Roy soon reached Ava, who stood meters ahead of the guards and their commander, her gaze locked on the Calamity Gate. The Gate's Guardian loomed nearby, observing the scene with glowing red eyes. Abyssal shades crowded the area, their twisted forms trembling with eagerness to attack. Their hunger for the two potent souls before them was palpable, but they held back, awaiting their leader's command.
The Guardian's eyes gleamed with greed, hunger, and madness. It seemed to study Roy and Ava, then snarled. In response, the abyssal shades surged forward like a wave of darkness. Ava glanced at Roy and gave a subtle nod. He returned the gesture.
Without a word, Ava became a blur of white light, darting across the battlefield with deadly precision. Her blade cut through shades effortlessly, slicing them apart, and even when she couldn't kill them instantly, her strikes left them crippled. Meanwhile, Roy charged forward, focusing on the Guardian.
With a roar, Roy leapt toward the massive creature, wielding his greatsword. As he descended, he manipulated gravity, increasing the weight of his sword tenfold. The blade crashed down onto the Guardian with a deafening bang. The impact forced the Guardian, standing on four legs, to stumble backward a few steps. But it quickly recovered, pushing Roy away with brute force.
Roy landed hard on the ground but rolled back to his feet, his muscles strained from the clash. He repositioned his greatsword, assuming a battle stance, his gaze locking onto the crystal embedded in the creature's chest— the Abyssal shard. He knew its purpose well. This shard allowed the Guardian to summon abyssal shades from the Abyssal Plane into their world. It was the key to keeping the gate active and, potentially, the key to accessing the Abyssal Plane.
But Roy and Ava weren't here to destroy it. They needed the shard intact to open the gate and search the Abyssal Plane for survivors.
The Guardian, enraged, stomped its massive feet and lunged toward Roy, its cleaver-like arms swinging wide, eager to tear him apart. Roy charged to meet the creature, his greatsword poised for another strike. Just before they collided, Roy increased the gravity around the Guardian, slowing its momentum.
Roy closed the distance and swung his blade. The Guardian blocked with two cleavers, while the other two cleavers slashed at Roy. But spikes erupted from the earth beneath the Guardian, deflecting the cleavers just enough for Roy to dodge out of their path and counterattack. His sword struck the Guardian's thick carapace, cracking it.
Furious, the Guardian unleashed a flurry of strikes, bringing all four cleavers together in a powerful, focused attack aimed at Roy. But Roy grinned and drove his greatsword into the ground, bracing himself for impact.
The cleavers smashed into his weapon, and the Guardian recoiled as a shockwave of power surged through its body, especially into the shard in its chest.
Seizing the moment, Roy lifted his sword, releasing the gravity he applied on it, and swung it at the cleaver that had cracks running along its length.
Crack!
The cleaver shattered, pieces falling to the ground. The Guardian screeched in pain, its fury overtaking its senses as it charged Roy again, blind with rage.
But Roy was relentless, meeting the Guardian head-on once more. Though it tried to crush or slice him, Roy's skill and experience kept him ahead of the beast's attacks. He chipped away at the Guardian's defenses, hammering at its carapace and aiming carefully to avoid damaging the shard.
Meanwhile, Ava finished off the last of the abyssal shades in the vicinity of the gate and turned her attention back to Roy's battle. Seeing that things were going well, she smiled and dashed towards the Guardian, her body a white blur.
As she approached, she slashed at the Guardian's chest, taking advantage of the cracks Roy had made in its armor. Her blade found its mark, cutting deep into its flesh. Enraged, the Guardian searched for the source of the attack but saw only a flash of white light as Ava darted by, delivering another slash to its side.
Distracted by Ava's swift strikes, the Guardian left itself open. Roy took the opportunity to land a crushing blow on its remaining cleaver, just as Ava reappeared and severed the cleaver completely.
The Guardian bellowed in rage, its eyes glowing a deeper red, its movements becoming more erratic and desperate. But no matter how fiercely it attacked, Roy and Ava were too skilled, too coordinated, to be caught off guard. They continued to chip away at the creature, weakening it with every strike.
Suddenly, the Guardian paused. Its movements slowed, and it looked down to see that the shard in its chest was gone. Panic flickered in its eyes as it realized Ava had stolen it.
Ignoring the pain from the damage to its body, the Guardian roared and chased after Ava, who now held the shard in her hand. But she was running low on essence, her movements slower than before. The Guardian gained ground, its desperation driving it forward.
Finally, Ava stopped at the top of a building, seemingly cornered. The Guardian rushed towards her, but she simply smiled and opened her empty hands, revealing nothing. Then, she pointed behind the creature.
Confused, the Guardian turned its head just in time to see a figure plummeting from the sky, a sonic boom trailing behind it.
Roy, wielding his greatsword, crashed into the Guardian from above, his blade smashing into its body with the force of a falling meteor. The Guardian's carapace shattered, and its body burst apart, pieces of flesh, blood, and armor flying in all directions.
Roy squatted amidst the mess, breathing heavily, while a part of the building behind him crumbled from the impact.
Ava rushed back to his side. "Are you okay?"
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Roy stood up slowly. "Never better."
"Good," Ava said with a smirk. "Let's help the others and wrap this up. After we finish off the rest of these abyssal shades, we can move into the Abyssal Plane to search for survivors."
Roy nodded, following her towards the remaining Soul Grandmasters, who were still battling the horde.
....
Back in the Abyssal Plane, Andrew lay on the ground, missing both arms and legs. His torso was riddled with holes, but he clung to life with the tenacity of a Soul Weaver.
Though helpless before an Abyssal Shade, Andrew laughed weakly. "I might be dying, but at least you won't get the others, you bastard."
The Shade, annoyed by Andrew's taunts, drove one of its cleavers into his heart. Then, with a sickening twist, it ripped Andrew's head from his body, silencing him forever.
As the eerie quiet of the Abyssal Plane returned, the Shade sniffed the air, catching a new scent. Its eyes gleamed with joy as it bared its jagged teeth, eager for more.