Sparks of a Flame (4)

Embers burst out of the burning building as the beams finally gave up, and the ceiling collapsed with a loud, deafening crash.

"Now – who are you, and why did you set the building on fire?" Aether's raised voice sounded over the roar of the fire and the creaking and crashing structure behind him.

"Kill him and go after the girl!" One of the men shouted. Aether's eyes narrowed. Had they mistaken Mara for Iris, or did this have nothing to do with the Yotsuras? He pushed such thoughts aside – he would get his answers soon enough anyways.

His gaze leapt from one man to the next. There were five of them. He grinned. Easy.

Unlike what they surely expected, he was the first to move. He dashed to the closest man, leapt up and kicked his chest. As the man raised his arms to protect his face, Aether pushed himself back with the force of his kick and with a not so graceful flip, landed on his feet. He reached down and grabbed a handful of ashes and ember, then threw it in the air.

"Spirits of wind, aid me! I shall repay thee in blood!" He whispered, as the ashes and embers seemed to linger in the air.

A wind, powerful and unexpected, blew from the fiery building, sending the embers and ashes right into the five men's eyes. As they covered their eyes in an attempt to protect them, Aether dashed to the closest one and grabbed his collar. He punched the man's throat, and as he folded and gasped for air, kicked him towards the burning building.

His scream was almost muffled by the suddenly roaring flames. Aether dashed towards the next closest person, but as he reached for his collar, the man caught his wrist instead.

"Who do you think you are, little guy?" He asked, a spark of hatred in his eyes. "I will make you pay for killing our comrade!"

"Protect thy servant!" Aether spoke under his breath as the man pulled a knife. He kicked the man's knee and freed his arm as embers floated around him. The man swung the knife in Aether's general direction. His untrained swing didn't connect as the young man leapt back and put some distance between the two of them.

He pointed at the man with his finger. For a moment, nothing happened. The remaining four men started laughing. "What? Out of mana already?" The knife wielding man asked as he stepped towards Aether. "Can't cast any spells anymore?" His lips curled up with a disgustingly ugly smile.

"Hardly." Aether responded as the embers floating around him burst into flames. They took the form of small butterflies. There were too many of them to count. Aether didn't need to order them to do anything – he doubted they would even listen to him anyways.

The butterflies flooded around the man. He swung his knife, trying to cut them, but these were beings made of flame. Spirits that didn't wholly live in this world. Something as ordinary as a steel knife couldn't hope to harm them.

The man's grunts of effort soon turned to panic. He shouted as his dirty beard caught on fire. His screams of pain echoed as the smell of burnt hair and skin filled the air. Aether took a step back as the wailing man soon fell to the ground.

"What the hell are you?" One of the remaining three asked. Aether shrugged, a wicked grin appeared on his lips. His cold gaze lingered on the dying man, not a hint of emotion on his face. "Who are you?" Another one asked.

Aether's reply was to dash forward and punch the man's chin in. The man let out a pained groan. He shook his head and raised his arms to protect himself from Aether's next punch. The young man completely ignored him. Another person was approaching him from behind, so he turned around and kicked his kneecaps.

The third guy opted to stay away from Aether. "Wind blade!" He shouted as he made a throwing motion with his empty hand.

Aether's eyes narrowed. His iris' shone silver as his vision changed. When he spotted the spell, his eyes widened. He threw himself on the ground just in time for the chakram shaped wind spell to pass over his head.

"Now!" The man shouted. He felt something hit his back, but he ignored the pain and rolled to the side. As he scrambled to get up, one of the two men standing over him kicked him in the stomach. Aether drew a sharp breath, swallowed the pain, and swept his leg to tackle the man.

As the man fell on the ground with a thud, the young man finally got back up. His eyes burning with anger, he ran towards the spellcaster.

"Divine Grace!" A voice filled with immense power echoed from the distance. A cage of light appeared around Aether, and each of the remaining three men. The young man gritted his teeth as he searched around for the owner of that voice, and this spell. Who was it that even he hadn't felt the spell form, or seen the mana flow around him?

It took him a split second to find the owner of that voice.

A figure was floating high up in the air. Two angelic wings were stretched out wide behind her. She slowly descended, like an angel from heaven. When her feet touched the ground, the golden aura around her vanished and her features finally became visible.

She was stunning. Almost as stunning as Madam Yotsura, in fact. Her platinum white hair freely blowed with the wind. Her eyes, golden, focused on the scene before her. Her pale, yet pretty lips formed a thin line as she folded her arms.

"Lady Luna," Professor Cross' called the woman as she made her way over from the main building. Somewhat out of breath, she stopped when she reached the tall woman. "What happened?" She asked, her eyes darting between Aether, the body on the ground and the three remaining men.

"Looks like these… thugs attacked one of the students." The woman's voice echoed with magic despite her not speaking loudly. She stepped closer to Aether, stopping right before him. If it weren't for the cage of light, she could easily touch him.

"You are harmed," She said, her gaze fell on the scratches and bruises on his arm. "None are allowed to harm our young."

Her mana flashed.

Aether flinched as he heard the dying screams of the three men. Then, somethings wet and heavy fell to the ground.

Her voice was but a whisper as she didn't even look at the three men she just killed.

"Such is our creed."