Rose was walking around with Alisha, gathering some items for a meal. As they had the Inn to themselves, it was pretty much a makeshift house at the moment for the group, even Sergei stayed there; saying he'd rather be near the entrance when Sorey would strike. The Sparrows Feathers, those that were trained had come to join in the fight, saying they'd protect the Boss and the Princess at all costs. "Alright, looks like that's all we'll need." Rose said and Alisha nodded, looking at the food; Dezel was with them as well, an arm around Rose's waist.
Alisha had recently learned that Dezel and Rose had gotten together; she wondered how a relationship between the two would work. She knew it wouldn't be any different from a human's relationship though if they had a wedding...no one would see Dezel or the other Seraphim. Though she figured they skipped a ceremony when she saw the golden rings around their ring fingers already, shocking her slightly. She wondered what her wedding would've been like with Sorey, had he not been tainted, surrounded by family and friends alike; everyone there to congratulate them. She smiled softly at the idea, it was something she hoped her and Sorey would've been able to do.
"Well, that's something I thought I'd never see." Rose mumbled, catching Alisha's attention, seeing Rose staring straight ahead with wide eyes. Alisha looked ahead as well and felt her jaw drop a little at what she saw. Mikleo and Edna were kissing...KISSING! Alisha rubbed her eyes, not sure she actually saw what she was seeing only for the scene to remain. "I thought they didn't like each other." Alisha commented and Rose scoffed. "You should've seen him when we reached your manor after you had been kidnapped. Edna was almost dead when we got to her, faint pulse, labored breathing; we thought she wouldn't make it through the night." Rose commented and Alisha winced, she had seen what they had done to Edna but she didn't want to remember that experience.
She looked ahead, only to see what she believe to be a rare sight; a genuine smile on Edna's face and toward Mikleo no less. The two were blushing and smiling at one another, something that warmed her heart as she realized the two had found their other half, watching as they left, Edna and Mikleo must be going back to the Inn. It now made her curious about Lailah. Back when Lailah was a Prime Lord for the Shepherd before Sorey, she seemed to have had eyes for her Shepherd, Michael, only back then. Though something was odd between her and Zaveid, she had a feeling the two had a thing in the past; it was obvious they knew each other.
"I'm now curious about Lailah and Zaveid, those two seem closer than they should if this is their first journey together." Alisha said as they made their way back to the Inn; Rose hummed. "Now that you mention it, I think I've noticed it as well." Rose said, rubbing her chin. "I didn't think about it until now." She said softly as they entered the Inn. "Think about what?" A female's voice asked and they saw Lailah, Zaveid, Mikleo, Edna, Sergei and some Sparrow Feathers where there; all doing random activities except Lailah, Zaveid, Edna and Mikleo.
"Oh, nothing really." Alisha waved it off and Lailah seemed confused but ignored it, continuing her conversation with Zaveid. Alisha passed everyone to the kitchen with Rose following, handing the food to some of the Sparrow Feathers so they could cook. Alisha was starting to feel the effects of her pregnancy more prominent now, so she was often told to get as much rest as possible. "I think I'm going to get some sleep." Alisha said and Rose nodded. "Do you want someone with you?" She asked her, worried she might be sick again, yet Alisha shook her head.
"No, I'll be fine just feeling a little exhausted is all." She said and Rose nodded. There were barriers around the windows and doors so Alisha couldn't escape, not that she was going to, she was far too exhausted and unsteady for that. One of the Sparrow Feathers, a woman by the name of Cecilia, watched Alisha worried, before humming. "We should get a nurse and doctor to come check up on her, make sure everything's okay." She commented and Rose hummed, it was a good idea; though it was risky as well.
They couldn't afford any innocent's getting caught in the crossfire that was sure to happen. They had been expecting an attack for some time now, yet there were no signs of Sorey's presence at all recently. Rose at first feared that he had been killed by the dragon he defeated, yet Lailah stated that he was still alive but was recovering slower than normal. She could still feel him, despite them no longer being Prime Lord and Shepherd to one another. "I'll see what we can do, we do need to get her checked but bringing anyone here to check on her is risky, leaving is even worse." Rose stated and Cecilia nodded.
"We could contact Luviana." A guild mate said, making Rose gasp in happiness. "You right, I completely forgot she came to help out. She's not only a trained assassin and a wonderful merchant, she's a nurse for the guild! I'll be right back!" Rose said and was out the door before anyone could blink. "...That was quick," Mikleo commented, arms wrapped around Edna. "she must be worried about Alisha more than we thought." He said and everyone nodded, back to doing their business.
A few more weeks passed, going on another month and Alisha was officially seven months into her pregnancy, getting closer and closer to her due date. She was having pains more constantly and doing even the simplest of things required great effort and she was slowly getting stressed out. Word was going around that Sorey was on the move again and traveler's had been on the bad end of his wrath, facing his sword and he was spilling blood.
Alisha had also been told that she was all they had to purify Sorey, her mere presence was purifying Sorey when she was with him, despite the fact she had been affected slightly by the malevolence. When she heard that, she had questioned them, asking if it was better if she had stayed and she still got the same answer; no! She knew it was because of the child that this was all happening, that more innocent blood was being spilled because she had been taken from Sorey but there was little she could do, if anything.
She was currently walking through Pendrago with Sergei beside her, the other Seraphim were with Rose or with their partner, including Zaveid and Lailah. She knew it was bound to happen, the two had been dancing around each other for some time before they made it official, some time last week, that they were together. ...Then again...everyone had walked in on the two kissing in the lobby of the Inn. Alisha sighed, feeling somewhat lonely. "Are you alright, Alisha?" Sergei asked, looking at her worried and she shook her head. "I'm fine, just feeling a little lonely without Sorey." She said and Sergei nodded, understanding.
"I see, I believe I understand; being away from a loved one is very hard. For the longest time, I believed Sorey and Rose were married actually, having been told that when they first came to Rolance to rid the empire of malevolence." Sergei explained and Alisha chuckled. "I know, I remember Rose telling me all about it; even Sorey laughed at it." She said and Sergei chuckled. "It was only until I heard from Rose that Sorey actually liked someone else that I realized I had been tricked a little, though I laugh at it now." He said and Alisha giggled once more, making him laugh; when Sorey returns to himself, he was going to be a very lucky man indeed.
An explosion near the entrance caught their attention and Sergei growled, running ahead. "Get to safety Lady Alisha!" He shouted, passing some soldiers who ran toward her, escorting her to safety, away from the entrance of the city. 'Be safe...everyone.' Alisha thought, allowing herself to be escorted away. Rose jumped out of the Inn with the Seraphim and Sparrow Feathers, running down the road to the entrance where they saw him. He was panting, out of breath it seemed yet his eyes were a murderous red color; glaring at them all with a ferocity that had never expected.
"Where is she?" Sorey growled out, standing to his full height. His black and red outfit stuck out against the gray walls of the city and green background of the meadow, yet as it was night, he had a better chance of disappearing into the shadow, yet his glowing red accents and galaxy like cloak at his waist would give him away instantly. "Where is Alisha?!" Sorey demanded, readying his sword. "Like we'd tell you!" Rose shouted as she armatized with Mikleo, stringing her bow and letting shots off as everyone jumped into action, even Sergei as he appeared and joined the fray. Sorey didn't hesitate and swung his sword, blocking the swords and spears of the soldier's, blocking the daggers of the Sparrow Feathers, before charging past them and clashing with Rose, who used the bow to block the attack.
Rose pushed him off to the side before jumping back and changing into her fire form, swinging the sword down on Sorey, who grunted in strain. He kicked Rose back before jumping into the sky, avoiding the attacks from Sergei and the soldiers, armatizing into his wind form and dove downward. Sergei and the others dodged the attack as Sorey slammed into the ground, making a dent. Rose charged forward, swinging her sword at him and he used the sword-wings to block before slamming into her.
Rose gave a shout of pain as wind sliced into her flesh but she didn't let it slow her down; she jumped back armatizing with Edna and charging forward, swinging her fists at him rapidly. Sorey did his best to dodge but one hit him, slamming him into the wall and he growled rubbing his chest where she hit him. He looked up only to shout in pain as a spear stabbed into his side; he looked to his left before hitting the Hyland soldier back and taking the spear out before rolling out of the way of Rose's fists as they punched into the wall making her growl.
"Just tell me where Alisha is and I might spare you all!" Sorey shouted, dodging a flurry of strikes from the soldier's. "Not happening!" Sergei shouted, swinging at Sorey who blocked. Sorey jumped back, transforming into his earth form and went to swing at Sergei. A wall of stone appeared before Sergei, blocking the attack which allowed Sergei to take a few steps back.
Sorey growled and destroyed the wall of stone, only for a fist to collide with him making him cry out in pain, seeing it was Rose. Rose swung again and Sorey dodged with his own fists and the two tried to exchanged a fury of punches to the other as well as used rock formations and monoliths and crystal towers to try and impale the other, yet both failing.
"We're not giving her up Sorey, admit defeat!" Rose shouted, jumping back and armatizing with Dezel as Sorey armatized with Mizu. "I'll never give in!" He shouted, his eyes still red as he readied his bow and let off several shots and Rose used the wind to speed her up, making it hard to hit her. As the wind whipped around the area, the soldiers and assassins all felt their moves lighter, allowing them to move quicker and prevent themselves from getting hit as often.
Sorey was at a disadvantage, that much was obvious...though something was off...he seemed...weaker than he should. Even his Seraphim noticed yet they said nothing, it was almost as if they were letting him suffer, was his strength being sapped from him? Sorey stumbled backwards when avoiding an attack from Rose, unaware a soldier was behind him who swung, cutting into Sorey's back. Sorey let out a yelp and jumped to the side, hitting a few soldier's back with water before using Bubble Arrow to keep others at bay. "What's going on?" Sorey asked himself, yet none of his Seraphim answered, making him growl.
Rose seemed to notice his distress and stopped her charge, raising a brow at him confused. "Give it up Sorey, you're growing weaker; at this rate you may die." Rose commented, dearmatizing with Dezel as the Seraphim appeared to her sides. Sorey growled, making to move forward but stopped and collapsed to his knees, coughing; Rose panicked as she saw blood hit the ground before him. He was coughing out blood! "With Alisha having purified him slightly, the malevolence is attacking his body. He stills seems to have had purity left from their encounter and it grew, trying to help him." Lailah explained to Rose, whose expression grew grim.
Alisha was watching from the castle in Pendrago, eyes showing her concern; she wanted Sorey to return to normal. "When you were with Sorey, the purity you radiated affected Sorey, allowing him to slowly be purified. Your mere presence was purifying him, Alisha!" The words Rose and the others told him when she had been taken back by them rang in her head...could she purify him? She knew...she knew Sorey wouldn't dare harm her with her expecting his child. Making up her mind, she nodded and made to sneak out of the castle, she had to get to Sorey!
Sorey couldn't move, his body was fighting against him and that's when Rose saw it, the malevolence was leaving his body and she grew cold...dreadful. What was going on?! "Sorey!" A voice cried out and Rose gasped, spinning around, seeing Alisha was there. "Alisha, run!" Rose shouted as Sergei cursed and ran toward her. Sorey's head snapped out, eyes turned green as he saw her and gasped. "Alisha!" He called out only to cough out more blood. Alisha's gaze grew concerned and she made to move forward but Sergei gripped her arm, glaring at her.
"You were suppose to stay at the castle." He told her firmly, yet she gave a firm shake of her head. "You don't understand, Sorey was being purified when I was with him; I might be able to-!" Alisha didn't get to finish as Sergei glared at her harshly. "That doesn't matter right now!" He shouted, shocking her. "You're pregnant, we can't risk anything happening to you or your child." He said and went to drag her away, yet she winced at his forceful tug.
Sorey saw and his eyes turned back to a murderous red and Rose gasped. "Sergei, Alisha, watch out!" Rose shouted, turning to run toward them as Sorey armatized to wind and charged. Sergei gasped and turned around, stepping in front of Alisha to protect her as he drew his sword...right as Sorey armatized to fire, brandishing his...and he thrust. "SERGEI!" Rose, Alisha, the Seraphim and several others shouted, all watching as blood splattered to the ground, onto the sword...and on Alisha.
Sergei grunted in pain, staggering back a little as Sorey's eyes burned in anger. "Don't...lay a hand...on Alisha." Sorey threatened darkly, withdrawing his sword, swinging it and swiping blood to the ground. Sergei tilted back and fell down as Alisha cried out in alarm and sunk to her knees. "Sergei, no!" She cried out, cradling his head on her lap.
As Rose and the others neared, fire surrounded Sorey, throwing them back before it dispersed and he armatized to his wind form; wind acting as a barrier around them. Alisha was trying to keep Sergei awake, his breathing was labored as blood pooled around them, soaking her armor and clothes. "Let's go, Alisha." Sorey said, holding a hand to her.
Alisha looked up at him with teary eyes, seeing the emotionless, unforgiving red eyes before her and she wanted to break down and cry. That wasn't the Sorey she remembered...that wasn't the Sorey she had spent months with...it wasn't him! Alisha lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, not budging and Sorey twitched. "Alisha," He growled out, looking impatient. "let's go." He ordered and she grabbed a spear that lay off to the side. "No," She said simply, standing and then stood over Sergei protectively.
"I will not leave with you." She said in a venomous tone, glaring at him hatefully. Sorey stumbled backward in surprise at her hostility, seeing the anger and pain in her green eyes, before she readied herself, pointing the spear at him. "I won't leave with you!" She cried out and thrust forward, shocking him. The spear dung into his ribs and he cried out in pain, staggering back. He went to grab her but she moved aside, blocking the attack before the others moved in action again and attacked him.
Sorey growled, weaving back and forth between attacks, trying to avoid getting hit; he couldn't afford to take more damage with his already decreasing strength. Rose armatized into her fire form, swinging her sword at him and he dodged before swinging the swords on his back at her but she blocked with her larger sword. Alisha charged forward, asking the Sparrow Feathers and some soldiers to look at Sergei. "We'll take care of this, look after Sergei!" She ordered, dodging an attack from Sorey. Granted it was harder to move with her pregnancy but with the power of wind from Zaveid by her she was able to move quicker and her anger at Sergei having taken a blow for her fueled her to fight.
Sorey's eyes showed regret when his swords made contact with her spear and he removed them, only to jump back to avoid Rose's sword. "You can't fight like this Sorey!" Mizu said through their connection and Sorey growled, of course now they decide to talk! "Shut up, I can." Sorey whispered to himself, blocking their attacks with a barrier of wind. "Not if you want to survive!" Moria reasoned, growling in frustration and Sorey ignored her, swinging the swords at Rose, only to collide with Alisha's spear. Sorey cursed and flew up, landing on a building, before he glowed green. Rose gasped as swords appeared in the sky above Sorey and she cursed, knowing what was going to happen.
A barrier of wind appeared around Alisha and Rose sent Zaveid to protect the soldiers, assassins and Sergei. "Sylphystia!" Sorey shouted, echoed by Moria as the swords flew down on everyone yet Rose was quick and dodged the attack, though not unscathed. Several swords sliced into her, the explosion happened behind her, slamming her into a wall. "Rose!" Alisha shouted, back stepping as Sorey landed beside her, trying to grab her. She swung her spear, cutting into his hands, making him growl before Rose charging, in her earth form.
Her fists slammed into Sorey, sending him flying back before she grabbed him and slammed him into the wall before repeating the process a few times. "Rose, stop!" Alisha shouted as Zaveid ran over and pulled her back. Rose was panting, looking at Sorey as he growled and went to stand, using the wall to support himself. "I don't have a choice." Sorey mumbled, bangs creating a shadow over his face. "Sorey?" Alisha asked, when Sorey looked up and his eyes turned gold. "You've left me no choice." Sorey said as he glowed purple.
Suddenly the lights left and began to swirl around him and Rose gasped. "He's armatizing with them all!" Rose shouted before she felt power surge through her. "We have to stop him!" Lailah exclaimed and Rose nodded. "Understood, then we must do the same as well!" Rose shouted and began to glow gold as everyone watched with wide eyes, even Alisha.
Suddenly a bright purple light flashed from Sorey, making them all shield their eyes, groaning. When the flash faded, Sorey was standing before them in a pure black outfit with purple accents. He had a feather of all the Seraphim it seemed, even his earth Seraph. The trimming at the ends of his cloak and sleeves were gold, resembling earth; he had red tassels coming from the gold gauntlets. The feathers on his earrings were blue, resembling water; the band in his hair was green, resembling wind. The odd part about his outfit was the torso, it looked almost like the starry night sky; purple, dark blue and black...almost like the galaxy!
The cape on his back, while black the inside was purple and when he opened his eyes, they weren't red but were purple as well. They were emotionless, no sympathy in them at all and he didn't seem to recognize them either; just formed a sword that was made of pure malevolence as it gathered in his hand, making the sword. Alisha wanted to cry seeing him in such a way, this wasn't like him at all. A white flash to her left caught her attention as she looked over at Rose, seeing she had fused with all the Seraphim, just like Sorey did long ago against Heldaf. It was the exact same outfit he wore, just a skirt instead of pants for Rose but the feathers and accents were all the same. The outfit was pure white as well, golden accents, blue feathered earrings, green hair band and red tassels on the gold gauntlets at the wrists.
Alisha was in awe, whenever a full armatization happened, it always left her breathless...though she was worried. She only hoped Rose could stand up against Sorey and bring him back to his senses...before they would be forced to kill him. Rose and Sorey charged one another and Alisha backed up, knowing it would be suicide to get between them, even as Zaveid pulled her back, taking her back to Sergei and the others. As they neared the soldiers and Sparrow Feathers tending to Sergei, most were watching the battle; they couldn't see the armatized forms but they knew the two were using powers of Seraphim. Even Alisha knew, even if they couldn't see the armatization, she knew that they would be able to tell no matter what.
"How's Sergei?" Alisha asked one of the Sparrow Feathers, Luviana she believed. The woman sighed, looking Sergei over carefully. "I've been able to patch his worse wounds but he'll need time to recover." She said and Alisha looked up at Zaveid, who seemed shocked at her expression. "What?" He asked and she tilted her head at him, silently asking a question and he sighed. "Alright, fine." He said softly and armatized with her. "Let me try." Alisha said and placed her hands over his wound, her palms glowing green. "How are you-?" Luviana didn't say more as the wounds began to close and be completely healed, the blood disappearing.
"The power of the Seraphim." Alisha said softly, watching as Sergei was healed as well. "They have the power to heal fatal wounds like this, allowing people to recover faster." She explained, before she stopped and Sergei opened his eyes, groaning a little. "Commander!" A soldier shouted in relief, happy to see Sergei was waking up. "Ugh, that...wasn't pleasant." Sergei commented, sitting up even as Alisha dearmatized. "Thank you, Zaveid." Alisha whispered to him and he smirked, rubbing his neck. "Don't mention it." He replied just as softly, before looking at the battle.
"I wonder how long the two can last in those forms." He said and Alisha looked over at Rose and Sorey as well, expression worried. "I hope everything works out." Alisha said softly, even as Sergei looked up and watched as well, eyes wide as he saw their different forms. "Is that…?" He began to question and Alisha nodded. "Yes, Sorey and Rose, full armatization with all the Seraph's at once." She said softly to him and he nodded, unable to say more.
Rose jumped back, avoiding a slash from Sorey before she slammed her sword into the ground, spikes rising from the ground and slamming into Sorey, making him growl. He broke them with his own sword before thrusting a hand forward and wind spiraled from his palm, trying to blow Rose back, who grunted in strain. She was already feeling the effects of using all the powers at once...and it hurt! She could feel her body taking the toll of all the powers; she knew the effects were internal, not physical but that didn't mean it hurt any less.
Sorey seemed to be faring no better it seemed, yet that didn't seem to slow him down as he kept swinging his sword relentlessly, trying to kill Rose. Rose dove to the side to avoid being hit by Sorey's sword before she swung with her own sword, clashing blades with him. Blood caught her attention and she noticed blood was dripping down his chin...he was bleeding from the mouth. Sorey didn't seem to care as he kicked her back before slamming his fist into the ground, several crystal spikes heading toward Rose who used a monolith to block the spikes from going further.
Sorey charged forward, breaking his spikes and the monolith, slamming into Rose making her cry out in pain. She growled, grabbed Sorey by his arm and threw him into a building, destroying it before she charged forward and thrust her sword at him, stabbing him in the stomach. Sorey yelled out in pain, making Alisha and the others gasp, even Rose as her eyes widened.
Has Rose ended Sorey? Has she killed him when her mission was to save and purify him? Granted she would kill him should it have come down to it but she knew it was possible to save him due to the fact that Alisha was actually able to slowly purify him while she was with him.
Has she destroyed their chance of saving Sorey?