Leon didn't hesitate. His eyes flicked to the growing mass at the heart of the square. The runes etched onto the ground flared to life, casting an unearthly glow across the abandoned market.
The book, hovering next to Arial, opened on its own. Its pages flipped rapidly, as if guided by invisible hands, and strange, incomprehensible symbols spiraled out, hanging in the air like burning sigils.
A faint, almost imperceptible barrier flickered at first, then solidified into a shimmering dome that expanded to encompass the entire square.
The market stalls, the broken crates, and even the distant flickering lanterns now appeared distorted within the translucent shell of protection.
Arial's gaze was fixed on the creature that had begun to take shape at the center of the square. The mist, thick with a putrid aura.
Broken goods, shattered crates, and coins glinted within the writhing creature, its limbs twisting and growing, tendrils of energy snaking outward like roots searching for their next victim.
"Stay out of my way," Arial said sharply, her voice a low command.
Leon didn't need to be told twice. He backed away, his eyes on the creature, until he felt the cool, invisible barrier against his back. The air around it hummed faintly, a protective wall that pulsed with raw, unnatural energy.
The Sentri's glowing core flared with a sickening light, its presence distorting the very air.
It let out a guttural roar, the sound making the ground beneath their feet tremble. With a horrific screech, it lashed out with a massive, jagged limb, aiming for Arial.
She moved in a blur, sidestepping the strike with an almost predatory grace. In the same motion, her hands moved through the air, weaving complex patterns of runes.
They flared to life and merged into an intricate shield of light, which collided with the Sentri's attack. The impact sent a shockwave through the square, rattling the ground.
Leon braced himself against the barrier. His mind raced—this was far beyond anything he had experienced.
She didn't pause. Her next move was swift—she thrust her hand forward, and the runes around her shot outward like arrows. Each symbol struck the Sentri's form with pinpoint accuracy,
causing chunks of its crystalline body to disintegrate into shimmering mist. The creature screeched in frustration, its core flaring with a sickly light as it absorbed energy from the surroundings.
Arial's eyes narrowed, her book flipping open to another page. The symbols that emerged were larger, more intricate, swirling like the tendrils of a violent storm.
The very air vibrated with the intensity of their power, the energy crackling and snapping in the atmosphere.
Without a word, she thrust her hand toward the Sentri, and above her, a colossal sword materialized, its form glowing with fierce energy. It shimmered like a blade forged from pure light, massive enough to cast a shadow over the entire square. The air around it seemed to warp, as if reality itself bent under its weight.
With a single, swift motion, the sword descended from the heavens, its edge gleaming as it plummeted toward the Sentri's core. The creature shrieked, its form convulsing violently as the sword struck with devastating force, slicing through the air with an almost deafening roar.
The impact was catastrophic. The sword collided with the core of the creature, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. The Sentri flailed, its body warping and breaking apart under the crushing pressure of the strike. The very earth trembled beneath the assault, but the creature's resistance was futile.
Leon watched, wide-eyed and breathless, as Arial effortlessly commanded the overwhelming force. The sword hovered above the creature, its blade shimmering with radiant power as the light from it seemed to pierce the very fabric of reality.
The Sentri's core pulsed once, its light intensifying as it tried in vain to absorb the energy, but it was too late. The sword tightened its grip on the creature's essence, forcing it inward with the weight of its divine power.
The creature howled in agony, its body breaking apart like glass shattering under the immense pressure. Pieces of its form disintegrated into mist, sucked into the swirling vortex of energy that was Arial's attack.
But the battle was far from over.
The Sentri's core, still alive with a sickening, flickering light, thrashed desperately. The very air around it began to warp, bending and twisting as if the fabric of reality was unraveling. Leon felt it too—an overwhelming pressure that threatened to collapse everything around them. The barrier seemed to tremble under the weight of the creature's final surge.
Arial, however, remained unfazed. She stepped forward, her eyes locked on the creature's exposed core. Her movements were fluid, each step deliberate, calculated.
With a sharp motion, the symbols around her flared into a radiant cascade of light, and her dagger appeared in her hand. It shimmered with ethereal energy, a perfect extension of her will.
She leaped into the air with a grace that seemed to defy logic. The runes trailing in her wake blurred into a comet's tail as she moved with inhuman speed, closing the distance between herself and the Sentri's core.
With an unearthly precision, she drove the dagger into the center of the glowing core, the blade sinking deep into the very heart of the creature.
Time seemed to stretch as the blade pierced the core. The light from within the creature flickered once, twice, before exploding outward in a deafening burst of green energy. The shockwave of the explosion radiated from the point of impact, pushing against the barrier, but the protective shield absorbed the brunt of the force.
The market square shook violently as the Sentri's form collapsed into itself, its remains dissolving into mist and dissipating energy, leaving behind an eerie silence.
Arial stood at the center of the square, her chest rising and falling with exertion. Her hand remained steady, still gripping the dagger, which now glowed faintly with the remnants of the Sentri's essence.
The book beside her closed slowly, the glowing symbols that had been dancing in the air now fading into nothingness, as if the very energy of the battle had been drawn back into the world.
Leon, still pressed against the barrier, could only watch in stunned silence. What he had witnessed was far beyond anything he could have imagined. Arial's power was otherworldly, and the grace with which she wielded it left him speechless.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.
Arial wiped a thin line of sweat from her brow, her expression unreadable. She turned toward him, her eyes still sharp, unrelenting.
The market square was now empty, save for the broken remnants of the Sentri and the faint hum of the barrier. The silence that followed was deafening, and the tension in the air felt as though it might snap at any moment.