AKARI
"Evory!"
I watched in horror as Evory fell to the ground and Darius ran to her aid while Sora burst into flames, giving away his true identity.
"What the hell?!" Kaito shouts.
"Evory!" Darius cries out as he cradles her in his arms and Carmin stands over them, empathy lacking in his features.
"Get away from her!" Sora shouts as he charges Carmin with his longsword, flames burning around both him and the blade.
"Sora!" I shout, not wanting another person to get hurt, worried about his well being now that his secret is out.
"So, the devil reveals himself," Carmin huffs and raises his switch axe so that the arm of his weapon clashes against Sora's blade.
"You piece of shit!" Sora shouts and swings at him rapidly, making Carmin slide backwards with each hit. "I'll burn you to ashes!"
Sora yells out as his flames burn even brighter with another burst of energy and he lands a hit on Carmin, sending Carmin flying backwards several yards into the jungle. Sora chases after Carmin and Reverence and Raciel follow suit while Isabella and Clea run over to Evory and Darius.
"Evory!" I shout and run over to the four of them, kneeling beside her.
"T—take this," Evory looks up at Darius sadly as she summons her runestone and places it in Darius's hand before she closes his fingers around it tightly. "I want— I want you to— to take this and t—"
Evory breaks off into a cough and a sob wracks passed Darius's lips while Clea tries not to cry and Isabella sits there sniffling.
"Run," Evory breathes, her eyes focused on Darius's face as she squeezes his hand tighter. "I want you to take this a—and run. Don't— don't look back. Okay? Promise. P—Promise me."
"Evory, you're going to be okay," Darius tries to reassure her and panic fills her expression.
"Promise," Evory stresses and squeezes Darius's hand so hard that her knuckles turn white.
"I promise," Darius whispers, his voice rough.
"Evory, you're going to be fine, okay," Clea says, her voice strained. "We'll get you help and you'll recover in no time."
"You have a strong spirit, you have to make it," Isabella nods, crying. "You have to."
"You heard them," I smile sadly. "You have to. Okay?"
Evory smiles sadly back at the three of us before she turns her head to look back up at Darius.
"I love you," Evory says and raises a hand to stroke the side of Darius's face.
"I love you too," Darius says, his voice rough. "I love you so much, Evory."
Darius bends down and kisses Evory's forehead before he cradles her closer to him and rests his head on top of hers.
"Protect...each other," Evory breathes out before she falls limp in Darius's arms and Darius's lips quiver before he lets out a heart wrenching cry and rocks her back and forth in his arms faster as he sobs.
"Evory..." I breathe out, my eyes wide.
"No..." Isabella pales and Clea hangs her head, her fists clenched at her sides.
"I'll kill that bastard," Clea grits through her teeth before she races off after the others, Kaito also having ran after them.
"Her spirit is still here, but it is weak," Isabella says quietly as she places a hand on Evory's shoulder. "I can keep her grounded, but only for so long. We must get medical help quickly."
"I'll do anything," Darius breathes out and meets Isabella's gaze.
Isabella nods and grabs her spell book before she starts casting one of her spells after searching for it.
"Akari, I need you to do something for me," Darius addresses me and I nod.
"Anything," I say and watch as Darius holds out his hand with the runestone and places it in mine.
"I want you to take this. If there's a chance Evory could live, I want to be by her side," Darius says and I nod.
"Of course," I say. "I promise I'll keep it safe."
"You should go," Darius nods towards the jungle. "Make sure they stay safe."
"Will you three be safe though?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"I can summon a portal for us to go back to the infirmary. I used a spell to make a link to the infirmary in case of an emergency," Isabella says. "Go ahead. We'll be fine."
"Right," I nod, deciding we'll figure out how to sneak them back out of Aria later.
I race through the jungle after the others, knowing they're not far when I see green flames burning in the distance. My breath hitches in my throat when I reach a clearing in the jungle and I spot Sora rapidly swinging at Carmin with no mercy, who grits his teeth as he manages to counter each of Sora's strikes with a strike of his own, lightning crashing down nearby as it begins to downpour. Somehow, despite the rain, Sora's flames continue to burn brightly, shining like a beacon in the darkness as they sweep around the area.
"Stop this madness!" Reverence shouts from the sidelines, being restrained by Kaito and Clea.
"You'll get yourself hurt, Reverence!" Kaito shouts.
"I wish I could go after Carmin myself," Clea grumbles.
I watch silently as Raciel flies with inhuman speed and cuts between both Sora and Carmin, facing so that his greatsword is drawn to Carmin, his head tilted to the side and his red eyes calm yet deadly, glowing chains floating around him in the air as the silver chains around his greatsword glow bright teal with energy.
"Enough," Raciel says simply, his eyes burning into Carmin's figure.
"Enough being the mediator, Raciel!" Carmin shouts. "He's a child of Wrath, a murderer!"
"You're the murderer," Raciel corrects, "and I will not stand by and watch you murder more."
Darkness swarms around Raciel as he glows with teal energy, his eyes shining bright red as he swings at Carmin, effectively cutting through Carmin's defenses and winding him as he breaks three of his ribs. Raciel flies up into the sky and holds his greatsword over his head and darkness blots out the sun as a teal rune forms beneath his speed and spins, light and wind emanating from the rune as energy rises and swirls around him.
Raciel flies downwards with his sword raised back, his chains flying towards Carmin and wrapping around him to trap him there to keep him from escaping his blow.
"Stop!" Reverence shouts and struggles in Kaito's and Clea's hold.
My breath hitches and I race towards Carmin and Raciel as my eyes catch the barely visible wall of illusion forming like glass, masking Carmin's true location. I yell out as I propel myself to the side and slash my scythe through the illusion, the world in front of us shattering like glass as the truth is revealed. As I slide to a stop, gasps fill the air and I look up to see the real Carmin standing several feet away from Raciel in a position that shows he made a wide swing to the right as Raciel was flying down, effectively making a deep gash in Raciel's side. Raciel stumbles and grits his teeth as he moves one hand to his wound before he gently moves it away, staring at the deep scarlet blood on his palm that spreads over his fingertips.
"You know you won't get anywhere by damaging me, right?" Carmin asks, swinging his switch axe over his shoulder. "And you certainly won't get anywhere by me damaging you."
"Maybe not," Raciel's lips twitch into a sad grimace. "But that doesn't mean I won't try."
"Raciel, don't!" Clea shouts as Raciel turns towards Carmin and a column of black shadows burns around him as he glows bright teal, all of his energy radiating from him and creating a beacon of teal light in his shadows.
"Ragnarok," I breathe out, my eyes wide.
"Raciel," Sora's eyes widen as he stumbles backwards and watches with the rest of us as Raciel's greatsword erupts into teal flames, the chains glowing bright black instead of teal, his wings burning with teal flames as the chains around him also glow black, the teal making him stand out in the cloud of pitch black energy that swarms him.
Raciel swings his greatsword out and points it directly at Carmin, who prepares himself for the hit with a lethal grin.
"Raciel! Stop! You'll get yourself killed!" Clea shouts.
"I think he knows," I breathe out.
"What?" Clea turns to me with wide eyes.
"I think he knows," I repeat, watching as Raciel races towards Carmin, who runs right back at him, lightning and fierce winds with bursts of blue energy sparking in a storm around Carmin, pitch black darkness and burning teal light with chains all radiating from Raciel as the two of them run to meet in the middle. "I think...he knows it's all or nothing, that he has to give his all to beat Carmin, and Carmin very well may kill him with the backlash of his own power. And, even if he does succeed...it'll kill him. It'll burn him to ashes."
"Your life isn't about all the things you've done," Raciel said as he carefully placed a book back in its place in the bookshelf in his office while I stayed after class to talk to him. "Your life is about your heart. Who you are is what determines what you do, and who you are is determined by your heart, nothing else. When I die, I want to die doing something I believe in, not sitting around doing nothing with the rest of my life. I want it to mean something, not to be robbed of my years, but for it to mean something. To me, that'll be enough to make me feel like I deserve to be with my wife and daughter again after failing to protect them so long ago."
An explosion of teal, black, and electric blue flashes before my eyes as winds whip around us, blowing through the jungle and bending plants backwards. As the light dies down, I notice that Raciel is nowhere to be seen, his greatsword slowly burning away in teal energy until it fades to dust in the wind, burning away just as he had. On the other hand, Carmin is bent over and has a large cut running down the side of his face and a deep cut in his left side and his left leg, but he's still standing, breathing raggedly as his switch axe hums with the energy he was hit with.
"This is madness," Reverence chokes out, his eyes wide, and Clea grits her teeth while Kaito averts his gaze angrily and Sora falls to his knees, his expression broken.
"I'm going to be taking Sora into Aria custody for the murder of Sloth and the attempted murder of Charity, and for being the son of Wrath. If anyone else wishes to oppose me, speaking now and join the dead or hold your peace and save your life," Carmin says, looking around with a dark expression.
I clench my fists at my sides, but refuse to say anything, watching as Carmin nods in content before he walks over to Sora and hoists him up.
"The trial shall begin once we have representatives of each sin and virtue. All of you, return to Aria and proceed as normal. I trust you all see the good in my work and understand what must be done. The right thing to do isn't always the easy thing to do, and I value those who understand that," Carmin says before he takes Sora away.
"Yes," I breathe out to myself once Carmin is out of sight, my eyes focused on where he walked, "but what you're doing isn't the right thing."
***
As Kaito, Clea, Reverence, and I walk behind Sora and Carmin through the academy, hushed whispers and pointed glances fly around like wildfire.
"We're going to need a representative for Sloth for the trial, as well as Charity. Maybe even Lust if Merrick doesn't show up soon," I say quietly to Clea. "And the presence of The Oracle will be requested to join us."
"What about Patience and Greed?" Clea asks, glancing over at me.
"Patience will be filled by me, and Greed will be filled by Miroslava since she's the stand-in professor," I sigh. "Because there will be fifteen members present, we'll need a vote of eight to keep Sora from being executed."
"Executed?" Clea's eyes widen.
"That's what Carmin will most likely be aiming for," I frown as we walk up the stairs together.
"Halt!" A familiar voice comes from the stairs behind us once we reach the top, and the six of us turn to look back.
"Aikaterina?" My eyebrows raise, Clea looking as equally as surprised as the young dragon slayer marches up the stairs, her green eyes bold and determined, her lips set in a fierce line.
"Who are you?" Carmin furrows his eyebrows and watches Aikaterina approach with authority.
"My name is Aikaterina," Aikaterina says as she reaches the top of the stairs, holding out her right hand for Carmin to shake as teal energy swirls around it, her green eyes steely and knowing, "and if you want to be formal, Aikaterina Caroline Libelle, daughter of Raciel, once dragon slayer and now Sloth, and I demand to be in the trial of Wrath."
"Pleased to meet you..." Carmin trails off, taken aback, and Aikaterina pulls her hand back just as Carmin goes to shake it, offering him a lethal smile in return.
"Likewise," Aikaterina says coldly before her eyes flicker over to me and Clea briefly, and it's in that passing moment that I know we have much to discuss.