*Boom!*
Adrian leaped backward on pure reflex, without thinking, his body acting well before his mind had ti to analyze the situation. A fraction of a second earlier and he would still have been there, right at the spot where the impact had just shredded the ground.
The sand had exploded under the violence of the attack, blasted in every direction as if a mine had just detonated. Burning particles stung his cheeks, but he didn’t even blink.
His boots plowed the ground for several ters. He dug in his heels, fought against the montum trying to throw him off balance, and finally ca to a controlled slide. The sand crunched under his soles as he slowly raised his head, muscles still tensed, ready to react to the slightest suspicious movent.
It was at that mont that the wind rose.
At first, it was only a hesitant breeze, almost innocuous, barely lifting a few grains from the surface. Adrian narrowed his eyes slightly, wary. Then, in just a few seconds, the breeze turned into a violent gust. The sand around him began to vibrate, to dance in place, before being abruptly sucked upward.
A spiral ford.
It grew, thickened, spinning faster and faster, drawing a swirling column that rose toward the sky as if it wanted to pierce it. The whirlwind widened as it ascended, swallowing everything in its path, creating a wall of particles that almost completely blocked the view.
Adrian raised an eyebrow slightly, but still appeared calm.
"I’m getting more and more confused..."
He squinted, forcing his gaze to pierce the moving barrier. He scanned the heart of the storm, where everything seed calr.
Then he saw her.
A silhouette advanced right inside the vortex, crossing the fury of the elents as if she were strolling through a garden. The wind howled around her, the sand whipped the air, but nothing seed to touch her.
The woman slowly erged from the whirlwind.
It was Olivia Kleopatra Dantalion...
She walked with nonchalance, each step making her wide hips sway under her black leggings. The fabric clung to her thick thighs, seeming almost to struggle to contain their generous curves, and the dim light of the storm highlighted every detail of her silhouette. Her narrow waist contrasted with the roundness of her hips, creating an almost provocative harmony.
Her top, a fabric stretched to the limit of reason, showcased her generous chest. Every movent gave the impression that it could give way at any mont, while her arms were adorned with jewelry.
Yet, despite this outfit, it wasn’t what struck first.
It was her presence.
A cold and intimidating beauty. Her delicate Egyptian features contrasted with the confidence radiating from her, and her golden eyes fixed Adrian with an intensity that would have made anyone else back down.
The wind continued to howl around her but seed to slide over her skin without touching it.
She stopped a few ters away from him.
"It’s been a while... brother."
Her voice was soft but everyone could understand that they were enemies.
Adrian’s smile slowly widened before he replied in a tone that mixed amusent and challenge.
"So it was you behind all this... the bastard?"
Olivia tilted her head slightly to the side, as if considering an interesting question.
"You really didn’t expect it?" she asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Adrian chuckled softly.
He ran a hand through his wind-tousled hair before answering.
"I thought you were more subtle than that."
"Subtle?" Olivia replied, crossing her arms under her chest, a gesture that accentuated her curves even further. "You overestimate ."
While they exchanged these words, the wind continued to blow around them, but sothing else was changing in the landscape. Silhouettes gradually appeared in the sand, erging from the dunes like specters.
Adrian turned his head slightly, sweeping the area with his gaze.
Several groups of students were approaching. Among them, one silhouette was recognizable among a thousand.
Helia von Stavenger stood at the top of a small sand dune, her figure sharply outlined against the particle-laden sky. She wore her usual black outfit, a suit that perfectly hugged her forms and particularly highlighted her voluminous chest. The wind danced a few strands of hair in front of her face, but she didn’t seem to pay attention to it.
Behind her, several dozen students from the Stavenger faction waited in tight ranks, their faces turned toward the scene unfolding below.
Helia observed for a long mont, her eyes quickly scanning the terrain layout.
"Go ahead, stop these madn by any ans necessary..."
Imdiately, the students behind her responded in unison.
"Affirmative!"
Without waiting another second, they rushed down the slope of the dune and began running toward the combat zone, weapons already drawn.
On the other side of the area, several Imperial faction students seed to no longer understand what was happening in this damn desert.
A young girl took a few steps forward.
"Wait... there’s..."
She didn’t have ti to finish her sentence.
*Slaaaak*.
A violent pain shot through the young girl’s chest as her body froze instantly.
Her eyes widened enormously as the tallic taste of blood suddenly flooded her mouth.
Slowly, with infinite difficulty, she lowered her eyes toward her chest.
A blade was protruding from it.
It went completely through her body, the bloodied tip erging from her sternum, dripping red.
Behind her, a Stavenger faction student firmly held the weapon.
He was smiling.
The young girl trembled in every limb, her fingers weakly rising to touch the blade that shouldn’t have been there.
"How... why you..."
Her voice was only a broken whisper, interrupted by gurgles.
The boy abruptly withdrew the blade with a sharp motion, letting the blood spurt from the wound in a violent jet that splashed the sand around them. The young girl’s body collapsed without a sound, her eyes still open staring at the empty sky.
Then he suddenly shouted, loud enough for everyone around to hear.
"We’re trying to stop you but you attacked us... why!"
Around them, several students froze in place.
Confusion spread imdiately like wildfire.
"What?"
"Wait, isn’t that the Stavenger faction!? Why are they attacking us?"
"But what the hell is going on?"
It was already too late to understand.
A second student was attacked from behind.
"Fight if you don’t want to die..." bellowed at the top of his lungs a muscular Imperial faction student, his face twisted with rage he could barely contain.
He raised his sword with both hands and charged forward without a second’s hesitation.
His weapon described a wide oblique arc, slicing through the air with a nacing whistle.
The blade struck his opponent square in the torso, right at the sternum level.
The young man’s body almost instantly split in two, the violence of the blow severing flesh and bone with terrifying ease. Blood spurted in a scarlet spray, and his intestines slid out of his abdominal cavity to land softly in the sand.
Screams rang out from all sides: cries of pain, calls for help, contradictory orders that no one was listening to anymore.
The students attacked each other with uncontrollable rage, faces distorted by fear or anger.
The once-clear sand gradually turned red.
No one knew anymore who were the allies or the enemies.
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