Chapter thirty three

"Extreme Magic: Bararaq Inqerad-Saiqa!"

The sound of the wind quieted instantly, and the light vanished. Nadiya and the male Elites screamed in pain, completely unprepared for the ambush. The vines that held Neah and the other magicians in place tightened, digging even deeper into their skin before disappearing completely.

The magicians fell to the concrete, Neah opening her eyes and gasping, "Sinbad?!"

"What just happened?" Adna asked, looking around in confusion.

From behind the magicians the Elites groaned and began standing. Neah could tell the attack had harmed them, but it wasn't enough. Before anyone could react, Neah stood and grabbed Sinbad's sword. The hilt was covered in dark blue claws that snaked around it. It felt strange to hold an equipped metal vessel, but Neah had no time to think about it. She ran at Nadiya -who was just getting to her feet- and stabbed the female straight through her chest.

Nadiya's eyes widened and she fell to her knees, mouth moving in an attempt at words. "You...how?"

Neah could feel the familiar anger bubbling up inside her. She coldly glared at the Elite, "This is what you get for destroying my life." The magi removed the sword and swiftly cut off the female's head in one swipe. Doing it felt amazing, but she wasn't done. She turned her glower on Alok and Mellor, who stood gawking at the decapitated body of their leader and friend.

"H-Hey now," Alok tried. He raised his hands and took a step back. "We-We can talk about this..." Mellor's eyes were still stuck on Nadiya's body, widened in horror.

Neah raised the sword to the blond, but stopped as she was electrocuted. It wasn't severe, but it was enough to make her drop the sword in pain and confusion. "What the hell?" The sword clattered to the ground, the weapon equip vanishing.

"Magi aren't supposed to use metal vessels," Sinbad said simply, picking up his sword. He was no longer in his Baal equip.

"Fine. Then I'll kill them with my magic instead," Neah shrugged and raised her hands. She stopped when she noticed their condition. She gasped. At least the first few layers of her skin had burnt off, her palms and forearms now several shades of red with tons of blisters. How she had even held a sword was a mystery, but she knew she couldn't use magic like this. She couldn't pinpoint where the pain was, or what it felt like, it was just all in excruciating pain.

Coming down from her anger high, Neah backed up a few steps and dropped to her knees. Sinbad commanded a few Sindrian soldiers he had with him to grab the remaining Elites, placing anti-magic handcuffs on them. The other magi began getting up and looking over their wounds, which were all pretty minor.

"Neah, what happened to your arms?" Sinbad asked, looking down at the magi.

Neah looked up from her arms at the king, "I tried to block a spell... It didn't work very well." She glanced around at the nearby area. No one was around but their group. "Why are you here? What about MWS?"

"Every MWS soldier we could find was eradicated," Sinbad reported confidently.

"All of them?"

"Yes. There are no more MWS soldiers in the Kou district," The king smiled, waiting for the magi's reaction.

Neah looked back at the ground, "Then... it's over?" She felt like something was missing. That was all? Sure, there were the other districts they had to clear of soldiers, but the entire Kou district was empty of MWS? They had actually won? The head of MWS had actually fallen?

"It is."

"But what about Alok and Mellor?" Surely that's what was missing. Neah hadn't killed them yet, that's why she wasn't satisfied. That's why she was still angry. "I need to get rid of them, too."

"Neah, don't worry about it," A hand was placed on the female magi's shoulder. Yuki removed his hand and moved to stand in front of the other magi, "It's over. You can let go." There were deep cuts in his arms and torso from the thorns. Still, he looked down at Neah with a smile.

Neah's expression grew troubled and she frowned. Let go? It was a tempting offer. Was she really done? She didn't want to be. It felt amazing to kill Nadiya, she wanted to do it again.

"What about when they're dead? Who will you hate after that?" Yuki's words echoed in her head. Neah looked up at Yuki, who was still smiling hopefully.

"Come on, let's recreate Rakuen together," Yuki offered her a hand. "We've won."

The small part of Neah that wanted to stop being angry grew, and she could actually feel her heart lighten. It felt like a million ton weight had been taken off her shoulders. We won. Neah wasn't surprised she was crying. She looked at Yuki's hand and then at her own, laughing a bit, "I can't exactly take your hand..."

Yuki looked down at her arms and gasped, "Ah, right! Your arms! We need to get you to a healer! Your other wounds as well!" He helped her up, careful not to touch her arms and looked around the immediate area for a magician with healing magic. The other magi and Sinbad gathered around at the commotion.

"Yuki, calm down," Neah chuckled. "I'm fine."

"But your arms! That's really serious! They're at least third degree burns. Why did you do something so risky like that?!" Yuki continued to panic.

"Like you weren't being risky yourself!" Neah shot back. "Using Sharrar like that!"

"Hey, Neah-san..." Aladdin and the other magi were looking at Neah in awe and confusion.

"What is it, Aladdin?" Neah turned to the blue haired magician standing a few feet away.

"Your rukh..." Yuki's eyes widened, his panic forgotten.

"What about my rukh?"

"They're...white..."

~