Magica Index: The Dark Rising (Completed)

Chapter 13: Fallen Idols

At the Slyborne House, everyone else was gathered in the meeting room along with Astra. They all were feeling the terrible pressure that Malanie was giving off, and didn't see it anytime soon. Lina seemed the most worried of all, not knowing elves of any kind could possess this kind of anger and power within them. Along with her, Lelli, Mathias, Dyana, Elizar, Colton, and Harfen were silent. They waited around for an answer on what to do, or even to help with the situation that greeted them. Astra opened her eyes and looked at each individual person before coming to her conclusion.

    "We do nothing." she simply stated, catching the majority of them off guard.

    "Nothing? We can't just do nothing with something like this at our own doorstep sister. Something needs to be done." Dyana stared at Astra.
    "You forget, that Malanie Raevern is one of the Mages of the Hopeful. An archmage's strength is only fueled by what they need to protect." she spoke directly to her sister.
    "But even you can understand that this is something different, Miss Astra." Colton said, catching the attention of Astra. "One of your archmages is in a rage while the other is severely wounded. We need to go out there and help."

Astra placed her hands over her mouth. Another spike in pressure erupted through the air that caught the attention of everyone in the room. Lina ran out of the room in an attempt to try and help. Harfen followed after along with Elizar, Lelli, and Colton. Dyana, Mathias, and Astra all stared back at each other in silence. Outside of the house, Lina and Lelli all saw the injured mages that were placed in various spots to heal their injuries. A small cloud of helplessness began to form in Lina's head from the sight. Colton placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her back into reality.

    "Now's not the time for blanking out. Malanie and Tessele need us." she nodded back to the experienced mage. Together, they all went in the direction of Malanie's output.

                                                                *****

A loud bang was heard in the field before Tairis fell back down to the ground in pain. His armor was clearly broken in a lot of places. His helmet showed one half of his face, his eye was twitching with terror. Malanie walked over to him, her rage seemingly limitless in their battle. The swordsman slowly stood up, panting heavily with barely any strength to lift his sword.

    "Just give up. You're clearly outmatched." Malanie felt a piece of forgiveness slipping in, deciding to show mercy to the defeated man before her.
    "I will not! Just by uttering those words, you insult me!" he charged forward, his sword being raised in an arc that Malanie had no problem with. She moved forward with one foot, casting sharp edges on her fingertips that sliced into his skin and muscle under Tairis's arm. He dropped his sword, finding his arm to be useless and unable to move. Malanie stared at the back of his helmet, whatever sliver of forgiveness she once had was now a mere fleeting thought.
    "I gave you a chance. You will never touch Ciandra again." She cast her hands out, creating a ring around Tairis before engulfing him in flames the same way she had done to Nimruil.

A good way from the burning and yelling, Tessele woke up in a small healing zone that Malanie created. Her eyes took a moment to focus before she saw Nimruil and then looked over to the pillar of flames. The worst had already sunk deep into her heart just as someone's voice qualified it.

    "So, this is what an archmage's anger looks like. I must say, it is indeed terrifying to anyone who hasn't experienced it before. You must be one of the lucky ones to know just how careless that can be." Ereldra looked down at the recovering archmage. "Am I right, Tessele?"
    "It's you..." Tessele turned her gaze away from the tiefling. Several thoughts of her past started to race back in her memory and Ereldra was in almost all of them. "Why are you doing this?"
    "Isn't it obvious? To make the world as it was meant to be. I'm reinventing the demon race and I will be the rightful ruler they need." Ereldra's tail wrapped her leg. "But, it may have seemed I have underestimated the warriors a neutral zone like Ciandra can produce. Excuse me while I go and achieve my swordsman, or what's left of him."

Ereldra waved to Tessele and began to walk over to Malanie. Tessele was still too weak to move. She could only watch as her ex-sister made her way over to Malanie. Once she was a few feet away, Ereldra snapped her fingers and extinguished the flames that melted away his armor and multiple missing parts of skin. Malanie looked up to see the tiefling, her eyes widening in response.

    "Sorry, but I need him to be alive. You already killed a majority of the ones I came here with, allow one to come home with me." she politely said, placing a hand on her hip. She then aimed her eyes down at Tairis, knowing he was still alive, although unresponsive. "Quite the intense flame you have within you. I could use someone like you in my ranks." in a split moment, Malanie was getting ready to impale the tiefling right through her chest with a short sword. Ereldra reacted, breaking the sword with her forearm and shoving her hand through Malanie's stomach and straight through her back.
    "NO!" Tessele screamed out, standing up and breaking out of the healing zone and racing towards the both of them. Time appeared to move in slow motion for her, watching blood leak from Malanie's mouth before she was tossed to the ground.
    "She's fast too, but she's not you Tessele." in the blink of an eye, Tessele was right in front of Ereldra, a black longsword aimed at the tiefling's head. She stopped it just before it touched. "See what I mean? Unfortunately," Ereldra snapped her casted weapon into shards. Afterwards in quick succession, she planted her knee into Tessele's stomach and planted a powerful spellburst into her back with a sickening crunch of her bones breaking. "You're not fully healed."

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Leading the way, Lina and Lelli were still running without a break. Something then hit her hard and caused her to stop. Lelli and Harfen stopped as well to see what was wrong.

    "Lina, why'd you stop? We have to help Malanie and Tessele." Lelli urgently said, flying over to her face. she saw tears welling up in the half-elf's face.
    "I don't feel them anymore..." she answered, with everyone now realizing the same thing seconds afterward. Lina took off before anyone else, eyes filled with terror to make sure what she was feeling wasn't real. The group came out from the bushes and saw the opposite of what they hoped for. "No..."

Across the field, everyone saw Ereldra standing over both Malanie and Tessele who had fallen to the tiefling. She looked up and noticed the newcomers. A smirk rose to her lips and a sigh blew from her breath,

    "Well well, I was waiting here to see if any more of you would come to their rescue and it seems someone has. Tell me, who are you?" she asked, taking a few feet away from both of the defeated archmages.
    "Lina..." Colton called to her, both he and Elizar stepped in front of the half-elf and Harfen. "We advise you to retreat now. This woman, she's not someone you can handle."
    "But I can-"
    "No!" Elizar cut her off, staring back at the young mage. "An important lesson for a mage such as yourself needs to learn, is the difference between an enemy and a monster. Go back to Astra, we can take her."

Lina stared between the two men, speechless at the sight of her former mentor unconscious on the ground. She tightened her fist and drew her scimitar, making both Colton's and Elizar's eyebrows raise.

    "I know I'm not as strong as you two, but that doesn't mean I can't help. I am a mage as well and I fight to protect them just like you are." she looked up to the pair. Lelli hovered over her shoulders, nodding in agreement. Colton chuckled and clapped his hands together, calling multiple casting circles to him.
    "Couldn't have said it better myself. Girl's got heart." he said, with Elizar nodding, giving her and Lelli room to step up and join them. "Let's take this bitch down."
    "Goodness me, four against one? Hardly seems fair." she stretched her arms before summoning a black, red, and golden scythe behind her, the blade slamming heavily into the ground. "Come to me."