There was no sign of Sana's previous ailments. His hands no longer trembled and the feeble quiver of his lips when he spoke was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he was never ill in the first place. Callisto couldn't tell if the real Sana was still there somewhere or if Iago had completely taken over. Killing him would not end well. Their entire purpose for coming here in the first place was to cure Illya and purge the late Arunian King from Sana, but if Sana really was gone then letting Iago run free would surely come back to bite them.
Callisto followed Iago down to the courtyard. As they approached, the sound of shouting and the unmistakable heat of dragon fire made its way through the opening of the palace passages. By the time they arrived, the Solarian army was already attempting to hold off the guards that had spotted Callisto earlier. Most of the courtyard was already up in flames but it didn't seem to bother Iago. He stepped out into the open just in time to see Li being violently thrown to the ground after a failed attempt at blocking an attack from Illya.
A throbbing in Li's wrist drew her attention as soon as Iago laid eyes on her. He stood in front of them with an unreadable expression as Li glanced up from his feet.
"Your majesty?"
"It's good to see you again Li. Without the nuisance in the way that is."
"H-He's dead?"
"Not quite yet but he will be soon. Just needs one last push." His gaze travelled to the pulsing black marking on Li's wrist. "I see the mark of my magic still calls to you. It is a fine shackle indeed."
Iago's shifty gaze left Li's trembling form and landed on Illya, who was once again vomiting black shi out onto the ground.
"Ah, I see she's been weakened enough. You've done well Li."
Callisto looked past them and paled at the sight of Illya. When he moved to run over to her, her head snapped towards them and he froze in his tracks. The look on her face was cold and inhuman. All it took was a glance to realize that the woman he was looking at was but an empty shell of his wife.
The beast that took Illya's place snarled, taking a step towards them, yet Iago remained unfazed. The guards attempting to break through the Solarian forces yelled for Sana to go back inside only to be silenced with the wave of his hand.
"Illya, it's so nice to finally meet you. I'm sure you already know who I am, come—"
Without warning, Illya charged at him but before her claws could crush his neck Li pushed herself up and tackled Illya to the ground. Spotting the rising of light in Illya's stomach, Wild yelled for his soldiers to get out of the way. They did so just as the light made its way into her throat, making way for the Sindarian guards to come through. Callisto attempted to reach Illya again only for Illya to once again let loose a breath of fire, this time stronger and bigger than before.
The scent of burnt flesh filled the air. bone-chilling screams rattled against the stone courtyard. The Sindarian guards that had just come through were burnt to a crisp. Li fumbled onto her back, holding the side of her face and whimpering. When she pushed herself up again, pieces of melted skin slipped from her face and onto the ground. Half of her face had been caught in Illya's attack.
Once her back was turned to Illya, Illya pounced again, pushing Li onto her stomach and getting on top of her back. However, her hold on Li was not very strong. The attack had consumed a good chunk of her remaining shi, leaving her visibly exhausted and drained. Even as Illya spit out a particularly thick chunk of black blood and pulled herself properly onto Li's back again, Li struggled to free herself from Illya's grasp. Iago thought to get Illya to use more of her shi so she could weaken quicker, giving him enough time to capture and absorb her remaining shi, but he wasn't confident that anyone could dodge another one of her attacks. So he thought of the next best thing.
He raised his hands, shi gathering in them and forming a long chain. He whipped it towards Illya, trying to restrain her. Seeing this, Callisto unsheathed his sword and sliced the chain of shi apart before it could reach her. Frowning, Iago directed his attack towards Callisto instead. When Callisto swung his sword again, it was met with sparks of shi as it collided with a barrier of shi between himself and Iago. However, it did little to deter him. Whilst Iago was occupied with Callisto and Wild led the other soldiers in subduing Sindarian reinforcements, Illya continued her onslaught against Li.
Bearing down on the quite literally, melting woman, she forced her hand into Li's tangled hair and pulled her head back. In one swift motion, she slammed Li down again, forcing what was left of Li's face into the ground. The impact left her dazed and heavily disoriented. So much so that she was barely able to register when Illya forced a fist through her back right through to her ribs and tore out Li's core shi.
Callisto had just managed to corner Iago when the sound of Sindarian soldiers shouting for Li overtook the courtyard, The two could not help but to look over at them only to see Illya unnaturally bent backwards over a motionless Li. In her hands was the golden glow of Li's core shi cradled carefully in her palm and blood staining the length of her hands. Her body twisted unnervingly as she raised her hands to her mouth and swallowed the core whole. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the black veins that covered her exposed skin not shielded by her scales retreated from her body.
Attempting to stand, she only found herself falling back to her knees as a surge of shi came rushing back through her body, leaving her reeling in an overwhelmed fit. Callisto immediately left Iago and rushed towards Illya. As soon as Li came to and realized what had happened, she knew that if she didn't act fast she would die, if not from her wounds then certainly from her lack of core. Forcing herself to crawl in her weakened state, she pulled herself towards Iago.
"Your Majesty...ple...please...help..."
In a fit of fury, Iago kicked Li in her face, knocking her back. "IMBECILE! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS RESTRAIN HER FOR ME! YOU COULDN'T EVEN CARRY OUT SUCH A SIMPLE TASK?"
Li clutched her now broken nose, fighting the pull of darkness as her consciousness wavered. "Your...Majesty I-I helped you return I-"
"You think I have use for a servant that can't see her task to the end? You let the brat steal your core, you've lost your worth witch. Face your death with grace or continue to whine about it, I no longer care."
The realization that the King she served so wholeheartedly for all her life, was leaving her for dead was more painful than any wound she could have sustained. When Iago stepped over her to get to Illya, Li grabbed onto his leg in one last desperate attempt to live. Meanwhile, Illya's magical circuits struggled to convert Li's corrupted shi into her own pure shi. Before Callisto could reach her, the rapid influx of magical energy that rushed into Illya caused a violent gust of shi to ripple forth from her. The soldiers that had been fighting across the courtyard had to shield themselves from the blast. When next they opened their eyes, they were met with a truly gruesome scene.
In the middle of the courtyard stood Li, wiping blood from her mouth, her face now healing rapidly. Iago was laid at her feet in a pool of his blood clutching his chest where a gaping wound now was. Callisto, finally at Illya's side, caught her as she collapsed into his arms.
"...Soldiers of Sindaria!" Li heaved the words from her throat, her lungs on fire as she began regaining her strength. "Oh, this is so pitiful! Our mighty King has fallen!"87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQxoMnuY9u
