The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Battle for Dialtown Chapter 4- Zantii Vs.

~Chapter 4- Zantii Vs. ~

         Corri lay in wait around the Southern district of Dialtown. It was eerily calm despite the battle raging outside the city's walls. The place they waited in was once a bustling marketplace, not a battlefield.

         Ruben, Nout, Temp, and several other swift individuals were in wait as well. They needed to be quick when it came to Zantii. All it would take is one mistake to feel the wrath of the blade he held.

         Corri saw Ool flying over buildings towards them. A short distance behind him was Zantii, jumping between rooftops in pursuit. The silver-eyed Ranuulan was terrifyingly persistent, moving at speeds that she didn't think a person was capable of.

         Ool flew over Corri. He turned to face Zantii, his eyes glowed, and gusts of winds manifested around them. A sphere of gales surrounded Zantii and picked him off the ground.

         "Now!" Corri shouted.

         Everyone on the ground with her unleashed Focus bursts of varying colors at Zantii, all of them spiraling towards him. As they did, Corri scaled a building, stood at the rooftop, and bounded at the Ranuulan King.

         But... the Focus Bursts merely annoyed him. When Corri lunged at him, he kicked her away. Though it looked like a light blow, Corri's body shook. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been hit that hard, and she fell back to the rooftop.

         Zantii swung his sword, and a red wave of light erupted from it. Ool didn't have time to react, and the light struck him. The Sky Deity fell into an adjacent building, and the gales that surrounded Zantii dissipated.

         Zantii dropped to the streets, and everyone who had been hiding continued to unleash long-range attacks. They struck him but to no effect. But their purpose wasn't to hurt him; it was to draw his attention away from Corri.

         Zantii flourished his hand; a radiant light erupted from his fist, and suddenly the building he faced crumbled apart, burying those still inside it.

         Ruben jumped out of the building, but Zantii met him as he did. There was a swipe from his sword, and the left portion of Ruben's rocky torso fell away from it, becoming lifeless rocks.

         There was pure terror in Ruben's eyestones as he fell back. Corri jumped from the rooftop at Zantii, intending to kill him then and there. But Zantii blocked a strike from her gauntlets with his sword without even looking at her.

         Zantii turned and grabbed her by the shirt. With a twist of his wrist, Corri was tossed away at lightning speeds. She was sent rocketing through several buildings, landing in one of the town squares.

         Her whole body ached. He threw her through wood and concrete as if it were paper. She found herself covered in dust.

         How could anyone be that strong?

         Corri struggled to get to all fours. She managed to get her feet beneath her and slowly rose to an unsteady standing position.

         A statue of the goddess was at the center of the town square, with empty market stalls, vacated buildings, and a church around it. Beyond the statue was Zantii skulking towards her. Blood stained the sword he held.

         "Lunahreim told me about you, young one," Zantii said with a sneer, "That I should be careful. Can't imagine why."

         Corri wanted to run, but she wasn't sure if she had the strength to. Temp and Nout appeared from behind Zantii, unleashing their own green Focus bursts against him. The King batted them away and returned his own. Several buildings around them collapsed, and Corri lost sight of the two.

         Zantii turned his gaze back to Corri, flourished his sword, and dashed forward at a staggering speed.

         This was it. She couldn't stop him. This is where she was going to die. She futilely raised her fists to face him...

         But... a figure darted between them. They delivered a single kick to Zantii, and the King careened into the goddess' statue. 

         Corri looked at the figure. A young man with rough black hair. He turned to her; he shared her brown eyes and rounded nose.

         "Aero?" Corri asked.

         Aero smiled, "Hey, sis! Are you okay?"

         Corri nodded, still in disbelief.

         Zantii got back to his feet but was kicked away again by another figure. He was propelled through the windows of the nearby church. Corri looked and saw the familiar blonde hair and stoic expression of Jirro.

         "Corri!" Jirro shouted, "Get out of here! Aero and I will handle Zantii."

         "No, he's way too strong! You might've caught him off guard just now, but that won't happen again!" Corri pleaded.

         Aero helped Corri to her feet, and she noticed a peculiar orb-shaped satchel hanging from his neck, "Trust us, okay?"

         The church started to rumble and shake. The foundation of it exploded apart, and from it walked Zantii, his horned crown now missing and his robes covered in dust.

         Jirro shouted at Corri, "Hurry! Go!"

         Corri rushed away with what strength she had, and headed into a nearby building for cover. Aero and Jirro stood at the center of the town square, ready.

         Zantii had a scowl across his face. He was livid. He leveled his sword in the air and pointed it at Aero, "You! You're that one Lunahreim wanted me to spare. How did you escape the Khalm?"

          Aero smirked, "I broke out."

         Zantii rolled his eyes, "Should've killed you back in the woods!"

         Aero said, "I want a rematch! No sword. No tricks. Just my cousin and I versus you."

         Zantii raised his brow at this proposal; he genuinely seemed to deliberate on it. He flourished his sword and spat, "You're not worth the effort."

         Zantii zipped across the town square towards the two boys. Aero tore the orb he wore from its satchel and reached towards Jirro. "Let's hope this works."

         Aero and Jirro both made contact with the orb. In that precise instant, lightning spiraled down from the sky and struck where the two stood. Zantii stopped and covered his eyes. A radiant light visible to all emanated from the impact, and the two boys seemed to be absorbed into that light. For a moment, all was still.

         The light slowly dimmed to nothing, and a new figure stood where Aero and Jirro did. Hair matted with black and blonde, one eye blue and the other brown. The figure was slightly taller than either Aero or Jirro, and his face shared features of both boys. That same orb was tied into a drawstring around this figure's neck.

         Even as Zantii readied his sword, there was a cocky smirk across the figure's face.