Jaden and
Viper circled around, waiting for the other to make a move. Viper smirked and
made gestures, taunting the younger Energy Bladesman into making the first
move. She was not fooled, however, and continued to wait rather than succumb to
his taunting. A seeming stalemate was going on between them, until a loud thud
was heard from behind Jaden.
She turned
around and dodged a swift sword slash, barely saving her life against a sneak
attack attempted by Viper’s daughter, Elysia, who entered via a hole in the
ceiling. Capitalizing, Viper moved in, swinging his sword but unable to cut her
down after she made yet another dodge. She rolled away from the father-daughter
duo, not about to let herself get surrounded. Somehow, Jaden expected Viper not
to fight fair. Still, she reminded herself that everything is fair in war and
continued to battle them, two against one.
Elysia
dashed towards her, attempted a strike which Jaden parried. The gust of wind
which accompanied her brushed their hairs away. Elysia pushed against her
struggles but Jaden fought back, shoving her away. Elysia recuperated and
assaulted again but Jaden quickly parried. Viper moved in and tried to kick her
but Jaden pushed his leg away. Elysia struck again but her attacks were once
again parried. Infuriated, Jaden electrocuted her with Dark Lightning,
incapacitating her.
She turned
to Viper and was given a swift jab to her face, staggering her back. She leaned
back against a wall behind her to recover. She looked up and moved to her
right, dodging an Energy-infused punch which punctured a hole into the wall.
Viper made several similar punches but all were dodged by Jaden. He then
delivered a wide, horizontal slash with his enchanted katana, slicing through
the wall but missing her when she bent down to dodge it. She then swept the
floor with her feet, kicking Viper’s legs and knocking him down. She then
attempted to stab him while he was supine but he rolled away in time to avoid
it.
Thinking
that Jaden was too nimble to attack, Viper switched to his Crawler fighting
style, dismissing his katana but summoning magical claws and fangs. He went
down on all fours and his glowing eyes revealed snake-like iris. He charged at
Jaden while uttering loud roars, intimidating Jaden but not flinching her in
any way. He leaped at Jaden several times but all his attempts were dodged. He then
made one last leap towards her, attempting to push her down onto the floor but
Jaden rolled away, causing him to crash into the wall; the same wall which he
slashed through before. The impact destroyed the wall, causing rubble to land
on top of him.
Trying to
capitalize, Jaden trudged towards the rubble to finish him off. However, a
tentacle appeared from behind her and wrapped her neck, strangling her and
holding her in place. As she struggled, she turned to see Elysia, recovered and
casting Dark Tentacles. Using the sheer brute force of the tentacles, she
pulled Jaden in an arc, slamming her into a wall. She pulled her away from it
and slammed her into the wall again. When trying it the third time, Jaden
placed both her feet on the wall, safely landing on it. With assistance from
her Magical Energies, she ran along the wall and leapt towards Elysia, tackling
her down and dismissing the tentacle.
The two
women recovered and traded blows, giving Viper time to emerge from the rubble.
As they continued fighting, Viper capitalized, switching back to his Reverse
Grip fighting style and charging his katana with Dark Energies before thrusting
it into the ground. Planning a Dark Shockwave, he called out to Elysia, causing
her to look at him and jump away from Jaden.
Surprised
to see Elysia retreating back, Jaden turned to Viper in time to see him prepare
a Dark Shockwave. Attempting to give him a taste of his own medicine, Jaden
mimicked his actions and prepared a Dark Shockwave of her own. Rather than
interrupting her, Viper watched with silence, waiting for her to finish. He
wished to challenge her strength, wanting to see how much her Magical strength
has grown. Both of them launched their Dark Shockwaves together, the sheer
force itself was enough to cause a mini earthquake.
The two,
massive forces of Magical Energies collided, causing a huge explosion that destroyed
what was left of the bunker and sending all three of them flying out of the
bunker. Viper rolled in midair and landed safely onto the soil with both his
feet. Spotting a limp Elysia in the air, he summoned forth Dark Tentacles and
caught her. He pulled her in to check on her, discovering that she was
unconscious. Placing her gently onto the ground, he turned his attention to
finding Jaden.
Jaden
opened heavy-laden eyes, awakening from a very brief moment of unconsciousness.
Her body ached, like a thousand knives were stabbing her, but the pain did not
stop her from sitting up. As her sight recovered, the first thing she saw was
the sky, swarmed with ships caught in dogfights. The sight seemed magnificent
at first, until an alien fighter was shot down and crashed into the forest,
exploding in a ball of flame. The crash horrified Jaden, unwilling to imagine
how it would be like to be in a ship that was shot down. She stood up and
turned her attention to finding Viper.
He found
her first however.
Jaden
turned to a sound she heard and brought up her katana in time to block a swift
strike attempted by Viper. As he pushed against her struggles, he placed a hand
towards her abdomen and electrocuted her with Dark Lightning. Jaden flinched
and screamed, suffering from a huge amount of pain and her strength weakening.
She was, however, too stubborn to let Viper defeat her, standing back at full
height and snarling at him with vigor. This impressed Viper, causing him to
admit that her willpower was beyond the ordinary. Using his Magical Energies,
he shoved her back, tossing her into the forest.
Jaden
rolled around the ground, too weak to break her fall properly. As she
recovered, Viper trudged through the forest towards her with an eerie calmness
about him. Jaden looked up, revealing a bloody nose, along with blood dripping
from her mouth. Her unprotected shoulder had multiple cuts and smoke trailed
out of her body, still feeling the effects of being electrocuted. As she stood
at full height, albeit hunched due to the pain, she and Viper stared.
“Still too
stubborn to die you bitch child of a bitchy half-siren?” Viper insulted.
“Don’t you
call my mother that you son of a whore!” Jaden retaliated.
Viper
smirked, amused by her words. “We’re very alike Jaden, more so than you care to
admit.”
“I am
nothing like you!”
“No? Let’s
see. You started a war like I did during the Grand Betrayal. You and I share a
similar fighting style. You’re too stubborn to die, like me. You care little
for the lives of those who will die in this war. And finally, your insults are
not so different from mine.”
“Shut up!
Just, shut up! It’s about time everyone stands up against you and Iblisan’s
tyranny. It’s time you get what you deserve!”
“Know your
place woman. You’ll never defeat me and a Fallen Angel. This mission of yours
is nothing short of a suicide mission.”
“A suicide
mission which I will gladly die accomplishing.”
“Let’s see
you change your tone after you see this.”
Viper
charged his free hand with a bright, gold Energy, illuminating the area around
him and blinding Jaden. He tossed the Energy projectile into the air, slowly
moving towards the sky. Jaden watched as the ball of golden light reached the
skies and dispersing. For a while, it seemed as if it did nothing. However, the
sounds of thunder made it seemed like something bad was about to happen.
As Jaden
looked into the skies, she saw what she thought would be an impossible sight.
Small, brilliant sparks began to fall from the skies. The entire area was
raining golden sparks, the sheer intensity enough to color the whole area gold.
When the sparks touched her skin, it dissipated and did not harm her in any
way.
Jaden began
to wonder why such a harmless spell was cast but the cocky look on Viper’s face
said it all; the worst was yet to happen. Suddenly, one of the friendly
fighters in the air bursts into flames, crashing into the forest. More ships
followed and one by one, the fighters crashed into the forest, lighting the
place on fire. The forest fire spread in an instant and within seconds, the
whole forest was engulfed in flames. Jaden was caught with surprise, unsure on
what was happening.
“A
seemingly harmless spell…to organics maybe. To machinery, however, it causes
the machine to short-circuit and burst into flames.”
Despite his
explanation, Jaden was still shocked by the sight. The skies were almost clear
of any friendly ships and the speed of the forest fire would mean that the
dinosaurs living around the area would be in danger. Furthermore, the color of
the spell made her wonder what type of Magical Energy was used for the spell.
“After all,
it is not everyday that you encounter anyone who has the ability to summon
forth Holy Light Energies.” Viper explained.
Hearing his
words shocked Jaden within. She knew of only one other person who wielded Holy
Light Energies and that was Ariel Silver, a deceased and famed heroine of the
Salvagers and her personal idol. In her thoughts, she could not believe that
anyone aside from Ariel could possess such powerful Magical Energies. Ariel
herself was considered worthy by Magical Spirits to possess Holy Light Energies
due to her inability to feel emotions, yet it would seem that they found Viper
to be similarly worthy. Such a thought did not bode well with her, as her arch
nemesis has the same powers as her idol.
“Now, where
were we?” Viper said as he raised his katana.
Trying to
ignore the carnage around her, she brought up her katana and prepared for
another fight with Viper. To further add to her stress, the fire surrounded her
and Viper, creating a ring for them to fight in. In addition, the sight of
Viper glaring at her with a wall of fire behind him, along with the golden
sparks swarming the air, made for an intimidating sight. She tried to fight
against the fear, but she could not overcome the shock of discovering Viper’s
true Magical potential.
* *
*
“Whoa! Am I
seeing this or am I going crazy?” Reed said as he maneuvered the Crimson
Spinner through the rain of golden sparks.
“That’s
Bane of Machines.” Lucas answered.
“Bane of
what now?”
“Bane of
Machines. It is a Holy Light spell Viper learned to cast.”
“Holy
Light? Really? You’re not shitting with me are you?”
“I’m
serious Reed. He learned a Holy Light spell.”
“No
kidding. Most of the friendly fighters just bursts into flames and crashed into
the forest.” Gavin commented. “That is Ariel’s might you’re seeing, first hand.”
“None of
the enemy ships are affected. I’m guessing Viper can control which ships are
affected by the spells.” Jaina commented.
“Why are we
not affected then?” Reed asked.
“Despite
the spell being Magical in nature, the spell is incapable of penetrating the
Crimson Spinner’s environmental shield as the spell itself relied on the fire
elemental.” Vader answered.
“That’s
good to know. We better find Jaden fast before the enemy fighters and
dreadnoughts ran out of targets and decided to go after us.”
“I can try
and sense for Jaden’s heartbeat. This could take a while Reed so try to hold
on.” Kida requested.
“Make it
quick girl. This big baby can only hold on for so long.”
Kida closed
her eyes and entered a meditative trance, amplifying her hearing while cutting
off the rest of her senses. Using her Magical Energies, she reached out
mentally to hear for Jaden’s heartbeat. She scanned through a lot of heartbeats,
including her crewmates who were all nervous, anxious or excited. She struggled
to fight against the loud sounds of the dying but nonetheless continued to seek
out Jaden’s heartbeat.
While doing
so, Reed dodged stray bullets and cannon. As he continued dodging, the ship’s
alarm began to sound, indicating that the Crimson Spinner was locked onto by an
enemy ship.
“Enemy
dreadnought had us locked on. This unit recommends evasive maneuvers.”
“I’m no
idiot Vader. I know what needs to be done. This is gonna get bumpy guys so hold
on to something!”
Reed tiled
the Crimson Spinner and began to turn it in random directions, giving the
dreadnought some difficulty in getting a full lock on. Cannon fire flew past
the ship, barely missing it. Reed released several flares into the skies,
causing some of the cannons to aim for them rather than the ship.
“We can’t
dodge him for long! Someone man the big guns!” Reed ordered.
Complying
with his order, Gavin ran for the Crimson Spinner’s cannon, losing balance
frequently due to the ship’s shakiness. He eventually reached the cannons and
manned it.
“Take this
you sons of bitches!” Gavin shouted as he opened fire upon the dreadnought.
“Aim for
the heart of the ship! That’s where the engine is most likely at.” Jaina
shouted on the intercom, attempting to assist Gavin with his aim. Following her
advice, he lined up several shots at the ship’s center, damaging it severely.
The massive ship bursts into flames, which was followed by multiple explosions.
It then came crashing down into the forests before disintegrating in a huge
explosion. Gavin cheered and exclaimed, “This gun is awesome! It matches
Ariel’s strength!”
Meanwhile,
Kida felt a familiar heartbeat within the burning forests of Nibelheim. She
felt a similar heartbeat during some of her previous meditative trances, except
that the heartbeat was much faster. She then concluded that Jaden was somewhere
within the forests.
“She’s
somewhere in the forest. I can help pinpoint her location.” Kida exclaimed.
“Alright.
Let’s get her out of there.” Reed replied.
Reed
lowered the Crimson Spinner towards the forest and, with Kida’s help, landed a
ship close to where Jaden might be. Once the loading ramp was lowered, Reed
rushed out of the ship with most of the crew behind him. The only ones left
behind were the non-human leaders.
“Reed,
permission to assist you in finding Jaden.” Vader requested.
“No! The
spell Viper casted will destroy you out there! You stay here and defend these
non-humans!” Reed retorted.
“I will be
fine Reed. Jaina provided me with an environmental shield similar to the
Crimson Spinner.” Vader reacted.
“That does
not mean you won’t be destroyed and I am not willing to take any chances! Stay
here Vader! That’s an order!”
Vader
remained silent for a while, seemingly surprised to see Reed shouting back at
him in such a demanding tone. He then replied, “Reed showed concern for the
safety of my functionality. This unit can disobey Reed as Reed is not the
leader of this ship. Regardless, this unit will do as you say. This unit
appreciates your concern.”
Nodding and
smiling in approval, Reed ran out of the ship while saying, “Keep them safe
Vader! Oh, and if the enemy fighters try anything, you have permission to fly
the ship and fight back.”
Reed and
the crew ran into the burning forest, armed with their weapons. They cut
through the bushes and sprinted onwards but stopped before a wall of fire which
blocked their path. Through the fire, they saw Jaden and Viper, struggling
against one another with their swords locked.
Viper
overpowered Jaden and proceeded to assault her with his fists and feet. He
electrocuted her with Dark Lightning, forcing her down onto her knees before
kicking her body, pushing her aside. She landed supine onto the floor and
attempted to recover. However, Viper pointed his blade close to her neck,
forcing her down and putting her in a dangerous situation.
Unwilling
to see Jaden die while helpless, Reed summoned forth his Omega Energies, casting
a spell which extinguished the flames that blocked their path. The sight
shocked the rest, as they never saw Reed using any spells before, even though
they knew that he had Omega Energies.
Reed ran
ahead and began shooting at Viper while the others assisted in his assault.
Kida summoned A’trus Hathgrave and the demon charged in to attack Viper. All
projectiles, however, were blocked by a golden Magical shield which Viper
summoned and when Hathgrave brought down his axe onto the shield, he was
dismissed upon making contact with the shield. Lucas ran in with his greatsword
but was knocked back by a powerful force upon hitting the shield.
Viper
electrocuted Jaden with Dark Lightning, incapacitating her before casting a
Dark Shockwave which knocked the entire crew down. As they recovered, Viper
approached Reed, abandoning Jaden in the process. He wrapped him up with Dark
Tentacles and tossed him into a charred tree. As they others stood up, he
knocked them all down again with a huge force of Kinetic Energies. Lucas
quickly recovered and attempted to attack Viper. He parried Lucas’s attack but
Lucas was then knocked down by someone else. He looked up to see Elysia, who
woke up from unconsciousness.
As Viper
and Elysia continued to assault the crew, Jaden was recuperating, fighting
through the excruciating pain and refusing to fall unconscious. A mere man
would be dead considering all the assaults Jaden fought through, yet she
refused to die. As she stood at full height, she watched as Viper summoned
Magical claws and stabbed Reed in the abdomen. His screams ringed in Jaden’s
ears, unlocking all the anger within her. Her fists clenched and her teeth
bore. Her eye glow intensified and her hunched posture was no more. The substantial
increase in her Magical level stopped Viper in his tracks and he slowly turned
to the enraged Energy Bladesman.
In quick
succession, Jaden cast several Dark Shockwaves, forcing Viper, Elysia and
Jaden’s crew to dodge away while Reed, too much in pain to move, took the sheer
brunt of the force. Jaden, however, was too deep into her anger to notice Reed
getting assaulted by the Dark Shockwaves she summoned. After seeing an opening,
Viper and Elysia dashed towards Jaden and began to throw in slashes together.
Jaden parried them all and a huge, horizontal slash forced the duo back.
Elysia
jumped and attacked Jaden from the air but a high kick by Jaden knocked her
away. As she turned to Viper, he stabbed her with his claws, causing her to
scream as the pain surged from her abdomen. However, rather than succumbing,
Jaden placed a free hand on Viper’s face and cast a huge Light Energy Blast, blasting
him away. She fell onto a knee, her sights blurring and her mind muddled. To
ease the pain, she healed the stab wound with her Light Energies. By the time
she was done, Viper and Elysia has recuperated.
“Elysia, we
have no time for this. This bitch just refuses to die.” Viper said.
Elysia
nodded in approval before Viper said to Jaden, “We’ll be back for you another
time Jaden. Remember this: You started this war. Everything that will happen is
what you asked for and is all in your hands.” In a blink of light, Viper and
Elysia vanished. The duo teleported out of the scene and was gone.
With them
gone, Jaden’s anger receded and her physical pain began to overwhelm her
withdrawn strength. As she turned to Reed, who was growling in pain, she stood
up and struggled as she limped her way to her friend. She knelt down next to
him and said, “Reed…relax…it will be alright.”
Placing a
soft hand on his stab wound, she healed it with a healing spell, causing Reed
to sigh in relief before he slowly fell unconscious. The rest of the crew
approached her and she ordered, “Let’s all get out of here before the forest
fire overwhelms us.”
* *
*
The silence
of the Crimson Spinner heavily contrasted the noisy environment of Nibelheim
during the assault upon the bunker by the Cult of Iblisan. Jaden sat next to
Reed, who was lying on a bed inside the ship’s med bay. She rubbed some of the
cuts on her shoulder, still feeling the sting of her injuries. The sight of the
allied fighters falling from the skies, along with the huge forest fires, was
still fresh in her memories and she could not help but thought about the
consequences of starting this war, especially since she dragged the non-humans
into the fight. Not to mention the possible loss of dinosaur lives.
“Are you
sure you are alright Jaden?” Gavin asked as he entered the med bay. He sat opposite
of Jaden and stared at her as she turned away from him.
“Gavin, I’m
fine. Just a few bruises and burns but nothing major. It is Reed who needs
medical attention. Please don’t mind me.” Jaden requested.
Gavin
nodded and looked at Reed, seemingly worried about his condition. “Alright.
I’ll see what I can do but only once we’re out of hostile territory. I hope
Vader knows where he’s going with this ship.”
As he
turned to Jaden, he noticed that she was staring around with a troubled look on
her face. He felt that something was disturbing her and asked, “But something
is clearly unsettling you. Mind sharing with me?” Jaden remained silent for a
while but she eventually answered his question.
“The spell
that Viper cast. The Holy Light Energy spell.” she muttered out. “He has Holy
Light Energies…just like Ariel herself. The destructive nature of the spell
was…unfathomable.”
Gavin let
out a sigh and replied, “Indeed. No one can deny that Holy Light Energy spells
are amongst the most destructive spells ever to exist.”
“I didn’t
know he even had Holy Light Energies. How are we supposed to defeat him like
this?”
“Jaden,
Viper was known to decimate entire armies. You can’t really expect him to be
defeated so easily, do you?”
“Well…I…defeated
him once…but…”
“Jaden,
there’s one thing you need to learn about war: Everyone will be at their best
to defeat their enemies. What you’ve seen was what Viper has been holding back
during your previous encounters with him. He had no reason to resort to using
such powerful spells before.”
“And it
terrifies me. That, and the possibility of death for everyone involved.” Jaden
said as she turned to look at Reed. “I’m not afraid of death but…I’m afraid I
will cause the death of others.” She caressed Reed’s arm and muttered out, “I’m
so sorry Reed.”
“Friendly
fire?” Gavin asked, remembering that some of the Dark Shockwaves Jaden summoned
hit Reed when he was too helpless to move.
“And the
fact that I started this war. Seeing all those ships fall out of the sky
was…horrifying. And the forest fires…poor dinosaurs.”
To console
her, Gavin placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Jaden, you’re doing the
right thing. There’s no denying it.”
“How is
starting a war doing the right thing? Viper started the Grand Betrayal. How is
this any different?”
“Viper
started the Grand Betrayal to betray his people, to kill innocents and to drive
humans to the brink of extinction. You started this rebellion and this war to
put an end to Iblisan and Viper’s tyranny. You’re doing it to save innocent
lives. You’re doing it to unite the world as one. You started it for the right
reasons. You’re far better than he is.”
“But…all
those people that died for us…that died for me…”
“A sad
truth of war that you need to accept. There is no war if everyone survives.
But, don’t let their sacrifices demoralize you. Rather, let their deaths
motivate you. End this war quickly and you would minimize the casualties. The
lives of the entire universe hang in the balance.”
Jaden
remained quiet, appreciating the Mannihilator’s attempt to console her,
although he inadvertently pressurized her even more. She knew well enough that
starting a war would mean the deaths of so many but to actually see a lot of
them die in front of her was too much for her to handle for the time being. She
was used to the sight of dead bodies but not when they all died in one fell
swoop. Regardless, she reminded herself that she had come so far and to quit
now would be a waste of her efforts. She then wished to see an end to this war,
not just to the tyranny of Iblisan and Viper, even if it means her death in the
battlefield.
The door to
the med bay opened and the Elder Darkcaller of the elves, Vael’Luas, walked in.
Stopping before Jaden, he glared at her injuries, observing them and shaking
his head frequently. Jaden simply looked back, staring into his elven glowing eyes
which were not unlike hers.
“That’s a
lot of hits you took.” Vael muttered out. “It would be unwise to risk your life
so quickly like that.”
“What do
you mean?” Jaden asked.
“Remember
human, you’re the leader of the Liberator Alliance. Your life is precious to
your people. Should you die, who will lead the surviving humans in this time of
desperation?”
His words
threw Jaden deep into her thoughts. While she hated to agree with him, he was
right. She was the reason why the Liberator Alliance came into existence.
Without her, her people would be demoralized.
“Still, I’m
not saying that you shouldn’t fight on the frontlines. If you can fight, by all
means, go do it. A true leader would never send her men to their deaths without
seeing firsthand what the battlefield was like.”
“Speaking
from experience Vael?” Gavin asked.
“True
enough. In my previous skirmishes against the Salvagers, my generals and I were
often at the battlefield itself, commanding my soldiers and strategizing. Of
course we place ourselves in fortified positions. Should the Salvagers get a
clear shot on us, we’d be dead and the soldiers on the battlefield would lose
hope. It may sound selfish, but it is the horrible truth of war, one that most
of our soldiers refuse to understand for the right reasons.”
Jaden
nodded and replied, “Sometimes I’m beginning to see why those past fools we
humans place on the Salvager throne were so effective in defeating the
non-humans. They don’t give a damn about the consequences.”
“Tyrants make
effective leaders, but often at the cost of the mortality rate, freedom and
happiness of their subjects.”
“The thing
that sickens me most is how they can wake up every morning, look into the
mirror and call themselves heroes.”
“Trust me
human. You won’t have to worry about that. You’re unlike all those human bastards
that I fought with who called themselves heroes.”
Jaden
smiled, something which she did with difficulty, and replied, “Thanks Vael. I
admit, I thought an alliance between our people would be impossible,
considering everything you pointed out during the summit.”
“I thought
the same. But, I see something in you which I thought I would never see in a
human. You’ve this…aura of nobility which radiates out of you like a beacon,
despite your origins. But now, we need to discuss on our war strategies. Once
you’re ready, meet me and the rest of the leaders at the briefing room.
Remember, you’re the leader of the Liberator Alliance. We are all at your
disposal.”
With a bow,
Vael left the med bay. Jaden chuckled and remarked, “Not too much pressure eh
Vael? I’m just twenty years old and now I’m a rebel leader?”
“Relax
Jaden. Everything will be fine.” Gavin reassured her.
“Fine? I
have millions of lives on my hands.”
“Which is
precisely why you need to avoid stressing yourself.”
“Tch. I don’t
want to be a leader. I never did.”
“Well, you’re
one now. You can’t unmake how things end up. And don’t worry. You have a lot of
leaders advising you now. You’ll be a spectacular leader in no time, trust me.”
“You’re
strangely optimistic.”
“I have to.
How would you feel if I start being negative?”
“Hmm, good
point.”
“Well, you
don’t want to keep the non-humans waiting. Go on ahead. I’ll look after Reed.”
“Alright.
Please take care of him.”
“He’ll be
fine. He’s not dead yet. That’s what matters.”
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