[44] Heart vs Killer, Part 1

Some time back:

In her grasp was an unconscious body, and she ran because she did not want to kill. Dainty and small, the girl carried a figure twice larger than her own, moving her legs at a pace faster than a galloping horse.

"You're really persistent."

The ground ripped apart with a blade of light, but she dived, escaping only a slice that tore at her leg, spilling blood upon the broken cobblestone. She gritted her teeth, disregarded her blood and stared down at the unconscious male in her arms. Multicolored eyes softened, and she found power in her legs.

Once before, she watched him break. Now, again, she did not want the same fate.

'I can't fail here,' She glared ahead. It wasn't just her life at stake. 'Not here.'

The darkness of midnight did not block her view. In seconds, the ground rumbled as gold shined upon the girl. She leaped from a bleeding leg, spun within the air, and kicked.

The iron gates of the manor shot back from its hinges, smacking against the ground yards away, and she landed, a small yelp of pain escaped her lips, but she landed soft, afraid for his sake.

A blade of light bore down from behind and the girl had enough focus to dodge and begin her run anew.

Why, she asked herself, why must they kill each other? Were heroes not supposed to save others in plight? Were they not supposed to stand together and rid the world of its evils? Or was she the one mistaken? Somewhere along the lines, had she become disillusioned?

Her eyes widened as a gigantic weapon of light fell from the heavens, impaling the ground before her, rumbling the earth, and tearing the street and its houses apart until she was blocked. Stone and wood flew, and the sword glowed, sucking the darkness of the night and illuminating the space beyond the silver glow of the moon.

She ripped her sight away and turned to the footsteps behind her, deep breaths filling her lungs as she forcefully pitted her weight on one leg,

The male walked leisurely towards her, step by step across the cobblestone street, his long, blue hair catching the night's wind. His features were soft, as delicate as a doll, and his golden eyes remained placidly trailed on her as he approached, a shining sword of light held in his right hand.

"Why won't you give him up and let me kill him?" He asked, stopping, "A death for him, a grace for you. Don't you see the simplicity in that action?"

Aura Fiora glared at him.

"Because I'm the Hero of Heart," She answered, teeth gritted, holding the bleeding figure of Fieth Tross in her arms.

His brother, however, scoffed lightly and slashed.

"Your name matters not. I'm the Hero of Light, yet I kill just the same."

His sword blurred as slices of condensed mana shot forward into a rain of bladelights streaking across the street.

As the torrent of light came, Aura Fiora decided to fight. For if she didn't, she would certainly die. Her death was but a passing thought, but she could not allow the person in her arms to perish.

"I'm sorry," She whispered as her mana of gold flowed from the earth, through her veins, and bathed her in its glimmer.

Fieth Tross wouldn't want her to give her life to protect him. He wouldn't want her to face his brother head on. Yet, the ground rumbled for she would fight for his sake.

Holding Fieth tighter, she placed a foot back, and she punched. Her fist shattered the air, the wind whistled like breaking glass, and the torrent of bladelights broke apart as the ground rumbled beneath her.

Aura took in a breath as she retracted her fist.

The person before her was unmoving.

"To protect that brother of mine to this extent. . ." He said. He truly couldn't understand her.

She gritted her teeth. "Why do you want to kill him so badly? What has Fieth ever done to you?"

"I told him to never return, or I would kill him," Lain replied, matter-of-factly, his blade glowing gold with his mana as he stared passively at her.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Aura shouted, "You're brothers!"

They had gotten into this mess in the first place because, no sooner did she and Fieth enter Lain Tross's manor, did the Hero Killer summon a blade of gold and slashed, cutting into the flesh of his own younger brother. Aura hadn't expected it. Of course, Fieth had mentioned several times on their journey here that his brother would surely kill him, but she hadn't understood. She had wanted them to make up with one another. She had wanted to push him to overcome the burdens of his past, like he once pushed her.

"My brother is foolish, I'm sure you are aware." Lain shrugged. "If I hadn't chased him away with terror, I saw that he would eventually ruin this city in his striving for power. Do you think he wishes to be a Hero so badly because he is heroic? Do you think he wishes to be ruler of this city because he thought himself capable for the role? Or do you think he wishes for those things because he seeks power and fame?"

At that, Aura couldn't counter. After all, Lain was right. Though Fieth had moments when he could be heroic, his chase for power and fame were anything but. He was someone who almost died fighting a Goblin King, an opponent that eclipsed him. As much as she respected him, adored him, and loved him, Aura knew Fieth was someone who chased after things that would kill him one day, or lend himself and those around him in deep trouble.

Lain Tross was right.

But she didn't care.

Right now, Fieth was unconscious in her arms, and her sole thought was protecting him. As he had once protected her.

Mana flooded her once more.

"You don't kill someone for that!"

Her feet kicked off the ground, the cobblestone shattering as she exploded towards the man.

"As much as I admire your actions, you are foolish."

His words fell, and he slashed once more, his blade of golden light cutting horizontally through the air.

There was a brilliant spark of gold as her fist met a flash of a bladelight, the Art slammed into her, propelling her off of her feet, ripping her white suit and sending her flying through the air. She flipped, her feet digging into cobblestone, skidding until she stopped herself.

She took in a breath, steadying her heart. Her hand was bleeding, glove ripped off, drops of red staining her caramel skin.

"I see," Lain said as he walked closer to her, "Your mana increases based on the sum of the mana of all the individuals and creatures within 500 meters of yourself. Then, you utilize that mana to increase your physical properties. In essence, the more individuals you have to fight or protect, and the more powerful they are, the higher your raw strength becomes? That's rather simplistic, yet interesting."

She widened her eyes.

"Ho-how?"

"I can see the flow of mana, whether that be in the environment, or within an individual."

He paused his steps.

"Though, even now, you still refuse to fight me at your best."

Aura gritted her teeth, looking behind her at the golden sword, and then at her surroundings. She could try and escape once more, but Lain Tross did not seem ready to allow her leave. He wanted his brother dead.

"Let us make a deal, miss Fiora," He said.

She frowned. "What is it?"

"Fight me seriously, and I will not try and harm that brother of mine until our battle is decided," He stated, "If you win, I shall allow you both to leave. If you lose, I shall kill you both."

Aura Fiora stared at the man who looked like a doll and yet had such a notorious name as 'Hero Killer'. If she fought him, serious or not, there was a good chance she would die.

". . .the city will become ruins," Aura said. She rather took the chance of running away than fighting the man seriously. She didn't want half of a city to become rubble. Ever since the beast stampede of Cron, she was aware of how much destruction she could cause with her power unrestricted.

"I already evacuated this area of the city," Lain plainly replied, "And you, sadly, do not have a choice in the matter."

Aura bit her lips as she stared at the unconscious body in her arms, then back at the placid face of the hero meters before her. 'No choice?' She crudely thought, wondering at the memories that brought her here. Clearly, the Hero of Light had planned this encounter from the very beginning.

She closed her eyes and took a breath as she placed Fieth down. Deciding she would finish this quickly.

"Alright," She muttered.

Part of her was scared to fight someone so notorious. But, in the end, she didn't want to return to her old ways and cower into herself. Strength without courage was meaningless, especially in the face of protecting that which she loved.

Aura felt and heard her heartbeat resound, slow and steady, like a drum. Her eyes glowed gold as her hair flapped, the mere pressure of her mana whipping the air around her, cracking the ground which she stood upon. She sucked in a breath and gingerly brought her fists together as if in a show of respect.

"I'll fight you with my all."

She took a step and vanished.

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