Chương 65: Battle on the high seas
A blue portal opens in the sky, and from this portal fall five people, three men and two women.
Saibus POV:
I approached François-Thomas, who tried to kill his colleagues but was stopped by a wave of water from Isabella and a flash from Yennefer. Haytham explained to us how François-Thomas is being corrupted and going mad. Knowing that this is irreversible, they inject him with a serum that soothes him, but it will not last.
I don't understand why François didn't try to kill himself, or Robert or Haytham didn't kill him. I don't understand... I wouldn't have understood it if I was still a man without feeling if I was still a machine. A machine that does not know fear, anger, love, sadness, despair, envy... I understand them very well. I know that François-Thomas does not want to die. I understand that he is afraid of dying. I know Robert and Haytham don't want to end their friends' lives and are doing their best to keep him sane while searching for a desperate solution.
After all, I will probably do the same thing I was in their place, and Desmond will be like François-Thomas.
Reflecting on the situation, I was disturbed by a gust of wind from François. While François is free, a portal opens on the ground and teleports us all.
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I am now in the sky, in total free fall. I see a blue expanse, assuming we're on the high seas. The wind is blowing over my body, causing my temperature to drop.
"Adenydd," I utter a word in an ancient language that slows his fall. I look around and see that Yennefer has also slowed her fall. I look a little lower and see that Isabella is with Robert and Haytham and that they are also slowing down.
I then see Isabella cast a spell and create an ice platform about 10 meters in diameter.
We land gently on the ice platform.
"I think Francis is more corrupt than you think, Robert."
"Unfortunately, I think so too, Saibus." Robert sadly declares that he must kill his friend to avoid the worst.
"Do you know where we are?" Isabella asks.
Haytham pulls a compass out of his coat.
"Based on the orientation of the North and the coasts that we see in the distance, I think we are about five kilometers from the shores of Faroe. Haytham says, putting away his compass.
"Well, let's go back there and try to find François," said Robert.
"Isabella, are you making a portal back to your castle?" Haytham asks.
Isabella nods and creates a portal.
'RUSTLING'
I hear a breath coming from behind us. I quickly realize what it is.
"ATTENTION," I shout while manipulating the water to create a wall protecting us.
'SLASH' Half of the wall is cut by a wind blade. We can see François-Thomas levitating about ten meters from us. His eyes are black without pupils. He wears a smile full of sadism.
He casts a spell, and five copies of himself appear next to him.
"Well, I see you're not dead. Let's see if you'll follow me and my clones." declares François-Thomas, widening his sadistic smile.
François-Thomas and his clones create a powerful tornado that sucks us in and ejects us several kilometers apart.
I found myself on the shore of Faroe with two clones in front of me.
I don't think long and whistle. I amplify my whistle with my wind magic. During my whistle, one clone sends a fireball at me while the other creates a gust of wind, accelerating the wind ball and making it more violent. Within seconds, the ball of fire is right in front of me. I have time to create a wave of water that blocks the fireball.
The collision of the ball and the wave creates a thick layer of vapor that envelops the area making vision very difficult. I then cast a detection spell created by one of my ancestors, Altaïr. The spell allows us to see even with closed eyes. Using magic, we see our surroundings. This spell also allows us to distinguish our allies from our enemies and civilians. My ancestor called spell Eagle Vision. The superior version of this spell will enable me to see through Regiis' eyes.
Thanks to the spell, I see the clones preparing another combined spell. I take advantage of their incantation backs to cast a teleportation spell.
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Clone 1 POV:
When our fireball hits its water wave, our spell disintegrates into a cloud of water vapor, covering the area for several tens of meters.
Knowing he can't hide too far. I cast a shield spell on both of us while the other clone prepares a spell. I then begin the chant of the Tempest of Alzur, a powerful Grand-Arch-Mage spell that summons a storm of lightning that devastates everything in the desired area.
But my concentration is broken when a high-pitched sound enters my ears. A distinct sound that I know very well, a teleportation sound…Damn elf. I look up to see the cold metal of the dagger. The dagger comes into contact with my shield, which is broken on the spot.
FUCK… My shield, which can take hits from a golem or a big break under the effect of a dagger… Pathetic.
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3rd POV:
Saibus' hidden blade makes contact with the clone's shield, which breaks and crashes into the first clone's forehead, killing him instantly.
Panicked, the second clone casts his spell without having finished his magic, which drastically reduces the power of the charm and causes an explosion that blows the clone and Saibus away.
Saibus finds himself again in flight but manages to stop and hover, thanks to his magic. The still-wanting clone has also stabilized and sends out a series of ice spikes which are all shattered by Saibus, who does not retaliate as he hears the cry of a falcon which, swift as light, tears through the clone's throat. Regiis, with blood on his plumage, comes flying next to Saibus.
"Thank you, mate, but it's no time to stop. Let's get the others."
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Yennefer POV:
After the tornado of François-Thomas, which separated us all, I found myself against one of his clones.
Our battle takes place on a set of reefs off Faroe. The clone mainly uses fire or wind spells while I counter with water and lightning.
A lance of fire tries to sink into my stomach. I step left, dodge the spear, and counter with water bullets fired from multiple directions. Shots of water are hurtling at full speed all around him.
He manages to dodge several, but he takes three bullets, one in the chest, one in the right leg, and the last in the left arm.
"Hm, that's your power. You're going to beat me by throwing pathetic water balls at me. I thought better of a magician like you, but it looks like I'm up against a kid." he said, creating several fire arrows. Arrows of fire surge towards me. I make a dome of ice that protects me from my hands. I see the arrows hitting the crown, some crashing, others exploding in contact with the ice. My dome is gradually shrinking.
So I blow it up and send all the ice towards the clone, who is caught off guard. Several spikes of ice pierce it. His blood flows from his wounds into the azure sea. He also falls into the water because he lost his focus on his levitation spell.
I take advantage of his condition to throw a lightning bolt at the location of his heart.
"This is what the pathetic sorceress is doing to you," I say arrogantly.
"Yen." I then hear the voice of Saibus calling me. I turn around and see him being carried by Regiis. The latter is a bit small to get Saibus on his back. Saibus uses an air burst to slow the falls and clings to Regiis' talons.
"You're okay?" Saibus asks me worriedly. He's cute when he worries about me.
"Yeah, don't worry. This clone is not very strong. I have the impression that his clones do not have the strength of François-Thomas. They must have 20% or even less." I said, looking at Saibus.
Saibus nods. We are about to get the others when powerful lightning strikes in the middle of the sea. The lightning-caused a small tsunami that hit the reefs.
We looked at each other and headed over there. Saibus with Regiis and me transporting myself with my hydrokinesis.
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Isabella POV:
I lowered my hand, and violent lightning fell on the last clone. The shock of the lightning created a small tsunami.
I contemplate the destruction resulting from the fight against the two clones. Part of the sea is cut in two and slowly reforming. Icebergs are everywhere.
Isabella! I hear Yennefer's voice calling out my name. I shift my gaze to the left and see Yennefer followed by Saibus.
"You're okay?" Saibus asks me, surprised by all the anarchy in the surroundings.
"Perfectly, those clones were very weak, and I don't think anyone of our level had any problem killing them. Considering how the fight went, I think they were more of a distraction than anything." I say, thinking back to the fight.
The fight started like all magic fights, with François-Thomas and myself casting spells to temper the enemy and see what elements he uses, his magic ability, his casting speed... Quickly, I created an air of ice, which disadvantaged him as they mainly used wind and fire types. I used the icy air to exhaust them and kill them bit by bit. Finally, he saw the situation exasperating the clones and decided to attempt a powerful wind spell. I managed to kill the first clone thanks to an ice spike in the heart and the second to cast the wind spell.
The spell produced the gash in the sea, but it lost most of its magic, so it remained in the air without being able to defend itself. I trapped him in ice and dropped lightning on his head.
I finish thinking about my fight, and an incredible explosion of magic makes our magic resonate. So we don't argue, and I'm going to rob Saibus and Yennefer so we can go full speed ahead.
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Robert POV:
François is lost… he tried to kill us. So we have to kill him. That's why Haytham and I chase him after he splits us with his tornado. We finally found him on a small desert island far from Faroe.
No discussion was made during this fight other than insults and taunts from François. Haytham and I knew this day was coming, but we didn't think it would be this soon.
François is waiting for us in a tiny clearing. As soon as we saw him, he yelled at his stone golem that he must have created for us to charge.
The golem is fast for such a giant monster but is not intelligent and flexible. He can only charge forward and deliver significant blows.
We use his stiffness against him. We attacked his weak points, his joints to break him shortly, and we succeeded. The golem eventually crumbles and crumbles when Haytham stabs its heart.
We then run towards François, who throws fire spells at us to keep us at a distance. It works perfectly. We can't approach him without receiving a jet of flame. But I decided to brave his fireball. So I walk through the fire and cut my sword towards his chest. François has never learned close combat magic. He always did spells from afar while Haytham and I protected him.
Unfortunately, my sword bounces off an orange shield. Quen is a witcher sign that Francis learned and modified into passive protection. My sword bounced, but a second sword hit the security. This sword has a pinkish color, and small flames emanate from it. Haytham cast the Grip of Cadfan spell, which ignites the sword. The problem with this spell is that Haytham must wear gloves to withstand the heat. The flame-enhanced blade does not break the shield but cracks it.
François repels us with the Zephyr spell. He then launches a powerful gust of wind at Haytham, who is sent flying several meters, leaving me alone to carry him.
He throws several blades of wind at me, which I dodge or deflect with my sword. However, I quickly come into contact with it and slice it vertically with my blade.
My blade hits his shield, which cracks a little more. I chain the strikes and break his security more and more.
François tries to cast spells on me, but Haytham protects me as best he can with the bit of magic he knows. So Francois started aiming mainly at Haytham for a few seconds.
But that's more than enough time for me to destroy his shield. François has stopped casting spells on Haytham, who takes the opportunity to throw a dimetirium bomb. The bomb exploded above François. The bomb projected dimetirium dust on an area of 5 meters.
François quickly stopped breathing so as not to inhale dust and lose his magic for a few minutes. But he has already lived it, and he knows it.
I read an angry expression on his face, but I didn't give him time to react and cut his chest.
François moved at the last moment, causing me to make a cut on his chest but without magic.
He growled in pain and tried to get his stick out, but it was cut off by Haytham, who was able to join me.
François uses aard to push us away. We are forced back three meters, but that is enough for François to create a mud floor at our feet.
Caught in the mud, we find it challenging to move around, and François takes the opportunity to distance himself. With this, he expands the mud field and begins casting a powerful fire spell. We try to free ourselves, but the distance to the hard ground is difficult. We wade for seven seconds, enough time for François to project a small ball of fire towards us. Haytham and I agree tonight. It's one of Francis' favorite spells. It creates a fireball which he compresses as much as possible to improve the blast when the star impacts a body.
He throws the fireball. Haytham then uses the mud to create a thick wall of mud. The collision between the tight ball and the earth creates a powerful detonation. The explosion has a loud sound that makes me lose my hearing—ringing echoes in my ears. The mud-wall was reduced to ashes. I can feel the heat. Opening my eyes, I see a sea of flames. My left arm is burned, and I can see Haytham scream but hear nothing. I notice that the left part of his torso and his left leg is burned.
I'm lying in the mud. I see a shadow approaching me. I look up. François is above me.
I see him move his lips, but no sound comes to me. My hearing still hasn't returned.
He bends down to take my sword. I raise my arm to try to hit him, but I have no more strength. He stands up with my sword in hand and an arrogant, murderous look on his face. He kicks my face with his right foot. The decisive blow makes me turn my head to the side towards Haytham. His impact broke my lips. Blood flows from my mouth. It joins the blood already on the ground pouring from my ears.
François then approaches Haytham, who tries to take his sword, but François throws it away with his foot. He looks a little at Haytham. He has to say a few things to him before raising his hand. A flicker appears in my vision. He abruptly disappears, letting me see my sword descend and decapitate Haytham. His head detached from his body and rolled a few centimeters towards me. She stops. I can see the expression my friend had before he died. He expresses his sadness because he could not save his friend, our brother.
François then turns to me. His face full of satisfaction disgusts me and fills me with shame and sadness. To say that my friend, a person I consider my brother, will be my death. To say that I promised to save him and I couldn't. What a pitiful brother I am.
François walks up to me. He looks at me and raises my sword.
Before he kisses the sword, I feel like time slows down ultimately. I see all the choices I have made so far. I see my first love, my first murder, my father, whom I killed to protect my mother from her abuse. I see my master who made me enter the brotherhood before giving me his place before his death. Then, I see again this hooded man trying to kill me so François could save my life.
I see all this, and I see something else. I see a cloud of green dust flying around me.
Dimétirium… François had a dimétirium bomb on him. This is it? But if it is, that means the bomb has gone off, and Francis has lost his magic and is currently disoriented.
It means I have a chance to end this once and for all. So, alright, I'M GOING TO END THIS.
I use my last strength to kick Francois in the knee. The latter surprised by the blow, leans forward, allowing me to kick him in the stomach with my boot. He falls backward, disoriented by the dimeritium and my blow. I take my blade and roll to be next to François. I then thrust my sword into his heart.
I see my friend's eyes, which until now were black, resume their usual hazel color.
"Thank you, brothers," murmurs François with his last breath.
I drop my sword. My vision slowly turns black to envelop me in darkness.
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