The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 40

Taking a deep breath, Avani looked back at us. Dylas and I both nodded, and she resolutely turned and began to mount the bridge to the fourth and final island of the skyborne fortress. As we neared the end of the bridge, I readied my spear and shield. I heard the creaking of thick leather as Dylas flexed his hands within his gloves, and Avani pulled out her dual blades. At last the moment for the final confrontation had arrived.

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We had awakened early that morning—Avani, Dylas, and I—huddled in a mass together as if seeking comfort from disquieting dreams. After a light breakfast, we had donned our equipment and headed to the airship. To our surprise, the entire town was there, filling Airship Way as they came to see us off, knowing that the fate of the town we all loved—and possibly the entire kingdom—would be decided that day.

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At the far end of an extensive vaulted chamber, the Emperor of Sechs stood with his back to us. Without turning, he gloated, “Avani, Earthmate of Selphia. At last you have arrived.” Slowly he turned to face us, and there was madness in his eyes.

“Enough stalling—give me back the rune spheres!” Avani stood before him, her pale green hair cascading over her shoulders, her long skirt fluttering in the light breeze, the diamonds of her armor glittering like dewdrops in the morning sun. She was proud and defiant and utterly breathtaking.

“Calm yourself, Earthmate. Tell me, do you sense the power I hold? Can you feel it coursing through me? Do you tremble in fear as I stand before you? If so, I confess I had thought better of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Avani asked, warily.

“The Earthmates—the caretakers of the earth—those who amplify the earth’s runes and in turn are blessed by them. Once I planned a grand conquest of this land, but I was defeated by one—just one—of your kind. My plans, my beautiful plans—all my ambitions, annihilated by the power he commanded.” Pacing back and forth from one side of the chamber to the other, he continued to rant. “However, now I think I’m rather grateful to you fools—I just might even respect you a little.” Avani stood impassively, tensed and ready for action as she followed him with her eyes.

“You and your kind—you’ve managed to evolve into something above mere ordinary humans. I would even go so far as to say that you are only a step below the gods, perhaps even demigods. “

“What do you…?” she asked him, tersely, her eyes narrowing.

He continued as if she had not spoken. “So being an Earthmate yourself, I expect great things from you. I trust you will not disappoint me.” He pulled a glowing blue stone from a pouch at his side. “Do you see this, Earthmate of Selphia? You want these rune stones back, don’t you? Well, if you want them, come and take them from me with your own two hands!” With that, he dropped the stone back into the pouch and cast what appeared to be some sort of a power amplification spell.

Without delay, Avani leapt up and flipped through the air, landing just to the side of the Emperor, and Dylas charged in with a flying kick. I kept back and cast a flame wheel at him—but when our attacks converged on their target, the Emperor was no longer there. In a blur of motion, he sped to the far side of the chamber, out of reach of our weapons and spells. Dylas spun around and quickly cast his electrical attack, but before Avani or I could regroup, he had already zipped to another part of the room, close to Avani. She whirled around and managed to get a few blows in with her swords before he vanished again, but it didn’t seem to affect him. He reappeared next to Dylas and delivered a blast of energy that knocked him flat on his back. Before he could rise, Ethelberd was gone once again.

He appeared in a far corner of the room, and this time held still as he focused his energy to cast a spell. The three of us took advantage of his momentary distraction to attack—Avani with her swords, Dylas with a series of rapid punches, and me with an earth wheel spell. Although he appeared to take some damage from our attacks, they were nevertheless not enough to break his concentration as he summoned a tornado. Avani, with her amazing reflexes, leapt out of the way of the whirlwind, but Dylas was flung across the room by the powerful wind. It began to head towards me, so I jumped out of the way, skidding to a stop and whirling around to look for Ethelberd.

As it happened, the Emperor appeared just a few paces from me as I searched for him. Spinning to face him, I slashed through the air with my powerful, light-imbued lance, slicing across his chest. Although a blow like that would easily have taken out a lesser monster and severely wounded a greater, it barely scratched him. Still, it was enough to stun him for just a brief moment as Avani cast a penetrate sonic spell three times in rapid succession, sending a total of nine wind blades slashing over and around him.

With a snarl, Ethelberd again darted to the far side of the room, casting a dark snake towards us. Dylas dove beneath the devouring spell, but Avani cast a prism spell—when the black sphere reached her, it combined with the spinning globes of light energy as they canceled each other out.

While we were busy with the dark snake, the Emperor zipped across to the center of the room. Again concentrating his energy, he shouted out another incantation. A blue glow suffused him and spread outward, then exploded into a brilliant, searing light that filled the room. Avani managed to dodge out of the way into a nook in a corner of the room, evading the dreadful attack, but Dylas and I were both knocked flat. I felt an agonizing pain surging through me as the light intensified, draining me of all my energy and strength. I felt the room spinning all around me and my vision dimmed—then suddenly, as from far away, I heard Avani cast a healing spell, and a flood of energy coursed through me, reviving me. I struggled to my feet, seeing Dylas likewise rising with some difficulty a little distance from me. I had no idea what attack Ethelberd had used, but it was definitely one to avoid.

Avani cast another healing spell, then another, as Ethelberd regrouped. Apparently whatever spell he used left him temporarily incapacitated—useful to know, if one could survive the spell in the first place. The three of us turned to face our opponent as he sneered at us from the center of the chamber.

“Not bad, Earthmate, not bad at all. But you’ll have to try much harder than that if you wish to defeat me and reclaim the rune spheres!”

“Just shut up and give us the spheres! They don’t belong to you!” Dylas shouted with a black look at the Emperor.

Ethelberd turned to glance at him, scowling. “Enough, pony boy. You should learn to keep quiet when your betters are conversing!”

“I am not a fucking goddamned horse!” Dylas roared, enraged, as he lunged at him.

“Dylas, don’t!” Avani yelled in warning, but it was too late. The emperor focused his energy into another explosive spell, catching Dylas full on as he charged. Avani escaped the worst of it, but I wasn’t able to get out of the way in time and took a lot of damage. Dylas, however, bore the brunt of the attack and was knocked unconscious, barely breathing as he dropped to the floor.

While the emperor cackled, recovering his energy for another attack, I staggered to Dylas’s side. Avani quickly cast a dark snake at the Emperor, shouting to me, “Leo—take Dylas and go! Now!”

“Avani, no! I—”

“Just go now!” she bellowed. “You have to warn the townsfolk! I’ll hold him off as long as I can!”

I bowed my head, realizing the sense of it, yet torn between love and duty. Then I made up my mind, and lifting the unconscious Dylas in my arms, I cast Escape, returning to town without so much as a backward glance… just as she had asked of me. And I hated myself for it.