MLII C3, P9- "So Close, Yet So Far"

"So Close, Yet So Far" is the ninth and penultimate Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's third Chapter. It was released on 15.12.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared and Rentar-Ihrno finally come face to face and fight without the help of their allies after our hero challenges her and brings out her inner evil. Unfortunately, the maddened Crystal Soul does not accept the harsh reality that she will have to face- being slain and punished for her crimes. 
Little does Jared know that she has one last trick up her sleeve, something which will help her survive this encounter and escape with her life...
== Story ==
Without thinking twice, John pushes Jared out of the way. Then, he stabs the spirit in the chest.
The creature looks at its wound and realizes that it has been defeated. It bows its head and disappears, leaving his master to fend off the attackers all by herself.
Now that all of Rentar-Ihrno's allies are dead, Jared, John, Matthew and Ghall-Ihrno approach her, weapons drawn.
"This is the end of the line, evil one!"- John yells- "Nothing can save you from us now. Not even your dear brothers-in arms!"
He turns to Jared.
"My friend, we are ready to end the tyrrany of Rentar-Ihrno. Say the word and we will finish her off."
Jared looks down. He stares at Demonslayer and sighs.
"When I agreed to help our allies fight Rentar-Ihrno and her Vahnatai, I knew that I would meet her one day and I made a promise- that our fight will be fair. No allies to help us. No cheating. Just a final confrontation between two polar opposites."
He turns to Rentar-Ihrno.
"I will fight you, but only if you promise me that no one else will join us."- He says to her- "Is that fine by you?"
Rentar-Ihrno's crystal flashes green. It seems like she likes the idea to fight our hero alone.
"You are either very foolish or incredibly brave."- She says- "Either way, you are a person who is capable of fighting in a fair way. I know that much."
She sighs.
"Fine. Your wish is granted. I will fight you without the help of my allies, but only if you convince yours to withdraw. Otherwise, it would be simply unfair... even though I am stronger than all of you."
John is insulted by this. He tries to draw his blade and attack her, but Jared stops him in the last moment.
Having heard Rentar-Ihrno's requirements for this battle, he nods and decides to meet them.
"If you want to fight me as a lone wolf, so be it."- He responds- "My honor will not allow me to make it otherwise."
He turns to his friends.
"This battle will be between me and her. One on one. And no one else can join it."- He says stoically- "I hope that you understand the seriousness of this situation."
Matthew smiles.
"We heard you loud and clear!"- He says- "The witch is yours!"
Ghall-Ihrno also agrees with this, albeit reluctantly. He wants to fight Rentar-Ihrno and make her pay for what she has done to taint the name of the Vahnatai, but he quickly realizes that this is Jared's battle, not his.
"The choice is yours. We are not going to interfere with it."- He says- "I just hope that you will be strong enough to defeat her all by yourself."
Although John respects Jared and knows that he will be able to defeat this powerful enemy alone, he still has a seed of mistrust plated deep into this heart. Instead of listening to reason, he steps forward and tries to make his friend reconsider his sudden choice in this matter.
"Why would you think about anything like this? And against... against her?!"- He yells- "Jared, this is not a weak, deranged enemy. This is not a pathetic leader of a hopeless army, like those that we defeated in our adventures. This is Rentar-Ihrno! She is ambitious, cruel and has the power to back those traits up with ease. And you need all the help that you can get, no questions asked!"
Jared shakes his head.
"As much as I appreciate your support John, I must refuse."- He responds- "This is my fight and my fight alone. My destiny lies here and I must face it, at all costs."
He takes a step forward and draws his sword.
"And if you truly care about me, let me go. Whether I will come out victorious or stumble into the eternal darkness remains a question that only Fate can give an answer to. So, step aside and let me face it with whatever strength I have left within my body."
He turns to Rentar-Ihrno.
"May the best warrior win."- He says and charges.
John tries to join his friend in the battle, but is stopped by an invisible barrier. It seems like Jared is indeed true to his word- he does not want anyone to disrupt the delicate balance of this battle between good and evil. And he is capable of stopping them, should they try to do so.
Grumbling, his best friend stands back and watches the fight with his brother and Ghall-Ihrno.
Meanwhile, Jared delivers a solid blow onto the surface of Rentar-Ihrno's Crystal Soul, prompting her to cast a powerful spell that pushes him back.
He wonders what is giving her so much power, knowing that she cannot channel it all by herself, despite being one of the most powerful Vahnatai mages of all time. Fortunately, he notices the two pylons near the crystal and watches as some of their magical energy floats away from them and is directed towards Rentar-Ihrno, rejuvenating her. Moments later, the cracks on her crystal repair completely, as if they were not there in the first place.
One thing is for sure. Until those pylons live, it will be a nightmare come true for our hero. It will be very hard, if not impossible, to achieve victory under such circumstances.
However, there is a single flaw in the creatures' design that Jared is already aware of- their weakness to Light. Although they are not weak to weapons that harm demonic creatures with ease (Such as Demonslayer) like their creator, they are still susceptible to the element and that is their clearest weakness.
Just as Rentar-Ihrno is about to cast a spell at Jared, the boy evades it and pierces the creature with a beam of Light.
Rentar-Ihrno laughs.
"Nice try, you fool!"- She says, mocking Jared- "But my creatures can never be defeated by anyth-- "
However, she is not given the chance to finish her mockery. She hears a sound coming from nearby and turns her attention to the one that Jared tried to destroy.
Moments later, the pylon's surface shatters. The creature living inside shrieks and, being destabilized by Jared's magic, explodes on impact. Pieces of the former crystal fly everywhere.
The destruction of one of the creatures which invigorated the one to whom they were connected moments ago has an immediate effect on their master. Her crystal turns red and Jared thinks that he can hear a muffled scream coming from inside. She is clearly in pain.
John sees this as well and steps closer to the barrier.
"Jared, quick! The other pylon!"- He yells- "Destroy it before she lashes out at you!"
Surprisingly, Jared manages to hear his best friend's advice. Instead of wasting time to see what happens next, he shoots another beam of Light at the last pylon.
Just as everyone expected, the same thing happens to it as well. It explodes and leaves its master defenseless and weak.
Once again, the effect happens immediately after the death of the creature. This time, Rentar-Ihrno's scream is clearly audible and her surface starts to crack.
It stops later, but the damage is already done. Rentar-Ihrno is dying and she knows it well. This makes her infuriated.
"How dare you?!"- She screams- "I... I will make you pay for this!"
She hurls a barrage of fireballs at Jared, who nimbly evades them and counterattacks with a fireball that he casts at her immediately after regaining balance.
The attack does not damage the surface of the crystal, but it hurts the creature within. Rentar-Ihrno screams and silently curses Jared for being such a nuisance to her.
As Jared runs towards her, she tries to push him back again. However, this time, he is prepared.
Thinking quickly, he envelops himself with a magical shield and blocks her magic easily.
Further infuriated by this, the Vahnatai leader casts a Lightning spell, which strikes Jared in the head.
Suddenly, our hero falls on the ground. His allies gasp.
"J-Jared?"- Ghall-Ihrno stutters.
"No! This cannot be!"- Matthew says.
John does not say anything. Instead, he watches Rentar-Ihrno, as if expecting his friend to emerge from somewhere and take her by surprise.
Sure enough, Jared appears behind her and plunges Demonslayer deep into her crystal.
Everyone watches as he calmly pulls out his blade and looks at her, as if he is taunting her for infusing herself with demon blood.
"And so, the curtains close."- He says stoically- "The villain defeated, the hero emerges victorious. All that is left of the evil one's dreams are pieces of memory, scattered everywhere like the fragments of a crystal, never to be recollected again."
Rentar-Ihrno gasps for breath.
"How? How did you know what to do?!"- She screams- "How did you survive that attack?! None of your fellow humans have ever survived this, I tell you!"
Jared smiles and looks at his corpse. Suddenly, it disappears and turns into a cloud of white mist.
It seems like this was a trick that Jared had up his sleeve the whole time. Having tricked his enemy into believing that she finally killed him, he teleported behind her to finish her off. And this was her undoing.
"You are not the only one full of surprises."- He says calmly- "While you were distracted by your foolishness and thought that you finally brought me down to my knees, I used an ability that my teacher taught me and struck you while you did not expect it to happen. It is called "Hero's Decoy" and it allows me to teleport away from danger, leaving a perfectly identical doppelganger on the spot where I used to be to distract you."
John nods and smiles.
"I'm glad that this strategy worked out for you."- He says- "Well done, my friend!"
Rentar-Ihrno smirks.
"How come I... I didn't see you teleport, then?"- She asks him- "I thought that teleportation takes time to work... and that your enemy can see where you will go."
Jared shakes his head.
"Maybe a lesser art of teleportation might work that way, but I assure you that this one is much more different."- He says stoically- "While I might make a mistake and reveal my designated location sometimes, this can only be seen by someone who is a master in the arts of Teleportation. Which, as far as I can see, you do not possess."
He stumbles back a little bit and kneels a little bit to prevent himself from falling.
"Although... it does have a cost."- He mutters- "My energy is sapped and my mind is clouded. at least for the moment. All those ailments will be gone soon, though. It is only temporary."
Suddenly, Rentar-Ihrno's crystal starts to crack even more. And she can feel all the pain coming from it, no matter how much she tries to pretend that it is the opposite.
"Your skills are truly amazing, Jared Kaos. Consider me impressed. Maybe you can even survive a battle with me in the future."
She sighs.
"But I cannot fight you anymore right now. Not in this... state."- She continues and starts to fade away- "Meet me at my keep when you are ready to face a real challenge. It is to the west of Fort Remote. But be warned- I will do my best to prevent you from approaching me. My guards are strong. My walls are impenetrable. And my desire to slay you still burns. If you want to reach me for a second time, you have to prove yourself."
"Good luck, mighty child. Maybe one day, you can be worthy of showing those worms the true meaning of a Hero... "
Having said those words, she disappears. 
There is no smoke. No mirrors. Just a soul that fades away into nothingness, getting ready for the fight of its life... and possibly, its downfall.
The barrier fades away as this happens and John runs to his best friend, helping him stand up.
Jared looks at him and sighs.
"I am sorry, John."- He mutters- "I am sorry for... being unable to kill her right here, right now. I... wanted this to be a fair fight, so I let her escape. I promise that she will pay for the crimes that she commited."
John smiles and pats him on the shoulder.
"Believe me, my friend. You are truly a remarkable person."- He says- "What you did in that battle, the courage and valor that you showed to us... it makes me proud to call you my comrade, just like I have until now. And I will gladly accompany you on this journey. With your permission, of course."
Jared smiles as well.
"I think that we will need all the help that we can get, considering how powerful the keep's defenses will be."- He responds- "Once we go back in Avernum, we will assemble another army and show that witch that everything can be achieved with bravery and loyalty, no matter how hard it may seem to us. She will never lead us away from the right path."
He looks at the door nearby.
"But now, we must leave and reassemble. We are all very tired, especially after such a fight. I am sure of it."
John nods.
"I agree."- He says- "Let's get out of here before more Vahnatai arrive."
The four of them leave the fort behind them, a distant memory that will soon be forgotten.
Just as they are about to leave the area, Jared looks back at the fort, now able to walk on his own. Realizing that there is nothing there left for him and his allies, he sighs, turns around and heads back into the encampment with a clear goal in mind- prepare for another final battle.