Damn, Kael thought as he glanced at the glowing red particles all around him, this keeps getting worse.
He had barely dodged the last strike, and now he was literally standing in a minefield of blood bombs. Every particle pulsed ominously, radiating with Elira's deadly aura.
Kael took a deep breath, then pushed both hands outward.
"Mana Shield: 360 Formation."
A shimmering blue sphere expanded from his body, forming a full mana dome around him. But he didn't stop there he poured mana into it recklessly, reinforcing the dome with intense pressure, causing the air inside to hum and distort from how dense the mana was.
Outside, the blood particles gave off a final glow.
Then they exploded.
BOOM!
The entire forest shook. A brilliant wave of red light and force blasted in all directions, leveling trees, scattering debris, and sending shockwaves through the ground. But inside the dome, Kael stood firm, eyes focused, arms trembling slightly from the strain.
As the smoke cleared, he looked around.
"...Wow," he muttered. "Can't believe that worked."
The mana dome shattered with a hiss, like glass under pressure. Kael stood amidst the destruction, his shirt torn, hair tousled, and breathing hard but alive.
Across the battlefield, Elira Morvayne watched with that same unsettling smile on her face.
"You know," she said, flipping her rapier once before resting it on her shoulder, "you really do have to go all out when fighting me."
Her expression darkened. Her eyes glowed crimson.
Her voice turned cold and sharp:
"Morvayne Secret Technique Form One: Crimson Reaping Wave."
A wave of blood, easily fifteen feet tall and shaped like a crescent blade, erupted behind her. It screeched across the air like a banshee's wail, the ground beneath it turning black as it passed.
Kael's eyes widened.
This is different... deadlier.
Without hesitation, he dropped into stance. His fingers gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and the black snake tattoo coiled beneath his arm began to pulse. A searing burn followed as the mana inside him surged unnaturally fast, drawn directly into the mark.
The tattoo flared violently, tearing through his sleeve as the snake seemed to awaken.
Kael's shadow twisted unnaturally, growing in size then swirling around him.
He whispered under his breath,
"Shadow Arts Form Three: Monarch Slash."
The shadows burst outward and curved around him in a circular formation, rotating rapidly like a black storm. His blade was now veiled in a deeper, more sinister aura, and his eyes locked onto the oncoming blood wave.
He slashed forward.
The Monarch Slash met the Crimson Reaping Wave with a cataclysmic BOOM.
Shadow and blood collided, twisting and spiraling against each other, fighting for dominance. A massive explosion erupted from the clash, sending a shockwave that uprooted trees and crushed stone.
A cloud of smoke and blood rose into the air, blotting out the moonlight.
And at the center of the chaos... two figures stood their ground.