Book Two - Chapter Thirty

The bandits’ tenacity was starting to fail. Now that it had become clear just how outmatched they were, most refused to attack. Instead, they shied away from Lusya. Some had their weapons ready to defend, others raised their hands in surrender. She killed the ones before her regardless of what they did. The others she ignored for now. They had to die eventually, but they could wait a little.

The minor-ranks’ cries continued without end. They had now been joined by baleful moans, weeping, and sobs, as the bandits Lusya had defeated waited to expire. A faint metallic scent had come to fill the air, wafting up from the blood soaking into the ground and dripping from Lunera’s snow-white blade.

Lusya had fed a few more bandits to the minor-ranks, and one of the demons had died when she had warped a man into its cage mid-swing. He had seemed smug about that for a moment, even shouting taunts about her “failure,” before realizing she had locked him in there to die of thirst in a few days. He was still throwing himself against the bars in his attempts to escape.

All the others had been torn apart, except one who was still in the process. Some of them might have been strong enough to kill a minor-rank, but not when they didn’t have a chance to get their bearings before it pounced on them.

She had yet to deal with the other minor-rank demons, as she was undecided on what to do with them. Killing more of her father’s potential forces seemed wasteful, and she did not much care if they caused trouble in the area, but she wasn’t sure how to release them without them attacking her or otherwise making things difficult. A few minor-ranks wouldn’t have been a huge loss anyway. She could always kill them on the way out if she wanted, as long as she kept Ariya from seeing, so she left them be for the time being.

In the meantime, Lusya made her way toward Ariya, where Gisala also was—along with a few dozen other mortals. Why Gisala had gone there was a mystery. If she had intended to use Ariya as a hostage again, she should have done so long ago. Lusya was close enough to tell where exactly they were now. It was a long, narrow building, dotted with small, barred windows. Some sort of prison, perhaps. It mattered little. Lusya just had to kill Gisala and retrieve Ariya. Maybe killing Gisala was not quite a necessary step, but Lusya was going to do it regardless.

Lusya still had some ways to go and quite a crowd to thin when the door to the building swung open, and Gisala walked out, though Lusya could hardly see her through the crowd.

“All of you, back off!” Gisala commanded. She slammed the door shut behind her. “Get clear and make some room.”

Despite their terror, the bandits hurried to obey her commands. All at once, they moved away and spread out, making a wide circle around Lusya. Those before Lusya shuffled to either side until they had made a thin aisle through which she could see Gisala.

“Don’t any of you lot interfere,” Gisala said. “You’ll just get in the way.”

“You get ‘er, Boss!” one man shouted.

“Show her who she’s messing with!” a woman added.

“You’re dead meat now!” another man shouted at Lusya.

Other, similar shouts rose up from the crowd. Some encouraging Gisala, others jeering at Lusya. They were accompanied by wordless whoops and hollers of excitement. It seemed they had quite some misplaced faith in Gisala, for their morale to improve so by her appearance. By contrast, the minor-ranks had almost gone silent, their howls reduced to quiet growls.

Gisala strode through the aisle, keeping her back straight and head held high. As before, she wore her hair pulled back, allowing a clear view of the void where her severed ear had once been. She entered the circle and stopped a dozen feet away from Lusya. Gisala held up a hand to signal silence, and the other bandits ceased their ruckus.

“I’m guessing you’re here for the girl,” she said. She wore a friendly smile, but it was fake. Forced. They were not friends, and Gisala knew well that she was doomed. “I don’t suppose there’s some way we can work this out? Say, we give you the girl and you leave quietly?”

“There is not,” Lusya said. “You must all die. You must all suffer.”

Gisala clicked her tongue. “What in Telresen’s name pissed you off?” She glanced around, then grinned. It was genuine this time. Mocking. “Come to think of it, I don’t see the other brat anywhere.”

Lusya charged forward and slashed at Gisala’s throat. Eyes wide with surprise, Gisala moved back to avoid the attack, then crossed her arms to block the kick that followed, though it still drove her backward.

“Flishil,” she called as Lusya flowed into a thrust.

That shield appeared in Gisala’s hands and blocked Lunera’s point. An identical sword point burst forth from the surface at Lusya. She backed up, avoiding the attack. Then, she used Lunera to warp behind Gisala.

“That trick…” Gisala growled as she whirled to face Lusya.

Lusya feinted with Lunera, baiting Gisala into positioning her shield to block a strike that never came. Lusya followed up with a kick to the shield’s side, where it couldn’t copy attacks. The blow wrenched the shield, and Gisala’s body, to the side. Lusya followed up with a slash from Lunera. Gisala hastily retreated, Lunera slicing across the right side of her chest and sending out an arc of crimson.

Lusya pursued and followed up with a leg sweep, which Gisala jumped to avoid. It seemed meant as a short hop to dodge the attack, but Lusya slashed Lunera to connect the space above her to one much higher in the air, warping Gisala into the sky. While Gisala glanced about, disoriented, Lusya warped behind her.

Gisala managed to twist and block as Lusya swung down Lunera, but the force of the blow still drove her down to the ground before the attack could be mimicked. Gisala landed hard on her back in a cloud of dust but managed to roll to her feet quickly enough. By the time Lusya warped to the ground, Gisala had assumed a defensive stance again.

The shield was still proving to be a nuisance, if not a threat. Lusya had realized from their first encounter that it could never be the latter against her, nor against any fighter of comparable power. Ironic as it was, Gisala’s over-reliance on the shield was what kept it from being dangerous. Once one understood its abilities, they were quite straightforward, and Gisala’s entire fighting style revolving around it made her predictable.

Based on its abilities alone, perhaps the Blade could have been powerful in the hands of a better wielder. But then, it was a reflection of Gisala. Her weakness was a part of it. Regardless, it was going to drag the fight out at this rate.

“Miudofay,” Lusya said, calling the black blade to her free hand.

“Both at once?” Gisala exclaimed. “What are you?” Her eyes widened in sudden realization, and she took a step back in fear, her face pale, sending a murmur through the crowd. “Did you just call that sword Miudofay?”

Lusya responded with a small blast of violet flame from Miudofay. She couldn’t use too much, as the prison was still behind Gisala. Ariya was probably safe now that Lusya knew for sure she was there, but it was doubtful Ariya would handle the other mortals being incinerated well. Still, the amount of fire Lusya used was more than enough to be a danger.

Gisala raised her shield to defend. Lusya warped behind her before the flames had fully dissipated and, blade wreathed in fire, stabbed at the woman’s lower back. Gisala threw herself to the side, allowing Miudofay to burn her side instead of her spine. The remaining flames from the blast washed over her, but they were too weak to do more than give her a few severe burns. They could not harm Lusya at all. Gisala turned to face Lusya again and backed away, shield ready.

Of course, now that their positions had reversed, Lusya didn’t need to be so conservative with Miudofay. She swung the blade horizontally, sending out a tall, wide arc of flame. Gisala raised her shield to block once more. She was saved, but there was too much fire for her to stop it all. What she couldn’t stop continued on past her, burning a swath of her men and the camp to ash. The surviving bandits scrambled away from the ash that had been their comrades.

When the flames cleared, Gisala took a moment to glance over her shoulder at the destruction.

“Do you know how long and hard I worked to build all this?” she demanded.

Lusya slashed Lunera, and Gisala whirled, anticipating an attack from behind. But Lusya had not constructed the rift to engulf her immediately. She dashed around it and closed in on foot, then slashed across Gisala’s back before backing away. Gisala cried out in pain and ran away. It was a deep cut, painful and pouring out blood, but it was not debilitating.

“You think you can toy with me?” Gisala roared.

She charged forward, shield raised. Lusya knew what she was doing. The shield still had that slash from Lunera stored. If it hadn’t been her first attack since then, waiting to use it might have been clever. Instead, it was exactly what Lusya expected from the fool. Lusya waited until the last moment, then opened a rift in front of her. Gisala emerged behind her, the imitation slash whiffing through open air, useless. What was more, Gisala had leaned into the charge, expecting to meet the resistance of flesh, leaving her overextended when she had not.

Lusya kicked her in the back, on the open wound, and released a shockwave, launching Gisala across their little arena with a howl of pain. She landed on the ground in an undignified tumble. It was not until she rolled to a halt that she began to push herself to stand. For most it was quick, but for a captain-level fighter, her movements were slow and pained. Lusya waited for her to rise. Gisala’s teeth were gritted against the pain, her breathing heavy. Dirt tumbled off her, and the blood of her subordinates she had picked up from the ground mingled with hers.

She took in a deep breath and charged again with a wordless shout. She raised a fist and tried to punch Lusya. It was not a bad punch, but a blind man could have seen it coming. If only Gisala had bothered learning how to fight instead of how to cower behind her Blade, things might have been different. Not that Lusya was complaining. She jumped over the attack, into a flip to give herself extra momentum, and drove her heel into the back of Gisala’s head as she passed underneath, adding a shockwave for good measure.

Gisala flew forward and fell face first onto the ground, sliding several more feet before she finally stopped. Her body heaving with each breath, she slowly stood and faced Lusya again, ready to charge.

“Kingdoms and empires rise and fall,” Lusya said.

Gisala froze. “No, stop,” she pleaded. Any captain who had fought in the war knew to fear that incantation. It meant they were about to die.

“Malice outlives them all,” Lusya continued, walking toward her.

“You’ll ruin everything! You’ll hit the girl too!”

“No matter how strong or built to last, all things must turn to ash. Miudofay Enfern.”

Gisala flinched and raised her shield. It wouldn’t have worked. Miudofay Enfern could burn everything inside it, every inch of space or speck of dust. Defending from the front alone was pointless. Not that it mattered. Lusya knew the incantation, but the sword of ruin had never responded to her using it. Even the First Release would not grant her all its abilities.

She kicked the raised shield aside while Gisala tried to defend against a non-existent gout of flame. While her body was awkwardly twisted by the blow, Lusya slashed out her right eye with Miudofay. Gisala screamed and stumbled away, slamming a hand over her ruined eye.

Lusya followed up by slamming Lunera’s pommel into Gisala’s head, driving her down to the ground. Then, Lusya kicked her stomach and released a shockwave, sending Gisala sailing across their makeshift arena. She rolled several more feet after landing before her momentum finally ran out.

For a moment, she lay there, limp. Then, she pushed herself up off the ground, stood, and raised her shield once more. Gisala made no move to attack again. It seemed she was attempting to fall back on the stalemate she believed her Blade enforced. Attacking would strengthen her Blade, while waiting would give her more time to think of a new strategy.

That stalemate only existed when one did not understand the Blade’s power in full. Perhaps weak opponents and the element of surprise had carried her this far, but no further. Lusya was above that.

Lusya swiped Lunera through the air, creating a tiny rift. Gisala braced herself, looking about. She did not turn around. She had learned a little. But it was too late. Lusya stabbed Miudofay through the rift and unleashed a small stream of flame. The blade poked out high above Gisala, out of her, now more limited, field of view. The flames bore down right onto the middle of Gisala’s shield arm. The flames were just wide and powerful enough to burn through her elbow, reducing it to ash. Her forearm and shield flopped to the ground as she screamed in pain, staring at her burnt stump with wild, fearful eyes.

While she was stunned, Lusya warped behind Gisala and sliced off her legs with Lunera. Gisala released another agonized roar. Lusya released Lunera and stomped on Gisala’s back as she fell, driving her face first into the dirt, blood pouring from her wounds.

As she drove her boot into the back of Gisala’s shoulder, Lusya raised Miudofay and thrust it down into Gisala’s back. Gisala writhed futilely. Lusya allowed fire to slowly leak from the black sword’s tip into Gisala’s body. Bit by bit, the flames spread through her, reducing her insides to ash little by little.

Gisala thrashed, but Lusya’s foot kept her in place. Gisala’s remaining arm clutched at and ran through the dirt. It seemed a fruitless effort to drag herself away at first, but eventually it devolved into her merely clenching her fist so hard her nails drew blood.

Wordless wails and tortured cries echoed from her mouth, tears streaming down her pallid face. Her mouth moved as if trying to form words but failed over and over again to produce anything but incoherent screams. At last, she finally seemed to summon the will to speak.

“Kill me,” she croaked. “Just kill me already!”

Lusya stopped the flames and let up the pressure of her foot, though not enough for Gisala to go anywhere. So much of this attack felt hollow now, and there was a pain within that Lusya could not quite identify. Why had she wasted so much time making this woman’s death humiliating and painful? Why had she taken so long to confront the leader and free Ariya? They were Lusya’s own actions, yet she could not understand them.

“That’s right,” she said. “There’s no point to any of this.”

Gisala let out a relieved sigh. Lusya set Miudofay’s flames ablaze and dragged it up through Gisala’s body and out through her head, killing her in an instant. Her shield dissolved into white particles and floated off into the sky a second later. Lusya stepped off the half-ash corpse and looked around at her audience. The crowd had thinned. Many of the bandits had fled during the fight. Most, however, were still present, watching in stunned silence. Even the minor-ranks did not immediately resume their uproar.

That silence began to crumble as the bandits stared at their leader’s remains. They mumbled among themselves about how it was impossible, about how “Boss” couldn’t have lost.

“However,” Lusya said, drawing their attention to her, “you all still need to die.”