(One Month Later)
I was currently sitting in my room, alone, absorbing mana using my ring when I could.
It's been a month since I left Gideon's base, there has been no word of a way to fix me yet. I was waiting to say something about Tessia, she had the same issue I had, but if they found a cure for me, then it could be used on Tessia.
Arthur was going to be here soon, I only had to wait seven more months to see my brother. I understood the war and everything, fighting with him would be fun, but I have to admit, all I wanted to do was see him.
I stood up and made my way to the door. I opened it and made my way out into the hallway. I was in my normal fighting gear, the stuff I wore while I was in dungeons. I started to walk toward the training hall.
After we returned from Gideons, Callias and Kathyln left for the dungeons again. I had no clue if Callias joined her team or not, but I knew they went to the same place.
I yawned, still tired, I really didn't have to sleep that long, but last night for some reason I couldn't sleep, and when I did sleep, my dreams were full of me killing people.
It was a short walk to the training hall, inside was my sister and father. "Oh, here he is." My dad said as I approached them.
"Hey, sorry I am late." I stopped maybe five yards from the two.
"Are we going to train or not?" My sister said to the both of us. "I'm tired of aiming at this target."
"Yeah, we are." I told her, as I squatted down. "Just give me a second to stretch."
"Dad, are you going to watch?" Ellie turned to him. "Or are you going to join in?"
"I may loosen my legs a little, and spar with the two of you." My dad wanted to spar as well, that's cool. "If that's fine."
"I won't go easy on you." I told him with a smile, as I shot to my feet. "Even if you are my father."
"Oh, really?" My dad pulled his sword out, I don't even remember the last time we sparred. It had to of been before I even attended school, wow, that feels like forever ago. "I know you are stronger than me, son, you passed my strength a while ago."
"At least you know it." I laughed, as Ellie released an arrow at my head. "Jeez." I ducked as the arrow went by me. "Ellie, if I was a normal person, that would have killed me."
"Umm, are you a normal person?" Ellie asked, making my father and I laugh.
"I suppose I am not; I'm just saying, you have to be careful." Blue flames erupted out of my body, and continued to blaze, creating a hot environment around me. "Dad, can your flames do this?"
"Haha, very funny." Fire erupted on him, but it was the normal orange color. "But fire is still fire."
"Is it?" I asked, titled my head.
"Both of you shut up." Ellie released two arrows and moved them in the air as they approached me. I pushed the fire out of me even more, but the mana arrow's my sister created went through my flames somehow.
I dodged the arrows and faced the two. "So, is it you two verse me?"
"Duh." Ellie shrugged as she pulled back her bow string.
"Veer, you should work on your agility, don't throw any attacks, just stand your ground without getting hit." My dad suggested, and I found the idea to be a good one. His sword lit up even more, and he got into a fighting position. "Let's see how strong you have grown."
"Dad, I literally took out a hundred Alacryans by myself, I think I've grown pretty strong." I smiled at him, and as I stepped forward, the fire around me faded away from my body.
"Haha, you are right." He looked at Ellie. "You got my back, right?"
"Yeah, dad." Ellie seemed determined, she knew my strength, and that the two of them couldn't touch me if I tried.
My dad launched himself at me, swung his sword at my head, and I dodged, ducking my head under it. He swung again, and again, and I continued to dodge each attack. Ellie released the arrow she was holding, and I sensed it coming, so I quickly brought up a wind wall, knocking the arrow off course.
My dad's sword continued to come at me, I rolled out of the way, then shot myself to my feet using wind magic. I moved my head to the left, as an arrow went by my head, then dodged another swing of the sword my dad was carrying. The flames on it, fell onto me as it flew by, but it didn't breach my mana barrier.
Four arrows appeared in the air, and came at me, ignoring them, I emitted wind out of my body, causing the arrows to head in different directions, then as my dad's sword came at my head, I created an ice shield on my wrist, blocking the strike, and took a step back as my father went by me.
He brought his sword back to my head, I ducked, smiled at him, and he knew I was playing around. "I can't believe my son is this much stronger than me." He said as he swung his sword again, and again, trying to hit me, but he couldn't.
I caught the next arrow shot at me, froze it in my hands, and threw it to the ground, shattering it to pieces. My dad's body lit up even brighter, but it didn't matter, he still won't be able to touch me. His sword passed my face again, and I caught his wrist in the air.
"You're lucky I'm not attacking, dad." I released my grip and used wind magic to move away from him.
"Come on, El, use your best attacks!" My dad shouted to my sister, as the two tried to land a hit on me, which to me, just didn't sound right. Arrows began to rain down on me, one after another, but there were intervals in between.
My dad's sword came at me as the arrows came rushing in, I ducked, rolled, and sidestepped all the attacks with ease. That's when I felt the presence of an additional person, they shot themselves at me, from behind.
I created an illusion of myself and became invisible to everyone's eye. The person swung their sword through the illusion, and they appeared before my dad. "I really didn't mean to use your own spell against you, but it was pretty funny." I came into view, as the three people turned to me.
"Lance Aya." My father bowed to her as soon as he realized who it was.
"Mr. Leywin, Ellie." Lance Aya then turned to me. "Don't be so cocky, Veer, at least you know who taught you the spell."
My sister held her bow at her side and faced me. "Lance Aya, we could use your help." My sister pulled back her bow string again.
"If Lance Aya is fighting, I can't just dodge attacks." Aya wasn't as strong as me, but she was still a dangerous opponent.
"Why not?" Aya asked me with a smile, and I shrugged.
"So be it, I'll try." I activated "Blood Oath" and then "Blood Acceleration."
I was going to need to be at my full speed for this, I nodded my head, and Aya and my father shot at me. Aya appeared before me first, swinging her sword, I ducked with ease, and then shot wind under my feet sending me over my father as he ran toward me.
I landed, Aya appeared and swung her sword, I dodged the blade moving my head back. My father came in from the side and swung his sword as Lance Aya swung hers. An arrow came at my chest, and I felt everything slow down as I got ready to dodge.
I emitted wind, causing both the swords and the arrow to fall off course, then launched myself in between the Lance and my father, keeping distance from them.
An arrow came at my head, I dodged the arrow, then Aya's sword. I faced my father as he came into view, and sidestepped his attack, then spun around and froze another arrow in the air.
Aya swung her blade, I created an illusion, her blade went through it, then I created multiple illusions, trying to confuse all of them. Ellie shot an arrow through an illusion's head, and Aya swung her sword through another one.
However, my dad somehow guessed where I was, and swung his sword at my ribs. I back stepped, surprised that he saw through the illusions. He continued the attack, and Aya caught on, seeing my father swing his sword at me.
She appeared behind me, creating illusions of herself as well, I could sense the real Aya with ease, the illusions just messed with me a little.
I dodged their attacks, this was causing something inside of me to rise up, I don't know why, but I felt the urge to end this. "Enough!" Blue fire erupted out of my feet, spreading over the floor of the hall.
Aya and my father dashed away from it as it approached them, and then pulled the fire back to me. All the illusions in the room disappeared like they never were there.
"What's wrong, Veer?" My dad asked, his fire diminishing from his body, and he walked up to me.
"Nothing, I just wanted to stop." Flashes of killing people played in my mind, this damned Serpent Will.
"Veer, I just got here, let's keep going." Aya stepped toward me and stood next to my father. "Or are you scared?"
"Aya." I shook my head at her, images of dismantling Uto appeared in my mind. I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to stop these images from happening. "I want to change some things up, if that's okay with you." The urge to kill was growing in me, I was starting to lose control.
"That's fine, what?" My dad asked, still looking at me concerned.
Ellie stood behind them, silent. "I'm going to start attacking, I won't use blood magic, but I don't want to keep dodging anymore."
"Alright, bring it then." Aya shrugged. "I'll stop holding back as well." Mist started to appear in the room covering everyone.
"Don't hurt your sister or me!" My dad shouted as the mist covered him. I created a ring of fire around me, making it so I could prevent any surprise attacks, even though I sensed them all.
I felt a smile cross my face, feeling like I was back on the battlefield. The adrenaline coursing through me intensified, this was going to be fun, I was fighting a Lance who had backup.
The fire around me erupted ever more, I conjured two ice swords in my hands, and prepared myself. An arrow came at me, and before it could even get close to me, I shot a wind blade at it, the two collided, destroying each one.
Aya and my father appeared on either side of me, the only thing was, they were both fake, the real ones were still standing in the same spot as when the battle started. I made the fire circling me stop, and I prepared myself.
I launched myself through the mist, and swung my one sword at my father, his eyes widened as I appeared before him. His blade crashed into mine, and I spun in the air, bringing my other sword to his ribs.
It was about to hit him, but Aya blocked my strike before it hit. She gave me a look of concern, I shot fire from my body at the two, and they made a quick exit before it hit them.
"Ha." I laughed, then quickly covered my mouth, knowing I shouldn't laugh, even though I wanted to kill someone. An arrow came at me through the mist, not even looking at it, I caught it in the air, and dropped it to the ground.
Aya swung her sword at me, I sent an icy wind toward her, causing her to slow down. I caught her arms as they came down on me, dodged a swing coming from my father, and then kicked Aya in the ribs sending her backwards.
I used wing magic to deflect another arrow, sent fire toward my father, spun and dodged Aya's sword.
My dad dashed out of the way of the fire, and I sent both my blades to Aya's chest. She shot an energy of some sort out of her body, causing my swords to stop in the air.
An arrow came from behind me, I did the same thing Aya did, the energy I pushed out stopped the arrow. Aya went to kick me, but I swatted her foot away with the surface of my sword.
A fire blade came down on me, it was my father, I brought an ice sword up to block the attack, and as I did, Aya sent her sword into my gut, I deflected her attack with my other sword. My father's sword collided with mine, and I rolled off the attack and sent an elbow into his gut.
He fell to the ground, I went to bring my sword down on him, but Aya stepped in between us and blocked my attack. For some reason I felt amazing right now, the adrenaline in me kept me going.
"Veer, you good?" She asked me questioningly.
"Yeah." I shrugged as an arrow came at me. I froze the arrow, and it fell to the ground.
Aya swung her elbow at my face, I ducked, and pushed her backwards towards my father getting up. The two collided and they both fell to the ground.
"Haha." The laugh slipped out of my mouth, this reminded me of the dungeons for some reason, I could feel my eyes twitching slightly.
The two got back to their feet, and the mist Aya was emitting vanished. The three of them looked at me and could see that my face changed from the beginning of the fight.
They brandished their weapons and got ready to attack again. "You sure your good?" Aya asked, making sure I was okay.
I wanted to tell her the truth, but I couldn't, I wanted to continue fighting. "Yeah, perfectly fine." The thirst to kill made me happy, but I knew better, it just felt good right now. "Let's continue."
Aya shot herself at me, I shot myself at her using my wind magic, I slid under her sword on my knees, appeared before my father, swung my sword at him, and moved my head slightly in the process so an arrow flew past me.
My one sword collided with his, and my other blocked a strike from Aya. I held both blades up as the two pushed their own toward me. I dispersed my swords, the two of them fell toward me, I shot up into the air, and aimed an ice shard at the two of them.
They dodged the shards as I landed on the ground, and turned to Ellie who was aiming her bow at me. I shot myself at her, dodging her arrows, and appeared behind her, holding my hand on her shoulder.
"You have to learn to predict my movements." I told her as I backed up, my father and Aya walked up next to Ellie.
"I think we should call it there." My father said. "I'm a little rusty, I can't keep going." I felt my hands twitching, wanting to strike someone down.
"Veer, you may be stronger than all the Lances." Aya said as she placed her sword away. "But the look in your eyes worries me."
"I was going to say the same thing." My dad added as his fire stopped burning around him.
Ellie was silent as the three of us spoke. "What look?" I knew my eyes and attitude changed slightly, but I didn't know it worried them that much.
"It looked like you were enjoying the fight, not like a normal person enjoying the fight, but like a crazy person." Aya stepped toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Was your Beast Will acting up?"
"I'm fine, Aya." I assured her, as I saw my sword going through an Alacryan. "Everything is perfectly fine."
She nodded her head. "Okay, you can talk to me you know?"
"I know." I said and my father stepped next to Aya, looking at me.
"How about we go spend some time with your mother? She is on the balcony waiting for us." My father smiled at me.
"That sounds good." I told him.
"It was nice to spar with you." Aya turned toward the exit. "I'll see you all later, it was nice teaming up with you Mr. Leywin, Ellie."
"It was an honor, Lance Aya." My father bowed to her as she made her way out of the hall. "Come on, let's go."
He started to follow Lance Aya, and Ellie spoke up. "Veer, something is up, I can tell." Ellie stood in front of me and didn't let me pass her.
"What are you two doing?" My dad asked as he turned around and saw us talking.
"Give us a second, we will meet you on the balcony." Ellie told him, and motioned him to leave, then turned to me. "Tell me."
"Ellie, stop, nothing is wrong." I closed my eyes and started to follow my dad who was leaving, but Ellie grabbed me. "Ellie!" I snapped at her, and her eyes widened in surprise and concern.
"See, something is up." I removed her hand from my shoulder. "I am your older sister; you can trust me."
"Jeez." A rush of emotions raced through me, as a tear fell down my one eye. "I-I want to fight, but while we were fighting today, I had the urge to kill, I held myself back, but what if I wasn't able to?" I wiped the tear away from my eye and thought about the war.
Ellie walked up and hugged me. "Don't worry, Veer, they'll figure out something." She tried to cheer me up, but the fact is, if I wanted to fight in the war right now, it would cost me my sanity.
That was a sacrifice I was willing to make, I was only giving them time to discover a cure.
"I don't think they will, El, at least not here." I truly believed they weren't going to be able to help me.
"Maybe when Arthur gets back, he can help you." She continued to hug me as she spoke, holding me tight. "I know he can."
"You know, he may be the only person that can help me." It has been a month since Gideon ran all those tests on me, you would think he would have found something by now to help me, but here we are. "I can't wait to see our brother."
"Me too, Veer." She released me from her hug. "You'll be fine, little brother, just picture your family while you fight, and how you want to protect us."
"Ha, wise words from my sister." A smile formed on my face as we began to walk toward the balcony. "I only hope I do everything right."
"What do you mean?" She asked me as we exited the hall, we could see our father up a head.
"Like fighting in the war, making the right decisions when the time comes." I had a plan for saving our father, but planning out a way to win a war is very different. I took a deep breath and shook my head.
"There isn't a blood magic spell you can use to help?" I shook my head. "But if the thoughts are coming from your brain, couldn't you do something with blood to it?"
"I've tried." It didn't work, of course I had no idea what I was doing, but it was pointless and dangerous to mess with my brain. "Nothing worked, I could possibly cut off feeling emotions, but the urge to kill wouldn't go away."
"Oh." She looked at the ground. "Then let's hope Arthur returns soon."
"Yeah."