5 minutes later
~Roran’s POV~
“What do you mean they’re both gone!?” I yell.
“They haven’t been seen anywhere!” the guard says in panic. “We were walking over to toe training yard, but instead of seeing William and Pax training, there was nothing but a shattered dummy. We asked around town, but no one has seen them around.”
I freeze. If they haven’t been seen anywhere else, then there is only one place they could have gone.
“Get five guards,” I order. “We’re going to Marua’s cave.”
“What the fuck were they thinking,” I thought to myself. William going again isn’t unusual, but he should still be recovering. And Pax…
BAM!!!
A loud explosion rings out from the ground as everything around me shakes.
“Wha-?” the guard begins.
“Get those guards, NOW!!” I yell.
We run out of the building. I grab my sword and pray silently.
Pax, William, hang in there, help’s on its way.
3 minutes before
~Pax’s POV~
“HOLY SHIT!” William yells.
We dodge a blast of shadow magic. William lunges at Marua and swings.
Marua dodges the first slash before I shoot a ball of spirit energy at him. It hits him and he is sent back into a wall.
I prepare another blast. Marua recovers and lunges right at me.
“Oh no you don’t,” says William as he runs right at him and swings again.
Marua somehow switches directions midair and dodges William. I run at Marua and swing my dagger the way William taught me.
Fzzrt. The dagger makes a noize as I swing it multiple times. Marua dodges all of my strikes, but one gets close enough to shock him.
Marua stumbles back slightly. I don’t miss the opening and sucker punch him in the gut.
Marua stumbles back but recovers freakishly fast. He lifts his arm. I feel myself floating up.
“Ack-” I gag.
He’s choking me now. I feel the sensation of my throat being closed off as I gag and instinctively grab my throat as if I’m trying to pull someone’s hands off my neck.
Thwack!
An arrow hits Marua in the arm. The sensation around my neck dissapears and I fall to the ground on all fours.
William doesn’t hesitate and throws his bow aside, grabbing his sword, and running at Marua. Marua releases a blast of energy around him and William is sent flying back. William flips and lands on the ground, rolling over before recovering and jumping up.
We lock eyes. I run at Marua, brandishing my dagger and William lunges at him.
Marua begins to emit a dark energy and tendrils of purple spirit energy and shadow magic begin to rise from the ground.
“Wha-?” I think.
And we’re both lifted off the ground.
~William’s POV~
“Ack-”
We both start gagging as Marua starts choking both of us. I grab at my neck as I begin to struggle for air.
We can’t win like this.
I look at Pax as he drops his dagger. He grabs at his neck as Marua chokes the life out of him.
After what feels like forever, he stops as he closes his eyes and begins to swing his arms.
“Wha-” I think.
Zap!
A small bolt of lightning flies from his hands and hits Marua. Marua stumbles back but continues to choke us. 1,2,3,4 more bolts hit him and he collapses as we both fall to the ground.
Pax wastes no time and runs at Marua, kicking the Scepter out of his hands and punching him. They exchange blows before Marua grabs his throat. He grabs at Marua’s hand and begins to emit an aura of lightning. A magic circle forms beneath his feet.
I stumble back. Something tells me that I do not want to get caught in whatever’s happening. The magic circle completes and begins to glow violently.
And a loud explosion of electricity bursts from Pax, sending Marua backwards.
~Pax’s POV~
I stumble backwards as Marua is sent flying into a wall. William’s running to me.
“Pax!” he yells. “You ok?”
I nod as I see Marua struggle to get up.
William looks at him. Marua begins to crawl towards the scepter.
“Oh no you don’t,” he says as he walks over and stabs him in the back. The sword juts out of Marua’s chest before William pulls it out. Marua collapses, dead.
I walk over to my dagger, exhausted. I grab it by its handle and begin to move the dagger into its sheath.
Zap!
“OW!!” I yell as I drop the sheath and dagger onto the ground.
“You ok?” William asks. His bow is in his hands as he looks at me in worry.
“My dagger just zapped me,” I say.
William looks at me weirdly and then bursts into laughter.
“Hahaha-I’m sorry, but that’s just funny,” he says through his laughter. “We almost died and you get zapped by your own dagger of all things.”
He’s not wrong. I start laughing too. It feels weird, given that we almost died, but I can’t stop laughing.
“What the fuck?” a voice asks.
We look up, startled. Roran’s there, with 6 other guards. He looks at Marua’s body, and then back at us, confused.
“What happened here?” he asks in confusion.
End of Chapter X