Arisa shakily stood up. Despite her crimson armor having protected her from the impact, she still could feel the pain spreading in her body.
"Are you okay?" asked Kazuya by her side.
Arisa nodded. "Yes. But, what was that? And that voice sounded kind of...familiar."
Even though the voice was completely foreign to her, Arisa couldn't help but find something familiar in that tone.
"I don't know," replied Kazuya, glancing around. "It's probably another Guardian."
As Arisa finally stood up, feeling heaviness in her legs, she noticed that her armor was covered in dirt and grass. She frowned when she spotted several scratches in some part of it. She examined her armored arm closely, realizing that those scratches were deeper than normal.
"I don't see anyone around, though." Kazuya glanced around. "Where's Ansha?"
"Didn't she fall around here as well?" Arisa examined her surroundings.
Her eyes widened when she saw a lightly strong figure fallen under an orange tree several meters in front of them.
"Ansha," called Arisa, running towards her.
Arisa's heart wrenched upon seeing Ansha in that state. Cuts spread across her body, tainting it with a crimson substance. Even her bright robes had signs of rips and blood.
Arisa patted Ansha's cheek lightly. "Ansha, please wake up."
For several seconds, Arisa's heart spread fear in her veins. When Ansha slowly opened her eyes, groaning, relief calmed Arisa's heart.
"Ansha, thank goodness," said Arisa, helping her seat.
"We have to take her back to the palace," said Kazuya. "She seems to have suffered a lot of damage."
Arisa agreed with a nod. "These scratches. How can a simple wind cause such deep cuts?"
A light breeze blew past them, swaying the colorful grass and the pink and orange foliages of the woods.
"That's because it's not a simple wind," said a male voice in the background.
Arisa gasped. She then glanced at her surroundings. Through the many trees filling the environment, Arisa didn't spot anyone. The sounds of the battle on the other side of the wall of thorn-filled roots kept sparking the atmosphere.
"Why are all the Guardians such cowards to the point of hiding themselves after attacking their victims?" asked Kazuya, shaking his head. "This is getting old."
"I agree that we're all cowards," said the same voice in the background. "But I'm not hiding; I'm using my powers. I've been by your side since you set foot in these woods."
Arisa glanced around, noticing that the voice was louder in their area.
"In fact," continued the voice, "I'm here."
Arisa's heart leaped when a black armored figure materialized by her side. She walked a few steps backward and noticed two zigzagged patterns glowing weakly on the Guardian's armored chest.
"Aquarius," whispered Arisa.
"We meet again, Princess." Aquarius tilted his head. "I can finally do my job and go home."
Arisa saw the Guardian raising his hand. Before she could see what he was up to, a white armored figure appeared in front of her. Kazuya immediately hit the Guardian's hand with his double-bladed staff.
"Ah," said Aquarius, his tone calm. "Libra Guy, we meet again. Want a second round from our last fight?"
Kazuya tightened his grip on his weapon. "Even if I said I didn't want to, you would fight me anyway."
"Not really." Aquarius shook his head. "I know when I shouldn't try fighting when someone is stronger than me. I would be perfectly cool if you don't want to fight."
Arisa peeked by Kazuya side to see the black armored figure standing a few steps in front of him. Despite his words, Arisa couldn't believe that Aquarius was weak. After all, his wind caused a lot of damage to their armor.
Remembering that violent wind, Ansha came into Arisa's mind. She checked Kazuya's left side. A few steps away from him, she saw a wounded Ansha, gazing at the scene in front of her weakly.
We have to take her to the healers. We can't fight here.
Kazuya chuckled. "Stop saying nonsense."
"I'm serious, though." Aquarius folded his arms. "I won't fight you if you don't want to. You're not the villain of our story. The princess behind you is."
Kazuya glanced over his shoulder. He then gazed back at Aquarius. "Aries? The villain? Do you have any idea of what you're saying? You and your colleagues have hands stained with blood and yet have the courage to call a rookie Guardian a villain."
"Well, she is." Aquarius shrugged. "She will steal our powers and return them to the stars. That can't happen; my colleagues can't live without their powers for some reason."
Arisa frowned at his words, not understanding his behavior. Despite being confused with his words, she had an itch to tell him who he really was. But with that strange attitude of his, Arisa wasn't sure if it would be okay to tell him the truth about his origins.
"Then," said Arisa, "then why are you doing this if you're not like your colleagues?"
"Hm," said Aquarius thoughtfully. "I don't know. I guess I've spent so many years with them that I want to help them. I must have grown a little sympathy for them."
Arisa raised a brow at that revelation.
"Well then," said Aquarius, readying himself for battle, "since you're determined to protect the princess, I guess a battle between us is inevitable."
Kazuya readied his double-bladed staff. "Ready when you are."
Upon hearing those words, Arisa's gaze met Ansha's wounded figure. With instinct, Arisa ran away from the area.
"I'm the one you're looking for, Aquarius," said Arisa, distancing herself from her spot. "Catch me if you can."
"Really?" said Aquarius, disappearing through thin air.
Arisa summoned her sword and swung it in her front.
Clank!
The crimson blade met Aquarius' armored shoulder and part of his chest, causing a deep scratch.
"Oh," said Aquarius, intrigued. "Nice trick."
"So my guess was right," said Arisa, not dropping her sword. "All Air Guardians have the ability to teleport."
Despite saying those words, deep inside Arisa was glad that the Guardian bit her bait and followed her, distancing him away from Ansha.
"Yes," said Aquarius, a large amount of gust with black streams concentrating on his hands. "You guessed right."
Before the disc-like objects could fully materialize in his hands, Aquarius released his element to his surroundings. Arisa failed to maintain her posture and fell a step away in front of him.
As she quickly stood up with difficulty, she noticed that the trunks of trees surrounding them had deep cuts. Examining her armor, she saw that the damage on it had worsened.
What scary power is this?
"Sorry," said Aquarius, "I intended to use the Sharp Wind to the guy who was attempting to attack me behind my back, but ended up affecting you as well."
As Arisa summoned her sword again, she noticed that the tree several meters away behind Aquarius was severally damaged and under it, a white armored figure had fallen on the grassy soil.
Arisa's heart pounded. Kazu.
The black and silver disc-like blades fully materialized around Aquarius's hands.
"Before I switch you off and take you to Leo to do his job," said Aquarius, preparing for battle. "I want to see if I can succeed in knocking you out without using my powers."
Before Arisa could react to his words, Aquarius charged forward, aiming one of his blades to her.
Sound of two blades clashing cracked the air. Arisa barely protected herself with her sword.
"Ah," said Aquarius, "you're flexible."
Arisa moved sideways before Aquarius' other blade could strike her belly. She took that small opportunity to pierce his back. Another clanking sound invaded the atmosphere as Aquarius deflected Arisa's attack with his blade.
Arisa didn't let that failure bring her down and attempted an outside leg kick. Aquarius disappeared before he could fall.
"I didn't expect that," he said.
Arisa's heart jumped and she turned around. She saw that he had reappeared a few steps away behind her.
"You seem very well trained with normal combat," said Aquarius. "You were able to make me use my powers."
Arisa didn't say anything and focused on the battle. She was grateful that her grandfather trained her harshly in order to survive the Forbidden Lands. It was thanks to him that she didn't rely on her powers too much.
"Well," said Aquarius, tightening his grip on his weapons, "I used my power once. I'll try not to use them again."
As soon as he said that, Aquarius charged forward, focusing one of his blades at her. Arisa deflected the threat. When the Black Guardian took that opportunity to strike an open area, Arisa walked a step backward. Aquarius didn't waste any other second and attempted another attack to pierce Arisa's armor.
For almost a minute, both Guardians fought to take each other down using their weapons, fists, and kicks. At one moment, Arisa tried to deactivate Aquarius' armor using a punch surrounded with crimson flames but failed to strike her target. Even when she would summon the crimson fire to surround her opponent, Aquarius would either disappear or stop her hand before she could summon them.
When the Black Guardian suddenly took a distance from the battlefield, Arisa saw one of his disc-like blades flying towards her at a high speed. Arisa deflected the weapon sideways, but before she could take a breath of relief, something smashed her back. Arisa fell on the damp, grassy ground several steps away from her spot.
Before she could stand up, Arisa saw a tall, black armored figure materializing in front of her.
"I've been trying to find a way to knock you out." Aquarius readied his weapons. "But whenever I'm about to accomplish my objective, you always end up frustrating my attack."
Arisa tried to stand up, but the heaviness in her body slowed down her pace.
"Leo only has to chop off your head and take it to his people," continued Aquarius thoughtfully. "I don't think there will be any problem if one of us kills you. Even though that would make everything easy for him. Chopping off a head from a corpse can't be difficult."
Arisa's fingers sunk on the grassy soil as she curled her fingers. Her heart spread pain; she didn't want to believe that Zen would have the courage to do that. Even if they were enemies now, Arisa couldn't picture him killing her that way after the many years they spent together. There was definitely a little bit of goodness left in him.
Arisa was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see Aquarius' attempt to take her down. The Black Guardian's blade sunk deep in the brownish-green soil as his target vanished.
"Take Ansha and rush to the palace," said a soothing voice. "She needs to get treated and we can't waste any more time. I'll deal with Aquarius."
Arisa blinked twice. She then glanced at her right side and saw the white armored Kazuya. She spotted several scratches mixed with dirt on his armor.
"Kazu," said Arisa, relief flowing in her blood, "you're okay."
"Yes." Kazuya gazed at her. "Sorry. I blacked out when I was slammed on the tree. Aquarius caught me off guard."
Arisa shakily stood up. "You don't have to be sorry. We're fighting against a veteran Guardian and surely Aquarius is messing with us by saying that he's weaker than you."
As she finally stood up, Arisa saw that Aquarius was playing with his blade.
She frowned. What is he up to?
"You're right, he's strong," agreed Kazuya. "And I'm guessing he wasn't serious when he fought me last time. He just used his invisibility and threw his blades randomly. When he got bored, he told Cancer to take the lead. He's a bizarre individual."
Aquarius stopped playing with his blade.
Kazuya prepared for another battle. "Quick. Take Ansha and go to the palace. I'll catch you once I'm done with him."
"But—"
"Don't worry about me," reassured Kazuya. "I'll be alright. Taking Ansha to the healers is a top priority."
Kazuya disappeared before Arisa could say another word. He clashed with Aquarius who was about to gesture his hand.
"You'll have to take me down first to summon that strange wind," said Kazuya.
"So you persist in fighting me, Libra Guy," said Aquarius with a quick chuckle. "Oh, well. Leo will deal with the princess one way or another. I can kill time with a little duel."
A clanking sound sparked the atmosphere as Aquarius aimed his gust surrounded hand at his opponent. Arisa blinked repeatedly as the strong wind reached her area, swaying some leaves. When she had a better look at the scene not far from her, she noticed that the Black Guardian had summoned one of his blades and Kazuya barely protected himself with his staff.
When Aquarius attempted to strike Kazuya with the same attack, using another hand, Kazuya disappeared. Kazuya almost fell as Aquarius vanished before the double-bladed staff could travel through the Black Guardian's right arm.
Clanking sounds filled the atmosphere as Kazuya turned around to protect his back. When the two Guardians engaged themselves in a battle involving their weapons and element, Arisa took a deep breath and turned around.
Knowing that Aquarius would be a challenging opponent for Kazuya, she tried to convince herself that in the end, her best friend would win. Her gaze met Ansha, who was groaning and touching her head.
Arisa bent over and placed Ansha's wounded arm around her shoulders. "Can you stand?"
Arisa gazed at Ansha, waiting for her reply before she could stand up. Ansha replied with a weak nod.
As the battle sounds kept filling the silence, the two girls slowly stood up. Arisa glanced at the battle scene for the last time. She saw that both Guardians were busy trying to take each other down using their weapons and martial arts skills.
You can do it, Kazu.
Arisa shifted her focus to her front, meeting a pathway filled with a pink and orange vegetation.
"Let's go," she said, slowly walking forward. "We need to find a healer."
The sounds of battle slowly faded as the girls distanced themselves from the scene. For several minutes, only the sounds of birds filled the silence.
More minutes passed and Arisa could feel Ansha's heaviness on her shoulders. She glanced at her for a second, wishing that she could use her super-speed to reach the palace and find a healer to treat her friend. But looking at Ansha right now, Arisa thought that using her ability would worsen the Ribawan's state.
"Sa-Saranyu," said Ansha weakly as Arisa resumed their walk. "We...we have to help her."
Arisa patted Ansha's back. "Don't worry. I'm sure Garoh will protect her. Everything will end well."
A short silence fell as the girls kept walking in the woods.
"My...my head," said Ansha. "It hurts."
Arisa tried to increase their pace. "Hang in there, we'll find someone to heal you soon."
Ansha didn't add anything else as they strolled deep in the woods in hopes to find a way out soon.
The clock ticked as the girls tried to find a way out. Through that time, only colorful trees met their gaze. With Ansha seeming to slow down with each step they took, Arisa tried her best to encourage her to keep walking and increasing their pace.
More colorful vegetation feasted their eyes before Arisa spotted an orange light several meters away from them.
What's that?
As they approached the area, Arisa could hear a crackling sound in the atmosphere. She suddenly stopped, realizing what that orange-red light was.
Her eyes widened at the scene in front of her. Tall orange-red flames danced in every side of the woods, consuming the vegetation it surrounded.
Fire?
Arisa examined her surroundings. She didn't let the panic get the better of her. Instead, she tried to find a perfect place to leave Ansha so she could concentrate on controlling the flames before it was too late.
She ended up dropping the Ribawan under a pink tree several meters away from the phenomenon.
"Hang in there, I'll be back," she said before rushing away from the spot.
She glanced over her shoulder for a few seconds before she focused her view on the flare wall in front of her. She frowned as she approached the flames. Usually, a wildfire doesn't take long to spread across its target, but for some reason, the flames in front of her only danced around the same exact area without spreading further in the woods.
Strange.
Arisa shook her head and placed her armored hand a few inches in front of the burning orange wall. Despite finding the flames strange, Arisa tried to focus on switching them off and form a path she could walk with Ansha.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on absorbing the heat around her. She didn't take long to feel the warmth accumulating around her armor. She hoped that she would be strong enough to absorb most of the heat in the environment.
The warmth around her increased as she continued absorbing the heat.
"You really got better with this ability," said an emotionless voice behind her.
Arisa's heart jumped. Losing her focus, the heat she had accumulated vanished and returned to the flare wall.
Her heart didn't calm down, pumping confusing emotions as she turned around. Her eyes widened, meeting a tall red armored figure standing a few steps in front of her.
"Leo," said Arisa, finally finding her voice.
"Regulus," called Leo.
Burning blue flames surrounded Leo's hand, forming a long shape. One blink and a greatsword with blue details fully materialized on his hand.
Arisa's heart spread more confusing emotions. No.
She tried to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat. Part of her still believed that he had a good heart and that he wouldn't dare to kill her.
Clank!
Arisa was able to call her sword before Leo's blade could slash her chest. As she fought to move away his weapon, Arisa's gaze met Leo's red helmet.
"It's time to finish what we started in the Forbidden Lands," he said.