The Devil, possibly insulted, responded with a flurry of magma straight at Endyr's face. She sidestepped a second before contact, pulsing Mana through her legs for speed and appearing in front of the Devil. She swung the blade downwards with all her strength, the Devil choosing to avoid blocking and also dodging. He then thrust at her side, aiming to hit her while the inertia kept her off balance. Unfortunately for him, Endyr was as abnormal as they get.
Her muscles visibly expanded and her skin stretched as Endyr forced more Mana through her veins, ignoring the complaints of her body to reverse her swing and meet the Devil's blow head on. The resulting clash nearly blew them both back, as Endyr's shadow blade warped and caved in at the point of contact. The Devil's weapon fared little better: the shaft, composed of molten rock and steel, cracked and splintered. Yet neither party paused, each swinging again unhindered. The Devil infused Nether in his axe this time, causing his weapon to sizzle and degrade as the Mana making it up was eaten away. Endyr responded by splitting the shadow blade, parting it to both sides. As a result, the axe fell between both sides and was captured when Endyr reformed the blade.
The Nether squirmed like it was alive, hissing violently. Endyr paid no mind to her evaporating blade, forcing the tip towards the Devil's throat with a gleeful smile. She had missed the rush of battle, and the thrill of slaying worthy foes. While she usually preferred crushing numerous smaller foes, gutting one in single combat was also a hobby of hers.
Seeing his weapon was stuck, the Devil decisively abandoned his hold on it and grabbed Endyr's incoming sword with his scaled hand. The act drew several rivets of blood, but Endyr's momentum stalled and, as she saw the shadows strain against the Devil's grip, she was forced to unsolidify her blade, releasing the axe as a consequence. It broke into ash and smoke upon hitting the ground, transforming into Mana and swiftly reforming itself in the Devil's hand. Endyr repaired her own blade, the to cautiously watching each other.
Or at least, the Devil did. Endyr knew that she would win in a battle of attrition, and the Devil seemed to release that too. Or maybe he wanted to escape before the Auction Guards showed up, since his men were unlikely to last much longer, if they were alive at all.
"Damn monster" he cursed, his wings flaring up behind him. Endyr didn't point out the irony, merely watching him with cold eyes. The Devil's Mana churned, his Nether withdrawn for his next attack. His wings pulsed a dark orange, Endyr's eyes flickering to them in a brief moment of distraction-
Ting-!
Endyr blocked the thin blade of silver steel that nearly pierced her eye, the broadside of her zweihander making an effective shield. Yet a dozen more blades, each about three fingers thick, shot towards her from all directions. The Devil somehow managed to fire attacks from places other than his position, and Endyr realized it was from utilizing the Metal Mana in the air. Using "wild" Mana rather than what was in your body was inefficient, but it also allowed you to control the flow of the battlefield, and Endyr was unable to advance as more and more needles tried to pierce her. She couldn't block the ones coming from behind, but her shadow suit absorbed most of the damage. The blunt impact was still felt however, causing her mood to worsen.
Endyr was a simple person-or Denizen: she enjoyed fights, but only when she was winning. Getting pelted like this was rapidly draining her interest, so Endyr decided to shake things up. Expanding her Mana Vision, she focused on the pooling blood of the deceased Devils and, all in one go, sent it flying towards her target.
He reacted with surprising composure, but the attack had still caught him off guard and the incessant flurry of metal blades ceased. Endyr seized this chance to stomp forward, swinging her weapon at the Devil's waist like she intended to cut him in half. The sight of a petite and fair maiden swing around what looked like a a giant hunk of black metal twice her size would have been comical if the Devil had been a spectator, but unfortunately, he was the one bearing the full brunt of the image. As she flew forward, Endyr manipulated the blood wave to form a curtain around the Devil, trapping him in place.
Blood Ascenders had a nasty condition that their strength depended on the quality of blood used in their attacks. This meant they were amongst the weakest in the early Tiers, but scaled exceptionally well in the late game. This was why most Vampires preferred to use Nether and Darkness instead of their Blood Affinity. Endyr was using the blood of several Grandmaster Devils however, meaning she had excellent ingredients.
Seeing that he was trapped, the Devil coated himself in as many layers of Metal, Magma and Nether as he could, stacking defenses to preserve his life. Breaking through the blood curtain would take too long, so he was forced to take Endyr's blow straight on, which wasn't the worst outcome either since Metal was amongst the sturdiest Elements. Unfortunately for this Devil, his foe was none other than Endyr. Seeing her target wrap himself in armor, Endyr manipulated her own, sending her shadow cloak to support her sword instead. As the gigantic blade neared his head, Endyr opened her mouth and spat out a word:
"Death!"
For a single moment, time seemed to stop and reality stuttered. The Devil watched with wide eyes as he felt his ears pop, followed by a deluge of blood spurting out his facial orifices. His multiple layers of protection crumbled into nothing in an instant, leaving his body bare and exposed. The next instant time resumed, and the sound barrier shattered as Endyr swung her zweihander down with a ferocious grin. The blade struck his body, halting for a millisecond before continuing down and bisecting him with a ear ringing bang!
The Devil simply exploded on impact, his corpse shooting off into multiple bloody pieces. Endyr avoided the splatter by casting a Mana Shield in front of her, the entrails and gore sliding off onto the ground. Nothing remained of the Devil to be identified, merely piles of flesh, blood and bone. Endyr released a breath as the shadow zweihander melted like candlewax, resuming its place at her feet. A wave of dizziness came over her as she nearly fell to one knee, her rampant expenditure taking its toll. The biggest reason behind her tiredness though, was of the course the fact she used Archaic Dialect at the last second, stripping the Devil of all armor and dealing critical damage even before her swing made contact.
Endyr ignored her condition and instead cast a weary gaze around, trying to detect any presences that may have been attracted by the burst of Infinity she had released, but finding none. Her usage was too light to catch the gaze of the Gods it seemed, and Aenrys or Navruavati hadn't been watching over that Devil either. Still, killing him would no doubt cause some damage to the Altar of Darkness, since he probably had a position comparable to Kismet, a Bishop. 'I sure fucking hope it does anyway' Endyr grunted as she stood back on two feet and began to walk deeper into the warehouse. Several of the nearest boxes had been smashed, their contents destroyed or swept away, but none were what Endyr needed.
At the very back, Endyr found what she needed. The three items weren't packaged away but instead displayed on pedestals, covered in a blue Mana Shield that flickered with light. As she focused on the scroll first, Endyr heard the sound of rattling metal and looked over to the corner, where she saw a cage containing those two Demihuman children. As they locked eyes, the brother shrank back in fright while the sister stared defiantly, but the fear couldn't be covered. Endyr only intended to give them a glance before going back to what mattered, but she suddenly felt a throbbing hunger in her stomach.
She paused and looked back at the two siblings, and the sensation intensified. Perhaps sensing something, the two cowered back as far as they could. Endyr looked at them with a dark glint in her eyes as she mentally contacted the System.
'Hey...can those two be eaten?'