The Beautiful Monster

Alaric cried out in pain as his face was severely burned. He stumbled away from Elias, grabbing at his face as it turned red and started to blister from the heat. He gritted his teeth angrily, fighting through the pain.

Elias hurried to his feet, glancing down at his hands as the flames died down.

He was endlessly glad for his fire ability, but he would have to pull moves better than that. Alaric would be hard to take down.

While Alaric was distracted, Scott dealt a hefty punch to his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He lifted his knee rapidly, knocking Alaric upside the chin.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Scott spat at Alaric as he dropped down to his knees.

Alaric's head suddenly snapped up as he glared at Scott. He reached up and placed his hand on Scott's side, his eyes flashing dark.

A shrill cry of pain broke from Scott as that side of his rib cage suddenly broke. He fell to the ground, panting in pain as he grabbed his side.

Elias knew that he had to step in before Alaric finished Scott off. As much as they fought, he didn't want Scott to die in this fight. He needed Scott's help. He started to rush toward Scott, but Melina beat him to the punch.

Melina jumped on Alaric from behind, tightening her arms around his neck and combining her powers to cut his air off. She wrapped her legs around him, trying to hold on as Alaric thrashed around to try to throw her off.

Elias watched with wide eyes, wanting to help but also trying not to get in the way. He heard a grunt from his right.

He turned just to see a ball of energy roar at him. It struck him full force, knocking him into the ground as electricity crackled through him. He gasped in pain, enduring the shocks. 

He looked up to see Helena running at him. Scott and Tyler were laid out from her attacks already, while Melina was still hanging on for dear life.

Elias scrambled to his feet, but Helena still managed to knock him right over. She clawed at his face with her nails, a burning sensation spreading throughout his face. Even his eyes stung.

Helena slammed her hands against Elias' head, making a ringing sound fill his head.

Elias' head snapped to the side from a heavy blow. Blood welled up in his mouth as he grimaced painfully.

Through his hazy vision, he saw Alaric slam Melina against the ground. Panic shot through Elias as he watched Alaric put his hands around Melina's throat, preparing to kill her.

That couldn't happen. He couldn't watch his own sister die. His panic mingled with his determination, and he turned to Helena, feeling his hands heat up again.

He didn't cap his power. He conjured all of it until flames nearly burst from his hands. He grabbed Helena tightly, letting the flames eat at her body and clothes.

Helena screamed in pain, thrashing about as she tried to free herself.

Surprisingly, the fire didn't hurt Elias. He held onto Helena, waiting until the flames reached her hair and were spreading all over her body.

He tossed Helena aside with a grunt, pushing himself to his feet. He charged at Alaric, knocking him off Melina with a shout.

Melina gasped for air, grabbing at her throat as it ached from the crushing pressure that Alaric put on it.

Elias prepared to charge at Alaric again, feeling fired up off his anger. However, Alaric was gone when he looked up. He looked around, blood dripping off his face from Helena's scratches.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" he asked the others. He needed to finish this fight now! Alaric couldn't have gotten away so quickly.

"He's gone, but you burnt her to a crisp," Scott replied from the ground. His forehead was full of sweat as he grabbed his side, his breathing sounding like faint wheezing. "I think he broke every rib on this side of my body."

"I can try to help," Alyssa said as she ran up to his side. She had Melina's bag with her. She dug around, creating a poultice for Scott to try out.

Elias nodded, glad to see that Alyssa was fine. He turned to Melina, who was still on the ground with Tyler by her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, feeling his body ache and sting all over. He was surprised that they all made it out of that fight alive, but it had been a close one. If they hadn't protected each other, they all would've been dead at this point.

"I'd be dead without you," Melina replied as she slowly sat up. She grabbed Tyler's hand, letting him pull her up to her feet. She placed her hand on her chest, wincing as her body ached.

"We have to look out for each other," Elias said with a gentle smile. He turned to see Alyssa helping Scott to his feet. He was grateful for this group, and he didn't want anything bad to ever happen to any of them.

However, the threat wasn't over yet. Alaric had escaped, and Elias doubted that he was going to stop. He would attack the group again and again until he was finally killed.

They managed to hurt Alaric, but did they have the strength to kill him? He could be destroyed, but that would take twice more effort on the group's part.

"He almost had us," Melina said with a frown on her face. "We have to be stronger."

"At least we have an idea of what we're up again," Elias said. He hadn't known what to expect from fighting Alaric before, but he had a good idea of Alaric's power now.

He felt more prepared, but he still felt nervous about the next fight because there would be a next fight. This struggle didn't end here. It was only just beginning.

"I told you that he's awful," Melina murmured, lowering her eyes. She didn't say anything else before walking away, even leaving Tyler behind.

"Is she okay?" Elias asked Tyler, looking confused by Melina's odd behavior. He thought that Melina would be more optimistic since they all survived this fight and killed a witch in the process.

They ended up being stronger than he thought they were, which gave him a little more hope for the next fight.