Chapter 38 – And the war continues……
"Moving Cloud, Flowing Water…" Redrumiel spoke in a hypnotizing tone… one as serene as a tranquil pond without a single ripple… one that could easily put them to sleep if they were any less alert, or iron-willed. His movements were silky smooth - like that of a drifting cloud or flowing river, hence the name he had bestowed upon them.
"Raging Torrents!" He hollered, changing his shifting waltz to a more vigorous one by lifting his arms upward and twisting his weapon in huge circles. A black vacuum started to form above the space where his staff twirled, expanding in volume with each increasing round.
The entire place was enshrouded in gloom, a direct contrast from the brightness before he began the attack. Out of nowhere, a violent wind blew across the whole room, blinding his six opponents with its force but not affecting the one who summoned it.
"We're dead if that attack of his isn't stopped!" Seifer yelled above the noise of the tornado.
"But how are we going to stop it? Do you have any ideas?" Zell yelled back
"I wouldn't be standing here doing nothing if I had any, Chicken-wuss! Celestine! Do you know how to stop him?"
"No! This is the first time I've seen anything like this!"
"We're doomed!" Waterlily cried in despair, losing all hope of their survival.
"NO! There must be a way to stop him!" Quistis cried out, for she could not bear the thought that they would be going down without a single struggle.
But before they could even think, Redrumiel had stopped abruptly, holding the staff stationary above him.
He ascended upwards, stopping at four feet above the floor while holding the staff as it was.
"STORM." He called out a single word, brought his staff down, and slashed the air with it.
And a storm indeed it was. The void formed by his circular actions earlier sucked everything into its belly, creating a twister-like condition in the entire area. The SeeDs and two Angels had a hard time rooting themselves to the ground to prevent their bodies from being carried away by the fierce sweeping motion.
Then it ceased without warning, just as suddenly as it had started.
The six looked at each other, bewildered by the seemingly meaningless storm that had passed them by.
But it was merely an illusion… the quiet that comes before a hurricane that leaves no stone unturned, or no tree branch unbroken.
With a crackling sound, the moderately-sized slit that was the entrance to the vacuum split wide open, allowing its contents to escape.
The negative energy gushed forth like water from a broken dam, like the hurtling action of one who had been seasick for one time too many, striking each and every one of them like a big slap of force that lifted them up from the ground, flinging them far away from their original position.
Not one of them stirred, just laying there on the ground, blood trickling from their mouths and every bone in their bodies broken beyond belief… at least that was what it would have felt like to them, if they were capable of sensation of any kind.
Redrumiel gazed at them silently, strangely without a gloating expression as anyone would have expected of him, given his characteristic behavior.
In fact, to the keen eye of a non-related observer, it might even be said that there was a tinge of disappointment in his emerald eyes.
And absolute despair. Unadulterated, pure, and untainted… despair in its truest form…
Despair, the source of which he had no inkling of… he only knew that this unwanted, sickening, sinking feeling was enveloping his senses, spreading out from his gut to the rest of his body…
AND HE DID NOT KNOW WHY HE WAS FEELING IN THAT WAY!
In great fury, he thrashed his weapon about in the air like a mad man, not caring that the flying streaks of dark rays was hurting himself as well.
Perhaps he had wanted to lose… he had wanted to die in the hands of the righteous ones.
He wanted someone to stop him.
But now… all was lost… and he was the Lord of the World.
Bravo… He thought to himself in dejection.
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"Au…" Rinoa stopped in the middle of casting the spell, for a premonition had struck her, leaving her heart pounding crazily, and her lungs gasping for breath.
"What's wrong, Rinny?" Squall looked at her in concern, for she had an immense ability to concentrate, and had never acted in this way before, especially in the middle of a battle.
"I don't know… I have this feeling that something bad has happened…." She returned his gaze with a pair of scared eyes, unable to explain the ominous hunch that struck her.
"Like what? To whom?"
"As if someone close has been taken away from us…" She lifted her head, and looked at the overcast sky, hoping against hope that what she feared was nothing more than a false alarm.
Squall was about to say something when the Black Ogre leaped towards them with an Arm Swipe that was aimed at Rinoa.
He jumped in front of her to defend her against the attack, only to receive its impact fully upfront.
With a groan and blood dripping from his mouth, he crouched upon the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.
Lifting it up, he found his hand covered with a warm, sticky crimson fluid… and realized that his abdomen had a wide open wound.
"Squall! Are you alright?" Rinoa cried in alarm, and blamed herself for indirectly causing him to get hurt.
"Fine." He muttered, and spat out a mouthful of blood. "I will pay him back for this, don't you worry."
Standing up with much difficulty, he raised his Ultimate Weapon, the Lionheart into the air, rushed and sprang towards the monster, and struck it time after time at its fatal spot… which happened to be its left kneecap.
"Face the wrath of my finishing blow! Lion Heart!" He yelled, and performed his invincible limit break on the same place, until it was sliced and battered beyond recognition.
The Black Ogre, without the support of its left knee, fell to the ground with an Earthquake inducing crash.
There was silence for a full minute.
It was then followed by raucous cheers from the SeeDs, Cadets and Galbadian soldiers as they witnessed the fall of the very last Black Ogre that had been attacking Deling City. The handful of underground creatures left standing cowered under their triumphant loudness, some trying to sneak away from the battle field but promptly hit by Holy magic and silver bullets from a few alert people.
Squall gaped dumbly at the remnants of the slain Black Ogre which had started turning to black dust.
Then he fell to the ground in relief… for at least for a while, he could rest now……
I'll worry about Rinny's bad feeling later…
A slight breeze traveled through the lands, carrying with it the filthy dust left behind by the Underground Creatures…
It carried the dust across the trees, the lands, the entire Galbadian continent… and dumped it into the sparkling waves of the ocean, illuminated by the silver light of the moon……
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Hahahahaha… defeated by human-mortals, he said. Well, I have proven him wrong. They never had a single chance against me… NEVER! Let the fools dream on, but I, Redrumiel, Lord of the Dark, am invincible! Hahahahaha! No one can stop me now!
No… one…
So why am I not as ecstatic as I deserve to be?
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A/N: This chapter doesn't flow as smoothly as I like… and it's super short compared to the previous ones… but I really am too dried up in the imagination part of my brain… this was all I could come up with… Ah… so are you missing Quistis and company? Don't worry… you'll see them again… just a matter of time.
Quistis88 – Thank you for your very encouraging words! I had feared that I was being too preachy in that chapter, but thankfully you have convinced me otherwise.
CelesteSpring – Damn… I'm such a smart aleck…not! Misunderstood your words again… Anyway… why is it that sometimes when we review, we can't seem to get the words we want? Like if I write "AHHHHHH" it will come out as "AH"… major bummer when you feel like being a bit more exuberant… oops I was drifting off there. Back to the story… I liked the Seifer/Quistis part the best too… and I think there will be more of it… provided my tiny brain doesn't let me down again.
Soul of Flame – Ah… if you think I was being kind to you in your reviews, then you are nothing short of a saint! I could not stop floating whenever I read your reviews, believe you me! Do me a favor… don't flatter me so or I will be embarrassed! Seriously! You fic's coming along nicely, very nicely if I might add. I wish I could write like that too! I wish I could write like many other people, period…
Dintch Baby – I'm sorry you had to face such false accusations, but don't let it discourage you. Maybe that's just what the flamer is trying to do, get people to stop writing their fics. Shouldn't let him/her have the way! And you're not weird at all! Everyone has their individual reviewing style, be it one review per fic style, one review per chapter style or irregular style. I'm definitely the eccentric style…. Ehehehe.
Oops… I seemed to spend more time on the thank yous than the main fic… probably trying to bulk this chapter up… Muse I need you now! NOW! IMMEDIATELY!