6-70 Dissolution
The pillar of light began to thin as the individual trapped within was disintegrated into nothing.
Azaela stepped closer to the light pillar, which was basically an extreme incinerator chamber. She splayed her hand open in front of it. She closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and spirit. The light began to fade, revealing nothing but ashes within. She scoured the air. She examined the very spot she trapped the disgraced High Lord in her spell. She sensed nothing but the remains of William Marsh, once known as Ivan Soze to his friends. He was gone. Relieved, she snapped her fingers and her surroundings shattered like a dome of glass, returning to the actual world.
Stepping away from the ashes, Azaela tapped her temple, and a yellow-glowing sigil appeared on it. A static noise instantly reverberated in her ears. After it cleared, a soft, mellow voice resounded in her head.
“Commander, you finally reached out! Are you alright?” the voice asked. Her words indicated urgency, but her tone was calm and composed.
“I’m fine, Saril. The primary threat has been eliminated. Tell the lords that the situation is under control. They can stop panicking now.”
“Understood, Commander. What about the secondaries?”
“We can leave those to the soldiers and the knights. Our duty is to quell the immediate threats. The city is safe. Return to the temple.”
“Yes, Commander. Shall I tell the High Priests that they can expect you soon?”
“No, not yet.”
“Huh? Is the operation not done yet?”
“There are still some things to be taken care of. I will return before dusk.”
“Understood, Commander. Saril, out.” And her voice was gone from Azaela’s head.
“Now, to take care of that… Elf,” Azaela muttered. She had only caught a few glimpses of that Elf, but that short amount of time was enough for her to discern the Elf’s true nature: an artificial being. The Elf had a soul, but it was not anchored to the body or the world. It was akin to a soul wearing a body like a suit, except the suit would decay and rot as a corpse would. And these were all just within the grasp of her knowledge. There was no telling what other sort of complications the Elf would pose. Azaela had to find out. As she began to move, she sensed a presence behind her. There was no one behind her, she knew. There was no one but the ashes of the now-late William Marsh. “It can’t be,” she mused. She doubted the possibility, but there was no other explanation. She turned around and saw something rising from the ashes.
“Ka…tya…” That very thing spoke.
“What in divine’s name is this?” Azaela gasped. It was a soul. Specifically, it was the soul of William Marsh, but not in his perfect image. The body depicted by the soul was withered and haggard. The hair was thinning and white, almost as if the soul was that of an aged William Marsh. “You will defy the natural order even after your death, William Marsh. You are truly an abominable person.”
The soul scowled at Azaela and croaked at her.
“Your foul machinations will end here, Marsh. You will not set foot into the land of the good folks. So—” Azaela drew out a sword with a blade that was as ethereal and translucent as the soul was. “—I must cut you down right here and now.”
“Kat…tya!” The soul rushed toward Azaela like a predator lunging at its prey.
Azaela responded with a forward thrust. The outcome seemed apparent, but the truth was far from apparent. Marsh’s target was not her. He flew past her instead of straight at her. She tried stopping him, but he was swift and evasive in his ethereal form. Her blade failed to reach him, and he slipped into the woods, chasing after the woman he had so desperately yearned for. As it was her duty, Azaela gave chase. However, he was already gone from her sight. He was faster than she had assumed.
“Damn it,” she swore.
****
“How are you feeling?” Aedan asked.
“I-I’m fine…” Katya answered with bated breath.
“Nowhere feels strange or anything similar?”
Katya shook her head.
“I see. That’s good. We’re all done, then.”
“Wait. Is there all to it?” Erin asked.
“What else do you expect?” Aedan retorted with his hands on the back of the half-naked Katya. She had stripped down to her waist in order for Aedan to dispel the curse placed on her back.
“Something… flashier, I suppose?”
“This curse may be ruthless, but it is by no means extravagant or special. In fact, it is quite a common curse for those who dabbled in the dark arts.” Aedan rose to his feet, uncurling his sleeves. “We should be prepared for the rebound. That will be the nasty party.”
“I am prepared for that. Just take Katya and run.”
“That’s not what I meant, Erin.”
“I don’t care what you meant, Aedan. Just take her and go. I can perform better without the two of you by my side.”
“You cannot stop her, Erin. He will be fast. He will be relentless. He will not put you in his sights. You will be nothing to him, just like the trees and pebbles on the ground. You’ll just be another obstacle. He will not engage you.”
“Then, he will pay dearly for that blunder.”
“It won’t be his blunder. It will be yours. You will fail. You cannot stop him.”
“I still have to try. If I cannot stop him, then you should start running with Katya now.”
“You can’t, but I can.”
Erin frowned. “And how will you accomplish that?”
Just then, an eerie cry and shriek resounded throughout the forest that sent shivers down the spines of everyone here.
“I gather he will be in a grotesque form,” Erin mused.
“Less grotesque but more vicious,” Aedan said and took out a scroll from his Infinite Pouch.
“A spell scroll… You have a spell for everything, don’t you?”
“Only for situations I have experienced and encountered before.” Then, he unfolded the scroll and threw it on the ground.
“What does this do?”
“You’ll see in a moment.”
The soul of William Marsh appeared from the depths of the woods. As he was now a soul, he was hurtling through the forest like a projectile fired from an elaborate contraption. “Katya!!” he screamed.
“Ivan…” Katya gasped. “What has become of you?”
“A soul?!” Erin exclaimed. “You did not mention that he would be a soul.”
“I didn’t?” Aedan shrugged. “I suppose I didn’t, but not that it matters now. Just take Katya and run.”
“No.”
“Erin, not this again. Just fucking go, please. I will be fine. He’s not after me. It’s Katya he wants. I will be fine. I have the means to slow him down; you don’t. So, just go.”
“Damn it,” Erin grunted and picked up Katya into her arms. “If you are hurt in any way, I will hurt you more later.”
“I’m sure you will. Now, go.”
“KATYA!!” Ivan roared. He flew straight towards Katya, but Aedan stood in his path. He didn’t care. He would plough right through the dragon if he had to. However, he ended up slamming into an invisible barrier instead. He howled in pain, though the pain was only imaginary, a remnant spontaneous reaction from when he was still alive. He tried to escape the confinement, but even the path behind was blocked. He tried every direction, but every side was obstructed by an unseen pane that he could not break, no matter how hard he struck.
Then, something completely unexpected happened, even for Aedan’s standards.
“Allow me to help you.” There was a voice. It was low and eerie. It seemingly echoed throughout the forest. A red glow enveloped the invisible barrier that was trapping Marsh. The glow intensified, and the barrier shattered into pieces.
“Oh, fuck off,” Aedan sighed. “This is just utter bullshit.”
Marsh screeched and immediately streaked past Aedan.
“Motherfu—” Whatever Aedan had in his Infinite Pouch, it didn’t matter as Marsh was much too fast for him to retaliate in time. “Erin, he’s right behind!” Aedan could only shout.
Erin did not get far. She had barely recovered her strength, and she was carrying Katya in her arms. She heard Aedan’s warning. She could sense the ghost behind her. She resisted the temptation to look back as it would only slow her down.
“Put me down, Erin.”
“Oh, not you too, Katya. No, I am not leaving anyone behind to die.“
“You have no choice, Erin. You can’t outrun him in your state.”
“No, Katya. We are not doing this again. No one is sacrificing anyone here. So, just please stop that.”
“There’s no sacrifice being made here. There’s only inevitability. I’m sorry, Erin,” Katya apologised and pinched the middle part between the neck and shoulders.
Erin felt her body stiffen for a second, and her entire balance was thrown off. She went tumbling to the ground, dropping Katya. “Fuck!” she screamed. “Katya, no!” she cried as she struggled to gather her bearings.
“It’s alright, Erin. My end is long overdue. I am just… paying my debts.”
“Katya!!” Erin screamed. She scrambled to her feet, but she lost her balance again immediately. Her body was taking its toll from her overexertion.
Marsh was upon Katya. “...Katya…” he called out ever so softly.
“...Ivan, you’re one sick, twisted fuck,” said Katya. “I have fallen for the wrong man.”
“Katya!” Marsh snarled and pounced on her—
—but an arrow suddenly struck square in his chest from behind Katya. The arrow was corporeal, but it struck the ethereal being nonetheless.
Marsh stumbled backwards and cried out in its phantom pain. He plucked out the arrow from his chest, and mist began pouring and oozing out of the hole in his chest. He looked baffled at the situation. Though his mind was mostly lost, he could still understand that he was being hurt by something that wasn’t supposed to hurt him.
“Get away from her, you deathly bastard!”
Erin recognised that voice. It was a voice that she hadn’t heard for quite a while now. “Nivia!” she cried in joy as Nivia appeared from the trees. She wasn’t alone. Behind her, there was a small group of Elves and each were dressed in combat attire. Lilian was also amongst them.
“Katya!!” Marsh screamed and lunged at Katya once more.
Nivia shot another arrow.
Marsh dodged this one, but a spinning knife came for his head. One of the elves had predicted his evasive movement and aimed for that spot. Marsh could barely dodge the knife. It grazed him by his temple, drawing mist that oozed into the air. Then, another Elf threw a pair of stakes on the ground near where Marsh stood. Magic shackles, tethered to the stakes, appeared on Marsh’s wrists. He struggled to yank himself free but the chains stayed unbroken and the stakes remained buried in the ground.
“A ghost should stay dead, and the dead should have no business with the living. Begone, foul being,” Lilian said and scattered fine grains at Marsh. When the grains touched him, he screeched in agony as if it were the most painful thing in the world.
All the Elves brought their hands together and began praying, uttering a string of incantations. The grains glowed in the signature cyan hue of the Spirits. Marsh screeched even louder as smoke was coming off of him. The grains were literally searing and burning him. He flailed and kicked at the stakes didn’t even budge and the chains didn’t even crack. The grains continued to burn Marsh until he dissolved into nothing right before the very eyes of everyone present.
Erin heaved a huge sigh of relief. It was truly over now. She succumbed to her exhaustion and fell forward.
“Erin!” Nivia slid in front of her and prevented her from falling face-first into the ground. “I’m here, Erin.”
“Nivia…” Erin chuckled weakly. “I miss you…”
Nivia smiled wryly. “I miss you, too, Erin.”