Chapter 182: Central Sector [11]

It was Emilia.

She was crouching beside a broken rock with both hands pressed to the ground. The last bits of mana were fading from the seal she had just finished. Her face was pale and sweat ran down her temple. Her arms shook from the strain. That spell had taken almost everything she had, but she still lifted her head and looked at her brother.

"Now, brother!" Emilia’s voice rang out even though she was nearly empty.

"This will only hold him for a few seconds! Give it everything you’ve got!"

Zeus looked at the rocks, then at Emilia, then back at Leon.

’So that’s it. This girl crept around from the side while I was busy with the boy. I did not even notice her.’

His teeth clenched.

’To let my guard down like that... How irritating.’

A vein popped out on his forehead.

On the other side Leon turned toward his sister. For one short moment his stern face softened into a proud smile.

"Good work, Emilia."

Then he turned back to Zeus and the smile disappeared.

Lightning began to gather around his right arm. At first it was just a thin layer of sparks crawling over his fingers. Then the sparks multiplied and spun around his wrist and forearm until his whole hand was wrapped in blazing blue thunder. The air took it and jagged bolts burst out of his knuckles and lit up the broken ground with sharp shadows.

Leon lowered his body. He was going to end this with one strike.

"Now leave this to me!"

BOOOOM!

The ground exploded under his feet and he launched forward. His body turned into a streak of blue light that crossed the distance in a blink.

He pulled his charged arm back and twisted his body to gather all his strength into one swing. The lightning around his hand pressed tighter and tighter and grew sharper. For one moment his arm did not look like an arm anymore. It looked like a blade made from thunder itself.

Leon swung.

The strike tore through the air straight across Zeus’s chest. With that speed and that power it would have cut him in half.

Zeus’s eyes went wide.

"Don’t take me so lightly!"

CRACK!

He roared and poured his mana into his legs. The stone around his feet shattered. He tore himself free and twisted his body sideways at the very last second.

Leon’s lightning arm swept past him. The two of them crossed paths and a burst of blue light swallowed the space between them.

For a moment neither of them moved.

Leon landed a few meters behind Zeus with his arm stretched out and lightning still snapping around his hand. The force of his swing had carved a deep trench in the ground ahead. Zeus stood on the other side. Still alive and still on his feet. He had escaped being cut in half by the thinnest margin.

But then...

Thud.

Something heavy hit the ground and tumbled across the broken earth. The battlefield went silent.

Zeus stared forward. Slowly he felt how light his right side had become. Blood poured from his shoulder and his right arm lay on the ground several feet away.

Emilia finally let go of her seal. Her hands shook as she pulled them off the ground and she slumped forward, gasping for air. The rocks that had trapped Zeus lay scattered around, and the mana that held them was already fading.

"Haah... haah..."

She pressed a hand to her chest and tried to calm her breathing.

’That took everything I had, just to hold him for a few seconds. And he still broke free.’

Her eyes moved to Zeus. Even in her exhaustion a tiny smile appeared on her face.

’But Brother Leon hurt him.’

Leon stood with his arm still wrapped in crackling lightning. He glanced at the severed arm in the snow and then back at Zeus.

’Damn it. I should have been a little faster.’

His breathing stayed steady, but the pain in his chest had not gone anywhere. His broken rib throbbed with every breath and reminded him that his body was nowhere near as strong as his new Spirit made it feel. Still, he could not relax. Not against someone like Zeus.

Zeus stared at the arm lying on the ground.

’If I had been one second slower, I would be in two pieces. But it does not matter. I can just regrow it.’

He stopped. Slowly he looked at his right shoulder, at the empty place where his arm used to be.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened.

No red liquid gathered around the wound. No flesh started to grow. Even the usual signs of a vampire healing were gone.

His eyes narrowed.

’...What?’

He flexed the fingers of his remaining hand as if that might help him understand.

’Why is it not growing back? It has been long enough. My regeneration should have fixed this already.’

He looked at the severed arm again and then the truth hit him. His crimson eyes opened wide.

’Don’t tell me...’

His gaze shot to Leon, whose body was still wrapped in blue lightning.

’Is my arm gone because of that Spirit?!’

Vampires could heal from almost anything. Even a cut off limb would grow back given enough time and energy. But there were exceptions. Some weapons, some huge spells, and some very strong Spirit powers could leave wounds that never healed. If a body part was cut off by something strong enough, it stayed gone forever.

And Leon’s lightning had crossed that line.

Zeus’s forehead twitched. For the first time since he had arrived on the battlefield his whole face changed. The playful smile that had followed him everywhere was gone. His eyes turned cruel and his mouth pulled into a cold, furious line.

Then the air began to change.

It started slowly. A strange pressure spread across the battlefield and made every breath feel heavier. The crimson liquid scattered around Zeus began to move on its own.