Red Hawk

Chapter Eleven: Fade To Silver

Kai and Ezna met with Elryn at the crack of dawn. He seemed quite pleased to see Kai there, "My master knew you would be unable to resist finding me."

"Your master?" Kai questioned. That seemed to anger him. He charged towards Elryn, "Last time, you could barely stand Hibiki!" Kai went to knee Elryn, who dodge with a jump back. In response, Kai went for a spin kick. However Elryn was ready, blocking the strike with his sheathed sword. Planting his hands to the ground, Kai continued his assault of spinning kicks. Each one was blocked, but the barrage eventually caused Elryn to lose a bit of balance.

At that moment, Kai managed to sweep his legs. While Elryn was in mid fall, Ezna ran up on him. She flipped over Kai, slamming her heel into Elryn's gut. "Stay out of this," Kai told her as they backed up.

"I can't do that," Ezna wicked at him, "I'm part of this guild as well." Elryn was laughing as he stood up. He finally unsheathed his sword, the blade stained black, the metal twisted into what could only be described as demonic. With a flick of his wrist, a powerful wind was released from the edge, cutting through the snow upon the ground. A red light danced around his sword.

Swiping it down vertically, he sent an energy wave towards Ezna. She created a shield out of her Chi, but Kai could tell. It wasn't going to be enough. Instinctively, he jumped before her and put up his own Chi barrier. His was able to hold back the attack for a moment, cracks forming within the barrier the moment contact was made. Shattering like glass, Kai's barrier gave out. The shockwave pushed him out of the way.

Ezna was able to block the attack due to how reduced its power had become. "Does she mean that much to you?" Elryn laughed as Kai hit the ground. Blood dripped from Kai's brow, the shockwave having cut him over his left eye. In the blink of an eye, Elryn was now standing before Kai, "Give me those eyes!" He went to rip Kai's eyes right out of his skull.

Kai managed to drive his heel into Elryn's chin, lifting him off the ground. Once he was off the ground, Ezna pointed towards him. A blast of pink lightning released from her fingertips. Something that shocked everyone there. Ezna called out to Kai, "Watch out!" Elryn was able to fight through the pain, attempting to stab into Kai's leg. Thanks to Ezna's warning, he had enough time to kick the blade away, flipping onto his feet to gain some distance.

Elryn charged toward, a flurry of sword strikes to keep Kai from being able to counterattack. The two were too close for Ezna to use her lightning magic. So instead, she charged towards him in hopes to strike him from behind. Sparks danced in her hand, her fist balled up. As she went to throw an electrified jab, Elryn jumped out the way. She had too much momentum to stop, Kai having to quickly spin around her attack.

Even though he dodged her attack, Elryn was able to grab the back of his head. Kai was shoved face first into the ground. Ezna charged to try and help Kai, but Elryn saw it coming. Before she could get close enough, he knocked her away with a Chi shield. Rolling through the snow, it took her a moment to catch herself. Once back on her feet, Ezna charged again.

This time with lightning around her fist. It took a couple of blows, but she shattered the shield and continued her charge. As she got closer, Elryn and Kai both noticed the lightning in her hands had started fading. She was starting to run out of Aura.

"Turn around!" Kai yelled out before having his face slammed into the ground. Elryn grabbed his sword, a smirk on his face. Once more, the blade began to glow red. But instead of unleashing the energy, he let it build up. Ezna got close enough, she was in range for a wide slash.

Blood splattered against the snow. Elryn having slashed her across her waist. The force of the built up energy sent her sliding a few feet from them, the trail in the snow littered with dots of red. Without warning, Ezna coughed up blood before she fell to the ground motionless, sinking into the snow. Red dying the snow around her as she remained in place. Elryn got off of Kai, making his way to her side.

"Don't do it!" Kai called out, standing to his feet. Elryn aimed his sword towards Ezna. "Stop it, she's defenseless!" Kai went to stop him from finishing her off. Annoyed by his interference, Elryn swiped towards Kai. A small wave of energy came at Kai, weak enough to be blocked without much Chi. But there was enough pause in Kai's step for him to finish what he started.

Though now, he would be unable to finish Ezna off in time. Instead he focused on her arm. Without a second thought, Elryn brought down his sword, severing Ezna's left arm at the elbow.

Tears swelled in Kai's eyes, the vibrant orange fading to a dull silver as he watched her arm separate from her body. His Chi began to spiral out of control, a black and silver mist spiraling around him. Feeling his breath grow heavy and his heart race, all color faded from Kai's vision. The world frozen in a monochrome photo. Everything turned red. Full speed, he charged towards Elryn.

With a smirk, the swordsman tried to cut down the rage blinded Kai. His sword was unable to break through Kai's Chi, the cloud around him snapping the blade in half. "The hell?!" Elryn questioned as Kai unleashed a barrage of attacks. All punches. Caught off guard by this as well, Elryn was unable to block a single attack. Blow after blow, Elryn was pushed back. Bruises and broken bones filled his being, and still the barrage continued. For Elryn, it seemed as if all time had frozen when the barrage ended.

Kai clenched his fist, all of his Chi focusing into his knuckles. Elryn closed his eyes, accepting death. Before such a thing could happen, Kai fainting before him. Relief washed over Elryn, who also collapsed as all the pain caught up to him.

It was nightfall by the time Kai awoke, lying in a hospital bed. There was a pounding in his head, focused behind his eyes. It was followed by a deep burning sensation. His attention turned towards the mirror. Something told him there was something wrong with his face. He was perfectly fine, but he couldn't shake the feeling something terrible happened. For a split second, his reflection had silver eyes. For some reason that flash scared him.

A nurse walked into the room, "Oh, you've awoken. Do you feel alright?"

"I'm fine," Kai somewhat lied. He was physically alright, but his mental state was off. "What happened to Elryn?"

"That swordsman?" questioned the nurse. She started to flip through pages on her clipboard. "Let's see, ah! We made sure he wasn't in mortal danger and shipped him off to prison."

"And of the girl? Ezna?"

"She's going to pull through," the nurse reassured him, "however she is going to need a lot of time to recover." She then started to lead Kai to her location. She was still asleep after her surgery. Bandages wrapped around her waist, and what was left of her arm. Upon seeing her, Kai broke down into tears. He had been right there, and still was unable to help her.

Kai stepped into the hallway, pulling out the red stone he used to contact Odin, "I managed to defeat Elryn, he's been locked up."

"I am pleased to hear that," Odin's voice excitedly said. "Have you been able to get answers about Hibiki from him."

"Not yet," Kai sighed, "but I do have more to report. Ezna has been critically damaged, and I experienced...something."

"Something?" Odin was not pleased with that wording. "Kai, what is this something?"

Kai took a deep breath, "My eyes turned, silver." Everything fell silent. "Hello?" Kai questioned in fear. "Headmaster Odin?"

Odinfinally spoke up, "Have you ever heard of Ragnarok?"