25

He didn't look like the Rin she knew so well.

Alicia brought her pale hand up to her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief.

She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Such strong was the bloodlust radiating from Rin.

He had completely restrained the man with those vines and the large circles hovering above him were radiating concentrated energy.

He was undoubtedly going to kill that man. That thought alone was enough to cast fear in the fairy's heart even though she wasn't the target of Rin's hostility.

It was entirely opposite, she and Thor were the reasons that he radiated such hostility.

Eyes locked at the swords that hovered above the man, Alicia watched as they fell from the dark sky, released upon a single whisper from their master and dropping at a dangerously fast speed.

Each and every one of those black blades struck its target, splattering his blood in thick smears across the ground.

Alicia flinched, closing her eyes as those excruciatingly painful cries of the man filled the air.

She had never seen anything that brutal. She opened her eyes, avoiding looking over where that man laid undoubtedly in a pool of his own blood.

She raised her head and through the blue glass of the crystal she was sitting in, she saw the boy standing in the air. She suck in a deep breath when she could find neither pity nor regret in those indifferent blue eyes.

When had he become so merciless?, she thought. Had the cursed energy tainted his heart with darkness as well?

She lowered her head and a tear escaped her sad eyes, dripping down on her shaking hand laying in her lap.

She was the cause of all that madness.

She bit the inside of her cheek, clutching her white dress in her fists.

She placed a hand on the crystal, whispering,"DISPERSION."

Cracks appeared in the ball and it shattered into a million small pieces.

The princess stepped down on the ground, those glass pieces falling down beside her feet before vanishing with a blue spark.

Her dress was torn from her back where that man had attacked her but those rich, wavy locks of her hid it completely. The blue roses embroidered on her dress were now soaked in her blood and she was missing a shoe.

She lifted her feet, taking off the remaining shoe as well and tossing it over her shoulders. Etiquettes could wait until they had survived that ominous day.

Just then she felt her core throbbing inside her chest and she bent over, a painful gasp escaping her trembling lips. She felt as if someone was mercilessly squeezing her core and the pain was beginning to get more and more difficult for her to bear.

With a hand on her wounded chest, she dragged herself towards the boy.

She had to do something. She had to stop him from doing any more mistakes.

CURSED ART: SLAYER.

It was one of the strongest spells in the history of cursed techniques which would give its summoner a form most suitable to fulfill their darkest wish. Wings, claws, fangs and in Rin's case, an infinite potential to summon his swords and flames.

In this world, nothing can be gained without something to pay in its return. Everything has its price and so does the use of cursed techniques.

Those forbidden spells would drain the users of their energy faster than any other spell and there would always be a rebound.

Once the deed had been done, all the pain and the fatigue would come rushing back to one's body and as they laid crying in pain, hearing their cores cracking inside their chests and their very souls being ripped apart, they would wonder with bloodshot eyes and hollow cheeks whether using the cursed magic was worth it all.

The fairy coughed, her spit tinged with blood. She knew that Rin would not be able to maintain that slayer form for much longer.

Just then the boy flinched, an inaudible gasp escaping his lips and he bent over, pulling Thor closer to his core which was burning inside his chest.

Alicia heard him shriek loudly and she knew what that meant.

His core had cracked.

His head throbbing painfully, Rin felt his arms beginning to go numb. He held Thor as tightly as he could, refusing to let his friend fall.

His knees gave out and they fell from the sky. He turned so that his back was to the ground and Thor was safely held in his weak arms.

He closed his now dull blue eyes, feeling the air swishing past them, making their hair and clothes flutter as they dropped from the cloudy, gray sky.

"Rin!", Alicia cried as she stumbled towards the falling boys. She couldn't cast DARK WINGS when she needed them the most.

She cursed, eyes looking up at his friends. She tripped over a rock and fell face first on the hard ground just when Rin and Thor crashed into the earth, a thick cloud of dust rose up in the air, keeping Alicia from seeing them.

"Rin! Thor!",she cried as she got on her feet, the skin of her bare knees split open. She took a step toward that curtain of dust only for her legs to go numb all of a sudden.

She fell down once again.

The dust began to settle down, revealing a deep crater in which laid the two boys, one holding the other close to himself and shielding him from the rocks and the dust that surrounded them.

Alicia gulped as tears begin to fall from her moist eyes. "Rin! Thor!",she cried in between her hiccups.

She began to crawl towards that crater, her palms and knees bleeding from the cuts on them as she continued to call their names over and over again.

In that groove, one of the boys whimpered in pain before slowly opening up his hazy blue eyes. The first thing he saw was the sky which was stuffed with dark clouds, signalling the arrival of a storm.

He furrowed his eyebrows.Were they not the same ones he had seen when he was fighting that snake?

A frown appeared on his face when he realized that he could not remember what had happened after that. Large white blotches seemed to obscure his memory.

He turned his head to find Thor laying beside him, one of his arms going around Thor's shoulders.

"Rin! Thor!"

It was a slight whisper that had barely managed to reach past the ringing in his ears.

"Rin!"

Someone was calling him but it sounded like they were very far away.

He closed his eyes, too tired to answer to those calls.

He just wished the squeezing of his chest to go away. He groaned in pain, wrinkles appearing on his closed eyelids.

"Rin!"

He snapped open his eyes and turned his head.

Behind that fading veil of dust, he saw Alicia about ten yards away from the two of them. She was dragging herself across the ground, her long blonde locks covering up her small body.

"Al- Alicia!",he whispered, reaching out his trembling hand for the fairy. Rin saw tears pooling up in her eyes and it broke his heart.

She shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her dirt covered hands. She must not cry and hurt Rin more than he already was.

She took a breath, steeling her will as she made herself stand up. Rin saw her stumble forward but she steadied herself before dragging her bare feet across the rocky ground. Rin bit his trembling lip as tears begin to sting his eyes.

His Alicia was strong.

They felt the earth shake violently before a strong gust of wind blew across the desert, giving rise to a raging sandstorm.

Alicia laid down on her stomach, keeping herself from being carried away by the hostile wind.

She couldn't see anything in that storm. Sand and wind were stinging her eyes and she closed them, air whistling loudly in her ears.

Rin curled up and tightly held Thor by the collar of his shirt, anchoring him to the ground with all his might. He placed a hand over his eyes to keep out the dust and small pieces of rocks.

Feeling the wind slow down a little, he peeked through the gap in between his fingers and his eyes widened.

There standing next to his legs was that man.

His clothes were torn and he was bleeding from the hundreds of cuts on his body. Blood dripped from the tips of his wet, gray hair and one of his eyes was swollen, its skin turning a dark shade of blue.

It was a miracle that he had survived Rin's last attack though the boy had no memory of it.

The man turned his head to look at the boy on the ground and Rin could see the intense hatred that the man held against him.

He stomped his foot on Rin's leg and Rin gave out a cry of pain.

"Curse you, you pest!",he cried, pressing the heal of his boot into Rin's flesh,"Meddling in my affairs! I'll give you a death so painful that even your soul will beg me for mercy!"

Rin saw him raise a hand over his head and create a gray magic circle on his palm.

"Go to hell, you damn brats!",he cried and three knives instantly formed over the boys.

Rin cursed as he rolled on his side and shielded Thor by his own body. He closed his eyes, awaiting that unavoidable attack.

He heard a painful sound of tearing of flesh and following it was a shrill cry of pain. Turning on his back, he snapped open his eyes at the familiarity of that voice, praying helplessly that it wasn't what he thought it was.

If only his prayer had been answered.

Alicia was bent over the two of them, her trembling arms stretched out on either side of Rin's head.

Thick droplets of blood fell on Rin's cheeks and with eyes wide, he raised his shaking hand to touch her face.

No, it was not a dream.

She was there in reality with knives stabbing her back, all three of them going right through her flesh and bones and coming out from her chest. She coughed, vomiting blood on Rin's chest before her weak knees gave out and she fell on him.

Rin shook his head vigorously.

"No! No!", he yelled,"Alicia! No!"

He cried, begging his body to move but it wouldn't listen to his pleads.

"What a fool!",the man said and snapped his fingers, making the knives disappear.

He bent over and right before Rin's eyes, he dug his hand into Alicia's back and pulled out her core. She gave out a heart wrenching cry that shook the sky. If only it could shake that man's stone heart as well who simply turned around and casted a magic portal and without sparing them a single look, he stepped inside it, the portal closing up behind his back.

Just like that he was gone, taking with him the fairy's core and leaving behind three broken kids.

"Alicia!",Rin cried and calling her name was the only thing he could do as he felt her warm blood seep through his clothes and staining his skin, leaving a mark that he knew he would never be able to wash for the rest of his life.

"Move, damnit!",he ordered his rebellious body, tasting the salty tears that wet his face like an endless waterfall.

But his body wouldn't move. Not even an inch. He could not hold her cold body in his arms and never before had he felt that miserable and helpless.

Above them, the gray clouds began to part and warm rays of sun filtered through them, reaching the cold earth.

Sunlight bathed the three of them, making Rin's wet eyes glisten.

"I'm... so-sorry",a whisper sounded in his ear as Alicia's warm breath brushed against the bare skin of his neck.

"No! No! Don't say that!",he cried,"I'm sorry, Alicia. I'm sorry that I'm so weak!"

He hiccuped, whispering,"I'm sorry for being so pathetic!"

He couldn't raise his head to see her face.

"Shh....", she whispered and he felt her cold fingertips touching his chin,"Don't ...say that."

A moment of silence passed and he felt panic rising up inside him.

"Alicia! Hey",he cried,"Say something! Please!"

She whimpered and a wave of relief went over him.

She was fine. She was still there with him. He repeated the words over and over again in his head, trying to assure himself that everything would miraculously be fine. That it was all just a nightmare and he would open his eyes and find himself standing in that ballroom beside Thor with cake crumbs on his cheeks and Alicia with her hair tied up and a beautiful smile on her face.

Yes, it was all just a dream. A dream.

A tear fell from his eye, rolling down his dirty face.

It wasn't all just a dream.

"Thank...you..Rin",he heard her whisper,"Thank you...for always being ...with me."

She pressed her cold lips to his chin, kissing him ever so lightly.

"Thanks...for liking..me",she said and her skin began to glow; a pure white radiance engulfing her small body.

Rin's eyes went wide upon seeing the light, his heart sinking inside his chest.

"No! Don't go!",he screamed helplessly as he watched her body rising up from his chest.

She extended her translucent hand, gently touching the boy's tear stained face.

"Rin",she whispered, her lips trembling.

"No! You can't leave me!",he cried and she shook her head, a single tear rolling down her translucent face and falling on Rin's cheek.

She leaned down, pressing her forehead against Rin's and closed her eyes unlike that crying boy who was too afraid of closing his bloodshot eyes.

"Take care, Rin",she said and Rin bit his lower lip, his body shaking as fresh tears fell from his eyes.

"Don't leave me, Alicia",he whispered, knowing very well that he was asking for something impossible. Still he continued to plead.

"Please. Stay",he begged the girl who vanished right before his eyes like grains of sand slipping through one's fingers.

"Alicia! Alicia!",he called her name over and over again. His broken voice shaking the sky which was silently witnessing the entire ordeal.

But she was gone.

"Alicia!",he yelled but she had already crossed a bridge where he could not follow her no matter how much he screamed and begged her to come back.

"Come back... please."