Book 3: Chapter 32 (1/2)
The empress took in a deep breath while lowering her sword. She gripped the hilt while turning to face Vur and Alora. The two dragons waddled backwards, destroying another portion of the mansion with their massive bodies, before plopping down onto their bellies, their paws extended out towards the front like dogs. Mary’s neck creaked as she turned her head back around, stopping when Tafel appeared in her view. “Dragon tamer?”
“Who are you calling tamed!?” Alora shouted, slamming her paw against the floor. She nudged Vur with her elbow. “Can I bite her?”
“No.”
Alora pouted and slammed her tail against the remains of the wall a few times before laying her head on her front paws. “Fine.”
Mary distanced herself from the dragons, inching towards her left while readying her sword. She pointed it at Tafel, a black aura surging out of the cracks in her armor like dark mist that sank towards the floor. The demon halted her charge, her flames coming to an abrupt halt as they collided against the mist, unable to pass. “You keep claiming to not be a devil, but in the end, you can’t hide the fact that you want to kill me.”
“That’s because you’re irritating!” Tafel said, pointing her sword at the empress. “And I don’t want to kill you. I just want to smack you around to teach you a lesson in manners.”
“That sounds awful,” Alice said from atop a pile of bricks. “Domestic abuse is a serious issue.”
Mr. Skelly stared at Alice, disbelief painted on his bony face. “Aren’t you the one who regularly punts my skull off?”
Alice cleared her throat and turned her head away, the tips of her ears red. “We’re not married yet, so it’s okay.”
“No, that doesn’t make it okay at all,” Tafel said. “Stop interrupting my fight with pointless commentary, please.” She took in a deep breath and locked eyes with the empress. “If Vur could beat you, then I can beat you too.”
Mary’s eyes widened as she stomped her foot against the shattered ground, causing a shockwave to blow back Tafel’s flames. Like a lightning bolt, Mary shot forwards with her sword raised directly above her head, its hilt held by both her hands. She chopped down at Tafel, the blade screaming through the air. Tafel lifted her sword horizontally and braced herself for the blow. Mary’s sword crashed into Tafel’s, forcing the demon straight down into the earth as if she were a nail struck by a hammer, causing her to disappear from view. Mary glared at the hole that Tafel had been struck into. “I didn’t lose to him.”
“Did Tafel teleport?” Vur asked, sidling over to Alice. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“No,” Alice said. “I think she was hit so hard that she was buried into the ground.” She pointed near the empress’ feet. “Look, you can see smoke rising out of that hole.”