Aaron vs. Lord Victor

---Katherine---

While Aaron fought Jax, I kept an eye on the battle while also concentrating on healing myself. It was hard to summon my healing magic when I had already depleted almost all of my energy. The blue sparks that appeared were dull and faded quickly, but it was better than nothing. At the very least, I was able to stop the bleeding from the wound on my shoulder.

I managed to sit up against the stone wall. I watched as Aaron, enraged, utilize his wind power in a way I've never seen him do—with the intention to kill. During our entire quest, Aaron used wind to fight, but it was to blast the enemies back or at most, sweep them off the side of the mountain. It wasn't used to directly hurt or kill anyone. Now, the wind was a weapon in his hands. I saw Jax get hit by a gust of wind with the force of a typhoon. Although there weren't any visible external wounds, Jax definitely took on heavy internal damage.

Now I understood the Elders' warning at the very beginning when we first found out we were the chosen ones. If Aaron was on the opposing side, I didn't know if I could defeat him. He was powerful, more powerful than any of us realized—including himself. I watched as Aaron, his eyes blazing, plunged Retribution into Jax's chest without hesitation. I watched as he retracted the sword with a sickening squelch, as Jax breathed his last breath, and as the blood pooled around him. Lord Victor's eyes were locked on Aaron, who stood defiantly and triumphantly over the body of Lord Victor's only bodyguard, with the sword by his side still dripping fresh blood.

"You killed Jax," Lord Victor hissed angrily, rising from his throne. Aaron didn't break eye contact. "You are stronger than I believed you to be, Aaron Kane."

"If this is the skill level of your bodyguard, then I wonder how you managed to survive till now," Aaron taunted. "Did you not think we would put up a good fight?"

Lord Victor slowly walked down the steps and onto the walkway towards Aaron. I watched them anxiously. "Jax is the most skilled warrior of his time. His double crescent moon knives have slew many a good swordsman. I thought he would make quick work of you, but you have exceeded my expectations." Lord Victor paused and looked at Jax's body. "He was a good bodyguard. I am sad that he will not see the future I promised him."

"The future you promised him?" Aaron guffawed. "There is no future with you, only darkness and death and suffering. It ends here, Lord Victor. No more shall you reign terror over this land."

Lord Victor's eyes were full of disdain as they locked onto Aaron again. "You may be good in terms of combat, but you are certainly lacking up here." He tapped his head. "Did you forget that I have powers far greater than yours?"

He raised his arms, and darkness seemed to rise from the ground and slither around him. Aaron took a step back, holding Retribution out in front of him in a defensive position. I heard the growls and shrieks of hundreds of Evils coming from all directions. I wanted to help Aaron, but I was still too weak to stand. Forget fighting; I felt like I would collapse if I took even one step. Aaron had slammed me into the wall too hard when he was trapped in the illusions.

Tendrils of darkness shot out at Lord Victor's command and streaked towards Aaron, who tried to cut them down from the air. They flew around Aaron, surrounding him in a black cocoon as he slashed through them to no avail. Before they could tighten and ensnare him completely, Aaron encased himself in a ball of wind that blasted outwards, which instantly dissipated the darkness. I squinted my eyes against the powerful wind, which I felt even though I was a good fifteen meters away.

Lord Victor bombarded Aaron with more evil smoke, increasing the frequency and strength as Aaron forged forward with his ball of wind. The comets of darkness bounced off harmlessly, streaking off and hitting the ground, where they sizzled and evaporated. When Aaron was five meters away from where Lord Victor stood, he yelled and charged, brandishing Retribution. Lord Victor made a complicated pattern in the air with his hands and pushed outwards to send out a powerful blast. Aaron tried to counter with a wind blast of his own but was ultimately pushed back several meters. Before he could straighten and charge again, Lord Victor wove his hands in the air in another pattern and sent larger blasts sailing through the air at Aaron.

It was like watching a game of deadly dodgeball, with tens of dodgeballs coming towards you all at once. Aaron cut some of the blasts out of the air, sidestepped some of them, and countered a few with his own wind blast, but there were too many. He was making very slow progress toward Lord Victor, whose confident smirk had returned.

Just as I was fully engaged in watching the battle, a cold presence enveloped me, and sending a shiver down my back and chilling me to the core. 'Hello, Katherine,' Lord Victor's voice spoke in my mind. My blood ran cold. 'Did you think I had forgotten about you?'

Then the pain hit me. It started out as a strong headache, before spreading to my torso and limbs, until it felt like a million fire ants were crawling under my skin, burrowing into my bones, and biting me ferociously. My wounds burned like someone was pressing a red-hot branding iron onto them. I bit down hard on my lip to prevent from screaming out as I toppled to the ground, curling into the fetus position. I knew Lord Victor was trying to use me to distract Aaron. The evil glint in his eyes said it all.

Seeing how I wasn't making any noise, Lord Victor increased the pain level. I clawed at the ground as the pain blinded me. My body screamed, 'Make it stop!' I had the thought of running headfirst into the wall to knock myself out just so I wouldn't feel the pain anymore, but I couldn't move. As my world was swallowed by pain, an inhumane scream was ripped from my throat. As soon as the first one escaped, more screams followed. I couldn't stop. I could barely think straight.

Through the haze and my tear-blurred vision, I saw Aaron look back at me in alarm. His movements slowed. He must have shouted my name; I saw his lips move, but I didn't hear anything over my own agony. 'No. Don't come for me. Defeat Lord Victor, and the pain will stop.'

"Don't…be….distracted!" I managed to force out between gritted teeth. Red and black spots swam before my eyes. "Kill…him! Kill….ARGHHHHH AHHHHHH!" Another tsunami of pain hit me, and I screamed again. I wanted to die.

Boom! The pain subsided a little, enough for me to open my eyes and see Aaron get hit by a blast of darkness. He flew back in the air and landed on the ground heavily. Lord Victor strode down the walkway and flicked one hand upwards. Aaron was plucked up from the ground by an invisible force and thrown across the room like a rag doll. He slammed into a stone pillar on my right hard enough to leave cracks in the structure and fell to the ground in an unmoving heap with a thud. Retribution clattered to the floor.

"Aaron!" It was all I could do to cry out his name. With Lord Victor's focus entirely on Aaron, the pain had subsided significantly, but I was left trembling and weak on the ground, trying to recover from my latest torture. I could only watch as Lord Victor walked up to Aaron and kicked him hard in the stomach, once, twice, three times. Each time, Aaron was sent skidding back like a human ball, and Lord Victor would kick him across the room to a new location. Aaron groaned, curling up into the fetus position and desperately trying to shield himself from Lord Victor's kicks. Blood trickled from his mouth. "Aaron!"