The blond mage cocked his arm back in preparation for another spell. Quickly, I flew between the two and landed as he launched a turbulent gust of wind. I held my hand out, letting the attack strike against it and diminish.
"What the—" the attacker shouted out. His face churned with more anger. "Who the hell are you?"
I held one finger up to him before turning around and walking in the direction of the young boy standing over a motionless girl. A small monkey perked up on his shoulder as I approached.
"You damn fool..." I heard the mage mumble behind me in a raspy voice. "How dare you make an ass out of me?" he screamed out.
Feeling a strong gust of wind behind me, I turned around. A saucier of wind sliced through the air, rushing toward me. I stuck out my hand before it could reach me.
"Velocity Magic: Decelerate," I chanted under my breath.
I turned back around and continued walking toward the boy. As I grew closer, I noticed a giant hole had eaten away at the young girl's torso. Her body was limp, .reduced to nothing but an empty vessel. I kneeled down next to her and in front of the boy. My eyes refused to waver from her face. I grabbed her cold hand and gently rubbed it.
I looked up to the boy. "My condolences."
His lips quivered a bit. I looked him in his eyes. They looked tired and full of pain as if the last couple of moments shattered his world. His eyes were trembling. The very whites of his eyes were stained pink.
"Who is responsible for this?" I asked.
The boy slowly raised his hand. I watched as it trembled before settling in the direction of the blonde mage.
"I see," I said. I looked back at the boy. His face was hollow, void of any other expression but grief. The life had drained completely out of his eyes. All resolve had vanished; he stood like a lost boy in the middle of nowhere. His stare was blank and empty like an abandoned town.
I turned back around and walked toward the mage. Every step I took had a purpose behind it. A silent anger boiled within me. I took a deep breath and tried to let the anger fizzle out as I closed my eyes. My mana seeped out of my arm and poured into my hand in the flowing shape of a small sphere. I opened my eyes, exhaled, and propelled it at the mage.
"Accelerate," I commanded it.
The sphere struck the man in his chest—almost at the center of his heart—and knocked him back into the wall of a nearby house, pinning him. Blood gushed out of his mouth and down his legs to the street below him.
"Disgusting," I said. "To think an elf like you would be capable of aligning yourself with such bloodshed..."
I raised my hand to deliver the finishing blow. His eyes had initially followed my hand, but they seemed fixated on something behind me now. He began to chuckle. Blood spewed from his mouth in abrupt convulsions as his laughter faded into coughing.
I turned around to the startling appearance of a tall, cloaked man standing behind me. He had a mischievous smirk across his face. A chill overtook my body as I stared into his glowing pink eyes.
What the—I thought—but how? Where did he come from? I could feel a bead of sweat falling from my face. I couldn't sense his mana, but his presence alone was intimidating. I couldn't even sense him approach.
He reached his hand out to grab me. Before i could process my next thought, my body moved on its own. The wind pushed against my skin and my vision melted quickly as I leaped back, acceleratering away from him.
"You can beat me," the elf said in between chucking, "but you can't beat him." he coughed more blood before letting his head fall forward as his body rested against the wall.
"Y-You," I heard the other mage say. I turned my head to see him still standing with his hand covering the wound on the side of his torso. His face was almost as pale as snow.
The cloaked man turned around. His smile looked even more menacing than before. "I hope you're not too worn out for a second round," he told the mage.
Second round? I thought. So, they know each other?
"Excuse me," I called out to the cloaked man. "I hate to interrupt, but your business here is with me."
"Oh," the man said. "I didn't forget about you." He snickered. "Don't worry. I'll handle you first and then finish up my business here." He shifted his feet in my direction and began approaching me.
He stopped walking, and pointed at me with dawning enthusiasm. "Are you the one responsible for defeating Gol?" His eyebrows were arched and his mouth was slightly open. The man seemed completely relaxed and vulnerable to any surprise attacks.
I could feel my face grimacing in confusion and frustration. This man was dangerous yet so carefree. I regained my composure and recollected my thoughts.
"Gol?" I thought out loud. "The golem?"
"Yes," the man answered, smiling carelessly with his eyes closed.
For starters, I thought, I can't sense any magic from him. Not to mention, his stealth caught me off guard... And he's too carefree on the battlefield. I watched his every move as he continued walking toward me. This guy's dangerous.
"Beautiful earth," he spoke, "aperi et deglutiat omnia coram me!"
The ground around me and beneath me began to shake. The stone path began to crack. I leapt into the air and watched as the ground suddenly collapsed underneath me. Nearby buildings collapsed and sank into the large hole. Some of the bodies lying around were also pulled into it.
Earth magic? I thought. Aperi et—I recalled his words—no... he's using curses? Before I could piece the puzzle together, he launched another attack.
"accende et devora omnia in viis tuis!" he yelled out.
The air above me warmed intensely, and a bright flash nearly blinded me as a surge of flames manifested in the sky. They rushed down at me in a giant fireball daring to devour anything in its way.
I used my mana to accelerate back toward the ground and away from the attack. Right as I landed, the man rushed over to me. He raised his fist to punch me, and I threw my arms out to block it. The punch connected and knocked me back a few feet. I picked my head up to see the man no longer in my sight. I turned to see him throwing another punch at me from behind.
Quickly, I accelerated and moved behind him. I latched onto his shoulder with one of my hands and tried to concentrate his mana into a constant flow of acceleration. He turned his head around to look at me. That same cocky, malicious smile was still on his face. Nothing happened at all. His body was perfectly intact—unaffected by my spell.
He reached out for me again. I accelerated back and evaded his hand. I had already used most of my mana, and my life-force acceleration technique didn't work on him. I stuck my hand out and let a small flow of mana pour out in front of it. I enhanced it with my acceleration magic and launched it forward at the man like a lightning strike.
The attack struck him and pierced his chest. I watched as a hole opened up. The man had stopped smiling, but his face took on a more curious look rather than one of anger or worry. The man stood still and analyzed his body. The hole began to close…