Chapter -33: Sunburnt
High atop a rocky arrangement, Vermilion surveyed the lay of the land with a piercing glare.
Wastelands as far as the eye could see, littered with those mangy Rot Walkers.
This was the domain of the king of decay, the Skar Drago. It roared and stampeded across the land in violent pursuit of its latest prey.
Volcanic explosions rocked its sides, and a very muscular man wrapped in cracked, stone armor grappled with it.
Every attack of theirs created a violent discharge of solar flares until the king was melting from more than just its existence.
The man kept wailing on the beast through its vicious rending jaw snaps and ear bleeding roars.
The flames spewing off his body made him titanic, his eyes bright and ferocious.
After a marathon of combat that neither side could back down from, the Drago started to step away before outright fleeing towards the horizon.
The man pursued for a little while and flung explosive fireballs, roaring while beating Hi fist on his chest, "Coward! Afraid of a little HEAT?!"
"Ha ha ha!" Vermilion jumped down behind him on their little island surrounded by flaming stones, "Now that's the good shit, brat!"
The man, Solaris, became an obedient boy in her presence, shedding his armor to reveal the red hot ash covered robes that barely contained his pecs.
He really was the splitting image of a god in looks and attitude. It took a long time, but she had finally gotten what she wanted out of this relationship.
"Teacher, was that great or what?!" If only he would get over this childish appreciation.
"Yeah, settled down ya suck-up," Vermilion stabbed her hand out against his chest and got him coughing up in recoil, "I think yer wasting time on these beasts. How'd you like to finally hunt some real prey?"
Solaris held his hand frozen against his chest, eyes wide and his face ecstatic, "About fucking time! Where we goin'?"
Vermilion turned to the right with a slimy grin, and then growled in anticipation, "The only place still worth a damn…"
Meanwhile, in Oreore…
The gates slammed shut and sealed tight against the ravine.
Free from the frustration of surveying for today, Cecilia cooled the sweat off her forehead and made her way back home.
The day was still young and she fit in a few rounds of weight lifting by helping the miners move materials to the other end.
Anything to get her mind away from this ridiculous feeling of anger lately.
Once she had her fill of helping, she absorbed their roars of appreciation and continued home.
She met with her husband just as he was returning home. His pants were dusted with sand and he had a little blood trickling down his forehead.
Cecilia stopped, crossed her arms and remarked, "We've both come back negative today, I see."
Ezekiel's head was held high and with a light shrug he patted the sand off and muttered, "Wanna talk about it?"
Cecilia brushed her hand up quickly, "I am definitely in no rush."
Ezekiel rapid-fired off events, "Cave in. Caught us by surprise. Nothing there anyways."
Cecilia was slightly peeved at his speed and thus matched his attitude in her tone, "Tried again. The Sage still refuses to cooperate."
"Oi, what's her deal?" Ezekiel muttered.
Cecilia's eyes crossed and she blurted out, "That's what I want to know! The nerve of her…"
"Heh heh, she's really got ya beat, eh?"
"You're welcome to do better, honey." Cecilia said like a cold bite on his heels.
"Nah, think I'll pass," He said with a wink and smile, "Stonstein still has a ways to go. Somethin' bout wantin' to check to the north."
"He's remained trustworthy so far." Cecilia noted.
"I don't think we hafta worry. He's a man of few words, but he's got the Oreore spirit."
"...Well, if there's anything guaranteed to go right today, it's dinner." Cecilia said.
"Yer speakin' my tongue." Ezekiel eased his way towards the front door when a distressing message was carried through the top of the ravine.
"Demon approaching from the west!"
Ezekiel and Cecilia pulled away and listened in again.
"The one-eyed demon is coming!"
The husband and wife duo immediately ran for the west gate as horns started blaring, and the carrier beasts were made to retreat.
The miners weren't in a rush to take up arms.
Once Ezekiel was in position he shouted up high, "What's she brought with?"
"She's alone!" The watcher shouted back.
Ezekiel flinched in confusion and then consulted Cecilia, "I got a bad feeling in the pit of my gut."
"I'll head to the east end." She whispered while beginning to break off.
"Shout if ya see anythin'!"
Ezekiel then stood his ground and relied on his ears to catch what was coming next.
Vermilion stood under the shadow of the gate and viciously yelled at the guards above, "Better open that gate now! It'll save you from dying longer!"
One brave guard lashed his hand down and declared, "Ya ain't got a chance demon! This gate's as enduring as our soul!"
"Ha! Yer just a bunch of chickens cowering in yer pen!" Vermilion swung her hand out with all her might to lash at the gate with inferno whips.
Despite Ezekiel's unease the gate held out with just a little molten scratch on it.
Vermilion sneered and whipped her hand down by her side, "Pathetic. You muscleheads have gotten too complacent."
She hunched down on all fours with arms crossed and began to lick her lips while moaning venomously, "Time to wake you back up to war…"
"ALRIGHT, YA BRAT!" She screamed, "Let it burn!"
The ravine shook under the weight of dragged out footsteps.
A titan of a man wrapped in solid molten armor dredged up the ground along their triangular, stone-made wedge he called a blade.
Huffing dangerously hot fumes, he heaved the blade over his shoulder and every step past his teacher left the ground boiling.
The atmosphere grew thick and wavy, the man igniting his blade with an uncontrollable yellow and red flame.
He swung it back in both hands and as the heat penetrated far over the top of the gate, Ezekiel felt the severity of the moment come toppling over him.
"Oh no…" He swung his head back and shouted, "What're ya doin'?! Arm yourselves!"
Vermilion then shouted, "Taste the power of a god and crumble!"
Solaris brought his blade down upon the gate and sparks started flying as he melted through it with ease.
"Ha ha ha, YES!" He bragged with glee.
The burning metal filled the ravine with a toxic smell and the men at the frontlines started to retreat. But Ezekiel held his breath and stood tall, ready to beat back whichever terror barreled into his lands first.
"And just when Sarajin's off-world again…" Ezekiel closed his eyes and breathed through his distress, "Nah. Don't need 'im."
The flames reached the bottom and spurted out, leaving a tower of burning smoke to fill in the scar.
The towering man marched out into view atop the smoldering, molten metal and out his full animalistic smirk on display.
Ezekiel was taken aback. Size aside, this so-called "god" looked way too young.
And tragically, he had already been corrupted into a mirror image of his one-eyed teacher. In both mannerisms…and tone.
"Are you the strongest this place has to offer?!" He demanded.
Ezekiel held his ground and shrugged, "Ya could say that."
Solaris' grin and eyes widened intensely, "Not anymore!"
He charged across the ground with volcanic ash spewing in a trail behind him and swung at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel matched his might with his trusty weapon and the clash of blades popped a bubble of raw power outward that carried out a harsh, metallic sound.
Ezekiel grunted. He was struggling, nay, being overpowered by this fiery brat.
"What the bloody heck?!"
Solaris marched forward and dragged his enemy's heels into the ground. Ezekiel held on harder, and harder, trying to mount a counterattack.
And Vermilion made things worse by sprinting right past him, rising upright with her arms stiff out by her sides.
Ezekiel turned up and shouted, "Get a warning to Cecilia! Hurry!"
Solaris shoved that girth stone he called a sword and managed to force Ezekiel's weapon against his face.
"Nobody's going to get between me and this fight! Time for you cowards to burn!"
All Ezekiel could wonder is how the heck this even happened. Were they really getting soft?
His muscles ached, and his body felt as solid as the rocks around him.
"No…!" He shouted, denying his thoughts and this boy's bluster.
He then found his footing and started to shove back with all his might, until one staggering thrust sent the bot stumbling over his own two feet.
Ezekiel then gasped and swiped his thumb under his grinning face, "Yer gonna hafta do better than that, boy!"
He held one leg up high and then slammed it down, shifting his weapon into a defensive position with his eyes bearing down on his opposition.
"Ya ain't gettin' by me. No way, no how."
Solaris' face stretched with sheer feral glee and he muttered, "That's right, put up a fight old man! I wanna enjoy this!"
That poor young face, tempered to be a near mirror image of the one-eyed demon, made Ezekiel's heart twang with pity.
"Ya poor boy…" Yet he held onto his weapon tighter. He couldn't afford to let him go unchecked.
Vermilion, however, relished in the panic her appearance brought about. The miners weren't arming themselves with whatever they had on hand and swung out with all their grit.
Vermilion slipped around their attacks with inhuman movements, her joints looking and sounding broken, only to snap back into place when she attacked.
She could drag up to three miners into her onslaught at once, precisely stabbing her fingertips near vital organs and then slashing her way free the moment after.
The miners were free to get their licks in when they could but the thick metal bent against her skin and the lashing motions of her flames left the handles burning into their palms.
A trail of agonizing cries and burn stained bodies fell in her wake.
The other miners began to freeze up and shiver, so she slowed down to a marching pace, standing upright.
She was small, but her presence towered like never before, basking over them like a smoky effigy with eyes bright red and a smile as crooked as the edges of an uncut gem.
The first to flee was the first to fall, pierced multiple ways through by thin needles.
Vermilion then charged forward and grabbed the back of the person's head as gravity took hold and mashed them into the ground.
Salivating to the point of her hot body producing mist, her heart beat loudly against her chest as she pressed her palm down and caved in the skull.
She then went stiff as the other miners backed away slowly, speaking with a prolonged, agonizingly ecstasy filled tone, "I love this moist, mushy sound after a loud CRUNCH...! Don't YOU?"
She spun her head back and her gaze stabbed through multiple brave souls at once, spearing them on a pike of pure hellfire.
She then raised her viscera filled hand and raised one finger at a time to lick off the tips, letting out an illustrious moan that echoed against the ravine walls.
"More...! I want to enjoy this hunt more...!" She swiped her hand down and more needles slid from her sleeve to between her fingers, "Give me pain and pleasure until I choose to let it stop!"
When she bolted for the nearest prey she found her path barred by two black frost-covered blades wielded by an icy maiden bold enough to hold her down with an unflinching gaze.
Cecilia dug her heels into the ground and pointed her back at the cowering workers behind her, roaring at them in a rallying cry of disbelief, "Are we going to be cowards to her violent tendencies?! We're better than this! So start showing her that!"
Vermilion's pupil shrank to the point it could barely be seen and her mouth let out a raspy, familiar gasp. Her heart quivered, her knees weak.
This was a peak of ecstasy she hadn't experienced in ages, and even her carnal focused mind could narrow in on the cause.
"The Arctic Knight...!" She uttered with her tongue, "Ha ha ha! FINALLY, you show yourself! I've been waiting for this!"
Vermilion's aura burst into flames and she shoved her head deeper against Cecilia's blades, yet could hardly make her budge.
"You've gotten stronger...!" Vermilion's heart could barely contain her excitement and she started violently panting, "Good...! GOOD...! Give me the struggle you owe me...!"
Cecilia whipped her swords back and then slashed out together as quick as she could, forcing the rampaging Sage away.
She then turned to her side and waved at the other workers, "Get up on the ravine and cover me! Do not let her escape this zone!"
"Now why would I wanna leave...?!" Vermilion shouted, swinging her needles down by her hips and walking forward with an uneven sway, "This is my day...! And it won't end until I've had my fill...!"
She lunged at Cecilia and the icy warrior whipped her swords out, using the lace of frost against her flames to create a mist for cover.
She then took advantage of this to launch the Sage airborne with an icy spear, followed by firing a series of icicles as she backed away.
Vermilion descended rapidly with a roll until she was engulfed in flame, impacting the ground hard enough to cause an eruption of fireballs in all directions.
Cecilia was forced to cross into her range and started slashing away, matching Vermilion's attacks without sacrificing her stance.
Vermilion tried to wedge her needles around the blades before throwing them, yet Cecilia had enough sense to keep her head moving when necessary and dodged every one.
When Vermilion's hands were empty she armed them with thicker fire and started to stab at her opponent's body.
Cecilia sucked her stomach in and leaped back, exhaling with a powerful cross slash that held the Sage at bay.
She then gripped her swords tight, having already predicted Vermilion's next move.
The Sage lunged through the mist with her whole right arm outstretched like a flaming spear and Cecilia slid alongside it. First she jabbed her knee into her gut to wind her, then she turned and used the bottom of both her hilts to deliver a crippling blow to her shoulder.
Vermilion staggered sideways a few steps and then wagged her hanging arms to and fro. She threw her head up with a grin and raised her fire a little higher.
A shadow plummeted rapidly on top of her and she swiped her arm up, slicing a many ton boulder clean in half. She then rolled her damaged shoulder around until the bones snapped back into place, letting off a lucid grin to her opponent.
Cecilia swiped at the ground to coat it with a trail of ice beneath the Sage's feet. She then slid along it and started slashing away, Vermilion countering with finger jabs.
However, the ice kept her momentum moving against these attacks and allowed Cecilia to divert her attention towards a sweeping kick that knocked Vermilion off balance.
Cecilia then created a ramp that took her over the Sage and allowed her to fire off a few thick slashes of frost to batter her against the ground.
Vermilion's aura fired off an explosion that knocked Cecilia down and covered the battlefield in mist.
Cecilia quickly recovered her swords and stood, holding her ground as Vermilion exposed herself through her aura.
Cecilia waited, and waited, and then waited some more. Then she vaulted forward and swung towards the visage with full faith in herself.
Vermilion caught her with a jab from both hands and then rapidly started stabbing away, trying to put some dent into her blades.
Cecilia, however, cracked a tiny smile and leaped back towards the walls as rocks came tumbling down the sides.
Cecilia used ice to stick to the walls and then created a pair of ramps to give the boulders the velocity needed to pin Vermilion down.
The Sage grabbed onto a boulder in each hand and infused them with fire until they burst.
And this gave Cecilia the opening she needed to propel forward and deliver a powerful slash across Vermilion's body.
The Sage staggered and Cecilia tumbled back onto her feet, taking a momentary pause to gauge what the Sage would do next.
Vermilion lurched her head back and her sweat-filled gasps of air were full of life.
She bit down hard with a grin and then turned her head over her shoulder, "You're finally worthy...!"
She then spun around, hunched over with her arm outstretched, as flames burst out of her palm into a twisting, dual spiral.
And from that emerged a sword without compare.
It had a normal shaped blade until you looked at the middle, which was filled with dripping teeth. And the handle was a lively scorpion's tail that squirmed around in her grasp.
Cecilia's eyes twitched and she motioned to put her swords onto her back and replace them with the grip of her lance.
Vermilion revved up her flames to send cracks through the ground, "My sword's hungry...TIME TO FEAST!"
She ran forward and aimed for Cecilia's head, meeting resistance from her Lance.
The blade then split open with saliva strings between the fangs.
Cecilia ducked low to her right and the sword snapped closed while its owner ran by.
"Heeeeeh…!" Moaned Vermilion.
Stinging pain flared up in Cecilia's shoulder and she saw a wound bubbling, with a perfect hole to fit a stinger.
She quickly laid her hand over it and froze the boiling blood before it could spread inside of her system.
She then pointed her lance at Vermilion briefly as she stood.
Back with Ezekiel, his battle with this wild child has left his surroundings melting and the atmosphere poisoned with smoke.
He managed to get some clear air by backing out only for his opponent to keep pressing him down.
Ezekiel kept him from landing direct hits with hefty swings of his hammer but the backlash was sending super hot fire throughout the ravine.
And if it kept climbing towards the metal reserves, the effects on their home would be catastrophic.
"Come on! Hit me with your best shot, I dare ya!" Solaris kept pressing forward like a living juggernaut, his eyes white amidst the feverish scent of his own flames.
However, while Ezekiel was not a combat expert like his wife, he could see a sloppy fighter when they were breathing up in his face.
These were nothing but wild swings designed to beat people through intimidation. And yeah, there was strength behind them, damn scary strength at that, but it was attached to a sword with an obvious weakness.
Ezekiel finally held his feet down to go back on the offensive, swinging at the ground to drag up a torrent of sharp pebbles to wash over the boy's body.
He then clobbered him across the chest with his hammer to hold him down long enough to get in close and pin his weight atop his foot.
When Solaris recovered and attacked, Ezekiel threw a little more weight into his swing and hit the sword dead center.
A loud cracking noise came out, followed by spurts of magma that forced Ezekiel off.
Ezekiel shook and blew on his knuckles to cool them off, then watched Solaris march forward and crack his neck around.
"Come on…COME ON!" Solaris grabbed his sword in both hands and ripped and teared through the air with heavy flames spewing off it.
"I'm just getting started!"
Ezekiel's skin turned pale as the sword was swung and a vast majority of the ravine behind him was consumed by flames.
Ezekiel was blown back, his nerves burning so hot it overwhelmed his other senses.
But damn if he didn't feel that ground when he hit it and rolled away.
And Solaris wouldn't stop there as he leaped out of his inferno readying his blade for a downward stab.
Ezekiel picked his hammer up and rolled away in a haste.
Solaris stabbed the ground then stood and gave the blade a twist while loading his grinning face over his prey.
A volcanic eruption sent Ezekiel tumbling into the wall. And then Solaris walked up and crunched his foot down against his rib cage.
Ezekiel coughed up a little smoke and struggled to keep one eye open.
Solaris hunched forward and shouted in his face, "I thought you guys were supposed to be the toughest in all the land?!"
Ezekiel's coughing turned to laughter as he threw the taunt back in his aggressor's face, "Oi, guess yer teacher never taught ya…"
At that moment a heavy boulder rolled into Solaris' side and knocked him down. A few more boulders followed suit until he could muster up enough fire on his aura to destroy them on contact.
By then though Ezekiel was back on his feet and used his hammer to crack Solaris' armor slightly and pin him against the wall.
And that gave him a perfect view to see the dozens of men and women of Oreore standing all over the ravine armed to the teeth.
Ezekiel smirked and advised the boy for his arrogance, "Oreore weren't built on the shoulders of one man, but all our spirits burning together!"
Solaris' aura began to lift back up as he grinned, "Nothing's burning hotter than the goddamn sun!"
Ezekiel was thrown back by an explosion and when Solaris rose he set his blade permanently ablaze and thrust it and a hefty amount of solar winds at the small army.
One of the miners asked, "What're yer orders boss?"
Ezekiel twisted his hands around his weapon and remarked, "Cover me. I'm gonna break that sorry excuse for a sword."
He charged right back into the fray and with a mighty leap covered the hurdle that was the boy's flames and slammed his hammer down against the sword.
The blade cracked further and Solaris expunged hot ash from them to throw him back.
The miners raised the ground out of the fire to catch Ezekiel, then threw boulders that he hammered into the boy.
Meanwhile the men on top of the ravine tore off huge chunks of metals and rolled it down to weigh Solaris down, forcing him to push his flames further to melt them down.
But now he was forced to inhale the toxic fumes and that led to him coughing and losing concentration, "B-Bastards...!"
He swung wildly at the area in front of him and destroyed everything in his path. Ezekiel jumped away and alongside the others, raised their feet and summoned a wall of thick stone when they stamped down.
Solaris' growls of frustration grew rampant and he summoned even more flames in his blade to tear through this pitiful obstacle and send chunks of burning rock everywhere.
His single-minded obsession with Ezekiel made it easy for the other miners to pelt him with boulders and steadily wear down his defenses.
And in-between their bombardment Ezekiel got his swings in, "Not so tough now are ya? Ya came for a slaughter, but yer fightin' a war, boy!"
Solaris then thrust his hand up and grabbed hold of Ezekiel's hammer with the pick-axe part impaling itself into his palm.
He then grit his teeth wide and embraced the stone and metal against his body, "You want a war? I'll show you war!"
His body let out a deafening explosion that consumed Ezekiel and threw him and many others against the walls.
Bodies fell unconscious as Solaris grabbed hold of his blade and pierced the ground, taking a mighty swing that dragged flames across the floor, and split cleanly through the ravine to the other side.
In the face of this terrifying display of power, a few good men cowered for safety, the few brave and bold redoubling their efforts to pin the boy down with whatever they could drag up from the dirt.
But now Solaris' sheer aura reduced anything that came near him to less than ash in seconds. And with this advantage lording over his prey, he charged straight for Ezekiel and had him thinking in a panic.
"Shit...!" Ezekiel rolled out of the way as Solaris took a stab, and in the process his blade pierced right through his weapon's handle and broke it in two.
Better that than his arm, Ezekiel thought, as he scrambled to his feet and put up his dukes.
"My home..." Ezekiel watched on in terror as Solaris basked in the molten destruction without a thought spared to the panic around him.
Gritting his teeth, Ezekiel tightened his fists and muttered, "Ya really pissed me off now, boy!"
"Ha! Maybe now you'll throw a decent punch!" Solaris ran in and started slashing wildly at his opponent, who could only retreat against the overwhelming might of his flames.
And in the face of all this widespread panic Ezekiel sucked in air deep into his lungs and shouted, "Don't lose heart! I ain't goin' down, so neither is our home!"
The miners retreating behind him turned and watched his courage in the face of this monstrous might.
"Whoever wants to head home and shield their children, I won't blame ya...but any man who still has gumpton better dig their heels into the dirt, AND LEND ME A HAND!"
This rallying cry reinvigorated the miner's low spirits and many of them turned towards Solaris to begin attacking however they could.
Though they failed to bring his aura's temperature down, their mere act of resistance irritated him enough that he started to look away.
"Flies!" He whipped his sword out in their direction, sweeping many in a wave of scorching fire.
Ezekiel took this opportunity to run in and punch him under the arm, snapping back before the heat could blister his skin.
"Ain't good enough...!" He grit his teeth and turned to his fellow men rising back to their feet, "I can't get in while his flames are up! I need ya all to clap, clap as hard as ya can!"
"But your ears-"
"JUST DO IT!" Ezekiel grit his teeth and stared down the towering boy as he swung his sword up as high as it would go and grinned.
"You should have thought twice before fighting a god!"
Ezekiel took a deep breath and reeled his fist back.
Every able-bodied man, woman and teen in the area clapped their hands towards the two fighters, creating a trembling shockwave so mighty it blew the flames right off of Solaris' body and shattered the wall beside them.
Ezekiel's ears started ringing but he held on for dear life and thrust his fist out right as Solaris' staggering caused his blade to become vulnerable.
Ezekiel connected his punch and put all his juice into hitting it with a concentrated tremor. The blade had already suffered the brunt of many attacks, and this was simply the breaking point in a long fought struggle.
Solaris stumbled many feet back as his blade crumbled to cold rubble before his feet.
He looked down in abject confusion and then threw his hands down with a roar.
And when he was done, Ezekiel's hearing started to return. His knuckles were throbbing and his ears hurt like heck, but he'd done what he set out to accomplish.
And now that Solaris was rightfully pissed off he was looking blindly at Ezekiel and with a forceful flick of his finger shouted, "So what?! I'm more than capable of tearing you apart!"
So he set out to prove himself by charging in and swinging with a mean left hook. But Ezekiel stood his ground and caught the punch in one hand.
His elbow buckled, but he held on.
And then he started pushing back, managing to get his opponent into a position where he stood taller over him, grinning like a grizzly bear.
"Ha! Seems without yer gaudy club yer just an unskilled brute!"
Solaris rammed his head into Ezekiel's nose and pushed back, "Don't underestimate me! I'm not some brat you can lecture!"
Ezekiel smiled and then joyfully rammed his head back in retaliation, staggering Solaris.
He then grabbed and cracked his knuckles and turned his neck to get the kinks out, "Oh, so ya think yer a man then?"
He stood tall and wagged his fingers at himself, "Then c'mon, ya can take a beating like one."
Solaris was bleeding out his nose and huffed some hot air out his lungs. He charged after Ezekiel and was clobbered across the face for his troubles.
Without his weapon he seemed to lack focus and confidence, meaning he was no longer relying on his flames to deal heavy damage.
Not the intended result, but Ezekiel wasn't about to complain.
He was free to fight in his element, beating Solaris down with concentrated punches to his pitiful armor and uncovered skin.
"You and that demon shoulda stayed quiet." Ezekiel wore him down mentally on top of it all.
Solaris endured more punches than anyone should've been able to and it was reflected in his stature. Now cowering towards the ground, his knee was the first to drop and his attempts to attack the legs from here resulted in him getting a nice knee to the face.
Solaris eventually stopped trying and punched the ground with all his might, shouting, "DAMN IT!"
Ezekiel stopped, took a deep breath, and flared his nostrils as he exhaled. He was furious, righteously so, but he couldn't stop seeing this boy as a victim of a crueler force.
Thus, with a cool-headed temperament, he looked this boy straight in the eyes and muttered, "Ya got a whole life ahead of ya boy, don't throw it away becomin' another lord forsaken soldier."
Solaris' breaths heaved and he clutched his chest tightly, finding the strength to stand on his feet with his eyes burning red and yellow.
"S-Shut up...! This is MY life, and this is what I want to do...! You coward...I'll hunt you all down...and protect my father from your vile ways...!"
"F-Father...?!" A bad feeling stirred in the pit of Ezekiel's gut, and in this discomforting silence a body fell from up high.
It was lifeless and bleeding out the neck through a clean cut, and hitting the ground split the head off from the rest of the neck.
Ezekiel looked up and suddenly was assaulted by silver flashes coming off of blades that carved through the people atop the ravine.
And in the middle of it all, Ezekiel saw a familiar mask.
He grit his teeth angrily and muttered, "Them again...?"
He then turned his ire unto Solaris and shouted, "I almost fell for it...! But you were just lowering my guard so yer assassin pal could sneak in!"
"A-Assassin? What are you babbling about, you dirt-faced buffoon?!" Solaris growled back.
"Don't play stupid with me, boy! I know all about the silver-haired girl Lilith has under her employ."
Solaris' face turned pale and all of a sudden he was looking up blankly muttering, "Silver...hair? Lilith...?"
He bit his teeth down and his aggression shut off entirely to be replaced with confusion, "What. The. HELL?!"
He tried to run past Ezekiel but was clocked in the chest hard and forced to stick to his current battle.
Solaris immediately counterattacked with his own meaty punch to Ezekiel's chest, winding him.
He then grit his teeth and growled, "Out of my way...! That's my sister up there!"
Ezekiel's eyes widened and he muttered out a frightened "Oh no..." before the sheer gravity of this encounter started to really hit him.
He quickly grappled with Solaris' hands to pin him down while looking over his shoulder and shouting, "Get any able men up on top and lock down the assassin! I don't want her escapin'!"
And Ezekiel continued to fight his personal battle, Cecilia struggled against Vermilion's ferocity.
Though her agility kept her out of range of Vermilion's wicked sword she was struggling to mount any attacks in return.
The reach of her lance was futile as the sword could bite down and reduce its length at any given mount, and trying to get up close and personal risked the poisonous sting at the end.
She had to admit, this weapon had her out of her element, and if she let that feeling overwhelm her then she would be dead.
The other citizens tried to come down and help her but she yelled at them to fall back and not risk their lives for her sake.
Perhaps it was kindness, maybe it was stubborn pride...
She couldn't figure that out with all the anger fogging her brain at the moment.
If this Sage sought war then she could understand that much, but this wasn't a battle for victory but a hunt for the thrill of one more drop of ecstasy.
They fought and they fought, whipping up a maelstrom of steam in the ravine.
Maybe if she created enough vapors, she could freeze Vermilion in place long enough to spear her through the chest.
But it was impossible. The demon was too hot, both in body and heart. Nothing could put out this inferno, not even the entire ocean collapsing on top of her.
And to make matters worse, she could hear screams of agony be muffled, causing her to look up high and see the silver-masked assassin running rampant through multiple bodies.
And with no one pursuing her, she assumed the worst.
Suddenly, there was a shift in Cecilia's focus. Her mind switched gears, she stopped, took a deep breath, and with a quick thrust of her lance managed to successfully parry Vermilion's attacks quick enough to unbalance her.
She then pointed her lance at the Sage with her heart beating quickly and uttered, "Let me make one thing clear..."
"If your actions have led to the death of my husband, then you better not rest another day of your life, because YOU will become the hunted...!"
Vermilion's eye widened as she gasped, "Intriguing...!"
She then sped forward in a crimson blaze and stabbed her sword straight for Cecilia's face.
And then a mighty force came crashing down, shielding Cecilia with the towering scarab shield on his back.
Vermilion's sword immediately flew out of her hand and stabbed the ground a far distance back. She jumped away and snatched it back into her hand, her whole body trembling with aggravation.
"Y-You...?!"
Stonestein took a moment to look at Cecilia and with a sorrowful furrow of his brows he bowed his head and remarked, "Forgive my awful timing. I am here."
Cecilia calmed down slightly and remarked, "No, you came at the right time. The assassin has returned."
Stonestein raised his brows and looked up atop the ravine, "...Then Lilith has changed her focus."
"I'm the faster one between us, let me deal with her. You can handle this demon."
In the face of Cecilia's offer, Stonestein began to turn towards Vermilion, "A good stratagem. Go. I will defend."
Cecilia nodded and then dashed off after the assassin. But not before a kind word from Stonestein, "Cecilia...Ezekiel still stands."
Cecilia paused, smiled, and then continued on her way.
Vermilion took a quick look at her fleeing opponent and then narrowed in on Stonestein, growling bitterly at his presence, "You have some nerve...! You...are allying with these weaklings...?!"
Stonestein looked at her long and softly, his eyes welling up, "It is true then."
"You became a murderer long ago..."
"Murderer...? Pah...!" Vermilion spit in his face with disgust, "That's just a label you good-hearted pussies put on the strong to make them seem bad!"
"But good, evil? I couldn't give a shit about any of that...! I'm here to fight, hunt, and live how I want to until I die of my own accord...!" Vermilion pointed her sword at the monolithic man, her eyes lucid with thoughts of killing again, "So put up your dukes, traitor, I'm gonna finally boil those judgmental eyes off your face...!"
Stonestein took a deep breath and calmly reached for his back.
He pulled out his shield and slammed it against the ground in front of him like it had little weight behind it.
He locked eyes with Vermilion and told her sternly, "No one else gets hurt today."
Vermilion trembled all over and her voice violently cracked as she leaped into the air ready to swing her sword at his head, "Y-You already failed your job long ago...!"
While she descended, Stonestein inserted a runestone into the back of the shield and it locked into place with an energy field surrounding it.
The moment Vermilion's sword connected it began to dissolve into light particles along with Stonestein's shield.
She lost her balance and collapsed onto her face at his feet, then quickly sprang up and jumped back with her teeth bit and her hand desperately swinging out to call the weapon back.
Stonestein shook his head, "Disconnection Field."
"It targets the electromagnetic field in Aurians."
"Prevents us from using our weapons."
Stonestein then gestured his hand out and asked, "What is Lilith plotting?"
Vermilion bit her lower lip and growled, "How the hell would I know...?"
Stonesten withdrew his hand and his tone didn't sound all too surprised, "As I suspected. Options have been narrowed."
He then gave her a calm glance and remarked, "Return. Borealis need not know about this."
Vermilion's face violently stretched out as she growled, "Who do you think you are giving me orders?!"
"Your father must mourn from up high."
Vermilion scowled and snarled like a child, "S-Shut up...! Shut up shut up SHUT UP...! Don't you DARE bring up that weakling in front of me...!"
She started freaking out, repeatedly dragging her fingertips along her face as her breathing hastened, "You think I'm weak too...don't you? Always looking down on me, treating me with pity and kindness...?! I never needed you back then, and I DON'T NEED YOU NOW...!"
Blue flames started to spew out of her eyepatch as she lashed her arms down and screamed, "I've lived and breathed on surviving this cruel world...! You don't know the first thing about what it's like to endure...! Because all you've ever done...IS COWER BEHIND A SHIELD...!"
The blue flames screamed out of her eyepatch like a ghost's wail and swept over her body, consuming her aura and replacing it with pale and dark blue hues. The red on her clothes turned to blue as well, her hair in particular glowing with a cold, empty light.
In an incalculably short amount of time she appeared before Stonestein and started wailing all over him with a ceaseless flurry of punches.
Her body rapidly discharged fire as every punch carried enough weight to split open the ravine and drag it thousands of miles beneath the planet.
Yet Stonestein held resolute against every attack without ever stopping to cut off the pity he felt towards her.
In times like these he would always think back to simpler days...to the time when he first met the man he swore loyalty to.
When he was but a young man with a full head of hair and only a shield to his name, Stonestein presented himself to the young Borealis with his knees to the ground and his head hung out of respect.
And yet in the face of this upstanding display of loyalty, all Borealis could utter at the time was a childish, puzzled, "Why are you bowing?"
Stonestein raised his head and remarked, "As of today, I am your shield."
"Shield? My...protector?" Borealis gave a quizzical glance and then turned back to gaze up at the stars, "I'm sorry, there's still much I have yet to understand about my future."
"Just the other day, my father told me I am meant to lead. And now...another has sworn his loyalty to me. It is all so...overwhelming," Borealis scratched the side of his face and gently held his hand towards the sky, measuring his worth against the blanket of stars that have long held value in the night, "Have I really earned this right? Are my accomplishments worth the weight of the trust others place upon me?"
He tucked his hand behind his back and shook his head, "I'm sorry, you don't deserve to hear me patter on about such unbecoming thoughts..."
Stonestein stood and took a couple steps forward. He had felt resonance with this man, a deeper heart behind those words...
"If a protector makes you uncomfortable..." Stonestein reached his hand out and smiled, "Then maybe...I can be your friend?"
"Friend?" Borealis' eyes wandered like the clouds in the sky, diverting from the focus of his face until he could piece together what he felt, "Yes. Yes I...I never have had a...friend before."
Borealis extended his hand and held on, "Is this how this gesture works?"
Stonestein gripped his hand and they shook while he nodded.
Borealis then quickly withdrew his hands behind his back and with a sorrowful look into his new companion's eyes he muttered, "There's so little I understand, yet my heart craves to know it all. And yet...I am also frightened of how I may choose to act upon this knowledge."
Stonestein's heart panged, and with a deep breath he looked him in the eyes and assured him, "As your friend..."
He paused to lay his hand on his chest and vow, "No matter the path, I will follow."
Those were simpler times, when the prospect of responsibility seemed so easily forgotten amidst shared words between friends.
Time has aged them both, and Stonestein has felt the distance growing between his friend because of it.
Yet his heart was soft with regrets, his body stood solid against the intolerable hate that spread throughout these lands.
He had his beliefs, and though they led him to pursue different means, means his friend would not find acceptable...He had never stopped following his path.
To bring peace to a world full of bitterness and hate...That was the dream of Borealis Aurora.
That was the ideal that outweighed his sorrow, and made him a stronger man than most. And yet, also made him vulnerable...
The lies and deceit of Lilith had gone unchecked for far too long, and this has allowed the likes of Vermilion to rampage across the lands with countless bodies in her wake.
But even for every punch that sought to break his spirit, Stonestein refused to raise a hand and pervert the nature of his missive.
He was the shield of the innocent, the last line of defense against violent urges and miserable hate.
His body could not be broken. His spirit could not be poisoned.
And THAT is why he was worthy to be the purest shield of the strongest Aurian in all Sancturia.
He continued to stand and absorb the brunt of every punch into his body without the damage spreading.
His secret lay not just in his indomitable spirit, but his Drive, whose power was privy only to himself.
The Tremor Drive allowed him to not only create mighty earthquakes, but also absorb any form of physical force into whatever his aura comes in contact with. Then, he can unleash it back out.
...But that wouldn't be necessary.
All he had to do was stand resilient long enough and Vermilion started to tire out. The blue flames made her mighty, but came at the cost of her stamina.
Eventually all she was left with was a defiant attempt to stand up, and dragging her fingers down the front of Stonestein's body.
She collapsed onto her face, quiet as a sleeping child.
He bent down and picked her up to lay her comfortably atop his shoulder.
He remembered how small she used to be, how she used to smile timidly among the adults.
The memory of innocence could not be washed away in hate.
To leave her would be to risk letting her hunt and maim again.
But it was not his place to be an executioner.
All he could do was put his faith in the future to set things right, and make a world where violence was no longer necessary.
The defeat of Vermilion set off a domino of events that would bring peace back to these lands.
The silver assassin was on the retreat with Cecilia struggling to keep up. But as they passed by, the silver locks of hair made Stonestein pause and linger on their body…
And then they were gone, escaping to the opposite end of the ravine.
Stonestein then picked up his pace to follow Cecilia to the last loose end near the gates.
And when Stonestein saw that boy with sun-like hair fighting and devouring the scenery with untamed rage, he began to understand less and less what had happened behind his watch.
Solaris stopped punching up Ezekiel upon seeing Vermilion's condition, "Teacher!"
Stonestein had the sturdiness to surpass his confusion and calmly reached out to the boy. "She is yours, if you leave now."
"Grrr…!" Solaris shoved past Ezekiel and ran over to Stonestein to snatch his teacher up.
"T-This isn't over you rat bastards!" He then scammed, shouting towards the fleeing figure out in the wastelands, "Damn it…Lunis!"
It confirmed Stonestein's fears…two innocent lives corrupted, captured in Lilith's ever growing garden of thorns.
"Hrrrmm…" Stonestein hardly had a second to think over his next move before he was derided for his decision.
"Why'd ya let her go?!" Ezekiel shouted, "We finally had her at our mercy!"
Stonestein remarked, "The situation has become complicated."
Ezekiel sputtered while throwing his hand back towards the destruction.
In response, Stonestein had this to say, "I know those children."
This brought about a long silence.
"They are…Justek's."
Ezekiel's face turned pale and he felt a little sick to his stomach, "Oh my lord…"
"Justek?" Pondered Cecilia, "The same one who is Sarajin's friend?"
Ezekiel was at a loss for words, "T-That can't be…has he betrayed us?!"
"No," Uttered Stonestein. "I suspect Lilith's hand in this."
Cecilia remarked, "It would line up with what we know."
"...Isn't this enough to convince Borealis?" Wondered Ezekiel half-heartedly.
Stonestein hung his head, "He wouldn't connect the facts to Lilith."
"Nor Vermilion," Added Cecilia, "...Now I see what you meant when you spared Vermilion."
She then turned towards Ezekiel, "Think about it two ways. Vermilion dies, and there goes any proof that the boy was connected to her. And also, Borealis would be less likely to believe us about Lilith if we killed one of his fellow Sages."
Ezekiel grabbed the side of his head and shook it, "How far ahead has Lilith planned this out?"
"It's irritating, I know…to be constantly on the defensive against someone whose face we've never seen." Cecilia dug her fingertips into her arms and scowled.
She then closed her eyes and swallowed her pride, "...Sarajin has to be told what's going on."
Ezekiel pulled off the wall and wagged his finger in objection, "Nonono…I ain't puttin' that stress on my brother again!"
Cecilia was quick and fierce in pointing out, "Him and Auris are the only ones who can talk to Justek and find out what he knows. If we ask Stonestein to do it, it'll risk exposing our partnership."
Stonestein nodded, "She is right."
Ezekiel crossed his arms and fell into a slump against the ravine, "Oiiii…how much longer are we gonna hafta do this before we can fight back?"
Stonestein raised his head and offered comfort in these trying times, "You are right."
"Play into her hands, and we lose."
"But if we push back…"
Cecilia finished the sentence, "We can force her to make a mistake that will expose her misdeeds to Borealis."
Stonestein bowed his hand before Ezekiel and remarked, "I need time."
Ezekiel pulled himself up and sighed, "We all do."
Stonestein then raised his hand out and remarked, "Thus begins our operation…"
"Force the Sages out of the Tribes."
Next: Scarlet, Silver, and Black