The Revenant had just entered the safe zone.
Lucius and Julius had no time for idle chatter.
Instead, Lucius kept his eyes wary.
Julius whispered through the constraints of his primal fear.
"Its wing is disintegrating... slowly."
Lucius nodded slowly.
The wing on the Revenant was indeed slowly burning down. It had a few minutes at most before it would be nothing more than ashes on the ground.
Just as Julius had assumed that the Revenant would forever remain stagnant with its body split over the boundaries of corruption and cleansing, it vanished.
Lucius' body swerved around inhumanly, predicting exactly where the Revenant had apparated to.
His sword moved swifter than his arm and before Julius could even process another thought the blade of Lucius scraped the Revenant and a wave of slushy black rose into the air before falling grimly.
The Revenant which stood dumbfounded right behind Lucius had to take a few moments to register that it had just been slashed in the chest exactly how it had slashed Grit.
Lucius sent his blade down again, not wasting a speck of momentum. The Revenant looked on blankly before raising its right arm sturdily.
Dong.
An impact occurred. Lucius' blade could not cut through the hard black plates that had wrapped themselves around the Revenant's left arm.
Julius had already dove into the battle, his spear drove forwards alongside himself.
Lucius received a blue screen before his eyes with several dangerous messages.
Just as Julius was about to send his spear through the Revenant's head, Lucius did an unexpected move.
"Wind Blast."
He muttered the majestic words.
He put an arm in front of Julius.
In no more than a second the two were blasted back by a powerful force of wind.
And in that very same moment, a flamethrower of devilish violet flames roared out of the Revenant's now open helmet.
It soared onto the ground before vanishing into nothing. It seemed to have more spiritual offensive than actual physical prowess.
Julius and Lucius quickly picked themselves back up and tightened their fighting stances. Lucius spoke rapidly in order to assist their end of the battle.
"The Revenant is adapting to being on human soil. Its chest armor hadn't fully solidified when I attacked. We need to strike now or it's over for us."
Julius nodded, his eyes burning from the concentration that was flowing in his mind.
The Revenant swung his sword behind his back, preparing to unleash a lethal sword blow.
Julius was confused. The revenant was too far away to strike-.
"DUCK."
Julius heard Lucius' voice and his legs gave in instantly, avoiding his last mistake of not following Lucius' orders.
Soon, an inky-black long sword swooshed over the heads of both Lucius and Julius. The Revenant had swung over just where their necks had been.
Julius used the weak position of the Revenant to strike.
"Rugh."
Painful grumbles released from his mouth.
His spear slid into the chest of the Revenant but it got stuck in between the black plates that acted as armor. Julius could only try to force it around but found his efforts futile.
The Revenant smashed its right hand down sending the spear crashing to the ground, Julius kept his grip no matter the cost.
The Revenant attempted to release another one of its violet flamethrowers but Lucius was prepared.
"Light Seal."
A magic circle of light restrained the violet flames building up in its mouth for a few moments.
Julius and Lucius dived to their respective left and rights.
Soon the violet flames came pouring down but with no offerings present.
Julius realized that the battle was only going to go downhill from there. The Revenant had adapted to the land outside the corruption and seemed to have found a way to slow the disintegration of its wing.
Julius' eyes darted across its solemn body.
'It's eye holes. I need to jab this spear through them.'
Lucius and Julius charged both sides of the Revenant.
Julius aimed for the eye but found the blade of the Revenant coming his way. Reluctantly, Julius backed off, staying just out of the range of the disastrous black longsword. It missed his chest by an inch.
Lucius used the opportunity to go straight for the beheadal.
Shing.
The Revenant used its abnormal sickening reflexes to shift its blade in the path of Lucius' goals. Lucius knew he would lose in a contest of strength but he kept trying to force his blade through the Revenant's blade.
The Revenant's eyes lit up, it was ecstatic and sensed the end of Lucius in no more than 3 seconds-.
"Light impalement."
A blinding construct of a shining sword formed behind the Revenant, it struck without warning and clashed with the Revenant's back armor.
The Revenant was so close to ending Lucius but had no choice other than to just kick Lucius away.
Distressed, the Revenant launched its right foot forwards, sending Lucius flying back.
Lucius hit a tree and let out some painful gasps. His eyes widened from the crashing emotions in his mind.
Consequently, the sword construct of light impaled the Revenant, soundly sliding through its back. It then stuck there unable to do anymore to aid Lucius.
The Revenant was still moving and had only gotten more powerful.
It aimed a violet flamethrower at Lucius.
Julius shot into its vision.
Julius' mind swooped into his actions.
'This is my chance.'
Instead of aiming for the eyes, Julius shoved his spear straight down the gaping mouth of the Revenant, the flames being built up imploded softly and scorched the inside of its mouth.
Julius went for a spear thrust but the Revenant had already vanished.
The Revenant apparated 10 meters behind itself from an instinctual reflex to the pain that was destroying its innards.
Lucius stood back up and sprinted, his feet wincing with pain from every tingle and pang.
He didn't look at Julius as he spoke to him for his eyes eerily followed the Revenant.
"I'll make an opening for you. Pierce its chest. If not then I'll have to use my last resort."
Julius breathed out measuredly.
"Sure."
The Revenant's eyes whirred darkly, reeking killing intent all over the two boys.
It apparated again, a sword swing half set. Lucius met its attack fondly, driving his own sword into the Revenant's. The two clashed and Julius looked for a chance.
And that chance came right on time.
"Light Seal."
A seal consumed the entire body of the Revenant sticking it in place. The seal flickered, showing its weakness.
Julius charged in, his silver spear had begun glowing a faint fairy-like blue.
His system whispered into his ears mystically.
{Secret Ability of the Fourth In Line's Spear Activating...}
{Heaven Parter.}
Julius felt like the world had been devoured by his spear, that he could easily eliminate the Revenant before him and the entire village for all that was well.
His arm felt insanely tingly. As if it was full of all the rushing bubbles in the ocean.
But that feeling vanished into the air shallowly and Julius' spear started rattling oddly.
{Required Mana 1500... Conditions not met, Current Mana 500}
{Imploding built up Mana.}
Boom.
An invisible explosive collision occurred. Julius' spear was an inch away from the Revenant when an invisible force imploded, blasting Lucius, the Revenant, and Julius backward.
The light seal cracked and gave in instantly.
Julius cursed.
His system emotionlessly formatted information into his mind.
{Player's Current Mana 457/500}
It seemed that was the only way Julius could've ever hoped to spend a mana point.
Julius didn't have time to brood over the missed opportunity since the Revenant was already picking itself back up. It had almost been pushed over the edge, into the corruption zone. Its wing had just reached a quarter of its prior size.
It had settled into a kneeling position pathetically. It was at death's door. The light sword was still smoothly stuck straight through its chest.
Without warning, Lucius sprinted towards the Revenant his blade by his side. He gritted his teeth as he painfully yelled his next ability.
"EXCALIBUR."
His blade manifested into a 1-to-1 light construct of itself. Soon the light blazed and a larger version of its previous form appeared.
Lucius had gotten in swinging range of the weakened Revenant.
He brought the sword carried by both his arms swinging right aiming for another clean beheading.
Wisp.
The light vanished as if a thumb had smudged it into the air. The blade returned to its normal self effortlessly.
Lucius stood with his unpowered blade unable to crack through the Revenant's hard neck plates.
He had run out of mana at the critical moment.
Lucius' eyes nervously scanned his situation.
He sighed under his breath.
"That's why I didn't want to..."
"Urgh."
He groaned as he pushed his blade harder and harder into the neck of the Revenant.
"Use that ability..."
The Revenant shifted its head shakily preparing to release another violet flamethrower. It looked as though the combination of attacks had temporarily disabled its legs giving both Lucius and Julius an opportunity.
Lucius squinted at the Revenant that was hastily preparing another Violet-flame thrower.
"I pity you."
The Revenant's hypnotic purple eyes widened. Its wing fizzled down even further. Barely hanging on it would die within the next 10 seconds but Lucius had no knowledge of such an event.
Lucius let out a wry grin.
"Excalibur."
His blade was submerged in holy blazing light. It shone out into every corner of the Revenant. Like molten lava, his blade melted through the Revenant's neck until the head of the Revenant came clean off.
The Revenant's body gave in and hit the ground.
Lucius fell to the ground.
Julius ran over.
"Are you alright-."
Lucius' cheeks were bulging.
Julius held him up, putting him on his knees.
"Lucius how can I help-."
Lucius let loose a bath of blood that had built up in his mouth into the healthy soil below.
Lucius chuckled whilst wiping blood off the area around his mouth away.
"Heh. Just a bit of mana over-use."
Julius held up Lucius steadily.
"How did you even have that much mana?"
Lucius looked up modestly.
"I just used a skill. A very detrimental one at that."
Before Julius knew it, his shaking legs gave in.
He fell to the floor.
Julius gasped, unknowing of how tired he actually was.
"What the..."
Julius panted.
"Why am I so tired?"
Lucius raised his eyebrows.
"Anyone would be tired from releasing raw mana straight through your arm as the transferer."
The two looked up at the sky weakly.
Julius whistled poorly. His eyes felt like they were being sucked in by the starless black sky. The moon and its botched-up state sympathized with the boys.
"Well isn't this one day to be alive."
It felt hollow knowing that he was alive when any of the attacks in the fight could've been his end.
But here he was.
Still slipping around.