Chapter 14
The blast came suddenly, throwing her to the ground. Without the protection of the palace, Emerria was left totally unprepared for Clef's barrage of attacks. But she had been conditioned against this kind of surprise attack and Emerria knew Clef's attacks well enough by now to be able to counter. Raising her hands, she called upon the power of the earth to strike against him.
"SILENT SHAKING!" Her words were barely heard over the din of her attack. As her hand struck the ground, a force of green light shot at Clef and hit him square in the chest. Clef was thrown backwards in the air but he was not shaken.
"You are mistaken if you think your puny power can affect me," Clef said in a voice that seemed strange and foriegn. He gathered a ball of lightning in his hands and he released it towards her, but she was ready for it. A sheild had been erected around her so that as the attack hit, it diffused around her and dissapated harmlessly.
The attacks had given the magicians and warriors of Cephiro a chance to gather their wits and their weapons. As the master and the student battled each other, Ascot began drawing his magic circle. A roar came up from it and a protection circle surrounded the group. Behind the circle, familiar figures stood battle ready.
Hikaru took stock as quickly as she could. Emerria stood in a defensive stance, her face singed and a gash running down her arm from where she hit the ground. Her jaw was set and her eyes burned against her teacher.
Clef floated in the air with an air of offence. Lightning crackled in his hands and the power surrounding him whipped his dark cloaks around, and it gave the illusion of a dark ominous storm rolling in. Not to be intimidated, Hikaru stepped up to the fight.
"RED LIGHTNING!" Her attack seared through the air and hit Clef unaware. He was thrown out of the air and landed in a smoking heap against a tree.
"Yatta!" Hikaru screamed as she threw her fist up in the air.
"Hikaru! Watch Out!" yelled Emerria as she threw a second attack at Clef. Her attack intercepted with Clef's and created a giant blast and shockwave that ran through the forest and palace shaking the entire area.
As the dust cleared, the palace dwellers let out a barrage of attacks. Umi pulled out her Water Dragon and Fuu came out with her Green Gale. As each of them hit, Clef stood in his shield and waited.
"You impress me with your stubborness, but it is futile." Clef paused as Hikaru's next attack was defended. "I only bring you a quick death so that the pain of seeing the world obliterated would not hurt you as much." His words seemed to crush some of the weaker fighters who had not yet joined the fray.
"NEVER!" Emerria screamed. She would not let anyone harm her creator. Bringing her hands together, she created a swirling green ball of energy and let it grow till it was too powerful. Releasing it at Clef, the blast hit his shield, and for the first time, his shield cracked. Clef was pushed back from the group into the tree again and his body hit with a force that was sure to have broken a rib. Staggering, Clef still stood and even as a cut appeared on his flawless face and blood ran down his cheek, he began to call out another attack.
"DARK LIGHTNING!" Clef screamed, and this time, his lightning had no restraint. The darkness came in shocking bolts and circled around Emerria and begand to shock her. She screamed in torment as the darkness inflicted pain on her.
"WHY!?" screamed Umi suddenly. Seeing Clef's face in such demented rage seemed to bring out a part of her that knew she would have never been up to this task. Fighting the one she loved as he struggled with the darkness, she could not have withstood the pain. "Why do you give in to the darkness?"
Clef looked up suddenly. The little voice had spoken again. "The blue haired girl has a point." it said. Again, his mind tried to slam it into the deep dungeons of the recesses of his mind, but this time, the little voice had prepared well. It stood its ground, and outwardly, Clef began to clench his jaw and hold his head as if feeling intense pain.
While the thought distracted him, Emerria lay on the ground. The attack Clef had unleashed had been stronger than anything he had made her face before and she was actually hurt this time. She attempted to stand up, but her body protested and she fell over on to her side. 'I think my ankle is sprained, I know my muscles are still flaccid from the aftershocks, and I feel like I have bruises all over my chest.' she thought. Again she tried to stand up, and this time she partially succeded. Balancing against her hand, she kneeled and pushed herself up. Wobbling, she managed to stand and face her teacher.
On to Chapter 15
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