Jacob threw the dice onto the board.
A seven. The crystal ball glowed again.
Jacob read the new riddle:
"The warlord comes with iron will.
His savage horde descends to plunder and kill.
He seeks a jewel that isn't there.
He'll burn this town without a care."
Jacob's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. 'I know who he is. I just hope he can take a punch.'
The forest went quiet.
Then branches snapped. Leaves rustled. The ground trembled faintly, like something heavy was moving through the trees.
Stiles frowned, looking toward the woods. "What now?"
Noah's expression darkened as the noise grew louder—boots, engines, metal clanking, distant animal snarls. "That… sounds like an army."
Jacob's grin widened. "This is going to be fun."
He turned to the group, his tone turning serious. "Okay, those guys probably have weapons. Victoria, Chris, Natalie, Noah—be careful. Don't get hit by a bullet… or a rocket… or anything like that."
Melissa stepped forward. "I'll protect them with my energy shield."
Jacob nodded. "Good." He reached into his pocket dimension and produced an array of weapons—assault rifles, sniper rifles, handguns, all the spoils he'd collected from fallen hunters over the past months. He handed them to Victoria, Chris, Noah, Natalie, and Melissa. "You can use your lightning and fire spells, but that'll drain your energy. Use these guns to have some fun."
The forest exploded with movement.
Trees shook as figures poured out of the woods. Thousands of them.
A savage horde emerged, spreading across the edge of the Beacon Hills Preserve like a living tide of violence.
At the front of them all… He appeared.
A towering, broad-shouldered warlord with a scarred, savage face, wild unkempt hair, and a thick beard. His armor was a mix of leather and metal plates, worn and dented from countless battles. At his sides walked two massive spotted hyenas, their eyes burning with hunger and violence.
Behind him stretched his army. Rows upon rows of raiders clad in desert armor. They carried axes, curved blades, spears, crossbows. Dozens of vehicles followed—spiked trucks, armored off-road cars, roaring dirt bikes kicking up clouds of dust. Some warriors stood atop them, shouting, raising weapons, waving crude banners.
The entire army stopped, facing Jacob and his group.
The warlord stepped forward, his voice deep and commanding. "I heard you have the Falcon Jewel." His gaze was cold. "Hand it over… and I will grant you and your friends—and everyone in this town—a quick death."
Jacob's eyes gleamed with anticipation. 'As I thought. He's Jürgen the Brutal from Jumanji: The Next Level. According to the movie, he possesses immense superhuman strength and endurance—outclassing even Dr. Bravestone. I'm looking forward to fighting him.'
He smiled. "I don't have this jewel you're talking about. And even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you." His smile widened. "And I do hope you can take a beating… because I won't grant you a quick death."
Jürgen laughed. He looked back at his army. "Did you hear that?" He laughed again. "The pretty little boy wants to kill me!"
The army burst out laughing, mocking Jacob with crude gestures and jeers.
Jacob just smiled. Allison and the others didn't react either. They knew how strong Jacob was.
Stiles shook his head. "What a bunch of clueless idiots." He nudged Scott. "Scott, let's see who can kill the most of them."
Scott hesitated.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Come on! Don't tell me you don't want to kill them. They're not real—well, they are real people, but they won't really die. Even if you cut them to pieces, they'll just go back to their world when the game ends."
Scott's resolve hardened. "Fine. I'll kill them. It's good training."
Chris stepped up beside Jacob. "Do you have a sword I can borrow?"
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I want to fight."
Jacob reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out an M16 rifle—Tony Montana's Little Friend. He handed it over. "Use this. It has infinite ammo."
Chris took the weapon, his eyes lighting up as he examined it. "What a beauty." He looked at Jacob. "This is mine from now on, right, son?"
Jacob smiled. "Sure." He glanced at Allison. "Keep an eye on him."
Allison nodded. "I will." She drew her katana, Shusui, from her ring and moved to her father's side. "Let's fight together, Dad."
Chris's expression softened with pride as he stood beside her.
Jürgen finally stopped laughing. He raised his hand, and a small wave of his warriors and hyenas charged forward.
Jacob punched the first attacker—a man swinging an axe. The blow was so powerful the axe shattered like glass, and the man's chest caved into a bloody mess. He died on the spot before his body flew backward toward Jürgen.
Jürgen raised a brow at Jacob's strength but didn't seem to care. With a wave of his hand, he swatted the incoming corpse aside like a fly. Then his gaze shifted. He saw Cogman cutting a hyena in half with his arm-turned-blade. Lydia opened her mouth and unleashed a powerful sonic attack that sent two of his men flying back into his army before more were caught in the blast.
Allison waved her katana, and a green wind slash flew, cutting a hyena and the man beside it charging at her in half. Chris opened fire beside her, dropping another man before aiming at the army and launching a grenade from the launcher attached to his M16, killing a few and injuring more.
Malia used her lightning, electrocuting two men into blackened chunks of charcoal.
Stiles unleashed a lightning beast spell, sending a crackling weasel toward the men attacking them, electrocuting them to death.
Scott hesitated for a second, then raised his hand. He used the Firaga spell, sending a fireball toward a hyena and a man. It exploded on contact, killing both.
Jürgen was now startled. He looked at Jacob. "How can you have powers like that? Did you use the Jewel?"
Jacob smirked. "Like I said before. I don't have any Jewel." Then he disappeared—and reappeared directly in front of Jürgen, punching him hard in the face.
To his delight, Jürgen's head didn't explode. He withstood the force of the punch—but still flew backward, crashing through several of his own men.
Jürgen stood up, rubbing his jaw, now staring at Jacob with deadly seriousness.
"Attack!" he roared, gesturing wildly at his army. "Kill them all!"
Then, instead of charging, he began slipping behind his troops, retreating into the safety of the horde.
Jacob was in no hurry to chase him. He stored the game board safely in his pocket dimension, his eyes glowing red as he faced the massive army charging toward them.
An excited smile spread across his face. "Guys… let's have some fun."
He charged into the army.
Behind him, Allison, Lydia, Malia, Kitty, Stiles, Scott, Cogman, and Chris joined the fray. Melissa, Noah, Natalie, and Victoria stood protected behind Melissa's energy shield, firing into the horde with the weapons Jacob had given them.
---
Jacob didn't hold back.
Fire erupted from his palms in roaring torrents, sweeping across the front lines and reducing dozens of raiders to ash. He thrust his hand forward and a serpent of magma burst from it, coiling through the enemy ranks, melting weapons, armor, and flesh alike.
Lightning arced from his fingertips, branching into a dozen jagged paths that jumped from warrior to warrior, leaving smoking corpses in their wake. He clenched his fist and the ground beneath a charging platoon buckled, swallowing them whole before snapping shut like a beast's jaw.
He turned his gaze on a group of armored raiders trying to flank him. His eyes glowed crimson—twin beams of searing heat lanced out, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Bodies fell in halves, their weapons clattering to the ground beside them.
A dozen archers drew their bows. Jacob inhaled deeply, then roared, unleashing his dragon shout. (FUS RO DAH!)
A concussive blast of raw energy exploded from his mouth, rippling outward in a visible shockwave. The archers were lifted off their feet and hurled backward, their bodies slamming into trees, rocks, each other. The closest ones simply disintegrated, their forms scattering into ash before they hit the ground.
The shockwave didn't stop there. It tore through the army like a hurricane, flinging warriors, vehicles, and debris in all directions. A spiked truck lifted into the air, spun twice, and crashed into a cluster of raiders, crushing them instantly.
Jacob didn't slow. He raised both hands and lightning rained from the sky, each bolt finding a target. Fire, earth, lightning, telekinesis—he wove them together into a symphony of destruction, each movement effortless, each attack devastating.
A raider swung a curved blade at his head. Jacob caught it with two fingers, shattered it with a flick, and backhanded the man so hard he flew through three of his comrades before all four of them crashed into a tree that splintered on impact.
Another tried to shoot him from behind. Jacob didn't turn. The bullet stopped mid-air, inches from his skull, then reversed course and tore through the shooter's own chest.
He was everywhere and nowhere—dodging, weaving, striking with impossible speed. Warriors fell before they could scream. Hyenas fled, their predatory instincts screaming that they had picked the wrong prey.
---
Across the battlefield, Lydia and the others had stopped fighting.
They stood in stunned silence, watching Jacob slaughter the enemies with ease.
Stiles lowered his hands, the lightning weasel he'd been about to send fizzling out. "That's cool. That's the kind of power I want to have someday."
Allison sheathed her katana, her expression a mix of awe and exasperation. "He's showing off."
Chris stared, the M16 hanging loose in his grip. "This is the first time I've seen him fight seriously. I'm glad he's on our side." He glanced at Allison. "And that he considers us family."
Allison shook her head, a fond smile tugging at her lips. "You're wrong, Dad. He's not being serious at all."
Chris blinked. "This isn't serious?"
Lydia stepped up beside them, arms crossed, watching Jacob tear through another wave of raiders. "Not even close. You know that lightning spell he gave you? When he uses it himself, he can summon a giant, terrifying lightning dragon that could probably destroy half of Beacon Hills—if not all of it."
Allison nodded. "He also has a fire domain. It makes his fire attacks devastating. And all of this without him shifting into his dragon form."
Chris's eyes widened. "He has another form?"
Lydia smiled faintly. "Oh, yes. He becomes a nightmare with wings when he shift."
Chris looked back at Jacob, who was currently using his telekinesis to juggle three armored raiders before hurling them into a burning truck. "Are you girls seriously telling me this is him holding back?"
Malia watched Jacob with undisguised pride. "Yes. He's never needed to go all out. Not even when he fought that Yeti. Not even when he spars with us."
Stiles sighed. "You know, hanging out with him every day, I forget just how much of a monster he is." He paused, watching Jacob punch a raider so hard the man's body tore apart. "I'm glad Scott and I met him that night when we were looking for the body in the woods. Glad we became his friends."
Scott, who had been quietly observing, shook his head. "Look at him. He's smiling. He's enjoying this. He looks like a psychotic, murdering maniac."
As if to prove the point, Jacob's crazy laughter echoed across the battlefield. He caught a charging raider, spun him around, and used him as a club to knock down three more before tossing the dazed man into a group of archers.
Then they heard another laugh—this one sharp, unnerving, and somehow crazier than Jacob's.
They turned toward the sound.
Cogman hadn't stopped to watch Jacob. He was too busy enjoying himself. Energy blasts erupted from his palms. Laser beams shot from his eyes. His hands shifted into all kinds of sharp weapons as he moved through the raiders, cutting off heads and limbs with mechanical precision.
They watched as he ripped a still-beating heart from a man's chest with his bare hands. He held it out to the dying raider. "It's still beating," Cogman said pleasantly. "If you find a good doctor, he might be able to put it back."
The confused man took his own heart, stared at it for a moment, then dropped dead. Cogman laughed—a cold, metallic sound that sent shivers down the other raiders' spines.
A brave raider tried to hack Cogman with an axe from behind. Cogman spun, caught the axe mid-swing, and then, without breaking rhythm, tore out the man's windpipe. He held it up, turning it over like a curious specimen he was studying.
The raiders nearby panicked and tried to flee. Cogman caught one, drove his hand into the man's back, and ripped out his spine in a bloody, disturbing display.
Allison and the others collectively shuddered and looked away. They shook their heads and made a silent agreement to ignore the creepy Cogman.
Stiles cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face. "Shall we rejoin the fray? I want to see how many I can take before Jacob clears the board."
He raised his hand and summoned another lightning weasel, sending it crackling into the army.
The others followed suit, charging back into the chaos.
To be continued… 😊
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