.The Shadow Knight.

-53-

"And to think the daughter I bore and raised would turn against me so easily." 

I had ran through the enemy to find her, she was my target.

"I might have once been yours but whatever they did to you killed my mother and put you in her place, if you are unwilling to understand that so be it... You are the only one living in a lie." I said calmly.

I watched her wrapped up stump of an arm before shifting my gaze, displeased to see another katana in her hand, not the one I wanted back but broke accidentally but another one, probably of dragon scale too since it glowed with the fire on it.

"Well lets do this shall we?" She asked, spinning her blade.

"You shouldn't be so confident, this is your last fight."

"Or your last one."

"Anyway only one will make it out alive."

"I like those odds!"

I rushed her only to be pushed back by wind.

"What?!" I hissed, the dust carried by the wind whirling around where her arm was supposed to be.

"Oh yeah, wild magic is everywhere isn't it? And I am skilled yeah? I don't need my fucking arm to bend it to my will!"

I lifted my sword and slashed the air, sending a blast of blue flames in an arch at her, sending it out of the pocket realm hole that was covering the blade.

I twisted it so the edge was upwards and slashed upwards as I slid closer but she blocked my strike.

"I am still stronger then you, that has never changed." She grinned as I glared at her.

I knocked her blade aside and slashed towards her ribs only for it to bounce off with a thunk noise.

"I am a shadow knight!! You think I wouldn't have dragon scales?!"

"You are as much of a knight as I am dragon which is none!"

I brought the edge down towards where she once really hurt me, aiming for the neck but her blade blocked.

I had a lose hold on the black, the handle getting twisted from my hand as my hand reached for her throat, my magic glowing dark on it.

She jumped backwards as I closed my firsts and opened them, grabbing the handles of the two short swords that launched out of it and spun on myself to follow her movement, feeling my blade cut through flesh.

I crouched down slightly, holding one blade in a reverse grip and the other pointed up as her, these are not my weapons but they will do.

She smeared the blood off her cheek with the back of her hand and I saw a burst of flames whip out at me.

"You are slower." I stated, having rolled out of the way. "Is it because of your arm?" The bandages over it were already soaked with blood while they were clean before, if I can have her go down a way or the other that's good for me.

She glared quite pitifully, you don't scare me.

"I'LL SHOW YOU!!!"

A huge gust of wind turned into a huge whirl wind that ripped my swords from me and threw me in the air before another gust of wind threw me down into the ground.

I coughed as the dust cleared.

I blinked, a bit confused why she hadn't attacked yet as I got up, ankle pulsing with pain but I still stood on it.

I took a step closer to her and pulled a throwing knife out and jabbed it into her stomach just as a sharp spike of rock shot up and through my body.

"You can hurt me, but I will always be faster, better, stronger then you." I gasped, hand hovering over the hole punched through my, blood pooling outside of my body. "That's why I can afford letting you hurt me." I watched her grab the handle of my knife and stab herself again with it. "You are the weak one."

"You completely lost your mind." I whispered as I fell down to one knee, this is not much of a fight... She never took me seriously, she never does even now she is playing with me.

"On the contrary I never seen anything as clearly as I do right now!" She kicked me in the shoulder, sending me down on my side, gods it hurts. "Now I'll show you why you don't play with me.... I have an empress to kill and you won't stop me."

"Don't yo--" A block of dirt shot me up in the air before an explosive blast of fire sent me flying.

I gasped when my body hit something softer then the ground.

"Got you."

"Kia?" I looked up and she grinned down.

"When Rained pointed me this way I never thought I'd see you flying this way."

"Why aren't you fighting?"

"Akito look around we are surrounded by our men, I don't need to fight them, let me get you to Owen."

"No wait..." My vision was swimming.

"It will be fine."

"Wait.... El..."

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I was kicked in the back and tumbled through several people in my way.

"Step down! This one's mine!" 

I stood up, glaring over my shoulder at who dared to do this but was met with a face I never saw tho her outfit was known.

I watched over the enemies that formed a circle around us two.

"Well well, the Executioner, fancy seeing you here." I said, twirling my sword around, helmet knocked clean off, somewhere in the dirt.

"Do fear her strength."

Well that's not good if my spirit tells me that.

"With her gone, you are the only thing in my way." She lifted her blade with the metal of it looking red hot as if pulled out of the forge right this instant.

Anger came over me.

"Don't you dare hurt what's mine."

"If you are lucky enough you'll have the opportunity to get buried next to that useless knight."

The thread snapped.

I threw my sword, hers knocking it out of the air, wild magic must be used to enhance her strength as she did stop it tho it knocked her weapon out of her hand.

"YOU DARED TO HURT HER?!?" I reeled my fist back and aimed for her throat when an arm made of ice slammed its elbow on my wrist and made me stumbled forwards, a knee driving itself into my stomach, despite being protected by armor it hurt.

I coughed before joined fists slammed down on my back.

"You know empress, you are strong but to a shadow knight you are but a child in skill level."

I pushed myself up and her new arm made of ice punched me in the face.

I grabbed it with my two hands, keeping it pressed against my face as I glared up.

"So be it, I will not give up even if that's the truth."

"I hoped you'd say that."

I had never been so easily bested as with the neck thing that came my way, a hand wrapped around my neck.

It had been long since I felt this mounting fear, unable to breath in as my lungs started to burn.

Fear was not something I felt since I left and split the empires and yet here it was eating away at me as no matter how much of my magical strength I put into slamming my fist down on her arm, or trying to, it bounced of the white-ish magic shield around it.

"Lets finish this."

She held out her normal arm and grabbed her sword held out to her by her soldier and waited.

When I couldn't fight on and my strength left me she shoved my away from her and swung the blade.