Michael grit his teeth, tightening his grip on the scythe made of his own frozen energy.
He charged forward with a lunge, landing and sliding underneath several projectile swords as he cleared the vast distance between himself and the general.
Pressing his heels into the ground, he launched himself straight up as he began to descend towards Picto, letting his scythe lead his own momentum.
Their blades clashed with a terrible explosion of power.
The entire ground below them clashed, as the ash filled their lungs.
Picto laughed as he pressed Michael's scythe downward with all of his strength.
Michael tried to resist the powerful force of the general, but realized that he would need to avoid clashes such as this.
Michael was losing balance, falling backwards as his feet dug into the fractured ground below him.
A gust of wind shot out from behind Picto as a cloaked figure, launched an attack from behind.
Picto quickly turned, letting his sword meet the daggers with swift reaction time.
With a loud clang, the daggers shot out from Gabriel's hands leaving him unarmed and at the full attention of Picto.
Michael leaped forward, reeling his scythe back as he hurled it straight at Picto.
But it only met the ground with an explosion of force as the general vanished in the span of a single second.
"I commend your valor..."
He chuckled from behind Michael, letting his sword fall towards the boy's head.
CLANG!
An arrow shot through the air, meeting the blade of Picto with terrible resistance.
Equan quickly slid down the unravelling slope of a collapsing building, nocking another spectral arrow as he did so.
Michael had always wondered how Equan had gotten his hands on such a powerful form of equipment, after all... An endless quiver of arrows that could be imbued with energy was not something you came across on your average journey.
Equan fired a lightning infused arrow, that Picto knocked away easily, but the charge of electricity had met his metallic blade, sending a jolt down the metal and directly into Picto's body.
Not letting the enemy get any time to regather himself, Michael pulled his scythe back towards his hand, swinging with a wide arc as he swiftly turned on his heels.
Picto lifted his blade in seconds, meeting the boy with another mighty clash.
This time Michael had the upper hand, pressing downward against Picto's blade.
Buildings continued to collapse as Picto's eyes widened.
He grabbed Michael's leg with his boot, losing all of his balance but pulling Michael to the side as an arrow pierced the boy's shoulder.
"DAMN-"
Picto sent a kick straight at Michael's staggered body, sending him flying back into the ground as the arrow broke as it was crushed in-between the ground and Michael's back.
...
Equan, of House Lightning...
Running forward in a sprint, Equan readied his bow again.
He couldn't fight at a range in this fight, Picto was nearly a Paladin himself, meaning he was fast enough to react to arrows...
Equan sidestepped the projectiles that Picto shot at him, quickly charging forward after they passed by.
He pulled his string back swiftly, firing at the general's face point blank.
Equan had to end this quickly, as Gabriel was low on energy and nearing the point where his disease would kill him, and Michael had been injured by Equan's own weapon.
As the arrow whistled through the smoke-filled air, Picto's eyes widened.
Just before they met his skull, a loud crunching noise resounded on the battlefield.
Then the sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the air, as Equan's eyes widened in horror.
An amethyst crystal had grown on Picto's skull, acting as the ultimate protection...
It looked like the most painful thing ever, as his own skin infused with the crystal, mixing in with the gemstones of his own helmet.
Fusing them all into a terrifying mix of flesh, gems, and metal...
Picto let out a terrible laugh that echoed and reverberated throughout the inside of his crystal shell...
Equan took a heavy breath, preparing himself for what could only be the most one-sided fight of his life.
...
Gabriel, of House Envixity...
Rushing forward, he grabbed the crystal-covered general from behind, letting his last bits of energy exit from his every pore.
Pushing his hand into the crystal-infused flesh, he let water drain into crystal, attempting to drown the man who endangered the lives of his friends...