Wrath (IV)

All at once the guards moved towards Agnis. Agnis straightened her back and raised her arms outwards in a circle. She then closed her eyes and clasped her hands as if she was praying. Her right hand slid down her left arm and she pulled out five small silver daggers that were the size of her palm. Her eyes suddenly opened and she flicked her daggers towards the guards in quick succession. The majority of the daggers hit their mark, while one fell short of its intended target and bounced off the metal armor covering a guard.

Screams of pain were heard from the guards as they dropped to the floor with their hands on their heads. Zero nodded with appreciation on how quickly she had learned to handle the throwing knives that he had personally taught her. There were a couple of times when one of her poor throws had ended up with shaved fur.

"She needs a bit more practice, but she's getting pretty good at it," Zero commented as he munched through his food happily. A stray dagger skimmed over his head and cut off a few strands of hair. He gulped. Maybe a little more practice is needed, thought Zero.

The guards that were attacking her were careful enough not to get between each other's swings. Agnis ducked under multiple horizontal swings. She continuously side stepped out of harm's way and with every chance she got, she flicked a dagger at any guard who had exposed an opening. Her white hair glistened like falling snow as she moved.

In her dance with death every motion stirred the wind around her, moving her body fluidly in rhythm. Each swing, kick, and dodge pulled the air tightly, entwining it into a thin layer of wind that formed a barrier around her body. Each time the enemy swung their swords at Agnis, the wind barrier broke the momentum of the swing for a split second. This gave her the chance to dodge or attack.

Clang!

Sparks flashed in the meeting of swords and daggers. The force of the swinging sword pushed Agnis roughly into the crowds as she blocked the attack. People scattered from the wild swings of the guards.

"Oh!" gasped Zero as he leaned forward on his chair. His eyes glazed with excitement as he watched diligently. His paws gripped tightly to his chair. Roars of excitement could be heard. They screamed with anticipation, and even then their oohs and ahhs were still drowned out by the clashing sounds of swords.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Rolling out of harm's way from the heavy metallic boots, Agnis pushed herself up to her knees and did a tight forward roll. This gave her the momentum to get herself onto her feet quicker. Then just as quickly as she rolled, she did another diving roll towards a sword on the floor. With the sword in hand, she stood up, ending her roll with a stance. Both hands on the hilt, a flare of blazing blue flames shot up and engulfed the sword. She clashed her sword against the blades the guards held. Hot blue flames blazed upon contact. The molten blue fire vibrated and heated up as it cracked the opponent's blade. Her sword broke through almost every sword it touched.

"Get her, you fools!" Dion yelled as he stomped furiously on the ground.

"Sir, she's too strong!" cried out a guard as his sword clashed with Agnis's. The blazing blue flame seared his beard, causing beads of sweat to trickle down on his cheek.

When Agnis pushed him he reacted by pushing harder. The difference of strength made it impossible for Agnis to endure if the duel continued. With her already being engaged in a fight, she left her back wide open to the other oncoming attacks. The back of her hair stood up as she felt a tingle in the back of her neck. She felt bloodlust.

As the guard pushed stronger against her blade, Agnis lessened her hold. She lunged out of the way and put her foot out for him to trip over. The guard was unable to stop his momentum and stumbled forward. falling towards the ground. As he was falling Agnis put the hilt of her sword in front of him and struck him at the base of his skull in an upward angle. He fell past her. The force of the strike disconnected his spinal cord, killing him instantly.

"Go Agnis!" Zero cheered from afar. He even swished around his shish kabob like a sword. This was the best fighting show he had seen in a long time, and better yet he saw it firsthand. Each slash and near miss put him on edge. He gasped at the many close calls that Agnis miraculously survived. The crowds cheered and gasped with him.

Dion picked up a sword from one of the fallen guards. A jet of black fire engulfed the blade. It transformed into a long serrated blade in which one side looked like teeth from a great white shark. He rushed in towards her with black flames trailing behind him.

Each strike between Agnis and Dion set off a surge of powerful shockwaves that threw the crowds backwards. Nearby wooden stands, chairs, and tables were destroyed from the force of the duel. The collision of the two blades created a wild spark of electricity that licked the ground. Agnis's sword began to crack from the strong force of energy Dion was giving off. Large black flames intensified around his sword. The overwhelming power extinguished Agnis's fire.

Her sword shattered into a thousand pieces. In that instant, she saw death driving towards her with steel and flames. In one strike, Dion rushed forward, stabbed into her shoulder, and flung her towards the wall of a nearby building.

Ruby red blood dripped through her blue dress. She screamed in agony and tried to stop it from digging deeper into her shoulder.

"Is that all you got?" Dion smiled wickedly. Blood dripped down the sword's blood groove. Dion caught the drip of blood with his tongue and swallowed. Sharp glistening fangs emerged from his teeth as he slowly inched towards her throat.

"Vampire?" Agnis shouted in surprise. Vampires were a dark race that was heard of only in legends. Their immortal life and their ability to heal made them almost impossible to kill when they drank blood. Even the sun did not harm them much. As she struggled to pull the sword out of her shoulder, the black flames emulated erratically from the blade and left large red welts on her hands.

"Damn. She's in trouble. I was hoping I could finish eating this before I had to jump in," he whined as he cast his shish kabob to the side. "Such good food wasted."

Jumping from Dion's blind spot, Zero dashed in. He spat a broken piece of flint into Dion's right eye. Dion roared in pain and pulled back. His hand let go of his sword and reached to cover his injured eye. The black flame that had covered the sword disappeared from its serrated blade.

the floor.

"Nice." Her teeth sparkled as she grinned.

"This is nothing." Zero smirked as he looked at him deviously.

Out of nowhere a heavy iron net was cast onto them, pulling them down. The more they struggled, the more they were entangled.

"What? Where did this come from?" Zero struggled through the heavy net, while Agnis tried to hack the net with her blade.

Dion smugly walked towards them. He leered down upon the two, and with a savage kick, he struck at Zero's stomach.

"Ompf."

Zero transformed back into his human form. His time in his Origin form was up.

"Oh? It's a human? You will fetch a nice price," said Dion as he clucked his tongue and ordered the guards to cuff him. He turned back towards to Agnis, standing mere inches away from her face. She could smell his foul breath.

Agnis's mask broke in half and fell onto the ground. Her snow white hair tumbled down upon her face.

Agnis looked frantically into the watching crowd. Her gaze connected with a familiar set of eyes. She remembered those eyes. Zeraph, she thought.

Zeraph quickly turned to the cut eye contact.

Oh no you don't, thought Agnis as she inhaled sharply.

"Zeraph! Help!" she yelled as loud as she could.

He froze. It was not a request, but a command.