B3 - Chapter 66: Staged Fight

'Don't kill her,' Seth said through Link to Nightmare, not taking his eyes off Jaxar while raising both hands toward the people around them. "There are dozens of witnesses here."

"Why should I care?" Jaxar retorted as he pressed the wand deeper into Elena's throat. Another thin trickle of blood slid down her neck. Behind him, the noble's remaining men—roughly two dozen armored soldiers—closed ranks, weapons raised and spells ready. "That sounds like your problem."

Seth shifted his gaze to Elena, who remained perfectly still in Jaxar's grip.

She didn't struggle, plead, or beg him to hold back on killing Marine. She knew him too well. Seth would never become anyone's puppet—she knew he wouldn't kill an ally on a tyrant's whim.

"Fine," Seth said, his voice flat. He turned toward Marine. "I'm sorry."

Without waiting for her answer, he charged across the mud without activating a single combat spell.

"Seriously?" Marine exclaimed the moment he'd taken off.

She snapped her bow up and loosed a rapid volley of wind-made arrows, trying to force him back. As she turned to run away, Nightmare pounced from the side.

Marine's Protecting Belt flared just in time, its barrier intercepting the direwolf's snapping jaws. At the same instant, a powerful gust of wind burst beneath her boots and launched her backward. Mid-air, she turned and fired another volley.

Seth and Nightmare wove through the arrows, dodging each projectile with disconcerting ease. All around the clearing, the other people remained still. Weapons stayed raised in front of them, though no one dared intervene.

They all had witnessed what Seth could do on the battlefield, and none of them wanted to be the one in his way.

Seth cast Shadow Step, and his body dissolved into darkness before rematerializing directly in front of Marine. He drew back his gauntlet.

Simultaneously, Nightmare unleashed Predator Hunt, causing the howl to ripple across the clearing.

Using the sound as cover, Seth muttered under his breath, "Get close to Elena."

Then his armored fist crashed into Marine's side.

The controlled strike sent her stumbling and rolling toward Jaxar's position. Seth wasted no time and gave chase.

Halfway through his sprint, he blinked. His body suddenly felt... lighter. Each stride carried him farther than they did seconds before. As if in answer to his wonder, Colossus' excited voice echoed through Link. 'Seth! Should I come out?'

A grin tugged at the corner of Seth's mouth. 'Perfect timing, Colossus,' he answered. 'Just stay inside until Nightmare creates the opening.'

The scorpion had finally finished assimilating the Legendary Seed, and Seth could feel its effects. Even more importantly, now he had an easy way to deal with Jaxar's men.

They only needed to create an opening for the scorpion.

The staged battle continued as Marine scrambled back to her feet, firing another barrage of wind arrows while subtly moving closer and closer to Elena. Seth and Nightmare maintained the pressure and dodged the projectiles while never actually committing to a finishing blow.

Then Seth caught Elena's eye over Marine's shoulder. The noblewoman silently mouthed two words: 'Ice Chrysalis.'

He nodded.

During their very first Warfare Rift together, Elena had encased herself in ice to survive an attack. If she cast it now, the ice would shield her long enough for Colossus to reach her.

All Seth had to do was buy her the time to do so.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jaxar roared from behind Elena, fury twisting his features as he watched the drawn-out fight. "Use your damn spells and finish her!"

Seth twisted aside, letting a shrieking wind arrow whistle past his shoulder.

"Sorry!" he shouted back. "They're all on cooldown! I—"

Before he could finish the sentence, Nightmare sprang into action.

The direwolf lunged toward Marine, his paws tearing through the ground. Yet just before reaching her, he unleashed Dreadful Shroud. The suffocating dark aether burst across the clearing and flowed around Marine. The spell crashed head-on into Jaxar and the two dozen soldiers surrounding him. Fear seized all of them.

Jaxar's smug expression turned into panic. The immobilizing effect lasted only a heartbeat, yet that was all the time Seth needed to activate his Distortion Rod.

The suppressing aether swept the area and locked the entire place inside its field.

Jaxar's eyes widened. With a fierce thrust, he dug the single-use wand against Elena's throat and triggered it.

Nothing happened.

"Shit."

The prince dropped the wand and channeled raw lightning aether directly into his hand instead. Blue arcs crackled violently around his forearm as he prepared to blast Elena at point-blank range.

…and once again was a second too late.

Frost surged across Elena's body and entombed her within an impenetrable cocoon of enchanted ice while she was still in Jaxar's grasp.

Robbed of his leverage, the king's grandson snarled and whipped his crackling arm toward Seth, releasing the surging bolt of lightning across the clearing.

Seth smiled.

He poured aether into his legs and cast Shadow Step, letting the lightning scorch the spot where he'd been standing—he appeared a few feet away from the royal bastard.

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'Now, Colossus!' Seth shouted through Link.

A massive silhouette erupted from the pocket domain of his teardrop necklace, materializing before him with a ground-shaking thud. The scorpion loomed over the battlefield, his body noticeably larger than before.

The jagged stone that had once covered his body had become smooth, seamless plates of dark armor that looked impossibly dense. Intricate runes pulsed beneath the surface, bathing his carapace in a faint glow while an oppressive aura rolled from his body.

The giant scorpion barreled forward with Scorpion Charge.

Soldiers were hurled through the air, crashing into the mud as Colossus plowed through their ranks. Skidding to a halt, he then raised his claws and released an ear-piercing screech.

Chitinous Taunt rippled outward in a visible shockwave.

The nearest men turned toward him against their will. At the same time, jagged crystal-encrusted stone spread across Colossus's body, layering itself beneath the protective brown glow of Desert Aegis.

Seth ignored the chaos and lunged at Jaxar.

Teal spectral gauntlets surged around his fists as he threw a devastating punch at the king's grandson.

The noble twisted his torso and raised an arm to shield himself, but it wasn't all futile.

Bones shattered under the impact with a sickening crack.

The force of the blow launched Jaxar off his feet, hurling him across the clearing to slam into the trunk of an oak tree.

His head struck the bark, his eyes fluttered shut, and he crumpled at the base of the tree in a limp heap.

Seth barely spared him a glance. He doubted the bastard was dead, but he had more pressing concerns than making sure.

With a swift pivot, he charged the Jaxar's soldiers.

Nightmare joined the slaughter, while Marine, Selena, and the rest of their party charged in to support the offensive.

Across the clearing, Sasha led her academy squad into the fray, while the surrounding Kastal soldiers finally drew their weapons, ready to overwhelm the traitorous guards from every direction.

Moments later, the thick cocoon of Ice Prison melted into drifting mist. By the time she was free of the thawing ice, the immediate perimeter was completely clear of threats; Henry stood like an iron wall right at her side while maintaining a secure grip on Floria's chains.

Less than a minute after the ambush began, the last of Jaxar's escort fell, leaving only the ones who had dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Marine secured the final prisoner's shackles before walking in Seth's direction, who stood over Jaxar's unconscious body.

The Elementalist's chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. The impact had knocked him cold, but he was still alive.

Marine winced as she pressed a hand against her own side.

"You could've pulled that punch a little more," she muttered with a pained grimace. "I'm pretty sure you cracked one of my ribs."

Seth rubbed his neck. "Sorry. I had to make it look convincing."

Marine let out a slow breath and straightened. "Well it definitely did." She gave him a tired half-smile. "So I'll forgive you."

Sasha and Elena made their way across the trampled, blood-soaked clearing.

When they reached Seth, the director of Sidera Academy's daughter glanced down at Jaxar's broken arm, and her jaw tightened. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Seth answered.

"Killing the king's grandson will mean you're a dead man the moment you set foot outside of this Rift," Sasha warned.

Seth met her eyes without flinching. "Attacking him and breaking his arm already guaranteed that."

Sasha paused. "...good point." The noble woman tilted her head back, studying the glowing sky above the Rift. "Why hasn't the Spirit declared the end of the battle?"

"Because there's still one enemy somewhere in the forest," Seth answered. "I'll deal with him. You can take your squad and leave."

Sasha frowned. "Are you sure? If there's more than one person out there, we can help search."

"I've got it covered."

Seth's tone left no room for debate.

Marine studied him for a moment, then her gaze moved from his face to Jaxar's unconscious body. "You just want us gone so you can torture him or something?"

Seth met her gaze with a cold, blank stare. "The less you know, the safer you'll be."

Marine stared at him for a beat before giving a small shrug. "Fair enough."

She and Sasha turned and walked back toward the regrouping survivors.

All across the area, brilliant flashes of light began erupting one after another.

The surviving Kastal soldiers and academy students activated Escape Scrolls, vanishing from the battlefield in rapid succession.

Seth knelt in the mud and fastened a set of Toren's mana-suppressing shackles around Jaxar's wrists and ankles. After the restraints clicked shut, silence settled over the clearing once more.

Only a handful of people had remained behind: Elena, Selena, Henry, and Floria, who, still bound in heavy chains, was looking to the left.

A short distance away, Lumi darted happily around Colossus, chirping excitedly as she inspected the giant scorpion's new carapace. Near the edge of the forest, Nightmare prowled through the shadows and kept a watchful eye over their perimeter.

Seth walked over to Henry and Selena. "Thank you," he said quietly. "For everything." He managed a faint smile. "Take care of yourselves."

Henry looked at him for a moment. "So... this is a goodbye?"

"Yeah." Seth nodded. His eyes then drifted briefly toward Jaxar's unconscious body. "For now. Once things calm down in a few weeks, I'll try to come by."

Henry stepped forward without another word and wrapped Seth in a fierce embrace, thumping him hard across the backplate.

"You take care of yourself," the bald man said, his voice thick with emotion. "And I'm the one who should be thanking you." He laughed quietly. "Eddin... the old squad...They'd be damn proud of what you've done. The People's Champion right until the very end."

Tears had traced clean lines through the dirt on Henry's cheeks when he finally let go.

Seth gripped the man's shoulder firmly before turning to Selena. She stood perfectly straight, both hands crossed tightly against her chest.

"Take care of yourself, Seth," she said. "I won't be dead weight the next time we meet."

"You never were." Seth's answer came without hesitation. "You helped me way more than you think through this entire war."

For the first time in a long while, Selena's stoic face cracked. Her jaw trembled ever so slightly before she mastered herself again. She offered him a nod, relaxing her hands at her sides as she reined in her emotions.

Henry tightened his grip on Floria's chains. Together, he and Selena withdrew their Escape scrolls and used both pieces of parchment at the same time.

A brilliant burst of spatial light engulfed all three of them.

Seth turned to Elena. "You should leave too," he said quietly. "Someone needs to make sure the officers don't do anything foolish with Floria."

Elena pressed her lips into a thin line. "I know."

Seth reached into his Endless Pouch. When his hand emerged, it held two items: the smooth, violet crystal containing Jaz's Legacy and the jar holding the feather-shaped Lightning Seed.

He extended both toward her. "I will let you decide whether to give these to your brother, your father, or Orwen. I trust your judgment."

Elena blinked in surprise. Yet after a second of deliberation, she accepted the priceless treasures, carefully storing them inside her own spatial storage.

"Thank you."

Silence settled between them while the breeze stirred the leaves overhead. A faint blush slowly spread across Elena's cheeks when her gaze drifted to his lips, making it obvious that the memory of the previous night still lingered in her head.

"You'll write to me?" she asked softly. "As often as you can?"

"I have no idea how far communication orbs can be apart and still work." He smiled warmly. "But if they still function, I'll write to you every day."

Elena lowered her eyes.

"Then... I guess this is goodbye."

Before Seth could answer, she stepped forward.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she threw herself into his embrace. She held him tightly, burying her face against the crook of his neck.

"Please be careful," she whispered, her voice trembling. "And if Orwen doesn't give you the signal"—she tightened her grip—"promise me you will walk away."

Seth slipped his arms around her waist, drawing her close against his chest before resting his forehead against her hair. "I will."

They both remained like that for one last lingering moment, then Seth reluctantly loosened his embrace. "You should go."

Yet didn't move.

She simply stood there and let her eyes dissect his face as if trying to memorize every detail. Finally, she reached into her pouch and withdrew her own Escape Scroll.

The moment the parchment crumbled in her fingers, a brilliant light blossomed around her.

Seth slowly turned back toward Jaxar's unconscious body.