Jaegers Pt 2

Yvonne only smirked at Sylvanie. Still leaning her head to the side. "And this is coming from the princess who hid behind her big sister's skirt her entire life." She shrugged her shoulders. "You just don't get it, do you?" Yvonne straightened up. "We were never going to get stronger being held down the way we were. That blasted excuse for a king was going to get us all killed. We had to do what we had to survive. We had to adapt. I had to—"

"You didn't have to do anything." Sylvanie glared at her. "You didn't have to join them or turn your back on everything we stood for—you, me, my sister, my mother, and everyone who gave their life to build a better kingdom. And now look at you. Their sigil is engraved in your soul, burning behind your eyes." She spun her scythe and pointed it at Yvonne. "You must be proud, boasting about the power those zealots gave you. And you still call yourself a dark elf—a Jaeger!"

Yvonne's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare lecture me about my choices." She spat lowly. "Especially when all you did was live a naïve life behind a man who never cared about our kind. A man who did nothing but lie and manipulate his way around the throne, fooling everyone from commoner to noble into thinking his actions were just. How we were progressing but steadily falling backward and losing our way with each passing day." She took a step forward. "You made your choice to stand behind that liar just as much as I made my choice to stand by the people that gave me power."

"You don't get to speak on my fath—"

"Your father was a joke!" Yvonne shouted, her eyes glowing brighter as her anger flared. "The so-called king of Vel'Andria was nothing but a scheming fraud who tore the Elven nation apart from within! Sea Elves, Scorch Elves, Dark Elves, Wood Elves—it's just as Vexes said! Your father smiled to their faces and shook their hands, then had us kill them before the next sunrise. He tried to copy the Order's tactics, but that tyrant was far out of his league."

Sylvanie tightened her grip on the scythe and glared at her opponent. "Yvonne, I won't say it again…" She gritted her teeth.

"Oh? Did I hit a nerve?" Yvonne tilted her head, a cruel smile playing at her lips. "You know I'm right deep down; you've probably always known. Then again, you were the daughter always chasing after a father's love that was never meant for you."

Sylvanie slammed her scythe down, its blade biting deep into the stone. "Shut up… Just shut up," she growled. "I'm sick of your endless excuses. I don't want to hear them anymore." She stepped forward. "I don't care about your reasons or what you think my father did! You abandoned us. You abandoned our people—and worst of all, you abandoned me, your best friend. You were the only true friend I had in that kingdom besides my sister!" She pointed her scythe at Yvonne. "So, save your excuses. Right now, you're just another enemy—one too weak to stand for what she believed in, too weak to defend the very place she called home. So do me a favor and die." Gritting her teeth, she lowered into a fighting stance and charged. "Die, being the weak bitch you've always been!"

Sylvanie vanished—not in a blur or a flicker, but completely. An instant later, she appeared before Yvonne with her scythe already slicing toward her neck. The blade moved so fast that a trail of shadow energy hung in its wake.

Yvonne barely crossed her blade wheels in time. A deafening clang rang through the streets as the impact unleashed a shockwave, shattering every window within ten meters. Her boots tore deep grooves through the stone as the blow drove her backward.

Sylvanie surged forward, her scythe carving deadly arcs through the air. Each swing came faster, heavier, and sharper than the last. Yvonne blocked, parried, and dodged, but for the first time, she was losing ground.

Sylvanie broke away, then spun low and swept her scythe toward Yvonne's legs. Yvonne leaped over the blade, but Sylvanie had expected it. Thrusting her hand forward, she summoned a shadow tendril from the ground, which coiled around Yvonne's waist midair.

"Wha--!"

Sylvanie yanked downward with brutal force, slamming Yvonne face-first into the cobblestones. Before the dust could even settle, Sylvanie was already above her, scythe raised high, the curved blade gleaming with dark energy.

"You want to talk about my father!" Sylvanie's voice rang with emotion. "About choices?!" She brought her scythe down.

Yvonne rolled aside at the last instant. The blade struck where her head had been, biting deep into the stone and hurling fragments into the air. Sylvanie didn't—couldn't—stop. She tore the scythe free and pressed the attack.

"You had everything!" Another swing. "A home!" A thrust. "People who cared about you!" A spinning strike that forced Yvonne to backflip away. "And you threw it all away for…For what?!"

Yvonne landed hard, her breath growing ragged. Her usual smirk vanished as she tightened her grip on the blade wheels. "For survival!" She shouted back, and for the first time, genuine anger laced her voice. "For a real chance to live beyond the next war! Beyond the next betrayal! Beyond the next lie your father fed us!" Yvonne got back into her own fighting stance, her eyes blazing now. "I got the power to fight back, power to protect myself. To protect the things that matter to me! I don't know about you, but out of all of that. I'm alive! Standing here stronger than I was before!"

Sylvanie's eyes narrowed dangerously as she vanished and reappeared again, this time on the left side of Yvonne. "Then let me fix that mistake." She said, swinging her scythe with all the strength she had as the blade drew closer to Yvonne's head.

"No…I don't think you will." Yvonne lifted her right arm, her wheel blade blocking Sylvanie's strike cold; this time, it seemed like she barely put in any effort.

"Wha…What." Sylvanie's eyes widened—not at the block, but at how effortlessly Yvonne had stopped it. The impact should have driven her back, leaving her arms trembling beneath the weight of Sylvanie's fury. Instead… nothing.

Yvonne stood there, arm raised casually, her blade wheel catching Sylvanie's scythe as if it weighed nothing. The Order's insignia in her pupils pulsed brighter now, casting an eerie crimson glow across her features.

"You feel that, don't you?" Yvonne's voice dropped, almost pitying her former friend. "The difference between us?" Her pupils were glowing brighter as she smirked at Sylvanie.

Meanwhile, Celestia ducked beneath Divia's claws and drove her palm forward, but the strike barely fazed her. Divia attacked again at once. Celestia twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the claws as they tore through the air where her shoulder had been. Her breathing remained steady, though pressure tightened in her chest. Divia wasn't slowing down—she was getting faster.

"You're persistent," Celestia murmured, her eyes tracking every movement. "I've never seen you operate up close, but I can tell my father was very particular when he picked you."

Divia's lips curled into a feral grin, her claws glinting in the sunlight as she circled Celestia like a predator sizing up its prey. "Flattery won't save you, Princess." She lunged again, this time feinting left before pivoting right, her claws aimed directly at Celestia's ribs.

Light flared around Celestia's hand as she caught Divia's wrist mid-strike, then drove her right palm forward. Radiant energy erupted on impact, blasting Divia backward.

"You're good," Divia admitted, rotating her wrist. "But you're holding back. I can feel it. You're not giving this your all. What's wrong?" She tilted her head. "Afraid you'll hurt me? Is the delicate little flower that your mother groomed you to be still a sheltered little house pet? A trophy daughter?" She chuckled, using one of her nails to tuck some silver hair from her face. "And you thought you would be good enough to take the throne." She lowered herself a bit. "Don't make me laugh!" She charged forward again.

Celestia's jaw tightened, but she didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she centered herself, drawing upon the light within. As Divia closed the distance, Celestia's hands moved in fluid arcs, weaving barriers of golden luminescence that shimmered into existence just as Divia's claws struck.

The clash echoed around them as their deadly duel continued. Divia circled Celestia, slashing at every opening, but each strike crashed against a barrier of light.

However, Celestia's barriers held, but each impact sent tremors up her arms. She could feel the strain building, the constant defense wearing her down bit by bit. Divia noticed it too. The slight delay in Celestia's movements, the way her barrier would appear at the right moment but slightly off before it vanished.

"There it is…" She whispered, her eyes narrowing as she pressed harder. "That little crack in your perfect composure." She attacked again, but this time with a different pattern—three quick slashes followed by a sudden drop and sweep kick. Celestia blocked the first two strikes, but the third caught the edge of her barrier, sending a ripple through the golden light. The sweep kick came too fast, causing Celestia to stumble backward, her footing momentarily lost as Divia closed in.

Divia surged forward, feinting right before striking from the opposite side. Her claws tore through Celestia's sleeve and drew a thin line of blood. Celestia winced but countered at once, blasting her backward with golden light. Divia skidded to a stop, then rose with a chuckle and rested one hand on her hip.

"First blood goes to me, Princess." Divia taunted, licking her lips as she admired the crimson stain on her nails.

Celestia pressed her free hand against the wound, feeling the warmth of her own blood seeping through her fingers. The cut wasn't deep—superficial at best—but the sting reminded her that she couldn't afford to be careless.

"You seem pleased with yourself," Celestia said calmly, her eyes never leaving Divia's. "Drawing blood from someone who isn't trying to kill you."

"Oh? And whose fault is that?" Divia's grin widened. "Here we are in a fight with an outcome that determines whether you get to walk away with your little human pet or not at all, and you're trying to be merciful." She shook her head disappointedly. "You high elves were always so presumptuous. Always thinking you're better than everyone else, and you. The pinnacle of all this. The daughter of the Elven king, who took up the throne once her mother passed away, was brought to her knees in chains and forced to face the reality…" She crouched down again. "The reality that you're just a helpless little girl in a battle too big for you!" With a sudden burst of speed, Divia lunged forward, her form shifting mid-attack. Her hair darkened to violet, her eyes flashing crimson—Sylvanie's face now sneering at Celestia as she stretched her clawed hand toward her chest.

Celestia's breath caught. For one dizzying instant, the face before her was no longer Divia's—it was Sylvanie's. She froze.

"Sylvanie—"

The claws tore through her barrier like paper and shot toward her chest. At the last instant, instinct broke through Celestia's hesitation. She twisted aside, taking a glancing slash across the ribs instead of a strike through the heart. Clutching her side, she stumbled back as searing pain ripped through her.

The illusion shattered. Divia's face returned, her grin wider than ever.

"Gotcha," She purred, licking the blood from her claws again. "You really are soft, aren't you?" All I had to do was show you your precious little sister's face and you just…froze." A soft, taunting laugh escaped her. "Pathetic." She spat, and her face shifted back into Sylvanie.

"Sister, help me. The orders got me. Help, sister, help!" She spoke in Sylvanie's voice, maintaining her form as she smirked at Celestia. "Sister, they're too strong. I can't do it alone. Sister, where are you?"

Celestia's hand pressed harder against her side, blood seeping between her fingers as light glowed in her palm, healing the wound. Still, the effects lingered. Her breathing was shallow now, her vision momentarily blurred by pain—but it wasn't the physical wound that hurt the most. It was the voice. The face. The cruel mockery of her sister.

"Stop it," Celestia spoke in a hushed tone.

Divia—still wearing Sylvanie's face—tilted her head mockingly, her red eyes gleaming in delight. "Stop what? This?" She gestured to herself, to the perfect replica of Sylvanie's features. "You want to try something different? Alright then, imitating your sister isn't really the point I wanted to get across to you anyway." Her form started changing. "How about we go with something that I'm sure you're more familiar with. Something you decided to lock in the back of your mind as a mere memory and nothing more… Daddy's… little…Girl." She said as her face turned into Celestia's, except colder, heartless. Her blue eyes held no shred of mercy. Her hairstyle was the same. Ponytail and all, but the color was silver. A slim suit of armor covered her body, the one she wore the few times she'd been on the battlefield. "Does this remind you of anything? Princess."

Celestia's breath hitched, her heart stuttering painfully in her chest. The face before her wasn't just familiar—it was hers. The same eyes, the look of disdain she held when she held her sword. It was like staring into a mirror that reflected everything she feared becoming.

"A perfect reflection of who you really are, isn't it?" Divia asked, but now in Celestia's heartless voice. "Before your mother came and rescued you from the bloodshed that your father was ensuring? Remember how you looked down on those beneath you and cut them down without a second thought?" She cocked her head to the side, her heartless eyes glancing over at Oreon as he fought to stay alive. "Does the human know? How elves really treated anyone outside of our race, especially humans." She turned her gaze back towards her. "Does he know that if this were the version of you he found, his life would have been snuffed out before he could have uttered a single word?"

Celestia's hands trembled at her sides. The wound in her ribs throbbed dully, but it was nothing compared to the cold spreading through her chest. That face. Her face. The silver hair that she used to have, the armor…the emptiness in those blue eyes.

"That's not…" She could barely get out. "That's not who I am anymore…"

"Anymore?" Divia-as-Celestia laughed—a hollow, cruel sound that echoed off the ruined buildings around them. "Oh, how convenient. So, you shed your skin like a snake and pretend the old scales never existed." She took a slow step forward. "But we both know the truth, don't we? The blood on your hands didn't wash away just because you put your sword away. Here, allow me to remind you who you really are!" Divia quickly unsheathed an imitation of Celestia's old sword and charged.

Celestia's eyes widened as Divia closed the distance in an instant. The sight of it, the weight of seeing herself charging forward with murderous intent, froze her in place.

"Move. Move!" But her body wouldn't listen.

The blade swept toward her shoulder in a vicious arc. But at the last second, Celestia raised a barrier of light. But it was weaker than before—thin and flickering. The sword shattered it like glass, and the impact sent her stumbling back, feet scraping across the ground.

"Pathetic," Divia sneered in Celestia's voice. "Is this what you've become?" She slashed again, breaking her barrier and rushing, delivering a hard side kick to Celestia's stomach, driving her into a wall of a building. Celestia's body bounced off the wall with force. However, she didn't have time to recover as Divia, still posing as her, drove her knee into her stomach and backhanded her with the fist that was holding the blade, sending her through a wall into a building that served as a small grocery store for the town.

Celestia's body crashed through wooden shelves and scattered produce, rolling to a stop amidst shattered glass and splintered wood. Dust filled her lungs as she coughed, struggling to push herself up on trembling arms.

Through the hole in the wall, Divia stepped through slowly, deliberately. Still wearing Celestia's face. Still holding the false sword, staring down at her. "It's over, Princess, for you, your sister…And the human."