Support my main contracted novel and winner of Writing Prompts #26 - The Legendary Mage!
Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
https://www.webnovel.com/book/12013957905760805/Desolate-Mage%3A-A-Legend-Reborn!
* * * * *
Even as Sam's battle with Sato reignited, Kate Lin, Shiba Tian and Romilda stood in a triangular formation, mutually supporting one another.
Kate stood ready to support from the back while her 2 companions were standing roughly 5m apart. Slowly, they inched forward - while Kate had produced a white-gray streamer with yellow tassels hanging on either side.
The streamer looked aged, perhaps it had originally been white, but now it was more of a full cream colour. On it was written the word "wu" (emptiness/ nothing/ void).
The demoness stood in a slanted stance, angled sideways to the trio. She held the black sword in her left hand and red sword in her right; while her feet were planted wide in an L-shape; a balanced stance equally capable of offence and defence.
One sword was held low in a vertical grip and in front of her left hip, while the other was above her head and pointed forward.
Seeing the streamer, her eyes crinkled slightly, then narrowed again as she relaxedly smiled - yet her muscles were primed and ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Be wary; something's amiss - she's either completely crazy about battle, or she has something up her sleeve." Kate Lin whispered to her companions.
The princess and her butler nodded.
The demoness' eyes flitted to the struggle happening in the distance, near the red portal.
That was the moment Shiba Tian and Romilda struck.
The easterner's approach was direct and forceful, releasing an explosive tiger claw with his right hand.
Helena met his palm strike with her left sword; the tip of the black sword drilling straight at the centre of his palm. Simultaneously she chopped down with her red sword in a graceful yet heavy stroke.
Clang!
Her eyes widened in shock as the butler's mana reinforced palm knocked aside her swords point!
Steeling herself, she decisively continued with her chopping motion, choosing a mutually damaging exchange as her blow would inevitably land first.
"HAH!!" Seeing the Major's determination, Shiba Tian released a shout and intensified his reinforcement, concentrating it around his left shoulder and his right palm.
Just before Helena's chop landed on his neck, her position *shifted* without her moving a muscle. It was as if the ground itself moved her sideways, out of the way of his claw strike - and causing her chop to slice the unprotected portion of his arm and chest.
Shiba Tian bled profusely from the wound, while the demoness performed a quick back flip, dodging Romilda's lightning imbued slash from behind.
"Tch..." Helena clicked her tongue. She had almost managed to cripple the butler... (Just 0.1 seconds more...)
Regardless, she smirked, then licked the blood off her red sword. Shiba Tian did not react, only keeping his guard up while Kate staunched his wound with a warm golden glow of healing light.
"One with the world..." Romilda felt a sense of crisis as the reason for the demoness' confidence was revealed. Similarly, both Kate and Shiba's faced were grave.
There were countless paths to power; mountains beyond the mountains and always someone greater. However, some paths were well recognised; simply because they were truly effective - paths such as weapon mastery.
Once one was skillful enough in their weapon mastery, they would advance through the 10 classified levels: from Beginner to Proficiency, and onwards to Adept, Outstanding, Master, One with the Weapon, Legendary, Titanic, One with the World, Semi-divine and Divine.
The reason it was called "One with the World" was that at that stage; defeating them would be akin to battling the earth; the world itself helping their opponent. Such as the scene that unfolded before their eyes; when the earth shifted the demoness to a position of safety.
It was also the level at which a person would exceed legendary fame; to forge their own myth.
The demoness smiled, standing at ease, then stretched her body and closed her eyes.
"Do you know why I've been so assured...?" She smiled dangerously. "Do you know how I have survived for hundreds of years; and clawed my way up to become a Major in the Burning legion...? Even without any skills or magic?"
She paused; then her eyes flitted open as she spoke with absolute confidence. "I may have no skills, abilities or spells..." Then she brandished her blades fiercely in their direction; then shouted her next words. "But I have never been defeated the moment these blades entered my hands!"
The demoness charged powerfully - away from them - straight for Sam and Sato.
"Haha! Catch me if you can!"
* * * * *
"Stop her!" Kate and Shiba exclaimed in shock. But even as they spoke, Romilda had already moved.
The princess blurred; then disappeared and emerged in the path of the demoness' charge.
Her palms were sweating; her brow furrowed in focus. Against an opponent more than double her level; all her royally conferred high-tiered equipment and runes would not be enough for her to survive a single blow.
She could not afford to make a single mistake.
(Just 3 seconds... I need to stop her for 3 seconds...!)
The demoness swung her red and black swords in unison; relying on raw power to open the way to the portal. Fully concentrated, Romilda held nothing back.
"Space Sword! Cleaving Space!" Her rapier, Mistilteinn, shone blue and white, emitting what looked like small stars. As she swung it, the blade left after-images from the speed but looked like it held no power.
Yet the moment Mistilteinn collided with the demoness' twin swords; Helena felt a sense of weightlessness - like she had hit an unviolable space with her weapons. Then her entire body crashed into the invisible wall of space before her; knocking her back.
2 seconds left.
Yelling in rage, she sidestepped Romilda with circular steps, leaving her in the dust - before a lightning imbued slash caught her on the heel.
It only grazed her; leaving barely a scratch as the princess' blow merely glanced her. But the blade succeeded to slightly pierce her mana reinforcement; causing the lightning to discharge directly onto her skin, slowing her for a tick.
(1 second more!) Romilda gritted her teeth; then used her last trump card.
With reluctance in her eyes, she threw Mistilteinn at the Major. The mythical sword spun through the air; trembled; then the blade portion abruptly shattered; the fragments suspended in the air.
Immediately an otherworldly gravity covered both the demoness and Romilda; sucking them towards the black hole formed where Mistilteinn had exploded.
Major Helena's face had finally changed from her nonchalant smile, to a look of fear and panic. The black hole was too far away to stop her completely; but for a moment, her velocity had been cut to a quarter of her former speed. On the contrary, Romilda who had triggered the attack cried out in pain as she was sucked into the black hole and subjected to injurious levels of gravity; but even then, she was calms as she knew she had fulfilled her duty.
Shiba Tian roared; enraged even further that the princess he had been charged to protect had sacrificed her treasure and placed her life on the line to prevent the imminent disaster.
Kate Lin was close behind, soaring forward on the streamer. She had not been able to find an opening during her comrades close combat with the demoness - and once again had no opportunity to strike when she had dashed away. She was furious; her eyes shooting daggers as she triggered divine purifying flames from the damaged semi-divine treasure.
The flames formed 9 lofty pillars which slammed down around the demoness; releasing golden-white flames that blazed out at her whenever she went too near. Shouting in frustration, she struck the pillars repeatedly with her swords; causing the pillars of flames to dim but not disappear.
She was trapped.
And yet Shiba Tian ran through the flames unharmed as he recognised one of Mount Kunlun's defining treasures, the Nine Exorcist's Celestial Streamer; which wielded mighty flames that only harmed non-humans.
He did not stop as he entered the enclosure of the 9 pillars, but ran headlong at the demoness.
Shiba Tian exuded an imposing aura as he began to burn his inner qi; sacrificing at least 5 years of his qi cultivation permanently; just as his mistress had sacrificed her own strength.
An image of a indomitable stampeding horse with a dragon's head emerged behind him as he galloped forward, leaped; then crossed his arms and defied physics to suddenly descend; stomping downwards at her.
Crying out in fear, Helena once again took an L-shaped stance, then blocked his stomp forcefully.
A crater formed underneath them as she defended against the blow, then slashed out in a counter.
Once again defying gravity, Shiba Tian flipped in the air, gracefully avoiding her blade and landing; then charging forward again.
"Come on! Stop relying on all these tricks!" She implored him even as the distance between them closed swiftly. "I dare you to fight me fairly, my blades against your fists!" She shouted, attempting to provoke him and change her situation.
The butler ignored her cries; unleashing a coiling arm strike; this time producing the image of a 2 headed jade-green serpent above him.
His heart skipped a beat as the demoness' panicked look disappeared.
"Black." The moment Major Helena, the Trickster Succubus spoke those words; inky darkness flooded out from her black sword; enveloping the area within the pillars - swallowing up even the flames and light.
(Red) She mentally commanded. In the darkness, Helena rotated to Shiba Tian's left - her right - as flames erupted from her red sword.
Then she struck down at the blinded and defenseless cultivator in front her.
"!!??!"
And she collapsed from a fist sized hole in her chest; pierced by the flying sword that shot from behind the man's back.
* * * * *
[Time remaining until Demon Duke's summoning: 3 seconds. Portal HP: 23%]