Discordant Note: Crescendo | TBATE

Chapter 183: A Dance of Death

Olfred Warend

The thin, hair-like strands all across my armor waved like reeds in the wind, quietly dancing in tune with my inevitable demise. The air in my lungs shuddered once more, my continued breathing only allowed by the elven lance across from me.

I kept my hands raised in submission as I faced Aya. Her eyes were sharp and deadly, like the way she treated her enemies.

I'd lured the boy, Arthur Leywin, here on instruction from Elder Rahdeas. His disposal was supposed to be clean and quick, as my father needed. But Retainer Uto–damn the man–had opted to go and fight, leaving me to face off with Lance Phantasm–who Arthur had brought in anticipation of my betrayal–within the bunker I'd created for the Alacryans.

I only hope Rahdeas survives what is coming to him, I thought, feeling a vein in my neck pulse. The Council won't be merciful to him. But... but I will not be here to protect him.

I slowly nodded at the elven Lance across from me in acknowledgment. She had burns along her arms from where I'd managed to score her body, but the damage was minimal. "Despite our disagreements, it was an honor working with you," I said honestly, preparing myself to die.

I thought I saw a bare sliver of remorse in Aya's hard eyes, but I knew I'd never be able to confirm it. The air left my lungs, streaming out in a slow swirl. I fell to my knees, my vision blackening at the edges as I prepared for Mother Earth's embrace.

Will it only be darkness? I found myself thinking as shadow slowly overtook my body. Is... is that all?

My eyes finally closed, and I expected to never open them again.

But then something strange happened. A buzzing, barely audible, brushed against my ears as it neared. And suddenly, I could breathe again. My lungs burned as I gasped, my eyes shooting open as I coughed. I retched dizzily as my vision flashed, my hands digging into the earth beneath my feet.

Someone else stood over me, blocking the elven Lance from my sight. I blinked, struggling to focus my sight. Who...

"You managed to sever my mana strands," Aya said, the mist around us suddenly thickening once more. "Peculiar man. And who might you be, to interrupt my kill?" she asked, her voice dropping dangerously at the last words.

The man shifted from where he stood over me, bronze armor flashing in the low light. "Leave this place, Lance Phantasm," he said, his voice wavering unnaturally. "Olfred Warend will not die today."

"Now, that's not something you can so casually decide," Aya's smooth voice said, echoing from all sides. "To deny a Lance her fight. I've heard about you, though. The phoenix hybrid, wasn't it?"

I groaned as I struggled to pull myself to my feet, my body sluggish and unresponsive. I needed to fight, to–

"You're suffering from oxygen deprivation damage to your body. Retreat into the walls, Olfred," a voice seemed to whisper right beside my other ear. The voice of the man above me. "Scythe Seris is here to retrieve you. I can handle this here."

"So rude to leave a lady out of your conversation," Aya's voice feathered against my ear. "There's another Alacryan here, then? That means I can get three heads in one simple attack!"

Aya flashed out of the mist, her arm coated in a whirlwind of compressed air as she struck at the intruder. To my surprise, the man managed to deflect the strike, retaliating with a fist covered in burning fire. It went straight through the illusory form of the elven Lance.

A distraction, I thought. And it's going to hit–

The Alacryan thrust his hand out, throwing a trio of fireballs to the side. They impacted Aya's wind blades, but her attack scythed right through his own. The man leveraged a burning blade of mana, swinging it and destroying the wind attacks as they nearly reached my prone body.