*Shoosh*
Arthur charges toward Marcus, his senses heightened, his body pushed beyond its limits. His blade slices through the air with deadly intent, rising in a powerful upward arc.
*Trrrrrrrrhhh*
The chains of Marcus's artifact whip toward Arthur like living creatures under his control, while Marcus quickly loads another dart into his crossbow.
*Zaaap*
The dart whistles through the air at incredible speed, and the magical chains close in on Arthur from five different directions. Even with his heightened reflexes and experience, Arthur feels overwhelmed by the multi-pronged attack.
*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*
Arthur swings his sword at the chains, deflecting some, but Marcus's relentless barrage of darts forces him on the defensive. He moves quickly, dodging and sliding, narrowly avoiding the onslaught.
As the seconds tick by, Nyx continues focusing on the green lizard, keeping it at bay. Eliza, on the other hand, watches with growing apprehension. She wants to help Arthur, but both he and Marcus are moving too fast, and she's afraid of hitting her beloved savior if she interferes.
"*Glacies Sub Pedibus...*" Eliza begins chanting, grasping her staff tightly with both hands. "*Pavimentum Gelidum, Nunc Fiat...*"
A thin layer of ice starts spreading across the ground around Marcus, and he feels the mana surging from Eliza, realizing she's casting a powerful spell.
"You bitch..." Marcus growls, furious, and commands one of his chains to lash out toward Eliza. She's exhausted, wounded, and pouring the last of her mana into the spell. She knows she can't dodge in time, so she focuses on finishing her magic, ignoring the incoming threat.
"Eliza!?!" Arthur sees one of the four chains heading straight for her as he dodges the other three and Marcus's darts. Despite the chaotic battle, Marcus maintains perfect focus, a testament to his experience.
"*Pavimentum Gelidum... Pavimentum Gelidum...*" Eliza repeats her chant, her voice unwavering. But when she hears Arthur's shout, her eyes flicker to him for a split second.
The chain is only meters away, its sharp blade aimed directly at her beautiful face. Arthur sees the determination in her eyes—she's not backing down from the spell. But he also sees sadness, which makes that bitter taste in his mouth even stronger.
A flash of memory suddenly strikes Arthur, a vision from a distant past—a similar look in another woman's eyes. This woman had short white hair and dark skin. The same determination, the same sadness.
'Why?'The words escape Arthur's lips, but they don't feel like his own. It's as if he's someone else, in another time, another place.
'For you...'The voice echoes in his memory, not his own, but someone else's—someone who had sacrificed themselves for him, just as Eliza is about to do.
At that moment, Arthur considers calling out for his mother's help. She's surely watching, and she could save Eliza. But what if she doesn't want to? What if she expects him to save her with his own strength?
There are too many unknowns, and Eliza's life is in immediate danger. Arthur has no time to think, only to act. And so, he does.
In a split-second decision, Arthur allows one of the chains attacking him to pierce his abdomen, gritting his teeth as pain floods through his body. With both hands, he grabs hold of the chain embedded in his stomach and pulls it back with all his strength.
*Grrrrraaahhh!*
"WHAT!?!" Marcus stumbles forward, completely caught off guard by Arthur's bold action, his balance thrown off.
"No, no, no!!!" He screams in panic as Eliza's ice spell climbs quickly up his legs, engulfing more and more of his body.
Arthur manages to pull the chain from his stomach, but he collapses to his knees, struggling to stop the bleeding as he loses more blood.
Nyx panics, rushing toward him, but Marcus's lizard also charges, preparing to unleash a deadly acid attack aimed at the pair.
"Watch out!!!" Eliza tries to help, but she's too exhausted to even lift her hand, let alone cast a spell. All she can do is scream.
Arthur sees the creature filling its mouth with acid behind Nyx and feels a surge of helplessness. But before the lizard can make its move, a flurry of gray feathers rains down from the sky, shredding the lizard's body into fragments of glowing green light.
A figure descends from above—it's not Aria yet, but the mysterious Lady Lis. She lands gracefully in front of Arthur, casting him a glance before turning her attention to Marcus, whose body is nearly encased in the ice from Eliza's spell.
"Don't kill him yet," she says loudly, then shifts her gaze to Eliza.
Eliza ignores Lis's request, her focus solely on Arthur, her eyes shining with both confidence and a silent request for his opinion.
Arthur doesn't respond to either Lis or Eliza. Instead, his gaze lifts to the sky, where he sees another figure descending. Her smile is radiant, full of pride, and her eyes sparkle as they meet his.
"Your prey, your choice," Aria says softly, her voice warm and calm. She pulls a healing potion from her storage treasure and swiftly hands it to Arthur, though a shadow of darkness lingers in her eyes as she glances briefly at Marcus.
Aria quickly heals all of Arthur's wounds with her powerful potion and helps him to his feet alongside Nyx. Lis watches the scene unfold with a curious and slightly apprehensive expression.
"I can't tell you what to do, boy, but this is one of the favored sons of House Drummond. You could gain much if you knew how to use such a resource..." Lis advises Arthur.
But he ignores her words, walking over to Eliza after receiving another healing potion from Aria. He gently helps her drink the potion and then offers his hand to lift her up.
Eliza smiles as she accepts Arthur's help and follows him toward Marcus. Nyx retrieves Arthur's sword and flies to his side.
Arthur nods and smiles at Nyx before taking his sword. He glances at Lis, then Eliza, and finally, at his mother.
Aria nods back at him, her approval clear, and Arthur turns his gaze to Marcus, whose body is now completely immobilized by both the poison and Eliza's ice spell.
Arthur can see the fear in Marcus's eyes, a final, desperate plea for mercy.
"No,"
*Shoosh-BAM*
Arthur strikes with a powerful vertical slash, shattering Marcus's frozen body with his blade.
*Crack-BOOM*
The once confident Master Drummond is reduced to thousands of frozen fragments, scattering through the air.
Arthur's lips curl into a dark, satisfied smile, and the women around him smile as well—even Lis, whose eyes sparkle with anticipation and curiosity as she watches him.