The Voidbreak Crisis

22. All Hail the God-King of Ak-Dovurak.

"WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING HER!?" SwitchBlade roared, creating a building-sized blade of solid flame and bringing it down towards Matilda. She held out her hands as a equally massive spike of black energy shot from the ground beside her, piercing through the sword and cutting it in two. The sword fell short, crashing into the earth behind Matilda and splashing lava into the air. It was hard to breathe here, with fire filling the air and the earth itself spontaneously bursting into flames. The city and roads around them had long since melted into lakes of liquid metal, as whirlwinds of plasma floated over their surfaces. Matilda created a spear of black energy that tore through the flames and slammed into SwitchBlade, shoving him into the ground behind him as Matilda launched into the air above him, holding out her hands as a barrage of tendrils fired from the clouds above her and pinned SwitchBlade to the ground even as it melted beneath him. He roared in fury, casting a shockwave of white-hot plasma that evaporated her constructs and blasted him out of the lava. He landed on his feet as Matilda landed in front of him, the flames passing by her harmlessly.

"I am protecting her because she is all I have left." Matilda said softly, two scythes of black energy appearing in her hands as she pulled them out of her shadow.
"She killed you." SwitchBlade growled, his blades popping out of his wrists with an ethereal ringing sound.
"I know. I would have killed me, as well." Matilda said.
"She crushed Kane's heart in her bare hands, Matilda. He was as innocent as they come." SwitchBlade said, beginning to circle her.
"Me? I would have deserved it." SwitchBlade began.
"But not Kane. My madness influenced him, I infected him. He was pure, innocent. He had the best of intentions, even at the worst of times. He helped me. Me." SwitchBlade said as Matilda turned, keeping her eyes on him.
"I murdered hundreds of people, I killed the last friend I ever knew. I was the death of my entire village. But not Kane. Kane was never at fault in this. And she killed him." SwitchBlade growled.
"I know." Matilda said softly.
"But she's all I have left, SwitchBlade. I have no mother, no father, no lover, no friends. She's the only thing I have. I can't let you take that from me." Matilda said, readying her blades.
"Stay out of my way, witch." SwitchBlade said.
"Why does everyone call me that?" She asked.

Suddenly something shot by from behind SwitchBlade and slammed into Matilda, sending her skipping across the wasteland for miles. The shockwave sent SwitchBlade flying into the distance in the opposite direction. Nichole stood up from where she had launched Matilda and congratulated herself. A barrage of black energy tendrils fired from where Matilda had landed, and Nichole leapt back, dodging each one as they stabbed into the ground. Chip skidded to a halt next to her and raised his hands as pieces of complex machinery burst out of the air around him, slamming together above his hands as he gripped the triggers tightly. Matilda came rushing towards them through the air, holding two massive scythes as Chip took aim and fired.

A single projectile fired from the barrel of the six foot long gun Chip had created, and slammed into Matilda's chest at ten times the speed of sound, the shockwave extinguishing the flames immediately around them and stopping Matilda in mid-air. She landed in front of them, gripping the projectile that now extended from her chest. She pushed herself to her feet and dropped the metal spear. It's tip had flattened out and it's shaft had crumpled against her chest like a tin can.
"Stand down, or he will kill Persephone, and then each of you." She said. Chip took aim and fired again, the projectile ripping through the air again. Matilda held out her hand and caught the projectile, the combined shockwaves blasting the fires out for hundreds of feet around them. She dropped the projectile and shook her hand, grinning at him.
"Well done, child. That actually hurt." She said. Suddenly something slammed into her side, creating a massive explosion that sent her hurtling through the air. Nichole shot forwards, leaving a shockwave behind her, and rushed to where Matilda would land long before she arrived, and leapt into the air, pulling as much power as she could. Matilda flew through the air, disoriented and confused, and Nichole spun as she arrived, amplifying her kinetic energy to slam her mechanical foot into Matilda's neck at ten times the speed of sound.