Time slowed down as Oreon's body lurched forward against Vexes's punch. His fist buried itself deep into Oreon's midsection as a wide smirk appeared on his face.
"GAH!" Oreon's eyes were wide open as all the air was forced from his lungs. Then, with a hard push, Vexes launched Oreon through several buildings, watching as Oreon's body pierced each one before slamming into the last building, causing it to crumble on top of him.
Vexes stood there, his breathing stable, his body looking as if he had taken no damage from Oreon's previous onslaught. He let out an exhale and watched as the dust settled around the debris where Oreon had crashed. "And there it is. The inevitable conclusion." He turned his head slightly to face the trio, but his eyes landed on Meara. "What do you think…Keeper?" His layered sigils crossed over his pupils as the dark aura swirled around his body.
"…You damn monster." Meara gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing at the power that surrounded Vexes. "How much corruption did the Order give you?" Meara questioned.
"Corruption? No, Keeper. Corruption was in the place I used to call home. That corruption was extinguished the moment the Order evolved me." To emphasize, Vexes flexed his power, a large gust of wind forcing not only Celestia and Sylvanie to cross their arms over their faces to shield themselves, but Meara as well, using the bow to slightly guard against the wind that Vexes produced.
"Bastard!" Sylvanie growled. "He was holding back the entire time!"
Celestia kept her arms over her face, gritting her teeth as well. "His power…It's leaps beyond what it was before! There's no way the Order could have given someone like this that much power!"
"…A layered blessing." Meara kept her eyes narrowed. "The Order must have really seen something in you to give you that much power." She nocked her bow and aimed it at Vexes. "Such a shame,"
Meanwhile, Yvonne leaped down, landing beside Divia, her eyes locked on Vexes in awe. "Did he just…Did Vexes use his blessing?" Her body trembled slightly. "It's…it's different from ours."
Divia stood there with her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she watched the spectacle unfold. "Different doesn't even begin to describe it…" She muttered. "The Order doesn't just hand out layered blessings to anyone. You must prove yourself worthy—repeatedly, leave no shred of doubt that you believe in their cause." She explained, thinking to herself. "Vexes, how long have you been siding with the Order?"
Back at the battlefield, Vexes brushed some dust off his torn robes as if he'd just finished a light sparring session. "Well then, I think it's time that we wrap this up. Keeper. Once I dispose of you and the princesses, we will take what we came for. The boy and the shard." He stated it as if it were a simple task.
However, a small smirk spread across Meara's lips. "Your overconfidence was always your downfall, dark elf. You talk as if you've already won this little skirmish of ours." The emerald energy began wrapping around her arrow. 'You still haven't shown this old lady a good time."
"Hmm…" Vexes tilted his head for a moment. "Very well, Keeper." Vexes stepped forward. "Let's make this your last stand and finally put that old body of yours to rest." Vexes walked forward with confidence. "Yvonne, Divia…I'll leave the fallen princesses to you." He said without looking back.
"With pleasure…" Divia took a step forward, her claws extending as she growled at Celestia.
"Let's wrap this up, Sylvie. After this is over, you'll thank me." Yvonne's wheel blades started spinning in her hands. "I promise…things will go back to the way they used to be." She narrowed her eyes.
Sylvanie scoffed, finally standing up on her own feet, her scythe appearing as she stuck her hand out with a slight twirl. "You hear that, sister?" She slightly glanced over at Celestia. "They think that just because they got us the first time, that we're going to lose."
"How disappointing for them," Celestia replied softly, golden light pulsing between her fingertips as it slowly began to cover her body, healing herself thanks to the slight rest that she had as they watched Oreon fight.
"The only thing disappointing is that the hope you two held in keeping your freedom is about to be drowned out in tears," Divia claimed. "This is the last time you two ever oppose the Order!" Divia charged forward, claws reaching out with Yvonne following behind her.
Sylvanie's eyes began to glow again as she readied herself. "Looks like we're going to have quite the dance on our hands."
Celestia's light magic illuminated with determination as it began to coat her sister, as Sylvanie's shadow magic began to do the same in return. "Then let us show them how the daughters of Vel'Andria dance."
Standing in front of them, keeping her arrow pointed as she continued to glare at the Vexes, who stood behind as both Yvonne and Divia charged forward.
"It's been quite some time since I fought beside Vel'Andria's best," Meara stated, her fingers getting ready to release her arrow. "Make sure you two make your mother proud." She declared as she released the arrow covered in emerald energy as it flew between both Yvonne and Divia, heading straight towards Vexes.
The arrow drew close and collided with Vexes, creating a small explosion that created a gust of wind as both Celestia and Sylvanie moved towards both Yvonne and Divia.
Blades clashed as both Sylvanie and Yvonne clashed once again. On the other side, Celestia leaped out of Divia's claws as she tried to slash her.
The dust, because of the explosion, quickly dispersed as Vexes waved his hand as Meara leaped upward towards the top of a building, nocking another arrow shrouded in Emerald energy.
Vexes watched her ascend with his layered sigils in his pupils, spinning slowly. "You've stood for too long, Keeper. "He raised his curved blade, dark energy coiling around it. "It's time for you to fall with the rest of your kind!"
Meara didn't respond with words—instead, she released three arrows in rapid succession, each one splitting mid-flight into dozens of small projectiles that rained down on Vexes resembling an emerald rainfall.
Vexes, however, charged forward with his blade, slicing and deflecting each arrow that came his way. "You'll have to do better than that, Keeper!" Vexes shouted as he pushed forward, quickly appearing in front of Meara with his blade raised over his head, his shadow towering over her as he brought it down with force.
However, Meara leaped out of the way as the sheer strength of Vexes's attack crushed the small building that Meara was standing on, and Meara's feet landed on another building, quickly aiming her arrow.
"EKLANOS!" She fired.
The arrow erupted from her bow with explosive force, trailing like an emerald comet as it screamed toward Vexes.
Vexes's eyes widened slightly, but then slowly narrowed as a small smirk appeared on his face as he drew his arm back and sliced the blast in half and charged towards Meara.
"Tch— " Meara's eyes narrowed as she watched as Vexes cut through her attack like it was nothing. Nevertheless, she didn't have time to nock another arrow. Vexes was already upon her, his blade carving downward in a deadly arc. Meara twisted her body sharply, using her bow to deflect the strike at the last possible moment—but the force behind it was monstrous.
The impact sent vibrations rattling through her bones, and she felt her feet skid backward across the rooftop. "Ghh--!" Her teeth clenched as she dug her heels in, barely managing to stay upright.
Vexes didn't give her a moment to recover. He pressed forward relentlessly, his blade blurring as he swung, unleashing a flurry of strikes. Each swing was faster than the last, each one heavier, more brutal. Meara ducked, parried, sidestepped—until the last swipe as Vexes swung in a backhand motion, the force sending Meara through a wall, coming out through the other side, back flipping onto another building, breathing heavily.
"He's not just strong…He's evolved beyond what I anticipated." She gritted her teeth.
"Getting tired, old woman?" Vexes taunted, casually making his way towards the edge of the building, from which he knocked Meara off.
"Not even close," Meara shot back, though her breathing was noticeably heavier now. She straightened herself, aiming another arrow as the emerald-colored energy began to surround it. "You've gotten stronger, I'll give you that…but strength alone won't win this fight."
Vexes chuckled darkly, his sigils still slowly spinning in his pupils. "Is that so?" He tilted his head mockingly. "Then show me, Keeper. Show me what centuries of experience in a mere human body can do against the power of evolution."
Meanwhile, Sylvanie and Yvonne clashed again, scythe meeting spinning blades in a shower of sparks as their auras bounced off each other with each strike, bouncing all over the square.
Their blades crossed one another, Yvonne's wheel blades hammering down as Sylvanie tried to defend herself with what little magic she had left.
"Why are you making this so difficult!" She tried to hit Sylvanie with a horizontal slash, but the purple-haired dark elf jumped back out of its reach and tried a vertical slash of her own. Still, Yvonne side-stepped into a spin and her heel connected with the side of Sylvanie's head, sending her shooting into the ground, creating a small crater on impact.
"The human has lost, it's over, Sylvanie. Stop this senseless fighting and join us already!" She screamed. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Oh, shut it." Sylvanie groaned as she slowly pushed herself up from the crater, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "I'm about sick of hearing you talk." She stood up, twirling her scythe and getting back into her fighting stance. "Now you're spouting nonsense about hurting me." She glared at her. "Don't you think you've already did when you decided to turn your back on me!" She charged forward, slashing and swinging her scythe in every direction she could.
Yvonne gritted her teeth, spinning her wheel blades defensively as they collided and parried against each of Sylvanie's strikes. Each impact sent sparks flying between them.
"I didn't turn my back on you!" She shouted back, parrying another blow. "I made a choice—a choice for our future! Your future!"
"My future!?!" Sylvanie snarled as she swung as hard as she could, bringing her scythe down overhead, causing Yvonne to block with her weapons. Still, the sheer impact alone sent Yvonne crashing into the ground with the same force as Sylvanie had previously. "You mean the future where I'm a slave again!' Sylvanie charged forward, throwing her scythe towards Yvonne's downed body, who quickly moved out of the way as the blade pierced the ground where she was lying.
"Where my sister and I are nothing but trophies for those self-righteous bastards?!" Sylvanie quickly landed beside her scythe and, without breaking stride, grabbed the handle with one hand and followed through with another swing, sending a purple energy-based arc towards Yvonne.
Yvonne rolled to the side, barely dodging the arc of dark energy that carved through the building that was her. She planted her foot, pushing off hard as she closed the distance between them once more.
"Dammit, Sylvie, just listen to me!" Yvonne drew in closer.
"You don't get to call me that anymore!" Sylvanie met her halfway.
Their weapons clashed once more in an explosion of magic and steel. Sylvanie's scythe locked against Yvonne's spinning blades, both women pushing against each other with everything they had. Their faces were merely inches apart now, eyes blazing with emotion—anger, betrayal, desperation.
"Sylvanie, I'm really trying here." Yvonne pushed forward, backing Sylvanie up. "But you're really starting to test my patience!" Yvonne broke the deadlock and drove her foot hard into Sylvanie's stomach, sending the dark elf flying back, colliding with another building wall.
Sylvanie gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs, her back slamming against the stone wall hard enough to crack it. She slumped forward slightly, coughing as she struggled to catch her breath. Her vision blurred for a moment—but quickly refocused as Yvonne stood in front of her.
"I'm getting really sick and tired of repeating myself, Sylvie." Yvonne stared down at her. "You've always been stubborn, but now isn't the time for your childish antics." She watched as Sylvanie struggled to her feet. "This isn't a battle you can win, Sylvie. It's time for you to see reality for what it really is."
Sylvanie coughed, spitting blood onto the ground beneath her. Her entire body screamed in protest, but she forced herself upright anyway, using her scythe as support. Her violet hair clung to her face, damp with sweat and dust.
"Childish…?" She rasped, lifting her eyes to meet Yvonne's. "You really don't get it…Do you?" Her eyes narrowed. "Such a delusional bitch…we've become."
Yvonne's expression hardened at those words. "I'm…Delusional?" She took a step forward, her wheel blades humming with energy. "Says the one clinging to a dead kingdom and a false hope that some human boy could actually stand against the Order!"
"At least I'm not deluding myself into thinking slavery is freedom!" Sylvanie shot back, straightening despite the pain coursing through her body. Dark energy began to swirl around her scythe once more, though noticeably weaker than before. "You really believe they'll treat us as equals? That we'll be anything more than pets on a leash?"
"Better a pet with purpose than a corpse with pride?" Yvonne gritted her teeth. "I'm trying to save you, you stubborn fool! Can't you see that?!"
"Save me?' Sylvanie let out a bitter laugh that turned into a cough. "You want to 'save' me by dragging me back to the same chains we escaped from?' She wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand. "Some savior you are."
On the other side of the battlefield, Celestia ducked under another swipe from Divia's claws, golden light trailing her hands as she created a brief wall to absorb another swipe, sending her skidding backwards against the street.
Celestia's breathing was measured but strained, her golden magic flickering slightly as exhaustion began to creep in. Divia, on the other hand, looked barely winded—her bestial features twisted into a predatory grin as she circled the elven princess like a wolf stalking its prey.
"You're barely putting up a fight, princess." Divia taunted, her claws gleaming off the sunlight. "How much longer do you think you can keep this up?" Her tongue slithered out of her mouth, licking her lips as Celestia tried to remain calm.
Celestia steadied her breathing. "As long as I need to," She replied softly. "Say what you will, Divia. But I will not stand down against you, nor the order." She readied herself again. "It's only been a few days, but I refuse to let you take away the little freedom we regained." She readied herself, hands fully illuminated now as her eyes squinted at the walking gargoyle/elf abomination.