Angel's Ascension: Strife (Book Ten)

Chapter 39: Feelings Unchained

Lucy lay on her back and dragged herself up with an elbow. Her right side felt lighter as she glanced over at it. She noticed blood soaking into her shirt, pants, and hair. An immense pain struck her and she screamed. "What happened to my arm!? And where'd Lucina go?"

Across from her in a pile of rubble, Lucina pushed herself out of rocks and dirt. She held a hand over her shoulder and winced while dry blood caked her clothes. "It seems like we both lost a limb in that attack. I should be in shock but I'm too angry to care." Lucina stepped into a puddle and eyed her reflection. With narrowed eyes, she ripped a piece of her shirt off and tossed it away.

"Ugh, I can barely stand up with this pain shooting through me. I won't let you win so easily." Lucy stumbled to her feet and clenched down on her chest. She huffed while sweat ran down her face and blood dripped off on the ground. "The worlds are counting on me to make sure you don't succeed..." Her wings twitched and a purple aura manifested. A bright flashing light enveloped Lucy as energy gathered to her right side.

Lucina raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Is that so, Lucy? Well, if we keep this up then we'll lose another arm!" Her body trembled until dark energy covered her like a shield. It soon gathered to her left side and a limb emerged over the nub. A hand created from dark energy stretched out as she clenched it. "Though I don't mind if it means putting you down."

Lucy narrowed her eyes, the energy from her body also created an arm. "I know that this takes a lot of our strength to even manage such a thing. I'm going all in with this to stop you!" She yelled.

The two leaped off the platforms and raised their fists at each other. With a short exchange of punches, dozens of shock waves flew out between them. Hot air soon rose from below and a single punch by the two pushed them back. Lucy landed on a tall building and hopped onto the ledge. She swung an arm over her head and palmed the hot air. A heat wave shortly followed and blasted Lucina from far away. Lucina quickly back flipped over it and struck a statue.

"Can't catch a break from being on equal terms. This is really pissing me off!" Lucina held a hand to the sky and a vortex spun from it. Once enough dark energy gathered, she held it like a frisbee and tossed it out. The vortex ignited with sparks and electricity until a loud hum emitted. She controlled the direction of it and attempted to cut into Lucy's back.

"You're telling me!" Lucy extended an arm and caught the vortex before it reached her face. The pressure from it burned her skin and she quickly clamped down until the vortex vanished. With a hefty swing, she slammed a fist into the ground, and pillars of dark energy shot up. "I just need to land a solid hit on Lucina and the rest should be easy." She stared down at her reddened hand and frowned.

Lucina jumped into the air before disappearing into the clouds. Thunder soon rumbled from them as black static manifested. Dark lightning bolts scattered and rained down on the plaza. Each bolt struck an object and burnt them into smoldering piles of ash. She slowly descended from the sky with both arms crossed. "We may be at our limits but that doesn't mean our attacks won't deal any massive damage."

Lucy scowled at her and rolled to a building where lightning nearly zapped her. "Ugh, I hate lightning. Why do almost all my opponents have it?" She glanced from the cover and aimed a finger at the sky. A dark energy beam fired out and dispersed the clouds within seconds. Her wings flapped and she dashed out of the building to face Lucina.

"Nice you blew your cover and now I can unleash this!" Lucina dug her nails into a slab of concrete as she pulled it out of the road. With a quick toss, she threw it at Lucy and flashed a grin. "It's funny that I've had to resort to throwing bricks at you. Now just sit there and perish!"

"No way I'll let something this cheap take me out." Lucy held her arm and swung it around until she slammed a fist into the concrete. It crumbled instantly and fired rocks back at Lucina. She scoffed before dashing toward her and spinning in a circle. Dark energy spiked the rocks and further increased their momentum.