The few blood spears were then sent flying towards Boudica at incredible speeds. Maria's crimson eyes were locked onto her. However, just before the spears landed, they stopped right in front of Boudica. The runes on Boudica's sword began to glow. Maria then recognized that they were runes placed on it by Ulrich, much like her own sword. Boudica had managed to stop the spears by activating a rune that reflected attacks completely. What Maria didn't understand, was why they simply stopped. "Wondering why they haven't returned and run you through?" Boudica seemed to be able to tell what she was thinking just by a glance. "I already told you, the princess ordered me to not kill you, also, I've decided that I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life with my own abilities." As soon as she finished speaking, her spear was once again launched towards Maria, however, it seemed to miss her completely. It easily passed by her, making Maria let out a smirk as she watched it fly by. However, she was then launched forward with an incredible amount of force. As she stood up and looked behind her, she saw Boudica standing where she was, recovering from a kicking motion.
"What did you just do to me?" Maria was puzzled, as it seemed as if Boudica had managed to move faster than her eyes could process. Boudica looked at Maria with a disappointed look.
"Did you honestly believe that I would put this flag on my spear, if I thought there was the slightest chance that someone like you would be able to scratch it? Allow me enlighten you, Maria. I didn't taken over for my father all of this time, not because I didn't believe I had earned the right to join. I have spent my life training to serve King Ulrich, and I will execute my job to the best of my abilities. You have never seen me fight, nor have you seen me train, nor do you know what knowledge I possess. So, this is a bad match up for you." Though Boudica's voice remained calm and retained it's elegant tone, it was clear to everyone watching, that she detested Maria's current state.
"What would you know little girl? Don't think that I won't kill you just because you're on the council now." She gripped her sword tighter. "I hope your skills are as great as you seem to think they are. Try not to disappoint me." Maria's piercing red eyes were accompanied by a wicked smile. Her spears fell to the ground and pooled together around her, before bursting up from the ground in a mist that swirled around her, followed by Maria's magic aura, which few had every seen. Maria never manifested her aura because of the black coloration, thinking that it was unbecoming of a knight, however, Blood Knight Maria had no such reservations. Boudica then smiled with excitement at the sight of Maria's black aura mixed with the red mist. Maria then held her sword up, readying it for an attack.
"I like it, come on, lets get this started." Boudica spun her spear around with her right hand before tossing it into the sky, followed by her charging towards Maria with her silver sword. Maria then swung her sword with tremendous speed, which then clashed with Boudica's sword after she responded with an attack of her own. The resulting clash made shockwaves that managed to rattle the barrier that the valkyries were tending to. The valkyries all looked at each other with troubled expressions, none expecting such strength to come from the two inside the barrier. Loud booms then flew through the air, as the two continued to battle. The strength of each swing were so great, that the clashing of their swords were noticed by the citizens inside the city.
Maria attempted over and over to land a strike against Boudica, even going as far as to create blood arrows from the surrounding blood mist to strike her. However, each attack was blocked or parried, with the arrows being dodged while she did so. Maria then noticed, that Boudica was actually holding her breathe as they fought. She knew about the blood knights' abilities, but didn't know that she couldn't infect her in that way. Maria's smile began to have a look of confidence in it. She noticed that Boudica had let her guard down for a moment. Maria took full advantage of the moment and attempted to pierce her through the abdomen, however, just as the blade was about to land, Boudica disappeared like a ghost. Maria swung her sword behind her, expecting another attack from her blindside, however, there was no one there. She then remembered what Boudica did before they clashed. She looked into the air, before solidifying the blood around her into a shield.
Boudica was now in the air, spear in hand, the spear itself seemed as if it had been enveloped by Ulrich's blue aura. Boudica threw the spear with such strength and speed, that only a blue streak was visible to those watching. The spear struck Maria's shield, shattering it with ease, causing Maria to attempt to dodge, however, the spear still managed to leave a ghastly gash on her right arm. Maria remained in danger however, because the spear then hit the ground, transferring the blue magical energy into the ground, causing a magical explosion which sent dust, debris, and Maria flying. Maria's sword was also sent flying because of the explosion, which meant that she had no weapon. Her arm was bleeding profusely and she could tell that she was internally injured by the explosion. She looked over to where the spear landed, and saw Boudica was dislodging it from the ground. The surrounding air was now dusty and her weapon was nowhere near her.
Boudica began to walk towards Maria, with her spear and sword in their respective hands. Her walk was slow and deliberate. Her breathing had now returned to normal. "I didn't expect for you to actually be injured by the spear as it made it's way to the ground. I thought you were faster than that." Boudica let out a disappointed sigh as she stopped walking. "Though, I suppose that my overestimation of you has made my job here a lot easier. So, how about you just give in and give control to my king's knight?" Maria struggled to stand up without her sword. After pushing through the pain and managing to catch her balance, she finally managed to gain her footing. Her arm was still bleeding, her breathing was labored, and blood began to leak from the side of her mouth.
"Do you really think that I'm going listen to an overconfident girl like you? I'm not going to just roll over for you. So, if that's all you've got, then I suggest that you get some backup, because..." Maria's wound quickly sealed itself up and her breathing returned to normal. She lifted her previously injured arm up and threw the blood off, before lifting her hand in front of her. All of the blood that surrounded her, began to rise up from the ground, taking the shape of a saber. "From this moment on, I'm going to get serious." The remaining blood on the ground, began to spread across the ground in multiple areas.
"I heard that the people who have abilities like you, heal quickly. I wasn't expecting it to work so quick." Maria looked a bit puzzled by Boudica's words. She then noticed that Boudica's eyes became colorless and lifeless. "I guess that means that I won't actually be able to kill you outright, which means that I can go all out without worrying about killing you, how exciting." Boudica then smirked at the thought, before, once again, launching her spear at Maria. She quickly intercepted Boudica's spear, attacking it head on rather than dodging. Boudica didn't seem to teleport to her spear, instead, she lunged forward with an attack from her sword. As she grew closer, a puddle of blood on the ground, exploded upwards, creating a spike.
A rune on Boudica's sword then lit up, before a loud boom was heard. The blood coming up from the ground was expelled in all directions by a shockwave caused by the rune. Maria saw the opening and quickly leaped towards Boudica, taking a swing at her exposed body. However, Boudica seemed to hop up and spin her body around, dodging the attack while also returning with one of her own. Maria simply dodged the blade by leaning backwards, while Boudica landed on her feet, close to her spear. Maria then smiled at Boudica, before making a gesture with her hand that resembled her pulling something towards her. The blood on Boudica's spear, then shot out towards Boudica, managing to cut Boudica's hand, who promptly made another cut higher on her hand. Maria watched as Boudica brought her hand to her mouth and sucked the blood out, before spitting it back at Maria.
"I see, you did your research on blood knights. However, if I manage to cut you like that somewhere you can't reach, how will you be able to fight against that? You can't do that forever, can you, girl." Maria looked on with a confident smirk on her face. Boudica grabbed her spear and held her bleeding hand over where Maria's blood was. When the blood came into contact with each other, it froze over with amazing speed.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to pull out a few tricks of my own. Do you know what the name of this spear is? The one that our king had forged for me? It's name is, Hastam Glacies,..." Boudica then smiled back at Maria, who now had multiple blood arrows around her. Boudica then spun her flag around the spear, before stabbing it into the ground. The runes began to glow once again, however, Maria began to notice Boudica's aura change from red to a bluish white. The temperature then dropped, before Maria felt something moving underneath her. However, it was already too late, as ice erupted from the ground, stabbing everywhere on Maria's torso, except for her heart. "the name roughly translates to, Ice Spear."
Maria was now suspended in the air by the ice protruding from the ground. Her body was entirely limp. Her arrows seemed to drop from behind her, but they suddenly shot towards Maria's body, passing by her and breaking the ice that held her in the air. She landed on her feet, before falling to one of her knees. Without making a sound, she began to pull out the ice that had impaled her. She then noticed that, while her wounds healed, that they healed slowly and that there was only a minuscule amount of blood. She gritted her teeth, as she pulled out the last spike from her body, while looking at Boudica. She stood and proceeded to hold the ice shard in front of her, before crushing it with her hand.
Boudica pulled her spear from the ground, revealing the blade was now covered in ice, which then extended downwards and covered her flag. The two stared at each other, each releasing more and more magical energy. The valkyries outside noticed that clouds had begun to form, and that it was now snowing within the barrier. The temperature outside was even beginning to feel colder than it should be. They looked on with a concerned look on their faces. Maria used her blood sword to cut herself, releasing more blood to be used. Boudica noticed that Maria's sword was no longer where it was earlier. She then saw Maria's weapon flying towards it's owner, with use of her ability. As Maria grabbed ahold of the handle, she flicked something off of the guard, revealing a strange mechanism. With blood now covering the blade, Maria triggered the mechanism, causing a spark, which then engulfed Maria's blood sword in flames.
Boudica's eyes then narrowed, as she thought to herself, no one should be able to use flames in such a way, except for Leanna, the only pyrokinetic in Camelot. She then noted that, while Maria had a large magic reserve, she was poorly skilled in elemental magic. Boudica shook her head, thinking to herself that it didn't matter, and that she only had one goal, to subdue Maria. The two could see each other's breath in the cold air, each saw the snowflakes fall to the ground, slowly covering it in a white blanket, and each could see that the other was watching their every move. The senses of both seemed to be in overdrive, as Maria began to notice the temperature of her flames and the smell of blood surrounding her. Boudica began to see her body heat causing the air to steam, and began to smell roses, though no roses were around. Just as the valkyries began to think that both of them had finally calmed down, the two rushed towards each other, snow flying up from behind them. The two then clashed, each swinging and thrusting their weapons, blocking and parrying each strike.
The flames and ice seemed to be engaged in a strange dance to any of the onlookers. Unknown to everyone, two people took notice of the massive magic being used and the changing weather, one of whom grabbed their weapon and proceeded to the location of the duel. Within the barrier, the two were still locked in a stalemate, both seemed equally skilled with their respective weapons. However, Maria was done just using her weapon, she began to launch her arrows towards Boudica, but both Maria and the arrows were stopped when walls of ice then formed around her. The arrows hit the walls, causing the walls to shatter, but Boudica then crashed through the wall, using her sword to stab Maria in the abdomen, before landing on the opposite side of her. Maria then stabbed her sword at Maria, the blood and flames then reached towards her with frightening speed. Before they reached her, Boudica smiled, and disappeared. Maria then felt another blade pierce her back. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Boudica stabbing her with her spear. Maria remembered that when Boudica emerged from the walls, she was only using a sword.
Before Boudica could react, however, Maria stabbed herself from the front, piercing herself and causing the blood to shoot out in the shape of a sword, stabbing Boudica's left shoulder. Boudica jumped backwards and quickly spun her spear around, before placing it in the same place as her wound, freezing it. Maria stumbled forward, holding onto her head and wincing in pain. The wound began to heal, but didn't heal completely. Maria could feel herself losing control of the body. Her head was aching and she was beginning to feel dizzy, but she gritted her teeth and turned towards Boudica. Maria was weakening and Boudica could barely use her left arm in its current state. The two looked at each other, each knowing the current state the other was in, however, both had something important they wanted to accomplish. Just as they began to prepare for another clash, they both froze in place, their aura's slowly weakening.
On top of the closest wall, stood Leanna, Eve, and Alicia. They could see Sister Therese and Saint Elizabeth making their way to the barrier from the city gates. Eve stood on the wall, her arms outstretched, with a strange magenta color emanating from them. She was weaving them through the air, making different movements. Leanna and Alicia looked at each other, "Do ya think this'll really work?" asked Leanna, who was sitting on the wall with a drink in her hand.
"Do you really have to be doing that at a time like this?" Alicia spoke in a firm voice, but Leanna responded with a smile, before holding her drink up to Alicia and drinking it. Alicia shook her head and sighed. "Eve said she that she could do it, and while they may not be men, her illusion should still be able to subdue the two of them long enough for Saint Elizabeth and Sister Therese to do what they have to do." Leanna looked out towards the two inside the barrier.
"Well, do ya know what they're gonna do to 'em?" Alicia shook her head to Leanna's question. "Let's hope they get it done quick, otherwise, they'll break outta that illusion and kill each other." Alicia then felt something strange, before shaking her head.
"No, Boudica won't kill Maria. She's far too loyal to disobey an order, plus, to kill her would cause pain to my brother, and she wouldn't take that chance." Alicia then noticed that Eve seemed to be having trouble. "Eve, what's wrong?" Eve shook her head, however, Leanna answered for her.
"The two of 'em are about to break outta the illusion. I'm guessing' it has to do with the fact that Eve has never meant Ulrich. Illusions are convincin' when it's done, but once you find a weak point in it, the whole thing'll crash down. Lucky for Eve, those two think so highly of him, that she could weave a pretty convincin' illusion for the two of 'em just by making him show affection towards 'em." Leanna then began to laugh at what she had said. Alicia even seemed to smile a bit.
"I'm sure thats not entirely true. However, you are right about the fact that they'll notice eventually. Luckily, Saint Elizabeth has arrived in time." Leanna and Alicia looked towards the barrier and could see Saint Elizabeth approaching. They could see the two speaking with the valkyries, before bowing to them. Both women looked up towards the wall, waving their arms. It was clear that something wasn't right, however, they noticed to late. Eve's magic seemed to dissipate quickly. Leanna quickly grabbed Eve and placed her next to her on the wall. Eve was out of breath and was noticeably sweating.
"That's not good." Leanna's words were filled with worry, as she felt Boudica and Maria's magic begin to surge through the air once more. Inside the barrier, both warriors were gaining there bearings from being trapped in an illusion. Both saw Saint Elizabeth standing close to the barrier, but it was Boudica who was the first to speak up.
"Stay out of this saint, this doesn't concern you right now. I will see this fight through to the end, for the sake of my pride as a knight." Boudica's arm was no longer frozen, but it was still heavily injured and bloody. She grabbed her blue robe and ripped it off of her body, leaving only her armor. She tightened her grip, as large spikes of ice began to burst through the ground behind her. The ice began to wrap around her body, which then took on the form of armor.
Across from her, Maria stood and watched as the armor formed. She turned towards Elizabeth and spoke in her cold, low voice, "I may be weakened after this, however, I will have more than enough power to accomplish my goal." All of the blood that remained, all gathered behind Maria, and transformed into wings that seemed to radiate a massive amount of power. Maria then took her flaming sword and touched them with it, setting them aflame. She then pointed her sword towards the city. "I will find that fairy princess, and I will make her pay, so don't get in my way Elizabeth." The flames were a sinister red hue, the blood itself seemingly still remaining underneath. Her black aura once again surrounded her, as she began to gather every ounce of power she had.
The two then looked at each other, seeing the other as an obstacle that had to be removed. They each took a deep breath, before exploding towards each other. Boudica thrust her spear forward, as Maria did the same with her sword and her wings. The wings outstretched and shot forward, with Boudica's trail of ice spikes doing the same. Elizabeth grabbed ahold of her staff, her eyes beginning to glow, before shutting them quickly. The two then collided, steam exploded from the point of their impact. No one could see the aftermath of the collision, however, the steam seemed to quickly dissipate, revealing Boudica with a sword through her shoulder, and Maria with a spear in her right abdomen. Maria was stabbed in her arms and legs with spikes of ice, while Boudica was holding her left arm up to protect her head, revealing that they had a wing of blood and flames impaling them, while her right side was protected by her armor of ice, which was partially melted.
Maria then began to cough up blood, before falling to her knees, causing the wings and flames to disappear. Boudica pulled her spear out of Maria and proceeded to stumble backwards, before propping herself up with her spear. Maria looked up with her red eyes still intact, and a smirk on her face. Boudica could feel herself losing control of her left arm. Soon, her whole body was beginning to lose control of itself. Boudica looked at Maria, "You lose, Lancelot." Maria's head tilted to the side, as Boudica managed to fight back enough to temporarily gain control of her right arm, after which she lifted her spear a few inches before dropping it back on the ground. Maria smiled again, as she saw her futile attempt to keep fighting. Boudica then muttered to her, "Bring back my king's true knight." The ice that was stabbing into Maria then exploded into a cocoon, which wrapped itself around Maria's body, who attempted to stand and fight off the ice, however, she had no sword, her vision was extremely blurry, and she couldn't get her legs to straighten out. As the ice wrapped around her body, Maria's eyes slowly faded from red to her natural green. The ice then fully formed a sphere around her.
Boudica fell to her knees, grabbing ahold of her spear's flag. The barrier then dissipated and Elizabeth rushed in to the two of them. Sister Therese followed behind, but was ordered to tend to Maria. Elizabeth walked over to Boudica, who was still kneeling on the ground. She held out her hand and placed it on the top of her head. A warm, yellow light began to wrap around Boudica's body. The wounds on her body stopped bleeding, which allowed Elizabeth to grab Maria's sword, and yank it out of Boudica's shoulder. She let out a slight sound of discomfort. "Oh my, I do apologize, but it is best to get it over with quickly, wouldn't you agree?" While Elizabeth's voice still retained it's sweet tone, Boudica could tell that she was angry. Elizabeth sighed before kneeling down and putting her hand on Boudica's shoulder. "You don't have to prove anything to us, or to King Ulrich. We all agreed on your addition to the council. Risking your life like this isn't something he would appreciate. I think you know that, however,..." Elizabeth looked over at Maria, "I understand why you felt like you had to do this."
Boudica didn't reply to Elizabeth, instead, she just grabbed the flag and held it closer to her body. She remembered something that happened many years before, though, the details were still fuzzy to her. She remembered leaving the castle and training outside of the walls. She was attacked by a magical beast that resembled a bear. Though she was scared, she attempted to fight it off, however, she was still a young girl who couldn't properly use her spear. She closed her eyes as it grew closer, however, multiple bolts of fire and arrows struck the bear. She then remembered Ulrich grabbing her. She always remembered that one moment, when Ulrich grabbed ahold of her and ran towards the city gate. She remembered how strong he seemed when he was using magic. She asked him if he would teach her how to use magic, to which he agreed, however, a few years later, he would stop using magic altogether, and their time together was cut short. She then dedicated herself to training, in order to become a knight, so that she may one day see her savior return to his former self.
"Saint Elizabeth, I wish to apologize for..." before Boudica could finish her words, Brynhildr came crashing into the ground nearby. She was heavily injured and the few valkyrie soldiers that accompanied her were nowhere to be seen. A man was seen walking towards them, he wore a black cloak that covered a red surcoat. On his hip, was a blade that was blacker than the night sky. Instead of sucking in the light around it like Ulrich's sword in the fairy forest, it seemed as if the blade was simply a shadow. A sinister aura could be felt just by looking at it. Elizabeth stood up and was immediately on guard. Leanna saw the man approach and quickly jumped down from the high wall, with Alicia managing to soften her landing with wind magic. She immediately drew her two katanas and ran to Elizabeth's side. Sister Therese was able to see that Maria was now in stable condition inside the ice, so she ran to Brynhildr and quickly carried her behind the three knights.
"How vexing, that blood knight was supposed to cause a lot more damage than just this. She only managed to take one of you out of the fight? How utterly disappointing, though, not as disappointing as that bird's soldiers." He spoke in a mocking tone, as he threw a body of one of Brynhildr's valkyries in front of him. It was clear to everyone, that she was dead. Bryn was nearly unconscious and the three valkyrie she took with her were most likely dead. Meaning that this man was able to best four valkyrie in battle. Leanna and Elizabeth were the only two who could possibly face such an enemy, plus with the four valkyrie that were maintaining the barrier, they had a strong chance against this opponent, yet, he seemed completely confident, which unsettled both Leanna and Elizabeth. Elizabeth grabbed the top of her cross shaped staff, in preparation for this man. He walked closer and closer, stepping over the body of the valkyrie as he did so. He pulled out his sword as he walked. He began to laugh, his laugh chilled even Elizabeth to the bone.
Boudica let go of the flag and managed to make her way to her feet, grabbing her spear as she did so. In her mind, she thought about what Ulrich would do in a situation such as this. However, she realized that she wasn't Ulrich, and that the best she could do was support her fellow knights. She lifted her spear and stabbed it into the ground, though her magic energy was low, she could manage a few more spikes. Her standing seemed to make the man stop in his tracks. Alicia and Eve ran towards the gates to provide support, however, Sir Savaris and Sir Barric stopped her from advancing and had closed the gate. "What are you doing?! Have you not seen or felt whats happening outside?" The two looked at each other and nodded. Soon, another voice answered for the two.
"This was a direct order, none shall pass, nor interfere in the goings on of the business outside. For this business, shall be handled by the protector of the city, the King" Alicia looked behind her and saw Nina walking towards her. "I trust I won't have to restrain you by force?"
It seemed all of the warriors seemed to be in a standoff. However, Leanna rushed forward with both of her weapons, taking several strikes, that seemed to be blind to the naked eye, however, the man dodged each one and even drew his sword and managed to cut Leanna's cheek. She quickly jumped back and was surprised at the man's speed and skill. The man began to open his mouth to speak, however, a sword suddenly appeared in his chest. The man looked down at the sword with a surprised expression. Suddenly, without warning, a massive explosion of fire burst from the man's back, revealing a massive hole in the man's body, and now, the sword which had no wielder, was now wielded by Ulrich, whose hand was alight with flame, and whose aura was a mixture of blue and silver. The man began to lift his sword, however, Ulrich lifted his right hand into the air and struck his palm into the man's chest, which exploded into a red mist. The sword flew off into the distance.
Everyone looked on as they saw Ulrich's aura exploding wildly into the air, however, unlike before, it seemed a lot more controlled. However, an identical man began walking up with the same sword. Boudica noticed Ulrich's eyes were the same as they were when he had saved her all that time ago. The red mist covered the area in which he stood. Ulrich took his sword and swiped it at the air, clearing the red mist. He then lifted it towards the man and asked one question, "I command you, by the power of my faith, to reveal your name!" He received a simple answer.
"I am Legion,..." as he said those words, many more men began to appear, as they all answered in tandem, "for we are many."