I remember vividly the tears and wails of failed subjects back in Amag as they were riddled or torn apart by machines that were supposed to train us, it was a highly unpleasant sight, bodies dropping day by day, our numbers reducing drastically each day, Thinking back, I don't think I was ever blindly obedient to anyone, of course I had thought of escaping the hell hole, but I was nothing but a frail girl, there was no place for me in the world, I was created to fight, a lab rat of war and blood, Areia stared at her palm, the cave was crumbling above and about her, large rocks landed dangerously close but didn't hit her, all I could do was endure their hellish training and doing as they please, after all it was what I was made for, she smiled,I can still remember when master first approached me in the court room after being caught by Hav'als elite guards, I can still remember those fearless eyes he used to stare at me, not caring for my past or what I am, he saw me as a companion, at the time I found him incredibly stupid, had I not been surrounded by powerful figures in the castle I might have killed him or held him hostage to get away, but I knew it was pointless the moment I stepped foot in the court room, lead by Flynn in the presence of Arthur, I was scared, extremely scared of Flynn, his power terrified me, more so than Dan's mum, I played along with their son and my master Dan as the situation demanded I did, it was the only way to survive, but I didn't know when I started getting drawn to him, was it those eyes that didn't see me as a tool but a friend? Was it his childish demeanor? Was it his kind heart? At this point I can't really tell, he was like a piece of white cloth hung above oil stains down below, I was hoping to keep him from being tainted and hurt, but this world is so undeniably cruel, the kingdom fell, Dan's mum no where to be found, his father and Flynn dead, I expected him to breakdown, I stared at him day and night, hoping he wouldn't take his own life out of grief, oh how wrong I was, till date he hadn't broken down and clearly avoids speaking about his family, he's strong, for someone who has been through a lot, that's a saying, Areia felt her chest, her heart was going haywire, if only, I were stronger, if only I hadn't be taken out by a single punch from the lizard, maybe things wouldn't be as they are now,I've never really liked the other members of our little make shift group, but they're friends of Dan, so it makes them acquaintances of mine, though I wouldn't deny the fact that I'm particularly drawn to Antrea, she does the most bizzare things after all, she stared into the void the destruction about her calming down, she sighed, come back to me master no! Dan, she thought.
Areia stood In front of a large rundown cathedral, her eyes blurry and hazy, blood running down her head, her two massive sword still strapped on her back, in front of the church, sat a man, his black hair gleaming even in the darkness of the void, hardtones muscles bulging even when rested, there was a spear on the man's lap as he sat staring into something Areia couldn't quite see, Areia took a step forward, her boot clacking against the interlocked ground, she felt her stomach as she went, impaled but it doesn't hurt that much, she can still fight, she shifted her weight around her body some broken bones but nothing too life threatening, the sword sheath fell with a thud, digging into the pavement, the heavy long swords were in both hands as she approached, taking time with each step, she stopped about 15feet from the man, her gaze watched over him.
The man's eyes were on Areia now, their unholy red glow taking her entirety in full view, Areia stared back not flinching, not taking her eyes off him, Areia standing there blades in hand and the man sitting staring back at her spear across his lab, the pressure they emmited was immense.
"Just how many have you defeated so far? The man asked his deep voice ringing in Areia's ear.
"I don't know, Areia answered despite herself, Pls don't ask me anymore questions the last dragon I fought just know knocked the living day light out of me, she said coldly, I rather we just start fighting, I have someone I want to save, she said slowly, raising her sword.
The man smiled," like a true warrior, I like strong women, he laughed, and you're clearly strong, I hope you bring stimulation to my existence, his voice was suddenly cold and metallic, You're in the presence of Ryuu second in command of the Guava's guardian force.
"Like wise, Areia said slowly, for some reason she thought, if we hadn't been enemies she was sure she could get along with the man just fine, she leld her sword Infront of her, I'm Areia the knight of Dan Shula, let's get this over with, she added coldly.
"Sure, the man smiled getting up slowly.
Areia's blade lowered before he was entirely on his feet, The spear blocked the attack on it's own, Areia's sword shattered like glass, she knew the sword was ordinary but didn't expect it to break so easily, then again she was facing a dragon, nothing is really impossible for them.
The man stared at her, still holding on to the broken sword and the perfectly good one," you should know your fighting style is off, sure you're blessed by the war god but without the right basics you definitely wouldn't go far, He said he was suddenly face to face with Areia who had backed away after the first Initial attack,his punch brushed against Areia's sheek as she dodged, the force blew apart the cave behind her, She dropped her swords caught him by the arm, and slammed him into the ground, his spear caught Areia from behind, but didn't impale her, she had dodged right it time, it gave her a large cut on her waist, She lept away nursing her wound. She had magic, but for some reason she can't heal the damage inflicted by the dragons she had fought so far.
The spear came around again, She parried with her hands, her sword still lay near the dragon she had slammed Into the ground, the spear was fast, but Areia was faster, She didn't try grabbing it, weapons like this tend to have some kind of curse against those who are not the wielder but tries to wield it, the spear retreated in a flash, it rested on the dragons outstretched hand, Areia took a deep breath.
"Honestly I thought that'll work, the man smiled," but you're not stupid I see, I'm getting to like you more and more, Areia felt his breath close to her ear, the spear whizzed and cut through the air, it struck her after image, downlow Areia struck his genitals, the man groaned, a mistake, her swords both the broken and whole were in her hands in a flash, she struck the man parried and defended easily. They traded quick unpressivable blows in the span of half a second, Both Areia and the man was jerked backwards, Areia's back grased the ground lightly and that was it, with a flip she was on her feet again, The man hadn't flown as far as Areia,like a cat, he thought.
The distance between them Zeroed in an instant, Both struck putting their whole strength in a single stroke, Areia's second sword shattered on impact, sending shards of iron everywhere, they didn't hurt the man at all, but some struck Areia on her neck and chest, causing little bleeding wounds, her sword didn't slow the momentum of the man's spear at all, she tried moving out the way, it worked but not entirely, it slashed her from her navel right to her shoulder blades, She lept back blessing, Her cloak dropped from her shoulder, the linen used as her bra was torn apart, the tank top she wore was torn apart, she seized the materials and tied them around her chest quickly, her breathing was evidently heavy now. The man was on her again, Areia's broken swords were back in her hands Instantly.
The man struck, Areia blocked and parried, the spear rose high above the man's head, as a counter attack Areia went for his throat before he could regain his footing, The blade stopped, The man's teeth held tightly to the blade, Areia didn't ponder she let go of the blade Instantly and retreated, his spear struck the ground creating a large crater, Spraying large rocks everywhere, using the cover of the dust cloud, Areia was behind him before he could get out of the dust cloud, she wrapped her legs around his neck, and hammered his head with her fist and dug her last broken sword Into his head, he grabbed Areia by the throat and dislodged her Into the ground, he struck with his spear but she was gone, her boot caught him in the jaw, followed by quick jabs at his throat, she cleared him off his feet, He looked up as Areia's punch caught him in the eye, the Air shook and rang from the pressure, she took a deep breath and retreated.
The man laughed, he kept laughing long and hard, he got up and pulled the sword out his head, it hadn't gone deep, his skull was too thick," and here I was admonishing you about your fighting stance, it's clear you don't have a particular style, you're using what is convinent for you, he laughed, look at me being schooled, don't worry I know you can't heal yourself, he said blood dripping down his head, I'm not gonna do something petty as healing myself either, he smiled, now let's continue.
It was a beat down, Ryuu's spear struck relentlessly, Areia dodged and parried avoiding terrible injuries, he caught her by the throat and let her go, the handle of his spear slammed hard against the side of her head, she flew into the cathedral like a bullet, shattering the dome, she hadn't gained her footing, when his spear almost dislodged her neck from her head, she tilted her head Instinctively, it cut her neck and hair alike, Ryuu's leg struck her she was again sent out the old cathedral, she hadn't struck the ground two times when he grabbed hold of her leg, the spear impaled her with little resistance, Areia's hand glowed red, she aimed it at the man's face and fired , the red light struck him on the forehead his momentum and the sheer size of the spell took half the cathedral and cave with hit, Areia pulled the spear out her guts, she dodged in time as the man's hands threatened to grab hold of her neck, The man lunged after her, she was gone, suddenly behind him, her palm glowing again, the red light stamped him into the ground, with enough force the remaining standing part of the cathedral collapsed and so did the cave, Areia kept on firing at the man, She dodged the spear deftly as it hurled towards her, She reacted just in time to dodge the man's sudden attack, she was behind him in an instant, She kicked his knee from behind, he fell on one knee, her foot lowered striking his head hard, Areia didn't wait for him to recover, her boot collided with the side of his head as he tried getting up, the shwer force of the attack broke Areia's toes,Ryuu was sent flying a trail of blood at his wake, Areia dodged the spear again, making zigzag movements the spear couldn't follow, Ryuu's punch caught her in the head, she flew like a rag doll landing face first into the hard floor. She got up instantly with a flip, Ryuu's punch struck the ground hard, it shattered like ice, He looked up, Areia's stood stamped his face sending him skidding.
She took a deep breath, hopped on both foot, she was gone, Ryuu stared around, his spear back in his hand, He received a massive blow from behind that made the entirety of the cave spin around him, he hadn't gained his footing when he received another, Then again and again, he couldn't see her, she was moving so fast he couldn't follow her.
"Interesting! Interesting, He smiled, you're fas- he stopped short, Areia was Infront of him, her palm glowing red again, It struck him in the mouth, he groaned in pain, Areia struck the spear intercepted, her fist clang against the metal, it rang through the air, Areia closed her ears, Ryuu's large hands closed around her neck, he didn't grab hold of anything, it was an after image, he cursed and turned back, There was a loud crack Areia's hand dislocated as it slammed hard against Ryuu's head, he didn't tank it or rather he couldn't, he fell on one knee, coughing blood, his vision was blurry the world wayed about him. Areia didn't wait her foot connected with the back of his head, his head shattered the ground with a loud crack, she disappeared in a flash as the spear struck missing her head by inches.
She stared at her limp hand, she bit her lip as she fixed it, she groaned in pain, panting she stared back at the dragon, her eyes widened, His fist was inches away from her face.
I'm dead, she thought, like a supersonic ball she went, crossing the terrain and out of sight in an instant, she struck the ground,rolled, bounced and slammed Into the end of the extremely large cave, her once purple eyes losing it's colour stared lifeless at the ground, I can't move, why can't I move? Get up! Fuck it, she got up slowly, she could hear her bones creaking, she could feel the sharp pains in her chest, broken ribs, punctured organs, she took a step forward and collapsed hard on the ground, her head hitting the ground, supporting herself with her trembling hands she sat on her knees, I can't see, her hands rested on her long hair, she tied it into a neat bun,she smiled, I remember when Dan said he liked my long hair, it's the only reason I hadn't cut it up until now, Dan, I don't think I can win this, but I'll definitely die trying, a single tear dropped from her right eye as she got up trembling and terribly bruised, she tried in vain to heal herself, like usual it didn't work.
"Impressive, came Ryuu's metallic voice, you took that punch and still alive? That's a nice feat, you really are a great warrior, you're making my strength seem irrelevant at this point, No doubt you would have been stronger had you not fought many opponents before reaching me, but it's over now, You los- Areia's punch connected with his lips a terrible crack and loud bang erupted, even Areia was sent back, Ryuu fell and grabbed hold of his dislocated jaw.
"You- Ryuu began but couldn't continue, Areia was on top of him her fist striking his head repeatedly, Creating a large earthquake, the cave rumbled and caved in, she lept out of the way as large boulders came falling, She listen, hard and long, she could feel getting slower by the second, Her fist collided collided with Ryuu's, It broke her arm, and knocked him off balance, She didn't stop, she used the momentum to strike, her left fist striking Ryuu by the neck, his massive build bent down, Areia kept on hammering away at his head.
"I'm not going to lose," she yelled, her punch growing weaker by the second, it'll it was nothing but a soft touch on Ryuu's hair, I-not-going to-, her voice trailed off, Dan! Give him back!, She knelt down, devoid of energy, and almost entirely out of life, tears streamed down her now lifeless eyes.
"Don't die on me, Ryuu's voice rang, his hand was over her head, she couldn't see him but felt him," I can't really heal you, but at least you wouldn't die, he smiled, Who ever your master is, he's one lucky guy. Take it from a fellow warrior, they're times when you should give up, he said softly sitting close to Areia with a flip, his head bleeding profusely. Congratulations, you passed. "Oh! She's asleep? Or she passed out, Ryuu smiled, rest well warrior.
Areia's head swayed as she rested, still on her knees, her hair came undone, flowing about her like while silk, her eyes closed, she dropped, Ryuu caught her, she definitely was asleep, he frowned.
"She's nothing but a child, just what is the king planning, I cannot truly fathom what real powerhouses think like, he sighed, he got up and took Areia in a princess carry, his spear floating beside him, he started moving, the cave repairing itself gradually as he went.