[Book II Chapter 161] ROSE: The Sibriex

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  “I am saddened it came to this.” Standing on the far side of the patio, Raphael waited patiently. Around them hedges obscured the rest of Jonathan’s garden. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  This isn’t self-defense… I am about to murder someone who had no intent to harm me. Of course, Rose knew hundreds of thousands were indirectly dying because of his actions, but that was far away and theoretical. In front of her was a handsome, well-mannered young man displaying no hostility.

  “Can you tell me why you turned on Enera?” She asked, keen to deal with her hesitation before their duel to the death.

  “Are you sure?” Raphael responded. “You were the one pressed for time.”

  That’s right, Roxanne is fighting Alucard and I have no idea how long she’ll last. Rose grimaced. “I’ll listen if you’re willing to share, but please be quick about it.”

  Raphael smirked at her attitude, shacking his head. With a sigh, he fixed his gaze on her, the lightheartedness draining from his face. “I was born in Banzerkesh, and my skin was gray.”

  “I grew up in Xanadu, not knowing my father. They don’t allow family units in the capital. The beatings were frequent despite my attempts to avoid them. I won’t bore you with distasteful story of what happened to my mother and sister. Suffice to say life was misery.”

  “Then, one day, two men in black visited the estate, and all the younger slaves were gathered up before them. One by one, they handed each boy and girl a crystal ball. Although nothing happened for most, a whisp of smoke appeared for a few. When it was my turn, the ball turned jet black. I was free.”

  “In the past, Banzerkesh learned the hard way that keeping slaves with a high affinity for death was not worth the cost. Despair and anger made them prone to becoming particularly vicious death users. That’s why, once a year, envoys from the Black Citadel visit and collect all those so gifted.”

  Raphael lifted his arm, examining the pale colored skin on the back of his hand. “… My good fortune has always eaten away at me. How was it fair that I alone, out of tens of thousands, was given this chance?”

  “However, as I spent more time in the Black Citadel and learned how the world worked, my guilt gradually turned to rage. What I considered my salvation was, for others, normal. I realized it was this world that was warped and wrong.”

  “In the end, I buried my frustrations and focused on my studies. I knew anything I did would be useless. Nothing would change. That was until the Dark Age began, and I understood my opportunity had come.”

  Rose contemplated somberly. “I still don’t understand… Why ally yourself with Torak? Couldn’t you aim to fix the world instead?”

  “Millenia have passed with nothing happening.” Raphael answered coldly. “Handam Xolran is undefeatable, and nothing will change as long as he still lives. The only hope is that, in this existential war, the god of death will eventually claim him.”

  “By that time, Enera would likely be doomed.” Rose countered. “Is your idea of saving your people killing them all?”

  Rapheal was nonplussed. “Barzerkest has practiced slavery for seven thousand years. Without this Dark Age brought on by Torak’s grace, it would’ve continue to do so for seven thousand more. That might as well be an eternity. Does a world, where a small portion of the population is sentenced to never-ending suffering, deserve to exist? I say no.”

  The earth rumbled beneath them. Rapheal glanced in the direction where a distant battle raged, “They aren’t bothering with discussions over there.”

  “On the count of three, I’m coming for you.” Rose said tersely. Roxanne was her priority. Free and Carol are in danger too.

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  “Three, two, one…” She launched herself forward. She’d no grand plan beyond engaging aggressively. While, as a saint, Raphael was a veteran adventurer, he wasn’t that much older than she was. Chances were her coliseum experience exceeded his. I’ll finish this quickly to make up to the time spent talking.

  Raphael backpedaled, extending his hands, and she felt the workings of a fearsome magic. A summoning? Between them, a large mass of skulls, all fused together, rose from the ground. The light in their empty eye sockets glared at her, inspiring a terror she hadn’t felt since the undead tyrant. I don’t know this type…

  The skulls screeched and a blackness washed over her. Once she could see again, everything around her was gone. She stood alone in a landscape of broken bones. Only the moon shining over head remained the same.

  Where is it? Did it trap me in a separate space? What she was experiencing was similar to how the siblings had described Dawn’s sublime vagary, yet she could not see her foe or its summoner.

  The bones around her rattled, and skeletons assembled themselves slowly. In their hands were swords, axes, and spears also made of bone. Damn it. Rose threw out some crimson fire, intending to convert a few into burning dead. Her eyes widened as the skeletons were consumed with flames. She felt nothing there to control!

  The others charged. She noticed they weren’t making any noise when moving and weren’t emanating their usual dread. Rather, there was an aura of menace radiating from everything around her.

  She retreated confused, only for her back to collide with an unseen object. Her hand felt a wall of leaves behind her. The hedge? Does that mean we are still in the patio?

  She dodged in an other direction, throwing fireballs at her pursuers while keeping her foresight on hyperalert. If she was trapped in a fake world, that meant Raphael and that thing were hidden somewhere nearby.

  Resolving to conserve her strength until she could determine what was going on, she threw a regular fireball at the next foe which approached. The skeleton ran straight through her magic as if it weren’t there and thrust its spear. Caught of guard, she made her best effort to sidestep, but a sharp pain shot through her shoulder.

  Enough! She smashed her palms into the ground, and an inferno of crimson fire flared up around her. Quickly inspecting her injury, she was taken aback to find no blood. She also realized she was kneeling in a patch of purple grass.

  I think I understand… The skeletons were still closing in from all sides. Yet, each time they attacked the bonfire around her, crimson flames would travel up their weapons and immolate them. My crimson fire is burning the magic making them visible. That’s why regular fire did nothing…

  Despite her new understanding, she remained in a bad spot. Enough physical pain would wear away at a person’s consciousness and ability to channel.

  After a brief reflection, she settled on a brute force approach. Keeping the crimson fire blazing around her, she constructed a large magic circle I’m not going to have much energy left after this…

  Pushing aside her doubts, she unleashed her spell. A wave of crimson flames flew out in all directions, incinerating everything. She was relieved to see Jonathan’s garden reappear and a mass of burning skulls collapse to the ground. She spotted Raphael in the corner of the patio, not far from where he’d been before. He sure made a fool of me.

  Rose forced herself to her feet, panting heavily. For his part, Raphael appeared in fine form, with not a drop of sweat gracing his figure. She grimaced.

  “It’s your victory.” Raphael said.

  “Is this some trickery?” Rose demanded wearily.

  Raphael smirked. “I’ve taken the oath, remember?”

  Oh, right… She relaxed slightly. “Why are you giving up?”

  Raphael raised his arms, letting his sleeves fall down and revealing dark lines on his skin. They flowed together into a web of sinister symbols. “Adam helped me with these. That Sibriex is a rare immortal level undead, not something a saint can instantly summon without a heavy cost. I won’t be able to channel an ounce of power for a while.”

  “I’ve never heard of that type of undead.” Rose responded.

  “Not surprising, it is one of the most unique.” Raphael nodded. “Those spawned from the Abyss normally never wield illusions. It’s a well-known influence of Torak’s hatred of lies. The Sibriex skirts this restriction by casting thin fields of magic which absorb and reflect light as it see fits, relying on its special ability to turn fake strikes into real pain. It’s usually a terrifying opponent.”

  He sighed, smiling. “I was unlucky. Not only was your crimson fire a counter to its deception, but you also managed to summon enough of it to kill it.”

  Enough procrastinating. Despite her fatigue, she began constructing another magic circle. Raphael watched with detached amusement.

  “You are making this overly complicated.” He observed.

  “It’ll be instantaneous.” Rose replied, finishing her spell.

  She gazed down afterwards on the smoldering spot where the man had stood. I wished he’d had the good grace to let me kill him in the heat of battle. She’d had no choice. He’d too much blood on his hands to let go. Not to mention all the innocents he might yet have harmed. I wonder if Banzerkest is one of the ‘wrongs’ Simon is seeking to right.

  A tremor jolted her from her musings, reminding her of her true priorities. She turned and made her way back to Thornbridge manor.