*Crack!
Blistering heat filled the air around—as sparks flew wildly across the battlefield, Mezra under relentless assault from every angle.
*Clang! *Clang! *Tzzz!
Each attack she parried with practiced, fluid movements of her sword.
She ducked under a fierce strike from the left,
*Thunk!
immediately parrying another blow from the right.
Without pause, she flicked her wrist, summoning a massive pillar of flame that shot upward, intercepting a beast lunging down at her from high above.
Mezra moved with sharp precision, wasting nothing. She knew that even a single wrong move would cost her life.
Three of the beasts leaped backward before each one duplicated itself, splitting into a dozen copies that charged straight toward Mezra, blades gleaming and extended.
"Mhm." Mezra hummed.
Without hesitation, Mezra drove her sword into the ground, pulsing her eidra deep into the earth.
*Crack *CRACK!
Cracks split across the battlefield, glowing molten red,
*BOOM!
before erupting into towering pillars of crimson flame around her.
The eruption wiped out almost all of the duplicates in an instant, and the few that remained, Mezra cut down herself with swift, merciless strikes.
Continuing its assault, one of the beasts plunged both of its arm blades deep into the ground, releasing massive spikes of pure black eidra that shot toward Mezra with deadly speed.
Forced to react, Mezra leapt upward—high in the air, but the other two beasts immediately followed, following after her in midair to strike.
Sensing the danger, Mezra gathered eidra at the soles of her feet and released an instantaneous burst of flames, propelling herself even higher into the air—just enough to narrowly evade the vicious attacks of the two pursuing beasts.
Using her momentum, Mezra propelled herself just enough to position directly above the beast that was still relentlessly firing spikes toward her.
Without wasting a breath, she wrapped eidra tightly around her sword and launched herself downward, aiming straight for the beast below.
She burned through the air like a meteor, and when she struck, the impact echoed with a resounding bang.
*BANG!
Her sword pierced clean through the beast's abdomen, pinning it to the ground.
*Skreee!!!
The beast squirmed violently, but Mezra drove her blade even deeper,
*Squelch...Boom!
unleashing an eruption of flames from within.
The fire consumed the creature from the inside out, its visceral screams tearing through the battlefield before it finally fell silent.
"That's one," Mezra muttered, her eyes already shifting toward the next target.
She quickly yanked her sword free, swinging it in time to release a wave of searing flame toward the two beasts already leaping at her.
But the beasts dodged with ease, blinking through the air and closing the distance in an instant.
"Tch!" Mezra clicked her tongue as she raised her sword to defend.
*Clang!
Mezra parried the first strike, her blade catching the beast's attack, and tried to leap backward to evade the second.
*Crunch!
"Argh!" Mezra cried out in pain.
The beast she had struck earlier had not died—it had only been pretending.
With a sudden surge of strength, it crushed her ankle in its grasp, rooting her in place and leaving her vulnerable.
The beast's second attack came within mere inches of cutting Mezra clean in half—but at the last moment, she enveloped herself in flames, hoping to lessen the impact.
*BANG!
The strike landed with a deafening bang, cleaving through Mezra's left arm and severing it completely.
The force of the blow hurled her several meters away, her flame arena vanishing as she crashed to the ground.
Her left arm was gone, blood spilling out, and her right ankle remained crushed, throbbing with unbearable pain.
"Huff... huff...!" Mezra panted heavily, her eyeglasses cracked and broken as she glared up at the three beasts stalking toward her, their eyes burning with pure killing intent.
"I have one thing left—you bastards!" Mezra shouted, her voice hoarse, as she pointed her blade toward her stomach, the weapon crackling with crimson flames.
She prepared to unleash her final move—but suddenly paused, catching sight of a crimson spark falling from the heavens.
A thunderous bang echoed as something landed heavily in front of her, scattering dust across the battlefield.
The figure's crimson hair flowed in the air, her cape fluttering behind her, twin swords gleaming in her hands.
Mezra's eyes widened—then narrowed sharply.
"Aren't you a bit late," Mezra said as the figure turned her head slightly toward her.
"Elder sister?" Mezra added, her voice trembling between disbelief and relief.
*Crack... *Bzzzt!
Venedix's swords crackled with electric energy as she answered nonchalantly.
"You rest—this will be finished shortly," Venedix said, her gaze fixed on the beasts ahead.
*ROAR!!!
Three of the beasts roared, their cries shaking the air as they faced the overwhelming pressure of Venedix's aura...
their very eidra shuddering against it.
They could feel it deep within their cores.
This person was powerful.
Too powerful.
Yet before they could even react or strike first,
*Bang!
Venedix blinked forward with a resounding bang, crimson lightning crackling violently in her wake.
In one fluid motion, she cleaved a beast clean in half with both of her swords, the two halves of the body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Without losing momentum, she twisted her body, snapping her legs around—
*Crack!
as she slammed her heel into the ankle of another beast—shattering it with a brutal crack.
*Skreee!!!
"Do you feel it—you pest?" said Venedix, her voice sharp, cold, and heavy with wrath.
Another beast howled in fury and lunged at her, aiming to strike with all its force—yet Venedix effortlessly caught its attack with a single blade, wielded with only one of her hands.
The beast froze, trembling, as an unfamiliar sensation gripped its core—true fear.
Never in it's life before—had it felt such complete domination from a mortal.
Without a moment's pause, Venedix drove her second sword deep into the beast's chest, burying it to the hilt.
*Crack *Boom!
Crimson lightning burst from within the creature, surging violently as it convulsed and shrieked in agony.
"Weak," Venedix muttered coldly, her glare looking down on the beast in front of her.
She yanked her blade free with a harsh pull, then delivered a brutal kick, sending the beast crashing backward.
This was the true strength of Venedix—the unmatched power of Zerafhon's most fearsome battlemaster.
She was Venedix Sorellia—the Sword of the Empire.