A/N: CHAPTER 21! *dances* Let's get some important events rolling! An important note for this is that in this story Arme will not 'lose' most of her skills as she changes classes (seeing as it's a possibility for her to cast them with no weapon at all, it'd be pretty pointless for me to disallow her to use them when she has another weapon xD)
Disclaimer: I don't own Grand Chase! What I do, however, own, is a lovely little laptop I can write fan fiction for it on! 8D
Chapter 21: The Reason To Fight
"Elena?" Arme exclaimed in shock as she made her way entirely onto the next floor. The blue haired woman that had been standing against a wall of the room looking at a piece of stone turned in surprise as her name was called, her staff pointed threateningly at the group.
"Who- Oh, Arme!" The poised weapon was brought back to the high magician's side with a sigh, and she smiled, "What brings you all here?" As the other chasers filled the room Arme shrugged, and Elesis answered the question.
"We got a report of an ominous figure being spotted in here a few times, came to check it out." At this Elena laughed, gesturing to herself.
"Well, I've been here for about a week investigating a rather odd occurrence here, but as far as I'm concerned I don't look very 'ominous'!" Arme, looking over the starry purple outfit of her mentor, had to agree. As they began looking around the room she was the only one who paused, a frown coming to her lips.
"Odd?" Elena nodded.
"There's something on the roof of this building... It's emitting some sort of... Almost like a barrier." The high magician explained, glancing at the floor above with a displeased look.
"And... You haven't been able to get to it?" Arme asked after a moment. Elena shook her head, giving a shrug.
"I have, but I just can't identify what it is... Furthermore, only those with mana levels seem to be able to get anywhere near it. Even I have some difficulties... It's such a powerful object, if we knew what it was for..." Looking down at the floor and placing a knuckle to her mouth as she thought, the magician's focus finally landed on Arme, and her amethyst orbs widened.
"Arme, could you possibly come check it out?" She asked, watching as the younger magician gasped.
"M-Me? But I... You have more mana than I do, right?" The high magician shook her head.
"I told you when we first met that you have the potential to become one of the greatest magicians of all time... Your mana levels are much higher than mine, albeit you can't control them fully yet. The proof of this is the pot in your hand." Arme blinked, looking down at her weapon.
"Oh! This? I think it was all a mistake... I'm not sure that I was ready for a new job..." Elena smiled gently.
"You wouldn't be carrying it with you if you weren't ready, Arme. You need to have more confidence." She admonished gently, looking at the staircase, "You might be able to help me figure out what this is." Arme bit her lip ever so gently, looking down uncertainly.
"But I... How would I be able to help?"
"Weren't you reading lots at the castle?" Amy piped up from across the room, making Arme sigh.
"Yeah..." Elena clapped her hands, reaching forward to grab the wrist of the little magician.
"Let's go, then! And it's not necessarily about knowing when it comes to magic, Arme... Some times you can just tell." She explained as she began making her way up the staircase, and she was surprised to feel the presence of another person following them. Turning, the high magician was surprised to see Lass following them. Elena shook her head, stopping.
"Please wait here, Lass. It's not safe for those who aren't magicians..." She said, watching as the assassin sighed.
"She's a bit... Danger prone." He murmured, gesturing to Arme.
"I recall her being so," Elena commented with a nod, "But should anything happen I'm perfectly qualified to help her, and it's not as though she's helpless on her own, either." The violet haried girl nodded, waving to the silver eyed boy as she cautiously made her way up the staircase.
"I'll be fine!" She called back as reassuringly as she could, following Elena as Lass made his way back down the staircase to where the others were still looking around.
"It's three floors up," Elena told her, Arme nodding as she peered around the next floor. It also seemed similar to the first, albeit there were some items that seemed different.
"Here's where I've been compiling anything 'strange' seeming." The high magician said, continuing up to the next floor, "But that's not really important at the moment." The violet haired girl followed without question, and they ended up on a floor that had obvious differences. A bed had been unearthed from the meaningless piles of deteriorating junk, one of the candelabras were lit, and some books lay stacked neatly on the floor next to the sleeping area.
"This is where I've put my sleeping quarters, obviously," Elena explained, voice slightly strained, "But it's also where the pressure of mana being exerted from the object on the roof begins taking it's toll on magicians." She looked over at Arme, who was staring back uncomprehendingly.
"Pressure...?" Elena's amethyst eyes widened in surprise.
"You mean to say... You can't feel anything?" She asked curiously, Arme shaking her head.
"No... Nothing unusual. That doesn't make me... Wierd or anything, does it?" The violet haired magician asked nervously, looking around the room. Elena shook her head slowly, amazement still apparent in her features.
"That's amazing... Mana Pressure occurs when magicians run into something or someone with magic severely outclassing their own. It doesn't affect people to run into those with more mana because there's some sort of natural barrier to stop people from quite literally being 'crushed' by it. Of course you will meet some magicians powerful enough that their mana pressure will leak out... In that instance, however, it isn't painful. It would just make a good warning that you wouldn't want to fight someone like that... Now when you have objects like this filled with an extreme amount of mana but no pressure shield... It can be an unpleasant experience for even those with great amounts of mana... If Lass had tried to follow us up here, he would probably have been stopped last ... I doubt Ronan could get much further than this. While he's proficient in magic, since he also depends on physical attacks he hasn't relied on his magic like mages do... It wouldn't be strong enough to get him much further than here. You, on the other hand... To be unable to feel the pressure so close to that magic source means it isn't dwarfing your own powers... Simply outstanding." Arme looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrased.
"Wait... If there's so much pressure up here, why is your bed up here?" She asked, moving the topic away from herself as they began ascending the next flight of stairs.
"Endurance training!" Elena stated with a laugh, " I've been moving my bed up a floor every few days." Arme nodded.
"How long are you going to be here for?" She asked. The high magician paused for a second.
"Hm... I haven't really thought about it. I suppose, as long as it takes to understand the magic source. Where's Ryan and the redheaded boy, by the way? I didn't see them with you..."
"They're getting their second jobs right now." The magician replied, taking the last step needed to step off the staircase and into the next room. Arme still couldn't feel anything as they entered the barren fifth floor, and Elena sighed.
"One more staircase." She explained as she leaned on the wall for support while they continued up the last of the stone steps. A mild discomfort was beginning to settle with the magician as she walked onto the sixth floor, and she winced. Is this the 'pressure'? She wondered vaguely, It doesn't feel very heavy. Maybe like... Someone put a light blanket over me... Looking around the 'room' in confusion, Arme felt surprised as a breeze ruffled her hair. The sixth floor didn't appear to originally have be the last, the jaggedly cut off and ragged half-walls making it look like someone had lopped the rest of the tower off with a club. Crumbling pieces of stone were strewn about the edges of the room, pieces of destroyed metal from what appeared to be one of the candelabras sticking dangerously out here and there. The center of the room was what Elena had quite obviously been referring to, a shining, nearly pitch black orb sporting hints of crimson that reminded Arme oddly of a garnet standing on a raven pedestal.
"That's it..." Elena whispered, walking Arme over to the stone, "I haven't been able to even figure out what it's made of." Reaching out, she pressed her hand to the sphere lightly, hand running over it's surface.
"And what do I do?" Arme asked, looking at it curiously.
"Try..." Elena started, picking up her hand by the wrist, "Laying your palm flat on it, like this." As she said this she placed Arme's hand on the sphere, and both watched expectantly.
"I... Don't think anything's happening." Arme murmured after a minute. Elena frowned, letting out a sigh.
"How about I try it at the same time, as well?" The older magician suggested, releasing Arme's wrist to step to the other side of the orb.
"Keep your hand there, okay?" Elena instructed. Once it was in between them she placed her hand directly across from the alchemist's, and they waited again for a reaction.
"Uhm..."
"One moment, I have one other idea." The blue haired woman said, taking her hand off the orb.
"I have a releasing spell... It might do something." Arme blinked slowly.
"Shouldn't you have tried that before? And do I need to keep my hand here still?" She asked when Elena began leisurely writing symbols on the orb with her finger.
"Yes, do not move your hand! I have tried it before, but... I have a feeling with you here it might work differently." Arme nodded slowly, looking around. The wind blowing her hair into her face was annoying; she had almost removed her hand from the orb when she instead decided to set down her pot. Brushing the strands away from her eyes, she turned to look back at Elena.
"So, using a kitchen pot for your Alchemist's pot? Haven't seen that one before." Elena chuckled as she looked at the cooking utensil on the floor. Arme nodded, looking at it with a sigh.
"I almost blew up the kitchen making some soup..." She admitted, "It wasn't very convenient."
"Well, most magicians would die to be you." Elena informed, "Some will never possess the potential to even become an alchemist, let alone getting further... You are certainly talented enough." Arme kept her head to the ground, eyes closing.
"It definitely doesn't feel that way..." She murmured, "I don't think I've made it through a single battle without getting injured." Elena shook her head.
"I'm sure that's not true! Things are just targeting you, that's hardly your fault." At this the magician looked up curiously.
"But... How'd you know that?" She asked after a moment.
"Arme, I've gotten about three letters so far detailing attacks with you as the main target. You're a mage, so it's not all that unusual for you to make a good target, but even so... I'd have to say it's a bit much for nothing to be going on." The shorter amethyst eyed girl sighed.
"I..."
"No moping, now!" Elena chided, "Why don't we change the topic. Tell me what you're fighting for!" Arme stood silently for a second, taking a deep breath.
"I'm fighting because I want to protect my friends, and I don't want to be apart from them. I'm fighting so I never have to stand helplessly by and see a village destroyed like the one near Kerrie's Beach... I'm fighting so I never have to see children lose their families because I wasn't strong enough. I'm fighting to right the wrongs Kaze'Aze has caused... I think all of that is what I'm fighting for." She responded rather certainly, looking back at her mentor. The blue haired magician seemed to have a far away look on her face, still writing the rather long spell slowly on the orb.
"To right the wrongs of Kaze'Aze, huh?" She nearly whispered, "But... Arme, what do you truthfully know about her?" Arme tilted her head in confusion.
"Not as much as I'd like to, to be honest... That she's a witch, and that she has destroyed many villages. She not only played a painful part in the pasts of many of my friends, but she's killed thousands upon thousands of people. She plays an important part in Lass' past as well from what I've heard from the others, but he hasn't told me what it is yet... She's evil." She concluded quietly.
"She's powerful..." These words were whispered so quietly Arme wasn't quite certain Elena had even spoken them, and she simply stared for a moment.
"What?" She asked, finally suceeding in getting her teacher's focus.
"She may be evil... It's true that she has killed thousands of people... But she is powerful. The most powerful magician in all the world..." Arme began to feel slightly uncomfortable at the tone in Elena's voice, looking at her inquiringly.
"Elena...?"
"Arme, you say you wish to protect your friends, and you don't want to be apart from them... Don't you need strength for that?" The magician nodded slowly, "You want to protect villages, and you want to protect suffering children. That also requires strength, no?" Arme nodded again, feeling somewhat hesitant.
"To right the wrongs of others... Again, strength. Arme, wouldn't it be more accurate to say what you seek is strength?" There was silence for a moment, Arme's hands shaking.
"N... No." She finally answered, "Strength isn't my goal. Strength is what I need to accomplish it, but it's something I would sacrifice just as quickly as it was needed." Elena stared at her in disbelief, taking a deep breath.
"You don't seek being more powerful than others? You don't look forward to the day your strength surpasses that of the person above you?" She inquired. Arme shook her head quickly, feeling nervous.
"I won't spend all my time looking at those more powerful than me... I want to focus on those below me, those who still need help." Elena sighed, silence taking over the room again as she continued writing the spell.
"You... Arme, you have to realize power is necessary in this world." She stated.
"And there are ways to gain it... How are you ever going to know if someone stronger than you is lending you a hand if you're always looking down?" Arme blinked slowly.
"What... What are you saying, Elena?" She questioned, "I... I'm confused."
"Arme, some times... You may need to accept help from those you don't want help from to get stronger." Arme winced, "And once you accept that help, you may come to see the world in an entirely different way." The small magician could feel herself getting slightly afraid at this point, arms shaking ever so slightly. I don't like the way this conversation's headed...
"Arme... You have the potential to be one of the strongest magicians in the world..." She repeated, "And the Dark Queen's been watching you. If you accepted the darkness..." Her voice trailed off as Arme's eyes widened, getting a sinking feeling. She felt quite suddenly like her heart had dropped when she remembered one vital fact, and she frightenedly released the orb.
"I remember the releasing spell..." She whispered, throat feeling dry. Clumsily reaching down to grab her pot, the magician kept her eyes trained on Elena as she backed away.
"It o-only has three rather short words in it." Arme finished. Arme watched as her mentor's eyes widened.
"Oh, really? Well then..." Twisting her war staff and aiming it at Arme, Elena smiled, "Oops. Looks like I've been 'busted'.
"Ah!" Arme gave a loud shriek as a bolt of lightning was tossed at her, and she fell to the ground as she dodged it. Rolling over to dodge a stream of flames thrown at her, Arme pulled a saver from the pot to protect herself as her mind raced. What... What's happening? There wasn't much time to think, and Arme scrambled to her feet as she narrowly avoided being struck with a whirlwind. The spiral of violent air followed Arme as she ran around the perimeter of the room.
"And I had wanted you to come peacefully, too..." Elena sighed, conjuring more flames to spiral around the room.
"Wh... What were you doing with that orb?" Arme demanded as she sliced her pot through the miniature tornado, dispelling it. Elena laughed, the war staff's end slamming into the ground to summon thunderbolts that surrounded Arme.
"Whatever was I doing? Hmm... I wonder..." Arme groaned as she was nearly hit with a fire ball, glaring at the sphere on the pedestal. Whatever's going on, I don't think she was lying about that thing emitting Mana Pressure... She brought me up here to separate me from the others. Taking a deep breath, Arme attempted to get a hold of herself. Alright, so I need to destroy that orb! She didn't admit to the part of her that was hoping it was the dark orb doing something to Elina, deciding to leave that thought for later. With a plan in mind Arme began hurling bombs out of the pot, aiming them as closely to Elena as she could, whom was still standing next to the orb. In her haste her aim was off, and many missed their mark. The explosions still provided ample distraction, filling the area with small amount of smoke. Now, just remember what you read in the alchemist's book! Skidding to the ground and landing on her right shoulder as another thunderbolt flew overhead, Arme was thankful the room wasn't rather large. It was because of this that she had landed rather close to both Elena and the orb, her pot held so the bottom was pressed against her stomach. Now!
"Big Hand!" Calling out an attack generally wasn't the wisest move, but Arme wasn't certain she could summon powerfully enough without doing so. It was at this yell that a large, pitch black fist shot out of her weapon, slamming into the base of the charcoal black pedestal. While it was newer than the rest of the castle it had quite obviously not been built for withstanding attacks; it crumbled easily upon the impact. Elena's eyes widened as the medium sized orb fell into Arme's waiting hands, the alchemist taking the opportunity to roll away and regain her ground. How do you go about destroying something like this? Arme wondered as the high magician's expression turned to one of anger, and she lunged at the violet haired girl.
"Give that back!" She screamed as her staff came in contact with Arme's unsuspecting shoulder. Arme gasped, holding the orb tightly as she swung her pot and crashed it into Elena's side. Teleporting away once there was no longer contact between the two, Arme lifted the sphere as high into the air as she could before the cyan haired woman noticed her. Swinging downward, Arme released it at the last second and allowed it to slam into the ground, where, to her dismay, it didn't shatter. The black ball had rolled for less than a second when Arme lunged to retreive it, swinging her left arm around it as she pulled out a bomb with her right to toss at the rapidly approaching magician.
A crack! She noticed victoriously, thought coming to her. I can summon flames with my pot, right? Then... Throwing the orb into her pot, Arme prayed it would work as she summoned as many fire balls as she could inside with it. A large flame shot out of the opening, just barely missing Arme's bangs as the blaze spiralled around the sphere. Squeezing her eyes shut, the lilac haired girl quickly pointed the pot away from her before a loud crack was heard. The orb inside had nearly exploded, shards shooting out like bullets from the opening and filling the area. The force pushed Arme back, and she fell to the ground as the shattered orb spewed out. There was silence for a moment as Arme allowed the fire in the pot to die, feeling the light pressure on her disappear. She let out a deep breath as she opened her eyes, and was terrified at the sight of Elena standing several feet away from her, several shards of the orb embedded in her skin.
"E-Elena..." She stuttered as the magician blinked slowly, staring down at Arme in annoyance.
"I'm not allowed to take this fight seriously because Kaze'Aze doesn't want her precious magician injured..." Elena hissed, though the violet haired magician was wondering how she could even be standing with so many sharp wedges of stone in her flesh, bleeding rather badly.
"I'm giving you another chance, Arme. One. Last. Chance. Come with me willingly, and I assure you this will be much more pleasant." She stated, coughing up a small amount of blood.
"N... No." She whispered, holding the pot tightly as she managed to stand up, body shaking.
"Tch. Stupid girl." Was the retort, Elena coughing blood again.
"You... You're going to die if you don't get healed soon..." Arme whimpered, still unable to believe what she'd done to her teacher. She was surprised when the high magician shook her head, laughing at her student as though she was pathetic.
"Poor, innocent Arme. You're too naive... You honestly believe this is all my body can take? Of course not. After all, I..." She paused at that point, getting a gasp from Arme as she snapped her war staff in half, "Have accepted the darkness." The small, lavender coloured magician watched as the two pieces were held in different hands, twisting seemingly of their own accord. This continued until they both formed circles, and the high magician's body began to glow. Arme turned and ran to the stairs as a black light engulfed Elena, moving as quickly as she could. I can't handle this on my own... With the other chasers in mind Arme began down the stone steps, praying she could get to where the others were before whatever Elena was doing was over. Nearly tripping over something she hadn't expected to see there, Arme gasped as she turned back to see what it was.
"L-Lass?" She exclaimed, staring at the white haired boy dumbfoundedly, falling to her knees to cast a heal over him even though he had no physical wounds, "What are you doing here? With that barrier you should hardly have been able to make it to the fourth floor, and that at the very most!" The assassin took a breath as he sat up, sapphire eyes looking over her several times.
"You screamed." He muttered, standing up and stretching, Arme staring with wide eyes.
"B-But that doesn't change the fact that there was pretty much a barrier, Lass!" She stated, allowing him to grab her arm and drag her down the stairs.
"It does change how determined I was to get past the barrier, though..." He responded, looking at her lightly injured shoulder with a frown, "and you should really get that healed by Amy." The glow was still filtering in through the ceiling as they came to where Ronan was sitting on the floor of the fourth room, the indigo haired knight looking up at them.
"You can't tell me you're honestly worrying about me when you made it up nearly three more floors than you should have." She murured with a pale blush colouring her cheeks as they helped Ronan up.
"The pressure's gone now, it doesn't matter. I assume you were fighting Elena?" Arme sighed, looking at the ground and nodding ever so slightly.
"How did it go?" Ronan asked as they continued down the tower. Arme bit her lip, staring at the steps below her.
"I... There was some sort of orb. She was doing some sort of spell with it... I'm not sure if she completed it, but then we fought. I managed to retrieve the orb and I shattered it by putting it in my pot and setting it on fire... The shards were shot into her, but somehow she was still standing. Then she said something about me being Kaze'Aze's 'precious' mage, and she started glowing. That's about when I came down and almost tripped over Lass." The assassin frowned as they ran into Elesis and Amy on their way up, the group heading down to the second floor to meet up.
"What's going on?" Elesis demanded, looking over Arme worriedly. Amy had began healing the light wound on her shoulder wordlessly, and everyone looked at each other.
"Elena betrayed us." Ronan said quickly, "but I don't think we have much time for this. I highly doubt she's dead... With what Arme said..." He was interrupted by the sound of a large crash, and Arme almost shrieked when she turned to the window as a shadow crossed it. Half way inside was what Arme could only assume Elena transformed into, a blue monster with large chakrani similar to Amy's. Eyes of a dark purple sparkled dangerously , a twisted grin on her light blue face as she made her way inside fully. Large wings seeming to be a mocking imitation of an angel's were attached to her back, a contrastingly pointed devil's tail swaying behind her as she stood before them. Midnight blue horns had emerged from her head, the same blue gradienting from the tips of her hands and feet into the pale blue of her stomach and face. This light blue also coloured the tip of her tail, making it stand out.
"Did you really have to resist? Everything would have been so much simpler if you had just come with me... Oh well, I suppose it doesn't change the end results. In this more powerful body of 'Kamiki' bestowed upon me by the Dark Queen this should be simple..." Arme stepped back instinctively, the other chasers stepping between her and the monster.
"Elena, you trator!" Elesis yelled, charging at the magician, "Do you think we'd just hand over Arme?" Her spear was parried by the dark base of Kamiki's tail, and flame burst out from a hand pointed at Elesis. Ronan's gon, hovering near Arme, began throwing small stones that bounced pointlessly off Kamiki's horns.
"Gah-" The red haired female stepped back as quickly as she could, bangs singing slightly. Ronan and Lass also charged at this point, a glave jabbed at her legs and kunai flung at her body. A flap of her wings threw the small blades aside, the glaive clanging against her skin and not taking any damage.
"What?" Ronan pulled back the blade as quickly as he could, Amy jumping over him and swinging the keiophone down to solidly connect with Kamiki's head as Elesis turned back in for another blow.
"Pests." The twisted magician hissed as she swung a chakrani heavily against Elesis' side, throwing her into the nearby wall with ease. Arme ran hastily over to help her, trying to keep her distance from the monster. Ronan swung up as Amy pulled down the head of her keiophone, and Arme caught sight of her twisting the pink volume control before screaming loudly into the orb. While entirely mute to Arme it made Kamiki wince, and she raised her arm in the air a moment too late to fully avoid Ronan's blade. It dug lightly into the light blue skin of her arm, and the witch used her foot to slam down on his head.
"Ronan!" Arme gasped with wide eyes, Elesis pushing her away.
"Go heal him!" She demanded as she pushed off the wall and back into the fight, nearly being struck down by the several streaks of lightning that filled the area seconds later. It narrowly missed each member of the chase, though it did shake the tower.
"This area is too small for a battle..." Kamiki muttered, "I think I'll just get what I came here for." This was quite apparently directed at Arme, who had had to come closer to reach Ronan. Lass' simitar swung down in front of her before she could get too close to the magician, the assassin sending a chain flying at her. It wrapped rather messily around one of her wings, crushing some of the feathers as he pulled back on it.
"Not while we're still here!" Amy yelled, using her stand as a balance as she twisted and kicked the witch in the cheek. Elesis also charged, the small area of the room working more to the advantage of the chasers than the evil magician.
"Thanks, Arme." Ronan murmured as he stood, "It'd be best if you stood back in this fight, we don't want her getting to close to you." Arme nodded, reaching into her pot again. This time she summoned several savers from it, releasing them. Once they were out of her hand each surrounded a member of her party, and Arme stepped away to press her back against the wall.
"Insolent..." A dark circle erupted from the blue magician, forcing the members close to her back. Lass still managed to keep his grip on her wing; the chain long enough for him to step back and avoid getting hit. As the black faded a streak of red entered the room, and Arme blinked in confusion.
"The Sidtri?" She stated questioningly as the bird entered, flames lining it's wings. These flames quickly spread over to Kamiki's non-chained one, and the witch growled.
"Meaningless animal!" The flaming wing was used to bat away the beige and red bird with ease, and ice began seeping out of Kamiki. It froze not only the patch of feathers that were beginning to smoulder but the ground as well, crawling up Lass' chain.
"Damn!" Lass hissed as the frost grazed his hand, releasing the chain before it could freeze any further. He backed off quickly along with the others, moving near Arme.
"Lass, let me see!" She insisted, grabbing his wrist to look over the damage. Sticking her tongue out lightly in concentration, she conjured a flame to hold under his hand. Within a minute the ice had melted, and Lass stepped away to rejoin the fight.
"Let's make the battlefield larger, shall we?" Kamiki laughed, slamming a chakrani into the wall. It began crumbling, and Elesis gasped.
"We're on the second floor, you idiot! The rest of the tower will..." As she said this the walls began cracking ever so slowly, and Kamiki backed out the window. Lass didn't stop to ask questions; he was the first to grab Arme and bolt down the staircase. The others running behind him, they just barely made it out as the walls began to collapse entirely, large cracks shooting up the sides of the building as it crumpled down, chunks of stone falling around them everywhere.
"The- The Sidtri!" Arme gasped as she watched it collapse, eyes wide.
"The bird will be fine, Arme! It's survived me sincerely trying to kill it, it can survive this witch doing it halfheartedly! You're the one who will be in danger if we don't get moving!" He reminded her, pulling her a few feet further away from the tower as it slowly began to stop crumbling. This was proven right by a shadow hovering over them, giving the silver haired boy just enough warning to pull Arme out of the way before Kamiki plummeted into the ground.
"You can still accept my offer, Arme." She grinned, pulling her chakrani out of the ground.
"No! You said you wouldn't offer again, so don't!" The magician responded shakily as Lass provided a barrier between herself and Kamiki.
"Even if she said yes we wouldn't let you have her." The assassin muttered as he readied his scimitar, Elesis lunging in from the side. Her spear was grabbed by a dark blue hand, and Elesis gasped as she tried to pull it back. It didn't seem Kamiki was near releasing her until a kunai embedded itself into her shoulder, when the tainted magician stepped back. Ripping the blade out of her shoulder as she accidentally let go of Elesis' spear, Kamiki let out a cry. Arme soon found out why; a fair portion of her tail had been cut off by Ronan.
"But... Wasn't that tail used to parry my spear earlier?" Elesis demanded, stepping back. Ronan was silent for a moment as thunderbolts rained out across the battlefield again, one gazing Amy. Arme winced, waiting for any sound of pain coming from the muse. None came, the girl smiling as she passed Arme.
"Thanks for the saver!" Was the laughed explanation, Amy turning and yelling into her kleiophone again. This time a lazer was emitted from the pink haired girl's eyes as she used the weapon; it was used to sever the non-chained wing. Kamiki frowned, showing gritted teeth as Lass' scimitar collided with her leg.
"She can't be injured on the dark blue parts of her skin!" Ronan quite suddenly yelled from the other side of Kamiki, getting a skeptical stare from Elesis.
"What do you-"
"Look at all her wounds! They're on the pale blue parts!" He called before she could finish. Elesis' crimson eyes widened in comprehension and she smirked.
"Well, that makes this a lot easier..." She said, quickly moving over to stand next to the dragon knight. As she did this Amy screamed into the kleiophone silently again, making Kamiki flinch.
"Such an infernal noise..." She whispered contemptfully, pressing a hand to one of her ears as she sent a flame at Amy. The dancer dodged, a grin coming to her face as she continued. Lass didn't hesitate to use the opportunity to slash at her unguarded side, Kamiki twisting over to stop his blade at the last second. It looked as though she wasn't, however, expecting Elesis to come in from the other side. Blade cutting into the soft blue skin of her side, Elesis didn't stop there. Dragging the blade up and through the body, Arme looked away.
"N... No!" The anguish-filled voice of Kamiki filled the area as blood leaked from the fatal wound, "I can't die... I was promised power... I was promised... Ultimate power!" These words felt like they were cutting Arme even though they were voiced dully, the volume fading in her words as she began to choke.
"No... No..."
"You betrayed your kingdom for power? How pathetic." Elesis muttered, pulling out her spear and allowing the witch to fall to the ground. For several minutes the chasers were silent, waiting for the quiet chant of 'no' to die out. When it did Arme chanced looking back at the body, immediately regretting it. The blue monster form of 'Kamiki' was beginning to fade, leaving the bleeding body of Elena in it's midst. "I'll take her on as my apprentice!" ...
"Did she have to die..?" Arme questioned quietly, hands falling against her sides. She taught me so much... She can't have been all evil... Maybe she was being possessed... Or she was- "I was promised power... I was promised... Ultimate power!" The magician already knew the answer to her question.
"Arme? Are you alright?" Amy asked quietly, looking on with concern as Arme's eyes watered up. Wiping away her tears quickly as she stared a the body of her mentor, Arme stood silently.
"I... Don't know." She whispered after a minute, "I don't know."
A/N: Double update! This is for ChibiFreak52, so if you wanna thank someone there you go~ xD You know why this double update is for you =3 In any event, this is about where important things started to happen! And it's chapter 21! Coincidence? I think not 8D
-Utsuro