Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 33 ~ Part 1||

Blood pounded in Shouto's ears. He was sweating, and he could feel his chiton sticking to his shoulders and back, but knew he didn't have time to rest.

His fingers tightened around Endeavor's red hilt. Scorching heat surrounded him. Bright golden-orange flames crawled over charred bodies and up scorched pine trees, saturating the air with ash, wood, and the acrid smell of baked mud.

On the other side of the flames and burning bodies, men with cracked skin stood at the ready, blocking his escape. Their swords were drawn, but it was their eyes that made Shouto's throat tighten in unease. Their gazes were lifeless, like soulless puppets moving on invisible wires.

Golems.

As though on a silent cue, the next wave of attackers advanced through the flames towards him. They weren't particularly skilled and had no finesse or coordination in their attack, but they were fearless and unhesitating. And there were at least twenty of them and counting.

They were growing in number, Shouto realized in frustration as he took down the two closest golems. Magic crackled along Shouto's left arm, and heat engulfed the bodies.

The other soulless attackers didn't stop as their comrades dissolved in flames. Three of them lunged forward in unison.

Shouto pivoted. He took them down, using magic to incinerate their bodies before casting a powerful ice spell to force back the other golems closing in on him.

Shouto wiped the sweat from his face. He was breathing heavily, and his skin felt pinched and sore from the overuse of his power. He didn't have much time. He needed to end this soon before he lost any more magic.

Panting, he looked around. On the other side of the flames, a lone man stood back in the shadow of the pine trees. Raw rage erupted through Shouto's chest, making his head ache with fury as he stared at the figure. He couldn't see the person's face, but he knew instinctively that he needed to kill them to end this.

He tore his gaze away as the flash of a sword caught the corner of his eye. Shouto spun and flicked his sword up. The golem he struck didn't even blink as his head was severed from his body. Magic crackled along Shouto's skin, and the attacker's decapitated body was consumed in orange fire. The other golems were still held back by the ice.

This may be his only chance.

Shouto pivoted and turned back, taking a leap. Magic shrieked around him, and ice erupted under Shouto's feet. It propelled him over the flames and the soulless puppets, setting him on a collision course with the person in the shadows.

The puppet master tried to fall back, but Shouto was faster. He whipped Endeavor up. There was a cry of pain. Soft flesh tore as Endeavor pierced through the person's chest, and wet, sticky rivulets of blood covered Shouto's hands.

His heart sang with victory.

He had done it.

He had won.

He could go home.

"Todo..roki..."

Shouto froze. Slowly, he lifted his head. His heart twisted in disbelief as his eyes trailed down Endeavor's red hilt, over the silver steel of the blade to where the sword was embedded in a woman's chest.

It felt as though he had been stabbed too. Horror choked him. Shouto couldn't breathe. It felt as though his lungs were collapsing. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.