Chapter 78: A Fiery Finale! (Part 4!)

Runtaii was a complete failure. And he didn’t want to believe it.

Gritting his teeth, Runtaii held his fist up, a signal for all the archers in his company to prepare to strike. He didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care if he would die, all he wanted was to burn this city to the ground and to reduce Vega and her friends into a pile of putrid ash.

Vega and Skaldi fist pumped, ready to head for cover and to retaliate together. The Snake Skins cried as one, wanting to put a stop to their enslaver.

“Fire arrows Now!” Runtaii ordered by throwing his fist down. Everyone held the breaths and ducked for an instant. However, a long pause had followed it. With a few of the soldiers coughing, a thin mist past over the street from a busted water pipe.

“...uh… are we dead-dead?” Vega tilted her head and wove her hand, asking genuinely and not to make Runtaii madder.

Oh who am I kidding? She totally did that to make him mad.

“Shut it! Archers, now! …fire arrows? What the hell, where are my a-”

“Archers?” A grim dark voice spoke, colder than a thousand winters. With a willower that was growing and a growl from a scar on her face, a figure stood in the shadow of a window.

“...who are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Your archers, they’re either dead or have already run away. Even if you went back to your supplies, they’ve all been destroyed by yours truly. No more archers, and no more flame arrows. So… no matter what, you aren’t burning anything anymore.”

Runtaii searched for where the voice was coming from, shocked by the news. Not because she sounded scary, but she sounded like she was telling the truth.

“What… no… no!” Runtaii threw his spear at the figure, shocked to see its shadow disappear and reappear in front of him.

Soaking in the cool moonlight, Krimm stood before the company of soldiers. The scar on her face creeped them out, along with the blood on her ax. Many of them shuttered at her sight, a traitor Assassin?

For the ones that had families and hopes to go to, those soldiers dropped their weapons and ran off.

Her piercing eyes glinted at the rest, and the Snake Skins soon joined her side. Of the remaining soldiers, their hearts were full of venom and hate. And they would inflict it on everyone they could. Runtaii wouldn’t have it any other way, seeing the foes he was facing.

“~If there are no more archers, so be it! MEN, ATTACK!~” Runtaii fielded his warriors, as they yelled out and charged at Krimm and the Snake Skins.

“Vega, Skaldi! Now's your chance! After him, now!” Krimm said one last sentence before getting into the battle proper. With two slices a warrior lost his arm. With one stab they lost their throat. And with three swings from her pockets, she tossed her last remaining black powder bombs at the mass of soldiers.

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATOMB!

A spectacular explosion took the whole street, and the fighting broke out into individual duels and skirmishes among them. The Snakes Skins were outnumbered but their lack of pain and indomitable will balanced out the fight, with Krimm choosing to protect as many Snake Skins as she could.

Dashing across whatever gaps they could find, Skaldi and Vega ran towards Runtaii. The bombs had formed canyons and trenches, ones that the two jumped over. Where the other vaulted the other was not far behind.

One soldier prepared to stab Skaldi, but a plant pot had crashed into his head and taken him out. The two looked up to see Sorbet up on the roof, holding another pot.

“Thanks for the help-help!” Vega gave a quick thumbs up before continuing their approach.

“No worries and good luck!” She said, before throwing down whatever she could to help defend this city.

Plunging his spear into the skull of Snake Skin, Runtaii wasted no time to deliver death. Functioning on a belief that his enemies will be destroyed, Runtaii fought on but saw the two rapidly approaching. Crouching his spear, Runtaii charged with his horse, its hooves clopping down hard.

“Kill-kill!” Kaliba cheered out, with a silly bloodthirsty voice.

“That’s the idea!” Skaldi agreed, flinging two daggers out to Runtaii, aiming for his face. But the daggers went wide and only managed to scrape lines on his shoulders.

“Boost me!” Vega commanded, standing in place and playing her guitar. Skaldi looked at her in confusion, but saw the Soul Gem on her hip shine and pop open. She wasn’t speaking to Skaldi, she was speaking to the Soul Gem.

Focusing on a memory of energy, Vega thought of Fort Jao and the time she was chased by a bunch of drunken raiders. Stringing together a jovial melody, Vega hoped that this would be strong enough to be powerful but focused enough not to hurt her.

In one instant, a fog of rose petals was where Vega had been. And in the next, Vega had launched herself onto Runtaii and held onto him with her legs. The song worked perfectly!

“Rahh! Damn you!” Runtaii winded up his fist and proceeded to punch a hole through Vega’s stomach, sending trinkets and drawing flying in the wind.

The horse was much faster than what Skaldi could run, and he gave everything he had to navigate the fiery streets they were entering.

“Vega! Hold on!” He called out to her, seeing the two brawling atop the horse. Skaldi took risks when he could, running over collapsing bridges and jumping over seas of fire. He would not let her be alone.

Ridding blind, Runtaii could hardly steer his horse and the two traveled into a burning plaza with a temple spire aflame and collapsing in on itself. As they rode, the two exchanged punches to one another, each more devastating than the last.

Opting to use both her metal and wooden arm, Vega went to a wave of hooks and jabs at Runtaii, ultimately weak by themselves but each stacked up more and more damage. Choosing to deal upper cuts and charged strikes with his right fist, Runtaii aimed for her joints. And every time he hit he felt her foundations snapping more and more.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Gradually, the cracks on Vega’s body grew and brightened in disturbed light. With one fierce elbow across her neck, Runtaii flung Vega to the ground as embers and ash coated Vega. The crackling of the burning temple filled her ears, and the cracking of her wooden form filled her sensation.

“You’ve done something really impressive, scarecrow.” Runtaii hopped off from his horse and picked Vega up by the neck, squeezing as tight as he still could.

“...and-and what’s that?” She replied, feeling his hot breath on her face.

“You’ve humiliated me. I’m here speaking to a god damn farming implement! And yet… you still persist. Because… you believe you have a choice in the matter.” Taking a dagger from belt, he held it just over one of her eyes.

Starting to struggle, Vega tried to rip his fingers off of her and gave him a few more punches but none made a dent.

“You believe that your ability to live is yours… when really it's mine. You know… I’m starting to wonder if you have a brain inside there. I want to… check.” Careening the dagger into her eye, Runtaii tore a hole in Vega’s head. He pulled the dagger down as Vega kept trying to fight back, only to feel her seams split out and open.

“GAH! S-STOP! N-NO!” Shocked by the sensation, Vega felt dark chasm in her head, like there was a hole in it. Worst part was she hadn’t lost any mental function, so she was in full realization of what was happening.

“What’s this!? All you’ve got is hay in there! How disappointing!” Runtaii grabbed a handful of hay and showed it to Vega’s remaining eye.

Screaming out, her eye was dripping with tears that glowed with an ephemeral power. Filled with sorrow, Vega’s form disappeared from his grip. Runtaii turned around to see Vega’s pickaxe covering his whole vision.

A metal clang rang out and Runtaii groaned with his hands on his face. Her strike managed to take one of eyes, now a bloody mess.

“RAHHH! How… how dare you…” Runtaii held the side of his face before letting go and stumbling to Vega.

Vega heaved the pickaxe over her shoulder, but dropped down to one knee. Whatever energy she had stored was now truly run out. Only a droplet left, and that was being used on staying sane.

“H-how’s that? …now we match! Haha!” Her laughing was weak and Vega let the pickaxe slip out of her hands. Plenty of her head stuffing too spilled out on the burning ground.

As Runtaii approached, he noticed something odd. Something odd from Vega.

Out came from her head a very strange thing, one something wouldn’t expect to see inside a scarecrow. A tuft. A tuft of something. A tuft of something familiar to Vega. A tuft of hair. A tuft of brown hair.

A tuft of brown hair emitting a purple glow.

There was a Soul Gem in Vega’s head.

Of what Soul, you might be asking?

Well… it was the Soul of Ena.

“What… what is this?” Runtaii picked the tuft of hair, confused as to why it was there. Like discovering gold in a corpse’s guts, however this is far more valuable than any ordinary gold.

This was how Vega operated, how she lived! Not because some bizarre mental organ or none existing consciousness. But a Soul Gem, literal and explaining all that he had been witnessing from her.

But then he realized a mild horror with this knowledge. This construct… this person… she wasn’t born.

She was created. Created from a Soul of a dead person.

Vega! Vega, do you hear me? Get up! I spent… too much time on you to die like this!

The voice was an echo in Vega’s head, Ani Arma’s attempt to communicate with her. He didn’t care much for the scarecrow, only what scientific and magical potential she had. He wouldn’t allow Runtaii to survive if he destroyed the Soul Gem.

The Soul Gem of his dead daughter.

Please. If there was a time to listen, you listen now!

Not being able to rise, Vega couldn’t even answer if she wanted to.

And just then, Runtaii felt a boost of strength and vitality. A few of his wounds sewed together, his bleeding weakening and ceasing. Pain remained and his eye was gone, but he only felt a little tired instead of the extreme exhaustion he had been in during this fight.

Vega felt her Soul being used, like being turned into a bandage, stealing her agency. She tried to rise but her legs wouldn’t listen.

“No… sto…stop…” Even speaking words was exhausting, as Vega felt everything become blurrier and blurrier. And darker and darker.

Lonelier…. And lonelier…

“...heh…haha! You are really something you fool. With this… you won’t stand a chance!” Runtaii clapped down at Vega, rolling his eyes while he did. “Nothing can stop me now. Now…I shall rule!”

“NOT YET!” A person yelled out, with a fist clocking Runtaii in the face.

Skaldi had arrived just in time, covered in soot and smoke.

His punch sent Runtaii stumbling back, letting go of the Soul Gem from his hands. He crouched back and shook his head dazed, his vision also blurry and muddy. Grunting through his teeth, Runtaii hated being interfered with especially now.

Skaldi would have pressed the advantage, taking a single step towards Runtaii. He was going to make him pay for everything he did today.

“...ska…Skaldi… is that ya? I… I can’t see.” Vega whispered out, which made Skaldi’s heart sink to the core of his being. He saw the state Vega was in and immediately rushed to help her.

“No no! Not again! How… shit…” This was bad, Skaldi couldn’t deny that even if he wanted to. He helped Vega to her feet and she had to hold onto his shoulder for support.

“Skaldi… I think I agree-gree. Having one eye… sucks…” Loopy from injury, Vega didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation as well.

“Shut up! Poor thing…Let me… shit…” Skaldi scanned the ground to grab the stuffing for her head but much of it had burned away.

Except for the tuft of hair. He gave it one quick look and understood what it was. Gently putting it back in her head, Vega seemed to stand a little better. And her vision became not so blurry, and her thoughts became much more clear.

“Son of a… if there’s another god damn person who interrupts my fight with her, I’m going to turn them into a horror story!” Runtaii stood up and saw the two standing. He was hurting and he could not fake that he hadn’t been stunned by Skaldi’s strike.

“Thank… you…” Vega put a hand on Skaldi’s shoulder, happy to see her friend. The redhead looked behind them and saw that the entire street was a sea of flames and smoke. The way they came from, nothing and no one could get past. Everything except the scaffolding for the nearby buildings and a sewer hole, was ablaze with terrible fire.

“...well… guess it's just us now.”

“No it’s just me!” Runtaii roared out, stancing up and waiting for the two to come to him.

Only capable of holding her head low, Vega searched for her gear. She saw the guitar and the pickaxe on the ground, but knew that Skaldi was going to need all the help he could get.

“...Hey Kaliba… I want to let ya know that…” Vega tried to talk to her bird friend, but saw that it wasn’t near her anymore. She surmised that Kaliba flew off, not able to tolerate this battle anymore. It made her feel sad… “Oh… guess the fire was too much for ya… see ya.”

“Vega… do you think you can heal yourself again?” Skaldi asked, feeling his bandolier for throwing knives. All he felt was the leather and nothing more, and cold chill along his skin.

“...What?” She asked in fear, knowing what Skaldi was going to propose.

“Can you do it!?” Skaldi demanded, not because he wasn’t going to fight to protect his friend. But because he needed to know that his friend was going to be okay. And that his friend hadn’t given up.

“...I don’t know.”

“Vega… I need you to be safe. Fuck, I don’t need you. Everyone needs you. I will buy you as much time as you need. Can you do it?!” Skaldi gripped Vega by the collar, fearing the answer would lead to his end.

“...ya buy me one minute… I’ll play my guitar and do my best…”