Chapitre 44: THE ONES WITH NO TOMORROW
After Maya took Edward and escaped, she ran into the dead valley in hopes to escape Zahad. Though she ran at full speed without turning back even once, Zahad hadn't chased after them. After nearly being killed by Maya, he was in shock and stood in place trying to recover, but once he did several minutes later, he began to pursue them
The fight between Edward and Zahad was filled with so much chaos that it destroyed most of the valley, and created a large hole at the base of the mountain dividing the two valleys. However, the destruction also created great spots for one to hide themselves if they needed time away from a fight. Which was what Maya, took advantage of. She completely erased her presence and aura and blended in with the valley perfectly
Zahad ran through the valley several times but could not sense or find the two. So, he decided not to look for them, but to wait for them to come to him instead. He knew that they would try to escape from the valley sooner or later and make their way to the gate. And for them to do that, they would have to pass through the mountain and go through the valley on the other side, since the path to the gate was in a straight line from the valley.
He camped on the very top of the mountain, squatting and watching, waiting patiently for them to pass by. His gaze enveloped the entire valley in front of him so he watched everything from a perfect view. While he watched, he said to himself
"So, even after everything that happened, you denied me till the very end, Edward. You refused to let me spare you the embarrassment and the humiliation of your defeat. You tried to run away, sniveling, and crying like a pathetic lower life form rather than to let me remember you as a warrior…"
Zahad let out a long sigh then said
"That's fine. It's fine. It doesn't change anything, and in the end it wont matter, because running away didn't save you, it only prolonged the inevitable. With all the damage I did to your body, there's no way you could survive it. It would be a miracle if you could, but we all know miracles don't exist"
He shut his eyes slowly as he smiled feeling pleased with himself. Then a thought that displeased him popped into his mind, and his smile changed to a frown of disgust as he lifted the lid of his eyes
"Although… if you do somehow manage to survive…what would that mean? Are miracles possible even now? Does your god still favor you in a place like this? … No…that can't be…"
He shrugged off the thought and the possibilities, denying every single belief that Edward was favored in anyway
"However, if you do manage to survive by some slim chance… then come back and answer this question for me. Can you still serve your god now that things have become too hard to bare? I would really appreciate it, if you could answer me this burning question, Edward"
Meanwhile, hidden inside the valley
Edward's body is an absolute mess. After his battle with Zahad, his body has nearly been completely destroyed. He's practically leaking of blood like a broken tap. The scar on his chest from Zahad hitting him with his tail destroyed flesh, muscle, and tissue. Allowing you to even se his fractured and broken ribs. It wouldn't be long now before Edward's soul left his body, though it was clear that with the little life Edward had left, he was still trying to fight
Maya panicked and frantically searched for a way to heal him in her head. She tried every single thing she had at her disposal, even trying to share her energy with him, but nothing worked
"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!? Why isn't this working!? His wounds…his wounds won't heal on their own, his body is rejecting my energy, and he's to weak to generate any energy on his own to stop his bleeding, let alone heal his wounds… What's worse, he's unconscious so he can't even accept the energy I'm trying to give him since he needs to be conscious to even use it"
She looked at Edward's body in fear as he began to shut down slowly
"This is bad…this is bad…this is really bad. If I don't figure out what to do soon…Edward will die"
She holds her head in a panic and begins to think harder than she ever has before. While she panics, Edward coughs up chinks of blood mixed with the broken bone fragments inside him. As she looks at Edward's body slowly fall apart, her eyes constrict and she hears a whisper on the wind, saying
"The sword will snap and the shield will break"
Maya grits her teeth
"That won't happen! I won't let it happen!"
She grabs her axe and the snakes begin to uncoil and separate themselves from the axe
"I don't know if this is going to work on you, but if there's even a slim chance… just a little chance, then I'll take it!"
She raises the axe over head
"I have to do everything I can…Because I'm desperate"
She then swings it down and then…
Silence and wind blow the top of the mountain, also known as the border between the valleys. On Top of the mountain, Zahad passes the time by talking to himself
"Come to think of it, when did Maya get so strong? She made me use devil's luck without even fighting as hard as Edward…could it be that she's the strongest"
Wind blew across the mountain and small pieces of rubble fell from the mountain
"No, there's no way she could be the strongest…it was just by coincidence. The Maya I know could never be that strong…she couldn't be strong without me…she needs me"
Zahad put his hand against his face and shut his eyes
"She didn't recognize me… that look of disgust on her face when she tried to take my head… Maya, could you love me for what I am? And could you forgive me…for the thing that I've become?"
Just as Zahad began to open his eyes, he suddenly heard a voice tell him to move, and instinctively he did. As he moved his head to the side, Maya's axe came flying and crashed into the side of the mountain right next to his mouth.
"What? What was that?"
A piece of Zahad's face cracked and broke off by just a bit. He was left in shock and awe, when suddenly the valley began to rumble and tremors shook the mountain. In the distance he could see that it was Maya, her energy far exceeding what he had expected. The axe retracted to her as she walked towards the foot of the mountain. Once she got there she signaled Zahad to get down and fight her at once. Zahad descends the mountain as per her request
Once the two met at the foot of the mountain silence filled the air. Maya's head was lowered and her eyes are unseen, but it was as Zahad try to meet her eyes, he noticed the blood on her right hand. He became curious and asked
"You have a lot more power than I would expect. If I'm not wrong its even more than the person I just fought. Wouldn't you agree?"
Maya gave no response. So, Zahad continued
"Have you always been this strongest? Are you the strongest of all your teammates? Or did you just manage to inherit that strength?"
Maya continued in silence, Zahad did not
"I know about the abilities you all possess. The gifts you've managed to keep and some you've learned since the first death games. Energy transference is one of them isn't it?"
Still Maya didn't answer, but Zahad did
"So, where is the boy? If he isn't with you, or in the valley, is it safe to assume he's dead? A foolish question actually, so, never-mind it. The blood on your hands tells me everything, since I know it's his, I can assume that you couldn't save him. I can also sense the life signature in the area and his is no longer present…actually, it was dropping from the moment you tried to save him…painful how it was a waste wasn't it?
Maya clicks her tongue and grinds her teeth in anger
"Woah, woah now. I'm simply making a few deductions and asking you some questions. Tell me, did he struggle in his last moments? Did he cry? Did he beg to survive before he gave you the last of his strength? Or wait… was it a mercy kill? Did you put him out of his misery? Did you pity him and drain the last of his power from him so he wouldn't suffer? How pathetic! He must have looked so pathetic, didn't he?!"
"Tsk! You little" Said Maya, being the most upset she's ever been
Meanwhile Zahad burst into laughter at the thought of Edward's final moments. While he laughed and made gest of Edward, Maya's power began to rise along with her temper. A small stone rose up in front of her, and using nothing but the breath from her nostrils, she launched it at Zahad.
It passed by him and broke the armor around his mouth and finally he stopped laughing. Maya took a half step forward and said
"Everyone I've met so far, every single person in this place, both you people and the demons, you all are irredeemable. Your all just a bunch of sick bastards who deserve to be killed. First Ethan, then Cayafaz, now…Edward…"
Zahad held his chin and said
"So, Cayafaz did he? That's too bad"
But Maya did pay attention to his statement, her mind went blank with hot, red, rage
"For what you've done her today, for what you did to my friends and all the torment we've had to suffer…I'm going to make sure I kill you today. That's a promise!"
Zahad chuckled "You talk about avenging your teammates, yet you would hurt one? Even worse, you would hurt one with whom you shared a relationship with?"
Maya with little patience yelled in rage "What are you talking about!? Trying to piss me off even more?"
Zahad scoffed, saying "So, you can't even recognize me anymore huh…Maya"
Maya shuttered, her eyes widened, and her lips trembled as she took a step back
"Wait…No…That isn't you. Is it? Nathan?"
Nathan began to approach her, but Maya continued to take steps back. Zahad spoke
"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment. I fought and betrayed everyone I came across, even our old comrades. Just to be with you…and now… it happens"
Maya stopped her back steps and stood upright. She exhaled and inhaled deeply, then she asked
"Even Edward? Even he had to suffer, because of you?"
Zahad grit his fangs and replied "Edward was a deceiving snake who stole you away from me! For his sins! For his lies! He had to die..."
He then turned to Maya and noticed her sobbing. He quickly approached her and held her hands shushing her and telling her not to cry. He said as he locked hands with her
"It's alright Maya my love. It's not your fault you fell for his charms, you didn't know any better. After all, you've always needed me to tell you how to think. So, its only natural you would falter without me"
Maya then began to chuckle suddenly. Zahad asked her
"What's so funny?"
And Maya replied
"Was this your plan to win me over? Coming here? Telling me all this… How did you think it would go?"
Maya tightened her grip on Zahads hands
"Maya, what are yo-"
"I'm genuinely curious as to how you thought this was going to play out, Nate"
Zahad started struggling to release his hands, but Maya's grip was to strong
"Did you think that if you told me all of that, I would suddenly fall for you?"
Maya said with her body twitching, her power rising, and her aura brightening
"Maya, Maya! MAYA LET GO!"
Zahad shouted as he continued his futile struggle. He tried to shake her off and use brute force to separate himself from her, but he realized that her grip was so strong that each time he tried, the ground beneath them would fall in.
Zahad stopped struggling once he realized that he couldn't let go, but Maya continued
"Did you honestly believe that after saying all that crap… I WASN'T GOING TO KILL YOU?"
Maya lifted up her head and looked Zahad in the eyes, her pupils had vanished and all Zahad saw staring back at him was pure rage, absolute fury, and certain death.
His body wouldn't move, he froze, and it was in that instant that Maya began her assault on Zahad
She began by leaping into the air and kicking him in the chin, Zahad's feet left the ground and he was lifted into the air by a few inches. Maya still had a tight lock on Zahad's hands, she used that to keep him bound to her for her to continue her assault
She kneed him in his chest with enough force to crack the exoskeleton armor he had around his body. She platformed off his chest to jump back and round house kick him to his face, shattering the mask around his mouth that formed whenever he was in combat. All this while still being bound. After that, she platformed off his chest again, pushing herself back so she could hit him with a final direct attack
With her fingers still interlocked with his, she pulls herself forward and hit him with a direct kick to the chest. At the same time, she kicked him, she also backflipped off his chest and landed right next to her axe, standing upright. Zahad continued to spin, and turn, and tumble, like a ragdoll across the floor of hell.
He brings out his claws and quickly sinks them into the ground, slowing his movement backwards and allowing him to get his ground. He manages to finally stop and stands upright as well
The two face each other, Zahad sharpening his claws against each other, and maya taunting by dragging and beating her axe against the ground
Zahad tries to speak to her, but Maya has no intention of talking to him. He tries to calls her name out
"Ma-"
But he's interrupted by Maya's axe that flies by his face. The axe grazes his cheek, barely missing his eyes by an inch. Maya stands there with a cold look on her face, and her arm outstretched as she retracts her axe, saying.
"I missed you by a few inches…gotta work on that"
Zahad smirks as he cleans his cheek and wipes off the blood that comes out
"So, you're in no talking mood, huh?"
Maya responds by jumping side to side as a warmup. Zahad smiles and takes a running stance
"Fine then. I won't try to talk either! Die!"
He dashes towards her, appearing in front of her to tackle her with his tail
Maya, who was already angry, then got angrier, and her aura responded in kind. Her aura formed a wide circle over the battle area causing Zahad to not only have limited vision, but also darkening the area and dropping its temperature. So, it got even colder than it was before
Zahad paused his incoming attack for a moment, only a moment when Maya began to chuckle with her head down. She then looked up with an eye so white it was practically nonexistent. When Zahad looked into that white abyss… all he saw staring back at him was infinity
"Huh? Wah?! Where did she go?" Zahad said as he turned around in a panic, frantically searching for her
In the darkness surrounding Zahad, Maya came up from behind him
"Die? Oh please... You're the one who's going to die here"
She hit him behind his legs and brought him to his knees. She then sent out the snakes and bit into him, sucking out and drawing out more of his power.
"These things again? Just what are they? What is she doing to me?"
Zahad remembered the drain he felt after his first encounter with these snakes, he knew from that onetime experience alone, that prolonged exposure to these snakes was not a good thing. So, he used his tail to tackle her from behind and quickly leaped forward.
While trying to escape, Maya quickly appears beside him, keeping the exact pace with him in an almost comical manner. He swings his forearm to hit her face and knock her back, but she stops herself from moving, she squats while lifting her hands into the air a bit, she lets Zahad hands swing right over her head, then she grabs on to it while it passes by. Zahad pulls his arm back in to his face, only to see Maya swinging from his arm like a jungle Jim
She swings back and forth, gathering momentum. Zahad uses his other hand and tries to reach for her, but he isn't fast enough. She curves her back over his hand and kicks him to the side of his face with both her feet planting firmly into his cheeks
Zahad's jaw shatters and pieces of his bones fly everywhere in his mouth, tearing the insides as he flew into the mountain dividing the two valleys, face first.
She grabs her axe and goes after him. Zahd begins to regenerate as he begins to fling fireballs out of his hands towards her. She dodges them by jumping left to right while dashing in a straight line towards him. The aura pool she had her around her shrinks into one spot, her right and left hand.
Maya jumps into the air and leaps several feet across the valley to the mountain. And while in the air, she continues to gather more energy. Compressing her aura, air, all the energy she can muster, and flexing all available muscles, all in one spot, and all to deliver one devastating strike
Zahad continues to throw his soul burning flames at her, but she just dodges like a ballet dancer gliding through the air, circling around them by swinging her axe and letting its weight lead her in the opposite direction of the attack.
Before she reaches the mountain, she spins around three times just to generate enough force and whispers on the wind
"Checkmate"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone