Now I don't need to worry about her...
Silently, Theo raised his sword, casting multiple Praesidium spells. Light flared at his feet as thick layers of barrier magic formed around him, glowing with radiant energy.
From the cracks beneath the earth, Eyril burst forth. charging up the walls with savage speed. Gripping his blade tight, he swung three times in rapid succession, sending sharp aura slashes slicing toward Theo.
Still airborne, Theo met each strike with swift, fluid slashes . matching Eyril's assault beat for beat. Then, like a falling star, he plummeted to the ground.
Eyril lunged towards him, their blades colliding in a clash that birthed a shockwave. so fierce it uprooted the nearby trees.
Theo smashed into the ground from the impact, sliding through the dirt ankle-deep, while Eyril landed smoothly nearby.
Without pause, Theo broke into a sprint, crashing into Eyril as steel met steel again.
Theo and Eyril clashed . steel against steel, echoing sharp through the clearing. Without pause, they lunged at each other, slashing and weaving across the field.
The ravine Eyril had carved earlier split the earth behind them, at least ten meters wide . a jagged wound in the ground.
They leapt over it mid-strike, blades colliding in the air. Sparks burst from each clash.
Feet hit the ground . only to push off again. Slash after slash, movement after movement, they carved a path of chaos through the field, their figures a blur of motion and steel.
Their clash rippled across the clearing.
Theo glanced down at his sword . visibly cracked. Without hesitation, he hurled it aside and lunged forward, fists clenched..
Caught off guard, Eyril raised his blade just in time as Theo began hammering at the same spot, fists crashing down again and again.
SMASH after SMASH echoed through the clearing as Theo kept at it . relentless, furious.
Eyril, distracted by the onslaught, didn't see the blow coming.
With a sudden burst of motion, Theo landed a ferocious kick . fast and clean . straight into Eyril's liver.
The impact sent Eyril flying.
He gasped in pain, his body tumbling across the field, bouncing hard against the earth before smashing through the treeline.
Trees shattered like matchsticks. Dozens . no, hundreds . fell in his wake before he finally came to a crashing stop deep in the forest.
Dust and bark fell around him as he sat up, brushing off the dirt.
"Ridiculous…" he muttered, breathing hard.
"This durability… it reminds me of someone..."
Just as he steadied himself, a crow landed beside him . to his right. Its feathers were grizzled and patchy, clearly decomposing. A pale worm squirmed near its neck, half-buried in rotting flesh as the bird pecked at it without care.
Its eyes were dull and clouded . yet they blinked in perfect rhythm, staring into him as it spoke in a sharp, deep voice:
"Enough with the games. Get away from there. Abandon what you're doing and return to Station A."
Without pause, Eyril answered,
"Yes, Father Oshen."
Standing, he plunged his feet into the ground, preparing to retreat . as Theo flew in, hovering over the ground, Crashing into Eyril's shins and catching him off guard.
The impact of Theo's attack sent Eyril into a spinning motion above the ground. With each second, the number of spins increased by the hundreds.
Crashing into the ground, he was launched back into the air, flying at tremendous speed, still spinning.
Running across the clearing after Eyril, he shouted toward him,
"I've heard everything . clear and well!"
"You don't get to retreat after hurting our Young Lady Luna!
"Prepare to meet your end here!"
Eyril heard his words and clicked what was left of his tongue.
…
From afar, as the knights were evacuating everyone and everything from the vicinity, they made a run . Vinn holding the unconscious, now healed Luna.
Mitch stayed behind and shouted to his men,
"Go with the Lady now! I'll stay for the Captain!"
His men affirmed in one long shout,
"Yes!"
They fled . to protect their lady. Otherwise, it would be a criminal offense.
Mitch, turning back, saw Theo ditch his sword for fists. The waves of wind were strong . like the hurricane he had once experienced in childhood, when he lived in Ravenport, the biggest port city in the Empire, close to the academy.
Mesmerized, he watched as his captain landed a kick, sending Eyril flying, smashing into trees, tearing them as if they were paper.
In his eyes, it affirmed their status . his and his captain's.
Chuckling in surprise, he murmured,
"I'd never reach this inhumane level…"