Eyril stood in the slashed area, staring at Theo.
Theo stared back.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Theo asked in a calm voice.
"..."
That was Eyril's answer.
"So be it."
With a firm grip, Theo slashed clean through the air, aura trailing behind his blade.
Theo's distant slash came first, but Eyril parried and answered with a cleaving blow aimed at the bridge beneath him.
As it crumbled, he leapt backward, dodging the collapsing structure.
Theo glanced one last time at Eyril,
But he was nowhere to be found.
Then, from the darkness above, Eyril descended with a powerful slash, utterly unconcerned about his surroundings. The blade carved through the ravine, slicing it apart.
The sheer force of the strike evaporated nearly half the ravine into ash, turning the air thick, nearly unbreathable.
The ground convulsed. Cracks split the ravine's walls as stone and roots fell like brittle bones.
Theo, unfazed by the now-predictable attack, countered with countless swings from every direction.
Eyril blocked each one.
Their duel raged across the bridge, each strike decimating the terrain around them, until finally, the bridge gave out.
As it collapsed, Theo jumped upward, slashing three times in the shape of an X and once more with a horizontal line between them.
Sharp bluish blades of aura flew toward Eyril.
Sensing danger, Theo gritted his teeth, tightened his grip, and swung with all his might.
The moment the attack flew, Theo accelerated downward, dodging Eyril's returning strike that carved upward.
The blow tore through stone, granite, gravel, dirt,
Even the roots and ancient ruins.
It collided with such force that it evaporated the entire structure.
,
"What is this…!?"
Mitch raised his hand sharply, barking the order:
"Everyone, on command!"
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Turning back to Mr. Venn, Mitch shouted,
"Evacuate Lady Luna! Right now, sir!"
Another earthquake struck.
Even stronger.
Sweat dripped down Mitch's face as distant ruins trembled. Chunks of brick began to collapse from the ruined walls.
Then,
Silence.
A deafening stillness.
And then it struck again.
Twice as hard.
People struggled to stay upright as the ground cracked open, swallowing the ruins whole.
A pressure, sharp and unnatural, tore the sky open, rending the clouds in two.
Everything in its path, evaporated into ash.
A massive hole remained where the ruins once stood.
At least a hundred meters of ground had vanished.
Mitch looked up as realization dawned.
Ash snowed from above, falling like the remains of something turned to dust.
The clouds, once heavy and grey, were simply… gone.
"What… was that?!" Mitch exclaimed, fear lacing his voice.
The knights behind him were disoriented, unaware of what had just happened.
Yet they stood in formation, silent, unmoving.
Not because they were fearless.
But because they didn't understand.
They had come here ready to lay their lives on the line.
…
Falling down, Theo was horrified by the sheer ferocity of Eyril's attack.
His cape fluttered in the wind, the plume on his helmet swaying gently. The moonlight poured from the clear sky above, casting down on him like an angel descending from the heavens.
Eyril caught sight of it, and fury flared in his eyes.
Again… holy bastards… he grit his teeth, the thought seething in his mind.
Sweat streamed beneath his porcelain mask, fast and heavy, like blood from a wound torn wide open.
With a single, explosive squat, he launched himself forward, blazing toward Theo at furious speed. He slashed relentlessly as Theo fell, his strikes a blur of steel.
Sensing danger, Theo twisted midair. His sword swung in sweeping arcs, meeting each blow with unmatched dexterity. His durability held, almost.
One strike pierced through, shattering the edge of his Aura Armor into ash.
"Fuck…" Theo hissed, forearms twitching from the force. He lashed out with a desperate swing, blasting himself out of Eyril's immediate reach.
"No rest for you," Eyril snarled, his gurgling voice thick with venom.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Theo again, swinging upward.
Theo's body was launched into the air, ricocheting off every wall of the cavernous shaft.
"AGH, AAHG!"
Theo's groans echoed as he slammed against granite, stone, gravel, roots, hundreds of impacts in the span of seconds, until he burst through the ceiling, back to the surface.
Eyril stood below, watching the trajectory with a faint smile. Through the cracked right side of his mask, muscles tensed, barely visible beneath the porcelain.
Theo crashed through rock and dirt, flying high into the air. From above, he saw the devastation wrought by Eyril's wrath, raw, destructive power scarring the earth.
And then,
In the distance, he saw them.
His knights.
Evacuating Luna from the battlefield.
A breathless chuckle escaped his lips. He glanced toward the ravine.
At least… I can be sure that you're safe.