[Kale]
I watched on as Lilith ran off where Balruth showed us to go. A sense of anxiousness spreaded over me as I watched her figure slowly disappear into the shadows of the sewer. Should I have let her go by herself? Maybe it's too dangerous for her to even find Kota…
No, The girl is smart. Capable of whatever comes knocking at her, and even if she was knocked down…she'd just get back up. Ever since I started training her, all she's ever done is get back up to continue. She's better than Gerald was, I can see why he thought it was a good idea to give her to me.
…Or maybe he had another idea. Gerald knew that I was alone in Prusha, so he probably thought I needed company there. Being my apprentice, he probably knew damn well why I felt alone. Sending both of these kids was probably a way to help me…I should've said something about it when we went through Shanford.
"Perhaps I should stop her." My eyes shot up towards the opening near us, The tall man with a machine arm stared back at me. "A fight with you three would be less of a challenge than with her."
Shit, he wants to go for Lilith. I'm not letting that happen, he isn't going to touch her. I can't let him get past us, No way I'm going to let that happen. In our last fight, we put up a pretty equal fight with the three of us together. At this moment, all of us are a bit exhausted from fending off those necromancy monsters. However…
"You ain't getting past any of us. Not while I'm standing. My girl will take down Mandy, just as I'm about to do with you." I stood tall, gripping my two blades in my hand. I stared at Victor with determination. "You aren't touching her."
Just then, I saw both Korbyn and Elena take a stance as well. Those two looked determined as well.
"And you aren't leaving this sewer. It is not necessary for the Ozoth force to apprehend you." Elena spoke. "We have full authority to kill you at this moment. No need to hold back."
"She's got that right." Korbyn brushed his mouth with his arm, he then flexed his arms. "And I'm not letting my friend take you on alone."
"Korbyn…" I glanced at the dark skinned elf.
"Shut up, Don't get all sentimental with me…you're gonna get me all sentimental…" Korbyn smirked.
Korbyn, my old adventurer partner. For who he was, he was a dumbass. Can't recall all the times I've gotten pulled into his shenanigans while out exploring Zenith. Still, even through all that…not once did I question his loyalty to all of us. Tera, Me and the rest of us. He never pulled away from us and kept by my side. Hm…Maybe if I told him about Tera, he wouldn't be so mad. But maybe he already knows, I'm sure Kota or Lilith might've told him…
"Hmph, I guess we are at a standstill." Victor spoke. "…I will make this my final stand then." His body tensed up, his Mechanical arm whirred to life with a ferocious noise. "It'll be my last action for Mandy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Korbyn looked at Victor. "What's that pink haired fella even got for you?"
Victor paused for a moment, was it a moment of weakness? The man's eyes drifted to the floor momentarily before looking back at us. "It's not what he has for me, it's what I could do for him."
What? What'd he mean by that? Shit, he's getting into a fighting stance…
I pulled myself into my Fire King style form, Hearing both Elena and Korbyn shuffling into their form. I focused my mana, activating my Mana Cloak. My mana at the moment was good but that whole debacle with those monsters took a good cut out of me, Not sure how long I'd be able to hold onto my Man cloak. Judging by how Korbyn and Elena looked, it was the same for them.
"You wouldn't get it!" Victor screamed loudly as his mechanical arm revved. The man began to charge at us, his heavy footstep echoing through the sewers.
Korbyn gave me a serious look, it was a look I was familiar with. One that always told me one thing: he was going to distract him. Korbyn then twirled his curved sword in his hands as he then charged forward, Elena following behind him.
The two ran through the opening and into the large area where Victor was in, Korbyn running to Victor's right side as Elena went for his left. Victor's eyes locked onto Elena, his left mechanical arm readying for a swipe at her. But as he was focused on her, Korbyn threw his curved sword. The sword flung into the air before ricocheting off the ceiling, flying at Victor in an all new direction. The sword plunged itself in Victor's right shoulder, catching him off by surprise.
Korbyn's a King ranked in Wind king style, In an area like this…he could reach his peak efficiency with how he can use his environment. The walls of this cave were a part of his arsenal now, along with anything else in it.
"Khh!" Victor let out a growl as his focus shifted to the sword lodged into his shoulder. But as he turned his head to look at his wound, Elena's whip blade flung into the air as well. The blades wrapping themselves around the man's neck and squeezing hard, Blood beginning to flow through the neck wounds she made. I saw that she was giving it her all as the stone beneath her cracked under the pressure.
Korbyn then made a run for Victor, jumping up and latching himself onto the back of him as he then went to grab his sword.
"Ah, Kale! Hurry up and charge it!" Korbyn yelled, looking at me.
That's right, I was charging my Fire King style ability. Mana poured into my two blades as I readied myself, I could feel the mana cloak I had grow stronger. My mana cloak flowed like flames as it grew. Only a certain Move from this style could do this…and I haven't told Lilith about it.
I started to crouch lower, almost like a predator ready to pounce. I still needed more time for this to fully work!
Victor looked at me with a hateful look, his mechanical arm grabbing onto Elena's whip blade. Elena grunted as the Monstrous man tried to pull her, but she wouldn't budge. The floor beneath her cracked and her feet dug deeper into the floor, Elena had a strained look on her face. She's going to run out of mana if this keeps up.
"Once I finish you three and leave you to rot in these sewers, I'll be by her side! Just as I should've been! Now let me finish you all!" Victor roared, his mechanical arm making a devastating noise as it began to…extend? "For my daughter!" Delusion seemed to be pooling out of his mouth.
No, the fingers of it are detaching from the hand itself. They hover in the air with a blue hue to them, pointing right at me. Elena and Korbyn looked in disbelief at what was transpiring. Is this what Balruth was working on?!
"Wh-what the hell?!" I said out loud. Shit, I couldn't move from my spot. If I did, this technique wouldn't work!
"You wouldn't get it! I lost it all! And I'm not going to lose it again!" Victor snarled. Even from his iron mask, drool seemed to be leaking out of it as if he was a mad man. "She'll have a better future!"
"The hell are you talking about?!" Korbyn seemed as confused as me. "Is…no…" I could see in Korbyn's eyes that something was about to happen, his eyes peered up to me and widened. "No!"
It was then that The fingers that Victor detached were then sent flying to me, whistling in the air. Korbyn grabbed his curved sword and pulled it out of Victor's shoulder, launching himself off the man and diving towards me. Korbyn was fast, but he wouldn't be able to get to me in time! I began to brace myself, maybe I could block these with my sword?
"Ngh!!"
My eyes widened from what I then saw. As I began to brace myself, Korbyn managed to gain the upper hand on these fingers. He swiped at three of the fingers, launching them in another direction, but he couldn't get the other two. He was barely a meter away from me when he dived right in front of the fingers, taking the full force of them. The two fingers penetrated the man, shooting out of the back of Korbyn before zooming back to Victor. Korbyn tumbled onto the ground, a wound was pooling blood out of the right side of his stomach. Korbyn immediately began to clutch his side, grunting in pain.
"Korbyn!" Elena yelled, horrified by his action. She then looked at Victor with rage in her eyes. "You..! Water king style: absolute!" She began to chant. As she did, her blade glowed a humming blue. Letting go of victor's neck as it began to circle around the man. Her whip blade whipped and cracked around Victor, a transparent circle forming around him. And in the blink of an eye, the area around Victor began to make hissing noises…No, it was like she was using the air to cut Victor!
Victor struggled against her whip blade as cuts began to form around him. As soon as he tried to reach for the outside of the bubble, Elena's whip blade sliced him. He couldn't escape!
As that was happening, I felt the mana in my hands. I was ready, The mana had finally gathered itself.
"Ah…Kale! Do it, Damn it!" Korbyn yelled at me, his mouth spewing blood.
Fiery flames of mana began to spew from me, the clutch of my blades grew tighter as I began to chant my technique. The floor beneath me began to crack as I prepared. I'm putting it all into this!
As soon as She saw I was ready, Elena pulled her whip blade away from Victor. Leaving him in the open with no time to react to me, he looked at me with surprise.
"Fire king style…Sunshot!"
Heat began to envelope me, my Mana burning as I leaped through the air. I shot at Victor with lightning speed, twirling in the air. Both my blades lit up with an orange hue, mana overflowing through them. Victor couldn't react to this, he was only barely able to bring his arms up. But I was already ready to slice him. Both my blades were aimed for his left arm and chest, I was planning on slicing this man in half.
"Do it, kale!"
That was the last thing I heard from Korbyn before my blades went cleanly through Victor. As soon as my blades left the other side of Victor, I tumbled across the floor. Soon, I found myself inside of Balruth's room.
"Urk…" I groaned, I landed against the wall of the room. The shelf he had and the table he had were thrown around, things scattered across the room. Papers flew in the air and were gently dropping to the floor.
As I rubbed my head, I stared out of the entrance of Balruth's door to see Victor. Past the flying papers and dust, I could see Victor had been cleanly cut in half.
But something else caught my attention among the flying Papers. A yellowish paper that seemed to have the name of someone.
Victor Creshawn, His full name.
Holstering my swords, I quickly went in to grab this paper from the air, pulling myself from the wall and slowly walking out of the room. As I entered back into the large opening we were fighting in, I noticed the trail of burnt marks and large slices scattered across the rock floor I made from my move. I then looked up again to see Elena, to which I made a run for when I saw what she was doing.
Elena was frantically trying to patch up Korbyn, who was still lying on the floor. Elena was holding a health potion in her hand, gently pouring it into his mouth. His head laid on her lap, smirking as he drank the potion.
"You damn idiot…" Elena said, Distraught. "You could've gotten both of you killed."
"Hah, I'm not letting my man take any hits. No way." Korbyn weakly turned his head to me. "I wouldn't let that happen."
"Same to you." I smiled at Korbyn. The man took a blow for me, I should be thankful for him. Then again, when hasn't he dove in action when me or anyone else was in danger? He's a good man.
"Kale, what's that paper ya got there?" Korbyn asked. I looked down at the paper that was still in my hand.
"Something that Balruth had on hand…Looks like a record for Victor?" I held it out so that the two could look at it.
Elena looked at it, squinting her eyes. "…Most likely a receipt, I suppose. Balruth did say Victor came to him for his arm…Hold on." She then grabbed the paper from my hand and examined it more. As she continued to read it, I went ahead and turned to look at Victor.
Or at least what was half of Victor. The man was split into two. A whole diagonal slash through his torso to his left shoulder, his left arm cut cleanly and laid off to the side while the man looked up at the ceiling. Yet…
From the corner of my eye, his right hand twitched.
"Hey…You're still here, huh?" I narrowed my eyes, grabbing the handle of my right sword.
Victor's eyes went from focusing on the ceiling to focusing on me. Being unable to move now, he only stared at me with what seemed to be vacant eyes. His iron mask that he had on was broken off, revealing his mouth.
"Mandy's necromancy spell is still keeping me alive, Even if my body is torn like this…as I expected of her."
"Why are you so obsessed with doing whatever Mandy wants you to do?" I lowered myself to one knee, looking at him. "What do you mean a better future for her?"
Victor continued to look at me, his mouth gaping as if trying to inhale.
"…me and you are a bit similar, Kale. Longing for a better life for someone."
I narrowed my eyes when he said that. "We are not similar."
"I put my life in danger to make sure that Mandy lives a better life, is it not the same with you and that Silver haired child? I can see it in your eyes when I talk of her, you feel anger when she is threatened."
"Shut it." I gritted my teeth. "What you are doing isn't making anyone's life better."
"But it does for Mandy." Victor spoke with a much more raspy voice now. "He needs those bodies, to nourish her."
Eh? Her body? Who else is he talking about?
"Kale!" Elena shouted at me, I turned her way to see her. She held up the paperwork towards me, her eyes serious. "I got something else you'd want to see…"
I stood back up, hearing Victor speaking again as I walked towards Elena. Victors voice seemed Almost like he was trying to stifle a laugh, a crazed one.
"I remember now. It's slowly coming to me, My past. The reasons why I feel an attachment to the boy…no, the Girl. Haha…"
As I got closer to Elena, I noticed the writing for Victor Creshawn. Beneath his name was what seemed to be a description of him. Pink haired, Muscular build, Guard for Crudehog…Wait, Pink hair? He had pink hair?
I gazed down to the listing of other things and noticed something else. A listing of family members and a description of them too. But only one thing caught my eyes.
The name Mandy Creshawn being listed. Along with what seemed to be a more recent scribble next to it. Deceased. Victor's Daughter.
I turned back to Victor, looking at him as he crazily laughed. The ruined man was already losing himself, the Necromancy spell was beginning to wane. However…it did seem like he regained a bit of himself at this moment.
"You…your daughter has been dead. And yet here she is, roaming around while controlling you and other necrotic monsters." I grimaced. "That's not your daughter."
"She's changed me for the better, so I shall do the same for her." Victor stared back at me, his whole body was now slowly shimmering as it began to dissipate into mana. "It's what a father would do."
"Stop spouting bullshit to me, You're basically having your brain mushed up right now." I stared back at him. "That ain't your daughter…Least I think. You're being manipulated by whatever this necromancy spell was putting into you. This isn't how one should make someone better."
"I…I could've made her fu-"
"It's too late, Victor. Whatever future you are looking for, doesn't exist. Your real daughter is looking for you across the other side, go to her."
Victor then slowly looked up at the ceiling, his eyes slowly widening as his mouth opened as he seemed to understand what I said. Only his neck and head were left to dissipate.
"That's right…She is there. Waiting for me…"
I watched on as slowly…Victor ceased to exist here. His shimmering glitter of mana floated away into the air, leaving his left mechanical arm as the last remnant.
I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness for the guy. I felt he truly believed he wanted his own kid to be better, but that kid was dead. Now another question remained in my head…
If Mandy was already dead…then how the hell is she up and running?
!!!!
Another rumble in the sewers made me stumble on my feet. It was a large shaking, one that came deeper from within the sewers. The opening we were inside had rocks from the ceiling torn from it, falling to the ground and smashing near us. This opening we were in…it's gonna collapse.
"Kale! We need to reach a safer place! We aren't going to get anywhere if Korbyn is still injured!" Elena yelled at me, she was holding Korbyn with his arm over her shoulder. "Let's head back to the entrance! I got a feeling whatever is happening will cause more havoc down here!"
"Got it." I said as I went on to help her with carrying Korbyn. The dark skinned elf was still alive, but his wound was still healing. The health potion we gave him was working ever so slowly with closing the wound.
Making our way out into the sewers, rocks and debris still continued to fall. Once we actually returned to the sewers, there was an even bigger shaking that occurred behind us. The opening we were in was beginning to collapse now. The only thing I could see before the opening closed was Victor's metallic arm being buried by the debris.
There didn't seem to be any monster out here in the sewers. I took a look around and found that it was quiet, just the sound of flowing water alongside a groaning Korbyn.
"Hey…Don't put me in the water. I'm not trying to get infected by poop water…" Korbyn made a joke, but the pain in his voice told me he was just trying to compensate.
Another rumble happened, echoing from where Lilith went.
Wait…are the kids doing this? I hope Lilith found Kota, these shakes are getting too dangerous.
"The kids…"