Chapter 42: Isle of The Skye Pt. 6

"Don't," Theriault said, but Shen Yi was already at Cloud, her sword slicing through the air as rage blinded her reasoning.

The Arcadian smiled as he blocked the blade with his claws, "I still remember the taste of this blade, your mother was quite the warrior... I don't think you inherited that trait."

Cloud pushed the blade up, slashing down with his other hand, his razor-sharp 3-inch claws cutting into Shen Yi's stomach, blood gushing from the wound as he grabbed her by the neck, throwing her back to the group effortlessly.

"The Queen permitted us to handle you completely, so long as we bring you to her... Little Grave-"

"Holy shit..." Theriault groaned, picking up Shen Yi and giving her to Hunter so he could heal her. "Do you ever stop with that monologue shit? I'm getting sick of it," He finished, bursting forward until he was right in front of Cloud.

Cloud slashed his claws in an X, barely missing Theriault as the boy spun on the ball of his foot, sending a back kick straight in Cloud's midsection.

The white-haired Arcadian flew back as Juniper, the purple-haired Arcadian rushed Theriault, landing a punch to his face as Landslide, the green-haired Arcadian, popped up behind him, forming a sign with her hands and causing rock to form around Theriault's feet, sticking him in place as Juniper kneed him in the ribs.

Theriault clenched his jaw as Juniper hit him with another punch, the rock rising from his feet to his knees, then soon up to his hips.

Juniper took a step back, forming a sign with her hand in the shape of an L, sending both of her hands forward as the concrete around her burst, two thick vines flying past her and stabbing into Theriault's shoulders.

The vines tied behind Theriault as blood dripped on them, the rock rising to his midsection.

"This move keeps you restrained enough for us to beat the ever-living shit out of you little G-" Juniper began, stopping her words as a blood-chilling sound reached her ears.

"Haha... Hahaha... Hahahahahaha!" Theriault threw his head back laughing as the rock began to vibrate.

"Are you two serious?" Theriault asked in a deathly serious tone, looking behind at Landslide, his eyes glowing gray.

"You fools!" Cloud yelled, rushing forward quickly as the rock broke.

It was too late, Landslide dropped to the ground, coughing up blood as Theriault broke the rocks with ease, moving his legs as if he was warming up.

Landslide convulsed on the ground, her body slowly turning into mush, then dust right after until there was no trace of the Arcadian ever existing.

Theriault smiled cruelly as he looked at Juniper, taking hold of both Vines.

"Decay," He said, looking Juniper in the eyes as she widened her eyes.

"Your little skills are connected to your old Arcadian ways, using your silly little soul energy... Didn't I teach you anything?" Theriault said as Juniper also fell, feeling her insides turning to dust as she crawled toward Theriault.

"No... Damn, it..." Juniper said, reaching Theriault's foot as the boy looked down at her, smiling widely as her body decayed in front of him.

"Bye Bye little Juniper... And you were such a hard worker too, another loss due to The Arcadian's stupidity..." Theriault said, shaking his head and clicking his teeth as he looked at Cloud amusedly.

"Cloud... I hope these two weren't your best," Theriault said, smiling as he looked at the other two Arcadians standing with the livid Cloud.

"I always hated that stupid move... But don't worry, they weren't even close!" Cloud shouted, running towards him while swinging his claws at him in a wide overhead arc.

Theriault gritted his teeth as they sunk into his flesh. He quickly grabbed Cloud's wrist, holding onto it as he kneed him in the ribs, then in the hip, yanking the claws out of his shoulder and twisting Cloud's wrist.

Cloud went with the momentum, flipping and landing back on his feet as he punched Theriault in the face, once, twice, three times before jumping on his back, pulling Theriault with him.

Theriault landed on Cloud's knees before the white-haired Arcadian pushed out, sending Theriault over him as he yanked his hand away from the black-haired boy's grip.

Cloud kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he threw himself forward, grabbing Theriault by the throat and throwing him to the ground, slamming his fist into the ground as he tried to breathe.

"Fight back right!" The Arcadian yelled, enraged as Theriault smirked at the fist next to his head, the cracked granite floors a detail that highlighted Cloud's anger.

"Against you? Never," Theriault said, pushing Cloud off of him as he twisted his body, jumping up and kicking Cloud in the face, sending him flying past the other Arcadians.

The Yellow and Blue-haired Arcadians stepped forward, looking quite excited to fight Theriault.

"No! Both of you get away, he's fucking mine!" Cloud yelled, jumping up quickly and rushing forward toward Theriault.

"No... I think he's quite annoyed with you," Hunter said, appearing in front of Cloud and punching him with an enflamed fist, his expression showing how pissed off he was.

"The fuck? Who's dog is this?" Cloud said, smacking Hunter and sending the boy flying to the side, tumbling in the dirt...

...

Right after Theriault had told Hunter to heal Shen Yi, the boy had gotten right to work.

"What are those things miss Scathach?" Hunter asked, seeing the woman step in front of Shen Yi and him, defending them just in case any of the people attacked.

"Boy, have your parents not told you of the dangers of Arcadians?" Scathach asked, eyeing down the yellow-haired Arcadian, seeing him smile at her in a way she didn't like.

"Arcadians!" Hunter said in horror. Of course, he had heard of them. The entire point of the key society was a defense against the ancient monstrous beings. Humans knew them as dragons, but they were so much more than fire-breathing lizards.

Arcadians were the pinnacle of predators. "How could they be here? I thought there hasn't been a sighting in forever?!" Hunter said, beginning his healing on Shen Yi.

"Many of them have started becoming more public..." Shen Yi said weakly, trying to sit up to no avail.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, pressing his golden enflamed hands right on her stomach where the five claw marks were.

"My father told me... Arcadians are attacking Keymasters more publicly, some families have been completely wiped off the map... That one... The white-haired bastard, he attacked my family's estate... He..." Shen Yi closed her eyes as she began to choke up.

"He... Killed my mother," She said, gritting her teeth as Hunter widened his eyes slightly.

They'd never really talked about personal things, so he had no clue about Shen Yi's family life. Hearing an Arcadian had murdered her mother, however, something... Just flipped within him.

"Your mother..." He said shakily as Shen Yi's wounds closed.

"He's so strong, I don't know how I'll be able to beat him..." Shen Yi said before widening her eyes, seeing Hunter flash forward standing directly in front of Cloud.

He was instantly knocked back, however, tumbling until he was in front of Shen Yi.

"Hey..." He said as the temperature began to rise. "I know how you feel... To have your mother murdered by an Arcadian... I know," Hunter said, opening his eyes and revealing the golden glow as he stood back up.

"Fenghuang... It is time to use that..." Hunter said, earning a smile from The Pheonix as the bird flew in front of him.

"Alright." The Pheonix answered.

...

Theriault watched Hunter tumble to the side as Cloud shook his head. "Your lackey's got much worse, whatever happened to that other orange-haired kid? What was his name... Ah, Marques..."

Theriault gritted his teeth. "Don't you dare-" He began before dropping to a knee, his inside feeling like they were being electrocuted.

Cloud looked at him, shocked. It was only for a second thought as recognition dawned on the White-haired Arcadians face. "No way..." He said, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked at the other two Arcadians.

"Hahahahaha!" Cloud burst out laughing, looking at Theriault with a crazed smile. "Theriault!" He shouted, holding his stomach as he stepped close to the Black Haired boy. "Is it really that time again?! So soon? Your time gets shorter and shorter every time haha! This is perfect, Mistress Kira! I will bring you Theriault Sab-"

Cloud wasn't able to finish his sentence as Hunter slammed into him with much more force than before, his skin glowing a golden sheen and fiery wings bursting from his back, radiating enough heat to make everyone in the room begin to sweat, even Scathach.

"Hey."

"Hey."

When he spoke it was two individual voices, one Hunter's normal voice, the other a deep, grand-sounding voice.

"Die."