The titans stomped through the villages, breaking down even more buildings and killing more villagers.
Kai and Astra with Lumi in hand tried to get to somewhere safe but everywhere you turn there's another monster.
"Where are you number four?" Astra heard a voice call out to them.
Peeking to where the sound came from she saw one of Noelle's clones with an ice sword in hand.
"she must be the cause of this."
Astra said sure of herself before looking back at Kai with full confidence.
"Let's stop her!"
"You're joking right we don't even know what she can d-" Kai goes to finish his sentence but looks up again to see Noelle's clone gone.
"Come on Kai, listen to the girl."
A voice came from behind them.
"you won't know unless you try."
Noelle grinned.
Kai, trying to react fast, took out his sword and stepped back facing Noelle with Astra behind him.
Noelle got closer to the two of them, ice sword in hand.
"What's wrong?" Noelle taunted the petrified adventurers.
"Do something!"
Kai gripped his sword tighter and flames surrounded it.
Noelle seemed pleased with what's about to happen.
Kai charged at Noelle but stepping to the right he completely missed her.
Taking the opportunity Noelle saw an opening and sliced kai across the back.
Though the cut was shallow it was cold and painful.
"Is that all you came to me with?" Noelle stared down at Kai at his most pitiful moment trying to grasp the strength to even try again.
"well if you're done." Noelle turned to Astra. "I'll find my fight elsewhere."
She started to walk in Astra's direction but stopped when Kai's flaming sword passed her barely burning her face.
"Stay away from her." Kai growled at Noelle.
Noelle turned her attention back to Kai.
"Let's continue then."
_____
The real Noelle stood by and watched on as the chaos unfolds.
The sky was a deep red signifying how much had died.
"How much longer until the books are retrieved."
A young lad spoke up amongst the silence.
His hair which covered his eyes looked as though it was drenched in silver.
His skin was slightly scarred and he wore a long hood with no shirt underneath and shorts that were puffed out at the bottom and closed in around his knees.
"We can't say for certain." Noelle replied
"I'm bored, let me go down there."
"denied."
"Anarue." the boy turned to Lord Anarue expecting an answer.
"That's lord Anarue to you little boy!" Noelle was visibly upset by his ignorance.
Lord Anarue smiled and nodded "go ahead."
The boy without even saying anything at all or without hesitation jumps down to the village.
"Lord Anarue I'm not saying I don't respect your decisions but do you think he should be going."
A scrawny man stood behind lord Anaru taller than the average basketball player with blue scruffy hair with blue round eyes to match.
"All dangers that exist there are probably all wiped out." Lord Anarue turned to the man with a smile.
"Besides we've been training him for this haven't we?"
The tall man nodded and said no more.
_________
Kai was having a battle with the Noelle clone.
Astra and Lumi watched on from behind not sure what to do.
The swords between Noelle and Kai clashed repeatedly with Noelle overpowering him almost every time leaving him open for other attacks.
He's weakened, injured. He can't go on for much longer.
Astra seeing this without hesitation picked up her staff but-
"Astra!" Kai called out.
Astra stopped in her tracks.
"for once Astra listened to me." Kai looked up at Astra, face bleeding, body battered.
"Run away-"
"but- .." Astra tried to talk her friend out of this but he just wouldn't listen.
"Just go!!" she shouted.
Astra tried to hold back her tears seeing her friend like this and couldn't do anything but run away.
"Let's go Lumi...."
She picked up her friend and started running.
"You made a mistake that will cost you your life." Noelle said, pointing the sword at his neck.
"Any last words?"
Kai did nothing but smile.
his hand started sparking and his body ignited
forcing Noelle to stand back.
Kai got up from the ground slowly, clearly in pain but determined.
"If I die I'm taking you down with me."
his hands started sparking repeatedly as if they were tiny explosions.
'His magic upgraded at a time like this?'
"how?"
Kai grinned while making a sword out of flames.
"Well, to give it to you simply."
He gripped the sword tightly and the flame flickered around his hands.
"I don't want you to hurt anyone else here or obtain the books of azalon! so you could say. It's my determination!"
"a bunch of bullshit!" Noelle cursed him, getting ready to attack again.
"No matter what, you won't live for long anyways."
______
Astra ran as fast as she could with both Lumi and her staff in hand.
She could barely see with the tears flooding up her eyes but she didn't let that stop her.
'Keep running Astra if you die here then Kai's sacrifice is for nothing... just run, you can do it no matter how much you trip and fall just RUN!'
Astra keeps saying to herself.
Lumi started to look worried for Astra Not knowing how to comfort her friend.
Astra fell to the ground with a loud thud but she didn't get up she just played there crying letting it all out.
"why Kai... why couldn't you let me help." her tears wouldn't stop.
"Y-you can't win that fight alone....and you know that so- ...why?"
Astra stopped groveling and crying when she sensed something big coming her way.
She quickly rolled to the left to avoid a huge metal chain that was just shy of crushing her.
"This is where all that mana was coming from?.." Astra looked up to see a boy with silver hair that covers his eyes on top of one of the broken buildings.
"pathetic."