"You and Lyra were both dirty witches, and my only regret is that I couldn’t be there when they burned them to death."
Patrice expected many things to happen after he was done speaking. He thought he would see Varina get angry and attack him in blind rage, or he thought that Varina would try to convince him that he had been brainwashed, but what Patrice never expected was for Varina to laugh! It had started as a small chuckle, but before long, Varina threw her head back, and she was laughing like a mad woman! Patrice tightened his grip on his sword, and he growled at his sister!
"What’s so funny, you crazy witch?"
Varina cleared a tear from her eye as her laughing fit finally started to come down!
"I’m just glad! I’m really glad that this is the sort of person you are. You know, for twenty years, I never believed that you betrayed our family. I always thought that you had been tricked by the Witch Slayers, or you had only told them about us because they threatened your life! But now I know that none of that is true! The truth is that you were just jealous of us! You were jealous that my sister and I had magic and you didn’t. Your childish jealousy killed our family, and you used the excuse of right and wrong to try and justify your own pathetic nature. I always knew you would turn out to be a fool."
WOOSH!
A massive wind suddenly blew through the room, and Patrice grunted as he was lifted off the ground and slammed into a wall behind him! Patrice quickly got to his feet and poured magic into his runes while racing towards Varina, but he had to quickly dodge to the side as a rune activated under his feet and a massive explosion tore through the cave!
BOOM!
The explosion built up a dust cloud that prevented Patrice from seeing where his sister was, and Patrice immediately grabbed his shield from behind him! The shield glowed with a brilliant red light as anti-magic runes were activated, and at the next moment, a torrent of fire slammed into the shield!
BOOM!
The fire pushed Patrice back, and Patrice planted his feet on the ground to fight back! Patrice began to slowly move forward with heavy steps, but Patrice looked to his left in shock as Varina suddenly appeared from there and slammed her palm into his ribs! Patrice was catapulted away like a rocket, and he slammed into the cave wall with unbelievable force! Varina knew that Patrice’s armor was very strong, and that was why she had used the [Force multiplier] rune carved into her palm together with her magic to make sure that the attack reached him! And it had worked perfectly! Patrice gasped for air as he landed on the floor, and he coughed up some blood! There was a sharp pain on his left side, and Patrice knew that he had broken at least one rib.
But Patrice refused to stay down! Patrice forced himself to his feet, and he raised his sword with a glare. Patrice’s sword glowed with a red light as he activated the runes, and he blasted off the ground and charged forward!
BOOM!
Patrice brought the sword down towards Varina, but Varina caught the weapon in one hand and held on tight! Patrice’s eyes widened in surprise as he tried to pull the sword back, but the weapon wouldn’t budge, and he looked into Varina’s emotionless gaze as she spoke.
"Why did you do this, Patrice? Look at all the things you made me do."
Patrice snarled at his sister.
"Don’t blame me for your own crimes, witch. You killed those people because you wanted to. Even if I hadn’t reported the family, I know you would’ve still turned out to be a murderous psychopath!"
Patrice let go of the sword, and he used his shield to bash Varina and push her back! Varina stumbled back, and Patrice reached behind him to pull out a short sword!
"RARRGGHH!"
Patrice roared as he stabbed the sword towards Varina’s stomach, but Varina simply slapped her brother’s arm away, and Patrice stumbled past her! Varina grabbed Patrice by the back of his armor, and she pulled his back into her chest before she thrust her blade forward!
Squelch!
Patrice gasped as his sword stabbed through his back and shot out from his chest. Varina was still holding him in a soft embrace, and her head rested on his shoulder as she spoke to him in a teary voice.
"You’re such a fool, little brother. But I know it’s our fault. We neglected you and pushed you to find comfort outside the family. Maybe if we could go back to the past, things would be different. But there’s no saving you anymore."
Blood poured out from Patrice’s mouth, and Patrice forced his words out through the pain.
"I... don’t need... your pity, witch."
Varina twisted the blade in Patrice’s back, and Patrice gasped in pain as Varina spoke in a loving voice.
"I’ll see you in the underworld, little brother."
Varina pulled out the sword, and Patrice fell to his knees before falling to the ground dead. There was a deep silence that passed through the cave as Varina simply stared at her brother’s dead body with a longing gaze. Varina truly wished that things had been different for them. In another life, maybe they could’ve grown to be a happy family. But that wasn’t possible anymore. Varina raised the sword as she felt another wave of anger coming over her, and she was about to stab Patrice’s dead body again.
"That’s enough, Varina."
Varina jumped in shock as Jason spoke from the side, and she turned to see him looking at her softly. Varina had actually forgotten that Jason was there at all, and she felt slightly embarrassed at the fact that Jason had seen the interaction between her and her brother. Varina frowned as she lowered the sword and looked at her brother’s body with a complicated expression. Jason watched her for a few seconds before he finally spoke.
"You’re disappointed, aren’t you?"
Varina looked over at Jason in shock when she heard this, and she couldn’t help but agree with what Jason said. There was a feeling of disappointment somewhere in Varina’s heart, and Varina couldn’t understand why. Jason stood up and put his hands in his coat pockets as he said.
"Revenge isn’t exactly as satisfying as people claim it is. I’ve had my fair share of revenge in my time, and the only thing I can tell you is that it feels no different from killing anyone else. For a moment, it feels fulfilling, but after a while you’ll realise that all you’ve done is take another life, and that’s that. It can’t change the past."
Varina’s hand tightened around the sword as she digested what Jason said, and Varina couldn’t help but think that Jason was right. She had just killed her own brother, and yet she couldn’t feel any satisfaction from it. Varina wanted to stab Patrice a million more times! She wanted to bring him back to life and burn him alive for what he had done! She wanted to hug him and forgive him for everything! She wanted to cry and ask him if he had any regrets about what he did! Varina wanted to do so many things at the same time, but she knew that it wasn’t possible! Her brother was dead, and that was the end of it. Varina let out a long breath, and she looked up as Jason came to stand in front of her.
"This is the end of this war. I need you to stop now."
Varina grit her teeth when she heard this, and she spat out her words angrily.
"You don’t understand anything. This world, these people, they don’t want us here. They hate witches more than anything, and they’ll stop at nothing to eradicate us all! Just watch! In a few more years, they’ll return to killing all witches just like always! They’ll burn us at the stake again and kill our newborn children! If that happens, will you be here to say it’s enough again? Or will you ignore us like you’ve been doing for the past century!"