Rogue Adventures - A Tale from Neverbeen Universe

29

From the corner of his eye Azrael noticed Thanatos and the others arrive; he was glad for their presence as he didn't know if Rhaleigh and him could take on Raphael and Kaye alone. Or at least one of them.

Now that this Kaye person had done her evil deed and helped unleash this evil energy she was not just evading anymore but had engaged in a real fight. Not that she wielded any weapon to counter Azrael's scythe with, but every few seconds she threw balls of chaotic magic at the Reaper, who rather swerved them than parried them with his scythe. He could see her magic caused random effects which could range from a rain of flower petals to a flaming inferno, and he couldn't foresee what might happen upon impact with these magic balls.

She was pretty agile, Azrael had to give her that. But he was also pretty fleet-footed. While she had wings to accelerate her flight, he could levitate. Their fight became some kind of evasive dance. Azrael slashed with his scythe, she swerved; she threw a chaotic magic ball, he ducked. Back and forth, back and forth.

The magic exploded upon impact with anything; and anything could happen then. A flash struck Azrael as he was still within range. It paralyzed him for a few seconds as he recovered from the pain, and she used the time to prepare another magic ball, which hit his midriff. A whirlwind of snow emerged, cold but not quite effective. Azrael regained his stance and gripped his scythe firmly, his determination renewed. But Kaye readied another ball of chaotic magic. This time Azrael evaded successfully and the ball struck the floor with a mild explosion.

Azrael accelerated and hacked and slashed at her in a fast succession. She swerved again and again, but lost her aim; the magic ball shot uselessly into the sky. Azrael continued his attack, so he could set the pace and keep her from countering. He figured that if she didn't have time to prepare her magic, she couldn't attack. So he had to keep her busy until there was an opening and he could hit her.

At least that was the plan. But she was so agile she could duck and evade every attack he made. Yet Azrael didn't give up. Her attacks were designed for mid and long range while his scythe was something between a mid range and melee weapon. Which meant, he just had to stick close enough for close combat and he would have the upper hand. So Azrael closed in on her with every swipe of his scythe. Yet she was able to gain more distance as he had to avoid another magic ball. And as she backed away, down to the ground, she fired more of these balls.

Inwardly Azrael cursed his luck. It was as if she had seen through his plan and kept him at a distance now. But while Kaye focussed on Azrael, she didn't notice Ayumu standing behind her. The witch murmured a spell and fired it at the malignant creature. Kaye let out a painful noise as the spell hit her back; she dropped to her knees. Azrael nodded at Ayumu, who encouraged him: "Get her now!" Azrael leapt forward, drew up his scythe and swiped it. Finally he hit.

Kaye cried out. But the scythe didn't take her life like it should have; she didn't die and her soul was not revealed. The Reaper was confused. Always and without fail one hit with his duty weapon was enough to end a being's life — his weapon was designed to work like this, without exception. Except there was one crouching right before him.

"How is that possible? You should be dead," Azrael murmured.

Kaye grinned weakly, a row of shark teeth. 'I cannot die. For I never lived to begin with,' she breathed. She spread her wings and escaped into the air like an arrow shot. Azrael followed her, while his gears were turning. What on earth could he do about an enemy who wasn't affected by the weapon of a Reaper? He had no clue. But he kept trying.

And Ayumu was there to help also. The witch fired another spell at Kaye, attacked her from the ground while Azrael kept her busy with melee assaults. Against two people it surely was a lot harder to defend. In the meantime Azrael thought about what he could do to stop her. For now he tried to get her down to the ground, back her into a corner and hit her again.

Suddenly there was an explosion and the shock wave hit both Azrael and Ayumu, swept the witch off her feet and blasted Azrael a few feet to the side. When the dust settled and Azrael blinked, Kaye was gone.

"Fudge!" Azrael exclaimed quietly. He looked about but Kaye was nowhere to be seen. Instead he noticed, he might be needed in the fight against Raphael. "Let's worry about her later and help the others against Mister Raphael," he said to Ayumu. The witch nodded and together they joined the others.