Rematch Without An Audience

Kies saw that Nyana was running in a straight line, but it wasn't towards him. She was running towards something else. Kies followed her trajectory and looked ahead to see where it is that she could be going. There were many buildings in the direction she was heading in, but one stuck out particularly. It was the castle.

But why? What were the other two doing then? Kies also looked for the two royal guards with his magic and found them also heading to the castle at full speed. The rest of the soldiers were following right behind them.

Something happened. Kies sent his winds to the castle, scouting out the place before the three arrived. There were a lot of people outside the gates, and they were all armed from the looks of it.

Metal armor with weapons. Kies tried to get a better look, or rather, feel, with his winds, but when they got close to the group of people, an unknown force cut off his connection with his winds. Just like that, Kies opened his eyes again, shocked by what just happened.

"This feeling..." There was no mistaking it. He felt this many times already. It was the magic-nullifying field, and this one was on a much larger scale than the previous ones he has to deal with...

Kies had a guess on what was going on. The anti-magic division was making their move while the city was in turmoil. Under the blanket of chaos, no one will know if they replaced the seat for the throne.

"Not a bad plan..." Kies had to give it to them. It was devious, cruel, and disgusting, but it was clever and well thought out. This would've been perfect if they didn't make one mistake. Well, it wasn't really their mistake, but it was the mistake of one of their comrades. If only Ayrete made sure that he killed Kies.

This time, he wasn't holding back. The soldiers were trying to breach into the castle and the massive gate was halting their progress. They set up defenses on the perimeter to keep others from interfering with their plans. Kies didn't know how many people were inside the castle, but they were likely non-combat personnel, such as maids and butlers. There was little defense for the unconscious queen.

Backup wasn't going to make it in time either. Nyana was the closest one out of everyone and she was minutes away. By the time she reached the designated area, everything would already be over. Kies was the only one who could stop this.

Kies raised his arms called upon the might of the winds. A storm cloud was generated at his location. Rain poured down from it, feeding the thirsty desert, whose sands as been dry for a long time.

Everyone and everything within the city stopped to look in the direction of the colosseum where a strong was brewing. It was nothing like they have ever seen before. The winds were loud and fierce. One look and people immediately knew that this was unnatural. The anti-magic division spotted the storm and all pointed at it, halting what they were doing and trying to figure out what it was.

However, the distraction only lasted a few moments as the person in charge ordered them to ignore it and continue breaking down the gate. For the soldiers to ignore something like this... Were they taking a gamble and thinking that this wasn't aimed at them? If so, they lost the gamble...

Kies' plan was to create a tornado that would suck all of them in from a distance outside of their anti-magic boundaries. By the time it took effect, they would be hundreds of meters in the air, ultimately falling to their death. "Take them out!" This plan used their anti-magic against them and it was perfect in Kies' eyes, and it would've worked the way he wanted it to if it weren't for a certain somebody that was below him...

Kies felt something slam into him, making him lose control of his magic. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with by now. So he was still alive... Kies turned around and walked over to the edge. He peered down, and what do you know. There was someone looking up at him too, and it was someone whose face he recognized.

So, he was still alive? Kies was more amazed than annoyed by Ayrete's sudden reappearance. The soldier supposedly got buried under a mountain of rubble from what Nyana told him, and yet here he was, a bit battered and bruised, but still alive nevertheless. However, Ayrete didn't feel the same way about Kies. He had a blank look on his face. There was dried blood all over his forehead and the soldier looked like a wreck. Overall, he didn't look too happy. Then again, no one would be happy if they got buried under several tons of debris, and this included Kies as well. He certainly didn't have a pleasant experience down there.

The storm clouds on top of Kies began to disperse, having lost the magic that was keeping it together. It was unfortunate, but he would have to leave the soldiers be for now. Someone else would have to deal with them. "So, you want a rematch then... Me too."

Kies jumped down and landed in front of Ayrete who was waiting for him. "I could've sworn I killed you," he said, clicking his tongue.

"What can I say? I don't die easy... And neither do you..."

Ayrete didn't respond. He reached for his sword and pulled it out. They both had something important to do and they didn't have the time to waste with one another. Kies needed to stop the soldiers and Ayrete had an appointment with the royal guards, but that was only if they could get past each other first.

"We both know what's at stake. Let's end this," Ayrete said in a serious tone. He no longer had that cocky look on his face nor his mocking tone. He was at wit's end. Having failed his revenge and getting embarrassed by the royal guards, Ayrete was no longer playing around. If he failed one more time, then it was the end for him.

"Yes, let's end this," Kies agreed. He looked up at the sky and said seemingly to no one, "Don't disappoint me again." But it wasn't to no one. The message was directed at the winds.

The winds shifted restlessly just outside the magic-nullifying field, debating whether or not to enter. Even though the field was suppressing Kies' magic, it was still powerful enough to the point where it was leaking out. Unlike before where he had trouble even moving, his limiters were gone this time. Nothing was restraining him.

Ayrete wasn't sure what Kies was saying or up to. All he saw was him opening his mouth and saying a few words, but he didn't care to find out. He ran up and attacked Kies, swinging madly like he was desperate to kill Kies. This led to his attacks being obvious and very easy to avoid. But Kies didn't dodge them.

The attacks all connected with Kies and this made Ayrete laugh, thinking that he was fighting a fool who was just standing there and taking his strikes. He really thought Kies would put up more of a fight after having seen his magic field so many times already. The soldier's sword passed through Kies, cutting him like butter. This was easy! Too easy. Wait...

Ayrete stopped attacking and saw that Kies was still fine. "What!? How did you-"

Kies faded away, practically disappearing into thin air. "You can still use magic!?" Ayrete spun around in circles, searching for where Kies went. No wonder his sword passed through his body like that. It was because there was nothing to cut to begin with. He was slicing the air!

Ayrete was panicking now. He didn't understand how Kies used his magic within his field. This was the first time this happened.

"Relying on the same trick... It's bound to stop working eventually," Kies told Ayrete. His voice came from behind him and Ayrete turned and swung his blade, only to find nothing there.

"Stop hiding and show yourself!" the soldier demanded.

"Hmph. Weren't you the one laughing just a moment ago? Where's that smile." It was Kies' turn to act all smug.

"Fight me! Show yourself!" he shouted again, backing up to the wall. Kies saw the soldier's face. Although he did his best to hide it, Kies could see a hint of fear on Ayrete's face. He was so used to fighting against opponents without magic that he had no actual experience against a mage in a real fight.

The soldier slowly backed himself up against the wall, looking everywhere for Kies.

As much as Kies wanted to mess with the soldier more, he didn't have the time for this and chose to end it fast. "Rui should be the one to finish you off, but I don't think she will mind."

Ayrete felt something cold pierce his stomach. "Where-" The soldier didn't have time to suffer as Kies gave him a quick death. He pulled his black blade upwards and cut the soldier almost in half, spilling all his guts onto the ground. "Y-you..." Ayrete slid down the wall and his head slumped over. Even the toughest metals were no match for his Aeronite sword.

But there was no time to celebrate his victory, especially not when his opponent was already half-dead, and definitely not when his objective was something else. Now that Ayrete was dead, the magic field was gone. Whether it was the armor or the soldier himself that had been emitting it, Kies didn't care. More and more of the winds returned to his side now that the field was gone, allowing him to use the full might of his magic again.

Kies hopped up back onto the top of the walls. Before, when the field was still active, Kies could only use a small portion of it since the rest was being restricted by the field. It tried to eat it all away, but it was like a bucket trying to scoop all the water in an ocean. A bit of an exaggeration, but that was the general idea of it. Now that his magic was back, it was time to do what he was going to do before he was interrupted by Ayrete.

Kies began to recreate the storm but saw that it would take too long. The soldiers were on the verge of breaking down the gate. He didn't have the time to use a spell on such of such a caliber. By the time it activated, the soldiers would already be inside the castle.

This wasn't good... But luckily, a solution flew into his sight, as in, flew into his sight literally. Swooping in from the skies, a pack of winged-beasts entered the city. They had covered in black scales and white armor, contrasting colors that made them look not only deadly but also dignified. Otane's royal guards, anti-magic division, and even their mages... They had nothing on the pride of the kingdom.

They may not be as impressive and majestic as dragons, and nowhere close to their size, but wyverns were still some of the most fearsome beasts in all of the desert. They were the top of the food chain, the apex predators, capable of hunting almost anything else in the desert. And since wyverns are social animals and hunt in packs, they could even give dragons trouble. Alone, they may be nothing compared to a dragon, but together, they're a force to reckon with.

On top of the wyverns were soldiers. They were all equipped with bows and arrows. Kies also felt magic from some of them. The anti-magic division was going to have a hard time... Change of plans. Kies channeled his magic and sent his winds to knock down a giant statue on top of the castle that was just out of the boundary of the field, toppling it down in front of the gate. By doing this, Kies crushed three soldiers directly under the gate who didn't see the falling statue until it hit them.

Luckily for the soldiers, the statue wasn't heavy enough to kill them. At most, it was only enough to inconvenience them. They looked up, pointing at where it fell from, wondering how it got loose. Their commander wasn't happy at them getting sidetracked and barked at them to remove the broken pieces of the statue and get back to breaking down the gate.

The injured soldiers were tossed to the side without any care and told to deal with their injuries themselves while the rest went back to work. Kies, of course, wasn't going to let this happen. He was going to get in their way as much as possible.

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