Chapter 27
The battle had started to become so intense that people who were evacuating could feel the vibrations even outside the city.
"It seems we did a good job evacuating people five hours ago. These people’s magic powers can even reach us when we are ten kilometers away, that’s crazy," the head of Ashford said while looking at the heavy smoke rising from the city.
"Will Prince Arthur be okay?" Clara asked with a worried expression.
"Don’t tell me you have fallen in love with him?" Clara’s mother asked, smiling at her daughter.
"Mother, it’s not like that! I am just worried he will be killed," Clara said, blushing.
"Don’t worry, the princes and princesses are way stronger than normal adventurers," her father replied as he continued to lead the people to safety.
Down in the city ruins, Vella looked back at Arthur. "You are a fast one, but I don’t think you will survive long," the shape-shifting girl said.
"Well, I never said I was good at speed. And don’t you think you are overconfident just because you are beautiful and have some crazy abilities, little girl?" Arthur said, standing back up.
"Are all princes this sweet-talking and noisy?" she said as she floated down toward him.
Up on the clock tower, Zane shouted down at them, "Hey, you two! Just fight already and stop your chit-chat!"
Arthur and Vella both looked up at him simultaneously.
"SHUT UP!" they both shouted together.
Zane burst out laughing.
Far away in her hidden domain, the Madam watched the battle through her crystal ball and laughed maliciously. "If Vella defeats that idiot prince, my plan will succeed! Turning that prince into my experiment or into my soldier, this will be great! Hahaha!"
"Well, it’s been a long time since I used my full power, so you better be ready," Arthur said, closing his eyes.
Vella didn’t waste a single moment and charged straight toward Arthur. Before her attack could land, Arthur opened his eyes and shouted:
"KōTAI!"
"AAAH! Damn it!" Vella cried out, leaping back hastily as a massive burst of light erupted from Arthur.
His eyes turned a brilliant gold, his black hair lengthened and glowed with radiant golden light, and a massive pillar of light shot directly into the sky.
"Shall we finish this?" Arthur said, looking down at his shining hand.
"Tch!" Vella shot forward again, slicing Arthur clean into two.
FWOOSH!
The two halves of his body began to fade into light illusions. Vella paused, looking around in surprise.
"Looking for me?" Arthur’s voice echoed right behind her back.
Vella didn’t reply. She spun around, shooting forward to cut him into two again and again. Yet with every cut she made, Arthur’s speed and reaction time only seemed to increase.
"I have had enough of this," Arthur said, manifesting a sword made entirely of light. He unleashed his ability...
FWOOOSH! DROP!
"Huh? What just happened?" Arthur shouted, looking thoroughly confused.
Standing atop a shattered building, Vella sneered. "Do you think you are the only one who can become one with your ability?"
"Well, no, it’s just that I didn’t expect you to be able to use it," Arthur said, turning to face her.
For a moment, the entire battlefield fell dead silent.
FWOOOOSH!
Both of them charged at each other at once, holding swords constructed from their elemental abilities.
BOOOM!
They collided in mid-air, both smirking at each other. They began trading relentless blows, and the shockwaves radiating from their collisions completely pulverized the remaining building ruins around them.
Up on the clock tower, Maria strained her eyes. "Woow... I can’t even follow their moves!"
"Me neither," Gloria agreed.
"This is really amazing. They are closely matched," Zane noted.
"Who do you think will win, Zane?" Maria asked.
"Mm... Well!" Zane watched closely as Arthur and Vella clashed. "I think Arthur will win."
"Why do you say so?" Gloria asked.
"Because Arthur has real battle experience. That girl’s fighting style looks as if she is using her power for the first time, and her body can’t withstand the full weight of the power she has," Zane explained.
"So you mean if that girl had been trained, she would have defeated Prince Arthur?" Maria asked in shock.
"Yeah, easily. Because her power is to control blood, and everyone has blood, do you know what that means?" Zane replied.
"What do you mean? Isn’t it the same as controlling wind or mind magic though?" Gloria asked.
"It’s similar, but different," Zane replied with a smile.
"How?" Gloria asked.
"With wind, you control the air outside a human or creature. But Blood Manipulation is different. If the user sees your blood, they can control it. It also allows the user to shape-shift and drain other people’s abilities and talent, adding it to their own. That’s what I read back at the old castle," Zane said, keeping his eyes on the fight.
"I see..." Maria and Gloria said together, looking at each other in realization.
FWOOOSH! BOOM!
Arthur was sent flying across the square after taking a heavy hit from Vella’s blood-infused fist.
"BLOOD MANIPULATION! BLOOD EXPLOSION!" Vella yelled.
The pools of blood from the fallen demon soldiers began rising into the air, compressing rapidly into hundreds of tiny, volatile blood drops.
"Tch!" Arthur hissed. "LIGHT MAGIC: FALLEN STAR LIGHT!"
A massive, star-like beam of blinding light materialized in front of Arthur.
FWOOOSH! BOOOOOM! BOOM!
The two massive attacks collided in mid-air, causing a catastrophic explosion.
"WOOW! That was amazing!" Zane cheered from above.
As the thick dust slowly cleared, Arthur was seen down on his knees, holding a bleeding wound under his ribs while blood trickled from his nose and mouth. As for Vella, she was still standing, though her body was heavily destroyed.
Far away in her lair, the Madam shrieked, "Damn it! Damn it! Why are they so weak?!" She furiously threw her crystal ball against the wall, shattering it into pieces.
"That was close... If it wasn’t for Heavenly Dragon Guard, I would have been dead by now," Arthur muttered, standing up slowly as his light magic began regenerating his body, his breath heavy.
AND THEN ....
FWOOOSH!
"PRINCE ARTHUR!"
A creepy, distorted voice echoed directly from Vella’s broken body.
Up on the clock tower, Zane’s eyes narrowed. "It’s making its move now," he said, watching Vella’s compromised body closely.