Chapter 36: Juha's Resolve

Two opponents are locked in a battle that could very well be defined as otherworldly. Both of them are at the sky exchanging blows and attacks. Seeing them from afar, every spectator would be awed by the sheer destruction and the unlikely beautiful spectacle. One could see a bright white beam being shot at a certain direction. A purple fire emerged in turn as it was launched the same way the latter did. Following the continues clashes, shockwaves can be felt, loud sounds of their respective attacks whenever it collided will echo. The bright blue sky will be accompanied by the colors of purple and white. Both shone through out the horizon.

Two figures can be seen descending towards a singular building. The one on the left touched the roof first before being followed by the second. The form of Serbara and Juha is undoubtedly tainted by the duration of their battle. Juha's once elegant dress that would mistake her of a goddess royalty are littered with numerous tears and burns. Her pointed hat are long gone, now her black hair flowing in the wind are visible for all. Her mask that gave her the imfamous moniker has visible cracks on the right side of her face.

In front of her, Serbara was not so fortunate in escaping the same courtesy. Her clothes had numerous torns minus the burns. Her mask have been discarded in the midst of fighting as it took quite a considerable damage. With her mask gone, her unnatural beauty is exposed to the world. Being a high level sentient prevented her from having visible rots on her body. She looks like that a normal woman. The only thing that identified her as an undead is her extreme pale skin and her crimson red eyes.

"You dared to stand against our lord once again. You were once considered to be his most trusted ally but now, you are no more than a traitor." Serbara stated with clear disdain.

"I had to, Serbara. I was the one who fostered him and guide him the path to power", Juha replied. Her tone gave Serbara the realization that she is slightly reminiscing.

"How dare you!? You have no right to think of him after you dared to question him!"

With a yell, Juha rushed onward with her blades coated and blazing purple fire. Juha made a barrier of ice. The temperature is too low that it produced a considerable amount of mists. The blazing purple swords collided to the barrier. Moments later, a loud sound came upon impact.

"Our lord had a vision. A grand way for us to finally end those pesky hannis and achieve paradise. But you dared to not only question him but even dared to went against him. He should have killed you years ago. I have always been right about you. You are nothing but a parasitic whore!"

"Don't make of what transpired ages ago to fill your filthy delusions. I know you, Serbara. I knew how you look towards him. How you act around him. It's no secret that you held something towards him. Feelings that a mere general should not have towards her lord. If anything, you are the only whore among our ranks."

"You, shut up!" She increased the power of her flames and it soon gave her the strength to fully destroy Juha's barrier. Sensing her oppurtunity, she quickly acted and delivered two horizontal slashes at Juha. Juha was barely able to take enough step backwards to avoid having her body sliced to pieces. However, the blades are still able to reach her and managed to hit her torso. Undead blood came out of her wounds as she grunted in pain. Serbara didn't let her recover as she immediately hit her with a spinning kick right at the side of her face. The force was strong enough to sent Juha to the nearby building. Her body pierced through the hard wall and rolled through multiple machines before stopping at the center of the room.

Without even a moment of rest, Serbara burst through the ceiling and landed on top of Juha. Two swords pierced Juha's shoulders, making her unable to get away from the incoming punches from Serbara.

Serbara's punches echoed throughout the room. The unpleasant noise of fist hitting Juha's face can be felt from afar.

Serbara had a mad glint in her eyes as she continued to punch Juha right in her face. Juha's mask had more cracks all over and a few noticeable blood are coming out of each cracks.

"Who's the whore now, huh?!"

A right fist hit Juha with such force that it buried her head to the floor.

"Tell me who's the whore now?!"

Two hammerfists descended to Juha's face, further burying her to the floor.

"The moment I joined our lord, I gave him my undying loyalty. Every order he gave, I fulfilled it with elation. I am the only one that is truly loyal to him. Some of the members only joined his mighty nest to fulfill their selfish desires. When one of them dared to betray our lord, I am their executioner. No one can escape my judgement. But then there's you. The right hand. The moment I saw you, I knew that you will only bring trouble to him. Your countless disobedience spoke volumes of your character but still our lord showed you mercy."

Serbara stopped her relentless assault then tightly held Juha's bloodied mask with her right hand.

"I truly hated you. You were given the privilege of being with him. To be a right hand of the lord. I also knew the fact that you want to be one with him. To feel him in a way the hannis do. To do something that's was always been impossible to the undead. Child-bearing."

Serbara felt Juha's pitiful form slightly tense. This reaction gave her a small dose of satisfaction.

"You did it. I know both of you did it. But a few moments later, you walk out of that room. Your shoulders are shaking. From what I observed, something must have happened. Whatever it was, it drove the two of you apart. Day by day, night by night, I can sense the hostility slowly growing between the two of you. You have no idea the happiness I felt when I noticed that. But despite all that, he still tolerated you. That's until you did what did that day."

Serbara let out a laugh as she remembered the memory.

"You betrayed him…and in doing so made you feel his wrath. You barely escaped with your life on that time. That day was the best moment of my life. With you out of the picture, your seat is ripe for the taking. However, he didn't take new ones. The right hand is still empty till this day. Despite your betrayal, he still longs for you."

Tears slowly came out of her eyes. Those same eyes harbor a massive amount of hatred towards her opponent.

"Why? Why is it you? You are nothing but a traitor! Why does he place you in high regard despite your betrayal?! It should have been me! Do you hear me, Juha! It should have been me!"

The noise from outside averted Serbara's gaze from Juha towards the slowly incoming drones. Juha immediately made her move when she noticed that Serbara lowered her guard. She hit her with a vicious kick at her abdomen that sent her a few considerable distance. Juha grabbed the two swords from her shoulders and ripped it out of her. She slowly stood, her legs shaking a bit from lack of strength and her shoulders bleeding profusely. Never letting a rare oppurtunity get away from here, she immediately incase Serbara in ice. Her body is fully immobile from the thickness of the ice. Her head is the only thing that's fortunate enough to escape the same fate.

Juha slowly approach Serbara's immobile form.

"You know nothing about me."

Each step seems to echo through the room as her bruised figure walk like the ones that befit the name of their species.

"You don't know anything about him, about what happened that night, and my reason for doing what I did. The Sentient Lord is nothing but a genocidal maniac. To condemn the entire planet just because of the few hannis is borderline nonsensical. If he succeeds, it could spell doom even for us. But you don't care, do you? You will still blindly follow him like a dog you are."

Serbara gritted her teeth from hearing Juha's insult.

"All you ever think about is spreading your rotten legs to him. You don't care if the world will burn because of him as all you've ever wanted is to get him to notice you…"

Juha started gathering ice particles on her left hand and aimed it at Serbara's face.

"I almost felt pity for you. You had no anchor to live your life as you see fit. The only thing that gave you strength is a dream of one day, the Sentient Lord will take you as his mate. You are narrow minded and delusional."

Sensing her inevitable doom, Serbara glared at Juha one last time as an act of defiance.

"You will never succeed, Juha. That pitiful king that you're grooming is nothing but a waste. The Sentient Lord will make short work of him."

"No he will not. King Jerome will rise to the mountain peak. The Sentient Lord will die by his hands…and you will not live long enough to see it."

On that moment, Serbara knew no more.