Before the researcher could answer, Vell vanished again. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched forward, his sword trailing red light.
The researcher raised his remaining hand. Corruption swirled into his palm, forming a spiral of dark energy that expanded outward.
The two forces clashed. Vell's sword cut through the spiral, but the corruption wrapped around the blade like living smoke, trying to crawl toward his hand.
"Clever," he said, jumping back. He spun his sword in a circle, flinging off the corruption. "But come on, that's so lame, try harder."
The man smiled despite his missing arm. "You think this is my full power?" He drove his hand into the ground. "Fracture Domain: Corruption Well!"
The earth beneath them rumbled. Cracks spread outward from the researcher's hand, glowing with sickly purple light. Corrupted mana began to pour from these cracks like water from a broken dam.
