Chapter 17: Aurora the Witch of Calamity
The three girls all scrambled to get back to their feet. All three of them stared at the man who had suddenly and dramatically seized control of the entire event.
"Shadow!" Alexia cried out.
"Shadow?!" Rose gasped.
"Lor- er," Natsume blurted. "I… I mean, who is that incredibly handsome man?"
Archbishop Nelson rushed over. "Why? Why is that criminal here? Whatever he may be planning he's made a fatal mistake. He's surrounded by church templars and paladins. There's no escape for him."
Don't be so sure about that, Alexia thought. "Why is Shadow here though?"
Stranding near her Rose was looking into the stands. "Is Cid okay? I don't want him to get caught up in all this."
Alexia couldn't help but smile. Rose really must have had a kind heart. "Don't worry. Poo- I mean Cid is an expert at avoiding trouble. He'll be fine!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Rose said with a smile.
And the two girls suddenly realized they were standing there smiling at one another. Rose and Alexia both began to blush and looked away at the same instant.
Alexia couldn't guess what the other girl was thinking. Seriously, a love confession in public?! And in front of an erotica writer who was obviously listening in?! Did Rose understand what could happen if news of this got out? She had no idea what things were like in the Oriana Kingdom, but Midgar while not as conservative as say here in the Holy Land, was still a place where duty and station mattered. And in a country where a princess wearing a G-string was a cause for debate, the idea of her dating a girl, even a fellow princess, was totally out of the question! It might make for a great trashy novel but would never work in real life. It would be a scandal and knowing her dad it would probably get her immediately pulled out of school and formally engaged to someone on the far side of the continent.
Never mind the minor fact she was not into chicks and was already in love with someone. Alexia would have to very carefully and diplomatically explain the reality of the situation to Rose and let her down as easily as possible. The absolute last thing she could afford was a lovesick princess chasing after her and trying to win her heart. It was absolutely vital she let Rose down gently but firmly.
Alexia glanced at big titty elfy. Later when we're alone. She didn't dare say anything where it could be overheard.
Luckily, the second-rate author was focused on the drama happening in front of her. She'd produced a notebook and pen and was scribbling something. Hopefully, she hadn't heard what Rose had said and would forget all about it.
It was also fortunate that Rose seemed to have come to her senses and wasn't eager to talk at the moment. Good, Alexia thought, we can just pretend it didn't happen until the right time comes to clear the air.
Suddenly, while light consumed the Holy Ground. Golden runes hung in the air for a heartbeat before beginning to coalesce into human form. After a moment, a heroic spirit stood there facing off with Shadow.
The erotica writer was scratching something down into her notebook even as she spoke out loud. "Aurora, the Witch of Calamity."
Baldy spoke at the same moment. "Aurora?! He summoned her?"
Alexia had never heard that name before and had no idea what the Witch of Calamity even referred to. But if she was somehow connected to Shadow, she wanted to find out all she could.
She hurried up to baldy's side. "Archbishop, who is this Aurora woman?"
He gave her a dismissive glance and shook his head. "That's a church matter and nothing you need to worry about."
Alexia gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to punch him on the face.
Meanwhile, big titty elfy ran up to the other side of the man and shoved her melons against his arm. "Oh, please sir, could you tell me just a little bit about her? Pretty please?"
"She was a powerful magic user who earned the title Calamity Witch by raining down destruction through out the land. She was responsible for wars, massive famines, and the collapse of several countries. She is very likely the most powerful woman who ever lived."
"I see. Is there anything else you could tell me?"
"I'm afraid that's all I know."
The porn writer nodded and slipped away to jot down more notes. Alexia restrained herself and didn't scream at baldy about caring more about breast size than about someone being a princess. She instead went over to the slut elf. Alexia noted that the girl wasn't writing anything in the common language but was using one with an alphabet she didn't recognize.
"You were able to read the ancient runes," Alexia noted.
The other girl gave an absent-minded nod and kept writing. "I've studied ancient script and several other languages."
"Wow, you're a lot smarter than I thought."
The slutty elf paused her writing and glanced at her. "That seems to imply you thought I was stupid."
"What?" Alexia gasped and put a hand to her heart. "Nooooo, I would never say that. Out loud."
The other girl gave her a flat look. She added a last few marks, snapped the books shut and slipped it between her udders.
As this was going on Shadow and Aurora began to move.
"I suggest you watch closely," baldy said with a smug grin. "This match should be short. Against someone like Aurora Shadow has no chance at all."
"Don't be so sure," Alexia said. "I've seen him fight."
Those words earned her a glare from the archbishop, a look of surprise from Tits McElf, and a hesitant nod from Rose.
Out on the field Aurora struck first. Two stone spikes jutted out of the ground where Shadow's feet were. He leapt back. As he was still in the air Aurora materialized three iron spear and sent them flying. Even before Shadow touched down, he cut those spears down with his sword.
A half dozen stone spikes burst out of the ground. Rather than dodge them, Shadow focused mana into his legs making them harder than steel. He kicked all the stone skewers into pieces. The sight made Alexia hold her breath. She was very skilled at using mana to strengthen her body. She couldn't imagine being able to make her body harder than stone. How did he do that?
If Aurora was surprised, she didn't let it show. Ten spears materialized and were fired. Shadow hacked hem down with ease. Twenty spears materialized. Then fifty. Then a hundred. They didn't all fly straight at Shadow. She had some come from either side, from behind, and from above. It seemed impossible, but Shadow moved like a blur. Every spear was cut in two and left littering the ground.
As amazing as all this was, Alexia somehow wasn't surprised. Having seen his Iamtomik power, nothing he did would shock her now.
Alexia couldn't be sure, but she thought Aurora was smiling. Shadow appeared to be smiling as well. That was when all the air surrounding Aurora shimmered. Suddenly iron spears were as thick as raindrops in a thunderstorm. There was no time to count them all, but she estimated there to be a thousand.
It was a sign of incredible mana reserves and amazing control. If Alexia had never met Shadow, she would have called it unbelievable. Knowing what was coming, she'd have resigned herself to death. Even her sister would have no hope at all of blocking such an insane number of projectiles.
But the sight made Shadow laugh. "A swarm of mosquitos can charge, but the lion won't fall."
"It's over," baldy announced. "He put up a better fight than I expected. But he's simply no match for her."
"Don't bet on it," Alexia said.
The scowl he sent her made her laugh.
"You have a very high opinion of Lo- of Shadow," the erotic writer noted.
"I've seen him fight."
The other girl eyed her close but said nothing.
The spears flew in every direction and angle. A thousand lethal attacks that cut off all possible avenues of escape. Death seemed certain. But Shadow made no effort to dodge or swing his sword. Instead, a thousand threads of purple light surrounded him. As the spears struck, they shattered into pieces. When the last one was annihilated the purple magic faded away and Shadow and Aurora once more faced off.
Baldy was left standing there with his jaw open and speechless.
"A… Amazing!" Rose declared.
Alexia nodded. "He is the strongest."
"He sure is!" Natsume swooned. Her notebook was out, and she was writing again.
"Are you recording all this for a future book?" Rose asked.
"Something like that."
Having failed spectacularly to defeat him from distance Aurora apparently decided there was nothing to do but try to fight in close. Alexia could have told her that wouldn't work. Rather than spears the Witch of Calamity materialized a halberd in her hand and raced towards Shadow with inhuman speed. He held his sword in strike position and did the same. The two of them dashed forward faster than the eye could see and exchanged blows.
They then stopped. Stood there facing away from each other in the very center of the Holy Ground. Shadow spoke.
"I wish I could have fought you at full strength."
Aurora split and began to fade away.
XXX
"Sh… She lost?" The baldy archbishop didn't sound as if he believed it.
Alexia could only nod. Now that it was over, she realized she'd never though for even a heartbeat that Shadow would lose.
Baldy recovered his wits pretty quickly. "Guards! Templars! Paladins! Don't let that man escape!"
Alexia shook her head. "Good luck with that," she mumbled.
Alexia knew she was treading dangerously close to supporting a 'known criminal' against the forces of the holy church. Even for a princess a charge of heresy from an archbishop could be serious. She decided it would probably be best not to say anything more and just keep quiet.
That was when white light once more filled the stadium. A set of twelve-foot-tall marble doors appeared and were slowly opening. It seemed that as exciting as her night had already been there was still more to come.