Deus Ex Machina

The Crimson Black Knight emitted an aura of fear in which Nia never felt before. It was far more prevalent than that of the white robed monster and far more terrifying.

"Perhaps, there are no other dragons. Perhaps, the only dragon you sense is me. Maybe, you're all alone in this world," the Crimson Black Knight said.

Nia couldn't say a word. She was frozen the entire time. But when she saw the black wings and tail, she remembered Akai. The stories that Nera mentioned. They were of Akai - a black scaled dragon.

The Crimson Black Knight's right arm was slowly being tightened by vines, but his armor protected him from being crushed by them. The pain from his left arm still resonated, but he pushed through it. He still held onto his green blade trying to break it out of the plants' clutches.

Nia spoke weakly as she tried to break free of his hand, "You're... Akai."

Upon hearing that name, he froze for a moment, but continued to squeeze a moment after. He cared not that the dragon in front of him knew his name. To him, it was a dangerous creature. And he would find the evidence all around the burning site of King's City. He would not allow the entire world be turned to ash. He wouldn't let what happened at the city spread to every corner of the world.

Nia held onto life as much as she could, but as her breath shortened, her sight began to darken. It was too hard to breathe. Her mind slowly faded away. The only thing she thought was to apologize for everything. Apologize to the people she killed in cold blood. Apologize to all of the villagers. Apologize to Belze. And apologize to Nera. But that chance would fade away along herself.

Suddenly, a bright flash struck down from the clouds above as if heaven was giving divine judgment, or at least that's what Miura thought about it. A giant strike of lightning came down upon Akai's left arm holding Nia. The blast loosened Akai's hand and pushed Nia away awaking back into consciousness. The power of the lightning pushed her further back and she landed straight on her feet. Akai was unprepared for this and the strike was strong enough to send a shock throughout his body piercing the armor's magical protection. He screamed in agony for a few moments. As the lightning spread throughout his body, he let go of the green blade and it fell to the dirt. As it touched the ground, the vines let go of him and buried the green sword. As it did so, grass grew to fill the patches of recently disturbed dirt. The lightning shock caused a great wall of fire between Nia and Akai. Nia's eyes lit up with a sudden breath of air. She quickly recovered herself and dashed for her red blade. Her body wouldn't give up. She readied herself to fight, but Nia knew that it was no coincidence that lightning struck there. She looked towards Miura and saw her kneeling in pain puking out buckets of blood. Nia ran towards her quickly.

"Miura! Are you alright!", she yelled worryingly. As she approached closer, she noticed her slave marks were glowing. Her neck boiled in front of Nia's eyes. Pop. Pop. Pop went the skin of her neck.

Nia held onto Miura's arms and held tightly.

"It'll be alright. It'll be alright. You better not die, too," she said trying to reassure the witch that nothing would happen to her.

She coughed out one more pint of blood. Miura looked at Nia hazily and said, "I'll be fine. I've had worse, I think. My head's getting a little dizzy."

Nia lifted the witch up like she was a friend.

"I have so much to thank you for. You helped so much," Nia said.

"I haven't done anything, really. The pain will subside, but you have to go."

Miura coughed out more blood, but then continued, "You have to leave here. After today, they will hunt you and everyone you care about forever. You have to run."

Nia grew out her light green wings. Akai became hazy from the lightning strike, but knew where it came from. Miura, he thought.

"I'll take you with me," Nia said wanting to help the witch.

"No. They can track me. They'll find you instantly. You have to leave me."

"I can't leave you," Nia cried shedding a tear.

Miura shook her head. "I'll be fine. I won't be another victim. But you have to go."

"I'll come back for you."

"Don't. You just need to escape."

"Escape to where?" Nia asked.

Miura paused for a moment and a crow came to her shoulder holding a scratched-up map. The witch grabbed the map and gave it to the green dragon. It showed a marking in the middle of the Saban Deserts. A deserted landscape, but the markings showed that something was there.

"My crows have scoured the land in search of dragons, but I have found many things that intrigued me. For example, a temple. I have... researched it and discovered that it contained portals to other worlds. A perfect place for those who want to escape. Any of those worlds would be a better place to live in that this one, yes? It would be a difficult journey, but for a dragon you can easily fly there," Miura said pointing on the old map.

"What? Portals to other worlds? I don't understand," Nia complained. She was unaware of the existence of such places, but she knew the world was full of magic, so she couldn't deny the possibility.

Miura repeated with a lot of pain in her throat, "It is the perfect place to run away to. If you go into one of those worlds, you'll find a better home."

Nia didn't want to cause any more pain towards Miura, so she nodded her head. But she remembered Belze and the silver merchant. Nia would need to see them before going there, but as if Miura knew what she was thinking, she said, "You must have other friends, but if you care for them, then don't take or see them."

Nia wondered why and the witch continued with a hoarse throat, "The dragonslayers don't know any of your friends, but now that I know how you look, they can order me to find you with my crows. Anybody you talk to from now on, I will know about and in essence, they will know. They will take whatever friends you have left and do the same to them."

And Nia understood. She remembered Nera and the other villagers. They were all taken because they knew her. Although, she knew that she wasn't responsible for their deaths, even Nera's was accidental, Nia still felt that her presence would endanger everybody who met her. And she couldn't take that risk. The cloudy skies dispersed and she looked up. She wanted to see Belze one last time, but felt that it was too much of a risk. Two of the crows lifted the red blade towards Nia. She grabbed it and thanked Miura one last time.

Nia looked at the map once more and began to fly away. She looked back and Miura who began to cough out more blood. The witch waved her hands trying to smile among her pained body. Nia smiled and waved back feeling only pity for her.

Nia maintained her sorrowful smile as she really wanted to help her, but as she looked down at Akai from above, she could still feel an dark emenating feeling about him. His yellow eyes pierced through the smoke that would give shivers down any creature. She was nowhere near powerful enough to fight him. He was too well-equipped, trained, and strong. There was nothing that she could do against such a foe. She was sorry that she couldn't do more.

Nia flew away with extreme speed following the map.

As soon as Nia was gone, Miura's attitude completely changed. She stood up, cracked her neck, and smiled with sinister glee. The intense pain still existed and her throat felt like it was crisp on the inside, but it felt bearable. The witch felt a rush of joy in her as she believed herself to be like a God saving that "poor, helpless dragon".

With Akai's large wings, he brushed away the wall of fire and looked at Miura with yellow eyes filled with rage.

"What have you done? What have you done!?" he exclaimed.

Miura smiled and replied, "A Deus Ex Machina..."