Zest - Redblack Gate of Diamonds [ending]

Queen Artoria held her trembling hand to hit the Gate again, but it was still the same. Nothing happened. "Lady Deuce… why?"

"Disgusting!" the Witch spat. "You relied too much on this Deuce of Diamonds, aunt. You, and uncle both! You should stop begging for her to come out from that gate, and start begging me for your very life!"

The Witch's aura flared again, and she was quickly engulfed in her own flames. Zest swore under his breath, he never saw a power as strong as this. It would even hurt his eyes just by looking at her figure. "Aunt, don't you understand now? This is karma! Your husband took this kingdom and throne from my father, solely due to the help of this Deuce of Diamonds. Without her, uncle Guinn wouldn't be able to even touch my father Lancelot in a fair fight!"

"This… this cannot be… no…" Queen Artoria persisted. "Lady Deuce, why won't you come out?"

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!!" the Witch screamed in anger. All of the three children jolted and turned around right away, the girls started to cry the second they saw the raging flames of Chasma. Zest took a step. He needed to do something, he needed to do something now. There may be no help, but he's here, so he should be able to do something. He's here for them. He's here for them...

He went behind the woman's back, as he raised his own sword. But the closer he was to her with each step he took, the hotter it would be. Zest felt as if his whole body was sweating from the heat of just standing behind the fire mage. Another step and he felt his vision blurred, his hands wet. The sword on his grip felt like it could just slip and fell. In his blurred view, Zest saw that even the blade of his sword began to melt.

He could still do this. Perhaps a stab to her heart to put an end to her. Perhaps a slash around her neck…

The Witch began talking again to the royal family of Crypthin, but Zest couldn't make out her words anymore. He struggled his best to lift his sword… He was already right behind her…

"R'aeth!" a strange voice called out suddenly. It was odd and breaking, split and echoed. "Behind you!"

It was Chasma, warning the Witch of Zest's attack.

The woman turned around in utter shock, her eyes widening as she saw Zest.

The young man burned in that second, even when she didn't do a single thing. It was Chasma's own initiative. Zest shouted in pain, but he held it off. He knew that he was being burned alive, but he still held his sword strong and slashed blindly forward.

The Witch let out an anguished scream.

***

A heartbeat later, and Zest felt he had gotten knocked off away, rolling on the grounds. He felt no flames burned around him anymore, but the armor he wore was burnt and blackened, scalding hot. He needed to get up nonetheless. Grabbing his sword on the ground, he knelt and spied around him.

The young knight had stood in front of him now, he was the one who had kicked him away before he could do more harm. Whilst the Witch, evidently hurt, was on her knees facing him as well. Her crimson mage robe was torn where Zest had slashed her, from the right shoulder down to her waist. Her porcelain pale skin was visible, and it was smeared with red, red blood.

"Who… who in Seven Hells are you?!" the Witch called out to him. "How did you get past Sir Burns?! This is impossible!"

Zest stood up, but instead of answering his foe, his eyes met that of his queen, Artoria. The royal families were all standing now, looking worriedly for him. If Deuce of Diamonds wouldn't come out from the Redblack Gate, then Zest was to be their final hope.

"I…" Zest began. "I am Zest. I am the little brother of a girl you had kidnapped years ago from this city."

The Witch did not reply, but in her silence Zest knew she had understood who he meant. Far behind her, Zest saw another movement. It was little Prince Medrawt, he waved silently to him for a while, before looking like as if he's rummaging around his own clothes, trying to find something.

Zest needed to distract these two for a while longer.

"Do you remember her? Or me?" he asked absently in a sad tone.

"I do." The Witch replied coldly, still on her knees. "She was the one whom Gavienus had wanted."

Gavienus? Just who in hell is Gavienus? The name was so familiar but Zest somehow couldn't remember where he had heard it. "Where is she now?" he asked instead.

The Witch grinned despite her pain, "She was brave, that girl. Unlike you, boy. Attacking from behind like a coward."

Zest raised his eyebrows, as he saw Prince Medrawt finally found what he was looking for. The little boy raised his hand and stared intently at the Witch's back. Zest could not understand what he was trying to do, but it seemed like the Witch had felt the danger and stood up, turning around.

Prince Medrawt threw something, but Zest could not see what was it that the boy had thrown. It was, however, aimed at the Witch. It happened too quick for her to act.

A spray of blood and R'aeth screamed in pain once again.

"R'aeth!" Chasma's voice echoed inside the room. The Flames' sounded like she was really worried about the Witch's life at this rate. She had been struck two times now. Zest saw the Witch fell to the ground on her knees again, coughing blood. The knight beside her went to check on his queen right away.

"I'm– I'm fine, Chasma…"

The air grew even hotter than before. Zest was about to fell on his knees again when his head felt a pain so acute that the world spun in his view. Suddenly, he felt vibrations. Like an earthquake, yet the ground didn't shake. It was the air.

Chasma was enraged.

"YOU BRAT!" the voice angrily shouted, echoing uncontrollably in the air. "What did you hit her with?!"

Little Prince Medrawt stood still on his grounds. "My sword."

"But… but this is…" muttered the Witch as she attempted to pull out something invisible from her bloodied left shoulder. When she wrenched it free, blood splattered. Even then, Zest still couldn't see the sword that was in her hands. "T-This is my mother's sword… The Ghost Sword Clarent..."

The young man exhaled his bated breath. True, the invisible sword Clarent was once the sword of the late Queen Elaine, the wife of Lancelot. It was said that it had fallen to King Guinn's hands when he won the War of the Brothers. Not a strange thing that he would give the magical sword to his only son, Prince Medrawt.

However, the Witch had liked it not. "Cousin… you dare to use my mother's own sword to hurt me?!"

"I do!" called out the boy. Zest's eyes widened in surprise. That was more than bravery. Something little boys of his age never would do. Something that Zest would never do by that age…

"Y-You little…" the so-called Queen of the pretenders tried to stand up, to no avail. The blade of the Ghost Sword was cursed, as everyone knew. Some moments after Clarent had tasted your blood, it would take over your physical power and absorb it until you can only move the tips of your fingers. Thus the Witch couldn't make the smallest attempt of any movement. Even when her aura constantly flaring, she was trapped on her kneeling position, at least until the curse would break with time.

Zest gritted his teeth. This was his chance, his only chance. Now that his enemy was immobilized, perhaps he could end this fight and save the royal family. He took a step, two steps. The pain in his head fading suddenly. He tightened his grip on his bloodied sword.

Knowingly, in front of him stood the young knight of the Witch's army. He would undoubtedly become the final obstacle Zest had to pass to reach the Witch herself. The knight finally opened his lips to speak.

"I doubt the kids and their mother dare to approach my queen, even now." Strangely, this young man's voice was calm. "But you, usurper." He addressed Zest who was in front of him. "You would have to fight me first before you could even try to hurt her again."

Zest fell into an unresponding silent. He knew right away that this knight who looked about his own age was more than dangerous. Oddly, even as they were as they were now. The young man was yet to pull out his sword from his iron belt.

"Zest of the usurpers," said he. "Raise your sword. I am Ace of Hearts, Sword Master of Queen R'aeth's army. Meet your steel with mine bravely, unlike what you did before. Face this sword of mine in a fair fight."

The sound of steel whistled as he drew out the ruby-pummeled sword that he wore. In that instant, Zest recognized the blade.

Ace of Hearts held Arondight in a straight vertical manner of his battle stance, before lowering it to the ground beside him.

As he did that, Lancelot's famed sword started to burn by itself. Fires slowly enveloped the sharp blade, before turning the legendary Arondight into a sword of flames.