.
Feraen’s ‘concern’ for mortals made me remember Grandmother’s cold view of them, and fairy views of humans in general. I also recalled Serera’s almost mocking reply to my concerns about Cullen.
In response, a bubble of classic fairy laughter burst out of me.
As I dashed in to trade sword blows with her once again, I mocked, “Protecting the mortals? Worrying about the poor mortals? Just when did fairies become concerned for mortals?”
In the background behind her, five fairies had Serera surrounded, intent on blocking her from reaching me.
It looked like the plan was to let Feraen eliminate me permanently while the rest delayed the royal knight. I guessed that they believed that once I died, the fight would become pointless and cease, and the rest could be negotiated. After all, according to Serera, all the women on that ‘court’ were daughters of powerful Fairy lords. They probably imagined paying some minor penalty, while Feraen passed responsibility for killing me to her orders from the foreign noble holding her contract.
Kiki was nowhere to be seen, but I had no doubt she was using her incredible stealth with some goal in mind. I doubted she was truly a match for a knight, but I had seen her messing with Feraen before. She had her own way to fight.
I lost sight of them again as our duel continued, but I heard fairy smack-talk flying around, and someone let out a ridiculous “OH-hohohoho!” like a certain villainess in a certain old anime a couple times.
Ramping up the speed, pushing more Earth onto Durandal in hopes of overwhelming her Wind reinforcement, I began pressing her backwards. But I was making the mistake of allowing her into grappling range.
She didn’t miss it. As we locked blades together, she let go of her sword with the hand that wore the purification bracelet and snagged my wrist. With a yell of “[Purification!]” she let the full dose of mana pour into me.
It was fortunate I knew about it in advance, but even so, I had only an instant to brace myself for the pain. It tore through my body and metaphorically cut through my soul on its way. As the pain intensified, I let go of Durandal with that hand, continuing to keep him locked against her blade with the other.
I could see in her eyes that she was expecting me to scream and collapse under the onslaught at any moment. Contrary to those expectations, I let out a loud, harsh laugh in return. It wasn’t the merry, mocking laughter of before– I hurt way the hell too hard for that– but it was right in her face.
Then I clasped her wrist in return, right on top of that damnable bracelet, and dumped every bit of the Fire mana I had been circulating into it.
Her eyes grew as the bracelet turned incandescent white. She yanked away from me, jumping back several paces. The last remnants of mana pouring out of me flared in a raw release of flames as we opened up space between us. My correct next move was to read the situation to judge my next attack, but I was still busy fighting off the pain of the just ended-purification, so I just pulled back as well.
I had just dumped my fire mana, but I decided to pull Aether instead. I didn’t have much Aether magic of my own, but it was one of the manas that Durandal could use. I might as well have all three spooled up so I could fuel his attacks.
As Feraen’s wide eyes moved from me to her wrist, a scream ripped out of her lungs. Her fairy steel mesh gauntlet became red-hot as the heat transferred from the blazing white bracelet into it, and the bracelet itself began losing its shape, having turned slightly molten. She dropped her sword and desperately clawed the bracelet off. While she was yanking the glowing gauntlet off as well, she dove after her weapon, which had just splashed into the lake below.
I felt Durandal raise a shield behind me, and a heavy Wind strike of some variety impacting that shield. I had to forget about Feraen for a while. I accelerated the ramping up of the Aether mana as I wheeled around and poured on the power to reach Lady Serera.
In the distance, Serera was whipping her sword around over her head, whipping out a massive stream of Wind in all directions. To my astonishment, she turned out to be the source of the villainess laugh. She was giving out another “Ohohoho!” as she windmilled her blade.
It was an overwhelming outpouring of mana, more than I really thought one fairy could credibly do. Durandal again raised his shield as the wave reached me, and I realized the ‘attack’ a moment before had actually been excess force from Serera’s previous attack.
The hurricane blast had blown her opponents outward, but they rapidly reversed and flew at her again. Except, one of them slammed to a halt as a great blast of water struck her in the face out of thin air. Little Kiki appeared briefly, giving her a merry laugh, then disappeared once more, but her opponent now seemed to have a sense where the pixie was, because she was firing [Magic Lightning] around, trying to hit the invisible pest.
“Come on, you little chicks, where’s all that confidence?” Serera hollered, reminding me for all the world of Graham rather than the elegant fairy knight captain I had breakfasted with. But then she followed it with that boisterous “OH-hohohoho!” as she closed on the two closest returners.
Seriously, who was this woman, and where did my dignified Serera go?
She began to throw out mass doses of wind at a rate I could hardly believe, simultaneously throwing [Wind Scythe] attacks while keeping her sword coated with it to cut through their attacks as they hurled them at her. By this time, I was closing with the last of the fairies. She had been intent on attacking Serera’s back, but saw me and turned, readying a Fire attack.
I held Durandal horizontally in front of me and yelled, “[Holy Strike!]”
That magic circle appeared and the Ballista version of a magic arrow shot out at her. She frantically converted her attack into a [Fire Wall] as it reached her. Wall and fairy were blasted backward and I made it into position, with my back to Serera. My opponent was now struggling to recover before hitting the water.
Kiki’s opponent had lost track of the pixie at some point. She charged in to trade blows with me. I didn’t want to use Durandal’s resources up, so I forewent using another “holy attack”. Instead, I prepared to receive her attack by turning the Earth I had circulating into [Fortification].
One of the things I had learned from Ceria was the proper way to do a level-one [Body Fortification]. Tiana had already been capable of a crude version of it consisting of simply manifesting Earth in her body, but that had been an imitation that only worked because of her ridiculous capacity. True [Body Fortification] was much more efficient. Frankly, if Tiana had known how to cast the proper spell back then, she would not have died from getting chomped by that dragon.
So as I met her two-handed attack, I was able to parry it one-handed. Between my strength and the [Fortification], my sword held. It left me free to splay the fingers of my left hand and intone, “[Magic Lightning]!”
Her eyes widened as the bolt struck her. Simple, level-one [Magic Lighting] is a spell only good at melée range, so two-handed sword fighters facing each other rarely use it. Normally their hands are too full handling their sword. The bolt struck her in the chest and she was kicked backward once again.
Serera did that secret voice transmission trick again at that moment.
Child, I want you to run. Head into the hills and let me handle things here. You will get lost in the countryside without a guide, but it doesn’t matter. I have contracted wind spirits who can lead me to you. Just get out of here and stay low. I will find you.
Out loud, I retorted, “Are you crazy?!”
Both of the knights approaching me looked confused, but I didn’t care, because I wasn’t talking to them.
And the woman to whom I was talking was asking me to leave her in a one-v-five? One-v-six if Feraen recovers?
I will be fine. With you gone, they will have no excuse to continue attacking. As long as you are here, they can claim to be acting as constables of their so-called court. Once you’re gone, it will become a mass assault on a royal knight, and they will have to stop.
Every ounce of Tiana’s personality was screaming to not abandon a comrade in the middle of a fight. Thanks to that, I didn’t obey right away. I pulled Aether in, to replace what I had used.
The latest arrival was trying to come in at me while I was in locked blades with the other. I again let go with one hand, this time letting loose with, “[Wind Bullet]!”
Your Highness, I am a sylph and these foolish children are fighting me in my own element! I can fight a dozen if I must!
The one I had just kicked away was recovering. I turned my hand to the other and hit her with another [Magic Lightning].
At the same moment, Serera ordered, Go!
And in the next moment, Kiki appeared and clobbered the recovering knight with water again.
I am not sure about what happened next. Maybe Robert took over, but it did not feel like it was him panicking and running. For some reason, I suddenly obeyed the order and poured on the wind mana as I used the momentary freedom from both knights to make my break.
I felt a massive burst of Wind behind me as I selected the river gorge exit as my heading. Then I heard Lady Serera yelling, “Where do you think you’re going, my baby chicks? You don’t get to chase after her while you still have me to worry about!!!”
Another torrent of Wind caught me from behind, becoming a huge tailwind in my favor. This woman was a one-fairy Hurricane. As I neared the gorge, staying low so I could pull more Earth mana, I heard her laugh bubble out once again.
“OOOOH-hohohohoh!”
