Bewiched

Chapter 30: Acacia

Asha stopped to catch her breath after she cut Acacia's shoulder with her sword. She was covered in cuts and bruises, and there was blood streaming down her head from where Acacia had cut her. Her armor was dented, and her other clothes were ripped. She hadn't been able to hit Acacia as much, and the only times she had actually hit Acacia was when she cut her hip and now when she cut her shoulder. Acacia otherwise looked fine, and now she straightened up again.

“You'll never beat me like this!” She cried. “Balance has almost no effect on me, and the other magic has almost no effect on me either, not that it would matter to you! Only Life can get rid of me! So it's no use to try for a Balance user like you!”

“Oh, you want Life?” Asha smiled. All of a sudden she wondered why she didn't use Life from the start. “I'll give you Life!”

“Are you crazy?” Acacia laughed. “You're a pitiful Balance user and nothing else!”

“You sure?” Asha's smile became wider and she let her sword fall apart. “Clovenevere!”

She caught Acacia by surprise as she made a column of green light shoot towards her. She didn't move out of the way in time before it got there. She screamed as it hit her. She quickly brought up her sword to stop the light, but was pushed backwards and fell on her back. Only she didn't have a back anymore. Where the light had hit, there wasn't a single piece of flesh left. Acacia howled in pain from the hit.

“You darned girl!” She fumed. “How dare you deceive me! You're a multi!”

“Sure am,” Asha told her. “Shouldn't you have figured that out by now, O wise and great Black Dove?” She clapped her hands together sarcastically and bowed with a smile spreading on her face, and for a moment she looked like Aris when she was sarcastic.

“It won't happen again!” She glared at her.

“I'm sure it won't,” Asha agreed. “Because you won't be here to make that mistake again. Clovenevere!”

Green light appeared again, but this time Acacia was ready for it. She jumped out of the way, but she was still hit with it, and some more of her flesh disappeared, showing the underside of her ribs. The only thing that was keeping the two halves of her body together was her spine and her armor, which, since it was made of Death magic, was flickering. She screamed again as she watched her body slowly disappearing. Down below, people looked up at them.

“If my magic didn't work before, it does now!”

Asha said as she hit Acacia again and again, causing her legs to disappear. Acacia seemed to struggle to block the attacks.

“What's the matter?” Asha asked. “I thought I was just a pitiful Balance user!”

Acacia's eyes turned to slits. Now the only thing that had flesh on it now was her head, and that wasn't very much. Her armor flickered worse than ever, and eventually it disappeared completely. Acacia shouldered her Death blade, eyeing Asha in anguish.

“You're just an annoying little brat,” She said. “Even if you do beat me, my Dark Nights will kill your friends. They will die, and the spirits that inhabit my body will see to you personally.”

“We'll just see about that!” Asha said. “Clovenevere!”

She hit Acacia's head and in one pitiful scream, the flesh on Acacia's head disappeared. She was now just bones. Suddenly, purple orbs of light came out of her, swirling around like beings themselves. Then another came out and another, until the air was filled with them. Acacia's body shook; and then she fell apart and fell to the ground below. Asha could swear she heard her say something, but she couldn't make it out. Her bones shattered on the ground. The purple things, Asha realized, they were the spirits that gave Acacia her life. They swirled around, and Asha heard them whispering with hoarse voices.