BOOOOM!
The sound ripped through the sky like a god’s hamr striking the earth. Valeria’s blade descended with apocalyptic force, unleashing a monstrous shockwave that rolled outward in violent rings, tearing apart the landscape as if a colossal hand had swept across it.
The ground fractured instantly, jagged lines racing across the battlefield while dust and pulverized stone erupted into a towering column that soared hundreds of ters into the air.
Every fragnt flung free carried lethal montum; shards of rock shot outward like artillery, each one capable of piercing through the body of a low-level warrior without resistance.
The air howled under the pressure, and for a mont, it felt as though the world was engulfed in sound and motion, a churning storm of debris and collapsing terrain consuming everything in its path.
Ti stretched as dust thickened. Silence followed, heavy and suffocating, broken only by the distant rumble of crumbling ridges and the hiss of superheated earth.
Gradually, the cloud began to settle. Shapes erged from the haze, revealing two figures.
Valeria stood firmly at the center of a massive crater, crimson light blazing across her body as if her very blood had ignited. Her armor was soaked not only with remnants from earlier battles but also with fresh blood seeping from reopened wounds.
Her aura pulsed violently outward in waves that made the air ripple around her. Her eyes burned an unnatural red, thin pupils focused and predatory, as if she had shed all restraint.
Opposite her stood Riven, unmoving. One hand rested casually in his pocket; his posture was loose, shoulders relaxed, expression calm to the point of mockery. His other arm was raised, clad in a tallic gauntlet etched with faintly glowing runes, fingers wrapped tightly around Valeria’s blade as if halting her strike required nothing more than a casual grip.
The ground beneath them had collapsed entirely into a deep crater that spread outward like an open wound in the earth, its edges jagged and unstable while its center lay blackened from their collision’s force.
Riven tilted his head slightly to study her through the drifting dust and smiled.
"...Good," he said quietly, his voice smooth and almost approving. "That one had intent behind it."
Valeria didn’t respond; instead, her grip tightened. Her aura flared once more, and then, the world exploded again. She wrenched her blade free and moved simultaneously; her body vanished into a streak of red light that tore through the air, the pressure from her acceleration cracking the ground beneath her feet.
This ti she aid horizontally, a brutal arc ant to sever him at the waist.
Riven stepped aside just enough to avoid being struck not hurried or strained but simply shifting his weight while guiding Valeria’s blade past him with his gauntleted hand, redirecting its force into the crater wall.
The impact erupted, sending chunks of stone soaring into the sky and deepening the crater even further.
"Still relying on linear aggression," he observed lightly, his voice slicing through the chaos. "Effective, but predictable."
Valeria responded with another strike, then another, followed by ten more. The battlefield beca a blur. Their figures faded from view, replaced by streaks of red and black lightning that tore across the sky and ground, colliding in violent bursts that unleashed shockwaves powerful enough to level what remained of the surrounding terrain. Sonic booms cracked through the air in rapid succession, each one rattling the earth and sending ripples through distant forests.
BANG!
CRACK!.
BOOM.
The two forces moved faster than sight could follow, appearing in one spot only to vanish into another. Their clashes carved trenches into the ground, collapsing ridges and splitting the earth open as if it were glass.
Riven fought with effortless composure. Even as Valeria attacked with lethal intent, pouring every ounce of precision and rage into her movents,he remained relaxed, guiding her strikes, redirecting them effortlessly while occasionally countering with blows that carried devastating force despite their minimal motion.
"You’re wasting energy there," he remarked calmly as her blade skimd past his shoulder. "Your left side still compensates when you overextend."
Valeria’s eyes flashed with determination. She adjusted imdiately. Her next strike ca from a lower angle, faster and tighter.
Riven smiled wider. "That’s better."
The insult was deliberate; the disrespect absolute and it ignited her fury further.
Her aura surged violently outward, blood-red light thickening around her body until it resembled a burning halo. The ground beneath her cracked under the pressure as she lunged again not aiming for a single decisive blow but launching a series of attacks so rapid that the very air seed to shred under their force.
Steel t gauntlet, blade t fist. Each impact detonated like artillery fire. The land couldn’t withstand it, hills collapsed, trees uprooted, the very terrain warping and sinking as if it could no longer bear the violence unleashed upon it.
From a distance, Gregor and Vanthrice could only watch in awe. They stood amidst the aftermath of their own slaughter, surrounded by bodies, shattered armor, blood pooling around their boots but their attention was entirely focused on the battle unfolding before them or rather on those streaks of energy.
They couldn’t see Valeria and Riven clearly anymore; all they perceived were flashes of red and black lightning ripping across the landscape accompanied by deafening sonic booms and shockwaves that shook the ground beneath them.
"...This..." Gregor muttered hoarsely. "...this isn’t just a fight."
Vanthrice’s gaze remained locked forward, eyes narrowed in concentration.
"No," she replied quietly. "It’s sothing else entirely."
Another explosion echoed across the land, forcing them to brace themselves as a wave of pressure flattened what little remained of the surrounding forest.
For a mont, silence hung between them.
Then Vanthrice exhaled slowly. "We can’t stay here."
Gregor glanced at her, concern etched on his face. "They’ll tear the entire region apart if this continues," she continued, her voice steady but urgent. "And the others..."
Her gaze shifted toward the distant ruins of the Crimson Abyssal Lion’s territory.
"They’re still out there."
Gregor nodded without hesitation. Without another word, they sprang into action. Their bodies blurred into streaks of green and gold lightning as they launched forward, disappearing from the battlefield and racing across the devastated terrain at breakneck speed.
In re seconds, they reached what was left of the Lion’s territory. The landscape was unrecognizable, forests had vanished, replaced by charred wasteland and shattered stone. Craters dotted the ground, with molten earth glowing faintly beneath cracked surfaces; the air was thick with the stench of burnt flesh and lingering mana.
As they slowed to a halt in the center, their eyes fell upon them. Brutus lay sprawled against a shattered ridge, his armor half-lted into his skin and large sections of his body burned black. His chest rose faintly with shallow breaths. Nearby were Leona and Kaela, both unconscious, battered but alive and Seris and Caelis, motionless yet breathing.
And then...Calista.
Gregor froze at the sight of her condition. She lay partially buried beneath fallen stone, her body twisted unnaturally; one arm was missing entirely, cauterized by abyssal flas yet horrifying to behold.
For a mont, everything went silent. Vanthrice moved first, dropping beside Brutus to check his pulse while channeling mana into him to stabilize his condition; her expression was tight but composed.
Gregor stood still, absorbing the devastation around him. His fists clenched slowly at his sides as tension coiled in his jaw; he ground his teeth until pain throbbed in his temples.
"...They’re alive," Vanthrice finally said after a mont’s pause, her voice firm despite its strain. "Barely alive...but we can still save them."
Gregor didn’t respond; his gaze remained locked on the scene before him. mories replayed in fragnts, the decision to co here, their fight with the Lion, the ambush that led to this slaughter.
His fault. His responsibility. The realization settled like a blade in his chest as he struggled for breath.
Finally, slowly, words forced their way past his lips.
"...This..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper: "...This is all my fault."
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