Hi everyone! I hope you guys will enjoy this new chapter. Also with this one done the Arc comes to an end but I have already started with the new chapter for the new Arc. Anyway, I have to go now my friends, I will see you guys later, bye.

A Shattered Life

Chapter 43: Sacrifice (Part 2)

Some residual smoke hung in the air, shifting like ghosts in the breeze, it obscured the entire room like fog in an alley on a humid night. The smoke wasn't completely opaque, but its long grey wisps seemed to curl with others that were much darker, some near black, but in the center of all this there were three people having a hard time getting their things together. Like a canon, Ruby's chest pushed out the smoke in rapid, it was as if someone had placed a piece of coal into her lungs. "...W-What happened?" She asked while cleaning her mouth. "Hydrox! Hacelen! Are you guys there?"

"Suprisingly yes." Answered the old man as he and Hacelen approached the young red warrior. "I don't understand, we shouldn't be alive that amount of dark Aura should have killed us." He was puzzled by this unexpected event. "Still, lets not lose focus we need to use this opportunity to grab the boy and leave now! I don't want to know what Salem will do to us once she finds out we're not dead." Both girls agreed with the man but going through the intense smoke was going to be a challenge.

Fortunately it didn't took long for the room to clear thanks to the big wholes created because of the battles that transpired inside the airship. Ruby searched her surroundings for a few moments before finding her lover in the distance on his knees. "Geo!" She ran to him. Her eyes widened as she saw that the boy's remaining eye was black with no iris and a lot of black smoke coming out of his body, specially his face. "Are you okay? W-What did she do you?" Her heart raced.

Geo looked at her. "...Y-Your safe and the others are as well t-that's all that matters." He replied with a weak tone, then he fell backwards but Ruby caught him before he could hit his head against the floor. "I-I'm sorry...I guess I won't be able to keep my promise to you after all."

Ruby felt a sharp pain in her heart. "B-Be quiet and don't say stupid things like that. I am going to get you out of here and Sunny will treat you back to health." She tried to smile for him but for some unknown reason she couldn't do it. "He will alright won't he?" She looked back Hydrox and Hacelen but neither of them said a word, they just avoided eye contact with her. "Y-You will be fine! I know you will!" Tears began to form.

"I-It's alright." Said the young King. "I...I showed everyone that even someone broken like me can be a hero in the end." He coughed violently spreading blood across his chest. Ruby's tears ran down her cheeks and landed on the boy's face. "D-Don't cry my love. Listen, I-I need you to be strong and to hold on to your hope, because it was you who restored my hope and showed me what love was." She hugged him tighter.

"P-Please, I beg you stop saying these things." The girl cried, the pain she was feeling was unbearable. "I-I can't do this without you. I-I just can't."

"...Forgive me." He replied. "I don't w-want to go but...please, I need you to hear my love, you can save this world. Drop your restraints and let all of your emotions run through you, protect our friends, the innocents and above all else yourself. You are so much stronger than you realize...just...l-let...it go." With those final words Geo closed his eye and...died, in the arms of the woman he loved.

"G-Geo? Geo?! GEO?! GEOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby screamed as she hugged the boy's body even tighter.

Salem watched the girl crying, she didn't want to let go, then the Queen of Darkness decided to approach her. "...I understand your pain child but this is what happens when brave fools try to stand against a God, they simply die." She said with a serious tone. "Geo was strong and he tried to do what he felt was right but in the end he died just like many others, I mean its just like I said before, trash will be trash."

"...What did you call him?"

"Hm? Did you say something child?" She asked.

Ruby's rage grew. "You called him trash didn't you?! DIDN'T YOU?!" A sudden surge of power was unleashed from Ruby and it pushed Salem back a few steps. Then the young warrior rose with an expression full of rage. "YOU'LL PAY! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!" She yelled with all of her might. Suddenly a large silver explosion erupted and it was so bright that it even forced Salem to cover her red eyes. The silver light was so powerful that it tore open the sky and it revealed the sunlight.

"..." The Queen of Darkness was speechless. Ruby was surrounded by a very strong Aura and her silver eyes were glowing like never before. Her tears were being carried by the wind and her expression showed her unbreakable determination. "I..W-What?" For the very first time Salem felt something she had never felt before, fear. "S-Such a massive power, h-how is that possible? Y-You shouldn't have this kind of Aura!" But Ruby didn't replied. "Don't you dare think that just because you got a little more powerful you can defeat..." A fist hit her stomach causing her eyes to widen.

The red warrior then delivered a fiery punch against the woman's face, sending her flying into the air until she landed a couple of meters away from her position. Salem struggled to get up. "Y-You bitch!" She coughed blood. "I-I didn't even saw her coming towards me, not to mention hitting me like I was some weakling." Salem whispered. "My body is hurting all over, how?! With just two punches?!"

Ruby stared at her enemy while slowly making her way towards Salem. The hate that she had was large, all of the pain that she had bottled up for so long was now unleashed. "You are nothing compared to me!" Salem said in rage as she increased her Aura. "I am going to destroy you and everything you love! Chaos Eraser!" Her staff fired a dark orb that exploded the moment it hit Ruby. "Hahaha! Haha!...What?!" The smoke cleared and the warrior was still walking like nothing had happened. "Impossible!"

"Crimson Shot!" A silver beam was fired Crescent Rose.

"Hell's Shield!" The beam hit. "Stupid girl that won't work!" The shield cracked and its cracks began to spread all over. "No! No! No!" It broke and silver beam slammed right into her stomach, sending flying towards the wall where she hit with her back pretty hard. "Ahhhhh!" More blood came out of her mouth. "T-This can't be happening! She's a fucking little girl!"

"You enjoy to destroy whatever and whoever you want with no one strong enough to stop you, that is finished as of now!"

Salem's anger grew even more. "We will see about you annoying little shit!" She opened both her hands and two dark orbs started to form. "Hahaha! I am the Goddess of this world and I do whatever I want! You will share the same fate of my son!" Salem fused the orbs into one and then she aimed. "Chaos Eruptor!" A powerful dark beam was fired towards her opponent.

"Crescent Slash!" She cut the Queen of Darkness's attack in half, dividing the beam and sending them into separate ways. "Don't you dare mention him! DON'T YOU DARE!" Ruby activated her Semblance and within seconds she was in front of her enemy, leaving Salem astonished because she wasn't able to keep up with Ruby's speed. The girl's left boot slammed into Salem's right cheek, then she followed with another attack. "Crescent Slash!" The Aura completely engulfed her opponent, creating a massive explosion.

After the smoke cleared it showed that most of Salem's clothes were torn apart and that her body was full with wounds. "...I won't let this happen, I won't be beaten by a Silver Eyes bitch!" Salem dashed with incredible speed towards Ruby, both of them clashed violently generating a shockwave to appear around them. Ruby grit her teeth as she continued slashing at the demon woman. "I got you NOW! Her staff hit her enemy's chest, then the young girl's stomach but none of that caused Ruby any pain.

"After everything you have done to me you think that hurts?" She slashed Salem's black staff in two. The so called 'Goddess' then delivered a strong punch against Ruby's face. For a moment Salem smiled but then that same smile disappeared within seconds. "...How does it feel?" She smashed her opponent's face with her fist. "To not be able to fight back, to feel so desperate and helpless? Now imagine feeling that all of the time."

"D-Dammit!" Her nose was broken and blood wouldn't stop coming out. "I do not fucking care about others, I only care about what I want! Other people are just pawns for me to use to achieve my goals and I will not let you interfere any further you brat!" Salem jumped back placed her hands on the floor. "Spikes of Darkness!" Several spikes emerged from the ground and they went to their target. Ruby moved and she dodged all of them but they kept following her. "Your speed means nothing to ME!" More spikes emerged. "I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!"

"I won't let you!" Ruby's silver Aura grew and it destroyed the bone-like spikes. Then red petals began to dance around her figure, then she sent them towards Salem. Blood flew out of numerous wounds causing Salem to yell in pain. "That one was for all the innocents you have murdered!" Said Ruby angrily. "This one is for me and my GEO! FULL POWER CRESCENT SHOT!" All of her memories with Geo flashed before her. Then a massive beam was unleashed from her weapon and it went straight to her enemy.

Salem tried to block it but it didn't work she was engulfed and the attack took her out of the burning airship and it slammed against the mountain. The battle was finally over. Ruby's Aura decreased and her eyes returned to normal. Both Hacelen and Hydrox approached her. "I...I have never thought someone could beat Salem but...you did it. Unfortunately, that attack wasn't enough to kill her so we should leave now!"

"..."

"I won't pretend to know your pain but we can't stay here." Said Hacelen. "I...I can carry him if you want. He needs a proper burial."

"No." Said Hydrox. "Here is where he belongs, to go down in flames like a true warrior, like a King and like a Casterwill."

Ruby simply nodded. They moved towards a big hole in the airship and got ready to jump into the forest but before Ruby could jump, she looked back. She needed to see him one last time. "I love you." She said saddened, then she jumped out of the Galeon with the others. Within moments the airship crashed into the mountain causing a massive explosion that was heard throughout the entire region.