Chapter 64: Forêt's Defeat

"Max..." Mariel said silently, in disbelief.

"My dad is dead..." Alex said, looking back at the man who they claimed was his father.

"Yes, he is." Vittorio said, pulling two sickles from under his cloak.

"How is this possible?" Mariel said.

"This has to be Brimir's doing." Sasha replied, holding a new axe she had acquired in the mountain. "That is not Max. It's simply a soulless impostor of him."

"What are his strengths?" Saito asked, pulling Derf from his scabbard.

"He has a mastery of all human magic." Vittorio said. "However, he is also capable of manipulating living things, himself included."

"Manipulate them how?" Louise asked.

"In every way possible. From manipulating their movements to manipulating their blood and bone composition." Bartholomew replied. "It is a type of elf magic he developed. We are at a disadvantage fighting him in the woods here."

"We have no way of traveling somewhere with no life." Sasha said. "Even if we did, we still have his normal magic to deal with. Regardless, he is weaker than Brimir. We can fight him and win. Just be wary of your surroundings."

"Alex, Mariel, maybe you should stay out of this one." Louise said.

"The girl is right." Olivièr said. "Aunt Mariel is very clearly not taking this well."

"I can fight." Mariel said.

"Are you sure, sister?" Sasha asked.

"He is dead. I will be okay." She replied.

"We shouldn't kill him." Saito said. "We need information. Capture him."

"That will prove difficult in this environment." Mariel said. "He will have to be deprived of all magic available to him."

"So we just have to attack him until he gets tired, right?" Alex asked.

"I suppose." Sasha said. "Just be careful."

"Are you not more powerful than he is?" Saito asked.

"I am, but his versatility makes him difficult to fight." She replied.

"Can these two beasts not assist us? They are gods, are they not?" Vittorio asked.

"This is a human problem which does not concern us." Tempus said. "We will only protect Saito, Louise, and their children since they have helped us both."

"Awfully selfish." Vittorio said. "Don't you realize they could die in this battle?"

"They will not die." Tempus said, walking back with Soren into the mountain. "I have foreseen it. However, I will assist in keeping the medical fairy within this mountain alive."

Vittorio was rather upset about this, but chose to ignore it for the time everyone knowing his powers, they all prepared to charge at him. His face was completely blank, although his eyes seemed to be locked on his wife's face. They decided to attack him at once from different angles, although they were aware it would most likely not work.

He did not move from where he stood in response to the coming threat. Their various weapons struck his body, but they soon realized that no damage was dealt to him. They retreated to a safe distance, where they were able to see that in the places on his head that they had landed their attacks, his skin had hardened.

"We won't be able to hurt him like this." Saito said.

"His reserves of magic are lesser than yours." Sasha said. "He prefers long ranged attacks, so keep pressuring him."

As they strategized, he pulled a bow from underneath his cloak. Putting his two daggers away, he then cut his own hand, drawing blood from it.

"What's he doing?" Alex asked.

"He's going to make an arrow from his own blood." Mariel said. "Do not let it cut you. He will be able to control you if his blood gets inside you."

"What the hell is wrong with you old types..." Alex said to himself, preparing to dodge any incoming attack.

As he said this, just as Mariel had told them, Max formed an arrow from his own blood and in an instant, shot it towards the group. However, he did not shoot it at anyone in particular, so they each had to dodge it to be safe.

As the arrow sped through the air, it suddenly turned towards Louise as she was still in midair, as it was still being controlled by Max. As she landed on a tree, she prepared to jump in another direction, but she found that she was stuck on it.

The tree had enveloped her foot, making it impossible to jump off. The arrow flew straight at her, threatening to pierce her heart. However, she managed to create a shield with her void magic before the arrow could reach her. It bought her a few moments to free her from the tree just before the arrow broke through the shield.

They all regrouped again to think of a strategy to beat him. However, Max gave them no time to plan, as the trees around them began to attempt to trap them. As they continuously had to keep jumping around to dodge the attacks, Sasha started to try and think of a way to beat him.

"Louise." She finally said, rather calmly. "Destroy the trees in the surrounding 5 kilometers."

"But everyone will be caught in the blast." Louise said, still dodging the incoming attacks.

"We will suffer minimal injuries. Nothing we cannot handle." Sasha said. "Just do it. He can only control living matter. If the trees are dead, he cannot use them."

"I understand." Louise said.

"How much time will it take to charge?" Shion asked, using her wings, which were incredibly durable, as shields for her body.

"No time. I can cast it now." Louise said. "Is everyone ready?"

"A little girl's power is not enough." Vittorio objected. "We all need to help."

"Just do as your mother asks." Mariel said.

"Everyone brace yourselves." Sasha said. "Louise, we're ready when you are."

"Right!" Louise replied, waiting for the right opportunity.

As she gracefully flowed through the air, she finally found herself facing the ground. Immediately, a ball of light shot from her finger. As soon as it touched the ground, it expanded into a massive explosion, blinding everyone.

The sound of trees snapping in the loud explosion deafened them. All of their skin burned, although Saito's simply felt extremely uncomfortable because of his already intense body heat. They felt the ground beneath them disappear as a crater formed from the explosion

After several seconds of turmoil, there was no more noise and the shining light had disappeared. As Sasha had predicted, although they were injured, the injuries were very minimal. They were dazed, but still capable of fighting.

More importantly, the surrounding trees were, for the most part, destroyed. When Saito's eyes opened, the landscape around them was barren, save for a few trees that were smoldering. He looked around to make sure everyone was okay before finally turning his attention to Max.

Max stood up, having been covered in rubble and debris. His cloak and part of his shirt had been burnt off, revealing some of his upper body. He wasn't particularly muscular, but was well toned. He had also been injured by the blast. A large piece of wood had pierced his side, causing him a great amount of pain, although his face didn't show it. The skin on his upper body was also severely burned, making it difficult for him to move.

"You did well to create a crater, Louise." Mariel said.

"I knew he could try to use the roots underground." Louise replied. "They've been destroyed."

"He should be easy to defeat now, right?" Shion asked, examining the singed feathers on her wings.

"Easy? No." Sasha said. "Easier, yes."

"He won't let us get close again." Alex said. "Even if we do manage to get closer, he'll just make sure we can't injure him."

"We can't remain fighting until he runs out of energy." Shion said. "That could take several hours, which is enough time for any of us to make a mistake."

"We need to find a way to catch him off guard..." Vittorio said.

"But the risk of being cut with his blood is too great." Alex said, realizing he was already bleeding from a small cut he received in the blast.

Saito stared at Alex's wound, making sure no foreign magic was inside of it. As he stared at it, he started to think of a way to counter the weapons Max made from his blood. Suddenly, he grabbed Alex's arm where it bled. He let the blood drip onto his bare hand, where it immediately began to vaporize.

"I have an idea..." Saito said. "Let him cut me with one of his weapons."

"What?! That's insane!" Louise said in objection.

"Trust me on this one." Saito said. "He may be strange, but when it comes down to it, he still has the blood of a normal human."

"What's your point?" Mariel asked.

"My body runs at a temperature much higher than a normal human's." Saito explained. "It'll take a little while, but given enough time, it'll be broken down by my body heat and I'll be in control again."

"Are you sure that'll even work?" Shion asked.

"I'm about seventy percent sure." He said with a smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"How are we even going to get him to hit you?" Olivière asked. "He could aim for any of us."

Saito thought for a few moments, realizing that this was definitely a flaw in his plan. But he eventually had an idea.

"Bartholomew, your power is what's keeping Albion in the sky, right?" Saito asked.

"Yes, it is." Bartholomew replied.

"I assume this means you are capable of manipulating gravity with your magic the." Saito said.

"I can attract or repel objects, yes." Bartholomew replied.

"Great!" Saito said. "When he launches his arrow, make sure it hits me."

"If you insist." He replied.

Now armed with a plan, they charged at him like they did before. This time, just before their attacks could land, he dodged them instead of hardening his body. He kept retreating to a safe distance until he was comfortable.

"He dodged this time..." Louise said.

"He must have used a large amount of magic to survive your explosion." Shion said.

"He's preparing another arrow." Sasha said, seeing the blood forming out of his hand.

Again, he fired an arrow at them, although it now moved much faster than before. Instead of dodging immediately, they all waited for it to change direction. As it was about fifty feet away, it suddenly changed direction and going, again, for Louise.

However, as they had planned, she dodged the arrow. Saito stood next to her, preparing to feel the pain of being shot by an arrow, a feeling he did not have fond memories of. Before the arrow could change direction, Bartholomew managed to slightly change its direction. Before Max could adjust it, it struck Saito in the leg.

Almost immediately, Saito could feel the blood working its way through his body like a snake's venom. After a few moments, he felt himself losing control of his body, although he was still conscious. Against his will, he jumped to Max's side. His movements weren't as fluid as normal, so he knew Max was not capable of using his body to it's fullest potential, giving his friends an easier fight.

As Saito was forced to fight his friends, Max launched several attacks from a distance. His attacks were extremely accurate, grazing even Sasha's body with the fire and ice magic he conjured. For several minutes they fought, with Saito's body beginning to get closer and closer to hurting his friends.

Shion, however, managed to get a decent attack to land on his abdomen, using her wings to allow her to maneuver when in the air. This caused Max to force Saito to retreat to his side. However, just as Saito had predicted, his opponents blood was beginning to break down and disappear.

As Max stood still, seemingly contemplating what he should do about his many enemies, he was suddenly stabbed through his back, causing him to cough up a large amount of blood. The blood he had infused within Saito's body had finally broken down, giving Saito control of his body and allowing him to strike Max through his chest. Using this opportunity, everyone else stabbed him through his legs and arms, restricting his movement.

With a large amount of blood being lost from his body, his body soon went limp. After only a few moments, his eyes closed as well. Everyone let go of their weapons, allowing him to fall onto the ground.

"Seal his wounds." Saito said, gripping the wound Shion had given him.

"I'm sorry." Shion said.

"It's fine. You protected yourself." Saito replied.

Quickly, they all removed their weapons from his body, then burned his wounds shut to stop the bleeding. Saito then gritted his teeth and allowed Mariel to burn his own wound shut. When he had recovered from the pain, they carried his body back into Mariel's compound. Inside, they restrained his body with metal wire, then tended to each other's wounds. Several hours later, everyone had settled down.

"You did well, Saito." Vittorio said.

"Thank you for helping me." Saito replied, laying on a chair while his wound healed.

Vittorio nodded, then walked away. Louise then sat next to him, rubbing his leg where the arrow pierced it.

"I hate arrows." He said with a smile on his face.

"Well, you'll heal, so don't feel too bad about it." She replied, laying next to him.

"How strong was that explosion you made?" He asked, remembering how uncomfortable it was.

"That was a weak one." She said, remembering how much power she used. "It was kind of rushed, so it was really weak."

"How terrifying." Saito thought to himself. "Why do I involve myself with these people?"

"You're the one who chose to come back. Don't complain." Sasha said, sitting next to the couple.

"I'm not even going to ask anymore." He thought to himself again.

"Then you'll never find out." Sasha replied. "Regardless, well done, Saito."

"So you really do read minds, eh?" Saito said.

"I do not read minds." Sasha said. "I am capable of doing it, but since I do not do it often, I would not say I read minds."

"Your logic is vexing..." Louise said. "I assume Mariel is with Max?"

"Yes. She still loves him after all these years." She replied, seemingly lost in thought. "I can't say I blame her..."

"That's odd..." Louise thought, noticing Sasha's change in mood when she spoke about it. "Does she still love..? No, there's no way."

"Nothing is impossible..." Sasha rather quietly said after a long pause.

Saito assumed she was referring to what he said, so he paid no attention to it. He observed everyone in the room, making sure there was nothing abnormal inside them. Sasha's sons were rather childishly debating who was the most useful in the battle. Alex helped Shion clean her wings, making sure every feather retained its metal like sheen. The rather peaceful mood was suddenly shattered, however, when Mariel ran into the room.

"He's about to wake up!" She said, panting.

Everyone immediately stood up and ran to the room where he was restrained. Mariel had Aigle begin healing his wounds, so he woke up sooner than he otherwise would have.

"That was fast." Saito said.

"I accelerated the healing process." Aigle said. "Although, his lungs were charred inside and pierced by your weapons. It wasn't easy to repair them."

As they spoke, Max began to stir in his sleep. Everyone held their weapons, in case he somehow managed to break free. After several moments, his gray eyes slowly cracked open. He looked around with his eyes, unable to move his body or his head.

"Where am I?" He suddenly said, in a voice strikingly similar to that of Alex, albeit very slightly deeper.

"He's speaking?" Saito asked. "Does this mean he's in control again?"

"Who the hell are you?!" He said, staring at Saito.

He tried to get up, but pain shot through his body with the slightest movement.

"Goddamn it! That hurts!" He exclaimed.

"You don't remember anything?" Sasha asked, making her presence known to him.

"Sasha?" He said, recognizing her face. "What happened?"

"Tell me what you remember." Sasha said.

He closed his eyes, trying to remember what he could.

"Last thing I remember was...letting those elves attack me." He said.

"I see. Forgive me, but I will have to keep you restrained until we're sure we can release you." Sasha said. "Once that happens, I'll explain everything."

"I trust you, so that's fine." He said. "Wait, where's Mariel?!"

"I'm right here Max..." Mariel said, sitting on a chair next to the bed he was restrained to. "It's good to see you again."

"We saw each other only a few hours ago." He said. "Unless I've been asleep for a really long time."

"You could say you were in a very long coma." Mariel replied. "For now, just rest and heal your wounds."

"Okay." He said, closing his eyes and falling back into a deep sleep.

"Let's leave them alone for a while, everyone." Sasha said.

Everyone seemed to silently agree with this and began funneling out of the room. As he left, Saito took one last glance at Max with his eyes. Seeing that there was only one type of magic contained within him, he felt satisfied, leaving Mariel by his side to watch over him as he recovered from his battle.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! I'm finally posting sort of on time, so I hope things don't feel too rushed, which they kind of do in my opinion. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. See you next time!