Garden Of The Abyss

--Short, slicked-back blonde hair with reddish-brown eyes...A scar across his nose and a burn mark on his forehead; he matches the description that Heldjrim gave me, there's no mistake.

"Macheo, right?"

Calling out to the young man for the first time, he raised an eyebrow at the clear mention of his name. Keeping Uylia behind her back, Iris faced the youthful man with a narrowed gaze, readying herself for battle if it came to that.

It was clear by one look at him that he was prospering within the trial, wearing a set of light-leather made of dark fabric with crimson and gold etchings sewed into it, giving it a design giving an air both of regality and of adventure. Waiting at his hip were a plethora of magical tools tied to his belt, which he kept his hand near with clear intentions of battle showing in both his eyes and body language.

"I will ask you once, how do you know my name?"

"--"

His question was guided by a wave of silent anger, Iris' reluctance to answer fueling this calm rage as he briefly took in a breath, letting it out sharply between his lips.

"Let me guess; those damn cave-dwelling rats put you up to this, didn't you? Did they promise you something of value? Gold? Artifacts? Well, they have none. What little they had, I've taken!"

"--Listen to yourself!"

Hearing his spiel, she couldn't contain herself, his repulsive words grinding against her ears, knowing full well what emotions they set through the girl behind her back.

"Huh?"

Macheo scoffed at her sudden outburst, raising his eyebrows to give her a look as if she were the mad one in this conversation.

"Nevermind this, I'm tired. I'm a rational person. Return what you have taken from me and I will let you walk away from this place. I can promise you that much."

It was hard to get a read on him, whether he was telling the truth or not--but it didn't matter to her if he was. What he asked was beyond compromise.

Listening to the fearful whimpers of the girl as she clung tightly onto her robes, Iris wanted nothing more than to wash those tainted emotions away and return glee to her vibrant eyes.

"No."

"No?"

Macheo responded to her quick denial with a slight laugh, almost not believing the plain and simple rejection to his deal.

"These people are defenseless and you're taking advantage of them! Don't you have a heart? You're an adventurer, right? You want to be a hero, don't you?"

"What the hell do you know about me?! Huh? Don't pretend like you know a damn thing! The strong take from the weak, that's how it is around here! If you haven't learned that by now--then you'll just be swallowed up by this place, just like the rest!"

The rising hostility in Macheo's voice manifested in a surge of magical energy, fluttering his scarlet cape with the winds of mana generated, causing Iris to drop the bags of food she had held onto.

"That's not right at all! The strong protect the weak! That's what it means to be strong! That...That's what separates us from beasts! Without that kindness, selflessness--we wouldn't be human!"

Yelling at the top of her lungs, Iris ignored the strain of her throat as she attempted to drive her words through the adventurer's pores.

"Look around! Those types of thoughts will only result in pain, agony, and death! Such a naive mindset doesn't belong here!"

"I know that you believe I'm right, Macheo!"

"Don't say my name like that! Enough of this!"

Once again, a rise in magical power was felt, emanated from every pore of the man's body as he readied himself for combat--a vein popped from his forehead, his pale complexion shifting into a slight crimson from the anger felt. Clear as day, he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted.

"Uylia! Go back inside the temple! Now!"

The tiny primorelf was hesitant, doubt filling her eyes as she sized both of the mages up before Iris' raised voice compelled her to take cover within the pearly manor.

"Once I'm done with you, I'll be sending her head to her father. Such disobedience...I thought these cowardly creatures already learned their lesson!"

"I won't let you!"

One judgment had to be made in this split-second, a vital piece of information each mage should know about their opponent when it came to a battle between wielders of magic.

--Is he an in-fighter or an out-fighter?

When it came to a battle of mages, not knowing this could result in a swift defeat. She watched him carefully, taking note of each of his subtle movements to try and determine which of the two categories he fell into.

One movement placed an answer directly into her mind. Iris watched as Macheo bounced on the tip of his toes to warm his body up.

--An in-fighter!

The realization came a moment too close, witnessing his figure disappear right before her eyes. Following the trace of his mana, it had flowed directly behind her.

"Licht: Bar--"

Attempting to shield herself, there was little time to do so as Macheo's glove-covered fist broke through the half-made shield. Luckily, the shoddy shield made of light absorbed the brunt of the impact.

--So fast!

"You actually reacted to that! Not bad!"

Before she could retaliate with a swift cast of her light arrow, Macheo dashed away with blurring speed. It was a mind-numbing task to attempt to track him as he ran circles around her, laughing in thrill as he was letting loose.

A halt in the constant stream of reflections showing Macho halted; telling of his next move, however, knowing it was coming didn't mean she had the swiftness to prepare for the attack. The impact of his fist collided against her raised shoulder, feeling the force echo through her body.

"I hope you weren't betting on me not willing to hit a girl!"

Meeting face to face with his smirk, Iris threw her hand up to unleash another arrow of light--missing once more as Macheo threw his body back with inhuman agility.

--So this is the power of someone willing to enter Purgatory…!

It was impossible to tell if the soles of his boots ever met with the marble floor, this time Macho leaped into the air.

--Is he going to unleash a spell? I'll counter it!

"Licht: Deflection!"

A luminescent mirror formed in the air, forming a spiral of a formless, gold liquid within it. Iris realized as soon as the spell formed that her instincts had failed, watching as Macheo's feet pressed against a circular platform formed in the air, launching himself off of it with blinding speed--rocketing directly towards her.

--Even so, he can't bash through my Deflection!

Just before Macheo met with the golden mirror, another platform was conjured, allowing him to propel off of it straight into the air, following with another of these azure steps formed of solidified mana--launching down towards Iris again.

The rapid succession of steps within the air, as if negating the concept of gravity itself, threw Iris' focus off, evading the downward strike by a hair as she rolled herself to the side.

--Is that some sort of spell…? I didn't hear any incantations. Is it an imbued ability from one of his tools? Maybe his innate ability? I don't know...I don't know.

"Is that really all you've got? Did you enter Purgatory with strength like that? How pathetic."

Clenching her fists at the berating words that left his conceited lips, Iris swiftly brought herself past that anger, not allowing her mind to be clouded.

"Oh, come on, it's not much fun if you don't talk!"

Macheo's nonchalant tone crescendoed into a yell as he dashed forward, forcing Iris to raise her guard--only to move past her and circle back after reflecting himself off of one of his midair platforms. She found herself barely defending against this one, having his rocketed fist clash against her thin forearms with a thundering impact, sending her falling back.

--All of my spells...They're too slow for a fighter like this…This is my worst possible matchup...I don't want to use it...Don't make me use it.

The cold, dirtied stone pressed itself against her cheek, flickering her eyelids as she looked at her own hands, slowly raising herself from the ground. Before she could pick herself back up, she was forced back down by the weight of Macheo's foot pressing down on her back.

"Ah!"

"I'll tell you what--grovel for me and I'll let you be my wife."

Under the pressuring weight of his down-brought boot, Iris drew her strained gaze up towards the face of the adventurer. A twisted grin that left no room to see the goodness within him had stretched from ear to ear, his eyes of avarice scaling her body.

"How about it? Not a bad deal, right?"

Ignoring his lecherous demands, Iris kept her eyes closed, drowning out his words as she focused on the one thing important to her in this singular moment.

"Licht: Holy Wave."

Macheo's snide arrogance was abruptly halted at the quiet incantation muttered by the girl. Iris watched in that brief moment as the light that emitted from her reflected from the white of his eyes--only seeing him twitch a single muscle before the radiance swallowed his figure.

Bringing herself up, swiping the dust from her skirt and leggings--hearing his voice again met her ears like nails to a chalkboard.

"Close, very close..."

The tan dust formed of knocked-up sediment settled, revealing Macheo to be coughing up the inhaled air. A few scratches were left visible on his pale, frontal cast, as well as the edges of his cape being torn and filled with holes throughout its surface.

Through these exchanges, it began to feel less like she was facing overwhelming speed and more like she was being treated as if she was moving in slow motion.

"How…"

It was the only word that came to her mind as she looked upon his mostly unharmed figure. Her confused, half-exhausted expression reeled in a wide smile from him.

"It's simple; I'm stronger than you. There is nothing you can do to deny that fact. Knowing this, why don't you stay at my side?"

--If my spells can't catch him...I'll resort to something else.