Chapter Eleven A Higher Power

"Magic, do you possess it too?" The enigmatic man inquired, leaving Keith utterly startled by his unexpected presence. His jaw dropped in disbelief.

"No, wait, no," Keith stammered, struggling to find the right words. "I can explain," he hurriedly reassured them.

As Roy and Keith distanced themselves from the strangers, a mysterious voice whispered in Keith's ear, commanding, "Take me to the girl. Slowly, sneak around them." It was his sword, guiding his actions. Step by step, Keith sidestepped with stealth and caution, inching closer to the girl while the men began to argue.

"You had magic all this time, and you wanted us to kill all those people?" one of them demanded.

"Now it all makes sense. You found the magic users with your own magic," another deduced.

"That's right, you told us all magic has a connection, so it's only right you had a connection with the other magic users," the third added.

But now, Roy was standing with Mary and Eva, and more fairies were joining them. "Here, take my sword; it can help you, just as it aided me," Roy offered, extending the sword towards her. She hesitated, her trust shattered in this moment of chaos. "Please, I'm Roy, and I came here to save you under orders from this sword. I don't know what it is, but it wants to help you," he pleaded.

"It's the Sword of Kollam; it will help you. I know it in my heart," Eva reassured her. Mary finally reached for the hilt, and the sword infused her with newfound strength and power.

With a sudden burst of courage, she leaped to her feet, her fear transformed into fury. "HOW DARE YOU!" she bellowed.

The four men who had been arguing stopped and turned their gaze upon her. At first, they were unsure of how to react, but Keith stepped forward, urging them, "These kids have magic; let's deal with them first, and then you can deal with me." A mysterious force seemed to compel them.

They still desired to harm Keith, but now they felt an irresistible urge to eliminate the two children and the fairies before them. "He's using his magic on us!" one of them realized.

"He is. We have to fight it," another declared, attempting to break free of the invisible hold upon them. Meanwhile, the fairies gathered around Mary as the sword whispered in her ear. Filled with trepidation, Roy joined them, ready to fight.

"Break the connection," the sword instructed Mary, who then watched as a single fairy sped away as fast as her tiny wings could carry her.

A fierce battle erupted, with Mary showing no mercy, relentlessly attacking the men. She swung her sword with fury, wounding one of them and then slashing at another. Her rage consumed her, drowning out the sword's guidance as she thirsted for revenge.

Sword in hand, Mary continued her assault, aiming to maim and kill, oblivious to the fact that she needed to break the connection to free the men from Keith's control.

The sword, recognizing the urgency of the situation, began to whisper to Eva, who was trying to assist Mary in reaching Keith. "I need to get to Roy; he needs me more than Mary does. Convince her to give me back. She won't listen to me. Look at him," it pleaded.

Eva glanced across the battlefield to see Roy, barely able to defend himself from a much older adversary. "Help him!" she commanded her fairies, and they rushed to his aid, while she herself flew down to Mary's ear.

Whispering urgently, Eva broke through the anger that had shielded Mary from the harsh reality. Mary's fear did not return, and she regained her composure.

"Roy, catch!" she called out and tossed the sword to him. Roy caught it by the hilt, feeling its power surge through him. He knew what he needed to do.

With a swift leap, he positioned himself behind the last standing man, bringing the sword down with force between him and Keith. The connection was severed. The man, now furious, turned his wrath toward Keith.

Roy swiftly turned his attention to another man, delivering a powerful blow with his sword. As Keith approached, Roy believed he could subdue him, but the freed man retaliated against Keith.

Realizing he had to act faster, Roy advanced on the final opponent. However, in that moment, the sword was abruptly slammed to the ground, and he, along with the others, found themselves frozen in an upright position.

"What... is happening here?" a mysterious voice echoed through the battlefield, leaving everyone bewildered and anxious.