Theo stood beneath the dim light that spilled over him, his expression cold.
"The memory I recalled… It brightened my mood. But you, still breathing here, have sullied it."
He stepped forward, his voice steady.
"Surrender. If you turn yourself in now, you might avoid capital punishment."
As his boots scraped against the stone floor, Theo's sword flared, light rippling as Aura Armor wrapped his frame in a ghostly glow.
Then, with a single hard step, Theo vanished from Eyril's sight.
Eyril's eyes darted right. Instinctively, he swung his thin blade, only to clash with Theo's strike. Sparks erupted between their swords as Theo pressed forward in a relentless onslaught, each swing charged to the brink of his strength.
Eyril held his ground, barely blocking the ferocious attacks. He couldn't find a single opening to counter.
Gritting his teeth, Eyril poured every ounce of strength into his next move. With a forceful shove, he sent Theo sliding across the slick ground. Seizing the moment, Eyril leapt back, his blade cutting a wide horizontal arc.
The slash tore through the air, slicing walls clean in his vision. But Theo blocked, his feet skidding as cracks splintered the ground beneath him.
A beat later, everything in the path of Eyril's attack disintegrated into ash. The earth trembled violently as huge portions of the underground facility collapsed around them.
Theo's eyes narrowed, his voice tight.
"You really intend to drag me into the grave with you?"
Eyril's breathing came ragged, his voice hoarse yet defiant.
"Try me. I won't leave my lady alone."
So… everything he slashes turns to ash. I don't fully understand how, but…
I'll need an extra layer of defense between me and his blade.
Theo surged forward, holding his sword low, his side exposed as he murmured an incantation.
"Praesidium."
A faint veil of light shimmered around him, a hastily conjured barrier stitched together from various elements.
Charging at Eyril, Theo unleashed a storm of strikes, cutting through the air with a final powerful slash that sent Eyril staggering back. But Eyril anticipated it. He swung his sword upward in a vicious arc, hurling Theo through crumbling upper floors as the lowest floor gave way entirely.
"I can't have you dead yet," Eyril rasped, his voice guttural, almost gurgling.
He leapt after Theo, tracing his path with unnerving precision, strikes raining down without pause
Theo, caught off guard, countered midair. Their blades clashed in a deafening shockwave as they smashed through another wall, finally coming to a halt in the library.
Confusion flickered across Theo's face.
Why hasn't my barrier spell broken yet?
Is it conditional? Or does he choose when to trigger it?
His thoughts were cut short as Eyril appeared in the jagged breach of the wall, his tattered cloak whipping violently in the rushing air that followed them.
Eyril plucked a book from the rubble, fingers tracing its spine.
"You came here… destroying everything." Eyril tore the page free with a sickening rip.
"We are just existing here, not bothering anyone."
His voice gurgled, barely human, yet steady with power. Another page tore free under his fingers.
"We just want to fulfill our insignificant goal," said Eyril as he violently ripped out another page.
"Yet you all don't understand the importance of it all."
He tore another page, the sound sharp in the heavy air.
"Not only will it bring prosperity to us, but to you as well."
Eyril squeezed the pages he'd ripped, and they crumbled into ash in his hand.
"Think of the greatness it would bring."
He ripped the cover from the book, holding the remaining pages tightly.
"Peace. Stability. Happiness."
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the cover to Theo's feet and turned the rest of the book into ash.
"You could write history all over again, bringing everything to prosperity," he said calmly.
"By what? It's not worth it if you use those means to fulfill your goal," Theo protested, his voice edged with reason.
"Sacrificing children. Burning adults alive. Using humanoids as breeding stock… despicable."
Theo spoke with disgust, lament heavy in his tone.
"Is this what the peace, stability, and happiness you speak of cost?
"Everyone would rise from their seats in protest, shouting, 'This is madness!'"
"Your reasons for this are as insignificant as your goal is. Thus, I cannot allow you to live any longer."
Theo's aura flared, intensifying around his body and his sword.
"Is that so?" said Eyril, disappointment lacing his voice.
"Your blind eyes to the results are truly saddening."
"Then, I won't hold back either."
Eyril's blade surged with mana, flooding the room in blinding light.
"Prepare yourself, then," he said in an emotionless voice.