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“I trusted you!!”
The members of the resistance were stunned by the Guardian's outburst, they have never heard him actually raise his voice after all. Moreover to say those particular words to an enemy, do they perhaps know each other?
To his friends, he was kind, a bit reckless but that never deter him to fight head on with the Invaders despite only being a new recruit when the war first started. Striving to get the best outcome out of any situation. That was the person they’ve come to known.
To those who didn’t know him sees him as someone who’s a bit on the dumb side due to his face, a traitor to the cause for going missing when they needed him most, the fabled, missing Guardian.
And now they see a new part of him, one he tried to hide, or so what they assumed, a Guardian who was willing to bathe himself in blood for the crown, to sacrifice a part of him to bring a means to the end. And that included his love.
His hero knight outfit having a darker shade of red splattered on the fabric, his trusted sword Libera stabbed in the body of a now dead Invader priest, even his blond hair had a couple of red splotches on them. But his expression as he glared at the last standing Invader in front of him, instead of it being full of anger or resolution to finally bring down a major enemy, his eyes were full of anguish and betrayal instead.
After all, the last standing invader, the last obstacle to secure the Princess's safety, at least for this onslaught, was the Dark Magician herself.
The love of his life.
Well was.
Burying all his feelings, he reached for his sword, pulling it out in one swift motion, causing more blood to get on him, not that he minded, the smell of blood would keep him more grounded in this fight.
“To fulfil the saviour's prophecy”
“To bring peace to the land”
Of course, the Dark Magician being a dark type, she had the upper hand against the Guardian, who was a basic type. Yet they still went head to head, orbs of dark magic creating craters in the ground as the knight swiftly avoid them at each turn, lightning strikes that ignited the grass around them, trapping them in a fiery inferno. Both were relentless in their attacks, claymore clashing against sword and shield.
Members of the resistance could do nothing but watch as the fight dragged on, though the Princess tried to get closer, to at least give aide to the Guardian, Princess Aisha held her back. “As strong as you are, I don’t think even you can do much in that maelstrom” and as she said that another explosion occurred, purple and blue colliding together, creating a blinding light.
“There is no place to run”
The Guardian tsk, he couldn’t risk having her cancelling his skill by losing his focus due to having damage inflicted on him. Waiting for the right moment, he dashed away from the area of effect, calling down lightning bolts as the opposition dealt her skill to the ground, leaving a crater in her wake. And there she went, in a state of airborne after being struck. Wasting no time, the Guardian used his trump card “Judgement!!”. From the sky above, the Champion Sword fell, stabbing the airborne enemy leader to the ground.
It was time to deal the final blow, he was not the kind of person who gives his enemy the liberty of giving last words. But maybe because it was her, he was willing to wait, even if it was a risky step to take. Both of them were at their limit. A single mistake at this point of the fight would be costly. Drawing the broadsword from his back he pointed at her, “Any last words, Beth”
“Don’t call me that! I’m the High Priest of the Saviour and shall be addressed as such”
“You’ll always be Beth to me”
“In another timeline you would have been an invaluable asset in my plan”
She was stalling, he knew that but he couldn’t help himself from entertaining her. “In another timeline we could have been happy together. But we can’t always get what we want now can we”
“If you had followed the will of the Saviour. . .”
“I don’t follow anyone who would take you from me”
“And the princess? Isn’t she doing the same, having you fight me to reclaim her fallen kingdom?”
“Leave her out of this” he couldn’t help the venom from slipping out with those words.
Time was ticking, he knew the downed effect had long dissipated. But it doesn’t change the fact that she was still on the ground. He wasted too much time by letting his feelings cloud his judgement. Taking a deep breath, he finally lifted the broadsword to behead her.
But his arms didn’t move, rather it wouldn’t move. “What the-”. Despite all his efforts, his body refused to listen to him.
Seeing the expression Beth was making gave him all the answer he needed.
“When did you...”
“Wouldn’t you want to know... Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, not yet at least. The saviour gave specific order to keep you alive.”
He steeled himself regardless, especially since she was closing the distance between them, Predator in her right hand. His glare never leaving her even as she had her left hand nearing his throat before moving to tilt his chin with her index finger.
“I had this thought when we had our... talk, why don’t I just create a timeline where you would fight for me”
“Your invaders would never agree to that”
“I believe I can be quite persuasive when needed... I look forward to seeing you in an Invader get up.” She kissed him. He was glad for the smoke that surrounded them, shielding this view from the others.
“See you again in 502 A.H.” She didn’t even bother looking at him as she stepped into her portal
“Wait, Beth!!” and she was gone, releasing his body from her mind control.
Broadsword clanged to the ground, he let out a shout of frustration, fist pounding the bloody dirt, a string of curses escaping his lips. “Next time...next time I won’t let you get away” but even he had doubt that he would pull through with that threat of his.
He picked himself up, hearing the princess’s coming closer. He’ll deal with Beth once their path cross again, for now, helping the princess in rebuilding her kingdom is his top priority. That is the best action to take as of now.