More Than A God (IV)

X

"Eli, you're my-"

A huge tremor in the ground made her stop her words. They both freaked out, but Eli noticed something about the portal to the Isle of Dawn. It was darker than before, and that made him think Mara had infected it.

"MARA! I need to stop her right now!" Eli said as he ran towards the portal.

"W- Wait! ELI! I need to tell you this!" She screamed desperately

"I'm sorry, it can wait! We can't afford to let another shrine be infected again!"

Before Iris could say another word, Eli had gone through the portal and started rushing towards the shrine. He flew as fast and high as he could, scouting as much as he could to see if he could spot something odd.

"Where are you, you dark bastard..." Eli thought in his head. "You're going to pay for what you did to Iris!"

As he kept flying, he noticed a pair of silhouettes on the ground. He was flying really high up so he needed to go down to see who they were. He quickly landed and hid behind a boulder that was on the way, and he peeked his head a little to see what was going on. As soon as he saw of the two people, he couldn't help being impressed.

"I don't know who you are or what your intentions are, but I'm not going to let you get near me or the shrine!"

"Hahaha! Oh honey... This battle is already lost for you even though it hasn't begun..."

"Shut up! Like if I was going to believe everything you said!"

"You are sure full of determination and resolve... That's not going to work for you this time. Get out of my way, Penny. You can't avoid the inevitable."

"H- How do you know my name!? Don't make me use my powers!"

"I'm a goddess, honey! I know everything about this world... And I know that you will die right now!"

Eli was witnessing his worst enemy fight against the love of his life. He was worried, but he couldn't interfere just yet. He was scared of Mara having the orb that would make him remember, so he hid until he thought it would be urgent to appear. Along with that thought, he remembered something Penny had just said.

"Don't make me use my powers... Has she been training like I used to?" Eli wondered. "B- But she's not ready to fight against Mara! I have to do something!"

He placed him palms against the ground, and he closed his eyes. He slowly started creating fire that made its way into the ground, moving slowly beneath the sand that the three of them were standing in. He focused on sending his senses to the fire, trying to feel where Mara was standing so that he could create a big burst that would catch ger off guard. It was risky though, for he could misunderstand Penny's steps with Mara's and harm her. The sky started getting darker, making Eli feel under pressure. He focused as hard as he could, when suddenly he felt a big stomp. Hoping he was right, he made the fire grow and make a big burst with it. He heard a scream of pain, and after that another voice that made him relax a little.

"What the-!?" Penny screamed.

"Oh, you can control fire too!? You're like that little bastard that's been getting in my way! I WON'T LET YOU LIVE!" Mara yelled.

Eli was still hiding, but he felt a really strange aura around the place. He didn't want to go out, but he also didn't want his beloved to get hurt. With a lot of fear roaming through his head, he took a choice and rushed into the battlefield.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER, YOU DARK BITCH!" Eli screamed.

He quickly grabbed his sword, and got a grand slice on Mara's chest. He could hear her scream in pain, and that was his chance to possibly end this once and for all. Eli could hear Penny gasp and run away, and that was a good sign for him. He kept attacking, bathing his sword in fire with every attack he did. He felt like this had to be it, there was no way she could escape from all this damage. But to Eli's surprise, Flockya never fails to surprise him when he feels like he knows everything.

"DIE ALREADY!" Eli screamed as he tried to land the final blow.

As the sword was about to strike against her heart, Mara screamed in a way no one had ever heard before. Inches away from death, she teleported away and left Eli speechless. It reminded him of Demille, since he had done something pretty similar when he was still alive. He knew something was wrong, and attacking wasn't the best thing to do right now. Instead, he ran towards Penny and made a fire barrier to protect her.

"I don't know how you're harming me... BUT THAT'S ENOUGH! I can hurt you as well, you know!? YOU'RE NOT WINNING THIS WAR, EL-"

As she was about to end that phrase, Penny ran and punched her a couple times. Eli was scared of that, since he didn't know if Mara could harm her right there. However, there was something about the way she rushed to attack that Eli just couldn't interrupt. Instead, he stood there and admired his girlfriend attacking what was his worst enemy so far.

"I won't let you harm this world! GO AWAY ALREADY!" Penny yelled.

She suddenly created a dark orb with her hands, and he threw it towards Mara's face. Just as it was about to collide, she screamed yet another time and teleported away. They both looked around, but there were no signs of her.

"Heh, seems like she's too afraid of death..." Penny said as she caught a smirk.

Eli tried to be stealthy and just leave the place, this to avoid interaction with other people. However, the sand below them was noisy enough to make Penny remember that she wasn't alone right now. She quickly turned around, and he spotted him.

"Hey! You! Don't go away!" Penny said as she got closer.

He was quicker than Eli expected, and she grabbed his elbow and turned him around. He was now looking into her eyes, trying his best not to blush and reveal his identity.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you just looking at me?" She asked.

"Ah! S- Sorry! It's just that... I really need to go!" Eli said.

"Really? Oh, it's ok! I just wanted to say, thank you for helping me back there! I didn't know if I was going to make it alone!"

"My pleasure! Well, I think I should go now..."

"It's ok! Hopefully we can meet each other again!"

Penny waved at Eli, and he slowly started walking away. He wanted to stay to be with his beloved, but he knew it wouldn't be right and it could cause even more problems than the ones that already existed. He sighed as he frowned behind his mask, when suddenly Penny broke the silence.

"You know? Those powers looked familiar..." She said.

"D- Did they!?" Eli said as he gasped.

"Yeah! That fire looked really similar to powers my boyfriend has! Maybe you've seen him before since you're a god too, right? You definitely look like one!"

"Um... I guess you could say I am one." Eli said, trying to find a way to end this conversation. "Listen, I know this might sound rude, but I can't be here! I really need to go, I'm so sorry!"

"But where are you going? I don't want to be alone after what just happened..."

Eli could feel how he was getting Penny's trust all over again. He couldn't let her down now that she was believing in him to feel safe. He knew this was going to be wrong, but he refused to let his love alone right now.

"You know? Maybe I can afford to be here for a bit..." Eli said.