Chapter 7: Magic [2]
A chill runs down Maru’s spine as she lets out a shaky breath.
She holds the staff tightly with both hands now, trying to put together some sort of gameplan in her head before Manho actually kills her. It might be more effective to block his attacks with the staff rather than use her arms. She could afford to lose the staff if it broke – but she couldn’t say the same for her limbs.
Manho throws one fist forward, punching the air. A projectile of compressed wind suddenly flies toward Maru. Though she couldn’t see it, she had a feeling that danger was coming, almost like a sixth sense of sorts. She intentionally holds the staff in front of her to block the attack, the force behind it pushing her body back just an inch.
Some of the mossy stone covering the staff was blown away by the compressed air, revealing a sliver of the glistening black gemstone hidden underneath.
Maru looks back up, face-to-face with Manho as he stands right in front of her with his leg raised high. In a seamless motion, Manho performs a high kick aimed directly at her head. Maru holds her staff up again to block the kick, using her body as leverage to push against his leg and knock Manho off balance.
He stumbles for a moment, giving Maru the opportunity to lift her leg up and kick him away. Then, she holds one palm outwards toward Manho, as bolts of lightning would manifest from each of her fingertips and charge towards him simultaneously.
Manho quickly regains his balance, holding up two fingers as a golden barrier would appear in front of him. Upon contact with the barrier, the bolts of lightning would spark and flash, creating small explosions before disappearing.
“You could've killed me there,” Manho lectured as the barrier disappeared, “but you didn't.”
“I don't kill people.” She points the staff towards Manho. From its tip, a singular bolt of lightning would appear -- far larger than any previous ones -- and began hurling itself towards Manho's neck like a spear.
Manho catches the bolt of lightning with his bare hands, grasping it tightly as it was stopped in its tracks.
“You poor thing,” he crushes the bolt of lightning in his hands, reducing it to a blue mist that slowly fades away, “you must not have an ounce of hate in your heart. It's no wonder your spells are so... empty.”
“I wasn’t born with hatred in me. It’s an infectious disease that spreads and never stops spreading. I can dislike someone a little bit, but there’s nothing anyone can do to make me hate them.”
“You're an adorable little lady.” Manho starts to chuckle quietly, his cackles progressively getting louder until he breaks out into full maniacal laughter.
“The gentle touch and innocence of love is all you know. There will be a day in which everything you love, everyone you know, and all that you've ever dreamed of will crumble before your deft hands. Everything will be pried from you by someone above you, smarter than you, more talented than you, and stronger than you. They will look down on you as if you are a feeble, clueless creature, watching as you seethe and sob at their feet -- and there will be nothing you can do. On that day, your heart will be filled with nothing but hate, and there’s plenty of it to go around. Maybe then, you'll feel the warm embrace of unfiltered hatred.”
Maru looks at him, her heart beginning to fill with uncertainty. She didn’t know what he was getting at here. Part of her didn’t want to find out, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
“Why are you telling me this?” Her voice was still a little shaky.
“Imagination and creativity is only part of the process. No matter how imaginative your spells may be, they will be weak and frail if there is no passion -- no emotion behind them. If you really wanted to kill me, then that bolt of lightning would've stopped at nothing to pierce through my body. Love has made you soft.”
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It was a difficult concept for Maru to grasp. She’s experienced various emotions before, but the feeling of deep hatred was one she never understood. She always fought to defend herself, not because she had an unending desire to hurt someone else.
This battle was no different. Manho may have tried to hit her a couple of times, but she didn’t feel any true malice coming from him. The magical aura surrounding him was certainly intimidating, but it wasn’t directed towards her.
She gives Manho a confused look.
He sighs. “Maybe you need to experience a fraction of what I endured.”
He waves his hand into the air briefly as Maru’s ankles are suddenly encased in stone. Maru glances down and then back up, her eyes widening as Manho stands face-to-face with her again with a fist pulled back. She put her staff up close to her chin to block, only for Manho to punch her vigorously in her stomach.
Pain recoils throughout Maru’s entire body, leaving her dazed as her body instinctively curls up to protect itself. With her thoughts scrambled, her defense became equally unorganized. Faulty and fragile, Manho effortlessly went around her attempts to block and dodge his attacks, resulting in her collapsing to the ground as he continued his violent assault. Relentless kicks and stomps followed as Maru lay on the ground, covering her head and chest.
She thought.
This fight was more one-sided than their battle before. Even with the enhanced vitality her Magic granted her, she felt just as weak and frail as when she was magicless. At first, Maru thought she would’ve been able to compete with Manho, but she quickly realized the true difference in strength between them.
Her mindset began to shift from that of triumph to survival. No longer did she see Manho as a potentially equal opponent, but he was now a hunter and she was the game.
Maru felt something building up in her chest, a fiery emotion that she couldn’t describe. It felt like something was creeping up in her throat, forcing it closed as the world around her started to grow dark. She felt disconnected and abandoned, realizing that there was no one to help her, no Tianyu or Francis to come to her rescue.
When Manho was lecturing her, she thought he was talking about emotions such as anger and hatred. What she didn’t understand, however, was that Magic could be strengthened by any emotion – even fear.
Magic Energy surges violently throughout her entire body before releasing a reverberating shockwave throughout the entire cave. Maru is suddenly filled with immense vigor and strength as her body radiates with a cerulean blue aura. Although the piercing pain that shackled her body and mind never faded, she found the willpower and resilience to push through it, standing up straight.
Manho is knocked back but manages to land firmly on both feet. A sinister smile creeps across his face. He was elated at the sight of her revolution, like a teacher and his pupil. Manho didn’t know much about Maru, but he was beginning to feel a connection to her. Rather than being shocked, he was impressed.
he thought to himself. “Do you understand it now, little lady? To not just imagine, but to your Magic!”
His fingernails are coated in a golden, misty Magic Energy as he charges towards the revitalized Maru. He swipes his hands toward her, like a tiger clawing at its prey, aiming to take her eyes out in one strike.
Maru looks at him, her pupils constructed at the sight of Manho’s maniacal smile. Immediately, she steps to the side to avoid his claw swipe, reeling her arm back as Magic Energy starts to build up rapidly within her shoulder. In a split second, she thrusts her fist firmly into Manho’s chest, releasing a violent current of Magic Energy into his body.
Sparks would erupt from her knuckles as Manho was sent flying back, accompanied by a bellowing roar of thunder. He tumbles along the nearby altar, his tunic now tattered and charred from the attack.
He gets up, laughing hysterically. “Now punch had purpose behind it, but what kind of purpose? I can’t tell if you’re afraid of me, or if you hate me now.”
Looking down, he presses his hand gently against the crisp burn left behind by Maru's attack. As he touches it, his body jolts from the stinging pain and he winces slightly.
He stares at her, still mesmerized. The sudden shift in the way she fought, the way she glared at him – he loved it. He couldn’t tell if she was fighting for her life, or if she was suddenly angry at him and fighting to prove him wrong. He didn’t care which one it may have been – the battle was all that mattered to him in the moment.
“I just can’t believe it,” he whispers, “what kind of Resonance did I awaken within you? Fear, or animosity?”