The Seventh Spirit

by Adam-Clay Webb

  “It seems you weren’t the only one getting in some training,” Blade said to Kyle, not as stupefied as the rest of them, who were too amazed to speak.

  “This is the biggest and last mistake you’ll ever make, Mike!” Kyle blasted. As Mike contracted his muscles, spikes grew out from his body. The onlookers just stared at him.

  Silver laughed proudly. “Give him some space!” he ordered the others, and the other four Ionides stepped back. Mike looked at Lex and his companions.

  “I am sorry, my good friends,” he said again.

  “I think we should leave this mission to Mike,” Silver said.

  “What?! So we should just stand here and watch him have all the fun?!” Tiger complained.

  “For him, this isn’t fun, Tiger. It is the test of loyalty he needs to pass on his own, and it’s a damn hard one. We will attack if it somehow becomes necessary… Come. Step back.” The four Ionides retreated a few yards.

  “You really think you can take us by yourself, Mike?!” Kyle blasted, sounding like he felt insulted.

  “Mike, what’s going on? What are you thinking? Mike, don’t do this,” Lex said.

  Mike said nothing. He grimly rose up his hand toward Kyle and Lex.

  Suddenly, and with no further hesitation, Lex sent a well-developed iceball at Mike. The Ionide didn’t even attempt an escape. The ice crashed into his chest and quickly covered his whole body.

  Silver held Tiger back as he made an aggressive step forward. “He is only frozen because he wants to be frozen,” Silver said. He was more confident of Mike’s victory than Mike himself was.

  “Spread out! Surround him!” Blade commanded his troops, and the little group formed a nearly complete circle around Mike. Blade constantly kept the unmoving Ionides in his sight. Blade’s eyes widened as he figured what was about to happen. “Get ready! Dodge those spikes!” As he made the warning, Mike’s prison of ice was shattered instantly. Long, deadly spikes shot out from him at malignant speeds in all directions. Blackness flashed in Lex’s eyes and he held out his hands reflexively. His hands glowed a faint black, and the tens of spikes that were directly before him and Clover, who was closest to him, slowed to a stop in mid-air, each encased in the thin black glow of salvation. Kyle and Blade quickly and accurately used their sword to save themselves from the quick spikes. Tiger clenched his teeth in agony as he pulled a spike from his chest that had sunk a centimetre beneath his armour. Silver laughed proudly.

  “Dammit,” Kyle muttered to Blade, “if his whole body is covered in iron, our swords must be useless against him!”

  “Your sword,” Blade corrected.

  Clover sent a flash of mana at Mike. “Abingush!” she commanded, and there was an explosive bang. A cloud of dust and mana where Mike was standing was created instantly. The young witch gasped in shock as the cloud cleared. Mike was neither scratched nor moved by the blast!

  “Well then,” Blade said to himself, then rushed up toward Mike with great speed. As he reached close enough, he made murderous swings at Mike. Mike tried to defend, but he was nowhere near Blade’s level in close combat fighting, so dodging his swings was impossible. As Blade swung, Mike’s armour suffered only thin slices. This is impossible. This sword, which he was sure could slice through anything, was struggling to cut through the armour. This armour is far superior to any other metal known to man. This is certainly not iron.

  Blade upped his game, striking now with more power and speed. Mike Jumped back quickly as the first three strikes struck him, slicing through his armour and reaching into his flesh.

  “What the hell is going on?” Silver whispered to Copper. “Why is that sword slicing the iodium?”

  “This man,” Copper replied, “it must be that he is Blade of the Land of the Sword. He is known for doing impossible things with that sword of his.”

  Blade rushed up to Mike again. Mike sent spikes at him, but Blade’s sword deflected them easily. “It seems playing around won’t quite cut it with this guy,” Blade said to himself, gripping his sword with a different spirit. It had been a while since he had fought seriously. The swordsman rushed up to Mike and swung at the boy’s throat malignantly.

  That will kill him! Copper realized, holding his fists out toward Blade. He sent spikes flying at the swordsman too quickly for the average eyes to perceive. Blade’s eyes widened as he noticed the projectiles fast reaching him. He redirected his sword to defend himself against the spikes, sparing Mike. Copper was frightened at this. Never before had even a sorcerer escaped these bullets, let alone a swordsman.

  Blade clenched his teeth and his eyes bulged as Mike’s fist rammed into his chest, five-inch spikes coming through them and piercing the swordsman.

  “Haha! That’s my boy!” Silver cheered.

  Mike sent another loaded fist at the already gravely wounded Blade, digging into his flesh with more spikes.

  With a roar of rage and panic, Kyle bolted toward Mike, running past the falling Blade. He made a powerful swing at the Ionide, but Mike easily grabbed the blade of Kyle’s sword and made a sharp pull. As Kyle was pulled in to Mike, the coated boy blasted him with a kick that was far more powerful than it seemed, sending him down harshly. Struggling to rise, Kyle stared shakingly at the boy he once called his friend. Staring back at Kyle, Mike crushed the blade he held like it was paper. Silver laughed, seeing this.

  “Kyle! Get back!” Lex’s command rang out. Mike walked toward Lex, simply passing the petrified Kyle. Lex and Clover stood side by side.

  “Mike! What’s wrong with you?!” Disappointment and rage were plain in her voice.

  “I’m sorry, princess,” Mike answer in a sombre tone.

  “Abingush!” Clover raged, sending again a massive amount of mana at the Ionide. This blast was even bigger than before. It sent Clover, Kyle, Blade and Lex hurling away violently in different directions. Lex landed harshly and rolled a few meters, but quickly recovered to his feet. He looked around quickly, soon noticing that Clover was lying still on the ground. He ran up to her nervously.

  “Clover! Clover!” he called out, shaking her body with much vigour. He turned his head back for a moment, still shaking Clover. As the dust and mana cleared, they saw Mike standing there, unfazed, unmoved.

  “He is going to kill us,” the witch muttered, her eyes cracking open. A greenish smoke rose from her burning body.

  “Not while I’m still breathing,” Lex assured.

  He rose and faced Mike. Kyle ran up to Mike from behind, Blade’s sword tightly gripped in his hands. Its weight was impractically great, but that wasn’t enough to stop Kyle. Mike heard the running and panting and turned quickly, blocking the incoming attack with his right hand. He dragged Blade’s sword from Kyle’s hand easily, then sent swift, hard punches at the swordsman. Kyle managed to dodge the first few attacks, but he knew striking back was pointless. The young Ionide eventually blasted his foot into the boy’s chest. Kyle staggered back a few meters; the force from the kick was unreal. Mike held out his right palm toward him. Kyle knew what was coming next and stood in a fear-induced paralysis.

  In a sudden and powerful roar, Lex sent a beam of ice at Mike from behind. With no effort to escape, Mike was quickly encased in a thick block of ice.

  “Wait for it…” Silver said, watching with great anticipation. The ice suddenly shattered like glass, and sharp spikes of numerous lengths and deadly speeds were launched in every direction. Kyle uttered a pain-driven cry as one of the spikes dug through his chest. Lex held his hands out towards the projectiles that approached him, and once more, his eyes underwent a swift flash of darkness, and the spikes that headed for him and Clover were arrested. Kyle just landed on his back, appearing to be dead. The pool of blood quickly expanded beneath him.

  “Brother! No!” the girl cried, getting up and pushing Lex aside, thoughtlessly running toward Kyle. A single spike, moving at a speed the human eye cannot trace, left Mike’s hand for Clover, and with dead-on accuracy. “Aaaahh!” Blood spewed
from her as she screamed and fell just beside her brother.

  “No! You damn bastard!!” Lex raged.

  “Ion Beam!” Mike commanded, putting his palms together, clasping them and forming a point with his index fingers. Blade had just recovered to his feet. Mike glanced over to him, then directed his aim to the rising swordsman. A strange silvery beam shot out from the Ionide’s pointer and middle fingers and hit Blade before he could even think to dodge it. Iodium quickly wrapped itself around and coated the swordsman, transforming the skilful swordsman into what appeared to be a well-made statue of iron. The statue just stood there like any ordinary statue would. Lex didn’t bother to muse after this power. He was in too much rage and desperation for any of that. He glanced down at Clover and Kyle again, then back up at Mike. He slammed his eyes shut for a second, then opened then suddenly. Darkness, black power and might shone through them, the very essence of the demon that dwelled within him.

  “What’s happening?” Copper asked, sounding a little concerned.

  “Hm. I don’t know. It’s nothing to fret about, though,” Silver assured, the tales of Trium coming back to him forcefully.

  “Your spike machine has it all under control, right Silver?” Tiger came in. Silver ignored him. “Don’t you think you’re a little too confident in him?” Tiger asked, “I mean, no-one is unbeatable.”

  “That’s what I used to think too.”

  In a jiffy, Lex summoned up a shadowball in each hand. One after the other, he hurled the spheres of darkness at the pressing Ionide. The first made a drastic impact in Mike’s chest, sending him into the ground. A cloud of dust and waste dark matter enshrouded Mike. The second certainly didn’t miss either. There was a crashing, thunderous sound. They heard Mike cry out from beneath the black mist. This mist was certainly a strange sight, a cloud of darkness in a bright place. It cleared quickly though. Mike was on his back, certainly not as aloof as before. He was sunken into the ground with fragments of his armour scattered about him. Tiger made a slight snicker, then stopped himself when he realized he was audible.

  “Come on, Mike!” Silver cheered him on, looking and sounding a bit worried.

  “Die, Ionide!” Lex and the dark spirit raged, making two more shadowballs quickly.

  “Attack!” Silver finally gave the order. The four Ionides were ready to kill Lex. Copper raised his right fist out toward Lex, ejecting deadly darts from his knuckles that were second to none. Quickly, Lex flung his hands and hurled the spheres of dark energy toward the incoming spikes. The spirit inside him enabled him to make judgements that weren’t humanly possible. The spheres atomized the spikes and rushed toward Copper. Copper was blasted with two direct hits practically simultaneously. He shot off at a dangerous speed, leaving behind a black cloud, making a hard landing many meters off, rolling further on, his armour breaking apart. Silver looked back at Copper in disbelief. What under heaven…

  Lex quickly generated two more shadowballs. Rebecca was just nearing him, moving like a hawk through the air. Tiger, moving with more speed and less caution than Silver, fell victim to one of Lex’s shadowballs. SLAM! Silver made a quick jump so Tiger would fly beneath him. Tiger groaned as he fell and rolled for several meters, scattering his blood and iodium about. What just happened?! With another roar, Lex hurled an accurate shadowball at Rebecca, but her swift movement had her escape it narrowly. She swooped down with a heavy swing of her fist. Tiny spikes surrounded it, making a good hit no less than lethal. Lex shifted his head with speed and judgement that were of the demon inside. One of the spikes grazed his left ear. Before the woman could recover from her failed swing, Lex pressed his palm against her chest, releasing massive amounts of ice energy. In an unreasonably short span of time, Rebecca was in a prison of opaque black ice.

  Silver reached up to Lex and swung at him gallantly with his right hand, which was morphed into a sword. Lex jumped back quickly. Silver’s sword grazed the boy’s chest, slicing his shirt. Lex’s shirt instantly became heavy with blood. Lex clenched his teeth in pain, glaring at Silver with his night-black eyes. Then he glanced over to the right; he saw Clover struggling to rise. Silver made a swift step forward and swung at Lex’s neck. The boy ducked quickly.

  WHACK!

  Silver kneed him under the chin harshly. His head was flung upward. He staggered back. He was sure his teeth were all smashed to bits. Blood filled his mouth and some gushed down his throat. The darkness faded from his eyes and he snapped out and back into consciousness in a tiny moment. His vision blurred.

  “No! Don’t kill him!” Clover’s voice rang out. Silver spun around quickly, hardly believing that the girl was still breathing. She was struggling to stand, grabbing her belly where the near fatal wound was inflicted.

  With a roar of determination, Lex powered up his fists with ice, pure ice. He dodged another of Silver’s assails, this time with his own ability, then grabbed on to Silver with both hands. Ice quickly spread and covered the Ionide in entirety. “Clover!” he turned and ran towards her.

  “He’s coming…” she struggled to warn. Following Clover’s eyes, he turned to see Copper sprinting toward him. With great strain, he built two more iceballs and made a sudden turn toward the enemy, hurling them at him. A moment later, like Rebecca and Silver, Copper was in a prison of ice.

  “You’re not done just yet!” Lex heard. He watched Tiger stand, his armour almost entirely gone. He was bleeding all over, and was suffering a grave wound in his belly, but he still seemed strong enough to put up a fight. Lex strained to create another sphere of ice, but his head ached, and there was no productive result.

  “MAXIMO!!” Lex called with fierce eyes, and ran with great speed toward the Ionide with clenched fists and the will to kill. The darkness returned to his eyes and he felt another sudden rush of energy. He forged and grasped a shadowball in his right hand as he ran up toward the foe. Tiger stood in fear for a moment, staring into the infinitely dark eyes of his enemy. He folded his fists tightly, regenerating his armour, but nothing could change the fate Lex’s wrath had brought down on him. The boy slammed the clutched shadowball into the Ionide’s chest, forcing it with all the strength he could muster, all the strength he was lent. There was a loud, awful sound as metal and flesh alike were eaten up, obliterated by a superior element. Then there was silence. Lex stood his ground, holding his position. His hand had gone straight through Tiger’s chest, through the hole the shadowball had drilled in far under a second. It was all bloody. A dark cloud had surrounded the two. Remembering the cause of his rage, he pulled his hand from the corpse and returned to where his friends were. He stood and looked about in a chilling panic. The darkness, once again, left his eyes, and he was left with a pale feeling. Clover was standing in silence, still gripping her terrible wound, looking down at her unmoving brother with a dead face.

  “Damn you,” a familiar voice came in. Mike had just recovered. He stood firmly, and held his right hand out toward Clover, who seemed to have been ignoring both him and Lex, still lost in the sight of her dead-looking brother. His hand stretched toward the witch, Mike stared at Lex, no longer with eyes of shame and remorse, but with eyes of justice.

  “I will kill you,” Lex promised him, but he didn’t seem to have the energy to move a muscle.

  “First Clover, then you,” Mike said, then ejected a massive spike at the still girl, who looked ready to join her brother in death. More suddenly than ever, darkness flashed in the boy’s eyes, but only for a moment. In that fateful fraction of a second, he made a swift run and an even more impressively fast dive, pushing the lost-looking girl out of the way of the deadly projectile. The spike tore straight through Lex’s heart. Blood gushed from him as his corpse landed.

  Clover rose from the ground and stared down at Lex. She couldn’t even think. Overwhelmed by emotions no girl her age should have to suffer, she shook wildly, unable to cry, unable even to look away from the horror. A sudden cloud of redness caught Mike’s attention. The cloud soon cleared, leaving
behind a familiar face. Standing in obvious confusion, but still in composure, was the noble Prince Azar. The young prince looked around at the catastrophic scene, at the bodies in blood and ice, at the metal statue, the shivering girl, the standing Ionide. Mike just looked back at the scanning prince, uncertain what his purpose was.

  “Wh—What is this?” the prince stammered. “You! There are others?!” He totally lost the bit of aloofness he had entered with. “What the--”

  “What business do you have here? You are interrupting,” Mike finally said, sounding annoyed.

  “You…” Azar pointed at Mike with a very unsteady hand, staring at him with even less steady eyes. The prince glanced at Lex then back at Mike quickly. “The boy! You killed him!”

  “Yes, I did.” A look of fury overtook the prince’s face.

  “That is my power! And I will have it!”

  “What are you babbling about?”

  “Dimwit! I’ll just kill you!” Azar flared. He became even more fired up by the slight smirk on the Ionide’s face.

  “I’ve grown quite a bit since we last met, Azar,” he boasted. “Now it is best you leave before I decide to destroy you.” Azar could no more cope with Mike’s arrogant speech and even countenance. Fire roared about Azar’s clenched fists. He then quickly made a hollow sphere with his palms. Concentrated fire built up there in a jiffy. Then, with a bay of power, the prince sent a stream, a thick beam of fire at Mike. The width of the beam widened as it reached Mike. It seemed to swallow him up.

  “Little girl!” Azar blasted, cutting his attack short. “Get the hell out of here! Need you end up dead like the rest of them?!”

  “Is it my turn yet?” Mike asked mockingly. Azar looked over at him in a state nearing confusion. The Ionide was unharmed, unbothered even.

  Mike ran up to the prince fiercely, kicking and punching at him, but with that type of combat, there wasn’t much he could do to the prince. Azar easily dodged Mike’s attacks, then vanished in a cloud of red mana, appearing yards before Mike. “Anam Resal!” the powerful magician commanded, summoning one of the most feared magical attacks of his time. A bright beam of red mana swiftly flew out from Azar’s hands and blasted Mike. He and the beam shot off at an amazing speed. His armour was devoured by magic in its purest, rawest form. A loud cry came forth from the blinding red light. Finally, the place quieted down and the brightness from the mana beam faded. Azar squinted, looking at Mike who was pushed some distance away by the terrible power, made unable to move.