Now I’m really beginning to sweat.
“Oh Ice, how kindly and lovingly you used to smile at me. Find it within yourself to show me that tender smile of yours once more.”
“As if I’m going to smile at you!”
“Ahhh!”
“Kirina!”
Ms. Kirina lets out a scream that grabs our attention. Quicker than quick, Städal has sunk his sharp teeth into her throat. Before our eyes, her struggling grows weaker, and ice begins to steal up her legs. Lala and I fly over to her as fast as we can—but Städal drops her to the ground. Ladd is close enough to catch her with a levitation spell and sends her floating back inside the charm shield. Only two of us Ice-types left. We haven’t even been fighting that long! I knew it would probably end up like this, but still...just three of us against him already had us at a disadvantage, and now it’s looking even worse...!
“Delicious, oh, DELICIOUS! More. I need MORE!” Städal lunges downwards to chase after Ms. Kirina. He attempts to break through the barrier, but before he can so much as fracture it I ensnare him in dozens of my Ice threads. With a twist of my hands, I yank him away from the shield.
“I will not let you have her.”
“You bitch!”
Städal flexes his muscles explosively ,and all of my Ice threads are broken in an instant. Then, he comes after me. He broke them all...without using a single spell. I grimace at how easily he freed himself. Whips of black lightning snap up at me as Städal closes in. He lashes out at me, again and again and again, but every time, I manage to toss up pillars of ice that bear the brunt of the attack, shielding me from their zapping snaps. With my Ice Breath, I manage to freeze parts of his limbs, slowing the pace of his attacks. Lala takes care to fly just right in order to assist my attacks.
“Consuming you first shall suit me just fine, dear Ice.”
Städal glowers up at me, his eyes flashing with threats of cruelty. Okay, now it’s serious: threatening to eat me? Really? Like I’d let you do that. Two shadowy arms several times longer than I am tall explode out from his sides. They claw left, right, up, down, shredding through the air as if to squish me like a bug, moving far faster than any physical arms could. I dodge once, dodge twice, and resolve to counterattack; with a flick of my index fingers and a few words of incantation, my magic flares out:
“Amones Fea.”
Blizzards of snow spiral out from my fingertips, their cold winds coiling through the air like miniature tornados.
WhooshwhooshWHOOSH my spell gains speed and intensity as it hurtles down towards Städal, blasting against the charm shield he hastily casts to protect himself—but my spell is strong. It pierces through his shadow hands to land a direct hit on his scaly body.
“Ngh! Impossible!”
A direct hit, sure—but all I did was throw him off balance. He isn’t falling out of the sky just yet. I notice I’ve made a few cuts in his shoulders. I incant another attack spell to try damaging him further, but he’s too quick for that to work. Before my spells can land, he’s already magicking them away with other types of elemental magic. Since he has that absorption ability, I’ve only been using minor spells up until now—but I’m never going to defeat him without a major magical attack.
Städal presses his hands against the open wounds on his shoulder. “Impudent girl! Your puny magicks are no more than mere irritations... Enough playing! Now, I shall show you the full extent of my power!”
So saying, he unleashes another bolt of black lightning, but not at me. What is he trying to do? I glance towards the bolt’s intended target—there, fighting the demons, is one of my friends.
“Benjamine!”
I instantly try blocking the attack. Just barely, I manage to summon up a massive crystal mirror that reflects the bolt away from Benjamine. Whew.
My opponent, however, is not merely standing by while I breathe a sigh of relief; he’s far too cunning to let this critical opportunity slip by. By the time I realize what he’s done, it’s too late: behind me is a malevolent maelstrom in the shape of a dragon, roaring down to engulf me in its maw. I won’t be able to completely dodge this—but I can’t just let it swallow me.
I push down hard against Lala’s back, trying to dive us down beyond the reach of its jaw. Something, however, grabs my right arm and yanks me out of the way, and an odd softness holds my whole body close.
“Y-You okay?”
“Wh-Why are you up here?!”
Rockmann, who should’ve been fighting the demons on the ground, is holding me in one arm and casting a charm shield around us both with the other. The magical barrier prevents the maelstrom from consuming us both. Shockwaves shake the air as Städal’s maelstrom collides with flames blazing out from Rockmann’s shield.
“Infinite Gods Above and Holy Spirits of the Blood, hear my prayer—”
“W-Wait! You can’t—!”
He’s begun reciting the Prayer of the Guardian Spirit.
“In mine own name of Hades, I beseech you:
Blaze incandescent this ground below,
And with flames make red the sky above.
Let the power of every living creature fuel this fire,
That its brilliance may outshine the noon sun itself.
Flaring light,.
Burn with all the power of the First Blood.”
A vortex of flame is exploding out from the fingertips on his right hand. How is he doing this? The Prayer of the Guardian Spirit requires the maximum amount of magical power one possesses. Rockmann’s been casting spells left and right ever since Städal appeared, hasn’t he? He’s used defensive spells, offensive spells—all to keep us safe. And yet, miraculously, he hasn’t collapsed like all the others did. He’s never so much as flinched at using his power. Perhaps it’s because he has so much to begin with? He’s already been outside the shield for several minutes now, using magic all the while, and yet still he decides to cast this spell? Why?
Rockmann uses his left arm to hold me tight against him as the magic leaves his body. I hear a crack crack crack—and look down to see ice slowly beginning to cover the fingertips on Rockmann’s left hand.
“No, NO! Rockmann, please! Stop!”
“Grenade.” (Consuming Flame.)
Rockmann does not heed my pleas to stop, and only holds me tighter.
Städal sneers down at the flame vortex, as if to dismiss it as a mere light show—but it ends up being far more powerful than our enemy expects. With an enormous BOOM, Städal is slammed up into the sky far above the stadium with all the speed of a comet. The spell causes what sounds like an earthquake, leading to the collapse of part of the stadium itself.
“Rockmann!”
Yuri disappears with a pop! I panic and hold Rockmann tight against me, placing him in front of me on Lala’s back. “Lala! Let’s take him back inside the shield while we can!” He’s still breathing, but only in shallow, slow wheezes. I watch his eyes, slits barely open and listless. In this moment, I am the most terrified I’ve felt all day, even more than when Städal first appeared.
“Sir Alois!”
“Alois!”
We pass through the shield and safely land. Maris, the King, Lady Norweira, and Duke Rockmann all come running over. Carefully, I lift Rockmann off of Lala’s back and lay him down on the ground. He can no longer move his left leg.
Everyone around me is yelling. “Hang on! Alois, stay awake!”
All I want to do is apologize for how pathetic I was while fighting Städal.
He’s always watching over me, always protecting me. Ever since I was twelve years old! I may not have known that’s what he was doing back then, but still—what can I say to him at a time like this?
Why does he do all this for me? I’m not worth it. I’m not worth the effort.
“Why? Why do you always protect me?”
Maris and Lady Norweira are patting Rockmann’s head and cheeks. The Duke, the King, and several wounded Knights are all gathered close around us. I am with Rockmann, at the center of all the attention, kneeling down on the ground beside him. Why would a guy so respected, so loved by everyone around him, put himself in such danger to protect me—and not just once, but time and time again?
I whisper, half to him, half to myself. “If the reason we fought as kids was, you know, to keep our magic from overflowing—couldn’t you have just told me?” Maris and all the others around us look at me as I speak.
“The reason?” His eyes flutter a bit at hearing my words, and he turns slightly towards me. “The reason I saved you earlier was because we can’t afford to lose you now.” I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Despite the pain and exhaustion he must be feeling, he looks calm and composed as ever. “The reason for our old fights...well, I don’t mind if you or anyone else thinks of me...remembers me...as an irrationally violent man. I don’t mind at all.”
I’m curling my hands together into a tight ball of frustration, pressing them against my knees. Rockmann takes his hand—the one not yet frozen—and gently places it atop my own.
“All I ever wanted...was for you to grow up healthy, without limiting yourself or your magic. I didn’t want you to end up like me. If I’d been too kind with you, the other noble children would’ve given me no end of grief. I’m sure I could’ve done it differently, but I didn’t have many good memories when it came to controlling my magic power...that was the only way I knew how to control it.” He takes a shallow breath before continuing. “We didn’t get along with each other from the moment we met, did we? Guess it was easy for me to do...what I did...without having any other reason or feeling behind it.” He laughs a little, sounding strained.
You aren’t supposed to laugh at a time like this. Look at you! You’re a wreck, but laughing like you’ve not got a care in the world! I feel anger building up inside of me. A guy like you who tries to act cool at a time like this is just weird! It’s just wrong. Isn’t it?
“It’s not like you to cry like this. Oh, but I guess you did cry that one time, so maybe you are a crier after all...”
“Quiet, you!” I’m grinding my teeth together as I try to hold back my feelings—but tears drip from my eyes falling down with a tiny pat to land on Rockmann’s hand.