Last Wish

A truly admirable and complicated spell the earth mage had concocted would have definitely killed and stopped Elijah's pursuit. However, at the last second, Elijah's directions suddenly changed course to the confident face of a blonde-haired lackey.

A family man pulled into something he had no choice but to participate in.

Elijah's dimly glowing fist took his head directly off his spine and caused a few injuries behind the man to occur. Beside the headless man was obviously a friend of his, who quickly grew a dense flame in the palm of his hand.

"DANNY! WHY?!"

'Shit!! That will kill me with a single strike!'

The wind split with Elijah's body sporadically reversing while trying to avoid a whip of fire that created sparks with every second it dragged itself against the ground.

Something he had never seen before was about to kill him.

Just in the nick of time, a barrier of water made its way from Abel's shoulders and began pulsating in front of Elijah's body. This only blocked the whip of fire, while Elijah had to dodge a pillar of finely cut stone extending from the floor and wall that was over 30 feet away from the fight.

The spells began increasing as they realized the danger of Elijah's attacks. Anyone who let their guard down was destined to die.

Shockwave after shockwave was created as concentrated spells of air and fire blew holes in the mountain of rubble that Elijah weaved through. To change the way he played the game, a familiar black short sword was taken from a spatial storage he opened up in secrecy. As cover fire, Niko used the last of his mana to create two beams of fire that blocked the formation's vision, and within the distraction was a deadly child that sliced through the necks and chest bones with ease. 

An inhuman was shown alongside an emotionless child. However, Elijah was not emotionless. In fact, every strike brought him a tinge of fear for his reality was beginning to come back to him.

Maybe it was the good times he had within the cave systems with his party, or the expeditions by himself that brought him a sense of joy and something to grow stronger for — all of which would've led to the possibly kingdom-ending fight on the frontlines.

Death after death, he was slowly but surely losing his past self and creating a new one.

In the end of the slaughter, Elijah had not one, but six wounds all over his body that rendered his right arm unable to be used. Even the body of water coalescing around him was not enough to save him as the only man standing was the earth judge who had constantly set up defenses in preparation for Elijah's ability to avoid almost everything.

"Y-YOU CAN'T WIN!!! JUST ACCEPT YOUR DEATH!!" Rafe removed a portion of the stone pillars that came from many different directions.

"Elijah! Let me flush him out for you! Give yourself time to absorb more mana!" Abel yelled.

"Aren't you almost out of mana?!" Elijah had been paying attention to the lacking amount of water shields spread through the battlefield. It was obvious, and with Niko in hiding, he had also lost his ability to cast magic, and even his illusions.

"Yes! But I have enough room for one more big spell!"

Elijah nodded in agreement and flew back behind the mountain of rubble. There was only a fifty feet area of flat earth before the stone debris had created a mountain of struggle.

However, while watching quietly, Elijah noticed that Abel was not creating a spell anything like the one he thought he had planned. His armless body slowly slid down the latter half of the mountain while a body of water began condensing into the shape of a half circle. The water did not turn as nearly as dark as before, but did reach its climax faster as Abel had gotten a better grasp on its process.

Abel was planning to buy them time to escape. An admirable decision by a man who should not be alive.

"Please Elijah! Leave and never come back. Take Niko and Fly till the end of the world! And when you get strong enough, kill The Void!" Abel was screaming to his heart's content at a volume sensible to hear. 

His last wish before the ground began shaking from the struggle of the judge was what caused Elijah to take him up on his offer. Especially when the healing water covering his body had completely disappeared.

Following his final words, Abel began traversing the mountain of rubble, even slipping at times.

"Goodbye Abel… I wish… I wish you didn't have to die…" Elijah muttered to himself while memories of Amaris' death came flooding back into his mind. The cold and empty feeling he now began to notice was tearing him apart from the inside.

Suddenly, Rafe's quaking element control reached a second stage, causing randomly shaped boulders and rocks to fall from the ceiling. Directly next to Elijah's body now sat a human-sized boulder that may have been meant to kill him.

But… It seemed the world wanted him to live another day.

"Dammit… Niko! WHERE ARE YOU!" A loud shout revealed the body of Niko, who came from within the center of the mountain of rubble — hidden within the shaking gaps while focusing on absorbing mana.

"Elijah! I was able to absorb a good chunk of mana. I think I could create more clones if you want to go for one last attack!" Niko said while looking had Elijah's broken and beaten arm, especially at the elbow which seemed to be broken. Also, his legs were full of burns and slices.

"I… Abel told us to leave him. But if you think you can create a perfect illusion of me, then I have a plan, but it would only be after the earth mage dealt a killing blow to Abel…"

"I can do it. Fly above him while I create the clone. If we fool even Abel, it will be even more believable." Niko began pointing to the ceiling. "Actually, I want this to be a good illusion and I want to see if the quality can be better."

Now, standing in front of Abel was Rafe, a brown hair and brown-eyed earth mage that wore the natural world itself. An oversized clock with buttons holding it together on his left side protected him from the dirtiness of his own affinity.

His hands were flawlessly clean, not paying his dead comrades any mind when the chance came to him. Deep down, Rage's stress was only rising. Around his next was a golden amulet with a purple crystal inside. Its ethereal glow was flickering as if the crystal itself was scared.

Nonetheless, he 'showed' no fear while despising the armless laughingstock

"Do you really think you will stop me from getting to them? I can collapse this entire cavern within seconds!"

"I am not afraid of death. So… Know that what you are doing is wrong. But… It is okay. Your mind is sick and controlled by the very thing you worship. It is not your fault…"

Abel materialized a dense arrowhead of water, and began shaping its current to that of a contained yet torrential whirlpool – to smite the very thing that caused a life of misery.

"Quick Niko!"

"I'm working on it!!"

From the body of Elijah came an ethereal figure just barely seen through. However, whenever both figures moved further away from each other, the illusion lost its translucent effect.

The plan continued quickly with a silent illusion floating down the peak of the mountain. Meanwhile Elijah had made his way to the top of the ravine in secrecy — at a point that would make it easy to deal a killing blow.

Concocting this plan meant they were only risking their powers being revealed. If anything went wrong Elijah would fly at top speed to run away with Niko.

Elijah watched as a mentor of his received unavoidable blows to every part of his body. Spikes of stone trapped Abel in one place without the option to move an inch. And with every point of contact was a wild bruise that was already beginning to turn purple.

There was a time and place where the outcome of the fight depended on your affinity. Abel had the most disadvantages one could have — especially without a single arm.

"It looks like your friend over there didn't listen to your last wish! What an idiot." Rafe said while removing the stone barriers he had erected in the area around him.

"Elijah?! Please tell me it's not true! You were supposed to escape. AHHHH AHHhhh Ahh!" Abel was filled with despair as he knew the only hope to kill the plague inhabiting the kingdom was Elijah, and now — without enough mana to have a full battle — the savior would die. 

In the end, a thick stone spike was thrusted through his abdomen while the stone cage had disintegrated into dust. Rafe had wanted Abel to see Elijah's death with his very own eyes.

"Elijah… there is still a chance. Run!" Abel's vision was beginning to black out, but widened in disbelief when he didn't even see Elijah try to dodge the blow. Rafe ran forward with his wooden staff and shoved the bottom end into Elijah's face. Blood poured out of his mouth while falling to his knees then back. It was a near instant, but awkward death.

"Well… I guess I am done here." Rafe dropped his shoulders in boredom after he expected a somewhat reasonable fight, but was only annoyed by Abel's tears — tears that Abel himself did not expect to release. "I'm gonna have to give Lorsen a talking to about leaving the fight…"

Above the entire scene, Elijah was waiting until Rafe had truly dropped his guard.

The air made way for Elijah's instantaneous speed that jolted his internal organs. A massive amount of mana was concentrated into both of his legs while a small amount exploded throughout the rest of his body.

Unfortunately, the natural terrain had caught sight of the slight change, causing Rafe to to raise his stagg above his head. In his mind, there was an energy radiating confidence. But inside that mind was a cloud of doubt — or rather a seed of doubt that blossomed like a flower the moment Elijah's legs came into contact with the wooden staff.

"IMPOSSIB—"

BOOOM!

Debris, flesh, blood, and splintered bones flew everywhere while Elijah's body continued to pass through the ravine, and into a lower cave where he laid unconscious with both legs shattered into many pieces. Abel had fallen down with him, and before his last breath, he uttered a few words.

"Take… my… affinity…"

Elijah did not waste a single breath or second and placed his hand on the dismembered and beaten chest. During this process, Elijah was struggling to stay conscious.

However, the moment a familiar feeling of energy entered his soul — at the behest of a charred hole that developed inside the chest of Abel — warmth spread through his body cleansing every worry and ounce of pain imaginable.