Karma (Part 1)

…

Fifty minutes ago…

With a heavy heart, Aily decided to keep on moving forward. Her mind and heart were troubled with the decision and actions she threw towards Pio. She wrapped herself around with her arms as she walked. Her skin was freezing in sorrow, trembling as she was densely disheartened by her own actions.

She looked at the southern tower in front of her. She stared into the rousing conflict at the far straight at the north tower. She watched glumly as many soldiers rounding up around it, trying to flush the fire out, but to no avail.

Alone, she walked inside the tower.

The lights were oddly shut down. No torches were lit. It was all bleak and dark. Only the dim lights of the bridge ends are lit, giving poor vision to anyone passes it. Quietly, Aily walked back outside. Her breath was panting deeply. She couldn't forget the girl she expelled.

The darkness made her thoughts rounding uncontrollably. She thought that if the darkness were gone, then her mind would be eased off. So, she grabbed a small torch from her waist bag and lit the wick with one of the bridge lights. She then proceeded inside the tower again, and gladly, the thoughts of the little girl were slowly disappearing.

The walls were moldy, the corners of the walls were full of spider webs, and the stench of the room was also terrible like a humid room. Aily covered her nose when walking through the mossy floor. She felt disgusted by it, she wanted to throw up, but she managed to hold out until she reached the room that leads into the bridge linking to the central palace.

Suddenly, Aily sensed a jolt of mana energy in a very close proximity to her. She was extremely shocked, knowing that her mana sensing ability detected a sudden fluctuation of mana energy nearby, as if someone just warped in and out of the area in an instant. In her shock, she reflectively hid behind cover and sat still quaveringly.

"What… was that…?" she asked to herself. She couldn't hold her legs still. They're trembling in response of being scared. "That was scary… what the heck with that massive mana energy…? It wasn't from a living being, is it?"

After a few seconds, her senses no longer sense mana energy nearby anymore. With that in mind, her body slowly calmed down and she decided to move onwards. She reached the large door leading outside to the bridge. But oddly, the door was opened slightly.

She approached the large door with the height of four meters and examined it. "Did someone pass through here…?" she wondered. Seeing the gap of the poorly closed large door, she peeked through it.

Her pupils shrunk intensely. In the wake of her shock, she threw herself away from the door and crouched on the corner. Her body was trembling immensely. Both of her hands were covering her mouth to prevent herself from making breath noises.

She was very scared, because right beyond the door on the bridge linking to the central palace, Aily saw Queaz walking on the bridge.

"This is bad…" said Aily in panic. She didn't expect to be the one that will run into the suspected murderer.

"But wait…" she carefully reminisced what Marco has said to her. "Marco… Marco said that we shouldn't attack him when we found him. But what if he attacks me first…?" she mumbled in concerned face. Her heart could not stop thumping while thinking about what she must do next.

On the bridge, the man in mention was indeed Queaz. He was strolling with his fists in his pockets while he passed the bridge to enter the central palace. He was fully aware of what currently happening, and knew that Marco and his allies were also involved.

"What are they up to, anyway?" he wondered in a careless tone. "Well, it's not my business, tho."

The strong winds crossed Queaz, making his gray cape fluttered alongside the wind flow. "I did say it wasn't my business," he mumbled to himself. Simultaneously, he rotated himself into the opposite the direction.

"But if anyone tries to sneak up on me. It is clearly unacceptable." He said while raising his voice. And finally, he shouts out.

"Show yourself. Trying to hide your skin but not your mana energy is a faaatal mistake."

Queaz then heard a sudden thud from inside the tower. He waited patiently, as the person from the tower opened the large door and met his eyes.

"Hoh… I thought it would be some unfortunate magician folks running into me," said Queaz after seeing the person in front of him. "Who could've thought that you're the one sneaking to me…

…Aily."

Aily stood with a terrified face. Her scepter is at hand, as if she's ready to fight any time. In spite of that, Queaz could easily tell that Aily was quavering upon meeting him. He actually did not get why she was like that, though, because he recalled he never remember doing anything bad to her.

"What are you doing here, Aily?" Queaz asked calmly.

"To you as well, w-w-why are you here?!" Aily asked back while pointing her scepter straight to Queaz. Her voice did not share the same calmness since she was invaded with fear and panic. Her panic rose specifically due to Queaz knowing her name. Aily remembered that she never told him her name.

Queaz took out one of his arms off his pocket and thinks. "Why she's being hostile to me…?"

"Answer me, Mister QUEAZ!" Aily suddenly shouted. Queaz tighten his eyes in reply. He was trying to figure what's going on. Meanwhile, Aily judged that Queaz was looking at her fiercely.

When Queaz figured one of many possibilities, he decided to answer her question. "I am here… to accomplish something."

"And that is?!" Aily replied in a hostile manner. "…You don't have to know." Queaz grimly replied.

The wind was blowing wildly, ramming the two on the top of the dimly lighted bridge. "Hoh… Why are you giving me that vicious look in your eyes, hm…?"

"It's because…em… uhh…!"

"—Because I am an enemy to you, is it not…?" Queaz cut through her voice. He closed up his eyes even more. Aily gashed her teeth. Her eyes were savagely gazing upon Queaz.

"It appears that even negotiations won't work for the likes of you, huh…" Queaz concluded the situation. "Someone… or probably some faction… has indoctrinated you with a false truth."

"…Not only that." Queaz calmly said. In a ballsy sight, he said, "You're in distress upon something else, are you not?"

The emotions struck from Aily's soul. Her anger ruptured out of control, "Don't toy with me!"

From the edge of her scepter, a majestic green magic circle illuminated the dark bridge floor tile. The blowing winds around the two of them shifted and swirled around the magic circle in a fast blow.

"It appears a fight is inevitable, huh… how unfortunate. I simply asked and this is your answer. What a terrible attitude you have," said Queaz concluded more of the situation. He pitied Aily's rash actions towards him.

"I… I'm going to beat you," said Aily in angered voice. Queaz could feel the flow of wrath writhing within her lines of voices. "You're trying… to kill the prince, aren't you?!" she asked in rage.

"Hoh… so, you've known what I'm gonna do?"

"So, it WAS TRUE!" Aily shouted loud and casted:

"Thruster Windforce!"

She blasted the swirling winds gathered around her scepter's edge straight upfront. Upon impact, Queaz was blown into the sky, but he moves swiftly midair and positioned himself to land safely. The wind magic was not effective at all.

"Because of you, I've turned like this!" Aily relentlessly casted many wind magic.

"Her mana energy is very unstable. She is throwing her wrath at me, yet I don't know what's causing it." Queaz assessed Aily's status. "The only way to stop her is to knock her out cold." He said while standing in a half crouch with his right feet stretched into the back and pressed against the ground.

With his right foot, he boosted himself in subsonic speed, breaking through Aily's wind magic. Aily got shocked seeing him disappear from her sights. Upon close proximity, Queaz opened his palm in a slicing form to knock her right in the neck.

"Go to sleep." Queaz stated dimly in front of her face while swinging his hand right into her neck. For the first time, Aily got a glimpse of Queaz's eyes. But…

*THWANG!

"What the…? Her skin is hard as an iron?" Queaz immediately flipped backwards and read the situation again. He quickly remembered something, "Hoh yeah… a supportive magic… I forgot you have the 'Ironclad' magic."

Even after knowing it, Queaz approached her by rushing her fast. Aily showed a great resolve and avoided every strike Queaz gave. But in the last blow…

*SLASH!*

"OWWW!" Aily reflectively shouted in a grievous pain. Her elbow was slashed by something.

"Blade Skill – Defense Break… that's what I learned from him. Can't believe it has some actual use…" said Queaz as he showed a dagger on his right hand with its blade full of blood after a successful strike.

"It hurts… it hurts… h-how… how on earth my Ironclad doesn't stop it…?"

"Simple, the skill I used is useful in breaking through defensive magic users. By sharpening mana energy on one side of the blade, it will literally tear apart any protection magic like the ones you've used."

Aily forcefully stood herself back. She then drank a potion that Marco gave to him two days earlier. But before even finishing it, Queaz launched another assault with his dagger. Aily got shocked and nearly choked, but just in time, she reached her scepter and casted:

"Might!" And then she luckily found the incoming blade and intercepted it with the hilt of her cane.

*CRASSH!

"Whoa…" Queaz was slightly surprised, his eyes widen a bit. His blade got shattered in half after colliding with her cane. From there Queaz realized that she used another magic in a quick session. "Very great, Aily…" he said not meaning to compliment. Knowing that the blade is of no use, Queaz ditched it off the bridge, "I didn't expect you to use a magic that gives you superhuman strength."

"Indeed it is a superhuman strength…" Aily mumbled to herself. "But I have to be quick, this magic won't last more than ten minutes. Besides that, it drains my mana energy when it's covering my body."

"It's okay. I will be alright. I can do this. I can defeat him singlehandedly."

"Hoh… interesting…" Queaz stated upon realizing that Aily's mana energy was stabilizing. "Being able to perform multiple spells at once while simultaneously going into combat with her cane… that was great, but still, it was poorly executed."

Queaz fixed his hat a bit, "This girl has the ability to absorb the wind around her and manipulate it into her own magic. Her other magic series, probably the supportive magic is quite troublesome, too. Her way to adapt into the battle is quite staggering as well…

…but still, she is wasting too much mana energy. And when she ran out of mana energy, that's when she would succumb."

"Hmmf?!" Queaz got surprised as two cycling lotuses of wind appeared all of sudden and strikes him. However, in his reflex, he barely dodged it. A partial of his long bangs were cut, revealing his sharp red eyes.

And when he looked into Aily's direction, swarming tens of wind cutters were bound to slice him.

"Fine, then…" Queaz stated to himself. He figured that knocking her out cold won't be enough. She might have more tricks up her sleeve that might prevent her from getting knocked out.

Queaz then decided to kill her. He raised his seriousness… a bit.