"And that's just it..." The story ends. "From what I've heard, of course."
"Some say Fel did something, but we don't know what it is." She said.
Earning no response, Sarah turned her head to Mocha. Only to see his mouth agape, his pupils were round and his ears were held backward, facing down.
The mage burst into a chuckle upon seeing the werecat's reaction. She then thought he was naturally decent and saw no harm in befriending him.
"So yeah, that's a little bit of Felicia that you need to know." She shrugged. "She thinks after she left everyone would leave her alone but the gossip just wilding."
Mocha remained silent, the sound of crunching grass and leaves from their footsteps was only filling the air at present. Sarah was waiting for further questions from the traveller, yet received silence.
***
"You...after all these decades decided to show up in my territory??" Danial rasped, his hand pointing aggressively to Felicia as he spoke. His green eye started to spark crystal magic and smoke started to vapor from it.
"Whoa, relax buddy. I have no intention of coming here in the first place." She lifted her hand as if in surrender, and rolled her eyes.
"You sure got the nerves to say that." He snarled. Danial gritted his teeth in pure anger, glaring all over her while taking one deep breath.
"After what you've done to me??!!" Daniel let out a loud yell as he violently punched a nearby tree with his bare fist in seething anger.
The ground shook for a few seconds due to the incredible force of his strike, leaving behind cracks on the trunk of the tree that glowed with green lines, a result of his witchcraft. The sound of his power echoed through the forest, beaming with intensity. A sorcery and super strength mixed together.
"Damn." The creator mumbled.
Reasons for her would sound absurd to Danial, even though it seemed an importance to Felicity Irene. He would know by now.
"Such a powerful masterpiece in just on the tip of my fingers, I would not let that descent."
"I'm sorry, Dan." That was all she managed to say.
"That's all? That's it?" Danial's eyes narrowed and his lips curled as he snapped back at his old best friend, who had just made a snide remark. The tension between the two immortals was palpable, and the forest seemed to sense it. The once-vibrant trees now appeared dark and dismal, as if they were mourning the loss of the friendship that once thrived in their midst.
"Alright, fine!! I am sorry for what I did back then, alright? I know it was not right in the mind. However I have my own reasons, maybe you don't find the validity in it, but I do." She says in a teasing tone, clearly not showing any sign of remorse.
"And I hope that...we could go back like the way it was..?" Felicia added with a sheepish smile and shrugged playfully.
"Your hope ended seconds ago." Danial sternly said.
"Ugh, like what do you want me to do to fix this??" She groaned. Her hands drop down to her side with a thud in a distressed manner. Like a kid trying to apologize not so sincerely for breaking a vase in the kindergarten.
"Like where is this going? What do you want from me now?" She asked, wide arms outstretched.
"I wanted you to leave my territory at first... that was before I recognized you..." Danial trailed off.
A moment of silence passed like a ticking clock. Felicia looked at Danial while he kept his head to the side, facing away from Felicia. She waited for the sorcerer to respond, as she didn't dare to raise a question or speak her mind.
Felicia's ears caught up with the sound of blazing magic, crackling from the source which was Danial's fists.
"Rematch."
"Pardon?" Felicia's body jolted up like he was being tased by his word.
"Oh come on, now."
"What? I didn't catch you there." She said, trying to loosen the situation with time.
"A battle, right here right now. You and me. Then... I'll decide if I can even let it slide." He sternly demanded. His angry expression vanished, replaced by a stoic one. It seemed as though he was holding nothing back, giving his all unlike at the arena.
"No way..." Felicia declined, recollecting the resentful memories at the arena. She hated the experience and did not dare to fight him again. Although they have trained together and enriched their strength and ability, the arena was too personal for Felicia's liking. She loathed it.
"Or do you want to go to the arena?" Danial mockingly raised his eyebrow, threatening Felicia with his words.
Well, that shifted the creator's mood.
"Tch, damn it."
"Thought so."
As soon as he teased her, she could feel her pride being threatened. The resentment that had been simmering within, was replaced with her ego.
Felicia took a deep breath, trying to soothe herself. "Maybe this is last, one battle then it is done, enough." She convinced herself.
"Alright, let's get this over with." She urged, flexing her fingers and neck, warming herself up.
"Come on, pretty boy." Her pale lips smirked, her fingers curled back and forth, taunting the sorcerer to come at her.
The emerald wizard rolled his eyes.
Just like in the arena, Danial sprinted towards Felicia. He attempted to launch his attack, whilst Felicia dodged to the side. However, the sorcerer improvised, Danial had created a huge emerald crystal hand behind, holding Felicia by the waist.
"What the?!" Felicia was distracted by the sudden grip, submitting to Danial's punch on her face.
Her head was thrown aback, witnessing the scene, Danial felt a satisfaction within him.
Not for long, Felicia avenged herself by creating a gun with her left hand behind and shot Danial at his side, the bullet impaled into his rib as he screamed at the unexpected pain. The pain made him lose focus and the crystal hand that was holding Felicia shattered, freeing her from its grasp.
***
As the distinct sound of a gunshot echoed through the forest, shaking the trees. Sarah and Mocha came to a sudden halt, both feeling the shockwaves of the sudden interruption rippling through the air. They exchanged a panicked glance at each other, looking for signs of what had caused such a sudden outburst.
"It's... coming from there." Sarah declared, pointing to her side.
Mocha frowned, and then he suddenly realized what had happened. "It's Felicia!" He shouted in panic.
Sarah let out a sharp gasp, and the two of them immediately rushed in the direction from which the sound had originated.
***
"I should've ended you right there." She muttered.
Felicia stood up imposingly. Her eyes glimpsed Danial on the ground holding at his wound, she smirked whilst raising her hand, aiming the gun at him.
However, as she was about to hit another shot, Danial teleported in front of her, right at the point of her red gun.
As she tried to react to the sudden ambush, an unforgiving burst of emerald crystals arose from the ground, piercing deep into her body. The immense force of the attack rendered her incapable of moving, and she found herself impaled through her right shoulder, her torso, and her left leg.
The force of the impalement was so immense, that the blood gushed from the wounds, sending tiny red drops splashing against Danial's black coat.
"Argh!" She tried to contain her scream from the pain by biting her lips, but she couldn't help a few of them escape. Her body bent like a lifeless limb, like a doll with crystals as its string, but still managed to maintain eye contact with Danial, gritting her teeth in pain and wrath.
The other pair arrived at the scene and quickly hid behind the bushes. Both of them shuddered as they witnessed the gruesome emerald crystals being shot through Felicia's body, along with the blood sputtering everywhere and a man standing in front of her leisurely with his hands inside the pocket of his coat.
"Damn it!" Mocha hissed. He ought to help Felicia. "We must help her!" Mocha said as he tried to rise but was stopped by Sarah pulling his arm down.
"It's alright... It's Felicia... she can handle it." Sarah reassured him, and herself.
"W-we can't just watch and do nothing!" Mocha protested as he yanked away his arm from Sarah's grasp.
"It would be worse if we interfere with them, moreover he could kill you in an instant!" Sarah retorted. "You have a death wish or something??" She rasped, quivering in fear that was palpable in her heterochromia eyes. Reminding herself and him that he's just a half mortal.
"Tch!" Mocha mocked. "Who is he anyway? That jerk?" Mocha asked annoyingly while giving the tall man a death stare.
Sarah raised an eyebrow, confused at his behavior.
"That is Danial Wilfred," Sarah whispered.
Mocha's eyes dilated, he turned his head to meet Sarah's face, hoping that she was joking. "What?!"
"SHHH!! be quiet!" Sarah hissed as she put her index finger to her lips, warning Mocha to tone down his voice.
Mocha slapped his hand to his mouth. Hoping they did not hear him.
"What's wrong? I thought you were powerful..." He cooed in her ear, bending and tilting his head to reach her level.
Danial's words were the final straw for Felicia, who reacted instantly by moving her free arm forward and forming metal claws on her hand, with which she clawed directly at Danial's right eye. His shrill scream echoed throughout the forest as he recoiled from the sharp pain of the sudden, devastating blow.
A sorcerer would be useless without a working eye.
Distracted from the pain, the crystals that impaled Felicia shattered to the ground again. Danial lost half of his senses because of the injured eye, he took his time to heal it. The magic smoke from his eye developed thicker as he felt fury burning inside himself.
"Too bad you're nothing without your smoky crackling magic eye." Felicia mocked, and her eyes grew brighter in gold.
Felicia called upon her axe and attempted to swing it in towards Danial. But he again, was quick. Launched his emerald crystals into the air and towards Felicia, all aimed to drill her skin.
The creator was no dawdler, either. She reacted with lightning-quick reflexes, holding her axe at a vertical angle and spinning it to act as a shield, defending herself from the onslaught of sharp, green projectiles. As she warded off the emeralds with her axe, they shattered, sending shards flying in all directions, landing on the ground, on the trees, and among the nearby bushes.
Felicia realized that this battle was likely to continue for some time, perhaps even until one of them succumbs. She could see the anger and disappointment in Danial's eyes, and while she was determined to win their fight, a part of her can't help but feel a sense of wickedness inside her corrupted mind.
And, she does not want to give up either. Hoping that she taunted the grudge-holding sorcerer to death.