My Extraordinary Childhood Friend (#Wattys2016)

42 - Sacrifice

Akihiko's POV:

"Imperial Bello Modus Deae!!!" Azusa morphed all the magic that she received from our friends into a mysteriously powerful magical force...so powerful that her entire body is illuminated very brightly...as she was...a goddess...

"Omnes Elementorum Procella!!!" She casted a spell against Ronald... fireballs...ice needles...boulders and lighting strikes...I noticed that Ronald does not defend himself against Azusa's attack...as dust begins to bury him...but...

"Huehehe!!!" I heard Ronald's laughter amidst the dust...as it turns out that he is unscathed by the attack. "Are you done?! My turn!!!"

Ronald came running towards Azusa casting a dark magic spell against her...

"Tenebrae Mortis Inferno!!!" Ronald throws dark flame balls at her...I feel that one touch from this and it immediately leads to death...however...

"Illudque Finitum Invisibilitatem!!!" Azusa quickly dodges the flames and makes herself invisible...

"Princess! Princeees!!!" Ronald was visibly confused by her spell and tried to look around the room. "If you don't show up, I'll start killing your fri-uggh!!!"

"HIYAAA!!! Omnes Elementorum Procella!!!" Ronald was hit...presumptively by Azusa's invisible magic spells...she then take several blows to Ronald's body until he was knocked down. Then suddenly...someone dragged me...and the Empress...and we became invisible...and it turns out that it was Azusa who also dragged us.

"Wait! What happened?!" The Empress is startled by what happened. "What did you do to me?!"

"Hehehe! Don't worry, Your Majesty. You're not hurt!" Azusa giggled and then formulate a simple plan. "Since we are invisible, we can now do whatever we want to the General...just attack, okay?"

I nodded as I gave one of my swords to the Empress...and we began to charge towards Ronald once again...

"AAAHH!!!" General Castillo was beaten by our attacks...he never saw the Azusa's elemental magic...nor the blows that I and the Empress is given to him by our swords...but that is not yet finished...

"Guys! This is our chance!" Danica quickly stood up and get her sword. "Ronald is now in a distraught state, so even our physical attacks won't usually work on him, this time, it can pass right through him."

"Okay, sister. Why don't we try out!" Danielle was motivated by her suggestion. "Come on, guys! Let's go!!!"

"HAAA!!!" The sisters...along with Napoleon and Darwin, helped us to put Ronald down...from tearing down his magic barrier to inflicting so many cuts in his body...

Everything is on our side...as like our invisibility is the weakness of this evil general...until by chance, our invisibility expired...he caught me in my neck and choke me...dropping my sword...

"Oook!!! Oook!!! Let me down, you imbecile freak!!!" Ronald remained standing despite the assault, his grip to my neck is so strong that I'm close to asphyxiating...

"Gotcha!!! Hehehe!!!" Ronald grins at Azusa and laughs. "Surrender now, Princess! Or your familiar here gets it!"

"HEEEY!!! LET GO OF MY PARTNER OR...YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO TO YOU!!!" Azusa shouted back to the General...but his grip is beginning to get tighter...I can't really breathe now...and out of desperation...I made a stupid decision...

"Azusa...please do it...I'm dying...this guy is too strong..."

Pitied by my grave situation, Azusa make a deep sigh... and puts down her wand to the ground.

"Alright then...put Akihiko to the ground...we're surrendering..." Azusa told the General.

"What?!?! Azusa!!!" All of our friends was startled by her decision. "Why are you doing this?!"

Azusa doesn't respond to them...as she retrieves the wand and offers to Ronald...

"Alright, General! Put Akihiko down now and I'll hand you my wand over..."

"Yeah...you're such a very nice lady after all..." Ronald puts me down as he guide me back to Azusa in exchange with her wand. "Okay...from now on, you...and all of your friends will be my slaves, do you understa-uuggh!!!"

What he didn't know is...while Azusa was walking towards Ronald to handover her wand in exchange of my release...she have hid her sword and stabbed him through his stomach...making him collapse to the floor, just in time that Azusa casts her spell to finally finish him off...

"Vetita Novae Caesareae Carmen Ascia...Aeterna Hominis Ardens!!!"

At the point of her wand...flames began to burn across the General's body. He scream in so much pain that he wanted to crawl and roll over...but the intense heat of Azusa's flames restrained him to do so...until...he stopped from breathing...

"YAAAY!!! WE DID IT!!!"

The sounds of jubilation filled the atmosphere of the throne room...making some hifives, shaking hands and hugging each other...perhaps the war is now over...the liberation is now complete.

"Akihiko-kun! Akihiko-kuuun!!!" Azusa called my attention so I ran towards her and hugged her very tightly. "Akihiko-kun! We did it!!!"

"Yeah! I know! Hehehe!!!" We both laughed for the achievement that we had. "But...we should thank our friends. If they didn't show up sooner than later, we're already finished."

Azusa agreed with my position so she turned herself to her friends and smiled...for me, that smile is already a simple gift of gratitude for them...

...yeah...we won the battle against General Ronald Castillo, alright...but I feel something strange...as it tells me that something is just not right...I don't know why I have this feeling...

"Guys, thank you so much for your help." Azusa thanked our friends. "I'm very grateful that you lend me all of your powers to defeat General Casti-uuugh!!!"

And without warning, a bullet came out from Azusa's chest...she can't speak anymore...as she tries to cover the wound with her two hands...

"AZUSAAA!!!" ...and everyone of us shouted in horror...

"....ugh...ugh....AAAAHHH!!!" ...as she screams in agonizing pain...she turned slowly in her back to see where the bullet came from...and saw General Castillo...severely charred but still alive...holding a vintage gun...that was used to shoot her.

"That...the gun that killed my parents...is that all you've got?!" Azusa inches her way closer to Ronald as he retreats in fear. "Don't you dare...underestimate me...you imbecile freak!!!"

Using all what is left on her...she turned her wand into a staff and pointed at Ronald...

"Vetita...Novae...Caesareae...Carmen...Ascia..." She try to speak the incantation as hard as she can. "Demon...Imperii..Ad Infernum!!!"

Azusa's body begins to illuminate once more...and from her wounded chest...a thick beam of light engulfs Ronald...disintegrating all of what's left of him...and when the light vanishes...it leaves not even a single trace of a once dictator.

Azusa slowly turned back towards us...but her body can't take her wound in her chest...and as she starts to collapse...with tears in her eyes...she managed to utter...in her dying breath...

"Gomen...nasai..."

"AZUSA-CHAN!!! AZUSAAA!!!" I ran towards her...and try to revive her...but because of her wound right into her chest...it was already too late...her heart had stopped beating...she didn't breathe anymore...she...died. "AZUSA!!! PLEASE...WAKE UP!!! DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME! Please...please...don't...leave me! I love you...so much..."

All that I can do is cry...and hug her lifeless body...as everyone encircled me...and wailed with me. The greatest liberator of Nova Ascia...and the most precious treasure that I ever received...was taken away from me. Princess Lily...my beloved Azusa-chan...takes her own life...just to fulfill her dream...to liberate her home...but...I broke my promise...to protect her...it's my fault that she died! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!