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I hear Hades’ snicker, though, and I glance up to see Professor North’s slight smirk. I notice he’s not looking at the battlefield. He’s just staring at me as if I’m the center of his world.
Giving him a pout, his eyes plead for me not to ask questions just yet.
“All to be a royal,” Azrael’s words draw my attention back to him because the word ‘royal’ reminds me of the confrontation with Odessa. “The real question is, brother, what did you dare bargain to lose your respect for the living?”
“Wh-What?” Alaric whispers and begins to cough up blood.
“I can’t spare any time on you,” Azrael whispers, while his eyes lose any hint of emotional attachment to the twin he once loved and respected. “May you reap every sin you’ve committed and carry the weight of every living creature you’ve slain in this lifetime for your own selfish gain.”
“You think your words can stop me?! I’M THE CHOSEN ONE! I’m blessed and favored! You can’t kill me! Your words can do nothing to me!” He laughs manically and proceeds to pull at the arrow, which only shocks him in return. He grits his teeth and continues to try to pull the arrow out, but the action only encourages the growth of a golden circle that widens every second beneath Alaric’s feet.
“Wh-What are you going?” he snarls. “This level of magic. What did you do? No, what did you bargain for?!”
His demands only make Azrael turn away, as if he’s had enough of this sight and is dismissive of his older brother.
“You’re not the only one who likes to gamble with life,” Azrael whispers, and I’m thankful my ears are no longer ringing, so I can catch the last set of words he speaks into existence. “You can’t win against a god, Alaric.”
A god…
Azrael begins to walk away, his path obviously toward the red pillar of light that seems to be getting dimmer.
This must be our cue to go.
“A-Azrael?” Blair calls out to him.
“Think that means we have to go now,” Hades urges. “Professor North? Professor Blackbird?”
“We’re not the ones participating in the class, remember?” Professor North offers, making all of us realize that they’re right.
They can do whatever they want, actually.
“Wait… what about Asher?” Kali urges. “He’s not going to kill Alaric, is he? I mean… he can’t, or else the professors have to interfere.”
“Let’s go, Kali,” Hades urges. “If you fall behind, you can’t use Blair as an excuse.” The way he says that part almost sounds as if it’s out of spite.
“You…” Kali begins but stops himself. “Coming.”
“Cowards! Cowards, Cowards, COWARDS! Come back and witness my reign! I won’t be slain by you dimshits!” Alaric screams with every bit of strength. I’m sure he’d pop a blood vessel if he wasn’t bleeding profusely. “I WILL JOIN THE SOCIETY OF ROYALS! I’m deserving! I’m an Elite! I’ve been raised by the strongest man to walk upon the lands of Malevolence. I will NOT perish!”
“You really talk too much,” Asher whispers, and my eyes widen because I realize he’s no longer in his spot.
He’s floating above his prey—the set of shadows shooting out of his back of scars and incantations creates the perfectly arched silhouette that mimics a pair of wings.
I hear my own gasp of surprise because what happens next is the most beautiful, yet the most excruciating death I’ve witnessed.
“This is for hurting what’s mine,” the shift in voice proves the being in control is Ash, just as he lowers his arm in one sweeping movement.
Alaric’s screams are but a reflection of the true agony he must be experiencing at this moment, as the tips of Asher’s trident pierce his face, his eyeballs stabbed by two of the three sharp edges. The third one hits something that is far too familiar, an item Asher had placed on Professor North’s birthday cake yesterday.
A wizard wand candle…
The piercing strike not only cuts the candle in half, it also triggers a magical reaction that ignites the goosebump-inducing energy I felt from Professor Blackbird.
Only this chain reaction unlocks an array of elemental catastrophes.
Asher uses the seconds he has at his disposal to press his feet on Alaric’s shoulders and use that platform to push himself with enough force to send him farther into the air.
Right before a tornado erupts into existence, causing him to be pushed even farther outward.
