Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1)

by Jake Taylor

  The vampire tilted his head. “Really now? Do you have any idea how foolish that statement is?”

  “Why don’t we find out?”

  “You intrigue me. Very well, one-on-one.” He spun his daggers in anticipation as Trish sighed.

  “Why are you turning this into a game?”

  “Stay out of it.”

  “Very well, you do what you like,” the blonde said, folding her arms disapprovingly.

  Genlock rolled his shoulders. “So what do we do?”

  “We prevent Haruka from stepping in while her lover is getting eviscerated.”

  “Sounds boring.”

  Both of them blinked as Haruka landed in front of them on the tree trunk, giving them a dark smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you entertained. Bella’s going to kill Aizen, and I’m going to bring you down so you can’t stop it.”

  Trish looked at her in disbelief. “Surely you can’t believe that, she’s-“

  Haruka’s fist cut her off, sending her clear off the log with a grin. “I’ve wanted to do that for way too long.” Genlock’s massive fist rushed at her and forced her to block; she shut her eyes tightly in preparation before she was blasted down through the tree trunk, sending shards of wood everywhere followed by a cloud of dirt when she met the ground below.

  Isabella kept her attention off Haruka and on the man in front of her, barely ducking before his blades cut a cross out of the tree behind her. She stabbed her sword up and forced him back, after which she went on the offensive with a wide array of moves that he had little trouble blocking. He disappeared in a flash of movement and Bella spun forward, managing to evade his strikes at her back. “You’re very fast,” she said as she eyed his blades, ignoring the pleading of the voices in her head that asked for their power to be used. “Too fast.”

  “My speed is a point of pride.” Aizen flipped a dagger in his hand and pointed it at her. “It is also what will be your death within the next few moves.”

  “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it’s too fast for me,” she corrected. “I mean it’s too fast for you.”

  He frowned in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Then attack me again.” He complied and, as he disappeared, Isabella flipped her sword and pointed it at her right flank.

  Aizen reappeared there and barely whirled around the point to avoid it, skidding to a stop a few feet away with wide eyes. “How did you react so quickly?”

  “I am just that much better than you,” she said with a smile, flipping her sword back around and readying it. In truth, Isabella knew what having such speed was like, as her Demonic form wielded that ability. When moving that quickly, everything had to be planned out unless your reaction time was off the charts. That left a much narrower range of attack options and the inability to readjust on the fly, and with her experience Isabella was able to predict with near-certainty, which moves he would choose. More than that, she was able to choose for him by positioning herself in such a way as to present an apparent opening or weak spot; while focusing on his attack, he was unable to gauge how she would move. It wasn’t an infallible strategy, but in Isabella’s experience, people with one incredible strength usually focused on it to the exclusion of any other attributes, meaning this man had impressive speed and little else.

  That seemed to be the case with this whole Triad, as she had surmised when they had appeared; one was speed, one was power, and the last was likely magic. As a team they were probably nearly unbeatable, and that was the purpose of Isabella’s challenge; she would keep the speed busy, leaving Haruka to deal with the other two. She had faith that the monk would be able to take the others. If Isabella’s plans didn’t work out, though… Well, then she would transform, and hopefully that would be enough. She knew she only had perhaps two more transformations in her, though, and both would cut her time down, so that remained a last resort.

  Haruka recovered quickly and moved from her position as fast as she could, launching herself off the ground as electricity arced through the air into the spot she had just left, turning the dirt glassy. Apparently, Trish is angry, she thought as she flipped over another bolt. Genlock came rushing at her and she shifted to put him between her and Trish so she could focus on dodging his strikes without worrying about the lightning. She felt the rush of air every time the huge man missed, a promise of the damage he could do if he connected. She couldn’t take many hits from him or many hits from Trish’s magic, meaning she would have to stay on the move. That thought reminded her of what Trish could be planning if she wasn’t busy being angry, so as Genlock thrust a fist down at her she ran up his arm, performing hand movements along the way. At his shoulder she leapt up and unleashed a fireball in Trish’s direction, forcing the woman to move but scorching the edges of her robe.

  Haruka grinned as she heard the woman give a cry of annoyance, and she spun back around in time to duck Genlock’s left cross. Unfortunately she didn’t do it fast enough and the steel gauntlet clipped her head, sending her spinning into a tree. She slumped down and shook her head clear, gritting her teeth and placing her feet on the trunk. She kicked off of it and over a lightning bolt that tore apart the tree behind her, and the force sent her a few feet further than she wanted to go, straight towards Genlock who brought clasped fists down at her. Haruka spun and dug her hands into the ground, shooting her heel up into the man’s chin and knocking him off-balance. She then bent her elbows before extending her whole body and planting both feet in his stomach, knocking him away breathless. After that she gained her feet and started moving again as another spell tore apart the ground behind her. Keep moving, that was all she had to do…

  Isabella continued to frustrate Aizen. Every time he disappeared she predicted his move and cut him off. However, she wasn’t making any progress by doing this, only stalling him. She had to give him credit, unfortunately, because he figured that out faster than she’d hoped. “This stalemate is cute,” he said as he spun his daggers, “but I’m getting bored of it. I’m going to put an end to this now.” He began tapping his foot as she watched, slowly increasing the frequency. Soon his other foot joined in and he was slightly bouncing from foot to foot with increasing speed. Isabella narrowed her eyes and lifted her iron sword in both hands, focusing everything on him.

  Then he disappeared and the dirt flew up in a line as the staccato rhythm of his feet increased to a point where the individual steps blurred together into a nearly-constant sound. Isabella shifted and blocked a blow from the right, but this time he didn’t stop; he came in from all directions seemingly at random, no longer going only for kill shots but striking at whatever he could. Isabella could see his movements, but her body was unable to react in time to all of them. She was forced to choose which ones to block and take others, ending in her taking multiple deep cuts on her arms, shoulders and legs. Her thick knight cape kept her back somewhat protected, but it wouldn’t take long to shred it. Now she was in a losing battle, holding off death but inflicting no damage on her opponent. She had to do something or she was going to die here.

  Summoning power she spun in a circle, emitting a burst of Wind magic that threw Aizen away from her. She then knelt and quickly took blood from a deep gash on her arm, inscribing a series of runes on the iron blade and on her arm. As she finished they all flared with light and she leapt up just in time to block a strike from the angry vampire. He came at her quickly, but he leapt back with eyes wide in surprise as her sword spun up between his strikes and cut three deep gashes in is chest, narrowly missing his neck. He skidded back and stared at her in confusion. Isabella stood panting and dripping blood from several injuries, but her eyes remained determined and strong even as she was bent and exhausted. Her iron sword floated up beside her, hovering in the air on its own.

  “What is this?” Aizen asked as he stared warily at the sword.

  “Most people these days… don’t remember the runes of the language of the Ancients,” Isabella said as she caught her breath. “If you kno
w them, you are limited only by your inner power and the words you know. And even if I can’t let it out, I have a lot of power.” Isabella brought her hands up to reveal that she’d also placed runes on each of her palms. She steadied her legs and lifted her head proudly, bringing her arms down and clapping her hands once. A burst of power shot from them and Aizen was launched back into a tree. The iron sword shot after him and pinned him to the tree through his shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain and glare at her with rage.

  Isabella began to walk towards him as a red glow flowed over her arms like a mist of blood, a sign of her demonic power being focused through the runes. “Did you think I had only one trick?” she said condescendingly as she approached him, her eyes growing colder with every step. “Did you think I was helpless without transforming? Did you think I gained the title of The Golden Butcher by being WEAK?” With the last word she threw her hand forward and shoved him with such force that he broke through the tree he was pinned to and flew across the ground leaving a cloud of dirt in his wake. He pushed himself up on his elbows and yanked the iron sword from his shoulder, but he found himself frozen as Isabella approached.

  The red mist had spread across her body and silhouetted her like a demon from a storybook. The injuries he had inflicted on her no longer seemed to bother her as she grew straighter as she walked. Her eyes, though – they were different now, hard and hateful. He could no longer believe what he’d heard about this woman now; she seemed as powerful and intimidating as Kazuki himself. “My hands are stained with the blood of thousands. My eyes have seen the life fade from more people than you have ever met. And you think that you can come in now, near the end of my life, and kill me like none of that happened? Do you think I would deign to let rabble like you end a legend like mine? You think me prey, but when history is written, your life will be nothing but a footnote in the story of mine.”

  Aizen refused to be disrespected any longer; he shot at her with all his speed, but her backhand sent him into another tree. As he bounced off of it she appeared in front of him and slammed him back in its direction and straight through the trunk, bringing yet another tree down. “I would teach you to respect me,” Isabella said as she moved to stand over him, “but a wolf doesn’t bother teaching a rabbit before it devours it.” Aizen was about to respond but she lifted a hand and he was pulled high into the air by an unseen force. Without another word, Isabella moved her other hand and his cloak and scarf were shredded away. He let out a scream of agony as the sunlight, let in by the hole she had created by taking out several trees, scorched him. He struggled but it was useless, the sun burned away his flesh and muscle, leaving only a smoking husk that fell to the forest floor as she released it.

  Isabella’s eyes then turned to the other fight, focusing on the blonde woman as she let out a cheer; one of her bolts had finally struck Haruka, and Genlock was rapidly closing on the injured monk. Trish lifted her hands and charged them with electricity before her wrist was caught by Isabella. Her eyes widened as she tried to pull her wrist away. “What – where is Aizen?!”

  “You can find out when you get there,” Isabella answered as she flung the woman into a nearby tree, focusing as the demonic power flowing through her increased.

  Haruka saw it, but she also noticed Isabella’s hair was still blue; she hadn’t transformed, but something else was definitely happening. However, she wasn’t able to think about it for long as Genlock’s massive fist came down on her crossed arms. She was on her back in the dirt and being pounded further into it, but holding it together. Genlock was getting frustrated as she refused to go down despite taking numerous hits over the course of their battle. Even now she suddenly rolled out of the way and hit him with an uppercut that sent him stumbling back. He shook his head and let out a yell, smashing his fists together. “This… is impossible! We are the strongest within the Black Sun!”

  Haruka spit out a tooth and wiped her mouth, no longer even bothering to clean the dirt off herself. “Then you should’ve recruited someone outside of the Black Sun.” Genlock growled and charged at her, which was what she was waiting for; she was sore all over and quite possibly suffering several bone fractures and some torn muscles. It was funny, though – all she could think was that she was glad she and Isabella had done all the ‘physical activity’ that morning, as she didn’t think she’d be in the best shape for it come evening. She dodged out of the way of the giant man’s charge and watched as he spun around, glaring at her.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  She chuckled, unable to help the spreading grin. “Just… good things. How much my life has improved since leaving that suffocating monastery and your pointless group.” She held her arms out wide. “Everything’s better now. And all we have to do is kill every one of the dogs my father sends after us, which is actually getting easier. I used to fear the Triad like everyone else, but I see now that you three have grown soft. You’ve been held in reserve while the rest of us fought every week.” She cracked her knuckles and neck before pointing at him. “Choose your words carefully; they’ll be your last and I might actually remember them.”

  Genlock flexed his muscles until the veins bulged, smashing his gauntlets together so hard that it sent up a cloud of dirt around him. “I’m going to crush your legs and drag you back to Master Saito by your hair! And the best part is…” He gave her a dark grin as he lifted a hand and clenched it into a fist slowly. “Even if I don’t, and even if you win, Aranea’s information says that blue-haired bitch is still going to die soon. So why fight so hard?”

  Haruka narrowed her eyes and disappeared, reappearing directly in front of him and ducking his massive fist. “The thing you fools don’t get is…” she began as she slammed both hands into his knees, “…one minute with her is worth more than a hundred years with the Black Sun!” She slipped between his legs as he bent down to grab her, leaving him to see the Death Marks on his knees. The explosion shattered both of his kneecaps, causing him to cry out in pain and fall backwards. Haruka casually turned and, as he fell, shot her knee upwards. It connected with the back of his skull and she felt the bone shatter before watching him slump to the ground. Her eyes then found Isabella, who had apparently just finished disposing of Trish if the bloody outline on a wide tree trunk was anything to go by. The blue-haired woman was shaking, though; at first Haruka was worried she was crying, until she stepped around and saw her face tensed with barely contained rage.

  “Bella,” she said firmly, catching the attention of those grey eyes tinged with red. “It’s over.”

  “Power… influences emotions,” she managed to grind out, looking down at her clenching and unclenching fists. “Without my sword… acting as a barrier… it’s… so hard to control… The desire to brutalize, abuse, torment… hard to feel other things.”

  Haruka stepped in front of her and examined her eyes, searching through her own memory for the name Bella had only mentioned once. “Bale. You’re done here. The longer it takes you to calm down, the more stress you’re putting on her body.”

  Isabella closed her eyes. “This is the reason I never used this… If there was anyone but you here, I’d attack them. I have no control.”

  “You have no control but you won’t attack me?”

  “I… Bale… love you,” she said as she opened her eyes again. “Bella… Bale… Bai… The feelings for you are… the same.”

  Haruka took her hand, lifting it and forcibly uncurling her fingers from a fist as she looked in her eyes. Even though Bella knew that Bale and Bai were aspects of her own personality, she still… believed, Haruka guessed, that they were different. It didn’t make sense that she could believe they were unique people and parts of her at the same time, but once sanity broke, things like sense and reason no longer had any value to the mind. Haruka didn’t care about that, though. “I have devoted myself to every part of Isabella Enyo,” she said calmly. “And only I stand before you now. Release your rage.”

  “It is all I am…
”

  “No; your rage has a reason. Follow that anger back to the reason; me. You aren’t angry at me, you care about me, and that leads to your anger at them. But those they sent are dead. So let it go for now, and bring it back when they come back.”

  “I… Yes.” Bella snapped out of it like coming up for air from a pool of water, gasping loudly and beginning to breathe heavily.

  “Bella?”

  The knight looked up into Haruka’s concerned gaze and felt her hand on her shoulder. “It was… intense,” she tried to explain. “It’s like… all but two colors faded. There was you, a green; and then there was just… red. Everything was red, and whatever moved in the red, I had to kill.” She shook her head, straightening and looking over her shoulder. “Aizen… I thought Aizen died too quickly. I tried to prolong the woman’s death, but my anger got too strong and I overdid it. And I was just angry they were dead because I couldn’t punish them anymore.”

  “It’s alright,” Haruka said calmly, worried at Isabella’s fearful look. “You just leaned more Bale for a bit. If you hadn’t done that we might be dead. It was only the one time, right?”

  Isabella nodded. “Yes… Yes, of course. I couldn’t… I can’t do that again. Coming back was so hard, like clawing my way up a sheer, oil-slick wall.” She swallowed, finally gaining control of her breathing as she looked at Haruka. “It was like before.”

  “Not completely,” Haruka reassured her. “You still cared about me.”

  “Well, you’ve…” Isabella looked down. “You’ve changed a lot of things.”

  “Well, I didn’t expect that.” Both women turned to see a woman taller than either of them, over six and a half feet, cloaked in a red robe that hid most of her. Her hair was crimson and clearly as long as she was tall, as some of it could be seen peeking out below the edges of the bottom of the robe; in the front her hair was much shorter, curly and falling over her chest. A red rose was tucked into her hair beside her left eye, reminding Haruka and Isabella of Suria, except this one was covered in thorns and a much deeper shade of red that was far more reminiscent of blood. Her eyes were also a deep maroon and intimidating. Neither of them made a move as she looked around; her presence was beyond threatening, like that of a sleeping dragon – pure destructive potential, survivable only by avoiding conflict entirely. “I see you’ve disposed of them yourselves.”