Rebirth

Chapter 37: On my Feet

I fell. My body felt limp, and I couldn't muster any magic. My mind swapped between being jumbled between a ridiculous amount of pain, and be extremely calm. Over and over, my friends, my guild's faces flashed in my head, and after that, the image of their deaths. Falling at Steve's cold, twisted hands. Whatever happened to him, to make him so twisted and mentally destroyed? The future? If that was true, with all that pain and suffering that was supposed to happen, wouldn't be more compassionate and gentle?

What was it that changed him? What changed Julienn and Ashley for that matter. These thoughts kept racing through my head, and I couldn't muster any possible answers for it. My best guess was the feeling of power. Having the ability to do something that no one else could. It was in human nature to be tempted like that after all.

So why not me? Why not everyone else? What about that played the villain role in any of this? What put us on different sides of this?

I hit the ground and dented it with my outline. Blood poured from my wounds, and my body lay frozen like a block of ice. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't. I had no strength. All of it was going to my healing factor, even though it was taking its sweet time in doing so.

Demons passed by me, pressing on Richard's army. I assumed they were ignoring me because they thought I was dead. I was sure I was, and I was just watching the last of the invasion. I had no hatred for the creatures, or even Steve. Everything happens for a reason, I knew that. I was more angry at myself, for allowing this to happen. If I had quickly hurried up and finished this, or even made sure Steve couldn't move after the trials, none of this would be happening now.

One of the demons stopped near me. It sniffed my blood, liking its lip. It looked like a mangled up combination of a wolf and bear, completely with a fish's scales along its arms and body. Growling, it licked my arm, to see if I would react. I just lied there, closing my eyes, taking deep breaths and counting the seconds. Never figured this is how I'd die. Lying here in the concrete and being examined by a demon before I become its lunch.

Slowly, it circled around me, looking at my throat and opening its jaw. I counted sixteen rows of teeth. At any other point, I'd be terrified, or even disgusted. Not now. Now, I really didn't care, or had the energy to care.

Its teeth grazed my arm, tongue running up to my throat. It was savoring its meal, planning its first bite. Half howling and roaring, it finished its preparations, and lurched at my throat. Time slowed as I opened my eyes. I was ready, prepared to accept my death and whatever came after it....

Not today. Magic jolted in my body, coursing through my veins. I shot up, gripping the demon breed's jaw, holding back its advance. I twisted, sharply to right, the quickly in the other direction. A loud snapped filled my ears, the demon struggling wildly before it went limp and hit the ground, dead.

The wind picked up, and as I looked at the sky, I noted how it was taking on a red tint. No doubt from the flames in the town.

The dragon Steve was on had moved on further south of the capital. The area around me was torn and ripped to shreds. Placing a hand on the hole in my side, I checked its progress. It wasn't entirely closed, but I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to get moving.

I stumbled forward, tripping over my feet at first. My body still felt slightly limp, but I sucked up the pain to push forward. Rising again, I grabbed the closest curtain from one of the shops and tore, wrapping it around my side and covering the hole.

I couldn't move too much. The hole would open up more if I tired. I kept to the wall, using it for support and to move forward. My eyes glanced to a nearby mirror, and I laughed weakly. I looked terrible, like something out of a horror movie. The victim who barely escapes the killer, only to be caught later and ripped apart.

Part of me wanted to stay where I was. To just lie there and let it all end. The better part of me won that tug of war, saying that it wouldn't be right to die without at least putting up a fight for everyone. My common sense made me get up, because even if that's what my heart said, my mind was saying something else. I'm going to kick his ass, and I sure as hell am going to enjoy it. I just hoped I wasn't too late before there was any major damage.