Fly High, Eli!

Briefly she moved her view to Sylvia, contemplation flashing in her eyes before she eventually raised her hand and flicked out her index finger.

A barely visible blade of wind shot out and cleanly cut through the pieces of earth keeping her pinned down.

Sylvia felt the roots that bound her snap before falling off. Her strength was still drained but she managed to struggle and prop herself against a tree.

Eli could only watch his prey be freed as he remained on the ground. He tried not to show any more outward displeasure, but in his mind he thought of the many ways to get revenge in the future.

"Eli." 

The one word made him shiver but he raised his head and locked eyes with her.

He could see the colors in her eyes swirl together as she stared at him. 

"Listen! I'm sorry for Sylvia but I must've been drugged or something because I'd never actually do this!" Eli quickly spoke his defense while resuming the crying.

"When we get back to the kingdom let's work together to find the true culprit!" He continued. 

"No!!" A loud yell came from Sylvia, causing the two to look at her again.

"I don't care about that…what did you do to Eden?!" Eli's eyebrow twitched and he silently reprimanded himself for confessing to her.

"I…uh….it was an accident..? Yeah! It was an accident!" 

The girls just stared at him as he rambled on and on. Eventually he gave up and changed his attitude.

"Alycia! I'm being wrongly accused by her! There's no real evidence! Please, let me prove my innocence in front of everyone!" 

Eli protested while inwardly knowing Eric would be able to convince the King. There wasn't any physical evidence on him anyway, just her word vs his.

Sylvia realized this and bit her lip, thinking about what to do.

"I don't care." Alycia spoke for the second time, confusing the two.

"Whether or not you were drugged or if there's any evidence; I simply don't care." Before they could process her words she continued.

"You were there, were you not? When Eden died? Even if you didn't kill him yourself, you played a part in it." Eli's body felt cold again as he looked down and saw his left leg begin freezing.

"H-hey! What are you going to do?!" He screamed.

"I will not forgive anyone who hurt him." A smile formed on her face as the ice sped up, completely freezing his legs. 

Seeing it stopped gave Eli a little hope, but that was quickly stripped away as he felt something stabbing him.

*pssshck* 

Inside of the ice casting there were multiple sharp spikes protruding. With no where else to go they began pressing into his leg. 

His flesh did not provide defense and was easily penetrated by the ice. 

The pain was immense, and even though the ice was freezing cold, there was a burning sensation taking over.

"AAAGH!!! STOP PLEASE!" His screams were loud but it was no use. He chose this location specifically so screams wouldn't be heard.

Alycia laughed at the irony as it reminded her of the past.

Eli tried to use his ability to fight back but she held a much higher control over the earth element than he did. 

It's only been a few minutes but by this point both of his legs were riddled with spikes and completely destroyed.

Sylvia could only watch in horror at the sight. She held no sympathy for Eli, but was instead scared of Alycia. She always saw her as a nice quiet girl, but her face now was completely different.

"Wwwwait! Wait!! Eric was the culprit! Mike and Kei as well!!! They had the biggest part in all of this! Please, let me join you!!! I can help you get them alone!!!" Tears streamed down Eli's face as he begged, only this time they were real.

Eli was desperate now. He didn't want to die, not before he's even slept with a woman! 

He killed Eden so he could have some spotlight on him, but now he's going to die in some random forest with nobody around!

"Don't worry, they're next. For now I just want to enjoy this moment, okay?" The smile on Alycia's face grew as Eli's fright followed. 

For the first time he's truly felt what it's like to be someone prey. 

~

*gurrggrsh* 

"P…please….*

*sshRCK*

"B-bitch!" 

*pisssssss*

As Eli laid there in the puddle of his own blood and bile, another liquid of his joined the pile.

The yellow pungent stream created a nice pool that Eli bathed in.

"Gross…" Sylvia spoke, now having regained her strength as she stood a little ways away.

Eli didn't—or, rather—couldn't feel embarrassed. He could do nothing. He so desperately wanted to die but couldn't. Even though Alycia stopped his bleeding with her ice and fire, he should've died by now.

He didn't notice it, but there was a faint pink mist rising from his body. That was the culprit behind his continued suffering.

Alycia wanted to inflict as much pain as she could onto Eli, but she wasn't an expert. Her fun would've ended if it wasn't for the help.

While Sylvia couldn't do it herself, she wasn't against doing at least this much.

*crackle* *crrack* 

Alycia played with electricity in her palm before dropping it in the puddle.

And the results—

"…what are you doing?!"

*zzzzZZZCH*

"nnnNNOOO—!"

"Ew!!" Sylvia complained as the electricity increased the bad smell as well.

Alycia was getting bored now. The only reason she spent this much time on Eli was to completely get over her aversion to killing people. 

Though It was also her first time doing anything like this and she had a lot of anger to vent.

Seeing the shift in her demeanor scared Eli as he knew it meant his time in this world was officially over. 

Sure, no more torture, but he feared death more than anything.

Before he could plead again, he saw Alycia raised her hand before flipping it over.

The ground beneath him felt like it shook a little before it began swallowing him whole.

He couldn't move, barely even had the energy to scream. Could only sit there and panic in his mind as he felt his vision darken while sinking into the ground.

Looking up, the last thing he saw was Alycia's smiling face as her eyes seemed to glow. 

*dddrooom*

The dirt shifted and locked him in the earth, never to be seen or heard again.

Pink mist no longer surrounded his body, leaving his fate up to time.

Eli was still alive as he remained locked in the earth, but it wouldn't be that way for long.

Alycia waited until he was completely dead before she would leave. 

As she stood there she felt Sylvia move closer to her before speaking.

"Thank you." Hearing her, Alycia just shrugged before responding.

"Don't. I was only waiting for an opportunity where he'd be alone like this, you just so happened to be his victim." 

Sylvia shook her head and corrected her.

"No, I mean for avenging Eden. Though I'm curious about your relationship, I knew there was more to him than he showed. Anyway, thank you." 

Hearing those words caused Alycia's opinion of the girl to rise.

"And if I were to say we were together? Will you apologize for trying to steal him away all the time?" Though they weren't, there was still dissatisfaction.

"Haah?! You wish! I respect you, but even if he were still here I wouldn't stop!" Sylvia put her hands on her hips and her mischievous smile returned.

"Hahaha! Thats good then." Alycia could only laugh. She didn't dislike the girl as much as she thought she would. 

Seeing that Eli's life force completely faded, she turned and began walking off.

"There will be chaos over the next few days as they search for him, so be careful." Alycia mentioned.

"Ah! Wait up!" 

Hearing Sylvia's call caused her to pause again.

"Um…I think I know who we can go for next. The thing is, Kei has been bothering me a lot recently, so you know…" Alycia was surprised by this statement.

"We?" 

She quickly received a response.

"I mean..I don't think I could kill anyone, but I could help? No, I will help! I will get my own revenge!" 

Hearing the determination in her voice made it hard to refuse. 

"Well—"

*rrrrrIIINNG* 

Before Alycia could reply, an alarm suddenly went off.

This startled the two of them, thinking they were caught already.

They looked at each other before nodding and sprinting towards the school to see what's happening.

…

"Everyone, calm down! His Majesty the King will speak to you all shortly!" 

As they arrived they saw Languid standing above a bunch of guards and students, shouting.

They blended into the crowd and waited for the news.

A few minutes later the King stepped onto the podium as Languid bowed and moved back.

It immediately went quiet before the King spoke.

"Thank you for your patience. As some of you may already know, the training dungeon had been shut down for a few weeks due to an unexpected tragedy."

This sentence caught the attention of the students even more.

"Well, about an hour ago we have been receiving reports about a pillar of light coming from the dungeon." 

"We have since been unable to enter it ourselves. Even Languid could not withstand the pressure deeper within."

"For now, all guards are requested for standby. Students, you will remain inside the castle walls where it is safe. We do not know how this will unfold, but caution is required. That is all, thank you." The King concluded before walking off.

Languid rounded up the students in the crowd and led them inside. 

But once they did a head count, they realized they were missing one.

"Where's the earth kid?" Languid asked Eric, the team leader.

"He wasn't feeling well today apparently. He might've gone back to his room early." Hearing his answer Languid shrugged and paid it no mind.

Nobody was worried, there wasn't any danger this close to the kingdom.

"You will remain inside the castle until given an all clear. Other than that you are free to do as you please while here." Languid instructed and took his leave.

Scanning the room one could see Kei and Mike lying on a table, the stench of alcohol wafting from them.

Eric on the other hand sat in a chair with his legs crossed. He tapped his finger on the table impatiently while throwing glances at Alycia.

Other students ran off to different sections of the castle to hang out and pass the time in their own ways.

But at the entrance of the dungeon, the bright light grew stronger as an abundance of energy overflowed from within.