"We're dood..." Roxanne murmured after her madness subsided. She hadn't even been able to land a proper hit on their opponents in front of her.
For the last six months, they'd been stuck in this, fighting and killing countless enemy troops and protecting Ada after Vergil was... kidnapped by a crazy woman like that...
"Ah... ah... ah..." Katharina panted, staring at the opponents ahead, who showed no sign of fatigue.
'Mom... where are you...' They weren't injured, but this wasn't a life-or-death battle, because the target they were supposed to kill wasn't even there.
It was a battle to protect Ada... to protect her freedom...
And did they want to be there? Well, of course not. But Vergil would be devastated if she died, which was why Roxanne and Katharina were still helping her.
'The reward better be worth it...' Roxanne murmured as she stood up again.
"This is a waste of ti..." Ada said, catching the two won's attention. "Leave . There's no point in continuing this." Ada finished, dispelling her magic and looking at the three vice-generals of her mother...
Belroth, Malachir, and Tzeriel.
Belroth stood at the front, a wall of muscle and flas. His body radiated infernal heat, like a volcano about to erupt. He was rciless, always advancing without hesitation, each punch from his massive fists shaking the ground beneath his feet. His flas seed alive, writhing around him like fiery serpents, devouring everything they touched.
"You should've known by now that you don't stand a chance against us," Belroth mocked, his deep voice reverberating through the battlefield. "Why keep fighting? Just accept your fate. Co ho, Princess."
Malachir, standing beside Belroth, was the complete opposite: slender, serpentine, with eyes that glowed sinisterly. His mastery over poison was unmatched, and he manipulated the air around him as if weaving an invisible web of death. Every ti he moved his hand, streams of erald poison danced around him, ready to strike at anyone who dared approach.
"Your efforts are futile, co on, don't waste more ti," Malachir hissed, his thin, forked tongue flicking with disdain. "You can keep fighting, but you'll end up poisoned, suffocated, and eventually, you'll fall before us."
Tzeriel, the third Vice-General, was more shadowy. His bat-like wings flapped softly, keeping him hovering above the battlefield, watching everything with cruel eyes. He was a master of illusions, manipulating the surroundings to confuse his opponents, making the real and the imagined almost indistinguishable. It was thanks to him that Roxanne and Katharina felt so disoriented.
"Don't listen to him," Tzeriel began, his voice smooth and relatively calm, "Our orders are to bring the princess back. Don't get us wrong, we're not targeting your families. We only want Ada Baal."
Despite the growing fear, Katharina tried to gather her strength. Her eyes glowed an intense green as she conjured her fire magic once more. Flas engulfed her hands, and she raised her arms toward Belroth. "I'm not going down without a fight!" she yelled, sending a torrent of fire toward the giant.
The flas surged like a destructive wave, but Belroth, with a cruel grin, raised his hand and absorbed the attack. The heat of Katharina's magic seed to feed him rather than harm him.
"You think fire can stop ? I am the master of it!" Belroth laughed, charging toward Katharina. His flaming hand collided with the ground, creating a crater where she had been standing, forcing her to leap aside to avoid being crushed.
At that mont, Roxanne decided to strike. With a swift spin, she summoned the power of the wind around her. Her air blades slashed toward Belroth, but with his tough skin, he simply laughed as the blades failed to cut deep.
"It's useless! You don't have the strength to stop !" Belroth roared, slamming the ground again, creating another shockwave that sent Roxanne flying backward.
Seeing that a direct attack wouldn't work, Katharina tried a different approach. Using her fire magic, she began to heat the ground beneath Belroth's feet, attempting to create an inhospitable environnt. The heat intensified, and even the rocks around him began to lt, but Belroth kept advancing.
"This won't work, child." Belroth raised his hand to strike Katharina again, but was interrupted by Ada.
"Enough!" Ada shouted, and a wave of blood spread across the battlefield, separating Belroth from Katharina. She was furious. "I told you to leave !" Ada's frustration fueled her blood magic, which now pulsed with a nacing intensity.
But Malachir wasn't about to let Ada act freely. He silently slid toward her, and with a swift movent, launched a venomous chain in her direction. The green, corrosive venom snaked through the air, aiming directly at Ada.
Realizing the attack, Ada quickly raised a blood barrier to block it, but the venom was relentless, corroding her defense rapidly. She felt searing pain in her arm as part of the venom breached her barrier.
"Foolish demon... My poison will consu you, just like it has consud all those before you," Malachir hissed, slowly approaching, his tongue moving unsettlingly.
Roxanne, still recovering from the previous assault, saw Ada in danger. "No, you're not touching her!" Roxanne summoned a gust of wind so powerful it cut through the poisonous mist, montarily pushing Malachir back.
But Malachir wasn't so easily deterred. He reford his venom, turning it into a thick cloud that spread across the battlefield. "Let's see how long you can last before my poison claims you."
The atmosphere around the three won beca even more oppressive. Malachir's poisonous cloud spread like a deadly veil, suffocating the battlefield and making every breath increasingly difficult. Katharina coughed, feeling the gradual burn of the poison searing her lungs.
Roxanne, still catching her breath, looked desperately at Ada. "If we keep this up... we're going to die anyway," she muttered to herself. Malachir's power was terrifying, and with Tzeriel distorting their senses, victory seed even more distant.
Ada, battling the pain in her arm and the growing frustration, gritted her teeth. "You... three... think you can capture like I'm so trophy?" her voice trembled with suppressed fury. The blood magic around her pulsed violently, mirroring her rage and fear. Every ounce of her power was being summoned, but she knew that alone, she couldn't take them down.
Malachir smiled wickedly, sensing Ada's growing vulnerability. "You underestimate how important your value is to our side, little princess. Your mother's will is absolute... and you will be brought back, whether you want to or not." He stepped forward, ready to unleash another attack.
At that mont, Katharina, her green eyes glowing fiercely, gathered her last reserves of strength. "Ada... we won't let them take you," she said with determination. The fire in her hands reignited with even greater intensity, but this ti, instead of attacking directly, she used the flas to surround Malachir's poison.
The intense heat began to burn away the poisonous mist, creating a bubble of breathable air around them.
Roxanne seized the opportunity, wielding her wind blades with more precision. She knew she couldn't harm Belroth directly, but if she focused on Malachir and Tzeriel, maybe they could turn the tide. "Katharina, keep the fire going! I'll handle the rest!" She charged toward Tzeriel's shadow, her mind fighting to distinguish between what was real and what was illusion.
Tzeriel, watching the chaos with a malevolent grin, didn't seem surprised by Roxanne's advance. "You think you can touch ?" he mocked, unleashing an even stronger wave of illusions. Suddenly, Roxanne saw multiple versions of Tzeriel surrounding her, each moving in distinct ways, making it impossible to discern which was the real one.
Roxanne paused for a mont, sweat trickling down her forehead. Every illusion seed as real as the next. But she knew that if she didn't act fast, they were all dood. In a brief mont of clarity, she closed her eyes, trusting her instincts. "The real one is... there!" With a swift turn, she unleashed a wind blade directly to her right, catching Tzeriel by surprise.
The demon cried out in pain as the attack slashed through his left wing, forcing him to lose altitude and crash to the ground. His illusions montarily dissipated, revealing his true form as he writhed in agony.
With Tzeriel down, the battlefield shifted slightly in their favor. Ada's blood magic flared again, ready to unleash another powerful wave. "This ends now," she growled.
"You... insolent..." Tzeriel hissed, struggling to get up.
Belroth, realizing the situation was deteriorating, roared in fury and charged at Katharina once more. He knew that if he could take out the fire conjurer, the others would fall easily. But before he could reach her, Ada intervened again, casting a blood chain around his arms and legs, immobilizing him for a brief mont.
"I already said, enough!" Ada shouted, her hands trembling from the effort. But even with her powerful magic, she knew she couldn't hold him for long.
Malachir, enraged by their unexpected resistance, prepared another venomous attack, but was interrupted by a sharp sound cutting through the air. Roxanne, still determined, sent a new gust of wind his way, forcing him to retreat.
"You will not take Ada!" Katharina yelled, her flas growing even more intense, surrounding her in a vortex of heat.
Despite their determination, the three won knew they were running out of ti. The combined might of Belroth, Malachir, and Tzeriel was overwhelming, and the constant struggle to stay on their feet was taking its toll.
Ada, feeling the weight of the burden on her shoulders, finally made a decision. "I can't... let you die for my sake..." She looked at Roxanne and Katharina with a mixture of gratitude and sadness.
"If this ans you can survive... then I'll go with them."
"No!" Roxanne and Katharina shouted in unison, but before they could react, Ada released her blood magic and surrendered herself to the Vice-Generals.
Tzeriel, with a malicious grin, rose again, his wings flapping gently in the air. "A wise choice, princess."
"A wise choice, huh..." A voice—a chilling sound—echoed across the battlefield, so cold and laced with such palpable nace that the very air around them seed to freeze for a mont.
The weight of the presence accompanying it was suffocating, as if an invisible force gripped their throats, making it difficult to breathe. Everyone, including the Vice-Generals, felt a shiver crawl down their spines as they recognized the source of the voice.
Ada, who had already let her guard down, widened her eyes, her breath catching in her throat. Her body trembled, not from fear but from recognition. That voice, that presence... "It can't be..." she whispered, her heart racing.
"You..." she said, tears streaming down her face.
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