Tales of a Lost Sword 26

Episode 26 The Meaning of Continuing
Rill pulls back his claw and unleashes a massive blast of lightning energy at Kunai. The blast and Kunai meet at once, in a ferocious blast that causes a shockwave to emanate from the explosion.

Xavier ducks, dropping to his knees and scrambling about on the floor as the tidal wave of energy rushes past him. At last, he ventures to raise his head again as the air settles once more and the light from the explosion begins to dim. A hulking crater has appeared in the area around Rill, still smoking.

Kunai emerges from the very edge of the crater, miraculously unhurt. He pats some dust off his shoulders. “Phew. Thankfully I used Dark Sight at the last moment.”

“Tch,” Rill scowls, “that was a cheap trick. It won’t work next time.”

“Even so,” Kunai responds, raising his claw, “that means I still get to be here and fight you some more.”

Xavier takes a step back from the battlefield, observing the rising tension between the two former comrades once again. “This has gotta be the most intense battle I’ve ever witnessed…”

Kunai stares at Rill sullenly. “Rill. Why did you never tell us you were related to Kimura? Why did you not tell us your connection with Ivy?! We would have understood!”

“Don’t screw around with me!” Rill howls impatiently. “Do you really think that would have changed anything? I cannot forgive you for killing Ivy!”

Kunai dodges, as Rill aims another Lightning Avenger at him. Rill creates yet another Avenger, and violently hurls that one at Kunai too. He then creates three, and throws them all at once at Kunai, who easily dodges each one as Rill’s attacks become progressively more and more reckless and less and less precise.

“Why are we fighting, anyway, Rill?!” Kunai shouts, not even attempting to retaliate. “We should be working together preparing for the Fatalists to come! You don’t honestly think this is going to solve anything, are you? We’re just playing into the Fatalists’ hands right now!”

“I don’t care!” Rill yells, punching the air with his fist. “Right now, the only thing that matters is killing you! This is more important than defeating the Fatalists! You of all people deserve retribution for your sins…I will never forgive you for what you’ve done!”

“More important than defeating the Fatalists…?” Kunai repeats, his eyes growing wider. “You can’t be serious! Rill, what has gotten into you?! Do you seriously want to kill me more than you want to beat the Fatalists?! If anyone’s to blame for killing Ivy, it’s them!”

By now, Kunai has completely abandoned his fighting stance, waving his arms wildly and pleading with Rill. However, Rill merely ignores Kunai, his eyes gleaming maniacally.

“You’re leaving an opening!” Rill shouts, frantically sprinting at Kunai with a blast of lightning in his hand.

Kunai sidesteps the attack, grabbing Rill’s forearm and clenching it tightly in his grip. Kunai wraps his claw over Rill’s attacking hand, extinguishing the ball of lightning clutched in it.

“Rill,” Kunai murmurs, his face inches from Rill’s, “I’m sorry.” He reaches back and forms an Avenger, slamming it in a direct hit on Rill.

A powerful blast erupts as Kunai makes his attack. He leaps back, as dust gathers in the air from the explosion. As the smoke clears, Rill emerges from the debris, largely unscathed. A shield of lightning energy glows around him, crackling malevolently.

Without warning, Rill raises his claw arm, and a jet of lightning explodes from it, cutting across the air towards Kunai with devastating force.

Kunai leaps out of the way just in time, as the blast of lightning crashes into the ground behind where he’d been standing, leaving a smoking crater in its wake. Large boulders of rock fly into the air, unseated from the earth by the force of the blast.

“Guess there’s no use talking!” Kunai cries. He glances at the devastation created by the blast behind him. “Damn it, just what have they been teaching you, Rill?!”

Kunai moves into a sprint towards Rill, forming an Avenger along the way. Rill in turn switches into a guarding stance, ready to challenge Kunai’s attack.

Kunai hurls his Avenger straight at Rill; however, it ends up curving away in its trajectory, missing Rill widely on the right. Rill lowers his guard, taking the opportunity to quickly fashion a Lightning Avenger to counter Kunai’s missed attack.

But at the last moment, Rill feels a tight net of web fall around him, strangling his movements. Rill curses loudly, glancing over his shoulder as he struggles with the spider web.

Kunai lands, having jumped over Rill in his attack. However, another figure emerges from the darkness even further behind Kunai. A dark clone flashes into the vicinity, carrying the very same Avenger Kunai had thrown off course.

The clone smashes straight into Rill, sinking the Avenger deep into him. Blood squirts into the air as the clone vanishes, dropping the bloodied Avenger onto the ground.

Kunai approaches Rill slowly from behind, his face grim. “I’ve restrained your movements, Rill. Face it, it’s over. Please stop fighting now.”

“The hell it’s over!” Rill screams, aiming his claw directly at Kunai from behind the net. Another furious jet of lightning bursts forth from Rill, flooding the air with its bright light.

Kunai is pushed back by the river of lightning energy, using his claw to shield himself as the blast pushes him further and further back. Kunai struggles to plant his feet into the ground in order to anchor himself. At last, the blast dissipates, allowing Kunai to collapse onto the ground, his breathing heavy.

“God damn, that took a lot out of me,” Kunai grimaces, pounding the ground with his fist. He forces himself to stand up, facing Rill. He proceeds to walk steadily towards Rill again, who has now finally extracted himself from Kunai’s web. The two merely stare at each other as they approach one another.

“Rill,” Kunai says clearly into the air, “I get it now. Everything Ryuu…Zack…even Fayvard was telling me…I finally get it all. I understand your feelings, because I’ve felt the same way ever since Ivy passed away. However…I see now that I was wrong. We have to stop fighting against each other. We’re not each other’s enemies. The real enemy is the Fatalists. It is useless for us to stay in the past, because we can no longer change it. But, we can change the future. The only way we can do that is to move on! The only way for us to repent for the sin of letting Ivy die is to defeat the Fatalists! Rill! We have to stop fighting now, this is useless!”

“DON’T PREACH AT ME, YOU BASTARD!” Rill screams, creating the largest Lightning Avenger yet in the battle. He points it straight at Kunai’s heart. “If I kill you…then everything will be fine!”

Kunai narrows his eyes. Rill prepares to swing his massive Avenger. In a flash, Kunai appears in front of Rill before he can even release his attack. Kunai brings his own Avenger crashing into Rill, splintering Rill’s Lightning Avenger into a thousand tiny sparks of light.

The dance of light exiting from Rill’s hand appears momentarily in the air like a beautiful fireworks show, before Kunai slices straight through it, making contact with Rill’s hand. Blood flies into the air, splattering across Kunai’s determined face.

Rill slowly begins to fall, his eyes widened with fear and shock, as Kunai glares straight into his face. At last, Kunai steps back, blood dripping from his Avenger, as Rill falls to the ground, his Lightning Avenger broken into a million pieces.
—END TWENTY-SIX—
I’m getting bored of writing fight scenes.