"No time to be captivated by their talent, Balki, you might just lose your life!" Valon shouted.
After hearing Valon's words, Balki smiled darkly once again.
In a swift motion he suddenly retracted the strength in each of his aspects, throwing Xaryus and Zadius' weapons to the side.
Before Valon could re-enter the fray, Balki had already front kicked Xaryus, sending him flying across the ground like a pebble.
He then easily dodged another blow from Zadius' insidious daggers.
As the shadowy blade moved past him, he could sense a strange and alarming aura from it but it was not threatening.
Valon was the threat; so Balki had to remove all distractions.
In another motion he slammed his foot into Zadius' side.
The blow knocked all the wind out of Zadius' body and sent him flying out the clearing and into the dense forest.
With the nuisances gone, Balki spun around and pushed his aspects to meet Valon's. Sparks flew and Balki's feet sunk into the ground from Valon's powerful strike.
"I am surprised at the quality of your gifts, Valon."
Balki was sure that Xaryus and Zadius had to be talented because there was no other reason that Smiling Blade would bring them under his wing.
But he did not expect them to be so competent, they had only awakened a few years ago so they should still be inept rank awakened.
Valon's blade slid down the edges of Balki's aspects and down towards the ground.
In the next moment he quickly rolled out the way towards Rosaly, avoiding the fiery blades aimed at his neck.
Upon regaining his footing, he grasped Rosaly in his arm and threw her away from the violent battle.
Valon then allowed his ability to consume even more animus and directed all his killing intent towards Balki.
Valon's intent was so strong that Balki's focus had instinctively centered itself on him.
Even if he would never admit it, Valon was still a lethal opponent.
Any awakened with the level of experience that Valon had was a force to be reckoned with. However, Balki's error was thinking that Valon was the only major threat.
In that small moment where his senses were flushed by Valon's palpable killing intent, he missed something.
Another murderous intent quietly hidden beneath Valon's.
Looking into the clearing, Balki saw Xaryus standing a way away with his hand extended and a mass of light-like energy already barreling towards him.
Gritting his teeth Balki swung his aspects though the air, meeting Xaryus' [Solaris] with frightening speed.
The ability erupted in a mass of light and destructive energy.
Taking the opportunity, Xaryus swiftly dashed towards Balki. Noticing that his focus was split between him and his true target; Valon.
"Should I just kill those two boys? No, the elders are expecting them. What a hassle…"
Balki was losing his patience, he had intended to have some fun before he dispatched Valon, but he didn't expect the young boys to put up a fight.
His mind raced on how to deal with the two awakened rushing at him…
…But where was the third?
Where was the young boy that had abilities attributed to the shadows?
A sudden sense of danger ran through Balki's body.
He couldn't sense any connections with Law in the direction he kicked Zadius, nor could he sense any irregular flows of animus.
He couldn't sense anything at all, but he felt it… A sliver of killing intent.
One that didn't come from Valon or the young light-attributed awakened.
He glanced behind himself for a moment, fighting against all the instincts that screamed to keep his eyes on Valon.
Turning to look back, his eyes widened at what was quickly approaching him; only a metre away from him was a mass of coalesced shadows...
"Is that an ability? No, I can't sense any animus flowing through it!? What is that!"
Strangely enough, the mass of shadows approaching him had no detectable traces of animus. But there was killing intent, and that was enough for Balki to make a decision.
However, his initial surprise had provided his attackers with vital time to advance.
Balki launched his flaming dagger towards the centre of the shadowy mass and as the serrated blade approached the strange entity the shadows slowly receded.
The coalesced shadows were no longer held together by their prince's authority and returned to their inanimate nature, revealing their young lord.
Zadius had positioned himself away from the masses centre, hoping that it would be Balki's initial target.
Without enough time to feel relieved that he was not impaled, he gathered the retreating shadows around his long daggers and brought them down unto Balki's arm.
Balki's armour was an advanced grade aspect, so he had no worries about Zadius' attack finding purchase, especially since he did not wield an aspect.
The armour wasn't made with defensive enchantments but with his animus flowing through it, it was still very durable.
However, its durability was not enough.
As Zadius' insidious shadows came into contact with Balki's armour they began to eat away at it like a hungry beast. Zadius had cut through Balki's armour and into his flesh.
"I thought I would've taken his arm off, that aspect is trouble. Plus, my animus is dwindling!" Zadius thought.
Not giving Balki enough time to process how he cut through his defensive aspect, Zadius pushed off the ground and drove both of his daggers towards Balki's throat.
Balki had enough time to deflect Zadius' attack, but he could sense that Valon and Xaryus were already launching their own attacks from behind.
If he was to stop Zadius' insidious shadows, he would have to bear the burden of taking a blow from Valon and Xaryus' [Solaris] infused weapon.
If his armouring aspect had held defensive enchantments, he would have taken such a gamble.
But it did not, it was only inscribed with an offensive enchantment…
"Enough!"
Balki released a powerful roar and sent a surge of animus into his armouring aspect.
The moment before his assailant's deadly attacks had even touched his armour, the dark metal suddenly began to glow a bright red and erupted into a massive explosion.
The force of the attack had destroyed a large swath of the clearing, eviscerating the grass around Balki and leaving a charred crater in the ground.
Xaryus was thrown back into the clearing, slamming into the massive boulder at its centre. He had received a plethora of burns and the force he was thrown with had left a net of cracks across the large rock.
If not for him quickly bolstering his [Solar Augment] with [Solaris], he would have been burnt to a crisp instead.
Zadius on the other hand was a bit luckier.
Seeing Balki's armour flush red, he had tried to call as much shadows as he could to his aid and fueled them with the last of his animus.
Feeding on it, they became more palpable and partially shielded him against the massive explosion.
But he too suffered some burns.
Balki now stood on his lonesome at the centre of the newly formed crater. The nearest swath of underbrush and the trees near him were charred from the powerful explosion.
Faint flickers of fire still remained and the dust from the explosion slowly began to settle.
But there was too much smoke, their location was compromised.
Balki had spent a lot of animus to use his armour's runic enchant. He fueled it with enough power to kill an adept rank awakened yet no one in the clearing had fallen to his attack.
Not even the young Lionheart…
There was no time to curse at his opponent's luck however, because Smiling Blade was close.
Suddenly, the dust and smoke parted around the vibrant mist that encased Smiling Blade's body. He had only sustained minor bruises at best, and his [Empowering Mist] ability was still brimming with power.
"You never cease to amaze me, Smiling Blade!"
Balki roared in excitement and dashed towards Valon; there was no way he could leave that clearing without his head.
Their aspects screamed once more as they clashed into one another.
The battle raged on and all Rosaly and the young brothers could do was wait and see who the victor would be. The sour feeling of defeat had nestled itself in their hearts.
***
Off in the distance, a lone figure soared across the moonlit sky just above the dense canopy of the forest.
The figure was encased in wind and dressed in simple clothes beneath an intricate yet breathable set of silver armour.
A long red cloak adorned with the sigil of a golden lion violently flowed behind him in the billowing wind.
The figure's brown, curly hair had long been ruined because of the strong breeze and his handsome face was revealed by the stark moonlight.
His jade green eyes were filled with worry and a hint of fear.
The man was starting to become doubtful…
What if he wasn't able to find her?
What if she's already dead?
A feeling of dread gripped his heart but was washed away by the sound of an explosion that reverberated across the forest.
The figure landed atop a towering tree and froze for a moment as he watched a massive cloud of dust and smoke rise into the air.
A wave of relief washed over him at the thought of finally getting a clue about the Princess' whereabouts. Yet a tsunami of wrath filled his body as he thought about finding the bastards that dared to lay their hands on a Lionheart.
Quickly, the figure shot forward from the tree, completely destroying its upper half.
The man soared through the air propelled by controlled bursts of wind. His worried gaze now filled with determination and anticipation.
{Velmo Atreus, The Jade Tempest and 3rd Vassal of Lionheart}