In the heart of the sect capital, the ancient stones underfoot tremble as Joon and Caelan face off against the lethal assassins, Hajen and Kage. The air crackles with anticipation, charged with the raw power of combatants primed to unleash devastating forces.
Joon said to Caelan, "We make them pay."
Caelan responded, "Don't get in my way, runt. I still hate you."
Zephyr was kneeling down at Torin's body, holding his head, saying, "I'm sorry."
He sat in silence, hearing combat behind him, he continued, "I don't know what else to say…" a tear dropped from his eye down across his cheek. "I watched over you, even took care of you when we were banished. I taught you a lot. You were my only friend…"
Elara yelled to Zephyr, "We gotta focus…we gotta focus! If we don't fight, then we're done for. The time for mourning is over."
"I can't…just let me sit here—."
Elara smacked Zephyr, "Screw that! You think he'd want you to sulk like this and let these crazy bastard monks kill you?! Torin…he was kind of strange, but I'm pretty sure he fought his ass off to try and survive. You saw the two that brought him had wounds on them."
"…"
"You were talking about growing and developing…i'm not an expert on smart stuff and words, but maybe we can grow from this? We're only kids, and we've seen so much already…we've come far in only two days, we have to live."
"Live…huh?"
'What's the point of it, if there's nothing here that keeps you motivated? Me and Torin, we were gonna get our revenge together. But now that he's gone…what's the point?'
Back at the fight with Joon and Caelan versus Kage and Hajen, Joon springs forward, body low and swathed in shadows, his form blurring into a burst of speed. He morphs into a four-legged stance, his movements animalistic and swift. Kage, reacting with equal ferocity, unfurls his chains, sending them whipping through the air. Joon dodges sharply, a chain grazing his cheek, drawing first blood—a line stark against his skin. He retaliates with a swing of his massive darkness mace, which Kage narrowly evades by backflipping, his own aura flaring defensively.
'Shit…! He's on an entire different level than the other kid! He has to be the one he mentioned!' Kage thought.
He then smiled, "You're fast…I like that! This is what I've been looking for!"
Joon replied, "Shut up! When I kill you, tell Torin you're sorry.."
"That's something a child would say, how old are you?!"
Concurrently, Caelan's fists ignite with spiked flames as he charges Hajen. He unleashes a flurry of fiery punches, each blow punctuated by the crackle of fire. Hajen absorbs the first few hits, his sonic boom aura deflecting the flame. However, a heavy stomp from Caelan fractures the ground, and pillars of flame erupt, catching Hajen off-guard, scorching his armor and singing his skin.
Caelan charged up to him a trail of flames behind him, not saying a word.
Hajen remarked, "Awesome…awesome! Yu Baozhai promised us a good fight would come soon!"
Regrouping, Kage whips his chains faster, weaving them like serpents in the air. Joon, eyes narrowed, sees an opening and launches a volley of blood-formed sharp bones. They pierce through the chains, splintering them while embedding deep in Kage's thigh and shoulder, drawing screams and blood, crimson blooms flowering at the wounds with each heartbeat. Hajen, enraged, taps deeper into his power, setting off a barrage of sonic booms that ripple through the air as he twists and punches and kicks the air. Caelan, feeling the pressure, enshrouds himself in his flaming armor, deflecting the sonic attacks with a resonating clang of flame against force. The shockwaves tear through nearby structures, sending debris scattering.
Caelan said, "Haha…how boring."
Kage, wincing from his injuries, lashes out wildly, his chains dancing with deadly precision. Joon, however, anticipates his movements, countering with a spin of his mace that hits Kage In the face, and sends Kage sprawling. The mace slams into the ground, leaving a crater as Kage narrowly rolls away, spitting blood and grit.
Kage coughed up blood, saying, "Impossible…impossible…this is boring now…just let me beat you."
Joon walked towards him, saying, "I'm going to kill you."
"Is that something a child should say?"
"From what I've been through. I don't care about that anymore."
Sensing the tightening struggle, Joon summons his blood familiar, a centaur wielding a massive blood mace. It charges, its hooves thundering against the stone, and slams into Kage, knocking the wind from him. The assassin Kage staggers, struggling to regain his breath and footing.
Caelan, using the distraction to his advantage, leaps high, flame hair trailing like a comet. He descends upon Hajen with a devastating hammer blow with his fists. The impact sends a shockwave that fractures the earth, igniting a ring of fire that encircles them both, isolating their fight. Hajen's head bashed into the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
Hajen screamed, "AGH!!"
Kage, despite the onslaught, attempts a desperate counter, his aura-infused chains snaking towards the blood centaur. The chains wrap tightly, but the centaur, its strength formidable, rips them apart, its blood mace crashing down onto Kage's defenses, shattering them in a spray of blood and petals.
"He broke through my chains?!"
Hajen, seething with pain and fury, focuses his qi, his body a silhouette against the explosive backdrop. He launches at Caelan, each punch a thunderclap, pushing Caelan back. The two exchanges blows mid-air, fists meeting flame and force, each hitting a symphony of power that echoes through the ravaged plaza.
Hajen smirked, "Being able to exchange blow for blow…you're a psycho!"
Caelan scoffed, "Just shut up dammit! Stop commenting!"
As they land, Joon joins Caelan, rapidly dashing near him, and together, they unleash a coordinated assault.
Joon said, "These idiots are weak. Let's end this now. They'll pay for what they did."
Caelan scoffed, "We're not doing this out of respect for that psycho Torin."
"Doesn't matter. I'll do it for him. You're just selfish."
"Why should I even care? No one cared about me back in my sect, everyone avoided me too. I was a loose cannon, they said. They were afraid I'd beat them to death. If they though that, everyone else around me must think the same."
"I don't like you at all, but I can tolerate being around you."
"…Tch. Bullshit."
"You're strong, and it's nice to have someone strong beside me, like you and Elara, even if I want to kill you."
Caelan thought, 'This brat…is he trying to be my friend..? Damn that.'
Joon's shadowy mace and Caelan's flaming fists create a ballet of destruction, each move choreographed for maximum impact. Hajen and Kage, battered and bleeding, struggle to parry the relentless storm of blows.
Hajen said to Kage, "We have to do what they're doing, combine our power!"
Kage added, "Let's drop them like we did that other brat! They're just children!"
"Children…they're more than that."
"Isn't this what we wanted?"
Joon said, "Lust. The Lust deity…everyone under Yu Baozhai suffers from the lust. They serve him to increase their already lustful desires, but it's increased 100 fold. They won't stop until they're dead."
Caelen replied, "I figured that too."
"Let's end this."
With a brutal combo, Joon and Caelan connect, Joon's mace cracking Hajen's face, while Caelan's flaming punch blasts through Kage's floral defenses. The combined force sends both assassins flying, crashing into the remnants of a shattered wall, their bodies splattering against the wall, blood sprawling everywhere.
As the dust settles, Joon and Caelan advance, their weapons poised for the final strike. Blood drips from Joon's mace, mingling with the flames licking Caelan's fists. They look to each other, nodding once in agreement.
Joon said, "So Yuna and her group are leading Yu Baozhai to the hideout.."
Caelan responded, "They're all gonna die. If our instructor is watching us, then that means The Head allowed it to happen."
Joon thought, 'Allowed it…that makes sense. And I bet our instructor can't interfere either…'
Together, they leap forward, heading towards the monks that were attacking Elara, Zephyr, . Joon swings his mace with lethal precision while Caelan's fists, engulfed in flames, drive forward. The impacts are near-simultaneous, a gruesome harmony of shadow and fire.