"Move away! Move away! Move away!" the words he repeated within himself as he ran straightforward and ahead.
The only direction his body could move.
"H-huh?" Maelo muttered with a mouth wide open.
His left hand bled profusely. Looking to the ground, there laid the four fingers of that hand, tainted by dust. Nyne stood right behind him, leaned forward with blood dripping from his blade. Maelo had a cut across his trunk in a diagonal fashion but this was not deep enough to be a threat.
"W-What happened?" he wondered, "What did you do?"
Maelo froze, unable to comprehend.
Tears dropped down to the ground, Nyne's tears as he sobbed and mourned his lost family. The memories of the good times he had with them came rushing back to him. Dainsleif's corruption crept up to the entirety of his wielding arm.
"At this time, something had to enter my eyes," he said as tears continued to flow.
"You bastard!" Maelo cursed.
Thump-thump!
Maelo immediately turned to rush his opponent when he heard the sound of his own heartbeat.
He felt a pressure act on his body that forced blood out of his mouth. Maelo fell to his knees. He was tainted by the Aer from Dainsleif and just like its wielder, Dainsleif corrupted Maelo.
Maelo did not understand what had transpired. How he lost to Nyne was a mystery to him. All he saw in that moment that his guard was down was pitch darkness and nothing else. Everything that existed around him at that time was hidden within this darkness. He could not understand what it was. Was he still within the real world or was he sent to another realm?
"Forgive me..." he pleaded. His plea was not to Nyne but to the old man who entrusted him with the mission.
"I guess I could not win in the end," Maelo chuckled as he dropped facedown to the ground.
Nyne could not understand how Maelo did not dodge either. Nyne's movement was nothing complex and given that he was weakened, it was an easy one for someone as strong as Maelo to have evaded. Nyne, fatigued, dropped to the ground but managed to hold himself by stabbing his sword into the ground. Dainsleif's corruption had ended.
"I hope the others are okay," he wondered, gasping.
-
Makr flipped back into his original location.
"That golem is really a pain in my arse. Plus he has environmental advantage," he thought.
Akem shrunk Makr's chances of getting any closer to him by creating a humanoid creature made of earth and strengthened by magic. It served as remote soldier that he could control from a distance. The golem moved towards Makr in roaring steps that made the ground tremble. Stretching its humongous arm to grab the human sorcerer. Makr rolled out of its reach in time. The sorcerer got up immediately and ran towards Akem.
"Oh no, you don't!" Akem exclaimed.
"Shit!" Makr cried out. At the corner of his eyes, he saw an incoming attack - a swipe of the golem's fist. Makr abandoned his steel staff and positioned his steel-coated arms to block but the fist of the golem still sent him flying.
"You are quite a resilient one," Akem praised his opponent.
Makr was no longer having it. He tore his clothing and bared his chest with his magical energy moving around his body and casting upon it an armour of steel that glistening under the sunlight and turning his body's colour into something between silver and ash.
"Steel Magic: Armour Of The Unruly Warrior."
Reinforcing a part of his body was one thing but to coat his whole body with the energy of his steel magic, that was another thing. It was Aer-demanding and Makr understood that whatever he was going to do, he needed to be fast with it.
Makr ran towards Akem and as expected, the golem moved to block his path. Throwing its hands at Makr, who skillfully dodged them but chose not to attack. Makr was aiming for something and that was his staff. The last hand thrown at Makr, he used as support to grab on to the golem's thumb and launch himself to where his staff was. Grabbing it and spinning it around in air, Makr demolished the hands of this earthen giant with few strikes, much to Akem's surprise.
Akem tried to reconstruct the golem but had his hands full when Makr's staff came bursting through the chest of the golem and towards him. Makr had launched his staff like a javelin through the chest of the humanoid creature of earth and at his enemy with his magically reinforced body.
"W-What!" Akem uttered.
The speed of the steel staff allowed Akem no time to magick his humanoid construct and had no choice than to lean his upper body back to dodge with the staff piercing through the air.
Bammmm!
Makr already launched himself into the air as Akem dodged the staff. With great force and the advantage of his falling, Makr landed a devastating kick to his defenceless foe that sent him crashing through his giant earthen hand construct, upon which he stood earlier.
For the first time in this battle, Makr had landed a good hit and it was a heavy one.
-
"You didn't think I was going to let you die, did you?" the voice said to Gaia.
The wind technique that dispelled Kiion's cloud of poison was conjured up by this same person. Trys Lanead. Trys mustered enough strength to move to where Gaia battled to help. Gaia was in good luck that Trys made the right choice. Trys was in no good state but still pushed on to save the woman he loved.
"Trys?" Gaia called. She was surprised.
She could not move, else she would have hugged him so tight that his body would sink into hers. She sobbed as tears filled her eyes. She thought she had lost him forever. Seeing him now was a miracle.
"It's really you, Trys. I thought I had lost you," she cried.
"Hehehe. You think some measly poison would take me out?" he nervously responded, dragging his body to where she laid. He was in obvious pain and Gaia saw it.
"You really think we'd still make it back home? Back home to our family and friends. To everyone?" Trys asked.
Gaia smiled. "Anything is possible. We only need believe. It's not over yet."
Trys forced a smile on his face. "Your outlook on life has always been admirable, my dear."
Trys' head laid on her shoulder. This moment he was spending with her was blissful and soul soothing for him. Just as he wanted his last moments to be. Trys felt peace around Gaia. She brought him joy and light that he could not imagine living without her.
"I hope you don't forget me," he said.
"Never, Trys. Don't utter such things."
He laughed softly. "Keep smiling, Gaia. No matter what happens."
Those were his last words to her.
"Trys! Trys!" Gaia screamed at the top of her lungs, "Wake up! Come on, don't do this!"
Tears started to flow freely and she could not move even to hold him one last time. Trys, per his wish, died by her side.
-
Akem struggled his way through the rubbles created by their collision.
"An inept like you dare to hurt me!" Akem lashed out.
Akem gritted his teeth in anguish, staring at his bloodied hands. His blood continued to drip from his face to his open palms. Akem raged as he experienced an outburst of Aer.
"What's going on?" Makr wondered, keeping his distance.
The outflux of magical energy from Akem was immense.
"Stop!" a voice commanded with so much authority.
The voice they heard made even the Murder shudder. It was definitely one of high authority behind it, enough to snap Akem out of his outburst. All members of the Order of the Night that stood fighting heard the voice. The voice belonged to their leader. The one who stood at the very top of the Order.
"Master?" Ivaad thought in his mind, jumping away from Vorgard.