Traitor

“Nix?” Yusato lifted his sword.

“Yep.” Nix grinned and licked his lips. “Now if you don’t mind will you hand over Mira Luin?”

Yusato scowled at Nix. “Not a chance.”

“I see. You must like to make things difficult.” Nix took his hand out of his pocket, his fingers twitching.

A sword of magic energy burst up from the ground. Yusato leaped back just in the nick of time.

Grass flew in front of his eyes and withered away as Nix thrust a magical spear through it. Yusato’s arm jerked, meeting his sword with the magic spear,

Nix continued to thrust wildly at Yusato as he continued to whack it away. “Mira Luin must be apprehended.”

“Why don’t you just give it a rest?” Yusato growled. “We’re never handing her over to you.”

He pivoted out of the way and swung his sword at Nix’s back. A magic shield blocked the attack. Nix cocked his head back, a cocky grin sprawling across his face. “Nice try.”

More swords shot up from the ground, but a wall of wood stopped them in their tracks. Saria held her hands clasped together, chewing on her lip. “I got your back, Yusato.”

“Thanks for the backup, Saria.”

A blast of pure magic energy penetrated through the wood. Right after that, Nix’s fist shot through the hole, connecting with Yusato’s jaw.

Yusato caught his face while stumbling on his legs. He grabbed his sword and dashed forward. Nix easily dodged out of the way and pushed Yusato’s wrist down.

An uppercut to the chin knocked Yusato off his feet. A bed of vines broke his fall and he quickly got back up.

Nix was right in front of his face within seconds. Yusato spat out blood as Nix’s fist drilled into his stomach. A sharp magical lance cut into his shoulder as Yusato screamed in pain.

“Yusato!”

Saria clenched her fists and the thorny vines came flying through the air. Nix smiled in satisfaction as he sliced all of the vines apart, gathering at his feet.

“Crap, Saria…” Yusato ran forward, but Nix appeared in front of him first. He delivered a series of jabs, before finishing off with a roundhouse kick.

Yusato’s feet scraped across the ground as he was pushed back. He stopped just short of falling into the lake.

Every time Yusato tried to make a move, Nix seemed to already be in the midst of making his own move. He was definitely fast on his own, but Yusato had to also blame part of it on his new lack of speed. If he hadn’t lost that, maybe he would’ve had a better chance at keeping up with him.

But there was no use in agonizing over that now. What’s done is done. He couldn’t waste brain power thinking about that. What he needed was to figure out a way to take this man down. But how?

Only one thing came to mind.

It was dangerous, but with an opponent like this…It was the best choice he had.

As Yusato bit his moist swollen lips, the ducks quacked in the distance. He saw the shadows of the birds flying overhead.

He could do it right now if he wanted. But he was scared…He was scared of what else he would have to sacrifice in order to defeat Nix.

As he was thinking, Nix came flying overhead swinging a magical axe down. Yusato jumped to the left as the axe grazed his shoulder.

The axe shifted and turned into a sword as he thrust it forward. Blood flew out from Yusato’s arm.

Clutching his arm in pain, Yusato scowled at Nix. Then, Nix coated his fists in that same magic aura as she punched Yusato in the gut.

Yusato tumbled across the ground.

Vines reached out from behind Nix and constricted his arms. He scoffed before easily breaking free of them and walking forward. His magic sword and his hands, he prepared to stab right into Yusato’s chest.

“What?!” Pins and needles stuck deep into Nix’s shoulders, arms, and legs, immobilizing him. A shield bashed into his stomach, sending Nix to the floor.

“We got you,” Azalea said, her arms crossed, turning up her nose at him.

“Azalea…you traitor.” Nix crinkled his nose as Azalea stood above him.

“That’s right. I’m a traitor. So what?” Her magic daggers materializing in her hands, she smirked. “I’m not going to let you guys do whatever you please with this girl.”

Mira got up and patted down her dress. She readied her shield. “And I won’t let you have my spellbook either. It’s important to me.”

A low chuckle escaped from Nix’s throat. “How adorable. You all think you have a choice.” He raised his hand and then threw his arm down.

In response an array of magical weaponry formed in the sky. Swords, axes, lances, spears, and all the like. Then they rained down.

Mira held her shield above her head. Azalea flipped through the raining weapons. And Yusato tried to run as fast as he could. He was nicked by some of the swords and spears.

Mira and Azalea both noticed this and turned their heads. “YUSATO!”

“I’m fine, guys! Worry about yourselves!”

“How sweet of you.” A bow and arrow materialized in Nix’s hands as he smirked. “Say goodbye.”

The arrow fired off at a blinding distance. It was traveling so fast Yusato could barely see it, let alone dodge it.

It was all over. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst.

A shining green barrier surrounded him just as the arrow made contact. The shield spun around at high speeds and the arrow withered away at the seems. Yusato recognized that shield.

“Saria…”

He looked over at Saria who was out of her breath and had her hands on her knees. Her horns grew even larger along with the black spots on her skin. His gut wrenched. “She did it again.”

Saria fell over. Nix scowled at her. “It was because of her, huh? That Obsolete.” He scoffed behind his hand. “She’s half-dead already. Might as well finish the job.”

“You leave her alone.”

Yusato came running forward, pulling his fist back. Nix chucked a magic sword his way way that bounced off of Mira’s shield.

Azalea shot down dozens of daggers from the air and Nix danced out of the way.

“Right. Guess I’ll have to take care of the criminal and the traitor first.” Nix sighed, before pulling down his hood. “Let’s get this over with.” His eyes glowed blue as giant cannon matching the color of his eyes formed behind him.

They fired away at Mira and Azalea. The powerful blast roared in their ears and filled the whole area with its bright light. Once it was finished, Mira and Azalea were lying on the floor, bruised and battered.

“No way…” Yusato grunted, clutching his knee. “Mira and Azalea too?”

“I’ll deal with you first.” Nix materialized another magic sword as he took careful, purposeful steps towards Azalea. “Do you remember the punishment for breaking one of the Black Moon’s sacred rules?” Licking his lips, he raised his sword up high. “I’m sure you do. Time for your execution.”

Azalea scowled up at him with shaky breaths. “Go on. Get it over with.”

“With pleasure.”

The sword came down aimed for her head. It screeched as it met with another blade. Yusato’s veins pulsated in his forehead. “Don’t even think about it.”

Taking the blood from his face, Yusato slammed his hand onto the ground. Magical aura surged up around him, blowing his hair and clothes around. He spoke to that same spirit in his mind again.

“I need your power. The same one you gave me back when I fought the dragon. I need that power and nothing else. Please…whatever it takes…Give it to me!”

The voice chuckled. “How generous of you. In that case, I’ll be taking your body.”