Rend Hope

by Josh Webb

  Ebrim winced as the ribcage cracked from being hit by Markus' spell, but it held long enough to shield him from the worst of it before falling to pieces. Swiftly, Ebrim used his sorcery to fling the sharp pieces of bone that remained from the broken ribcage at Markus. Instead of trying to dodge to the side, the aeromancer saw an opening in the incoming barrage of sharp bones and dove for it.

  Markus winced as a felt a piece of sharp bone sink into his left thigh, he ignored it as he came through the barrage of bone. As soon as his feet touched solid ground he took off like a rocket towards the necromancer. Ebrim mirrored his action, setting the two opponents on a crash course.

  When the two combatants were in melee range, the tall whiskered necromancer struck out with his right hand once more. Markus was barely able to duck under it and as his momentum brought him past the elder man he buried his right elbow into Ebrim's spine.

  The dark-haired man quickly saved himself from eating a faceful of sand by turning his fall into a roll. As he came back up on his feet he turned so he was facing Markus once again to see the recently revived aeromancer in mid-air several feet above the ground, trying to take aim at him with his right hand. Before Markus could fire his spell, Ebrim hastily leapt into the air and delivered a kick with his right leg into the younger man's left side.

  While Markus was able to block most of the impact of the kick with his left arm, it knocked him out of the air. Landing hard on his right shoulder, Markus quickly rolled back to his feet. The aeromancer was greeted by the sight of a very focused Ebrim, his sole intent was very clear, to kill him...again.

  Ebrim closed the distance between them, intending on keeping the combat close quarters. He didn't fancy getting hit by Markus' spells as they were rapidly draining the power within the glyphs on his arms. He was pretty sure he could take the younger man in a fist fight.

  The crazed necromancer performed a vicious uppercut with his right arm, but Markus managed to catch the elder man's right fist with his left hand. The aeromancer answered back with a right hook which Ebrim nimbly ducked under. When the dark-haired man came back up from his crouch he delivered a nasty elbow with his left arm, striking a direct hit to Markus' jaw.

  The blonde-haired man stumbled back a few steps and Ebrim sought to capitalize by executing a high sweeping kick with his right foot, aimed at Markus' left ear. The aeromancer had enough of his senses to duck under the kick though and Ebrim's right leg sailed harmlessly over his head. Ebrim was not finished however, as soon as his right foot touched the ground, he planted it and lashed out with his other leg in a roundhouse kick.

  Markus took a quick step back and used his right foot to kick the heel of Ebrim's outstretched left foot before it made contact with him. Not only did this maneuver effectively block the necromancer's attack, the force of Markus' kick also knocked him off balance. Ebrim managed to clumsily get both feet back on the ground, but his stumbling caused him to expose his back to the "Ordinary" magi.

  Markus wasted no time and slammed both of his palms into Ebrim's spine, knocking him face-first into the sandy ground and sliding him a good thirteen meters away. He thought he heard the dark-haired man curse as he got to his feet. Not giving him any chance to recover, Markus fired a blast of black magic energy at his opponent.

  Ebrim saw the incoming blast and cursed even more loudly, using his hands and feet, he pushed off the ground, managing to leap a few feet away from where the blast impacted. The proximity of the spell sent the tall dark-haired man tumbling through the air. He bounced a few times on the ground before landing on his back and staying there.

  After a few moments Ebrim was able to bring himself up to his knees. The sand and dust was still clearing away from Markus' last attack, but it was easy for Ebrim to spot the aeromancer thanks to his glowing green eyes. The necromancer noticed the look on the younger man's face, he was looking down on him, like some petty bandit that needed to be punished. That look was infuriating to Ebrim.

  "Look at you." Ebrim hissed. "Look at all that power you have thanks to that necromantic glyph in your chest. And yet you still fight to protect these pathetic wretches! It's sickening Markus, sickening to see someone with such powerful necromancy wasting it away on those people in that ridiculous city, prolonging their miserable existence."

  "I thought I made it clear that I don't buy into the bullshit about the walking dead being the next step in evolution like you claim it to be." Markus replied. "Maybe you're just starting to doubt yourself and your little vision. If the dead are destined to inherit the earth, how come someone who's only half-dead is wiping the floor with you?" he inquired.

  "Shut up!" Ebrim snarled.

  "You don't want to admit that I'm stronger than you, because that would mean a living being is stronger than any dead ghoul you can conjure up. And that means your little 'Age of the Dead' vision is complete shit. You wouldn't be a man with a vision, you would just be another crazy guy, just another person who was driven insane by the harsh circumstances he was forced to live in." Markus paused, his eyes narrowing. "To put it simply, if you are wrong in your beliefs, you would be nothing."

  "Shut the hell up!" Ebrim shouted, thrusting both of his hands forward. The red glyphs on his arms glowed a bright red until they looked like burning coals, and then he fired a huge blast of magic energy about two meters in diameter. Markus stood tall, he glared coldly at the incoming blast before stretching out his left hand and catching the blast with it, not even budging.

  Ebrim's eyes widened in surprise for two seconds, then narrowed in rage. He poured more of his power into the blast, until he saw it was beginning to wash over the blonde-haired aeromancer like a tidal wave of destruction. He finally stopped when Markus was completely engulfed by the blast.

  As the necromancer's spell expired, he found to his dismay that Markus was still standing. In fact, it looked like the blast didn't even touch him. Somehow the aeromancer had emerged from that unscathed, his left hand still stretched out with some remnant of Ebrim's magic energy in his palm. Markus clenched his left hand into a fist causing the energy in his palm to slip through his fingers and dissipate into the air.

  Faster than an eye blink, Markus closed the distance between himself and Ebrim. In one smooth move, he buried his elbow into the older man's sternum. Ebrim grunted loudly in pain as he felt his sternum crack, gravity failed to keep him on the ground as he was knocked back.

  Against all odds Ebrim managed to land back on his feet. Despite his chest protesting in pain the necromancer planted his shoes as best as he could and lunged forward. Markus was still charging at him and he met the blonde-haired man halfway, letting his power flow through his arm and striking out with his dominant hand.

  Markus likewise, did the same, lashing out with his right hand as well. Again, both combatants mirrored the other's actions and caught the right hands with their left, blocking each other's attacks. The clash of sorcery tore apart the ground beneath them, forming a decent-sized crater with a diameter of about twenty meters. The two opponents were still locked in a fierce struggle, but were at a stalemate. Markus' glare was piercing as he opened his mouth to speak.

  "Are you afraid Ebrim?" He asked with cold menace. The question caught the necromancer off-guard and Markus, the smaller of the two men, was able to tuck his knees to his chest and kick out. Ebrim felt Markus' boots slam into his ribs, his chest felt like it was on fire as he crash-landed at the lip of the recently made crater.

  Ebrim looked to where Markus last was, but there was nothing there. Frantically the dark-whiskered man searched the skies for the aeromancer, but he was nowhere to be found. Where the hell did he go?

  "Are you afraid of dying?" Markus' voice sounded from behind him, before Ebrim could react he felt something tug at his hair, pulling him to the ground by it. The necromancer found himself staring at the nightsky with multi-colored stars swimming through his vision. A sudden weight hit his chest and he cried out in pain, the sudden crushing pressure caused his vision to blur.
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  When he could see clearly again, Markus was standing over him. The Blonde-haired man's left foot was pressed on top of his damaged sternum. He was looking at Ebrim with disgust, while his face was impassive, his eyes were burning with hatred. The tall dark-haired man glared back, internally though he was taking inventory on his strength.

  The glyphs on his arms had burned up much of their magic energy. They were almost tapped out. Years of work used in the span of minutes, he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around it. If the arm-glyphs didn't outlast the high-powered glyph embedded in Markus' chest then he would be in serious trouble. He could really die here. He needed to move to act, but he found himself hesitating.

  "I wonder what's worse Ebrim. The fear of dying or the fear that deep down, you know you're wrong." Markus said to him, the aeromancer's words finally incensed Ebrim enough to action. The dark-haired man used his sorcery to repel anything close to him, which included the sand he was lying on, the dust around him and the very annoying blonde man that was standing on top of him.

  Markus bounced off the ground several times before finally managing to find purchase in the sand with his feet. After making sure he had his balance he looked up to see Ebrim dashing forward him. The newly deputized magi noticed that the glow on the older man's arm-glyphs were fluctuating, he was reaching his limit.

  The aeromancer raised his right hand towards Ebrim, his fingers were positioned parallel to the ground. Lightning the color of emerald and onyx appeared from Markus' fingertips and shot towards the tall dark-haired Ebrim. The necromancer was able to take the bolt with his forearms instead of his face, as soon as the lightning made contact with him it exploded in a burst of magic energy, covering him in a cloud of dust and sand.

  Ebrim emerged from that cloud roaring like a demon from Hell, he certainly looked like one with his arms smoking from taking the brunt of Markus' spell. He quickly came into melee range with the newly deputized magi and struck out with a kick with his left foot. The younger man leaned his head to his right as Ebrim's boot passed by his left cheek, barely missing him. The elder man followed through, sliding to Markus’ left flank and twisting so his back was towards the aeromancer before slamming his right elbow right between his opponent’s eyebrows.

  Markus staggered back, unbalanced. Once again Ebrim pressed his advantage, twisting back around so he was facing the younger man properly. The necromancer raised his right leg and tried to plant a boot into Markus' sternum, but the newly deputized magi recovered too quickly. Markus leaned to his right and trapped Ebrim's right leg near his left hip with his left arm.

  Not wasting another second, Markus slammed his right palm into Ebrim's injured sternum. The elder man quickly fell onto his back and Markus, with Ebrim's right leg still trapped, raised his right hand and prepared to deliver a blow that would surely crush anything it hit. Seeing this, Ebrim quickly used his free leg to kick Markus in his right pectoral, freeing his leg from the aeromancer's grip and sending him high into the sky.

  Ebrim hastily got back to his feet while Markus righted himself in mid-air. The two wielders of sorcery glared daggers at each other. Ebrim could feel the power in his glyphs was starting to fade and realized he had to end the fight now with one last spell while he was still going strong. Even though Markus had the upper-hand, Ebrim could see the weariness in his face, the blonde-haired man wanted to end this fight in the next attack just like he did.

  Both magic users channeled an enormous amount of power into their respective spells. The very air was vibrant with magic energy. Although Markus had gotten under his skin, Ebrim was confident that things were going his way now. It may cost him nearly all of the magic energy he had collected over the years, but it would be worth it if the prize was a city full of people.

  Ebrim threw both of his hands forward and fired the most powerful magic blast that he could muster. Likewise, Markus did the same thing. When Ebrim's crimson magic blast collided with Markus black and green lightning, the resulting clash of sorcery disturbed the area around them greatly. The sand was ripped from the ground and flowed into the air like water thanks to the powerful winds generated by the clash. In the center of this great tempest were Markus and Ebrim, each pouring more power into their respective blasts to try and obliterate the other.

  Beads of sweat began to pop up on Markus' from the struggle, but he ignored them. Failure was not an option for the aeromancer, if he lost to Ebrim here, the bastard would march right back to the city and massacre everyone, including Marie and Rose. He wasn't about to let that happen, he wouldn't let Midas City fall like Havenway did.

  He wouldn't fail again.

  Markus redoubled his efforts, pouring more power into the lightning. Ebrim's blast was holding it back, for ten long seconds the two men struggled. Neither wanting to yield, it was a battle of wills as much as strength, something had to give however.

  Before Ebrim's shocked and horrified eyes his blast was finally ripped apart by Markus' black lightning. Realization dawned on him as he looked at his forearms, the glyphs located there were no longer glowing, he had used up all of its power. Ebrim closed his eyes as reality sunk in. All his planning, all of those people murdered, all the necromancy he had learned, all for nothing. He had been defeated by a human, an obsolete being in the chain of evolution, it was almost too hard for him to bear this truth.

  And then the lightning struck him.

  Chapter 27

  Muffled voices were the first thing Rosalind heard as she regained consciousness. Slowly she opened her eyes to blurry vision, groaning as all the aches and pains she had obtained during her battles with Sahiron and Ebrim made themselves known again. The voices tone changed and she could make out a blurry figure making its way towards her.

  "Lady Rosalind? You're awake, thank goodness. You had us worried there." A friendly voice stated. Rosalind blinked a few times and her vision cleared enough to get a good look at the person standing in front of her, a deputy.

  "How long have I been out?" She asked the deputy, who shook his head slightly.

  "I'm not sure, we just extended our perimeter to this area. We found Lady Marie in her critical state and rushed her to your clinic, thankfully she was still breathing when I saw her last." The deputy informed her, relief flooded Rosalind as she realized Marie was still alive. Another question in her head quickly alarmed her though.

  "Where is that necromancer!?" She demanded, trying to rise to her feet, but a flood of pain caused her to lean back down, resting her back on the wall of a building.

  "The new guy managed to knock him out of the city, they're currently fighting right outside the southern area." He told her pointing in the direction of where the battle was currently taking place.

  She could already sense the powerful magic being thrown around in that direction, but it was another thing to see it with her own eyes. The worse thing she felt though was that the magic energy was tainted with necromancy from both Ebrim… and Markus? Wasn’t he dead? A cold chill ran down her spine as she thought about that.

  Since she had first seen Markus when he arrived in Midas City she had always suspected that he was working some form of necromancy. But she never imagined it would be to this caliber. In the distance she watched as black and green lightning clashed with the crimson energy of Ebrim's spells, wondering what other mysteries her former friend was keeping from her.

  Suddenly a huge clash of sorcery lit up the night. Rosalind and the deputy beside her were forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light of the two colliding magic energies. When she could see again, she saw a thick black lightning bolt clashing with a thick pillar of ruby-colored magic energy. It was almost like two gods were clashing, one from the heavens and one from the earth.

  "Holy shit! Look at that!" A second deputy said, his eyes wide in amazement.

  "Geez they are really going at it." Another deputy added.

  "It's a good thing the newbie managed to get him away from here, there wouldn't be much of a city le
ft if that was happening right on top of us." A third deputy said, Rosalind silently agreed.

  The clash of sorcery was indeed impressive, but Rosalind could sense that one of the combatants' power was failing them. She wasn't quite sure who it was though. She prayed it wasn't Markus as that would mean the city's last defender would be defeated. Unless the sheriffs returned unexpectedly, which the deep blue-eyed woman doubted. Something big must have happened for them to be away this long.

  Her thoughts were interrupted when the black lightning suddenly ripped through the crimson energy blast like it was made from tissue paper. The resulting explosion sent a strong shockwave through the street Rosalind and the deputies were occupying. Everyone braced themselves against the powerful winds that swept over them. When the shockwave passed, Rosalind and the deputies noticed the large column of smoke rising to the sky where the two clashing magic energies once were.

  "Wow..." One deputy said, at a loss for words, another deputy dug himself out of a pile of garbage he had fallen in due to the shockwave.

  "Is it over?" The deputy covered in garbage asked, grimacing as he tried to wipe some of the filth off his shirt. Rosalind extended her senses, trying to feel Markus' sorcery, but all she could sense was a powerful necromantic force. It wasn't the dark-haired man though, so it had to be Markus.

  A mixture of relief and dread washed over Rosalind, but she kept her face impassive so the deputies wouldn't notice. While she was glad that Markus was alive, his use of necromancy worried her. From her experience, nothing good ever came from using the darker part of sorcery.

  "It's over, for now." Rosalind announced, loud enough so everyone could hear. The deputies let up a loud cheer when they heard that. Some were slapping their buddies on the back, telling them they did well. Others began mourning the loss of their loved ones or brothers-in-arms. The co-founder of Midas City thought about telling them they probably still had to clear out pockets of undead that no doubt lingered, but she figured they had earned this reprieve. With the necromancer threat gone, the ghoul threat should be far easier to manage.