Chapter 225: Duel of the Noirs Part 2
The coliseum’s crowd watched the two Noir siblings meet face-to-face down in the arena. The crowd could not hear their words, but they cheered nonetheless, eager to see one of their favorite duelists lash out in righteous anger at the young upstart lord who had disrespected her at their father’s funeral.
Ismene watched with Una and Aiden from inside the Noir’s Regal Box, one of the seven best viewing boxes in the coliseum.
Una held Ismene’s hand tight, “Riri we’ll be okay, right? Esletha won’t hurt him too bad.” It seemed as if she said the words to reassure herself more than anyone else.
“Yeah,” Ismene tried to smile. “Riri’s probably trying to talk her down right now. I’m sure she’ll probably smack him around once or twice and then call it a day.”
Aiden shook his head, “I’ve never seen my sister this angry. Esletha might do more than just smack him once or twice. My best guess? Elzri probably won’t be walking for a few weeks.”
Ismene found herself trembling. She whispered a soft prayer to her patron god, “Please, Stjerne, keep him safe.”
~~~
Esletha pointed an accusing finger at Elzri, “Why did Father choose you? I spent my whole life trying to prove myself to him, trying to prove that I was worthy, but you? You never did anything, always the bare minimum, and yet he gave you everything! You’re weak, lazy, and afraid. So why did he choose you!?”
“I really wish he hadn’t…” Elzri muttered.
“That’s all you’re going to give me?” she scoffed. “No real answer? Just some more whining? That pity-shit won’t work on me.”
“I don’t want your pity,” he frowned. “I’m saying I really rather not fight. You’re my sister, I’m your brother. Take the throne, I don’t care. Why can’t we just leave it at that?”
“My gods, you really have no respect for the monumental position our Father left in your hands, do you? This. This right here. This is why you don’t deserve to be Lord of House Noir, you self-centered, spoiled child! You always had it easy. You were just some talentless half-wit. Father never expected anything from you!” Esletha pointed an accusing finger at Elzri. “But I was born talented, I had to work harder than any of you, I had to meet his every expectation to be perfect… So imagine my surprise when you were chosen.”
“I’m giving you the throne? Why are you so angry?” Elzri furrowed his brow.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” she laughed bitterly. “...Our Father didn’t choose me. To the very end, he never thought I was worthy.”
“Esletha,” he swallowed. “I’m sorry. Things are… complicated. But our Father loved you, even if he rarely showed it. He loved all of us.”
Esletha glared at him, “Clearly Father had his favorite.”
“Listen, it wasn’t like tha-”
Esletha flicked her hand up, her shadow darkened, a black tendril shot out, and whacked across Elzri’s chest with a resounding crack. He flew back and crashed into the ground, his body skipping like a stone over water. The crowd cheered with a thundering boom.
Elzri rolled over, dazed. He gasped for breath, a sharp pain stabbed into his ribs. Something was broken. He gingerly touched his ribs and grimaced, Yeah, definitely broken.
Esletha sauntered towards him, “I am going to show everyone why he was wrong, about you, and about me. I am the only one worthy of the Noir leadership.”
Elzri sighed with a wince. He pushed himself to his feet, a hand over his ribs. Esletha was more skilled than he thought. A master black mage could create corporeal shadow tendrils, but the shadows were brittle. He had never seen an arch-mage create a shadow tendril that could hit so hard, let alone a high-master like Esletha.
“You’ve made your point,” Elzri wheezed. “I surrender.”
Esletha’s expression grew cold. She raised her hands high, a dozen shadow tendrils sprawled out from her silhouette.
Elzri cursed under his breath and raised his arms. Yellow mana flowed through his body and seeped into his skin. Faint yellow outlines of scales wrapped around his body.
The shadow tendrils snapped through the air in a blur and whipped Elzri’s body with incessant fury. His durability scales flared a bright yellow every time they were struck. He practically glowed like a yellow candle.
Elzri gritted his teeth and bared the blows in silence. His sister wasn’t holding back her shadow spells, if he hadn’t been using an advanced durability spell his scales would have already shattered and his body would have been broken.
“C-c-calm down!” Elzri managed to yell through the attacks.
The shadow attacks halted.
Elzri breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you.”
The shadow tendrils suddenly wrapped around his body tight. He screamed in shock as the shadows lifted him up high in the air and flung him down with tremendous force. His body smashed into the ground in a pile of dirt and stone.
Elzri coughed and groaned. His yellow scales cracked and finally fell apart.
What the fuck is she thinking? he thought angrily. That could have killed me!
He tried to stand, but the shadow tendrils held him tight on the ground.
Elzri squinted in pain and looked over at his sister. Esletha’s face was devoid of expression, but her grey eyes were filled with anger.
“Enough!” Elzri tried to yell, but it came out like a broken plea.
Esletha threw her arms apart. The air shimmered around in a sudden wave of heat. A ring of orange flames rose to life around her.
“No…” Elzri’s eyes widened, he recognized one of House Noir’s most powerful and key spells.
The flames grew and ate through the air in a roar of power, a cyclone of fire curling around Esletha. Elzri could already feel the heat begin to burn his skin from a dozen feet away. He tried to run, but the shadow tendrils held tight.
“S-stop,” Elzri mumbled. He chuckled nervously, “I’ll die. Don’t you get that? S-so, stop… Please, Eslehta. I’m begging you, please stop! Esletha!”
She looked at her brother, the anger in her eyes suddenly turned frigid, “Infernal Cyclone.”
The raging cyclone exploded and engulfed Elzri in a storm of fire. The crowd gasped, stunned. A pair of high pitch screams from the Noir’s Regal Box pierced the silence.
Elzri heard nothing from within the roaring flames. A small dome of wind blew at the heart of the inferno. Small streaks of yellow light circled around the dome, tying the powerful gales into coils of protection. The Air Dome was one of the most powerful wind spells Elzri knew and yet the heat was still unbearable.
A new set of durability scales shimmered over his body, protecting him from being burned alive.
She really is trying to kill me… Me, her younger brother.
A tear slipped down his grey cheek, sizzled, and evaporated instantly.
A cold pain seeped into his chest, no wound had ever cut so deep, not even his father’s passing. He wanted to cry, curl into a ball, and disappear.
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~~~
Esletha watched the flaming inferno with a sickening realization. Her shadow tendrils had burned under the heat, there was nothing left of her shadow spell… there was nothing left of Elzri…
Esletha’s fingers trembled, a cold sweat dripped down her back. She was so angry… at her Father, at Elzri… what had she just done?
“N-no.” She stumbled back, “I… I didn’t mean to.”
“It seems the battle has been decided…” the Herald of Duels called out solemnly from above his tower. “May the gods guide the young lord’s soul to rest…”
Esletha turned away, she couldn’t look at the flames any longer. She released the spell and fell to her knees.
The crowd yelled in surprise and began to jabber without stopping. Esletha looked up at them in confusion, she turned around and stiffened to a halt.
A menagerie of red wards flowed in a sphere at the center of the scorched ground. Elzri stood at the center, his chest and shoulders heaved with anger.
“Red magic…?” Esletha mumbled. It couldn’t be. Her younger brother wasn’t a manifold mage, he was a mere yellow adept.
“ESLETHA!” Elzri screamed.
The red wards disappeared. Elzri aimed his open hand at her, a torrent of flame screeched out from his palm and burned towards her. Esletha’s eyes widened. Out of reflex she threw her arms up and casted. A wall of fire rose in front of her and collided with Elzri’s attack in a torrent of sparks and flame.
Esletha’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a tri-manifold like me!? You lied to us!”
Black tendrils emerged from her shadow and lashed out.
Elzri cupped his hands together, a giant sphere of white light spun into existence between his fingers. A searing ray of light streamed out from the sphere and vaporized the shadow tendrils in a single stroke.
“Lux Orb!?” Esletha screamed in shock.
To even summon a single orb of such power required a high-master white mage. It couldn’t be, her brother was supposed to be an adept.
“WHY!?” Elzri roared. A dozen shadow tendrils flew out of his silhouette and twined over Esletha’s body.
She snarled and poured brown mana into her body. A bronze sheen enveloped her grey skin, the vigor spell taking hold. Her muscles surged with strength, she flung her arms apart and tore away at the brittle tendrils.
Elzri’s dashed close, his veins dark from agility magic. Esletha crouched, raised her arms, and covered her vital organs and face. He hit her arms and legs with open palms, the strikes weaker than she had expected.
“WHY!?” Elzri screamed.
“Shut up!” Esletha swung her fist in a quick jab.
But Elzri was faster, he easily ducked beneath her arm and struck her sternum. She jumped back and summoned a bolt of fire in her hand.
Elzri stood still, his arms fell to his side. His fingertips glowed a faint grey.
“No!” she gasped and looked down at where he had hit her. Half a dozen curses swam over her skin.
He snapped his fingers. The grey sigils flared to life, Esletha’s body went rigid, she collapsed to the ground. Her spells evaporated, her muscles felt numb, she could hardly breathe.
Elzri looked over her body, his expression shifting between pain and anger. “WHY!?” His voice broke, a tear slipped down his cheek and fell on her forehead. “W-why… Why would you try to kill me…?”
She bit her trembling lip, “...I didn’t mean to let it go so far.” Elsetha broke down in tears, “Father always loved you most. Now I know why he chose you.”
“I never wanted to lead this family! …I just wanted to be a part of it…” Elzri fell to his knees. “What’s happened to us?”
“Elzri… I’m so sor-”
“Congratulations little brother!” a too-familiar voice called out.
Elzri turned around, a young handsome mage in military attire stood behind them. “Aiden?”
“Congratulations, you have won your first duel and against Esletha no less!” Aiden said cheerfully. “I am impressed. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d last two minutes against her, but I’m quite happy to have been proven wrong… And sad, you were the only one I really cared about.”
“Aiden, what are you doing down here?” Elzri wrinkled his brow.
“Oh? Well, I just made up some lie to Ismene and Una, something about you hiding your abilities and trying to kill our lovely sister, Esletha. So, being the eldest, I came down here to sort things out.”
“She was the one trying to kill me!” Elzri yelled angrily.
Aiden raised his hands, “Hey, easy now. There’s no reason to shout. It’s just us three, none of those idiots can hear us from up there. And besides, I already told Una and Ismene that Esletha and I knew about your abilities. Esletha was just trying to defend herself.”
“But, that’s not what happened…” Elzri frowned.
“Aiden, what the fuck are you doing?” Esletha growled.
“Enjoying seeing you on the dirt for once, sister. What else?” Aiden chuckled to himself. “You were always a bitch when we sparred. Glad to finally see you take a loss.”
“That’s why you came down here? To gloat?” Elzri asked.
“Hm? No, I came to thank you,” Aiden smiled. “That was one hell of a battle. You look terribly exhausted, little brother. Understandably so, those high-ranked spells would take their toll on anyone. But you actually did it, you defeated our sister. And for that, you have my eternal gratitude.”
“What?” Elzri frowned.
“Aiden is just being an ass, like always,” Esletha snapped. “I’m gonna break his legs when I get out of these stupid curses.”
Aiden shook his head, “And that’s why I avoided a frontal confrontation. You’re too strong for your own good, Esletha. To be quite frank, I really didn’t know how I was going to deal with you. I already used up all the poison I had.”
Elzri felt a shiver run up his spine, the world quieted to a whisper, he could hear his own heart beat loudly in his ears. “...What did you just say?”
Esletha’s face grew pale, “No… you didn’t…”
Aiden sighed, “Believe me I really didn’t want to, I loved our Father just as much you both did.”
“We didn’t kill our Father, you piece of shit!” Esletha screeched.
“No,” Elzri fell back. “No, you… Please, tell me you didn’t!”
“You don’t understand,” Aiden shook his head. “War is coming, Undergrowth plans to attack us.”
“I know, Father told me. I saw the latest reports just yesterday…” Elzri’s voice shook. “Father wanted to stop the war! He wanted to save all of us!”
“Alastair Noir was a naive and foolish man,” Aiden said angrily. “Do you really think House Thorn has forgiven Hollow Shade’s 7 Ruling Families? Do you really think House Thorn wouldn’t lead the armies of Undergrowth into our city and slaughter every one of us if given the chance? Instead of trying to negotiate for peace, we need to rally and prepare our own armies and burn Undergrowth to the ground and end this threat, just like Lunis.”
“Are you insane!?” Elzri yelled.
“Our city’s armies are too weak from the Great Houses infighting,” Esletha said. “We wouldn’t be able to win a war against Undergrowth. Hollow Shade would fall, you damn fool!”
“You both sound like Father,” Aiden narrowed his eyes. “He didn’t want to listen either. Our city will fall if we do nothing, that much is for certain. I begged our Father to listen, I pleaded with him over and over. He was never going to listen… So I made a deal.”
“...With whom?” Esletha asked warily.
“I found a powerful ally, one willing to do what needs to be done,” Aiden said. “He understood my wish to protect this city, to protect our House. He wanted me to lead our House to an actual future, where we don’t just stagnate and fall behind the rest.”
“He made you kill our Father,” Elzri whispered.
A tear fell down Aiden’s cheek, “I didn’t want Father to die, but he’d never listen. Don’t you see? Our father abandoned us!”
“You fucking idiot!” Esletha said. “Who did you make a deal with!?”
“Does it matter?” Aiden smiled.
“He’s fucked with your mind, can’t you see that!?” Esletha yelled.
“Wrong, he’s the only one who's ever listened,” Aiden said. “The only one who shares my vision for a better Hollow Shade. He’s helped me. He gave me a bottle of poison like none other. A poison so powerful and secret that no healer would be able to save the one who drank it. The whole thing was supposed to be quick. With father gone and his heir unnamed, as the eldest I would have taken charge. I would have saved all of us!”
Aiden looked at Elzri, “But father lived, long enough to name you his heir. I didn’t understand how, but now I do. You were there that day, you healed him, or at least tried, didn’t you? You’ve made everything so much more complicated…”
“I don’t… I…” Elzri mumbled and swallowed hard. “You tried to poison us?”
“No!” Aiden shook his head vehemently. “I never meant to poison you. You weren’t supposed to be there that morning. You have always been my favorite, Elz. You were always kind, you never posed a threat… but now things are different. I didn’t know you were so powerful. Seeing you and Esletha weakened like this… I can’t let this chance go, I’m so sorry.”
“Elzri, he plans on killing us! Run!” Esletha screamed.
“N-no, you wouldn’t,” Elzri laughed weakly, he ran his hands through his white hair. “This is a joke, right? This is all some kind of fucked up joke. Please, tell me this is a joke!”
“I’m sorry,” Aiden bowed his head. “But if it’s any consolation, I’ll make Una’s death quick. I know you two have always been very close, Elz. I won’t let her suffer. You two will be together again soon enough.”
Elzri’s eyes widened, “...What?”
“Una may be weak, but she’s incredibly talented,” Aiden sighed. “If I let her go, she’ll eventually become a threat. It’s why I sent that maid to poison Father and her.”
“Una didn’t drink the tea…” Elzri whispered.
“Yes, unfortunately,” Aiden said.
“...You tried to kill Una…” Elzri mumbled.
“Believe me, I didn’t want to. But I have to hold up my end of the deal,” Aiden said solemnly.
“Elzri, he’s too far gone,” Esletha urged quietly. “You need to get out of here, save yourself!”
“...You tried to kill Una…” Elzri whispered. A thousand memories of his little sister flooded his mind, from the day she was born and he carried her in his small arms, to the late-night where she stood next to him at their father’s deathbed. She meant the world to him and Aiden tried to kill her… he was going to kill her.
Elzri looked up at his brother’s cold eyes. Something broke inside Elzri, anger could not begin to capture the feelings. Anger was small and petty, it was swallowed up by the mountain of fury that consumed him. No, this wasn’t fury, this was pure, primal, unbridled rage. And the orange mana within him answered.
Azure flames erupted from Elzri’s body, an infernal flood sweeping through the arena in a blaze of all-consuming fire. The crowds screamed and flinched back from the heat. The azure flames bloomed into the shape of an enormous half-formed flower before imploding and sputtering out of existence.
As the smoke settled the crowd stared in shocked silence. Amidst the scorched black ground of the arena sat one man.
Elzri staggered to his feet. The sheer magnitude of energy caused by the accidental spell should have killed him, somehow he had survived. Elzri could barely breathe, his body felt as if it was burning from the inside. He felt drained, he couldn’t think straight, but there he stood, alone.
A single petrified scream pierced the silence. Elzri looked up, half-dazed. From the Regal Box, Una stared down at him, horror etched across her pale face.