Yay, I finally made it. XD I must admit that after I returned to FicitionPress, being absent for so long, I had a specific plan on how to go with updating. The general rule was to make them a tad more frequent, since having 5 stories that all are meant for updates essentially leaves some to remain in the back for quite some time. “Dragon Blood” (most likely the simplest of them all, but also the one I have most sentiment for XD) is the exception. So basically I got the idea to make double updates with DB and a new chapter for one of the other stories, starting with the ones that weren’t updated the longest.

I will admit that this chappie however caused me quite a bit of trouble. The fight within was extremely troublesome to deal with and frankly, I’m not so sure if it come out as good as I hoped it would. All part of the improving process, I guess, but it sure annoys the hell outta me XD

As always I wish to thank all of you who did sacrifice their time to review. It means a lot and without further ado, I hope you’ll find this installment worth waiting for. So, off to the newest chapter of “Final Magic”!

Chapter #7: The Serpent and the Mage

Title Page: Milia is sitting out front with a monkey, trying to teach it to write, while in the background Barrick is laying on his back, sleeping

Saria tripped, falling flat onto the train’s floor with a loud ‘thud’, which made Milia instantly stop in her tracks and reach for the girl to pick her up: “Come on, we can’t stop now! That cloaked guy is right behind us! If we stop, he’ll catch up and then…” she stopped, words frozen in her throat at the very thought.

“W… why do this?” the blonde girl asked, slowly getting up as she gazed at the young priestess. “Why even try to save me? Just then, was I not willing to sacrifice you just to save myself? Even after that, why are you still this willing to help me?” she demanded with tears gathering in her eyes. Jaz stood, propped against the wall, breathing heavily, yet closely observing Milia, thanks to which he noticed she herself froze for the slightest of moments, before picking up Saria back to her feet: “What good will leaving you behind do? What you did, you did out of fear. I’m not gonna blame you for trying to save your own life…”

“Well, you should!” the blonde snapped, releasing herself from the priestess grip. “It doesn’t matter that I was scared! What I did…” she began, but never finished as Milia interrupted her with a serious voice: “My master always said that every human had unlimited potential. Potential for both good and evil. Given the right situation, even the noblest of people can do unspeakable evil. But the situation can also be reversed: the most despicable person can also do much good. That’s just human nature. Nothing is pure and simple. The best we can do is accept other people weaknesses and believe in them… you’re current on your way to help your friend. Does your moment of weakness really make you a bad person?” she asked with sorrow in her voice, making Saria open her mouth a bit.

“Beautiful zpeech” they all heard a voice and as they gazed down the hallway, they saw Saram closing in. “Truly a prieztezz. It almozt zaddenz me to actually kill your friendz, but these are mazter’z orderz. Perhapz with them gone, you’ll be lezz… troublezome” he added, making his metal snakes shoot from his sleeves. But the moment they did so, the roof caved in, letting in a single figure to land swiftly between him and the three youngsters. The Dragon Claw member narrowed his eyes at the sight, Jaz just gazed confused, while Milia managed a smile at noticing who the arrival was: “Took you long enough...”

“Sorry... I got a little caught up” a stoic voice replied her as Barrick struggled to his feet, his eyes settled on Saram. Neither of the two moved, in stead they had a quick staring contest, which none intend to lose. And then, in one instant, one of the bandit's snakes charged forward, flying near the floor and then rising up just as it reached the surprised ecomancer.

The teen quickly leaned back, making the attack whistle just before his face. As the steel monster kept rising, the young mage drew a golden symbol in the air, which flashed at the same time as the snake switched directions and now came from above, right at its pray.

Barrick immediately hit the incoming attack with his sword, throwing it off course, while he himself strafed to the right only to spot the other snake coming right at him at top speed. In a flash he jumped up, splitting his legs and thus making the assault zoom beneath his crouch, while Saram forced the beast to switch direction as well, now coming straight at the boy's back, who was still in mid-air.

But at that moment the teen slammed his hand at the metal whip. His arm instantly got engulfed by electricity and before long the Dragon Claw member felt the surge go through his body, making him loose his concentration, thus stopping the attack midway. This gave the ecomancer enough time to land and charge forward, the tip of his sword aimed right at the man's heart.

The alchemist managed to react in time however and jumping up, somersaulted over the charging boy and landing safely on his feet, he threw his hand forward, blasting his snake at his adversary once again. Without turning, Barrick ducked under the assault and grabbed the whip that flew just above his body, spinning the sword in his other hand.

With one, smooth motion he brought his blade down, piercing through the snake and nailing it to the floor. In a flash the teen jumped onto the immobilized beast and ran at Saram, drawing more symbols, one with each hand, which only made Milia widen her eyes in surprise: A double spell?

In a blink of an eye the ecomancer threw his left hand up, initiating a powerful wind blast from beneath the alchemist's feet, that send the man flying. Not even a fraction of a second later a bow of flames formed between Barrick's hands, loaded with the arrow aimed preciously at the airborne Dragon Claw member.

Yet before the boy could fire, the metal snake rammed his chest, biting hard, making the young mage loose his concentration and cancel the spell. All this gave Saram enough time to land safely and out of harms way: “Quite a feat, performing two enchantmentz at once” he stated, maneuvering his free snake to pull out the sword biding its brother. “But at the zame time you zeem to forget I too have two of my beautiez...”

“Dammit” the teen cursed, holding his chest that now bleed heavily. “I got careless... now I'm wounded and don't even have my weapon. This complicates things” he concluded, narrowing his eyes, while the alchemist retreated his beasts, which now floated beside their master.

With a quick thrust of his hands, the Dragon Claw member send both snakes at the ecomancer, each coming from the side. Seeing this, Barrick quickly jumped to the left, somersaulting over the mouth of the beast that came from that direction. Landing on the whip, he kept running as the other snake followed and the instant the teen reached Saram, he threw a kick to his face, yet the alchemist easily ducked under the attack, snapping his beast at the boy.

Instinctually the young mage grabbed the snake's head and using that momentum, he flipped his body, tightening the hold on the beast, dragging it with him as he came down. With a wild throw, Barrick tossed the steel whip to the floor, making it smash through the surface and hit the rails, releasing a swarm of sparks upon contact. An instant later the Dragon Claw member retreated his 'baby', barely managing to hold back his anger.

The ecomancer stood ready, having the first snake which he just tossed out front, while the over moved behind, both prepared to attack. In a flash the teen wrote another symbol as the beasts charged, making wind blow from under his feet. In a blink of an eye the young mage got blasted to the ceiling, dodging both whips and using the footing to bounce at the alchemist.

Surprised by the boy's speed, Saram jumped back, avoiding a punch thrown from above, but that proven to not be enough as the moment Barrick's feet touched the floor, the ecomancer spun on his foot, launching a kick to his opponent's face, this time forcing him to duck under the assault. Yet as the attack missed, the teen was already in the middle of writing another seal, golden linings decorating the trail of his fingers.

With no way to dodge in time, the Dragon Claw member narrowed his eyes while a new snake suddenly shoot out from his back, beneath his cloak, hitting the boy from point blank range and sending him crushing against the wall.

“Now he has three snakes?” Milia panicked, widening her eyes at the sight.

The young mage struggled back to his feet, his legs shaking under the weight. In a flash Saram resumed his assault, sending his snakes at the boy, each snapping its jaws in the process. With the attacks coming from every direction, Barrick performed a desperate maneuver, once more writing two seals at once, each from a different side, yet the symbols were the same and as the steel beasts came within range, the marks exploded in a light flash, while small tornadoes took their places, throwing the whips that came their way off course.

This gave the ecomancer enough space to duck under the final snake, which slammed right into the wall behind the teen. Using that instant, the young mage charged forward, his right hand already set into motion. In a blink of an eye another golden seal appeared in the air, wrapping the boy’s hand in its light, only to cover it in ice in the next moment. Before long Barrick’s arm got turned into a huge icicle, which tip was aimed exactly at the alchemist’s chest.

This took the Dragon Claw member by surprise, yet he reacted quickly, blasting his two, hand snakes to the floor, which in turns thrust his body up, just above the incoming attack. The ecomancer was not finished however and instantly spun on his foot, throwing his leg to the sky, making a powerful kick collide with Saram’s face, creating a shallow ‘bonk’ upon contact as it send the snake user flying through the compartment.

“What the hell was that sound?” Jaz asked confused as the alchemist’s hood fell off, leaving the upper part of his face revealed. Only now did the young soldier saw short, spiky black hair growing on top of a metal head with a pair of shining, red eyes settled on Barrick: “Wha… what in the world is he?”

“I see” the ecomancer stated, narrowing his eyes. “You turned your entire body into that of a robot. This is why those damn snakes have such a range: they’re made of liquid metal, which with the use of alchemy can be stretched. You probably turned your arms into steel as well, just to have a basis to place these things on your body…”

“Pretty much” Saram agreed with his calm and metallic voice. “If one wantz power, one must be ready to make zome zacrificez. I have given away my humanity in exchange for thiz ztrength. With it at my dizpozal, I have no equal!”

“Strength?” Barrick repeated, annoyance sounding in his voice. “You call this ‘strength’? That would only mean you have no understanding of the concept. What you have is not strength, it’s power and it’s essential to separate the two. Power is just force, nothing more then damage you can do. That alone can never become real strength.”

“Oh?” the alchemist responded curiously. “Then do, pray tell, what iz thiz real ztrength you’re referring to…”

“Real strength is the ability to surpass your own limits” the young mage replied instantly with determination echoing in his voice. “It’s the will to keep going even when failure seems certain. That heart that won’t give up as long as it has something valuable to fight for. This is something you’ll never possess, since you care for yourself and yourself alone. There’s just no way to become strong with an attitude like that, since people unleash their true strength only when they’re protecting something important to them. Someone, who lacks the reason to fight will essentially lose to those that possess that reason!”

“Iz that zo?” Saram asked, flashing out his fangful smirk. “Then tell me: iz it not the ztrong who ztep on the weak? Idealz, determination, willpower… when it comez down to thingz, there are boundaries one juzt cannot pazz. Like now, for inztance – you’re zo dezperate to zave your friendz and yet you can’t really do anything. In the very end. All you’re capable of iz dying alongzide them…”

“And this is preciously where you’re wrong” the ecomancer announced, settling his gaze on the opponent. “You fight alone, while I have companions, which makes my strength grow tenfold!” he proclaimed, suddenly charging at the surprised alchemist.

Jaz only narrowed his eyes, his body shaking uncontrollably. Hesitating no more then a second, he went into a dash. Seeing this, Saram send his back snake at the boy, yet the young soldier managed to jump over the assault and rolling on the floor, he reached Barrick's sword. Immediately he grabbed the weapon by the handle, tossing it towards the ecomancer, oblivious to the steel beast that already turned, ramming him an instant later.

Meanwhile Barricks left hand was already drawing a new symbol, while the right caught the sword by the handle. Diverting most of his attention to Jaz, the alchemist was not fast enough to react as electricity engulfed the ecomancer’s blade and managing only to swing one of his snakes horizontally, he found himself inches away from the young mage right after the boy ducked under the attack. In a flash the teen cut from below, leaving a long wound going through the Dragon Claw member’s chest, while electricity surged the man’s body.

Saram only let out a yell of pain before collapsing to the floor, unconscious. Barrick panted heavily as he stared at the fallen form of his adversary, sweat dripping from his face: “Since your body has this much metal in it, it’s only natural that an electric attack would be fairly devastating for you. After all metal is a conductor. That first time I used too weak of a spell, but now I packed everything I had… there’s just no way you could withstand that, especially since you believe strength is only physical… but, with that, I’m out of energy as well” he concluded, also dropping to his back, exhausted.

“Barrick, are you alright?” Milia asked worried, immediately appearing beside him, which earned her a weak smile from the boy: “I’ll live. More importantly: are you okay?’ he returned the question, making the young priestess blush deeply and as the teen realized what just happened, he quickly added, while his cheeks also gained a new color: “I mean, I’m getting paid to keep you safe. I don’t wanna get a lower prize just because you were careless enough to get hurt!”

Hearing this the girl widen her eyes in surprise, yet almost instantly smiled, relieved for some reason. By this time Jaz also joined the duo, holding his chest: “Good work, mister, but it’s not over yet. Corporal Nataku is still fighting this guy’s leader as we speak. I’m worried he might use a little help…”

“Sorry, but I don’t think so” the ecomancer responded slowly, almost like he was having trouble speaking. “I’m completely warned out and furthermore my wounds hurt like hell. It pains me to say this, but I’m afraid this Nataku guy you mention… is on his own…”

---Few minutes earlier, back to Nataku---

Winship charged at Nataku, clenching his fists tightly. As the armored bandit beat the distance between them, he threw a punch to the teen's face, but the boy easily dodged the assault by bending left and quickly maneuvered jumping to his back and thrusting his legs to the sides, hitting his adversary's arms right beyond the wrist, throwing them both off course and leaving the Dragon Claw member wide open.

Without delay the smoker pointed his pistols, firing both at once. A loud 'clang' echoed through the compartment, while Winship's head tilted back, yet the man instantly recovered, bringing it down in a head bomb, forcing Nataku to roll back in order to avoid the assault. As the hit connected with the floor, it went into pieces, while the alchemist stood up straight again, apparently unharmed.

“So, even his chin” the young corporal concluded, coming to a stop. “Seems that this armor of his really doesn't have a weak spot. If that's the case, guns won't do me much good. Besides, I only have four bullets left. So... how should I play this?” he asked himself, letting out some smoke from his mouth.

“What, done already?” the Dragon Claw member asked playfully, cracking his neck.

“Please, I haven't even began...”

Hearing this, Winship merely smirked behind his helmet before charging at the teen again. Nataku readied himself to dodge, but his body froze from surprise as blades began growing from the alchemist's fist, in a flash turning into a trio of spikes. Instantly these spikes shoot forward, dragging a long, steel staff behind, right before the young soldier's eyes turning into a spear, which the Dragon Claw member easily grabbed, thrusting it towards the smoker.

Too shocked to react in time, Nataku strafed right, avoiding a fatal blow, yet still got his side slashed, losing balance and thus falling to the floor the moment Winship swung the blade horizontally in the attempt to cut the boy in half. The fall created the opening the alchemist was looking for; in a fraction of a second he spun his weapon and then brought it down in an attempt to impale the teen, yet this time the corporal was fast to take action, pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the weapon, blasting it back and giving the gunman just enough time to flip back and stand on his feet again, while the Dragon Claw member regained his grip on the spear.

With a quick thrust, Winship pushed his weapon forward, forcing the young corporal to bend back. As the assault went inches away from his face, the smoker leaned to the right and resting his hand on the floor, kicked the spear upwards, while with his other pistol he shoot, hitting the alchemist right in the crouch. Also this gave no effect however as the Dragon Claw member simply spun his blade, making the dull side of it hit the soldier in the side, making him slide on the ground for a moment.

The instant he came to a stop, Nataku saw his adversary coming down at him in another attempt to impale his heart. Once more using his hands, the gunman got out of the attack’s way and double-kicked the knight’s chest, using that moment to bounce off and somersaulting, land safely on his feet some distance away from his opponent, still leaving no trace of the fact that he land a blow.

“Persistent, aren’t you?” Winship asked with a playful smirk appearing behind his helmet.

“What can I say, I’m one, tough bastard” the young corporal replied simply, letting out another cloud of smoke. “Well, the same can be said about you, I suppose. It’d seem that armor of yours is full of surprises. You’re gonna be very troublesome to deal with…”

“You have no idea” was the man’s remark as he lowered his head slightly. “You have no seen anything yet. Allow me to demonstrate… this armor’s real power!”

---real strength…---

And that’s it for the time being. Hope you enjoyed the read and that you’ll leave a comment before… well, leaving. It’d really mean a lot. Next up is Nataku vs. Winship. Who’s gonna win that battle? Well, there’s only one way for you guys to find out, so tune in next time.

Until then, take care.