Had her intentions reached him? His blank eyes wavered for a moment, and a silver circle fanned out underneath his feet, demonstrating the success of the ancient magic they cast.
The large magic circle formed with complex, eerie letters Aki had never seen before covered half the field.
With one eye on Elias, whose head snapped down to stare at the glowing letters, Sutcliff teleported several feet out of the circle. Then he shouted to Mina and Louis who were squaring off with Elias. “Get outta there, now!”
They didn’t need to be told twice. They both jumped back and out of the blinding light pulsating below their feet.
Only Elias remained in the center of the circle because his movement was still sealed by Louis’s spell.
A white flash ignited with a roar from the magic circle under his feet as if anticipating the very moment he was alone. Flashes of lunar lightning struck the ground around him, summoning forth pillars of blazing bolts from the ground to the domed ceiling.
This is the Lunar Goddess’s power? Fear of the overwhelming godlike thunder struck Aki speechless. Such dangerous power lives inside me? Her teeth began to chatter just as Elias started to tremble within the cage of light.
“A-AAAGGGGHHH!” he cried out in the most pain-ridden voice she had ever heard.
Aki covered her mouth and stared on in horror. “Elias…!”
No! Trapped in the cage of light, Elias was brought down to his knees by the unbelievable pain racking his entire body. No one told me that suppressing his powers would hurt him! Are my powers only capable of harming him?!
“I don’t want that…!” Watching the man she loved buckled over with the pain she caused him brought tears to her eyes.
I thought I was going to ease his pain by freeing him of the Solar Goddess! I didn’t know I would bring him pain instead!
In a panic, Aki destabilized the spell causing the pillars trapping Elias to flicker and sway.
“Aki, concentrate! You’re gonna disperse the spell!” Leo warned as he braced the Holy Dagger emitting the blinding flash of light that supported her magic.
“I kn-kno—” I know. She tried to answer with her face whiter than a sheet, but swallowed the words when Elias’s screams grew louder from the light tearing into his body.
She wanted to save him, not hurt him. But the reality before her eyes that ran contrary to her wishes crushed her. And I promised to stay by his side and make him happy!
Misery over her powerlessness to do that one thing for him made Aki sink to her knees. She hated herself for not being able to protect him. For being so weak she dragged him down.
“Elias, I’m so sorry…” she whimpered.
Leo and Johann each put a hand under her arms and pulled her off the ground. She glanced at each of their faces as tears slid down hers.
“Aki, what good does it do if you don’t believe in Elias?” Johann pointed out in a firm voice. “You are the only one who can save him.”
“You heard him! That guy’s helpless without ya, so you’ve gotta see him through this. Don’t wimp out on us now.” Leo removed one hand from the Holy Dagger and thumped her on the shoulder with it. Then he wiped the sweat from his brow and redirected his spirited gaze toward Elias. “Let’s get our Elias back. We can’t be the Hero Party without the Hero.”
That’s right! Everyone is waiting for him to return. And Elias is surely waiting for us to save him while enduring the pain and suffering.
“Johann. Leo. I’m going to Elias,” Aki announced without any preamble.
“…Aki? What’re you think—”
Invigorated with newfound purpose, she dashed off in a beeline for the cage of light eating into Elias.
“Hey! Oi, Aki! Wai—”
Leo’s calls to stop at her back, Aki propelled herself toward the imminent bolts of light without an ounce of fear. Sutcliff, Louis, and Mina locked shocked eyes on her when she ran past them.
“It’s dangerous, Aki!” Mina reached out to stop Aki, but she ran by her.
“I’ll be okay! I’m going to stop him with my own hands!” she answered between breaths.
She shouldn’t leave Elias alone in that prison of light. She shouldn’t isolate him. The reason was beyond her, but something inside told her it was so.
I promised I would be with him forever!
As she approached the bolts of light, the deafening roar muted out all other sound. Just how powerful was this small sliver of power she borrowed from the Lunar Goddess? Thinking about how she had access to such strength made her scared of herself. But she couldn’t stop now.
Aki paused right before the looming pillars and closed her eyes as she took a breath to still her thrashing heart. Then she gingerly reached out and brushed her fingers along the bars of light. It felt no different from touching a light bulb.
“Elias, I’m coming right now…!” she said as much for herself as for him. Then she took one step and another before taking the plunge and diving into the blinding magic circle.
Silver light consumed everything in view, distorting the scenery outside the circle. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel any pain within the magic circle. The spell likely only hurt Elias.
Through the pure white light she saw Elias propping himself up on one trembling knee, leaning against the Holy Sword he had thrust into the ground before him.
…Elias! Aki ran straight to him.
She wasn’t scared that he might point his sword at her. All that filled her was the desire to talk to him and hold him in her arms.
Driven by the emotions coursing through her, she jumped the last few feet and threw her arms around his neck. “Elias! Are you all right?!”
Elias lifted his head and safely caught her in his arms. She wanted to cry at the nostalgic feel of his embrace. His silky golden locks and clear, beautiful eyes hadn’t changed in the time they had been apart, except for the golden glow and the Solar Goddess’s crest burning brightly on his forehead.
Elias forced his unfocused eyes on Aki and hoarsely wrenched out, “A…ki…”
“Elias! Can you hear me? Do you know who I am?!” Aki pulled back from their embrace and rested her hands on his shoulders.
Elias tilted his head down in a barely noticeable nod, then grimaced with immense pain. The Lunar Goddess’s power was still gnawing away at him.
What must she do to free him? They had succeeded in casting the ancient magic. Perhaps he just needed an extra push to force back the Solar energy consuming him.
Aki clenched her fists in front of her chest. She wanted Elias to return to their group and smile at her. Say that he loved her again. She wanted to see him happily surrounded by friends.
Needing to convey those feelings to him, she cupped his cheeks, drenched in sweat from his exertions to withstand the pain, in her hands.