Revelation

The holy statue waited for Kia to approach before springing into action, bringing its sword up to block her attack. Before Kia could spin around, it kicked her away.

She tumbled to the ground and speedily returned to her feet. It didn’t take long to decipher that the statue was waiting to parry another attack. She straightened herself up and stared at it. The two stood in a standoff for a long time, until the statue grew impatient and rushed at Kia.

Its sword crashed down where Kia stood. The golden blade slammed into the floor.

Calum watched Kia jump onto the statue’s shoulders and slash every inch she could reach. Nothing penetrated through the golden armor. He was mesmerized by Kia’s determination in the face of opposition of this level. Clearly, her attacks didn’t work, but she continued to fight nonetheless.

The statue had thrown Kia off its shoulders and leaped at her, ready to slash down with its sword.

She rolled out of the way just before it landed and sprung to her feet. Before she could do anything, a large golden hand smacked into her, sending her flying backward.

The holy statue got to its feet and once again charged at Kia, who barrel rolled to avoid another strike.

“You can do it, Kia! I believe in you!”

She quickly glanced over to Calum and gave a smile. Kia jumped to her feet and waited for the statue to charge her again.

Instead of stampeding toward her, the statue halted and put the tip of its sword in the ground.

Kia twirled her daggers, wondering what the statue’s plan was. She studied its body and thought of different ways it might react to her attacking. Once she was confident she could counter any movement it made against her, she assailed the enemy.

The statue made no movement until Kia was right in front of it. Then, it kicked its foot out.

She dodged the kick by rolling to the side. Placing her daggers on her belt, she launched off the ground and attempted to disrupt her opponent’s balance by pushing off of it with her feet.

Unfortunately, the foe barely budged. It turned around before she reached the ground and grabbed hold of her leg. With all its might, it threw her against the wall nearest to the observers.

Calum flinched and watched her recover from the impact. The holy statue was already running toward her for a follow up attack.

Kia lowered herself in preparation for the next attack, waiting for her opponent to get close to her.

“How is she supposed to beat this thing if none of her attacks can scratch it?” Calum turned to Raliz, keeping the fight in his peripheral vision.

“She’s not supposed to win.”

“What?”

“You’ll see why. There’s something we all need to see.” He continued watching the fight, ignoring any complaints Calum might have had.

A recent memory popped into the forefront of his mind. ‘It just feels like he’s going to do something bad.’ Kia looked anxious when she said that. Calum returned his attention to Kia and whispered a silent prayer that she wouldn’t be harmed. He didn’t know what this priest wanted, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good for her.

Kia had dodged the statue’s next attack and was now on its shoulders again. Unlike last time, she sat there with her blades still tucked away on her belt loop.

The statue began slamming itself against the wall in hopes of crushing her. Everytime it was about to crash against the wall, Kia would readjust herself so she was on the opposite side.

A smile came to Calum’s face. ‘Since her weapons are useless, she’s trying to get it to defeat itself. An excellent strategy.’

Eventually, the large statue stopped banging itself against the wall. It reached up and tried to grab Kia, but she was too slippery. Another hand reached up and Kia found herself in its grasp once again.

It held Kia in the air for a moment before throwing her at the ground with a frightening amount of power. Cracks formed in the ground where she landed.

The statue threw down its sword on top of her, but she rolled away just before it landed.

Calum sharply turned to Raliz. “The thing is trying to kill her! Why aren’t you stopping it?”

Raliz didn’t move his eyes off the battle. “Do not worry, hero. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’ll find out soon enough? This isn’t a show, this is a real person!” He glanced at Tilaya, who watched the fight nervously. Erik, on the other hand, watched calmly.

Kia was on the run, dodging the onslaught of attacks from the statue. She was unable to fight it head-on, so she was evading it to give herself enough time to think of a new strategy.

The holy statue was learning her movements. It slashed at Kia but redirected its attack just as she jumped away to avoid it. The flat side of its sword smacked into her, sending her flying.

She almost immediately recovered from the hit and turned on the statue. An idea came to her mind, and she charged her opponent. She launched herself off the ground and grabbed onto the wrist of its sword hand. Using her daggers, she tried to pry its fingers open.

Before she could loosen its grip on the sword, it grabbed her with its free hand and held her in front of it.

Kia struggled to free herself from its grasp. Her eyes widened when she saw it pulling back its arm, the tip of the sword aimed right at her.

Calum tried to run to her aid, but Raliz grabbed him with an iron grip.

The holy statue plunged its sword through her chest. Blood leaked from the wound, accompanied by a scream. It dropped Kia to the floor and stepped back.

Horror crossed Calum and Tilaya’s faces. Erik flinched, but otherwise didn’t have much of a reaction.

Raliz looked at Calum. “Here it comes…”

The blood stopped pouring from Kia’s wound. Horns jutted from her head, and wings unfurled behind her.

“Behold her true form!”