They twisted around to face a man in his 30’s, dressed in black robes and carrying what appeared to be a glaive. The only part of his face that could be seen underneath the hood that was drawn over his head was his eyes – his dark, piercing, hawk-like eyes. His gaze rested on Rebecca.
“Welcome, Princess, to your death,” he said, and he threw back the hood, revealing a head of red hair tied back into a ponytail. He leered down at them, and looked at Alex. “Hello, Alex. How is your father doing? Oh, that’s right! He’s dead, isn’t he? He was a worthy opponent, more worthy than you were before I killed you. So! You’re the Avatar of Deltania? Humph, that’s something I never thought could happen.”
Alex glared at him. “At least I’m not the Avatar of the False One,” she said, reaching for her sword. “If you’re here to fight us, Chigaro, then come on!”
Chigaro smirked and leapt off of the top of the statue that he had been standing on, landing right in the middle of the four of them. Then, with one motion, he knocked them all back as if they were nothing. His glaive shone darkly as it weaved through the air and met with Rebecca’s sword. He leered at her.
“Well, well, well…” he said. “It looks like you’re a fighter! Too bad you’re out matched!”
He knocked her backwards and turned to block Samuel’s blade before casually grabbing his wrist and tossing him into the base of a statue. “Pathetic.”
Then Alex rushed at him, her sword shining brightly, the exact opposite of Chigaro’s glaive. The two weapons met amidst a shower of sparks. The two warriors leapt back for a second before fighting once more, their movements becoming like a dance, a deadly dance of death. Sparks flew whenever the weapons clashed, and neither of the fighters was gaining the upper hand.
While the two Avatars fought, Mary went to inspect Rebecca and Samuel’s wounds. Rebecca was unharmed, but Samuel was dazed, and had a nasty cut on the side of his head. Closing her eyes, she focused on healing her brother…
Rebecca stared in shock as Mary’s hands were engulfed in a bright light. She put her hands on the wound, and the wound was also engulfed in light. Seconds later, the light vanished, as did the wound. Mary stood up, and helped her brother to his feet. Then she turned to Rebecca.
“We have to defeat this man,” she said. “If we don’t, he’ll kill us.”
Rebecca nodded, an aura of magical power forming around her body. “Let’s get him.”
Samuel nodded and grabbed his blade. “Yes.”
They turned and charged into battle, taking Chigaro completely by surprise. He managed to block Samuel’s blade…but not the fiery arrows that slammed into his chest, sending him flying halfway across the room, his body skidding to a stop 50 meters away.
After about 2 minutes, Chigaro got up, slowly, and stared in shock at the aura of power that still encased Rebecca.
“Impossible!” he said. “Humans haven’t been able to use magic in centuries!”
Rebecca glared at him. “Yes well, now I can!”
She raised her hands and sent a blast of pure magic at him, the blast being enough to send him flying back another 20 meters. This time, he didn’t get back up. He just faded out of existence.
Alex stared. “She…killed him!” she said. “How? How did you get that much power into that spell?”
Rebecca sighed as the aura faded. “I just got angry,” she said. “I had no idea that I knew that spell. It wasn’t in any of the books I studied.”
A shadow seemed to pass over Alex’s face. “That was the Dark Soul Blast,” she said. “Powerful Black Magic. Whoever you were in your last life was a powerful sorceress.”
“Oh, THAT’S a comforting thought,” Samuel said. “What if she turns evil and decides that we’re not worth anything to her?”
Rebecca turned and glared at him. “I would do no such thing!” she screamed. “Don’t even joke about it!!”
Samuel winced at her angry tone. “…Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Rebecca sighed. “No, it’s all right,” she said. “Now come on, we have a staff to find.”
*-*-*-*-*
Meanwhile, back in Guldtosia.
The Queen was furious. The Priests had just informed her that Rebecca had been kidnapped by that new instructor, Alex Gaiason, and was being taken down to the Elven Lands in the south.
“Find her!” she screamed. “Leave no stone unturned until you find my daughter! And kill that woman, Alex, too! Kidnapping a member of the royal family is a crime punishable by death!”
The three knights in front of her went down on one knee. “Yes, Highness,” their leader said. “We will find and retrieve the Princess unharmed and kill the one that kidnapped her.”
They stood up and left to go on their mission.
A Claraxis Priest came out of the shadows. “You understand that your reign as queen will end if we do not sacrifice your daughter.”
It wasn’t a question. “…Yes,” the Queen said. “I understand.”
“Good.”
The Priest seemed to vanish back into the shadows.