"Trys!" Gaia called, reaching out to him. She tried to run back to Trys but Nyne was quick to drag her by her hand.
"An ambush?" Nyne wondered, drawing his sword.
The strange figure that appeared tossed Trys' body at them and Gaia moved to catch him. At the same time, dust rose underneath the shoes of the assailant that attacked Trys, and in one swift motion, he jumped towards the couple and slashed his sword downwards.
Clank! His blade clashed with Dainsleif midway in his landing, shooting sparkles of fire.
"Oh?" the stranger muttered, grinning ear to ear. "You're quick," he said.
Nyne parried the attack with little effort. The stranger retracted his blade and slashed across Nyne's abdomen. Dainsleif through Nyne's elegant movements blocked yet again, parrying even this quicker slash of the sword. The Labronkath sorcerer built up an orb of magical energy in his palm and shot it at his attacker who spun his blade to block but found himself thrown back by the sheer force and pressure that came with that ball of magical energy.
"Blaest," Nyne called it.
The attacker bashed through the trees of the forest, leaving a hole of his figure on their trunks until he hit a sturdier tree that broke his fall.
Gaia's eyes were filled with tears and her shaking hands ran through Trys' body in a flash. "Are you okay, Trys?" Gaia asked, stammering.
"This? It's just a scratch. You know it'd take more than this to put me down," Trys bragged with a bloodied mouth.
"Watch over him," Nyne said, brandishing his sword in air. "I will be right back."
The man stood from where he fell, his arms on his back. "Oh yes! There!" he moaned as he stretched his back.
Sensing Nyne's energy, he started to giggle. "I see you're coming!"
He turned in the direction where he perceived Nyne. Nyne darted towards his attacker, who launched at the sorcerer as well. He recovered quite quickly after being hit with the blaest spell.
Clank! Their blades ate at each other many times. The man giggled endlessly and struck at Nyne in many unpredictable kinds of movements. Unlike Nyne, his opponent had no fine handling of the blade.
He thrust his sword at Nyne, who spun his body from the side and around his enemy to get behind him. Nyne slid his left palm over Dainsleif down to its tip, blackening it as his Aer ran through the blade.
"Incatmre," he breathed.
He took a step back after seeing Nyne enchant his blade. His brows rose and dropped, "An enchantment?" he wondered.
Nyne's blade hammered down on his foe without stopping. The strange man felt more force from Dainsleif with each strike.
"I can't get hit with this," he thought.
Nyne's opponent might be a savage but he was no fool. He understood his situation. The only thing he used his blade for since Nyne enchanted Dainsleif was to block Nyne's strikes.
He showed two fingers from under his cloth, flexing them as he cast a spell.
"Gard."
A tall transparent wall created with his magic formed between him and Nyne.
Blam! Nyne's weapon struck the shield of energy and caused it to vibrate. A defensive spell albeit incomplete, it served the purpose the man needed.
He lifted his head and pulled his purple hair to the back and pointed his sword to Nyne.
"You're good, kid," he purred, "Please don't die quickly."
-
Trys rubbed his chest as he coughed. "Go help him, Gaia."
Gaia shook her head, "I cannot leave you like this."
Trys smiled and put his palm on her face, "Go. I'll be fine."
"Let's see how you do against my poison shot!" the unknown attacked yelled, giggling even louder than he ever did.
The Aer of their attacker started gathering and at the tip of his blade until its no larger than the size of an orange. Dark purple in colour, it felt ominous. The Aer that gathered formed into a dense ball of dark purple energy
With a frantic laughter, "Poison magic:.." he said, before firing it Nyne like a bullet.
"...Poison shot!"
The poison shot cracked and shattered the wall erected by the gard spell on its way to Nyne. Nyne took a stance and put Dainsleif in front of him to block.
-
Trys knew he was done in. He could no longer move his left arm as it felt stiff and heavy. His veins were visible on his fair skin and turning black with that pattern continuing towards his heart. The enemy's poison already got him but Trys was relieved that Gaia did not notice.
He suffered bruises on his skin from dragging himself to a tree away from the battle, so he could rest. Trys was poisoned and the pressure from his hand did not stop his bleeding either.
"Hehehe," he laughed, "I really do not get to return home, huh?"
Trys stared at the clouds. "Cruel fate," he spoke softly with an undercurrent of disappointment.
-
Swooshh! A body of water gathered rapidly and swerved towards the poison user.
The eyes of the poison sorcerer widened when he saw a mass of water travelling towards him. His poison shot dispersed after failing to overcome the pressure from body of water.
Gaia's voice roared, "Water magic: aqua bomb!"
Aqua bomb was created from the energy of Gaia's water magic. She summoned water droplets from ambient moisture in the atmosphere and gathered them all into a gigantic ball of water. It travelled fast and built up enough pressure to negate the poison shot technique from this new enemy.
Trees fell to the force of the water sphere. It made certain that the path it travelled was cleared of whatever stood in its way.
Splash!
Gaia's aqua bomb detonated into high speed moving splashes of water that pierced through whatever they hit in a single strike.
"Nyne!" she yelled, drawing his attention.
Nyne used the same spell his enemy casted to create a shield of energy against the splashes from Gaia's water bomb.
"Gard." Nyne's own shield was a much more complete version of the technique, creating a transparent dome that protected him and Gaia against the violently firing splashes of water.
Gaia only succeeded in damaging the forest. Her target emerged on a tree, unscathed from her attack.
He locked eyes with them, grinning devilishly.
Gaia stumbled and fell on Nyne's shoulder. "Are you oka-?" Nyne staggered as well from the weight of her body with both of them losing balance. The ground softened and drew them into itself. The solid earth turned into a quicksand.
"Darn it!" Nyne exclaimed as he was pulled in.
"Oi Akem!" the poison mage shouted. He hollered at another that they could not see.
"Don't interfere with my fight, you cocksucker!" he continued to bark.
Two shadows were cast over the sorcerers - Nyne and Gaia, who stood powerless and defenceless against any attack as they struggled to evade being eaten up by the earth. The shadows belonged to two men - a hulky man and another that bore flames in his palms. The two came from above them to attack. The larger man clenched his fist to deliver a powerful blow and the other conjured a ball of fire with the intent to shoot at the pair.
Nyne and Gaia stared hopelessly and wondered if it was their time but as they fate will have it, Nyne heard familiar voices roar.
He heard the voices and smiled.