Books of Flame

Keep your friends Close

The administrator fell to the ground with a loud thud. It seemed like time had passed as Alivia's eyes filled with tears. 

She screamed with a "no" as she headed toward the king. The rage in her eyes and her sheer anger made her run faster than ever. She cut off the king's hand with a simple swipe and stabbed her sword deep into the king's chest. She had an expression of pure rage and sadness. As the king fell to his feet, she ran straight to the administrator. 

"No no no no," she whispered to herself. "Please don't die... Please don't die..." She kept saying that repeatedly as tears dropped down her face.

"I don't think that will help," The administrator said weakly. 

She breathed a slight sigh of relief. The administrator was bleeding all over the place. She touched the spear to remove it from his shoulder. 

"Stop Alivia, that will not only cause more pain but lead to more bleeding." The administrator shouted. His voice indicated he was in incredible pain. 

"What should I do???" She exclaimed. She was in a panicked frenzy trying to figure out how to remove the spear.

"Follow my lead, do exactly as I say. Please do this correctly because it may lead to my death." The administrator, even though filled with pain, was calmly talking to her as if it was a calm day of peace. Alivia nodded her head as she got ready for whatever she needed to do. 

"Get a cloth that could be used to stop me from bleeding out" The administrator guided. "and put it nearby." She took a clean cloth that was present near the king's room. "Light a fire somewhere close to me" She did just as he asked. "Get one of the swords from the guards, preferably one that is still in its cover" She rushed and found one sword which still was in its cover on a fallen guard's belt. She took out the sword and rushed back to him. 

"Remove the spear gently and carefully." He advised her. She carefully removed the spear. She could hear a slight response, as the administrator was taking deep breaths audibly. "Now suppress the bleeding, now!" He shouted at her with full force. She took the cloth and put pressure on the wound. He put his hand on the cloth. "Get a second cloth, a long one that's clean." He exclaimed. She ran at full speed to grab a robe of sorts from the king's closet. "Now cut a piece of my tissue and remove it" She did so as the administrator grunted loudly. "Now..."

"Heat the sword up for around 30 seconds" She heated the sword over the campfire she had made near him. "Place it on my wound and keep it there for a couple of seconds." His voice had a sudden gush of fear, he knew what was coming. She placed the heated sword on his wound for a couple of seconds. He shouted with a grunt. Normally any human would have screamed in agony, but the administrator stayed calm through it. She covered his shoulder with the robe tightly. 

"It's done, apologies for scaring you and making you all this" the administrator breathed a sigh of relief. 

She slapped him with full force. Most of her hand hit his metal mask, but her anger suppressed any pain she experienced. "Don't you dare say that! God! for once, think about yourself! I know it's "Service before Self" but seriously, don't!" Her voice was a mix of sadness, relief, anger and worrying. The administrator simply nodded. 

"It is time for you to go Alivia, open the main door of the castle and knock out the rest of the guards" He commanded her.

"But-"

"No, I'm fine. I may have severe pain but I can defend myself. I still have one arm and two legs. Now go. To bring victory, you must go now..." His voice turned back to the calm, deep and low voice she was familiar with it. 

With a slight doubt, but a motivated self, she grabbed her sword and headed to the castle. The administrator, on the other hand, decided it was best to rest right now. He closed his eyes and had what people called a "shortsleep".  He had learnt this while roaming the lands of Russia. He could sleep for only 15-20 minutes and wake up. It wasn't the best thing to do, but it was the best thing to do right now. After only 10 minutes, he was woken up by sadistic laughing. 

"Well, Well, what do we have here" it was a familiar voice. He recognized it. It was Kingsling Robert Howard, also known as "Crowlik". He had battled and lost to the administrator before. He remembered that night in France, Europe. 

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise?" His voice showed narcissism and pridefulness. He let out his sword and gently slid it through the administrator's neck. He kneeled down to see the administrator face to face, who was sitting next to a wall. 

"How wonderful, I get to kill you piece by piece, so wonderful..." A smirk formed on Crowlik's face.

"I advise you to not get close to me if you value your life" 

He got even closer to his mask. "Oh? is this better?" Crowlik thought of his words as empty threats. 

"Last chance"

He laughed it up as he touched his mask "let's first see what scarred face you have behind this metal plate that you hide" 

The administrator kicked his nose. He fell to the ground with a shriek. He then kicked his face. The administrator got up and kicked him 6 more times. "I do not require arms to defeat you, Crowlik" The administrator turned away to walk in the other direction. Crowlik silently got up and grabbed his sword. He charged with the sword toward him. 

A sound of rustling, of a sword swinging fast and cutting through the wind, could be heard. The administrator's sword had a tip of blood on its hilt. Crowlik, covering his face, sounded like he was screaming. Drops of blood were coming down his face. The administrator had swung a sword directly to his face without even looking. 

"I did not want to do this, Crowlik, but you left me no choice."