Something in the back of my mind was filling me with distress, but I couldn't figure it out. I didn't get a choice. I raced around the corner to see what had happened. The desire to help a girl was deeply ingrained within me, especially from my time with Fiona. As I turned the corner, I came to a sudden halt. My mind wished that I just didn't come at all; well I wish that I didn't have eyes at all. Give me death, no, I never wanted to exist. Better to be pummeled to oblivion, my essence scoured over infinity until there was nothing left. Anything like that would have been less painful than what my yellow eyes had seen.
"No... It can't be. I don't want it to. There has to be some sort of mistake. This isn't real. This has to be a mistake! Why is she here. Why!!! WhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhyWHY!!!"
A short, beautiful blond girl with blue eyes that I could never forget, was resting on the ground. She had a small green flower in her hair which I had never seen her wear. Her golden locks were sprawled around all over the dirty ground. I rubbed my eyes over and over again, trying to convince myself that I was just seeing things. But my eyes didn't betray, deep down I knew that. I didn't want to bend to the truth, but it was right in front of me plain as day. All the information I needed was right there.
There was a donut shaped hole in her chest. I couldn't see her organs, but her complexion was as white as paper. There was no blood around her as if it had all gone somewhere...
๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐. ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
I couldn't register what the shadow had said to me and I didn't like it. How could he know anything about me, we just met last night? He couldn't possibly understand the pain and despair that was coursing through my veins and overflowing in my chest like the Holy Grail.
"Shut up! This wasn't supposed to happen. She never wanted to fight. How could she get dragged into this? What the fuck is wrong with this world?! Fiona! Are you there! You are right! This... This isnt funny. Please wake up. Haha! Very funny! Is this your way of saying hi all this time...? Please say something. Say anything! I... I... Lo...."
My words fell back into my throat. I had to face reality, but I didn't want to. Tears flourished down my face. I knew the danger I was in, but I couldn't help it. She was my only love and the only girl I ever opened up to. She was the one for me. The only one. There she was, dead right in front of me. Her body lifeless, her eyes devoid of any color. I clutched my heart as I dropped to the ground. I couldn't move.
"Don't...leave...me...please... I am nothing without you!"
I heard clashing in the background; I didn't care. I sought nothing more now then to die by her side. Even as two giants were waging war not too far away, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I now had an emptiness in my heart. Emptiness that I don't think would ever be refilled.
๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ'๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
"Don't act like you knew her! Just...Just leave me alone... I don't want to go on anymore, not without her... not...without...her..."
The tears just wouldn't stop coming, neither did the pain that was now deeply rooted in my chest. I just wanted out. I wanted it all to end. My happiness was gone, there was nothing for me.
๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
I didn't expect any advice from my shadow, but it blew me away. He was right, I needed to push on. I decided to replace my emptiness with something that I avoided before. My rage. I wanted to find the monster who did this and put an end to him with my very hands.
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต ๐ข ๐ง๐ญ๐บ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ!
I made up my mind. Retribution needed to be committed. I thought back to our first meeting at my lonely lunch bench. I was so happy when she spoke to me. My life was at its peak when I was with her. I recalled the day she turned me away because of my lack of magic. I was biding my time; I knew we would be reunited eventually. I was so excited when I finally found my power. I wanted to show it to her, but now I never will.
๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
I wiped the tears that stuck to my face, "Alright, I'll do that. For a shadow, you are pretty smooth with words. You know that"
๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ?
2
"Your makeshift suit won't last long against my power."
"I'll take you up on that, Caces Giggas."
Blows were exchanged 50 feet away. It was a long walkway that split into four directions. The northern path led out into a vacant street 200 feet away. On the path were two hulking giants and I mean giants. The one on the right side looked like some massive Golem, easily 20 feet tall. It had four massive arms and one large blue eye. White rings went down its body, arms and legs, making it look like a humanized version of Saturn. The other guy was slightly smaller, but a hundred times scarier. His red hair flowed all the way to his torso, his eyes with the same crimson flair. He had chocolate colored skin with muscles that made super heroes look pathetic. He was bare chested, boasting his magnificent 8-pack. There were shreds of black material around his body, hinting that he was wearing his uniform at some point in the past. His pants were non-existent. The only piece of clothing that remained intact was his pure white undies. His chiseled features couldn't remind me of any student I had seen, but his name sounded familiar.
๐๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ข๐ด? ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต ๐๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ?
I remembered his magic from that fateful day. It was long after I sat down in shame without being able to use any magic whatsoever when a shorty with dark skin and red hair reared his head. He was nothing special really. He was able to increase the size of his fists by double. I never expected him to be able to reach this level.
๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด.
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐. ๐ฏ๐'๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
I gritted my teeth, "So one of these fuckers was the one that killed Fiona?"
๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐จ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ง๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ. I lurched forward, ready to attack both of them with my newly acquired magic.
๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐๐.
My body obeyed, stopping in place.
๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ .
I didn't like to do something that would be seen as cowardly, but I didn't care. I was enraged. Underhanded plays seemed like a viable option at the moment.
I kept watching from afar. Punches exchanged from both sides; neither really getting weaker.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ถ๐บ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด?
Giggas grabbed hold of the golem's shoulders and proceeded to force him to the ground. The strength difference was very apparent. The force of the impact in the ground created shockwaves in the area around it. Pavement was swept in the air and returned to the ground in comets.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ? ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ต.
I ran back around the corner, pulling Fiona's body with me; she felt as light as a tree branch.
๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
The bombardment of pavement was brief, but the fight continued on.
I glanced back over the corner. My eyes widened. The golem was now in control. Its multiple arms were wrapped around Giggas like a squid. Even with his mountains of muscle, he was still struggling to break free from its grasp.
"I think it's time we end this. Don't you think, Caces?"
His multiple arms constricted tighter and tighter around his body.
"Unh...This isn't enough to stop me..ugh...just you see."
I kept watching from my safe haven that was behind the corner.
๐๐ฐ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต.
I looked back over to Fiona.
My burning anger was reignited.
๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ.
But I didn't have to--
Roaring from the eastern path behind the golem. A crimson torrent, sporting the head of a dragon, flew fast and true towards its target: the heart inside the golem's body. Of course, there was a person inside, so they were as good as dead from that attack.
It melted like wax, creating a massive manhole in the stomach. The force was so powerful that it continued to spiral after penetrating its intended target, colliding with Giggas and knocking him to the floor. I didn't notice it for a good few minutes, but my jaw was hanging wide open. Pellets of flesh teetered off of the core of the golem, transforming it into a toppling acropolis. Both of the giants toppled to the floor, only one still alive.
"He went down almost as quick as that bitch. What a weakling," said Sanguino.
My eyes got even wider, tripping over his words as I gauged his appearance.
His long black hair was mirrored by his black uniform. The same can be said with his crimson necktie, matching his eyes. His eyes were like an animal, filled with hunger.
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ถ๐บ.
I didn't hate many people; I didn't care for negative emotions like that. But he really got on my nerves whenever he spoke. He was the "class clown" per se for my first and third year of school. He constantly harassed the teachers, creating banana peels and thumbtacks from his blood. He would never let a girl go by him without making a crude or sleezy remark. He was known as the period stain by most of the girls (or so I have heard). Like many others, I wasn't a fan of him at all. He was annoying, childish and conniving and he was always aloneโฆ. just like me. His magic was pretty weak at first, only allowing him to create small objects out of his own blood. It evolved overtime with a lot of practice, allowing him to create weapons and bigger items. He was one of the reasons that magic was banned from dodgeball.
He easily took out the golem that was giving Giggas such a tough time. Giggas himself was in bad shape. The impact of the attack had created a crater in the ground around him. The dragon had created a hole in his chest, blood slowly leaking out; he would not be getting up anytime soon.
Sanguino brushed the bangs out from his eyes, revealing his nasty glare once again.
"One down. One to go."
He smiled.
As he walked up to the injured giant, a pool of blood formed behind him from the golem's remains.
I continued to watch from my corner, guarding Fiona's body. Her pale face reminded me of aโฆ
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฎ. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ต.
I could no longer stay idle. I was filled with disgust and fury. I had to have my vengeance.
๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ!
I rested her body gently up against the wall and began my death march. The pool of blood took the form of a massive spear, floating above Sanguino's head.
"Once a shorty, always a shorty. Am I right?"
"Urhhhhhh."
"I'll take that as a yes."
The spear flew into his chest like a bullet. There was a brief silence before his body went limp. With his job finished, he removed his surgical gloves to dust off his hands which really weren't dirty.
"Three in one day. I have a better shot at winning than I thought. As long as those two proteges aren't hereโฆ"
He put on his gloves again.
"I can't have any of their filth touching me, yuck."
"Sanguino!!!"
I had finally reached ground zero of the battle. He tilted his head in confusion.
"Who are you again? You seem familiar, but I don't recall seeing someone so derpy in my class this year."
I brushed past his comment, veins swelling all over my forehead
"How could you? How could you kill someone as innocent as her! She never wanted to fight! You must have seen that! Why!"
He stared at me blankly. He seemed to genuinely not know what I was talking about.
"Huh?"
I grabbed my right hand, keeping it from going out of control. All it wanted to do was strangle the life from his neck, but I had to calm down. I needed him to know what he did before I got my revenge,
"Fiona, Fiona Bellis. You know who I'm talking about She was precious to me... and to a lot of other people."
He stood there for a moment. Using his Apple II processing speed to solve the equation. At last, he snapped his gloved fingers.
"The little flower girl. She went down quickly, jeez. If only she let me see a little skin, maybe things would have turned out differently," he shrugged.
More veins pulsed on my forehead like a raging heartbeat. The floodgates were about to open.
"You fucking piece of shit. I'll kill you! I'll avenge her!"
The ground around us erupted in a ring of verdant leaves. Below them revealed the brown and slender bark that continued to push through the cement. Ten trees over fifteen feet formed around pavement. These trees looked more tropical and had vines slithering around them. I raised my fist in dramatic fashion and stuck out my finger to my intended target, my entire body racked with malice.
A few vines followed my directions, the others not so much. They sprang fast like a cobra attacking its prey. They vanished in a swift arc of crimson.
"Do you really think I'd let those nasty trees touch me?"
A large red battle axe levitated over his head. I rubbed my forehead, sweat leaking down my cheeks.
I don't have a handle on this power yet. I need a better solution.
๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
A vapor cloud concealed my body in the shape of a cocoon. I knew what he was doing. He's activating Umbra Armatus Maximus so I wouldn't have to expend the mana to do so.
๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐บ.
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐โฆ. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
The vapor peeled away and I was once again in my super suit.
"Let's try this again."
More vines appeared from the ground and from the trees, each one heading towards the same target.
"Really? This again? Are you that stupid or just blind with rage at me killing your little girlfriend?"
He raised his hand. Spears of blood flew out from his body to intercept the attacks. His axe now floated between the two of us. A grin appeared on my face of rage. He would soon drink from the same lake as I had---The lake I call despair.
I snapped my fingers. A surge of lighting traveled down each of the vines and shot out like a laser. A shock spread through Sanguino's body when he saw the change of events. Still, he pressed on. More blood sprang from his body, enveloping him in a crimson sphere.
I bit my lip.
๐'๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต. ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ.
I thought back to what my shadow said. I used my new magic, but to no avail.
The cull of death interrupted my thought process. I couldn't use reason when all I yearned for was death. The bottom half of my armor disappeared, manifesting in the celestial form of my shadow once again. The shadows spear and Sanguino's axe clung against each other. Both battled for control.
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ.
That's when it hit me, well, when they both hit me.
The axe cut through my shadow's weapons, smacking into my guarded shoulder.
"Gah!" I screamed. Blood soaking my uniform once again.
I shook off of the pain from my wound and flew towards his ax, making the weapon increase in size.
Without my armor it would have gone all the way through, bone and all. It didn't matter now though. The pain actually helped me focus and calm down. I could think clearly now. I had a foolproof plan.
I pulled myself up. The first thing I saw was my shadow once again standing in front of me to parry his attack. I canceled my Umbra Armatus Maximus and closed my eyes.
I was once again in that dark room with multiple buttons on machines, new ones had now been added to the center. I walked to the same one as before, but made some adjustments to it. The button was now the size of myself, representing the amount of magic I will put into it.
๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ต.
I poured nearly all my remaining magic into it as well as my anger for the loss of one of the only people who ever cared for me and that I ever cared for. I wanted him to feel the pain of loss, what I will now carry with me for the rest of my lifeโbe it short or long. I wanted to see her smile one more time...maybe in the next life.
I opened my eyes, "Niflheim!"
3
I was greeted with a giant battle axe blazing towards me.
๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ต!
Inches from my head, the bloody battle axe froze and I mean froze. Niflheim had activated and that means the temperature had reached absolute zero.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค? ๐๐ข๐ช๐ต, ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ด๐ญ๐บ!
Frost plagued the entire street block. The remains of the Golem and Giggas were both encased within ice.
Sanguino was shivering violently. The blood outside of his body looked like icicles.
"T-Th-This isn't the e-end y-you-k-know. I'll still become the Mage. No! Don't come near me. Don't touch me!"
I sent my frost-immune tree vines to wrap around his body. This time he didn't retaliate. It had to be from some kind of sheer will power that he wasn't frozen solid as well.
His eyes opened wide, "Haha you used all of your magic. It's over now." Sanguino wiped the sweat from his forehead.
I titled my head.
๐๐ฆ'๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐บ.
I thought for a moment.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐?
๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ?
๐ฏ๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐. ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
I think that can be arranged. A smile I had never worn, crept across my face. I really did feel demonic at that moment. I hated Sanguino with a passion. He always acted like he was special and above everyone. Honesty, I didn't mind at first. I was used to being looked down on since I came to the school. He didn't stop with me though. He did it to everyone.
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข. She was one of the best people at our school. She had the looks, a heart of gold and magic that was like the ocean: calm and slow or angry and sporadic. She only accepted the good side though.
I stared down at Sanguino, who was mostly encased in ice now.
"Death would be too good for you now."
I gave my shadow, who had fully regenerated and was at my side, the thumbs up.
"๐๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ฅ,"His voice boomed. "๐๐๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐."
Sangunio didn't relate, not one bit. Maybe he couldn't because all his energy was going towards the "not freezing to death" route. Maybe he was already dead. I didn't really care. My shadow left my side once again and devoured all the space where sanguino had stood. My ๐๐ช๐ง๐ญ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฎ stopped at last; the temperature started to rise rapidly. The only mana I could spare now was to supply my shadow with the magic he needed to have a physical form.
๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins when I felt the results.
"Hey Sanguino."
"..."
"Hey look at me," I snapped my fingers.
The last ice in the area vanished from his body. The vines also let him loose. He struggled to get to his feet.
"Ugh. I-Im free," His eyes began to water uncontrollably when he looked up.
"You are a true monster!" He squealed.
I looked into his eyes. His view had my face shrouded in shadow. A purple flame flowing out of my right eye. My mouth was the maw of a beast. I guess I looked pretty cool to him.
๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅโฆ.
I kept eye contact with him.
"You have no magic now. I have freed you from fighting in this ridiculous death game. Live out your life to the fullest and remember her name, Fiona Bellis."
I was so bent on killing him when an idea arose. He was someone that bathed in his own glory that was his strong magic. If I could just take that away, one could say it was a fate worse than death. A fate to be normal.
He brought his fist to the ground.
"No no no. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They said I had potential. They said it was my magic that was destined to win."
I gave him the thumb up.
"I'll use your magic to win, so at least they weren't wrong about that, heh."
I surprised myself with that statement. I didn't think my sense of humor was still online after all of this. I guess somethings really do never change.
He looked paler than a ghoul, "I--Iโฆ."
Something creaked behind us. The large creature's eyes had life restored to them. His body looked like it was about to break down, but he didn't seem to mind. His massive arm rose up into the air, homing in on the magic that did this to himโwhich also happened to reside inside me now.
"I'm taking you with me!" Gigas shouted.
๐'๐ฎ ๐ด๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต. I thought
The impact of his arm alone would kill me, let alone the actual collision. My only hope was to avoid it, which wasn't really possible in my state. My body was very sluggish after squeezing out all the remaining mana. If I killed Sanquino instead and devoured his flesh, I would have been fine. But taking the higher road ended up costing me my life. He brought down his hammer of god right on top of me. There was no way to avoid the attack in time.
Two hands forcefully caressed my back and shoved me forward with force. My head cracked back in horror. It was Sanguino who pushed me. Why did he try to save me? There must have been more to it. There had to be.
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค?
His actions alone spoke on how he felt. Saguino became one with the pavement. A pool of blood, not much different from the one he created in the past persisted in his wake. As for myself, I was thrown 50 feet into the air and five miles south.