A terrible face-off

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.

Damion sighed as he stared at his hands covered with blood. This isn't what he was supposed to do, yet why did he feel this vexation? Stepping out of the premises, he caught the whiff of a strong power, a rare one whose source was known to him.

He turned only to witness Zelda, who stood with fury as menacing black fumes emerged from her palm. Zelda was the only surviving user of black magic. The way she could elegantly manipulate the effect was admirable by all back in time.

It was natural that Damion knew about it. While everyone had the genesis of certain powers, Damion was trained to flourish one. Zelda trained him in accordance by using her black magic, whose blow had a great impact on him.

" The only thing you've ever done is try to stop me. Aren't you over this already? " He knew the anger pent up in her was because of George's death. But no matter how many times he tried, she wouldn't ever get the point.

" I'm not going to try this time. I will stop- " Her phrases had coldness like the one which blew across them. She raised her hand as the black fumes spiraled into her palm.

" My breath? " He spoke with a smile. " I wouldn't mind if it was by you, sister. "

" You won't be able to take it. " Damion simply scoffed at her.

" You don't understand, do you ? How will you? You are living in a mirage of kindness. " He pulled out his sword, which was a signal for a face off.

𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘡𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘢. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦.

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯.

𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.

𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

All those unspoken words remained in his heart. He wanted to shout it out, but his voice went numb at that moment. Perhaps that's how he was supposed to live. Concealing the fire inside him so that people would see the burn.

" You aren't worthy of a talk. "

The moment he heard her phrase, the black curse twirled up in her palm and flung it on his face. Damion deflected it with his sword in a cascade of sparks and the force sent him flying. He got up as smut covered over him and charged towards her.

Every swing was dodged by her. To gain a brief respite, she pushed him into the bushes, which resulted in the discovery of dark mist surrounding them. Damion understood that things had gone out of hand. If Zelda's wrath went out of her hands without much waste of time, she would release the Maroon Wyverns protecting her.

Even though he had never witnessed the divine Maroon Wyverns within her power, the tale of those was widespread back in time. In no time, wasps around the place started to gather, forming the silhouette of a huge Wyvern.

" The fame was indeed true. You've changed, Hugo."

A set of fine white threads connected her hands with Wyverns of wasps. It felt as if she was controlling a puppet that was directed towards him. Before he could retaliate, a hard blow landed, propelling him through the woods. He hid behind a tree, unable to take the pain.

His right hand was terribly bruised and bled heavily. Gasping for air, he looked around only to sense the strong power encircling him. He rested his head against the bark of the tree with his eyes closed. He had never imagined a day where he had to fight his sister. A person whom he held dearest to his heart.

𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦...𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

He gathered all the strength remaining in him. He looked towards the direction where the wasps had located. He decided to break the threads controlling it. He decided to set his knife at every point he hid. He used the same ring of approach as Zelda by connecting all the knives with threads.

He hopped onto one of the branches, enough to cover her from visibility. " I've changed Zelda, in a way that you wouldn't believe."

He jumped as he swung his sword. Just as he expected, she turned around to attack him, when he released the thread held in his hand. The knives leaped through the air, cutting every string that connected the wasps.

The very next second, the wasps grappled vainly, but was cloven into two with one swift stroke. Damion stepped over the slain wasps, whirling his sword expertly as he pursued Zelda. Ignoring his unprotected back, Damion failed to see the mesh wrapping him completely.

Damion struggled like a landed fish as she picked it up as she swung it several times against the conifer. He laid down and huffed as he went breathless. He was defeated once again. He smiled at the thought of being defeated by her. Her hands reached down and grabbed his collar.

𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

He watched himself being dragged into the bush, and beaten down to the grass, the dirt, and the fallen tree branches. Zelda's fist cluttered his face and she put a hole in his stomach. He smiled again as his voice twitched.

" S-Should I just accept my defeat? Say, are you going to end me? "

She saw his eyes and made sure not to meet them, and put her fist onto his nose to eliminate any vision he might have had. He was hurt but she kept going. She wanted to make sure he couldn't move by the time she was done with him.

" Y-You..Didn't I tell you to stop...Why are you being a moron? " She said, trying to catch her breath as she held herself back from giving her last punch.

Damion raised his trembling hands and held her neck in his left hand. Trying to squeeze her till she choked. This held her face about five inches from his own. Her hands tried their best to release the pressure. With his he drew back his sword for the strongest blew he could give.

" Y-You told me to stop, but never told me when " A smirk appeared on his face as he passed out.