The violent winds wailed, Beleth had fallen in pain on the ground, breathing heavily.
Conrad and Silistra stood staring at each other, one stopped the bleeding from his hand as the other looked down to the ground.
"I ran into Otto this evening, could not believe you actually let him stay this late." Silistra started, her voice weak, "He has grown so much has he not." She let go of her sheathed blade, and stepped forward as Conrad got his guard up. Silistra stopped herself, "Do you remember what I promised you when he was born?"
"I remember it as if it was yesterday." The man relaxed a little and lowered his arms by a tiny bit. "You swore on the blade your sister left for you," he pointed at her, "that you would make this city better. You said that no child would have to suffer whilst within the walls of Raza." He looked to Beleth, "Was all that a lie?"
"He is not one of us. I do feel bad for him but that alone cannot interfere with my decision." She took a couple of steps to the left and leaned upon a large tree putting the boy right in between them.
"Even though you know he is innocent?"
"Innocence still has not reclaimed the value I once thought it had." She slowly lowered herself to the ground before sitting down, "Furthermore he admitted to being guilty, that only fuelled the bloodlust of the ones who are already suffering."
"So he alone should be the one carrying that burden?" He clenched his fists, "He should die so someone else can feel some misguided relief? " He smirked, "I never would have thought you would steep down to the level of your father." The blue glow emanating from his fists intensified as it poured out violently. "I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree."
"As if you have any right to talk." She said whilst clenching her fists, "You are also just like your mother, selfish to the bone."
"Do not compare me to her…
" Why should I not? It is true is it not?" She pointed at Beleth, her face overcome with fury "You are abandoning your family, your friends, your home. For what ? Does saving him mean that much to you or are you doing it to satisfy your own sense of justice?"
"If the system we built judged a child as guilty then we have changed nothing." He took a step forward as the blue energy around his fists moved to his palms, in the right hand it took the shape of a spear whilst in the left hand it remained formless. "If I cannot save him right now then I have not changed!"
Silistra stood up and took out her blade, "Conrad, I will say this only once." their eyes met, "Lay down your arms and return to your family. You can still go back to the way things used to be."
I would hate to fight her. He thought before pointing his spear at her "I am sorry but I have already decided."
"How unfortunate." As soon as she uttered those words, Silistra stepped left from the place where she was seated, three iron nails were set pointing directly at Conrad.
The moment she moved was the moment they shot out at Conrad, their speed blinding. The man barely managed to shield himself with the formless energy in his left hand.
When they hit the nails pushed him back whilst bouncing off the impromptu shield he had made. These are way faster than they were before!!
With his back on the ground he looked around, Silistra was nowhere to be found. The next moment Conrad jammed the spear in his right hand into the ground and twisted it, all the snow that had fallen down exploded into the air creating a mist of snowflakes around him and Beleth. This should buy me some time. He thought as cold sweat ran down his forehead. Conrad focused his ears trying to listen to any small sound, as his mind raced trying to understand the situation.
She is holding back so as to not kill me. He frantically turned to all sides, She has most definitely prepared some more nails to shoot me with. He looked back to the boy who was laying on the ground next to his own vomit breathing heavily.
"Please do not…. do this." The boy mumbled weakly, his face pale, each breath slow and heavy.
He absorbed back the energy emanating from his left hand and with his spear blew part of the dense mist to the shortest path to Raza before absorbing it as well.
He then grabbed Beleth and covered the boy's mouth before running in the opposite direction.
A few moments later something crashed down where the duo was a moment ago. Whatever it was, it contained so much force it blew away the diversion Conrad had created.
As soon as the snow was clear, a nail pierced Conrad's thigh, it passed cleanly through and stopped only when it hit the ground. Summoning back the energy into his fist, Conrad plunged it in the ground, a second later the soil burst out and created a dome around them. The man put pressure on his bleeding leg, I can no longer run away. He pulled out the handkerchief in his right sleeve and wrapped it around the wound. The only option left is to fight. He poured even more power into the ground as multiple walls of dirt covered the dome around them.
Beleth was cowering in the opposite end of the dome, he had covered his ears, and was trembling. Tears rolling down his cheeks.
Conrad made a blue dancing flame and sent it before the boy's eyes. "Bel." He said calmly then slowly lowered down the boy's hands. "I have arranged for you to be smuggled out of the Northern Taiga. The people who will carry it out owe me many favors. I have also paid them to drop you off at the orphanage in a town called Nozos in the territory of the Empire. " He pointed to the small blue flame, "This will guide you to them."
"W- Wait, what will happen to you then?
"Do not concern yourself with me." He said smiling as one part of the dome weakened and started to collapse as the small flame went to it. "On my signal I want you to run. As fast…
"NOO!! I refuse, I do not want to leave you behind, nor do I want you to fight for me." he yelled out as he pushed Conrad, as tears rolled down his cheeks. The boy clenched hard on the ground beneath him "I am scared, I want to live. But I want to do it without causing trouble. I do not want to live knowing someone else suffered because of me." He wiped off his tears, "You have a family to return to do you not, so please just surrender to her. Say I manipulated you."
"Not going to happen!"
"I am sorry." Beleth said coldly as he lunged at Conrad with a bloody nail in his hand. The boy stabbed the nail into Conrad's shoulder, "Please tell it was my fault."
Conrad winced in pain, his breathing heavy. Rage, confusion, regret and finally understanding. "I can see what you are doing. Unfortunately I am not good at laying" This is an awful idea. "On my signal I want you to make a run for it.
Beleth nodded, as Conrad extended his right arm. In the palm of his hand he gathered all of the energy he could into a bright blue ball that illuminated their faces, on Conrad's was painted a somber smile whilst Beleth's was filled with worry.
"This is the moment." The ball began to flicker and expand, "YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!" The man screamed as the explosion went off.
The small dome exploded as Conrad went flying and Beleth disappeared. High above in the air Conrad saw the full extent of the explosion, trees were shattered and violent winds were being pushed back. The wild energy, still visible, created what looked like a ring that spread out through the forest. As he began to descend, Conrad used some of the scattered energy around him to create a shield for himself before reaching the ground.
Once he landed he growled in pain, the fingers on his right hand were a mess, each and every one of them broken in different directions. He took a deep breath, "SILISTRAAA, I surrender!!!"
The faint sound of footsteps approaching reached his ears, on his left from behind a tree Silistra came out cold sweat running down her forehead. "Is that so?" She asked, breathing heavily, "One could discern the opposite given that flashy stunt."
"I speak the truth!!!" He cried out frantically. Looks like she was caught in the explosion. He thought as he observed her carefully, Zero injuries. She must have used her sigil on herself. "I was tricked by the little bastard." I can defeat her!
She took a step forward and chuckled, "Shifting blame are we?" She took another step, as soon her foot reached the soil she stumbled forward, leaving her on one knee. "You know, you are a terrible actor and liar. I have always liked that about you."
Above them the faint light of a star broke through the clouds.
"I do not want to lose you Conrad." She said as her eyes caught a glimpse of a flickering light in the distance. She took out her sword and pointed it at the flickering light, "So, I hope you can forgive me about the boy." Beleth was limping away beside the light, leaving Silistra's aim clear.
Conrad sighed, "And I hope you can forgive my cowardice." In an instant light gathered at the tips of his left hand forming a ball. He didn't hesitate; he just shot it at her.
As soon as Conrad took the shot the star high above descended upon them. The arrow Conrad had fired at silistra was shattered in an instant by a magnificent crimson inferno.
Once the flames went away Conrad could see clearly, Erden was crouched right next to him. He must have used that moment right after the detonation of the sphere. Conrad chuckled, "You are also very early Erden." He looked up at the sky, "I admit defeat."
"Honestly." Erden started, " You two are taking this way too far." He looked at Silistra who was still steadying her aim. "Are you seriously going to put him down like that? "
She let go of the blade which began floating and spinning as a bright green light began emanating from the center of the blade. "If he survives, you are free to go and give him a more dignified end. I am not getting close to that thing."
"What a cruel woman you are." Conrad said as he averted his gaze whilst the sword shot out.
With incredible speed it tracked Beleth's every move, shattering through trees. Just as it was about to hit the boy, the blade's light changed, the vibrant green disappeared, replaced by a bleak purple glow. The next moment chains sprung out from the center of the sword, they enveloped the shot at the ground. The rotation and motion of the sword stopped in an instant as it crashed on the ground.
Silistra's knees gave out at the sight, "The curse???"
"Silistra what happened?" Erden asked, confused.
"The sword is cursed." She said weakly, "My sister cursed it to not be able to strike her own kin. " Her nose began to bleed and she started panting from exhaustion. "This child bears the blood of my sister."