POV of Lucian Voltier (Captain of the Kingsmen of the Star):
"Look out!" Winsten cried out, running to our aid. We looked up to see the golem towering over us.
I jumped back as the golem pummeled through the stage with a fierce punch. The ground underneath shattered into many pieces and a strong burst of wind followed in its wake.
Damn it, I thought. No matter how many times we keep dismantling it, it just keeps coming back.
My eyes widened as the golem lifted its fist from the ground. Evya's body lay crushed against the ground in a pool of her own blood. Her face was a bloody mess and her dark blonde hair was stained red.
"Evya!" Devold called out at the top of his lungs. I could hear murmurs from the rest of the Kingsmen as well.
"Evya..." Giselle whined.
"Damn it," Winsten mumbled.
My skin itched with every urge to give in to a boiling anger. I landed, clenching my fists and planting my feet into the ground. Now's not the time, I thought to myself. Remain in control. Memories, I wish nothing more than to be erased from my mind resurfaced. Remember, I thought, my body tensing more. The images of hundreds of bodies flashed across my mind. Pools of blood ran across the battlefield, tainting it with death. I took a deep breath, remembering where I was currently. I could feel my body easing slightly. The anger still dwelled in the back of my mind.
"Evya!" Devold called out again, hoping for a response. He ran blindly across the broken stage to her. Reaching her, he huddled next to her body, cradling her in his arms. The golem stood over them, raising his foot.
"Devold!" our squad mates called out.
Devold raised his head to see the golem's foot dropping above him. For a split second, he froze. In the next moment, he had risen from the ground and punched the golem, shattering its foot to the ankle. His body language had changed. It radiated a blood-lusted confidence. He was more eager, engulfed in rage.
Large rocks fell over him, enough to crush him. I hurried over to him, throwing slashes of light at the rocks. They broke down into more pieces until each of them turned into pebbles or dissolved into dust.
"Captain!" Winsten called out.
I looked up to see the golem airborne, ready to pounce on us. Standing my ground, I looked it in its face. The magic dwelling inside of me exploded out into my right hand, forming a lance. I cocked my arm back and threw it as hard as I could. Striking the golem, it pierced straight through its head.
I rolled away as the golem landed, continuing its attack as if nothing happened. Devold had managed to barely dodge the attack. I swept myself off the ground, sliced my hand through the air, and launched a wave of light at it. The attack split the golem in half. I panted.
I turned to walk away when I heard a rumbling sound of stone rolling together. I looked back. The golem was mending itself back together from its upper half.
"Won't you just die already?" I mumbled.
The golem began lifting itself off the floor. I started walking to it, holding my head down as I approached.
"Usually, I'd advise against this type of reckless behavior…" I spoke. "Kingsmen prepare for Heaven's Stardust."
"H-heaven's Stardust," one of them repeated. "But sir, that'd level the area."
"That's the point," I said. "I'll hold it off."
The golem looked at me. Its eyes beamed violently with a purple bloodlust. It swung its arm across its torso as I approached. Jumping into the air, I dodged the punch. I landed on top of its arm and began running up it. The golem frowned at me. Its eyes lit up and unleashed two purple beams of destruction.
"Combination Magic!"
My eyes widened as the beams approached. Barely dodging them, I slipped off of the golem's arm and began falling. The beams struck its arm and destroyed it. Without catching a moment to breathe, I found myself staring at the golem's fist.
Damn it, I thought. It's faster now. I threw my arms up, preparing to take the full brunt of the attack.
The attack knocked me back, sending me flying several feet. Quickly, I landed and recovered. An aching sensation shot down my arms as they fell to a brief dangle in front of my body. I ignored it and thrusted my arm up.
"Heaven's—" I forced the word out.
"Stardust!" All of us shouted, throwing our hands down at the golem.
Oblivious to its impending demise, the golem kept walking toward us. A glimmer appeared in the sky, lighting the crimson nightmare up briefly. Then a large beam of light struck the golem before consuming everything in the area in a large explosion.
***
POV of Aaref Fayeworth:
What the hell? I thought, watching the wound close itself. A regeneration spell? I wondered. No. It can't be. He has no mana... or is he hiding his mana? A wave of concern washed over me. The thought itself was chilling. He's unlike anybody else I've ever faced, and if I keep battling with him at the rate my reserves are draining, I'll lose.
A sparkle in the distance caught my eye as a bright flash of light in the maroon sky interrupted my thought.
"Heaven's Stardust..." I said, recognizing the light of such an attack. I reminded myself of the battle in front of me and redirected my eyes back at the cloaked man. His eyes were also drawn to the flash cities over.
"I see," he said to himself. "I guess my time here is up," he announced.
I hastily channeled my mana into my hand. The formless energy swirled around until I shot it forward at the man. He smiled, holding his hand up to block the attack. The blast exploded, tearing off the man's hand.
He looked at his hand. His eyes expanded a bit and his eyebrows rose. The smile on his face grew weary for a moment but it prevailed as his wound closed in and sprouted a new hand.
"Neat trick," he said. "Impressive actually. It's been a while since someone was capable of injuring me so effortlessly." He brushed off his shoulders and down his wrists before letting out a small yawn. "I've never seen a mage with acceleration magic. The ability itself sounds quite useless, honestly," he pressed his fist against the side of his chin and cracked his neck before rolling his neck over to the other side, cracking it again. "But in the hands of a mage like you, I can see how this ability could be so devastating."
He stuck back out the hand that had regenerated, studying it and flipping it around. Balling one fist at a time, he proceeded to crack his knuckles.
"Westyn," he called out. The elf raised his head, struggling as he did it. "damnatio sanguinis libidinis!"
The elf's eyes expanded, nearly bulging out of their eye sockets. He stuttered and muttered, growing increasingly loud with every sound. His body began to twitch and convulse. Blood gushed down his mouth and eyes.
"No-no-no-no-no!" he yelped. "P-please!"
He let out a horrific scream, one that seemed to rise from the depths of hell and cry out to the heavens. The bleeding stopped; the sclera of his eyes turned black. Small veins shot out from his pupils and across his sclera.
He began to get up, struggling, at first, to lift himself off the ground. His arms dangled in front of him and he had a slight slouch in his posture. The wounds inflicted on him from earlier seemed not to bother them; they bled no more or restricted him from walking toward us. I could sense an immediate danger looming over us. A bloodlust separated from vengeance or a specific individual, but a bloodlust hungry for victims.