The air trembled with tension.
Angela's greatsword pressed against the jagged cleaver of the first ork, their clash ringing like a cathedral bell struck by lightning. Sparks showered in the dark forest. Their strength rippled through the earth, roots cracked, pebbles rattled, leaves fell like rain.
Selvara darted past, a streak of silver, her short blades catching moonlight. She lunged at the second ork, her movements precise, predatory, each step storing momentum for the next. Her target snarled, swinging his cleaver broadside to intercept.
Steel screamed.
The shockwave sent Selvara skidding back across blood-slick earth, boots gouging furrows.
The second ork laughed, voice guttural and cruel. "Fast bitch. But speed won't cut thick hide."
Selvara said nothing, only flicked blood off her blade with a sharp twist. Her silver eyes narrowed.
Angela bared her teeth, crimson hair falling across her cheek. "Hide tears when the sword doesn't stop." She shoved forward.
The ork she faced snarled, muscles bulging. "Stonebreaker!"
Mana surged around him, black and red, foul-smelling like rot. His cleaver glowed with cracks of crimson light. With a roar, he swung downward.
Angela twisted just enough. The blade hit earth.
The ground erupted.
Soil blasted upward in a geyser, shards of rock tearing into trees. The tremor made Angela stumble back, her armor ringing as stones clanged off. The crater where the cleaver landed smoked, glowing faintly as if magma had been exposed.
Angela spat on the ground, hefting her greatsword. "Good swing. Waste of effort if you miss."
The ork grinned, tusks gleaming. "I won't miss again."
Selvara darted sideways, twin swords slashing for the second ork's legs. He reacted slower than his partner, but when he moved, his power was terrifying.
He stomped.
"Rend Pulse!"
A wave of force exploded from the impact. It wasn't fire, wasn't lightning, it was raw concussive mana. The pulse expanded in a circle, shattering branches, toppling weaker trees. Selvara was thrown back mid-dash, spinning through the air.
She twisted her body, using Momentum Shift. The energy of her flight was stored and burst into her next stride. She landed with predatory grace, dashing immediately forward.
Her blades sang.
She slashed upward across the ork's chest. Sparks and blood flew.
The ork howled, staggering a step back, hand clutching the cut that didn't pierce deep enough. His yellow eyes blazed. "Little insect!"
Selvara's veins glowed blue. Lightning Veins activated. Sparks danced across her forearms and neck, running down her swords. Her attack speed surged.
The ork blinked. Her afterimage blurred.
She was suddenly at his side. Her blade cut into his thigh.
Then at his back, her second sword stabbed under his shoulder blade.
Then in front again, slicing across his face.
Three strikes, in less than a second.
The ork reeled, roaring in pain, blood spraying across his tusks. He swung wildly, but Selvara was already gone, zig-zagging with unnatural rhythm.
The first ork pressed harder against Angela. Both of them fought like two titans smashing mountains together. His cleaver glowed faintly again as he tried to channel mana for another Stonebreaker, but Angela didn't let him.
She slammed her shoulder into him.
The collision was like a battering ram.
The ork staggered.
Angela's greatsword swung up in a brutal arc, catching him across the ribs. His armor cracked, blood spurting from a deep gash.
He coughed, tusks flecked red, but laughed anyway. "Strong woman! I like you! I'll break you slower!"
Angela sneered. "Try."
She pressed in, every swing wide, heavy, meant to kill. The ground quaked with each clash.
Selvara danced circles around her ork. He was slower, but his ability made him dangerous.
He stomped again.
"Rend Pulse!"
The shockwave roared outward. Selvara dashed sideways, but even her enhanced speed wasn't enough. The edge of the blast caught her. Blood burst from her lips as she was flung into a tree. The trunk cracked, bark splitting.
She groaned, staggering to her feet. Her silver eyes burned brighter.
The ork grinned, wiping blood from his chest wound. "You're fast, but you bleed. All things bleed."
Selvara exhaled, controlled. Lightning Veins surged harder, sparks burning against her armor. She spoke, voice low, calm. "And all things die."
Her body blurred.
She appeared behind him, stabbing both blades into the back of his knees.
He roared, dropping to one leg. She leapt, kicking off his shoulder, spinning in the air. Both swords carved across his back in a brutal X.
Blood sprayed.
The ork stumbled, bellowing. He swung upward blindly, forcing her to retreat.
Angela drove her opponent back toward the cave mouth. Each of her swings left deep furrows in the earth.
The ork raised his cleaver high. "Stonebreaker!"
Angela didn't give him the chance to strike the ground. She lunged forward, meeting him mid-swing.
Her greatsword collided with his cleaver midair. For a moment, both weapons locked, mana snarling between them. Angela roared, muscles bulging under her armor, every ounce of strength channeled.
The ork's eyes widened. His cleaver cracked.
Then shattered.
The greatsword cut through his chest, splitting flesh and armor. He screamed, stumbling backward, blood pouring.
Angela advanced. "Fall already."
She swung again.
The ork raised his arm in desperation. Her blade cleaved it off at the elbow. The limb fell to the dirt.
He howled, staggering, but didn't fall.
Angela's respect flickered, just faintly, in her gaze. "Tough bastard."
Then she decapitated him.
The body toppled. Blood fountained.
Angela stood over it, chest heaving, her armor painted crimson. She raised her blade, pointing it at the remaining ork. "One down."
Selvara's opponent froze for a moment, rage and fear flickering in his eyes. His ally was gone. Only one remained.
He snarled, lifting his cleaver with both hands, ignoring the blood pouring down his legs. His spirit flared, mana crackling like dark fire.
"You won't take me like that. I'll crush you both!"
He stomped with both feet.
The forest shook. "Rend Pulse Overdrive!"
A shockwave three times larger than before ripped outward. Trees exploded into splinters. The ground cratered. Rocks cracked and shot outward like shrapnel.
Selvara dashed sideways, too slow. The wave caught her full in the chest.
She screamed, blood spraying, body tumbling across the ground. She coughed, ribs screaming in agony, vision swimming.
Angela's eyes widened. "Selvara!"
The ork staggered forward, cleaver raised. He looked down at her, bleeding and broken. He sneered. "Fast bitch slowed down."
He raised the blade.
Before it could fall, Angela crashed into him.
Their collision shook the trees. Angela roared, slamming her armored fist into his face. Bone cracked. She swung her greatsword one-handed, carving a deep gash across his chest.
The ork roared, swinging back, his cleaver grazing her armor, denting steel. Angela grunted, but didn't falter.
Selvara staggered to her knees, coughing blood. She tried to stand, but her body screamed.
Loid's voice whispered in her mind, faint but firm: Stay alive. I'll make you stronger.
Her silver eyes hardened. She clenched her swords.
Angela shouted, straining against the ork's strength. "Silver! Get up! This one's ours!"
Selvara forced herself to stand. Lightning Veins flared one last time, sparks tearing across her skin. Her muscles screamed, mana nearly gone, but she moved.
She blurred behind the ork.
Her blades stabbed into his back, piercing his lungs.
He howled, staggering, trying to turn.
Angela roared, bringing her greatsword down.
The blade split his chest, cleaving him nearly in half.
The ork collapsed, twitching, blood soaking the dirt.
Silence.
Only the crackle of distant burning trees and the drip of blood broke the air.
Angela panted, resting her sword on her shoulder. She turned to Selvara, who leaned on her blades like crutches. "You're reckless."
Selvara's lips twitched faintly. "And you're loud."
For a moment, they just breathed together.