of penalty?” Mason asked, leaving Gonzo intrigued. “Her scepter lights up whenever she uses certain abilities.”
“A Nature Koa ability… That makes sense. It’s not normal for her to still be this powerful if her Koa is decaying as a Cursed Thaumaturge. But what matters now is dispersing this Zone of Influence—Ginshu could die,” Gonzo replied as he charged back into the fight. “Focus on the scepter, boys. I trust you.”
“Awww, Gonzo, don’t you ever learn?” Bianka sang mockingly. “Raven Shadows.”
Legendary Koa: Robin Hood — ‘Take from the rich, give to the poor.’
A wave of dark ravens surged toward them. Gonzo raised his palms, absorbing the attack… and the heavy damage along with it.
“What a stupid ability, darling. It didn’t help you at all,” Bianka smiled maliciously.
“That’s what you think, doll.”
The absorbed ravens transformed into energy, flowing toward Ginshu and helping him continue resisting Nevermore.
“Grrr… being harmed by protect an inferior being like that… how pathetic,” Bianka snarled. “Pallas’ Raven. Dreaming Demons—finish him!”
Albert stepped forward.
“I thought I wouldn’t have to use this so soon… but that bony crow has to fall,” he said, drawing Mason’s attention.
Legendary Koa: Samson — Fall of the Thousand Philistines.
He manifested a boomerang made of bones and hurled it with full force at Pallas’ Raven.
“Stupid child. That won’t work,” Bianka said… but her expression froze when the boomerang shattered one of the raven’s wings and returned to Albert’s hand without issue.
“Looks like it did work, ma’am,” Albert mocked.
The raven fell—but the Zone of Influence began reconstructing it as Bianka’s scepter glowed once more.
“Albert,” Mason said, “aim your next attack at the scepter. I’ve got a plan.”
“Enough games, Bianka. Eaton.” Gonzo pushed back the zombies again, clearing the path.
“Hahahaha! It’s useless, can’t you see? Everything will just rebuild itself over and over again!” Bianka laughed euphorically.
But her laughter stopped abruptly when Albert struck the scepter with Fall of the Thousand Philistines, ripping it from her hand and sending it flying.
“You damned brat! You’ll pay for that!”
Nevermore halted, and the Zone of Influence began to weaken—just as Mason had predicted. Even so, Bianka was still dangerous. She raised more minions and lunged toward her scepter.
“No, Bianka… this ends now. Imperial Eagle.” Gonzo unleashed a flurry of lightning-fast strikes. Bianka barely dodged as the cave’s ceiling began to collapse, revealing the gray sky above.
“Can’t hit me, huh, Gonzo? You still love me, don’t you? Heeheehee. But sorry—I need my scepter,” she said, sprinting toward it.
Mason looked up at the open sky.
“This open sky… it’s my chance. I’m sorry, ma’am—there won’t be any more scepter. THUNDERSTRUCK.”
He summoned a brutal lightning strike from the clouds, pulverizing the scepter in an instant. The effort was overwhelming, and he collapsed to his knees, exhausted.
“You damned brat!” Bianka lunged at him, intent on killing him.
But she was struck head-on by Gonzo’s Imperial Eagle.
“Argh… Gonzo… do these kids really matter that much to you?” she spat, wounded in both body and pride. She had been beaten by two near-apprentices.
“Bianka… it’s over. Surrender,” Gonzo said as Ginshu, Albert, and a staggering Mason stood firmly beside him.
“Pallas’ Raven.”
The raven regenerated, far larger than before, towering over them. Albert grinned.
“Guess I’ll have to knock that bird down again.”
But before he could attack, Bianka leapt onto the raven and flew out through the shattered ceiling.
“Bianka!” Gonzo growled, beginning to manifest eagle wings.
But the remaining zombies flooded into the cave. The boys were exhausted, Ginshu was injured… pursuit was impossible.
“Master… aren’t you going after her?” Mason asked, catching his breath.
“No. We have to let her escape for now.”
Her mocking voice echoed from afar:
“Hahahaha! See you later, darling! But remember… a war is coming.”
After dealing with the remaining zombies, the Zone of Influence completely dissipated. Everything returned to normal.
Ginshu thanked the boys and Gonzo, promising to be of use to them in the future. They parted ways on the trail—Ginshu returned to the mountains, and the others went back to the hotel.
“You boys… were fantastic. You could say you saved me. You’re not dead weight. You’re worthy members of your group,” Gonzo said. “But now you must go to where Master Yu-Han is. Rest up—you leave tomorrow night.”
“Ugh… what a brutal mission,” Mason sighed, collapsing onto the couch. “By the way, great ability, Albert. I didn’t expect you to have something like that prepared.”
“I started working on it after Master said we needed a ranged option. But hey, yours was better. That lightning had insane power,” Albert replied from the bed.
Mason closed his eyes, completely drained.
What did that woman mean by a war approaching?
How did the girls’ journey go?
And the other boys…?
What kind of place will those Apalacide Mountains be…?
Exhaustion claimed him before he could find any answers.
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Bianka Neemus’ abilities are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven.
“Nevermore,” the ravens, and her obsessive tone are no coincidence.
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Mason’s ability, Thunderstruck, came to me while listening to AC/DC.
The name fit a lightning strike from the sky a little too well.
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Albert’s technique, The Fall of a Thousand Philistines, is a direct reference to one of Samson’s feats from the Bible.
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Reiki no Kekkai = Spiritual energy barrier
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Kitsunibe= Foxfire
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Uzumaki = Whirlpool
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Thank you sincerely to everyone who keeps reading and supporting the story, even quietly.
See you in the next one.