Eleanor was thrown by Nero almost all the way back to their guest room, about two hundred meters away. He rushed toward the ground at dangerous speed, but just before impact, the darkness significantly slowed his momentum. Still, he landed rather roughly on the street. Grunting, he pushed himself back up and looked into the distance. The sky still seemed to be on fire, but the flames were slowly growing darker. Even from this distance, he could feel the enormous waves of magic that brushed over him every time one of the two used an attack.
Then suddenly, a massive dark sphere spread out, covering the district in which Nero and the Lizzian were fighting. Eleanor already knew this move from their fight against Tark. Slowly, he walked down the street back toward their hotel room.
He shuddered as a new wave of power swept over him, but this time, much stronger than all the ones before. He looked back at the exact moment he heard an incredibly loud sound that resembled a gigantic explosion. He saw how Nero's dark dome collapsed in on itself, followed by two more enormous waves of power. After that, nothing. Eleanor stopped, his brow furrowed.
The fight was clearly over, but had Nero won? Or more importantly, did Eleanor want Nero to win?
He looked around, observing the houses, the streets, and all the handcrafted objects of the humans, fully aware that Nero would destroy everything if his plan succeeded. Eleanor sighed and threw the thoughts aside. He would simply go back to their room and drink wine until he could no longer think clearly.
Eleanor continued walking, but after a few steps, he stopped again. "Fuck…" he murmured as he realized something. Dejected, he lowered his head. "I can't even get drunk anymore…"
Far away, almost at the other end of the city, it had become terrifyingly loud. Dozens of sounds could be heard from all directions: the burning of flames, the loud crashing of houses collapsing. Everything sounded incredibly loud after the prolonged silence. Even one's own breathing had become unbearably loud. Kia blinked. High above her in the sky, countless beautiful stars and a single full moon shone, illuminating the remains of the district. Blood flowed from her ears, but they were already slowly healing, since Kia had eaten a small leaf that accelerated natural regeneration. Slowly, her hearing returned as well.
"Is it over?"
She looked upward, where high in the air the strange man stood. Blood ran down his arm, where cracks had spread, but they were already healing quite quickly. There was no trace left of the Lizzian, as his entire form had been destroyed.
Nero exhaled. He looked down at the woman. What should he do now? Should he run? Or should he introduce himself? Or kill her?
Thoughts raced through his mind. He was already exhausted from the fight, and he knew he would not be able to kill the woman instantly, although he would probably manage it in the end. But the fight had already started some time ago, and Nero did not doubt that reinforcements for the two were already on their way. Perhaps he could kill Kia quickly enough, but perhaps not. What then? He clicked his tongue as he made his decision.
He looked down at the woman, nodded to her once, then turned around. With rapid wingbeats, he flew off into the night.
"Wait!" Kia called after him, but Nero did not stop and simply disappeared. "Who was he?" Kia asked herself, but there were more urgent matters. She pressed her hand against Morch's chest and applied pressure. Blood burst out of Morch's wound with every press.
She used her magic to treat his internal injuries as best as she could, to bring his broken bones back into place. Finally, Morch opened his eyes; in them, one could see incredible pain.
"Morch!" Kia called out. He turned to the side and coughed and spat out a large amount of blood and stomach bile. Kia fell into his arms. He hissed in pain as she strained his broken bones.
She loosened the embrace. "I'm sorry…" she murmured.
"It's alright," Morch muttered through clenched teeth.
Then, finally, he looked around. He frowned. "Where is that damn scum of a Lizzian?"
"Dead," Kia answered simply.
Morch frowned. "You killed him?" he asked skeptically. Kia did not take offense at the skepticism and simply shook her head. "No, that wasn't me."
"Then who? What happened here?" he asked, pointing at the craters in the ground, the ruins of the houses, the massive hole in the cloud cover, and the general devastation.
While helping Morch to his feet, Kia told him about the strange man with the unusual magic, who had appeared at the last moment and saved them. She told him about the fight, at least what she had been able to perceive, and how the Lizzian had been defeated in the end.
Morch remained silent for a while as he continued limping forward, supported by Kia. "What do you think we should do?" he finally asked.
Kia thought for a moment. "Well, first of all, we have to report what happened here. You need to lie down and urgently see a healer, because my magic will not be able to hold your internal injuries together forever. And about the stranger…" she tilted her head, "I don't know who he is, but he must have his reasons why he did not introduce himself. He is surrounded by a veil of mystery, his strange kind of magic, his sudden appearance, and his enormous strength. I'm not even sure if I have seen his full power. But…" Kia hesitated, "he saved us. He could have escaped at any time, because his mobility was far greater than that of the Lizzian, which means he is definitely not a bad person, because why would he risk such a dangerous fight if he is not a good man?" she concluded.
Morch grunted. "Or he was sure he would win and had some other motive."
Silence spread again. "Either way," Kia said, "it is not our decision to make, so we won't rack our brains over it. Instead, we will focus on making sure you don't collapse like a house of cards once my magic wears off."
Morch let out a grunting laugh, which immediately caused another wave of pain to surge through him.
-
Nero flew over dozens of houses, lost in deep thought. This had become a very unfavorable situation for him, and he could only blame himself. He should have simply stayed back and avoided the conflict, but his own curiosity had driven him to investigate. He might be a world-destroying monster, but at his core, he was still just a human, and it was unfortunately very difficult to completely suppress human instincts and emotions.
His arrogance had also taken hold of him. He had won every fight since he had obtained magic, including this one, yet in his eyes, this was still a loss. In his arrogance, he had underestimated the Lizzian far too much. He had been lucky to win in the end, but it could have turned out much worse.
His black eyes shimmered dangerously. He couldn't allow himself to make that mistake again, or it could cost him dearly.
Finally, he saw the building where he and Eleanor were staying. Like an angel, he broke through the shattered window and landed on the beautiful wooden floor of the room. Eleanor sat at the table, a glass of wine in his hand. As Nero flew into the room, he looked up. "Welcome back," he said flatly, his icy blue eyes scanning Nero. "From what I can see, you had fun."
Nero looked at him coldly. "We will probably have visitors soon," he said as he finally withdrew his magic. The black wings collapsed.
"Did you kill the Lizzian?" Eleanor asked curiously. Nero nodded. "Yes, but I left the two mages alive. They will probably search for us."
"Why didn't you just kill them?" Eleanor asked, frowning.
"I killed the Lizzian; in their eyes, I am their savior. But if I had killed the two mages, and even a single person had seen me do it, I would have become an enemy of the entire continent of Huma and the human race. I could not take that risk," Nero answered as he sat down at the table as well. His fresh clothes were once again stained with blood and torn, and he was covered in wounds, though they were already healing.
A cold wind blew through the shattered window into their room, while the two men sat in complete silence, both lost in thought, when suddenly a bright light appeared in the sky like a small star. Nero could not see it clearly, but he felt the enormous aura of a mage in the distance. Eleanor sighed. "Not again," he muttered, but Nero shook his head. "I don't think he is here because of us."
And indeed, the mage flew over their house, heading toward the place where the fight had been.
After another moment of silence, he muttered, "And I thought we were supposed to keep a low profile."
"That was the plan," said Nero.
Eleanor stared into her glass. "Well, it seems we didn't exactly stick to the plan."
Nero looked into the distance. "For once, you're right."