Scrape

41. Toppled

They came at me, and I at them, meeting with them head on. We all slammed together, the cracking of skulls ringing across the room as I clumsily slammed my elbows and fists into creatues gathered around me, seething for my blood.

I could only just see Sebastian at the edge of the room, watching me, but unable to help and instead was restraining Manna from attacking either of us. I exhaled, sweeping my leg out and catching some monsters. As they fell down, they were instantly replaced. My eyes surged around the room, searching for a weapon; something, anything which could finish this hoarde off quickly so that I could follow Zoll to Mauro. My strength was already waning, and my arms were growing tired from the number of enemies still around me.

"Use me," the orb whispered as I began to become overrun.

"No!" I hissed, then cried out as one creature bit into my shoulder, which drove it into a frenzy.

Already more were pouring seamlessly into the room, crawling and scraping over one another to reach my flesh.

"I'll have no energy to fight Mauro if I don't have you," I frantically told it.

"If you carry on, you will have no life left."

"Isn't that the same as me using you?!" I retorted. "I'll die, won't I?"

It sighed, and the air around me rippled as I continued grappling with monsters which leapt out at me continuously. They were knocked back slightly by the reverberations, but were too far gone to listen to their internal clocks, which already were ticking out of time.

"You have no choice. We're doing this, now!" It screamed, exploding without warning out of my body in miniscule shards and causing incredible pain to the entirety of my being.

My soul felt like it was ripping out of an unseen socket, being dragged towards the gates of solemn hell as light richocheted everywhere, bouncing off creatures which fried instantly at the touch. I screamed myself then, falling to the floor as the hundreds of monsters were completely obliterated, even as my vision began going cloudy. A bead of sweat rolled down my arm and pooled on the floor by my hand, and my legs felt tingly, as though electricity had used me as its sole medium.

As I blinked rapidly, clearing away the fog in my eyes, I heard Sebastians voice calling to me through the ringing in my ears.

"Alice?!" His voice sounded frantic, and uncertain.

"I'm fine!" I croaked, but even that action ached.

"Hold on; I'm coming-!" He called through the dust of fallen creatures which was having a gathering between us.

"No!" I commanded, finishing blinking and rubbing my eyes.

I braced my hands on my knees and rose unsteadily to my feet. They felt like bits of paper, ready to rip apart at the slightest touch. I internally slapped myself: weakness would prevent me from attaining my goals. But I was so weak, despite everything. Even the mere pores in my body howled for rest, and sweat mixed with blood ran down it. Where it came from I didn't know.

That didn't matter anymore.

I leaned against the large table and managed to stumble my way to the passage which Zoll had shot down after Mauro. My hand glided across some Irish Moss and I slipped a little, heart pounding before regaining my balance. Then, it was only a long walk down the dark passageway to go.

I questioned what I could do when I got to my destination(if I even could), but could not fathom how I would be of any use. All I knew was that I had to witness this finale, whether it ended in my death or anyone elses. With this in mind, I carried on endeavouring down the long, damp corridor. The stones were slick and the breeze from the sea around the castle could be felt faintly through the stones I gripped.

Finally, there appeared to be a hole in the side of the wall and I glanced out of it, trying to gather a bearing of where abouts I was. It seemed that Mauro had a secret passageway leading to another small tower - perhaps even a lighthouse - at the end of this tunnel. I felt a little sick as I realized I was currently suspended above the sea, at its mercy.

"It's okay," I whispered to myself, but even my voice sounded hollow and fake.

Instead of gawping at the view any longer, I continued onwards, striving to reach out my hand and grasp the door to the room where Mauro and Zoll were surely fighting. The sound of them drew and seduced me, as the angry crunch of fist on face reached me. I expected Zoll to be stood triumphantly over Mauro by the time I'd arrived on the scene, but when I opened the door, I spectated an unnerving sight.

Both Mauro and Zoll were fighting, at similar speed and strength to one another. The wind was screeching, whipping through the room from a massive open window which faced the sea. I leaned against the wall by the door for support as my laboured breathing clouded my brain. Surely, this didn't make sense? Mauro was only a human, and I had always had the impression that he was an untrained fighter, considering he had everyone else clean up his messes for him. However, I couldn't have been more wrong.

There he was, spinning and kicking out and leaping back like a sparrow against Zoll, who constantly attacked his openings with surprising hatred. Every time though, Mauro would simply twist out of the way of his attack, tutting and increasing Zoll's agitation. Again, Zoll attacked, but this time, Mauro stood at a slightly different angle, with his arms out as if to....

I tried to run over, but collapsed on the floor.

"No, Zoll!" I said loudly, but it was too late.

Mauro slid the silver knife out of Zoll's chest calmly and precisely, and then twisted his torso to face me. Mauro's back was to the window, as though he were threatening to jump to his death if I intervened. He laughed, pulling the knife up against Zoll's pulsating neck.

"Isn't this great," Mauro mocked. "Look how the high and mighty have fallen. Maybe if you'd joined me for tea, this wouldn't have happened?" He dug the knife up, drawing blood cleanly from Zoll, who drew in a sharp and pained breath.

"Shut up, you sick bastard," I growled. "I swear to God, when I get over there, you're dead."

He put a finger to his lips, then cocked his head to the side as if to silence me, and think.

"Well," Mauro contemplated deliberately slowly, "You see, it would be so easy to just get him to jump. Just a little, " he murmured dangerously, "A little push, and it's all over. See, you want that, don't you, Zoll?" He angled Zoll so that he could easily be tipped out of the window, and he swore under his breath.

The waves at the bottom of the tower crashed viciously onto stone, raking at it.

"Don't!" I pleaded, afraid he'd push him. 

He sighed, and then pulled Zoll further away from the window again.

"We could make a deal, you and I," he considered, spinning the knife against Zoll's chest.

"I refuse." I told him coldly.

"Oh; but I wasn't talking to you. Come on, Zoll. We've been through this before with you and your father. If you can kill him, surely you can kill her too."

My heart began pounding erratically as Mauro carried on talking.

"What do you say to that, hm? I can forget this whole situation happened, and you can help me escape, can't you?" He purred at Zoll. "Just like last time."

Zoll stopped and considered the situation. I could see the cogs in his brain clicking together, as he considered the proposition, and the benefits it would hold for him. He took a deep breath.

Just like last time, my subconscious warned me.

"Okay," I'll do it."

Mauro presented him with the knife, as I wriggled on the floor, pushing my body away from both of them. If only I'd listened, I'd have known this would all be a mistake. A huge mistake.

"Time to die, wench," Mauro hissed gleefully.