ALL NOVEL 33
We lined up on the field in preparation for the final fight. The field had been divided into thirds this time. We lined up on our side in the middle again and prepared for the next fight. It looked as though Razule had taken my words to heart because Crystal was way in the back with the assassin and himself very close to the center of the ring. It would probably be a good thing if Razule’s team got eliminated early, that would put them out of the way when whatever was going to go down, did.
Goron stood in the dead center with his sword on his shoulder, like his brother before him had. The fire caster and dual sword wielder were behind him, but not very far. I secretly mourned that the sword girl was on the side facing Razule, so if they split, we would be fighting the fire caster. I doubted that Razule’s team would focus any on us once they felt the strength of the other side.
They had decided to lower the large chunk of crystalized Aura down over the center of the field. It hung several stories up, but my gauntlet hummed, eager to absorb its energies. I could probably get away with absorbing it right here, although the backlash of stealing it would probably not be fun. It was roughly the size of me, which I was shocked to see. I had no clue how much Aura condensed when it was crystallized, but that had to be equal to at least a hundred class three Revenant. Where had they even got such a huge payload? I was seriously considering just absorbing it again and just hoping the overload would give me the kick I needed to just leave this leaf when Goron started talking.
‘Don’t get your hopes up on that crystal, little girl. You’re not getting anywhere near it.’
‘Aww. Give me a rock that big and I’d willingly follow you back to your home. You know what they say about girls and gemstones.’
He seemed to be contemplating actually doing it for a second before shaking his head.
‘No, you disgraced my people, I will make you suffer until you wish you were dead. Pyr, take out her teammates but leave her to me. Sylph, deal with Razule quickly and then double back here.’
Razule shrugged his shoulders at the declaration.
‘One on three? I feel like you are underestimating our sides by a lot.’
The two women nodded and prepared to fight. I called my sword forward but didn’t draw it. Rox and Non-Clem readied their weapons as well. Razule held out his hammers and his assassin hung back a bit.
The announcer began to count down and I could feel the anticipation prickle on the skin of my arms and neck.
‘5…4…3…2…1!’
Hooooooong!
Within a blink, the sword girl was gone from Goron’s side. She was heading to the back of the arena at a startling pace, heading straight for Crystal. She was just about to attack when Crystal threw down a vial that enveloped her in smoke. The woman attacked thin air, only to be met with the sudden appearance of the assassin’s attack.
At the same time, the red-clad woman on Goron’s other side fanned out and blasted us with a torrent of flame. Non-Clem stepped forward and parted the wave with her shield. Beads of water evaporating into the air off of the front of it.
‘I guess this gives a whole new meaning to the name heater shield.’
‘Shut up Blue, I take it you two can handle miss spicy over there?’
‘No problem on my end.’
Rox nodded as well. She gripped her spear and it activated. Whips of light green energy whipped around it causing drafts of air to form around the shaft and toss her hair around. She held it forward over Non-Clem’s shoulder and focused her resolve.
I began nonchalantly walking towards Goron. I realized that Razule had done the same, placing his hammers on his shoulders. We met in a circle in the middle as the rest of our teams continued to fight.
‘Hey, Razule! This guy thinks his team can take on both of our teams at the same time. So why don’t we form a temporary alliance, at least until he is crying on the sidelines.’
‘That would seem only fair given his posturing. I agree with those terms for now.’
‘It makes no difference to me. In the end, you will all bow before me. I doubt you will even harm a hair on my head before you fall.’
‘So be it, foolish prince. I’d hoped the great commanders of Albedon had taught you better.’
‘Hey fatty, before we start, do you have any more of those big black spikes I dug out of your brother? If so, I’d suggest not using them. That’s what got him killed.’
He looked confused for a second and then enraged. His first expression had told me enough, however. He lowered his sword and prepared to attack. He was met by the downward smash of an enlarged hammer. I was a bit surprised when he stopped the massive thing with one hand. I noticed his entire hand had grown a very dark green and grown scales. He laughed as Razule looked on in surprise.
‘As I said, not a hair on my head.’
‘I guess that means it’s my turn. I know you’re fat, but try to keep up Moron.’
Razule withdrew his hammer as I drew my sword and walked forward. Goron stood like a huge tower in front of me. He indicated he had no desire to even defend. Sucks to be him, I guess. I pointed my sword forward, holding it above my shoulder in a position to thrust. I then blinked forward and jabbed.
His face was priceless as he reflexively moved his arm to block the sudden assault. My Mana charged blade slid across his wrist as he swatted up. His wrist scaled and darkened, but the keened edge cut through and exposed red. The sliding blade contacted with his shoulder, which darkened as well under his open robe. My blade was deflected, but not without leaving a bleeding mark.
I kicked off of his bulbous stomach with a jiggle and then jumped off an air platform to complete my attack with a Mana charged flying knee to the nose as I grabbed the back of his head. I blinked backward and smiled as he shook off the attack. The trails of green snaked through the air and into my gauntlet. I opened my hand and blew as pieces of his hair flew into the wind.
‘Not wearing the defensive charm is an interesting way to cheat, Moron. I guess you felt the barrier couldn’t take as much punishment as you could. So now the only way to lose is to be kicked out of the arena or KO’ed?’
‘Ha….How!? Nothing gets through my scales! And how did you move like that! I knew this was a setup! Did he give you Aura too?!’
Razule was eyeing me with a bit of suspicion now. I shrugged and tapped my cuff.
‘This thing absorbs Aura and gives me abilities much like your crystal gives you. It’s how I drained your brother before I dropped him, and it’s how I’ll drain you. I’ll do you a favor and let you drop your Aura crystals and forfeit. Tell me who gave you the Aura, to begin with. If this goes on, the damage could become more…permanent.’
‘No! That was a fluke! I’ll avenge my brother and drag you back with me.’
Goron reached into his robe and grabbed something. Green energy leaked out and wrapped around his whole body. I could feel my cuff lapping up the bits of energy that leaked out from his transformation. Razule and I readied ourselves as green scales covered his body and sealed up the cut marks on his skin. His face contorted and became more lizard-like. Small jagged spines jutted out from his elbows.
I looked around to see Non-Clem and Rox holding their own against the fire girl. Rox was using the wind attribute of her spear to redirect the fanning flames, and Non-Clem was blocking anything that got through with her water infused shield. I could catch puffs of the sword girl and the assassin fighting, but apparently, Crystal was popping off smoke grenades to give him an edge, so the whole back half of the field was smoke.
Razule looked on at the transformation with a worried look. His stance switched to a more defensive one. He eyed the two other fights with me and then returned his gaze to Goron.
‘Miss Rye, it appears that I should have taken your warning more seriously.’
‘No use crying over spilled milk. Alright, you won’t be able to hurt him with your hammers. Try to keep him locked in place, I’ll take care of the rest.’
Goron began to laugh as we talked, his voice taking on a twisted echo effect. His form was hunched over more. His belly now shifted under him. His entire body was a dark green scaly texture and his mouth had widened even more to reveal sharp teeth and a long slimy tongue. His hands had grown and had black claws replacing his nails.
‘Kahahaha! You could barely harm me before, little girl! Now my whole body is covered in armor. I will crush you! I will rend you! I will drag your broken body through the streets! This day will be marked as the day Albedon is crowned as the supreme ruler of all! Kaaaahahaha!’
‘Dang, I’ve gotten soft.’
‘Huh?’
‘When I first came to this world, I wouldn’t have even waited for you to transform. Look at me now, sitting through your stupid evil monologue. Now its got me in a bad mood.’
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could I blinked forward. Suddenly, the fun of the fight was lost. I was keenly aware of how much I had got caught up in this world and its people. I didn’t even know what state my world was in. What happened to the people I knew and loved? I was here goofing off in some medieval magic tournament when my world could be being ransacked by Revenant as we speak. It left a sour taste in my mouth.
In the end, he was sort of right. His scales were close to on par with Miss Irons's defense. I attacked unrelenting, slash after slash into his gut, arms, and legs. One in ten left a small slash, with a small inconsequential amount of green energy leaking out. He tried to move to block me, but my movements were a blur to his even bulkier form. Razule stood watching in disbelief, looking for an opening to strike himself.
I moved to attack from behind when a tail emerged from under his clothes and whipped at me. I braced for impact and fortified my arms with Mana. It crashed into my right forearm and sent me rolling across the ground. I blinked to recover and came to a slide on my feet near the king. He eyed me with concern.
I leered at his stupid grin as I checked my arm for damage. There was nothing pressing, but my charm had a crack in it. I heard a yelp from behind me and I saw the assassin fall broken to the ground. The sword girl was holding Crystal up in the air by her neck as the princess clawed at her grasp. The swordswoman unceremoniously drove her sword into her stomach and a flash of yellow revealed Crystal on the sidelines, holding her stomach in terror.
I heard a feral growl from Razule. His assassin attempted to stand, but then buckled and a flash of yellow light enveloped him too. Razule turned and started to walk in the woman’s direction. He spoke with a touch of venom.
‘It appears as though I have been distracted too long here. I leave him to you, Miss Rye. I have business elsewhere.’
With more speed than I thought he was capable of, he dashed in the direction of the swordswoman. Right, time to cut the tail off a lizard.
‘You see little one. It’s impossible. My defense is too ti…’
I sheathed my sword and willed it away. With that, I blinked forward. I jumped into the air, pushed off an air platform, and channeled Mana into my left hand. I thrust two fingers into his sternum as the Mana became a bead of blazing blue light at their tips.
‘Kaisinka!’
Shing! Foom!
The light turned golden and then exploded. Goron was sent flying like he had come in contact with a boulder flying at Mach three. He skipped off the ground several times before crashed down and making a large divot in the earth. Several trails of green light streaked across the air for each time he had skipped.
Kaisinka was a skill I had remembered from my past life. It was the only skill I had ever learned which required a command word. Its power was tied to my mental state, which meant that its strength was a bit unpredictable, but it had proven itself time and again in my past life. Especially when I was in a bad mood. I’d once used it to throw a skyscraper at a fleeing hovercruiser, but this form was a shadow of my old power.
I felt a shockwave of energy flow past me as Razule and the swordswoman clashed. To my right, Rox and Non-Clem had split attempting to divide the focus of the fire-spewing woman. They were closing in and getting in a few attacks.
Goron pushed himself off the ground. Black blood dribbled from his face. I noticed a falling silence from the crowd above. He growled as he pulled himself to his feet. I dusted off my hands and began to walk toward him.
‘What was that?’
‘If I can’t hurt you enough directly, then I just have to knock you out of the ring. A few more of those ought to do it.’
‘You’re a Fairybond!’
‘You people of this world are so hung up on fairies. No, I’ve been using magic long before I ever knew of our little winged friends.’
‘Then what are you!’
‘More human than you, at this point. You’re practically a Revenant now. Will you even be able to turn back when this is over? Is winning a rock you already owned that important?’
‘Shut up!’
He began to barrel towards me and I began to run at him. I could feel each time the weight of his body crashed into the ground. Blue energy began to shine on the tips of my two fingers. He slashed for me with claw and sword and I blinked, appearing above him in the air.
‘Kaisinka!’
Shing! Foom!
I touched his back as he passed under me and the force sent him crashing to the ground. The arena rumbled as a three-foot-deep crater formed in the ground and dust and dirt kicked up into the air. A spray of black blood flew out of Goron’s mouth. I summoned my sword and stood on his back, pushing Mana into the tip to plunge it into his back.
Suddenly, I saw a flash in the corner of my vision. I blinked backward just as the swordswoman slashed through where I had been. She looked as though she had taken a few solid hits, but more striking was the pair of grasshopper wings that sprouted from her back. She dashed at me with a flutter of her wings and I parried each of her attacks. She was quick, but I managed to keep up with the flurry of both weapons.
I started off being pushed back, but I adapted to the flow. She had a certain rhythmic dance to her attacks and I could match that rhythm with a series of blinks and air platforms. Black sword, white sword, black, black, white, black. She never said a word as she attacked, but her steely gaze told me she was mad.
I heard a yelp from my side. I glanced to see a yellow flash as Rox succumbed to a torrent of flame. The fire girl’s arms had turned into wings of magma. The attack had exposed her, though. Non-Clem closed in and sent her flying back with a hit of her weapon.
If she wanted to dance, then I’d set the tune. I began a series of steps and attacks I had rehearsed before. I heard the melodic piping in the distance and suddenly I began to push her back. She would move to block, only to miss and have to react. She would think she dodged, only to have my blade leave a cutting mark in her skin. Each time, green light escaped here body and absorbed it into mine.
I began to use my sheath as a second weapon, parrying her attacks and leaving openings for my own. She was quick, but each minuscule cut leached a bit of her power away. Either way, this was taking too long. I had two more monsters to deal with.
In a final attempt to end this. I slashed upwards from below. She leaned back, leaving her chest exposed. I dropped my sheath and grabbed the crystal in the center of her chest with my cuffed hand. Instantly, it shattered and green light spiraled around us. I pulled hungrily at the energy as it sucked into the magic circle. She screamed and howled as her body twisted and bent.
At the end of the process, a skinny white-haired child was left dropping her swords. The only feature left recognizable to her former self was her white hair. She fell to the ground and looked at her skinny arms and wept. I resisted the urge to kick her.
The amount of Aura I had absorbed was on par with what I had gotten from Causius. For once in my new life, I mentally held on to the memory barrier, preventing it from cracking. I couldn’t break down until this fight was done. It took considerable effort to hold it together.
I looked over and saw the fire girl flying towards Goron with her magma wings, calling his name. Razule, battered up himself and only holding one hammer, was standing before a broken-but-standing Goron. Non-Clem ran after the fire winged girl preparing to crush her skull.
Then we all heard the flutter of wings.