Clash of the Goddesses
1924 Words
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Jasper is soaring the skies as a dragon, carrying Arina and the rest of his comrades. They have left the marshes so they feel at ease. Arina looks back to her homeland—the greatest marsh in the whole Realm. A part of her wants to jump off and run back to save Viktor. But then she looks at her belly, sensing a new life is flourishing, her child... their child.
Icarus notices how she looks back now and then. She has been doing it every time. And every time too, he watches her just in case she decides to jump off. He's ready to grab her if she does that. Then she catches him looking at her. He doesn't look away and narrows his eyes at her.
“What are you looking at?” she asks, frowning a little. He doesn't answer and just looks ahead. “Don't worry, I'm not gonna jump off.”
“You better not,” he answers.
“Icarus,” says Philip. “just leave her alone.”
Icarus rolls his eyes, looking bored. Then all of them widen their eyes. Before they could react, Jasper flies out of control. He lets out a loud dragon's cry. They look back and it's Zoya, clinging on his tail. Her face is full of bl**d. Her grin is glistening red.
“Found you!” she laughs and throws them back to the ground.
Icarus protects Hiroki while Philip protects the pregnant Arina. All of them crash on the plains. The people feel the rumbling. They go out of their homes early in the morning just to see a huge dust cloud in the middle of their freshly-plowed field.
In the middle of the crater covered in a thick dust cloud, Jasper reverts into himself. He's very exhausted and hurt. Being a huge dragon made him fall harder than he's supposed to. He grins, showing his teeth covered in bl**d. He sits up as he hears footsteps approaching him. He knows who it is.
“You didn't have to slam me, girl,” he says, wiping his lips with his arm.
“Come here, you,” she growls, grabbing the back of his neck.
Icarus dashes out of nowhere, punching her right in the face. She losses grip on Jasper when he transformed into a bird. Then a kick from Philip staggers her, making a chance for Icarus to prepare a devastating blow.
“Fist of Three!!!”
His punch sends her a mile away, destroying the farmlands along the way.
“Let's go!” Philip screams.
Jasper transforms back into himself and he could barely move. His comrades surround him as he sits on the ground.
“I can't transform,” he says, panting.
“Then let's run!” Hiroki says. He pulls him up and they run away on foot.
After a few meters, Philip shouts, “She's coming back! Go!”
He stays back with Icarus. They nod at each other, taking their stances. Together they let out a huge shock wave. Icarus with his flying punch and Philip with his flying kick. It destroys the land in front of them and beyond, going after where Zoya is.
She answers with a comparable punch of her own. The colliding forces explode catastrophically, leveling trees on the meant plains. One man comes out of his mansion, watching from the balcony. It's Ammar. He's in disbelief not because of the destruction of his land but at the face of Zoya although far away.
“My daughter?” he mutters.
As they run, Arina is thinking about something that's making her eyes well up. “Why is she here?” she asks Hiroki and Jasper. “What happened to Viktor?”
“Well,” Jasoer says. “to be optimistic, I say he escaped from her so she decided to chase us. But those who do the taboo has never survived, right?”
“What? He—”
“Yes, he told me everything,” he smirks at her.
“It's your fault!” she roars, jumping on him and pinning him on the ground by grabbing his throat. She turns into a half-lion, ready to cut his throat with her claws.
“Hey!” Hiroki tries to get her off but she growls at him, baring her fangs. So, he steps back.
“You want us to die?” Jasper asks, not even trying to get away from her grip.
“I want ‘you’ to die! You tricked him into telling you! Now... he's—” She shakes her head, trying to stop thinking about Viktor. “I'm going to kill you!”
“And why are you taking so long? Go ahead and kill me then. Make it fast so you'll have time to run. Protecting you was the deal Viktor and I made. I'm not the kind of guy who breaks the deal.”
She growls, tightening her grip on his throat. Then a tip of a sword points at her forehead, an inch away from cutting her skin. She looks up and violet fire is glaring from the goddess's eyes.
“Lady Sayuri!” Hiroki exclaims.
“Guys!” says Gwen from behind. “Thank goodness we're in time!”
Arina gets off of Jasper and she crawls backward as Sayuri threatens to slice her.
“Oh, my lady,” says Jasper, coughing. “thank you for that.” She looks at him and he explains, “Please spare her. We just had a misunderstanding.”
Then she glares back at Arina—who's frightened by her aura. She swallows, slowly reverting to her human form. Sayuri sheaths her sword and walks past her. She turns her gaze to the battlefield where Icarus and Philip are fighting.
She rides her wide sword and flies swiftly. The boys are heavily injured while retreating. Zoya is unscathed. Fighting is like her dr*g. It excites her so much that her grin is as wide as it can get. Sayuri lands in between the boys and they are startled.
“My lady!” Philip exclaims.
“Go,” she says.
They didn't hesitate and do what she said.
“Is she as strong as you told me?” asks Icarus.
“Why are you even asking that? Of course, she is! Just wait until you see her fight.”
Now, it's Sayuri and Zoya facing each other on the battlefield. The goddesses are glaring at each other. They are aware of each other's aura.
“Who are you?” asks Zoya. “Which one of the Nine are you?”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Sayuri answers.
Zoya is suspicious even more. “Don't play dumb with me!” she growls. “I know a Nine when I see one! Are you here to replace me?”
“No,” she says, unsheathing her sword.
“You seem to be eager to fight me, huh?” Sayuri doesn't answer. “I'm sorry but that'll have to wait. I have to k*ll that red-headed rat.”
Zoya walks toward Sayuri, one step at a time. She is about to pass by her but Sayuri slashes her. Zoya's arms have been cut off along with her belly.
“Ugh!” Zoya groans in pain. “So, you wanna do this now, so bad? Fine!”
Her arms grow back instantly and the wound on her belly has healed. She lets out a barrage of punches and Sayuri blocks all of it with her sword. Sparks light up the surrounding dust clouds.
Then Zoya notices something odd. Sayuri is not moving fast but something invisible is blocking her punches instead. When she sharpens her senses, that is when she knew. She steps back and Sayuri doesn't pursue.
Pointing at Sayuri, Zoya says, “You're a Nine, alright, or maybe just a candidate. You better get out of my way or you'll lose your place!”
Without any words, Sayuri lowers her stance and sheaths her sword. She is ready to pull it out and slice her opponent whenever she wants to.
“Are you dead?” Zoya mocks.
“Cessation,” Sayuri mutters.
Zoya heard it and gets confused until a shockwave reaches her. At the same time, Sayuri dashes forward at lightning speed. Zoya is lucky to lie down in time, avoiding the s***h. The hills behind her are instead got sliced in half. Violet fire melts the soil and incinerates the grasses.
Sayuri turns around slowly, her eyes glowing violet, her sword covered in violet fire, and the land behind her in chaos.
Icarus witnessed the power she displayed. He's awestruck, not batting an eye to not miss a thing.
A mace gets into the hands of Zoya. It's her relic. Her power is back as soon as she touches it. She's more serious than ever. Talking is futile—she concludes. So, she attacks, seeking to end Sayuri.
They clash on the battlefield. Their weapons are making sparks more powerful and louder than fireworks. The ears of the people in the plain are ringing because of it. Others could almost vomit.
Up in the air, Sayuri retreats but is unfazed. Zoya comes out of the thick smoke, attacking from below. Sayuri sends forward the side sword she's standing on. It distracts Zoya for a moment, giving Sayuri an opening to attack. In time, Zoya blocks the s***h with her mace. The heavy blow sends her back to the ground. However, she lands upright, ready to dodge Sayuri's following downward slice.
The loud and destructive clash of the goddesses continues once more. One could not make out the situation because of the swiftness of their movements. And because of the thick dust cloud. They could only feel the fight with their feet. It's like the rumbling ground is telling them the story.
Then at that moment, an unusual flash of light occurs. A shockwave startles Hiroki and the others who are watching from afar.
“What's happening?” he asks the others.
“Relax, Hiroki,” says Jasper as he sits on the grasses and rests his back against a tree. He's carefree with his hands behind her head and closing his eyes. “Lady Sayuri is gonna win this.”
“Uh-huh?” Icarus questions. “Then why are her arms bleeding?”
Jasper opens his eyes and sees Sayuri taking a stance. Indeed, there's bl**d on her arms. But then it catches on fire. The wounds close like nothing ever happened. Closing his eyes again, Jasper chuckles.
“You guys are too worked up,” he says. “Zoya is no match for her.”
“How can you say so?” asks Arina.
“I just can.”
“Zoya is the strongest goddess on this planet. She's even more powerful than Silva. How can your goddess defeat her?”
“You're full of doubts, Arina because this is the first time you met her. Don't worry, you'll get what I mean in time. Right, Hiroki?”
“Yeah,” Hiroki nods. “Lady Sayuri can't lose.”
“That's just being hopeful,” Arina argues further.
“Maybe it is but at the same time, it's expected. If she's put in a tight spot, she breaks out even stronger.”
On the battlefield, Zoya saw how Sayuri healed her wounds. “So, you can heal too? Let's find out how far that healing of yours can take you!”
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- Writer
