Chapter 14: Évasion et Séparation

“Just one minute, okay? Then you need to get out of the way as fast as possible.”

“Yeah, yeah.” With a nonchalant answer, Petra spreads out her fiery wings and flies off to face her opponent.

Immediately, sparks fly and fire ignites the sky, and along with it comes the smell of smoke and the sound of crackling thunder, as well as the clanging noise of metal coming into contact with one another as Uriel repels every spear coming in his way with ease, breaking them as if they were nothing more than wooden picks. As much as I envy his strength and skill at the sword, I have to remember the meaning that this scene shows - that Petra isn’t much of a match against him, and can only stall for so long. That means I have to get my act together as well.

I raise Excalibur towards the sky again, as I remember the words I had exchanged with Balam just moments ago…

“Charge? What do you mean?” I asked Balam inside my head.

“Do you know how plants came to be?”

“Why now, of all times?”

As if he didn’t hear my question at all, Balam continued. “For plants to live, they need water and air. But for them to grow, they need sunlight. This process is called photosynthesis.”

“Okay, and…”

“Since Excalibur is a sword that harnesses the powers of the earth, it has many similarities between plants, namely this process of photosynthesis. While plants grow by absorbing sunlight to create nutrients, Excalibur absorbs sunlight and converts it into energy, creating something akin to Mordred’s attack just now.”

“I see,” Hearing those words made me realize what Balam meant earlier. “You mean that this energy attack can be used to cancel out Uriel's, right?”

“If timed correctly, yes. However, since you’re not able to fully channel Excalibur’s powers yet, this comes with a drawback of charging, meaning you have to stay still and channel it manually rather than letting it prepare on its own like its full potential.”

“How long do I need to charge for?”

“For a full-scale blast, one minute is the minimum time needed at your level. As you improve both your physical and magical traits, it can be lowered to mere seconds. Or, you can cut it shorter and release small attacks by swinging repeatedly, but that wouldn’t be enough to match Clarent.”

“So, not much of a choice, isn’t it?” I ponder at the thought. One minute of staying still on a battlefield is essentially suicide, so I can only hope for outside assistance – Petra, in this case. This in itself is already a gamble, but our chance of winning is certainly higher than any other options we have. I’ll just have to place my trust in my partner for the time.

 

As I hold the sword up towards the sky, I can once again feel the slight tremors in the ground, like what I experienced in my fight against Petra. Cracks of the earth. Rummaging in the ground. The smell of unattended soil as well as its hardness on my feet. And of course, the heat slowly building up in my body and in the blade. The bright light in the dead hour of noon is too much for the naked eye to handle, but I can still vaguely make out the small, steady stream of yellow orbs, each only about the size of a small copper coin, gathering around Excalibur. The blade grows bit by bit brighter and warmer, and along with it, power also begins to surge around me. Soon, the yellow orbs start to surround me as well, and unlike the metal blade, they stand out like a sore thumb when placed on my common brown clothes. This, however, makes for an easy target, as Uriel can’t help but turn his attention to me as soon as he sensed something amiss. Immediately conjuring a red beam of lightning around his sword, the angel immediately charges towards me:

“You’re mine!”

“Don’t take your eyes off the battlefield! Your opponent is me!” Petra, seeing that our strategy was discovered, quickly approaches the angel with another barrage of spears, only that this time, they’re all covered in flames. The spears launch forward like the fastest arrows, forcing Uriel to once again disrupt his energy to make a dodge, although his last-minute attempt still results in a slight charring mark on his shoulder.

“Annoying girl!” Uriel exclaims in sheer anger, his eyes as red as the lightning on his blade. However, that anger is soon sunk before it could burst, for a sudden explosion of glimmering gold erupts from where I stand, swallowing everything within its blinding light.

As everyone’s senses come to normal once again, I soon realize the changes in me. Covering my body is no longer the old commoner’s clothing, but rather a shining, unblemished suit of metallic white armor. On my back is a royal blue cape fluttering in the air, like a revolutionary flag of triumph for our soon-to-be victory, while wrapping around my head is a crown fit for a true king. Excalibur in my hand also takes on a wholly different air: taking its blade as the center, a giant pillar of golden light, towering over even the Bastille itself, engulfs the blade, ready to be the judgment that strikes down my enemy in need. However, not all is good in my newfound power, as seeing it seems to trigger a dangerous side within Uriel, for he soon, with only a single movement, replicates my own feat with his sword, replacing my shining light with a darkened sky and vicious thunderstorm, while his Clarent crackles with lightning, ready to smite anyone that dares to oppose him.

“At last! Let’s settle this once and for all, Arthur!” With a shout tearing through space itself, Uriel raises his sword highest as he can. “Let its lightning smites the cursed blood within me!”

“Petra, now!” I give out a quick warning to the girl in combat, and as soon as I see her retreat back behind me, I start my own chant of the attack, syncing my movement with Uriel’s. “Its light brings about life to humanity… Its strength will be the pillar of our hope…”

“Thunderstorm Clarent!”

“Solar Excalibur!”

As our swords both strike the ground, the two pillars of light fall along with them, colliding with each other in a blinding explosion of gold and red. The impact is enough to send rubbles flying, creating a sandstorm in the middle of the day. With my arms shaking to the force of the destructive beams and my feet digging through the ground and yet still struggle to keep myself standing, I know that this stalemate will only last for so long. However, as soon as my body is about to give up on me, a shout from Petra is all I need to recover my mental:

“Done! Get on, now!”

Almost instantly after her voice sounds, taking advantage of the repelling force against me, I make a slight jump back, while directing my sword ever so slightly downwards. As the energy blasts’ paths no longer obstruct each other, the combined force sends me flying like an arrow leaving a strung bow, while the armor I’ve just managed to manifest quickly disappears into thin air. However, instead of crashing into some wall or tree, I’m fortunate enough to land on a soft, fluffy, and warm surface, like a heated cotton pillow. And as soon as my body comes into contact with the strange object, Petra’s voice sounds behind me once more, urgent as ever:

“Brace yourselves! Here we go!”

Before I can even process the meaning behind her words, a pair of hands have already held tightly around my torso, and immediately after, I’m at a loss for words as I see myself floating above the ground, taking off into the sky at a blazing speed.

Finally coming to sense again, I can finally make out of the events that have transpired. The warm surface I felt from before is in fact not a surface at all, but a long sea of unending fire. Looking back only to see Bea still holding on tight to me, while Petra stands facing her back against us, swinging her spears to command the flickering flames beneath us and to our sides. Taking notice of the unconventionally wide shape of the fire, I ask to confirm my doubt:

“Is this… a dragon? Made of fire?”

“Flammes Draconiques d’AsmodaiDraconic Flames of Asmodai,” Petra answers, still not turning back to us. “Just like how you learned that energy blast from your Demon, I learned this trick from mine.”

“That makes both of us, then.” I let out a light smile and attempt to stand up, only to realize Bea’s hands still wrapped around my body.

“Uh, Bea… Do you mind?”

“Huh? Oh, right! Sorry!” As if just waking up from a trance, her face flusters at the situation as she immediately let go of my body and repeatedly bows to apologize. “Petra said that I might need to hold you in case you fall off, so…”

“It’s alright.” I shake my head, before sounding louder to signal the one further away from us. “But why didn’t you use that fire binding of yours against me?”

“Those are two separate spells, and I can’t really control two at once yet.” She answers, before giving out another warning for us. “Even doing this while talking is hard enough already.”

“Oh, I’ll keep quiet then,” I reply. However, it seems that my intention is soon stopped in its tracks, as countless sounds of flapping wings, like a flock of birds of prey relentlessly hunting their targets, appear from behind us, in a distance not far enough to be considered safe. Normally, one would only think of birds when they hear a sound like that. In our situation, however, I know too well what that means.

A whole army of angels, each armed with a deadly crossbow, is right behind our tail. As the hail of arrows flies towards us, the pursuers shout:

“Stop, sinners, by the will of Lord Uriel!”

“Tch. The guy already called for backup?” Petra clicks her tongue in annoyance. “Do you have anything to fend them off? I can’t fight them and control the dragon at the same time!”

“Balam?” I ask in my head, breaking off any stray arrows that might harm us with a slash from Excalibur.

“How are you feeling?”

“To be honest, not good.” Feeling the shivers in my arms, I let out a bitter laugh. “That shockwave just now is still tingling. Swinging the sword alone is hard enough.”

“Then I’d advise against using Solar Excalibur. It looks like your body is still not strong enough to handle its recoil.”

“And there’s no ground here, too…” I exclaim in anxiety. “Quite a pickle we’re in, huh…”

“I can only break the arrows as they come,” I tell Petra the bad news. “Can you try to shake them off?”

“Easy for you to say!” In the heat of the moment, she shouts in response. “We’re flying on a fucking fire dragon! How can we…”

“What’s wrong?” I ask as she suddenly stops her complaint. An idea to get us out of this predicament, perhaps?

“Hold onto your girl tightly.” Petra answers. “And use Armed. We might have to crash early.”

“Armed...” I repeat unconsciously. I know she’s referring to the armor that I managed to manifest from before, but in this weakened state, can I… No, I have to bet my hope on it.

“Balam?”

You are reading story Peters’ Crosses at novel35.com

“It’s close, but yes.” The Demon answers in my head. “You might have just enough energy left to do it.”

Closing my eyes, I raise Excalibur once more. As the sword glows a bright light, my body is soon enveloped in the same source also. Once the light fades, the shining armor and cape once again cover my body. Quickly grabbing Bea from behind, I notify Petra, disregarding the struggle of the one being held:

“Ready when you are!”

“Okay! Prepare to turn around!” Petra shouts in return.

I don’t even have time to figure out what she means, for as soon as the words leave her mouth, she quickly turns her spear upside down and stabs onto the fire dragon’s head with all her might. The pierce results in a giant explosion, blinding us inside and probably those outside as well with a blinding flare and a veil of black smoke. The dragon soon loses its shape, returning to the flames covering us, while we, without our foothold, are at the mercy of gravity. As the wind howls right next to my ears, I can only vaguely make out of Petra’s warning:

“Turn around! Let your back take the fall first!”

Trying my best to maneuver myself in the air while still holding Bea tight around my arms, I’m finally able to turn my back around and close my eyes, bracing myself for the impact. However, I soon realize it’s unnecessary, as a figure glides right above us and quickly grabs onto my waist, taking us afloat once more.

“Almost scared the life out of me.” Realizing the one who saved us, I say. “Can’t you warn us beforehand?”

“It’s quicker that way,” Petra answers, slowly folding her wings and descends down into a forest beneath us. With her armor quickly combusting into a small flame around her, she continues. “Anyway, we should be safe for a while.”

“What about those angels chasing us?”

“Don’t worry.” Petra points towards the sky. Through the thick layers of leaves, we can still vaguely see a flickering fiery figure dashing past our location, and flocks of white robes and feathers following in hot pursuit. Petra then continues her explanation as countless shadows keep on passing above us:

“I split the dragon into some clones. Those can fly off on their own for a while to act as our distraction, while I used the smoke and fire from the explosion to take us down here. Thankfully we’re near this forest; this could be used as our cover for a while.”

“Okay, but what do we do when the angels find out they’ve been duped?”

“We head to the harbor first.” Bea, who was quiet ever since she landed with us, suddenly says. “We have an escape ready.”

“Since when?” Both Petra and I ask at the same time. Did Bea prepare all of this beforehand?

“I asked them to get me a ship back to England when you were captured.” She nods to confirm my suspicion. “It should arrive by the end of the day; you can’t miss it.”

“How did you convince Uriel to give you a ship?” I ask.

“I didn’t. I asked one of the other lackeys when he wasn’t around.” With a shake of her head, Bea answers. “Thankfully they didn’t question me much; Uriel would have probably refused…”

“There’s still something bothering me, though.” Petra suddenly raises her hand to interrupt. “You don’t really… look like a Princess, with your current getup and all. Uriel, I can understand, but how did the lackeys recognize you?”

“I… have my ways.” Bea hesitates on her answer for a while. It almost seems like she’s uncomfortable talking about it. Is it… no, if I can’t trust her, then who can I trust in this situation? It must have been some personal royal item, so it’s best for me not to pry about it.

“Anyway, if we have our escape, then our goal, for now, is clear. We just need to make our way through this forest, and head to the harbor. What say you, Petra?”

“Not like I have a choice.” The girl in question lets out a shrug. “Guess I’ll stick with you guys for a while.”

 

“There! I see the ship!” Bea quietly cheers as our eyes catch the English flag flutters in the sea breeze on top of the sail of the small boat docking in the harbor. As soon as our target has been sighted, our feet soon go into full throttle as we run to the best of our abilities to our ticket to safety. Barely making it as the sun is about to set, Bea is the first to say in her breath:

“Captain… let’s go…”

“Your Highness? What’s the matter? And who are…”

“No time to explain…” She quickly interrupts the captain – a middle-aged man whose grey beard and bald head would make you think he’s at least twenty years older than he actually is. “Just head out this instance…”

“As you wish, your Highness.” Not questioning any further, the captain returns to the steering wheel, signaling us to get on board.

Only after the boat has sailed safely, riding the waves far away from shore do all of us breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief. “I thought we were dead!” Bea exclaims.

“You’ll get used to it,” Petra replies with a smile of both joy and sadness.

“Well, at least we can say that we’re all in one piece,” I comment. “I think we can call it a day and rest up now.”

 

A sudden rumbling sound shocks us out of our sleep, and a quick snap follows up in mere seconds. At the same time, we can feel the ship shaking violently, causing even the planks on board to break into pieces.

“A storm?” I ask in confusion.

“Must be!” Bea shouts next to me. “Quick! Hold on to something!”

“No! This ship can’t handle it much longer!” The captain sounds from the main deck. “Your friend is helping me prepare the lifeboats! Get out, now!”

When we head towards the end of the ship to where the lifeboats are, it is a truly terrifying, yet breath-taking scene: black clouds fill the skies, thunder roars, flashes of lightning occasionally light up the scene in a blinding white. Heavy rain pours over us as if to sink the ship through a sheer amount of water alone. Wind howls, cutting through even the strongest masts like a knife through butter. Tornadoes and whirlpools start to form. We are caught in a genuine storm – the first, as well as the strongest – I’ve ever experienced.

“Hurry up… Watch out!” Petra, who was waiting for us on one of the lifeboats, immediately jumps out and pushes both Bea and me aside, as a lightning bolt strikes where we stood with full power, tearing the boat in two and creating a massive fire. And to make it worse, that push from Petra just now has separated us: her on the tail end with the lifeboats, and us in the main deck.

“Petra!” I shouted.

“Don’t worry about me! I have a lifeboat here! You guys follow the captain and get out!”

“But you don’t know how to steer a boat!” Bea shouts in return.

“I’ll manage! Just get out of here!” Her voice grows hoarse from the screaming as she signals us to stay away from her. “We’ll meet back in England!”

“Your Highness! I have a lifeboat ready! Let’s go!” The captain sounds from behind our back as if answering for us.

“But…” Bea tries to protest, but a burning sail falling down onto the deck stops any of her other words from coming out of her mouth. Looking at the scene, I finally come to terms with what I need to do.

Quickly grabbing Bea’s hand, I turn back as fast as possible and run towards the captain, despite her struggling to shake me off:

“Let go of me, Petey! There’s a person that needs saving!”

“Worry about yourself!” I shout as tears start to form in my eyes. Bea comes first, that’s what I’ve told myself. That’s what I’ve told him. And I’m not breaking my promise.

“Petra! Can I trust you?” I shout, trying my best not to turn back.

“Not like you have a choice!” Her voice answers with determination.

“Make it out alive, you hear me?”

“We’ll meet in England!” Petra gives out one last answer before her voice is sunk by the sound of thunder and burning wood collapsing onto the boat, sinking our once ticket to safety into the deep ocean floor. However, it seems like luck truly isn’t on our side, as a stray tornado blasts its way through the small lifeboat holding us, sucking us towards the sky. Being spun around at the mercy of the wild winds, I can do nothing but hope as my consciousness slowly fades into darkness…  

You can find story with these keywords: Peters’ Crosses, Read Peters’ Crosses, Peters’ Crosses novel, Peters’ Crosses book, Peters’ Crosses story, Peters’ Crosses full, Peters’ Crosses Latest Chapter