The two glared at each other. Celestia, beginning to run on reserves, but the glow around her hands still shone as she held her fighting stance. Feet anchored to the ground, knees bent, with her palms out ready to strike should Divia approach her.
Divia, on the other hand, snarled at the former princess. Her red eyes with the Order's sigil in her pupils narrowed as she readied her claws.
A soft breeze passed between the pair as Divia began to circle Celestia, looking for an opening, but Celestia herself seemed tightly guarded.
Celestia's eyes tracked Divia's every movement, adjusting herself slightly, trying to keep Divia in her line of sight.
"You're wasting your time," Divia spoke. "That pretty magic of yours…is running dry, isn't it?" She flexed her claws, dark energy swirling around them. "I can smell it, princess. You're nearing your limit, even with those few days of rest. You still weren't fully healed enough to fight…Someone like me." She smirked.
Celestia didn't respond immediately, but her jaw tightened a bit. "Perhaps," She finally responded. "But even at my limit…I've faced worse than you."
A chuckle came from Divia as she continued to amble around Celestia. "Worse than me, huh? That may be true." Another dark chuckle escaped. "But you were stronger than. You carried a blade that you no longer hold in your hands. With it, you probably would have cut me down with ease…but no, you're different than that warrior on the battlefield. You're no longer that merciless elf, slaying those who dare defy our precious kingdom. Isn't that right? Princess."
Celestia's eyes hardened at those words. "You're right," Celestia admitted quietly, remaining calm despite the provocation. "I'm not that person anymore…but don't mistake growth for weakness, Divia." Her hands shifted lightly. "I chose to put down my blade to keep myself from becoming the monster you're referring to." She took a small step forward, her foot inching up a bit. "I've killed before," Celestia continued. "I've taken lives to protect my people, to defend what I believed in, even what my father believed in, and yes, I was merciless when I had to be…but make no mistake about it. Just because I no longer carry a blade… doesn't mean I can't cut you down."
Divia stopped circling, her grin widening to show fangs. Suddenly, a shriek of laughter erupted from Divia's lips due to Celestia's bravado. She whirled her head back, manically laughing as she leaned forward, grinning wildly as she stared at Celestia. "Big words from someone who can barely stand!" She lunged forward without warning, her claws outstretched and ready for blood.
Celestia didn't flinch. In a fluid motion, she dropped low, letting Divia's claws sail over her head. Then, just as quickly as she avoided Divia's attack, she rose, using her palms to strike Divia in her side, but to Celestia's surprise, it had little to no effect.
Another laugh could be heard from Divia as she turned towards Celestia. "Weren't you listening, princess? I told you, you are weak!" Divia swung her arm in a backhand motion with force.
Celestia barely had time to raise her arms in defense before the impact. However, the sheer force of the blow sent Celestia's body sideways, tumbling across the street like a discarded doll. She hit the ground hard, sliding through debris until her back slammed against a collapsed pillar.
"Ngh--!" She coughed, dust swirling around her as she struggled to push herself up.
"See? This is reality, princess." Twisted satisfaction could be heard in Divia's words as she spoke. "All that talk about growth, and yet when it counts, you amount to nothing." Her footsteps echoed on the ground as Celestia glared at her, breathing heavily. "Just like that retched family name of yours. Full of words just like your cowardly father!" She burst forward again.
Celestia's eyes widen slightly as she shifts her body to dodge Divia's right claw, which buried itself into the pillar that Celestia was standing in front of.
With a grunt, Divia reached out with her other claw, but Celestia's palm flashed with light again, and she ducked under the attack, closing the distance to Divia's guarded position. As she advanced, positioning herself directly beneath Divia and planting her feet firmly on the ground, she thrust both hands forward, releasing a bright yellow beam of light from her palms. This beam engulfed Divia, eliciting a chilling, guttural scream.
"GAAAAHH--!" Divia shrieked as she writhed in pain, body jerking as Celestia continued to unleash everything she had at the transformed monster that stood in front of her. "NOOO—THIS—CAN'T BE—YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE THIS---MUCH—LEFT!"
Celestia's face remained resolute, though sweat poured down her temples. Her legs trembled from exertion, her entire body screaming as she pushed harder. "We elves were always taught never to underestimate our opponents. A lesson you taught me, Divia."
Divia's screams reached a fever pitch as the light continued to make her body convulse. Her body twitched uncontrollably as Celestia's determined look remained on her face. "IMPOSS—IBLE!" Divia howled. "The Order's blessing—" Her screaming slowly subsided. "How…could I lose…to a fallen…princess…" Divia's eyes slowly closed as her face disappeared within the light. "Heh, heh, Heh. Just kidding."
Celestia's eyes widened in pure shock.
Before she could react, Divia's clawed hand shot through the beam of light—directly toward Celestia's face.
"Wha--!?" Celestia gasped, her concentration shattering.
The claws closed around her throat in a vice grip, driving the former princess backward as her body was slammed through the crumbling pillar, her light extinguished instantly.
"Did you honestly think that silly little light show of yours would work?" Divia's grip tightened, choking her as she lifted her off the ground. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop looking down on me!" Divia yelled as she threw Celestia straight through a few buildings.
Celestia's body crashed through the stone walls of several buildings. Each impact drove more air from her lungs as her body finally skidded across the floor of another home, as wood and debris fell around her.
Back to the other side of the square. Sylvanie landed on top of a building. "CELESTIA!" She screamed, seeing what happened to her sister.
"I told you before, Sylvie!" Yvonne appeared right over Sylvanie. "Eyes on me!" She brought both her wheel blades down in a double axe handle, colliding with Sylvanie's scythe, but the sheer force drove the purple-haired elf through the building she was standing on.
The building collapsed around them in a cascade of dust and rubble. Sylvanie landed hard on the ground.
"I warned you," Yvonne said, her voice carried as she landed gracefully a few feet away from her.
Sylvanie coughed violently, rolling onto her side as she clutched her ribs. Blood trickled down the side of her face from a fresh cut above her eyebrow, panting loudly. "Shut…up…" She rose, forcing herself to her hands and knees, still holding on to her scythe.
Yvonne walked closer, stopping right next to her as she looked down. "Just stay down, Sylvie. Please. You've done enough. You fought well, but—"
"But what?" Sylvanie spat blood onto the ground between them. "I should just give up? Accept my fate like a good little slave?" She grunted in pain. "That's…that's what you want, isn't it? For me to just…roll over and—"
"I want you to LIVE!" Yvonne shouted, frustration evident on her features as she drove her leg forward, kicking Sylvanie directly in the stomach, causing her eyes to widen in pain.
Sylvanie's body lifted off the ground for a fraction of a second before it came crashing back down with the sounds of Sylvanie in agony. "Damn it, Sylvie! I want you to survive this! Is that so wrong?!" Her hands trembled slightly around her weapons. "The Order is winning! They've already taken half the continent! What good does dying here do for anyone?!"
Chest heaving, Sylvanie's breaths came out in labored gasps. She writhed on the ground, clutching her stomach as tears of pain streamed down her face. Still, despite everything. She refused to let go of her scythe.
"Don't you understand?!" Yvonne fussed. "Giving up doesn't mean you're weak, Sylvie! Look at the pain you're going through right now, all because of some pointless rebellion! You can't stop the Order! No one can! So, why are you still fighting! Why are you still fighting me! Let it go! We've already lost our home! Our people! Our kingdom is done! There's nothing anyone can do about it. So, stop being so damn stubborn and give it up already!"
Sylvanie's fingers dug into the dirt beneath her, blood pooling from her mouth as she struggled for each breath. Her eyes, despite the tears still falling down her face, burned with defiance as she slowly, painfully, lifted her gaze to meet Yvonne's.
"You want…to know…why?" Sylvanie's voice was barely more than a rasp, each word punctuated with sharp gasps. "It's because…of that stupid…idiotic…human. That…same…insufferable…human, who finally gave…me and my sister…Hope again." She forced herself onto one elbow, shaking violently from the effort. "Something you…threw away…the moment you let them…put their stupid markings…in your eyes. Now you can't see shit pass your own…Selfish decisions."
Yvonne's expression faltered for just a moment before hardening again. "Hope? That human? Are you serious right now?" She gestured wildly toward the distant battlefield where explosions between Vexes and Meara could be heard. "He's probably dead already! Vexes was toying with him even before he activated his power!"
"Maybe…" Sylvanie admitted, pushing herself up further despite her body's protests. Her scythe acted as support once more. "But unlike you…" She spat blood onto the ground between them again. "I'd rather die believing in something…than live not knowing what I stand for."
The words hung heavy in the air, clearly getting to Yvonne as her fist tightened around the handles of her weapons.
"You stupid…stubborn…" Yvonne's voice cracked slightly before she steeled herself again. "Fine then.' Her wheel blades began spinning faster, the hum growing louder. "If dying is what you want so badly…then I'll grant you that wish."
"Bring it…bitch," Sylvanie growled through gritted teeth, dark energy flickering weakly around her weapon once more.
"You stupid…" She drove her leg forward again, connecting with Sylvanie's ribs once more, sending her body upward a bit higher before she crashed back down into the ground. "Do you have any idea what I went through just to get them to spare your life!" She stomped down hard on Sylvanie's back, causing her to let out a blood-curdling scream."
"AAAAAHHHH!" Sylvanie's scream tore through the air. Her fingers clawed desperately at the ground, nails breaking against the stone she was lying on as her entire body convulsed from the pain.
"I BEGGED them!" Yvonne pressed down harder, her own voice breaking with emotion even as anger twisted her features. "I got down on my KNEES and begged those bastards to let you live! Do you understand that?!" Tears began streaming down her own face now. "They already took what I had. My family is gone! One of the first to be taken away before the Order even stood in front of that damn kingdom." She gritted her teeth. "I humiliated myself! I offered them what I had left just so they wouldn't execute you and Celestia on the spot!
Sylvanie's vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges as pain radiated through every nerve. Her fingers loosened around the handle of her scythe, finally letting go as Yvonne lifted her foot for one more time. Sylvanie, with the last bit of strength she had to keep her eyes open, saw the last thing she would see, and that was her best friend, about to put an end to her life.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind passed through the small building that Sylvanie and Yvonne were in, causing Sylvanie to open her eyes and blink to find herself being held bridle style by Oreon, who stood a few feet away from Yvonne, glaring at her with his golden eyes.
Then, he slowly turned his head to look down at the dark elf he was holding, a slight smirk on his face as his red aura radiated around them. "You look like shit."