Acronius

Chapter 10: Alice

"Kalvin, are you sure about this? That doesn't sound like Alvin. Killing Eudon doesn't sound like something any one of us would even think about suggesting."

"Alice, I know Alvin, and he's strictly by the book, and if we go by the book, Eudon should have been killed as soon as we took him into our custody. Alvin looks for answers even when there isn't a simple one, that's what he'll suggest."

"Kalvi..."

Kalvin kisses me as soon as I start to talk. He has a calm, steady spirit, and his kiss eases me.

"Don't worry Alice, the Undecim won't fall apart, we are just going through a rough time. Even the best of friends fight sometimes."

After one more kiss, we walk home, hand in hand. People stare at us as we waltz our way down the street. As members of the Equos Undecim, we are pretty famous. I smell the fresh, warm smell of bread coming out of the oven at the local bakery, and I drag Kalvin in there with me.

"Come on Kalvin, let's eat, it'll help you destress."

"I'm not even that stressed, but if you insist, I can't turn down a meal."

We order soup and the finest bread they can bake. As they serve us, I think back to me and Kalvin's last mission together. We were with Eudon, and we thought we were going to have a simple mission. But what we got was the greatest fight I've ever seen.

—

"I want Eudon, Kalvin, and Alice in here immediately!"

I walk by just as Emperor Eli is calling for us. I walk into the throne room and see Eudon and Kalvin walking in behind me.

"Well that was fast. Which is exactly why I need you three. There is currently a riot going on in one of our outskirts. I need you guys to get there as fast as possible, get the riot under control, and save any injured citizens. Dismissed!"

And with that I kiss Kalvin on the cheek and head out at near top speed. Kalvin isn't to far behind me, and Eudon is nearly keeping pace with Kalvin. It amazes me that their travel speed is so close to mine. I could still go a little faster but I might need that energy for the riot.

Once we approach the outskirt city we can see the fire and smell the smoke from a couple miles away. As we enter the city, I immediately feel like something is off. No regular rioters could cause this level of destruction in such a short time. Me, Kalvin, and Eudon instinctively split up and scatter through the city. I do a perimeter run to further assess the damage. As I complete my perimeter check, I barely dodge an attack. As I look up I see a man who seems to radiate with his own massive amounts of heat.

"I don't know who you are, but you are under arrest, orders of Emperor Eli of Acronious."

"Me?! I am Incedium! Leader of the Terribilis Dolor! You may not know us now but trust me, you soon will! As for the under arrest comment, I'll ignore it, because I'd hate to murder such a pretty girl!"

"Alice!"

I can he Kalvin coming to help me, and just as he gets there, Incedium throws a blast at us both. Even though we can't see the blast, we can feel the blistering heat zoom past us. We dodged just in time, but a blast like that could incinerate most of our armor, and that would leave our bodies wide open to a direct blast from him. For now all we can do is retreat, dodging heat blast along the way. As we run through the city, we scale a tall building, and end up hiding on the roof. But that's when I feel the heat above us.

"Die you worthless scum!!!!"

"Nobody is dying today, except you!!!!"

Eudon using his telekinesis blocks the heat attack. He just barely saved our skin. Eudon slowly floats into the air and comes face to face with Incendium. Without hesitation, they immediately clash fist, neither one giving an inch. Kalvin picks me up and moves me to higher ground, where we are a little safer, and can still get a good view of this amazing fight. Eudon's telekinesis protects him from Incendium's heat and he has a slight edge over him. But even still they are pummeling each, punch for punch, kick for kick, both fighting with the intent to kill. After landing a clean barrage of kicks, Incendium gets cocky and leaves a kick out there for too long. Eudon takes full advantage of the moment and flings him into a nearby building, where he goes to land his own combo of attacks. This fight is leagues above my own power. Just when I thought I had seen it all, I see Eudon move in a flash, having caught Incendium on the ground. I'd heard of this move, but never seen it used before. The Flicker technique. Incendium began to fall as Eudon put his swords in their sheaths.