The Zodiac Empire

Chapter 26 - Of Wrath and Wind

Kill him. That was the only thought that ran through Alile's head. She didn't care what her sprite said, she didn't care what any future had in store for her. Silver must die here.

Silver emerged from the pile of burning debris Alile had blasted him into. He roared a primal, almost bestial war cry, and stampeded his way towards Alile, his sword held like a spear, pointed at Alile's chest.

"Wiblenad!" Alile chanted, pointing her wand at Silver. She felt her mana surge and pulse with her rage under her skin before the spell erupted from her wand.

Two hundred, maybe more, blades of air formed from her wand. It was at least twice the max she'd ever produced. She supposed it was true that determination enhances mana. Without hesitation, she shot every single blade at the prince.

Knowing he had nowhere to hide, Silver struck his blade into the ground and stood firm. He howled in agony as each blade ripped into his armor, each closer to his skin and flesh than the last. If not for his damned armor, he'd be dead already.

Silver slumped to his knees, panting and coughing hysterically. His armor was left in tattered shreds, blood oozing all over his body.

Alile panted almost as heavy as the prince and grabbed her forehead. Not now...she could ignore the pain for now. It wouldn't take much more to kill him.

Alile gave her wand a twirl. A rope of wind emerged. She yanked her arm back, tying the rope around the prince's foot. With another yank of her arm, she slammed Silver into the ground repeatedly. She didn't stop until her head surged with so much pain she was forced to grab it with both hands. "Come on...", she thought, "I've still got mana left! I'm not done yet!"

She thrusted her palms forward. More blades of air emerged, but this time, it was no more than fifty.

Silver picked up his battered and bruised body, the remains of his armor falling off in the process. As Alile's blades flew towards him, he swung his sword, slicing each one in half.

"How?!" Alile shouted. How could he still have the energy to fight, after everything she put him through? A normal man should've died a long time ago. Right?!

Silver's helmet rolled off. His blonde hair hung loose like a lion's mane and he glared at Alile, his eyes burning with rage. He moved his lips as if to speak but broke into a fit of coughing.

"You better get a real good look at me," Alile hissed at him, "I'll be the last thing you see before you fall to hell, you scum!"

She couldn't fathom how he moved so fast. He was fifty feet away from her. Now he was five feet away, sword pointed at her neck.

Alile shot a spiral windblast at Silver's sword, sending it flying far away.

But that didn't protect her. His fist connected with her jaw. Then her gut. Now her face. It was Alile's turn to howl in pain. She felt the tears forming in her swollen eye and tasted the blood from her busted lip. Her ribs felt broken.

Striking with rapid succession, Silver gave Alile no time to wonder where he's energy came from, each swing getting faster than the last. His swings were so swift that even Alile, an Aeromancer, had to stay on her toes to dodge.

"Niwufdry!" she chanted, transforming her wand into the twin blades while jumping over Silver's head, landing behind him. To hell with it! If her mana wouldn't last, she'd just have to pierce his heart.

She swung her blades as Silver whipped around. He hissed in pain as her blades grazed the back of his neck. With him now facing Alile, she thrusted for his heart.

He caught her by the wrists and hauled her off her feet, his grip so tight that she heard her wrists crush and dropped her weapon. Silver pressed his face centimeters away from hers and glared right into her eyes. He released one of his hands, but his grip remained just as strong.

"Sangrum," he whispered, holding his free hand out. His sword materialized in his grip.

"Am I going to die...?" Alile thought. Her eyes widened as she dangled and squirmed under his grip. She kicked at him. She tried to summon her magic, only to send a searing pain reverberating through her head. For the first time today, she felt something other than a burning desire for vengeance; she felt utterly powerless. She felt afraid.

Silver collapsed, breaking into yet another coughing fit. He released Alile from his grip and grabbed his chest, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

Alile scrambled for her weapon. The pain in her wrists was so severe that she could hardly hold her blades, let alone strike. But she wouldn't get another chance. It was now or never.

She charged.

Silver booted her in the face with enough force to send her flying miles back. She crashed through one of the burning stands and the whole thing collapsed on her. She coughed from all the smoke. Her vision blurred, but she looked up to see Silver trudging his way over to her, sword in hand.

That was it. There was no way she could take him down now. "I can't do it. Robin...I'm sorry, I don't think I can avenge you." She let the tears break loose from her eyelids. She lay still and shut her eyes, ready to meet her demise.

"All it takes is the smallest little action to put a smile on someone else's face."

Robin? That was his voice in her head just then.

"Even if you can't feel the joy to smile yourself, you can still be satisfied with bringing happiness to others! And what greater joy could there be than making someone else smile?"

"R-Robin, I-I..." she choked on her words. Damn it... damn it all! He asked her to bring joy to others. That's all he asked of her! She felt a new emotion: guilt.

"I-I'm so sorry..." she sobbed. The one thing he asked of her, she went and did the exact opposite. This was all her fault. Alsen was going to get kidnapped. Naito was going to get killed. And Alile was to blame. She knew this was going to happen. She could've prevented it all. But she didn't. Instead, she used it as her chance to take Silver on, to avenge Robin, to get her peace back. And what a good job she did at that! He wanted to bring joy to the world. She brought nothing but pain and misery.

Alile couldn't die here. She wasn't ready to see Robin again, not like this. It was impossible to right her wrongs now, but she had to do something, anything, to minimize the harm she caused.

She mustered up the last bit of strength left in her body and crawled from under the rubble. "Invisibale," she muttered, turning herself invisible. She shut her eyes and focused on finding Naito. When Spritelile gave her directions, she ignored all her pain and sprinted off.