Niss was blocked off from the leader by Trevor's earth wall. With a moment to gather his focus he saw Curt running up to get close to him, Curt had been protecting the girls with his wind magic but now he needed to heal Niss's wounds.
"Niss, keep me covered I will heal you."
"Got it!"
Niss jumped back creating distance from the fight and letting Curt heal him. Observing what had gone down so far, he saw Trevor had killed four bandits and was locked in melee with three more, his broadsword cloaked in Siarra's flames. There was another four bandits killed by Lys and her ice, and Siarra had burnt two bandits to a crisp. One of the remaining bandits was at a distance from Lys and Siarra with fear in his eyes, he had seen most of his gang die and was the only one with a chance to run.
"Boss! These guys are no joke! I'm getting out of here!"
Sprinting away leaving his leader and the other three remaining bandits behind, he had just barely made it to the tree line by the side of the road before a condensed spear of ice pierced his body. Coughing up blood and struggling to hang on in the last moments of his life he sent a silent apology to his family.
'My beloved wife and son, I am sorry I failed to be the man you needed.'
"Idiots! Don't run, keep fighting!" The leader was furious and desperate seeing how many of his bandit lackeys had already been slain. He reached into a small bag on his hip, pulling out a small red orb that seemed to be some kind of artifact. Crushing it in his hand, he suddenly screamed out in pain.
With Curt almost done healing the cuts on Niss's chest, Niss was out of the fight for a moment as he watched the girls catch up with Trevor and begin helping to kill off the remaining three bandits. Looking over the earthen wall that had separated him from the leader, Niss saw him crying out in pain as a powerful boost in his aura occurred.
He had been a slightly chubby and gross looking middle aged man with several teeth missing, however now as the newfound power boosted his aura his body went through a change right before their eyes. His flabby and old body began to look younger, his skin glowing, his hair gaining a new luster, where there was nothing before, now rippling muscles were etched all over his body. His veins popping out everywhere as they overflowed with mana, only added to the ridiculousness of the transformation occurring.
Niss was shocked.
'He would rather destroy his aura and risk instant death than to dye in this fight'
....
Some artifacts could be used to slightly boost your aura and allow the flow for better infusion into the body. Artifacts like these were used to help people break through from one rank to the next, but their were even more powerful and dangerous forms of these artifacts, ones that give an insane boost in power. When these were used people would shoot up exponentially in strength, the sudden increase often would outright kill the person but sometimes their body would be able to handle it. In every case of someone who lived after using something like this they completely lost the ability to strengthen their aura naturally, essentially crippling them at the strength they got to with the artifact. In addition to this, all these individuals had an extremely reduced life span.
.....
Niss found a new sense of urgency to take this guy out as Curt finished healing him. Pushing his aura infusion to the max and focusing on his fire magic Niss burst forward with a flash of flames wrapped around his body, he was looking to land a strike before the leader had regained himself from the burst in power.
"HAHAAHAHA! YOU WILL ALL DIE NOW! HOW DARE YOU KILL MY MEN!"
The mans voice surged with a deep and primal power as his aura was igniting to a new height. Drawing his sword he met Niss's blade with a clash sending sparks flying and knocking Niss back. The air around the man seemed to bend to his will as he flung forward at Niss, taking advantage of his new strength.
"Ice blades!"
Niss shot several deadly shards of ice forward as he regained his footing after being pushed back. This was barely enough to slow the man down as he shrugged the ice away from his body with a surge of wind. Their blades met again with a loud clash, their auras smashing together, a blend of white and red meeting Niss's obsidian aura.
'Shit, I can't take this guy unless I go all out.'
The scene between the rest of the group was still playing out, the single guard for the merchant had been cut down as he tried to fight alongside Trevor. The girls had now joined him and were locked in battle with the last of the bandits, these ones were much tougher than the others showing a mix of earth and air magic of their own. Although they were nothing in comparison to their boss, they stood their ground holding off the rest of the group. Curt joined them and started to turn things in their favor, healing Trevor's small wounds and supporting with air magic.
Niss was alone against the leader for the time being, and with a quick glance confirming everyone else would be a minute before they could help him he had no choice.
Waving his free hand in front of him Niss caused the man's feet to sink into mud, soliciting a confused look from the leader as Niss had just used a third element.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
The leader broke free from the mud but not before Niss landed a solid hit on him, slicing across both his upper thighs to try and slow him down. The man however now had superior body strengthening from his aura, leaving the cuts rather shallow.
"YOU WON'T LEAVE HERE ALIVE, BOY!"
Charging forward with an unbridled fury, the leader slashed recklessly at Niss.
Doing everything in his power to keep up and fight for his life, Niss released multiple forms of his magic as he held his aura infusion to the maximum.
"Emberflick!"
"Ice Blades!"
"Stone Shot!"
"Wind blades!"
"Earth Shatter!"
Niss was going all out, he lost himself in the fight in front of him, blurring everything else out and giving in to his battle instinct.
The two of them clashed multiple times, pushing each others limits to the max. They were somehow evenly matched, although Niss had all affinities his opponent's aura was much stronger and the leader had more experience in battle.
Forced into a corner by this fight, knowing he had very little time to resolve things before everyone would notice his use of all the affinities. Niss was digging deep to get any advantage he could when he felt an unfamiliar power swirl within his aura and pushed with everything he had to unleash it on the man.
"Scáth!"
Suddenly, Niss fell backwards unable to land on his feet after an enormous amount of mana was slung out of his aura, as he fell down to the cold light snow he saw a glimpse of the bandit leader. The man was being choked, his eyes bulging, his face red and his aura dimming as an ethereal shadow was constricting around his neck.
'Such brilliant potential' The sound of Nyx's voice was the last thing he heard, a bit of happiness burned in his chest as she no longer sounded sad and pained.
Darkness overcame Niss, as he heard faint shouts of his name and slipped away into unconsciousness.