Magica Index: The Dark Rising (Completed)

Chapter 11: Sisters vs. Brothers Pt. 1

Slowly waking up from her state, Lina's eyes focused on the room around her. She recognized the white paint on the wall and the texture of the bed she was lying on. She slowly rose up, her midsection aching from earlier. She peered down to see that her entire chest was bandaged up along with her arm, shoulder, and even her head. Her legs weren't, which surprised her the most. She rubbed them softly down to her shin before wincing in pain from bending too far forward.

    "Careful, you could undo the wraps." Harfen spoke, getting the young half-elf's attention.
    "Harfen? Did you patch me up?" she asked, relaxing after seeing who it was.
    "Yes, with a little help from Dyana. How are you feeling? We all were worried, especially Lelli. It was hard telling her to let you rest." Harfen chuckled a bit, and so did Lina.
    "I guess I'm alright. It still does hurt a lot all over, but at least I feel rested." Harfen was able to relax with that answer, still he couldn't help but feel a tad bit anxious after seeing her wounds.
    "You're strong, Lina. Even after a battle like that, you're still fighting."
    "It's nothing really. Besides, I took this position because I wanted to. That includes everything, even this pain." she held a genuine smile at Harfen as they continued to converse with one another. A knock soon came on the room door. Harfen got up and went to see who it was. In a sparkly flash, Lelli made a B-line for her friend and clung to her shoulder like her life depended on it.
    "Yay, you're finally awake! You were sleeping for so long!" Lelli nuzzled her face into Lina's shoulder and was on the verge of crying once again. Lina giggled and tapped her head gently with her index finger.
    "She wouldn't stop asking about you, you know?" Astra walked in along with Dyana and Harfen, all of them smiling at the sight. "You both must have really bonded in the time you have been together."

Lina nodded at the thought, looking down at the small fairy who was hugging her so close her cheek was fully squished against Lina's shoulder bone. While Lelli was worrying about her friend's health, Lina was also worrying about her mentors' safety. Ever since she left the house to fight Author and Velrissa, she hasn't been able to find either one of them. In her current state, she thought she would only slow them down. Astra and Dyana saw the concern on the young half-elf's face. Even Lelli and Harfen were thinking about the two archmages, hoping they alone would be enough to drive the forces back.

                              *****

In their fateful battle, Malanie and Tessele were both close to using their full strength. The combined might of Tairis and Nimruil was even more difficult than anticipated. Nimruil was using the full extent of his soul energy, having extra power behind it from Zenna's added soul. Tairis wasted no time in releasing his full Resonance that rivaled Tessele's Semblance. All four stared at one another, waiting for the slightest movement to give away. Ereldra watched in enjoyment, relaxing by the tree and no longer worried about finishing another Blood Circle.

    "Honestly, this is more interesting. I must say, you girls surely know how to put on a show. Hopefully, you both can impress me to the point where I would have to step in." she chuckled and flicked her tongue out in an attempt to mock both of the archmages. Malanie slowly allowed her anger to get the best of her. Tessele looked over and felt her aura beginning to intensify in an unruly manner.
    "Regain your calm, Malanie. Anger isn't the way to defeat them." she spoke to her friend gently, hoping to get through to her.
    "I understand Tessele. I'm just sick of having to stare at their repulsive faces for so long. We need to eradicate them, here and now!" Malanie held both of her hands out, constructing the glaive she wielded from before. Tessele joined her, forming the blue sword from before as well with a pink ribbon strand on the end, both of their auras dynamically fusing together, their power increasing exponentially.
    "It would have appeared they have begun to get serious. Shall we honor them and do the same?" Nimruil looked over to his equal, the sword slowly gaining in might. "Heh, I'll take that as a yes."

Tairis let out a booming warcry and thrust his sword into the air. A bolt of red lightning struck the tip and pumped murky energy throughout his armor. The scales, along with the blade of his greatsword, turned into a fiery red that burned with anticipation for more battling. Nimruil spoke in a language only Warlocks and Witches were familiar with. In a show of multiple souls escaping the top of his staff, they re-entered his body and caused his eyes to illuminate with a deathly red glare. With all parties now powered up to their fullest, the air around them became more thick and was forced to bend to their might. Malanie stepped forward first, dashing forward straight into Tairis as their weapons clashed in red and blue sparks. The swordsman held his ground easily, surprising the high elf on impact.

    "I heard that your kind is one of the most refined fighters that Ciandra has to offer. Do NOT disappoint me!" his voice was filled with rage as he shoved the archmage off him and took a large overhead swing at her. Malanie dodged to the right but was still stunned by the force and destructive power behind it. The blade connected with the ground, cleaving a solid hole in it. A wall of dust hid his movements as Tairis circled around with his massive sword, the tip cutting the debris and making a line of black static magick. The bolts came out like dead arms of the underworld, traversing the air in irregular patterns before reaching over to Malanie. She hopped back, keeping just out of reach of the multiple strikes of lightning. Planting her feet on the ground, Malanie twirled her blade around her body before thrusting it forward,
    "Rain down, Haju." above her position, a torrent of nullifying magick missiles traveled in the path of the Tairis's attack, completely canceling it out before they turned to the swordsman himself.
    "Nullified magick? Pathetic." he balanced his sword on his shoulder and held out his left hand, channeling a strange dark orb into his palm that grew in size. Tessele watched this happen, feeling a deep sinister energy coming from that orb.
    "Malanie, cancel your spell!!" she tried to warn before Nimruil appeared before her and the top of his staff in her face.
    "You need to worry about yourself." his voice croaked before several soulless hands reached out and grabbed a hold of her arms, trying to pull her closer to the red magica crystal.
    "And you need to learn your limits!" Tessele forced her hands in front of herself and the stone, repelling it with her own magick and creating space between the both of them. She knew she could no longer worry about Malanie's battle. She watched as the elven archmage did as Tessele told her to and canceled out her spell, with only a few going into the black orb that Tairis had summoned.

Out of the orb came Malanie's attack that flew out with a sticky residue trail behind it. Each blast hit the ground around her as if on purpose before a large glob of a murky puddle spawned with each blast growing towards the next. The high elf was generally confused, and was too late to move she tried to leap out of the dark substance.

    "You are not getting out of that. My Dark Knight magick is stronger than any of your puny archmage creations. My magick is based on pure might and power. You could never hope to achieve what I have." He stood before the high elf, staring her down.
    "You don't know an archmage's strength." Malanie stopped struggling and smirked at her opponent before she slammed her glaive into the black substance, several streaks of blue cracks traversing through them before they all shattered into glass shards that revolved around her. She took a few steps and held her weapon forward, her eyes radiating with energy as the glass shard shot at Tairis, multiple of the shards flying past him while the few that struck his armor broke against the sturdiness of it. "Nor do you know about our cunningness."
    "Testing my armor? Trying to find weak points?" the swordsman looked down, seeing several shards of glass embedded into his enraged dragon armor. He ripped them out, showing none of them punctured his skin. Malanie teleported quickly in front of him in the air, slashing his face in a wide-angle arc. Tairis matched her speed and blocked her attack, knocking her back and charging at her with her shoulder. Malanie dodged to the right of him and planted the end of her glaive into his side, breaking through his armor again with a small delicate blade at the end of her hilt. He felt the edge of her attack scrap his skin before she pulled it back and leaped back. Tairis spun around, swinging his blade with him as a dark black and red wave of destructive energy was careening directly at Malanie. Quickly, she spun her weapon before, creating a revolving shield. The blast that Tairis sent at her hit the barrier before it destroyed it completely without even scratching her. Tairis followed quickly behind and went to slice up at her body to cleave it in two. Malanie quickly placed her glaive in the way, the weapon breaking it on impact and knocking her back in a lipping motion. She landed on her feet and stood her ground. The two warriors watched each other, ready to try and cut the other down.