The air feels thick with tension, each molecule saturated with the raw energy of our auras. Knox flips mid-air, landing gracefully on his feet like some sort of supernatural gymnast. "Alright, cook, let's get a bit more serious, shall we?"
"Oh, are you done warming up?" I retort, massaging my abdomen where his previous punch landed. Dammit, I'm going to have to cook again cause of these bastards.
"Though this is fun, I need to hurry up and end this," Knox says, a hint of urgency coloring his voice. Before I can even formulate a response, he's suddenly in front of me, a fist aimed at my gut. The hit connects, sending me hurtling into a nearby wall with such force that I can feel the stones crack behind my back.
"Don't take it personally, alright?" Knox turns his back, clearly ready to rejoin the larger battle. Did he just think he's knocked me out? Oh, no no no, you ain't gonna be able to do that unless you go all out.
Groaning, I push myself off the wall, grinding my teeth against the surging pain. The air is gritty with the scent of sweat and magic. I shoot Knox a scathing look. Dammit, I let my guard down for a slight second.
Knox turns, his eyebrow arching in clear surprise. "Haha, did you think that would knock me out?" I laugh through gritted teeth. Tsk, this bastard. No one hits as hard as Lysandra, you dick. Ugh, it's a good thing physical attacks don't hurt me much.
Seeing my resilience, Knox's face breaks into a grin. "Looks like we're not done here." And then he's rushing toward me again, a tiger eager for the kill. But I've had enough surprises for one day.
The moment Knox closes in, I concentrate my aura into my palms. Just as his fist hurtles towards my face, I deflect it with an open palm, channeling my energy to disperse the force of his attack. The sensation is akin to slapping away a speeding rock; not a pleasant experience, but far better than getting hit head-on. The sound of our contact reverberates through the hallway like a gunshot. Knox's eyes widen for a fraction of a second, long enough for me to know he didn't expect that.
-
Knox sighs, clenching his fists. The tattoos on his arms start to glow a soft, consistent light. He takes a moment to rub his neck, as though working out a kink before speaking. "Hmm... you see, we were paid to ensure you lost the competition. Death isn't really the objective, but they did emphasize ending it quickly."
Shit. This is going to hurt like a bitch.
Though V didn't outwardly show it, he discreetly began turning Umbra into a part of his clothing. Little by little, the weapon seamlessly melted into his attire.
Taking a couple of steps back to maintain distance, V eyed Knox warily. But Knox, seeing this as a sign of weakness, grinned wider than ever and charged forward. He blends his martial arts techniques with the raw power of his glowing tattoos and with a swift motion, sent V flying back.
Landing hard on the ground, V coughs, feeling the sting of that last hit. "Damn tattoos… They amplify his abilities. He nearly shattered my bone." He thought.
Knox sauntered over, the arrogance dripping from every word. "Hahaha, don't feel bad about losing, cook. It was inevitable."
V flashes a grin, standing up once more, and brushing off the dust from his attire. "Tsk tsk tsk, this is what happens when you play around."
V takes a deep breath and leaps several feet back, calling out loudly, "Regroup!"
At that command, Isabella, with chains of lightning buzzing around her, halts her aggressive assault on Zephyr. "You're pathetic Zephyr, you're worse than a commoner." She taunts. Zephyr, breathing heavily, retorts with a voice seething with anger, "I'll kill you today Isabella, Everything's your fault! Deny it all you want, but I'm going to kill you."
Isabella simply rolls her eyes, making a strategic move to distance herself from Zephyr. Using her chains of lightning, she bars Zephyr's approach and swiftly makes her way back to V, her face clouded with annoyance.
Rai is not faring well against Calder, who laughs boisterously as he swings his massive greatsword in wide arcs. "What's the matter? Not so confident when someone matches your speed?" Calder jibes.
Rai spits out, frustrated, "How the hell am I supposed to get close when you swing that damn blade like a windmill!?" Without waiting for a response, he sprints towards V's direction. Calder, about to pursue, gets interrupted by something, making him pause in his tracks.
Luna, looking both fierce and disgusted, dragged a sobbing Sylvie by her hair. Sylvie's voice is hoarse from crying, "I-Im sorry, please don't hurt me, I-I won't do it again." But Luna shows no mercy, as she hurriedly moves to join V and the others.
In the distance, a terrified Arin dashes wildly with Lyra in pursuit, her voice filled with unhinged sweetness. "You're just a fucking insect, you pathetic excuse of a human. You're better off dead. Stop running you piece of crap, no even crap has a purpose, you're nothing, DIE."
Arin screams out in desperation, "Help me, Rai! She's insane!"
But as Arin gets closer to the group, Lyra halts, she stands smiling with a sweet warm look on her face.
-
Lysandra is sent flying through the air, crashing next to us with enough force to create a small crater on the ground. She lays there, blinking languidly. "Oh nooo... It hurts so much, please help me," she says, her tone dripping with unmistakable boredom.
I roll my eyes. "You don't have to act anymore." Is she bored with this fight? Did she just let Quinn launch her here out of sheer tedium?
Quinn lands with a thud next to Knox, clearly agitated. With a flick of her wrist, she hurls a knife in my direction, which I catch effortlessly between my fingers. "What the hell is she?" Quinn seethes, glaring at Lysandra. "My damn daggers broke when I tried stabbing her. What the fuck?"
All eyes shift toward Lysandra, who's laying on the ground with an expression of utter apathy. But before we can make another move, Isabella is the first to act. Flicking her wrists, she conjures several luminescent barriers around us. I barely have time to register the glowing encasement when a torrent of flames attacks from all sides.
With a muffled explosion, the barriers burst into shards of light, dissipating the fire but sending plumes of dust and ash into the air. I cough, wiping my eyes as I try to clear my vision.
"Damn, why does everyone have to make such a grand entrance?" I mutter under my breath, annoyed. "Is it really that hard to just walk up and say 'yo' before attacking?"
As the dust clears, I finally get a look at the newcomers, the ones who seem hell-bent on burning down the entire world just to make an entrance. The leader—or at least the one who unleashed that fiery onslaught—stands there swathed in crimson robes. Her amulet, a silver masterpiece shaped like a flame, glimmers in the aftermath of her magical pyrotechnics.
She pushes her hair back, a self-satisfied smile stretching across her face. It's not the self-important grin of a celebrity, but rather the delighted expression of a child who's just pulled off a magic trick and is waiting for applause. I can't help but be both irked and intrigued. Finally I've been waiting for this group to appear.
"What's your deal?" Knox asks, his voice tinged with exasperation.
She crosses her arms, eyes shining with an odd mixture of defiance and glee. "Hmph, hahahahaha! I am here to beat you all up. You're in my way."
Knox raises an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed, just as the tension spikes to a whole new level. Calder appears like a wraith behind the fiery woman, his massive sword raised for a skull-splitting blow. Her eyes go wide as she shrieks, "Eeekkk!"
In a heart-stopping instant, another figure manifests beside her. With tanned skin and wavy dark hair, he's agile enough to block Calder's devastating swing just in the nick of time, sending him stumbling back with an invisible force.
"Dammit Cassie! Why do you keep running off by yourself!?" the newcomer admonishes, hopping up to bonk the woman on the head—she's a bit taller than him.
She pouts, puffing her cheeks in indignant irritation. "I—I didn't do it! You guys are the ones leaving me behind! I end up having to look for you all!"
He rubs his forehead as if nursing the early stages of a tension headache. "Why are you messing around with others?"
Calder, apparently not one to back down from a challenge, persists in striking at the dark-haired man. Every swing of Calder's massive sword is effortlessly parried by Orion, who blocks each assault with a mixture of fluid grace and raw power. It's as if he's participating in some sort of martial dance, his movements a seamless blend of art and combat. And through it all, Orion maintains eye contact with the fiery girl, who is still pouting.
"I just wanted to come by this way. I thought I smelled something good," she finally replies, her voice a mixture of sulking and petulance.
Orion raises an eyebrow at her. "Something good?" With an effortless flick of his wrist, he puts a little extra force into his next parry, sending Calder stumbling back.
"Enough, Calder. You can't beat him," Knox interjects, his voice laced with a rare authority. He steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Orion. Oh this is gonna be good, man do I have any popcorn? Let me check...
"Oi, how you doing, Orion?" Knox greets.
Orion glances up, meeting Knox's gaze with a mixture of surprise and acknowledgment. "Ah, it's you, Knox. I don't really feel like fighting, but now that I think about it, we've been too busy looking for this one," he says, jumping up to lightly bop the fiery girl on the head. "And we have no sigils, so you can hand them over, or we can fight. You remember what happened last time, right?"
Knox laughs heartily, sitting down on a nearby rock as if he's at a casual get-together. "Hahaha, oh man, what a day. We're both on par; stop bullshitting."
At that moment, the rest of Orion's team finally arrives, and all of them seem to be pissed at Cassia. Orion smirks, "That may be true, but can your team match mine?"
The girl in crimson robes rolls her eyes at Orion's bravado before turning her penetrating gaze toward us. We need to get out of here, but will they let us? Although Knox's team is in in-between we can't move this way.
Lysandra finally gets up from her languid sprawl, brushing dust off her clothes as if she's just endured a minor inconvenience. Quinn resharpens her broken daggers with a mutter of irritation. Isabella stands ready, her fingers dancing in complex patterns that I know are preparatory movements for her most potent spells.
Yawning, I turn to Isabella and the others. "We're not fighting, so stop casting already." The words are out of my mouth before I even think about them, the urgency behind them tinged with frustration.
Isabella halts mid-gesture, her fingers frozen in the complex tapestry of an incantation. A ripple of ambient magic fades into the air like a dying breath.
Luna, looking equally annoyed, finally releases Sylvie's hair. Sylvie darts toward Quinn with the relief of a bird set free.
Dammit, I don't have any popcorn. This would've been the perfect time.
My train of thought derails as Lysandra saunters over, her bored eyes meeting mine. "I'm hungry," she says, as if she's announcing the weather.
My fist clenches involuntarily. You damn bastard! You already ate my food!