Summoning Woes

Ch 16 - Spirit

"Klavier!" a loud, husky voice shattered the silence between them. Maroma turned to the source of the noise, watching an armored man that warned her earlier about the request dive into battle with his great sword. Before he could land a strike on Madia, she teleported away, distancing herself from the swordsman.

"Aem?" Maroma asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you, of course. Klavier, where is he?"

Her chest tightened as she pointed at where he laid.

"You demon," rage swirled in his eyes as he turned to the goddess. "What have you done to him?!"

"I was just defending myself, no?" a sinister smile surfaced on Madia's face.

"What has defending got to do with murdering?"

"Everything. Be gone, mortal," she raised her hand, unleashing earth shards in the midst of water and a pool of darkness all in one combination. He raised his sword, blocking the attack with all his might, sliding across the ground as the force overwhelmed him. But before he could attempt to retaliate, Madia was already in front of him, unloading the deadly water cannon that sent him crashing to the wall. It wasn't about to stop him anytime soon, he stood right back up but not without a little bit of difficulty. He picked up his weapon, sending a wave of light just before his opponent could attempt slay him. It wasn't near enough to stop her; Madia maneuvered around the wave, sending a crippling kick to the side that sent him into the air again.

"You wouldn't stay down, would you?" Madia asked as Aem rose to his feet.

"It's not a matter of whether I'll win or not," Aem choked as blood filled his mouth. "There's somebody I need to protect."

"How delusional can you get?" Madia grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground.

As if his beliefs were only an illusion. Aem thrust the back of sword handle onto her face, twisting the nose off its original shape. She let go of him, curling up on the ground as she writhed in pain. But before he could finish her off, she unleashed a barrage of earth shards. Unlike the one that struck Klavier, the projectiles pierced through the thick armor and into his body. He reached out for one of the shards, attempting to pull out one of them when she slapped him on the face with her boot.

"That settles the other," Madia turned to Maroma once more, looking even more determined to destroy her once and for all. Just as she was about to strike down the helpless woman, the place lit with a white light so bright that it forced them to cover their eyes.

She turned to the source of the light, staring at Klavier's body that was hunching forward and back on his feet, supported by a white lion a few times larger than him. It spread its wings out, looking at Maroma briefly before merging itself with Klavier, leaving a white aura surrounding his body in its wake.

Not a single word was uttered as the supposedly dead Klavier rolled his eyes back to look at Madia, his face reflecting the fury of a tiger. Before anyone could say anything, he let out a piercing cry that shook Aem awake. He glanced at Maroma for a split second, softening his expression probably in an attempt to quell the panic that stirred her up in that rally shout, returning to the same fearsome appearance when he looked back at Madia.

"So you decided to play dead for a while, eh?" Madia asked. "So, how shall I destroy you?"

Klavier blazed through the sandy ground, kicking up a sandstorm at the swing of the sword as he got closer to his adversary. Madia took a step back, releasing a flurry of earth shards at him. He tilted to the side, evading most of the projectiles, unfazed by those that poked him as he struck her orb on its middle. He grabbed onto her arm before she could land a punch to the face, countering it with a head-butt that caused Madia to fall on her knees for a second.