Alasla: The New Age

Chapter Forty-Three - Lasbender

Crossing her arms before her chest, a ring of blue flared off Kanitha. Ralph recognizes this move. It was what she used on him during their encounter in Flow Jungle.

Blood, sweat, or any other liquid lifted off the islands like beads of bullets. He could hear Shelly's deep growl of discomfort from the volcanoes. He felt the hilt of his sword, prepared if she decided to come and spit another fireball at them.

Lucy glared suspiciously as the droplets sped through the air, circling her. She tried breaking it apart experimentally, but it only recovered itself better than the last time each time she tries.

The next second they froze in the air at the same time Kanitha whispered '1500 meters pressure'.

The circle of the ground beneath Lucy's face shattered under the strong compression. She herself was instantly framed into the rocks with a spritz of blood, a sharp, faint scream emitted from her throat before she disappears behind the crumbling pieces of rocks and debris.

It didn't take Ralph more than two seconds to realize that Kanitha's attack this time is much stronger than the one used on him. If she'd keep this up for long enough, she would perhaps be able to badly wound or even kill Lucy.

But soon, after about half a minute later, Kanitha fell to her knees. Ralph did not know how to help at this moment but not make trouble or distractions for her. If he gets any closer to her attack range, the one pinned into the rocks would've been him.

With a roar, Kanitha held onto the ongoing pressure for a couple of seconds longer, then with a shriek from Lucy, she was blown backward. Ralph caught her before she crash-landed into the rocks, looking up, the first thing he sees marching towards them full of rage was a heavily bloodied Lucy.

Ralph spotted a few broken bones sticking out of her skin here and there, but what caught his attention the most was a teddy bear which she now held in her hand.

"That was strong..." She rasped, her grip holding the arm of the teddy tightening. "But expected as a Lasbender."

"My name is Harusin," Kanitha spat. "So don't call me by that name."

"But you are one of us," Lucy shrugs helpfully. "I wouldn't call that a name, if you ask me. It's just a title for people who are born with purposes."

With a glare, she lifted her arm, sending the teddy flying towards the sky.

The moment she tosses the teddy, Ralph realized what it was.

"The third item of the Ten Magieas, the Teddy," he explained to Kanitha as he pulled out Rain. With shivering a hand, Kanitha pushed his sword back down.

"This is my fight," she muttered. "So don't stop me yet."

The Strange flared upon her wrist as the Teddy plunged back onto the ground before her. A streak of excitement flashed across Lucy's face, the Strange's glow sparking in her eyes.

"You're finally going to use it?" She laughed. "Show me what can the strongest of the Ten Magieas do!"

Twitching her fingers, Teddy's limbs moved along stimutanously. Using it as a puppet, it dashed towards Kanitha. Before she had realized what happened, the Teddy was behind her, leaving two, thin cuts on her cheek.

But a flash of confusion and disappointment washed over Lucy's face. "Why is it..."

"I forgot to mention," Kanitha breathed softly. "Before The Strange, the rest of the Ten Magieas would automatically lose their powers."

She did not give time for Lucy to be shocked. Kanitha clutched her hand around Lucy's neck. Clutching her arm with her other hand, the Strange burnt brighter as Lucy's scream grew louder.

Squinting through the halo of light, Ralph caught a glimpse of what was happening with Lucy.

Her frozen dignity and beauty that was once so delicate and gracefully characterized are now slipping away like water down a drain. Her smooth, silver hair now shriveled to a handful of dry, dead branch-like substance. Her skin sucked back towards her skull, sculpting out her nose and cheekbones so sharp that it could cut glass. 

She's draining away her life. Ralph realized with a shiver. 

His heart fell as Lucy snapped open her white-out eyes. They rolled to the side of her eyes, locked onto Ralph. 

With a slight twitch of her fingers, Ralph was pulled towards her by an invisible force he could not fight against, his neck landing squarely into Lucy's bony fingers.

"Let me go... Now," Lucy hissed. "Or I kill him."

Biting his lips, despite the pain and the dizziness that had started to whelm into his head, Ralph pulls out Rain, slicing it through Lucy's hand. 

Along with Lucy's painful howl, Ralph felt a sharp sting above his left eye. The pressure around his neck was gone, as he fell to the ground, he sees Lucy's hand rolling away.

"Too late," she grinned. "I've left Teddy's poison on you."

As she speaks, the place where he felt the sting on the top of his eye throbbed painfully. He should've known. The Teddy is known as one of the strongest poisonous members of the Ten Magieas. After all, he's not wearing the Strange. The poison would be equally deadly against him just like any other ordinaries.

This had successfully distracted Kanitha from what she was doing. Using this opportunity, Lucy slammed her fist into her stomach, blowing her away. She then turned to Ralph, smiling with all her teeth.

"The poison would infect your eye," she explained proudly. "Then your brain. I hope that friend of yours would enjoy watching you die like this?"

"Oh, she won't," Ralph spoke lightly, angling his sword. He would not become a burden to Kanitha. He can't just let himself die like this.

There has been one thing he had been told and trained for since a very young age. Sacrifice for the greater good. When that one 'Goodbye' is needed, not doing so would only bring trouble.

He still remembers it. That's why he did not hesitate at all when he ran Rain across his face, leaving a deep, permanent cut over his eye, slicing away the poison.