Vulcan and Bard stood ready for battle, their stances firm as they faced Alexander. His cold, unshaken gaze never wavered — fully prepared to stop them at any cost, so the portal could be activated. The labyrinth fell in into an eerie silence. Both sides stood still, waiting for the first move to be made, the spark that would ignite the battle.
Bard let out a quiet sigh.
"Whatever shred of humanity you have left... surely you can see how absurd this plan is," he said firmly. "The Forbidden will turn this world into a living hell. Stand aside, this is your last chance."
"We don't have time to waste, we need to reach the portal, now!" Vulcan said, gripping his sword tightly. "Spirit Technique: Knight Enchantment, Level Two!" In an instant, his body was enveloped in a pale blue aura, the faint glow pulsing like a heartbeat around him as his strength surged.
"Very well... let's begin," Alexander muttered calmly as he drew in a deep breath and shifted into his stance.
In the blink of an eye, he teleported directly in front of Bard. Without hesitation, he swung his cane with surprising strength, striking Bard hard across the face and sending him staggering backward.
As Bard staggered back, struggling to regain his balance, Alexander swiftly hooked his cane around the man's neck. He swung him effortlessly through the air, sending him hurtling toward Vulcan. The force of the throw was precise, a show of Alexander's control over both his strength and his teleportation.
Bard, still reeling from the force of the blow, barely had a moment to gather his senses as his body was flung toward Vulcan. Instinct kicked in, and midair, he twisted his body just enough to avoid crashing directly into his ally. Landing in a rough but controlled roll, Bard forced himself back onto his feet, steadying his breathing as he adjusted his stance.
But there was no room for relief, before either of them could react, Alexander vanished from sight, his teleportation instant and silent. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared directly in front of them. Almost immediately, from the very spot where he'd stood just moments ago, an unseen force erupted. The air around them warped and shifted as if gravity itself had been bent, pulling both Bard and Vulcan backward toward the empty space, like a powerful vacuum trying to drag them off their feet.
"He has two Ornament abilities?" Bard grunted, his muscles straining as the relentless pull of the vacuum tried to drag him backward.
"Two abilities or not, he loses here!" Vulcan shouted. Thanks to the strength granted by his Knight Enchantment, the skewed gravity had little effect on him.
Without wasting another second, Vulcan charged straight at Alexander. His speed closed the gap in an instant, the blade slicing through the air, but Alexander, unfazed, twisted his cane upward. The curved handle locked perfectly around Vulcan's sword, stopping the swing. The force behind Vulcan's strike nearly wrenched the sword from his own hands as Alexander leveraged the hook-like handle to disarm him.
But Vulcan wasn't so easily bested, using the momentum of the clash, he shifted his weight and drove a solid kick into Alexander's chest, forcing him to release his grip and sending him skidding backward across the labyrinth floor.
As Alexander was launched back from the kick, he wasted no time recovering — in a blink, his form vanished and reappeared high above Vulcan. With gravity on his side, he swung his cane downward like a hammer.
"You're wide open!" Vulcan called out, already anticipating the attack as he raised his sword, bracing for the perfect counter.
But before his blade could connect, Alexander vanished once more — teleporting several meters away, directly in front of him. Almost instantly, the space where Alexander had been floating began pulling upward, the lingering skewed gravity turning the air into a vacuum like force that yanked Vulcan off his footing, dragging him slightly skyward.
Vulcan gritted his teeth, planting his sword into the ground to resist the unnatural pull, while Bard struggled to hold his balance, realizing the true danger wasn't just Alexander's teleportation, but the ever shifting battlefield he controlled with it.
Bard summoned the wooden debris from his earlier training session with Eve and Vulcan, launching them through small shimmering portals at high speed. However, the moment the debris entered the battlefield, the skewed gravity from Alexander's last teleportation distorted their path — the pieces were forcefully dragged upward, spiraling toward the source of the gravitational pull, barely managing to reach Alexander at all.
"Telespada, Rainfall!" Bard called out through clenched teeth, forcing the words out as dozens of small portals flickered open behind him. From each one, swords created entirely of concentrated mana burst forth like a relentless downpour, streaking toward Alexander at sharp, unpredictable angles. Faced with no room to dodge, Alexander was left with only one choice — he teleported out of harm's way, vanishing just before the blades could reach him. His sudden relocation caused the skewed gravity in the air to finally dissipate, returning the space around them to normal.
Vulcan, sharp-eyed and battle-ready, seized the chance the second the force lifted. Without wasting a moment, he dashed forward and snatched one of Bard's mana swords mid-flight, spinning on his heel and hurling it directly at Alexander's new position. But Alexander intercepted the flying blade, hooking it skillfully with the curve of his cane and whipping it right back toward Vulcan.
Unfazed, Vulcan raised his sword and struck the redirected weapon aside with a sharp, practiced swing.
Alexander reappeared once again, teleporting right in front of them as Bard's barrage came to an end. His expression remained calm, but his mind raced. Charging head-on wasn't an option, Vulcan outclassed him in raw strength and speed, and Bard's ranged attacks would relentlessly pressure him if left unchecked. If he wanted to win this fight, he'd have to be clever.
Vulcan relentlessly closed the distance between them, charging at Alexander over and over. Each time, Alexander had no choice but to teleport away, narrowly avoiding the incoming strikes. He could feel the strain gnawing at his mana — teleportation, while fast and precise, wasn't something he could maintain endlessly without consequence. The constant dodging was draining him, and he knew it.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Alexander steadied his breath, accepting the inevitable. If he wanted a chance to counter, he'd have to endure a hit.
As Vulcan lunged forward once more, his blade was glowing with pale blue energy from the Knight Enchantment and sliced clean across Alexander's chest. Blood traced the wound immediately, but Alexander gritted his teeth and endured the sharp sting. In that same breath, he lunged forward, gripping Vulcan by the throat with surprising strength.
Vulcan's body buckled almost instantly, his knees crashing to the stone floor as if an invisible weight had pinned him down. Alexander had locally skewed the gravity around Vulcan, increasing the force pressing on his body tenfold, making even the act of breathing feel like lifting a mountain.
"Now it's your turn…" Alexander muttered coldly as he vanished, reappearing right before Bard in the blink of an eye.
Without wasting a moment, Alexander launched into a flurry of precise strikes with his cane, forcing Bard onto the defensive. Each swing was not just aiming to strike but to corner him — Bard quickly noticed the pattern. Between the sharp jabs and sweeping arcs, Alexander's hand would lunge forward, aiming to grab hold of him.
Bard's mind raced, he wasn't foolish. After witnessing what had happened to Vulcan, he knew if Alexander managed to grab him, the same crushing gravity would pin him helplessly to the ground. One wrong step, one mistimed dodge, and he'd be defeated.
Bard quickly opened several portals behind Alexander, launching swords at great speed in hopes of catching him off guard. But Alexander's instincts were sharp, the moment the portals opened, he vanished in an instant, reappearing behind Bard and locking him in a tight hold from behind.
The swords, now already mid-flight and aimed for Alexander's previous position, were still coming — but with Bard trapped in his grasp, the danger had shifted. The blades were now heading straight for him.
"Spirit... Technique... Knight Enchantment, Level Zero!" Vulcan muttered, his body straining as he pushed against the crushing force pressing him to the ground. The faint pale blue hue returned to him, weaker than before but just strong enough with a fierce grunt, he forced himself upright and dashed forward, intercepting the barrage of swords just in time, deflecting them away from Bard.
Alexander's eyes shifted toward him, unimpressed but calculating. Without a moment's pause, he shifted his focus back to Bard, his grip loosening as he let go and with a subtle gesture, the gravity around Bard intensified in an instant, forcing him to the ground.
Bard let out a sharp gasp, his limbs locking under the crushing weight.
"How infuriating... must you persist in struggling?" Alexander's voice was calm, yet laced with growing irritation. He adjusted his grip on his cane. "Accept the inevitable. The Forbidden will return and all your resistance will amount to nothing."
Vulcan tightening his hold on his sword as the faint blue aura of his Spirit Technique flickered around him once more.
"We're just getting started," Vulcan growled, "This fight is far from over."
Without wasting another breath, Vulcan charged forward, his aura flaring brighter as the pressure from Alexander's gravity weighed heavy on him. Each step felt like moving through a swamp, but his determination pushed him onward.
Alexander teleported just before Vulcan's blade could reach him, appearing midair once again, but Bard, who was laying in the ground, opened a small portal just above Alexander's new position. A blade shot downward like a bolt of lightning.
Alexander narrowly avoided the sword grazing his shoulder, but the moment he landed, Vulcan was already there, swinging with all his might. Their weapons clashed, the shockwave cracked the floor beneath them.
Using the recoil of the clash, Alexander flicked his cane, hooking Vulcan's blade once again and pulling him slightly off balance. In that split second, he teleported behind Vulcan, skewing the gravity toward where he had just stood, Vulcan was yanked by the force of gravity, stumbling as if caught by an unseen hand.
But Bard was already opening another volley of portals, launching sharpened swords from multiple angles. Alexander realized he couldn't dodge them all. He teleported once more, but not before one blade clipped his leg, drawing a streak of blood.
"Tch... persistent pests," Alexander hissed, grounding himself. With a sharp movement, he thrust his cane skyward, and the gravity around Bard and Vulcan shifted violently, pressing down on them like an avalanche. The air felt like lead, crushing their lungs and slowing their limbs.
Bard, gritting his teeth, forced his arm up, summoning another small portal near his hand, this time launching a single blade at point-blank range. Alexander was forced to teleport again, the vacuum left behind pulling the swords from Bard's previous volley back toward him.
Vulcan, using the momentary gap, roared as his aura flared once more, shaking off the crushing weight of the skewed gravity and surging forward at blistering speed.
Bard's sharp eyes narrowed as he observed the flow of the battle. Between each flash of teleportation, the same subtle shift occurred — the air would pull, the debris would tilt, and his swords would swerve off course. It finally clicked.
"Every time he teleports... the gravity skews toward his last position..."
"If I can predict where he'll go next, I can use that vacuum against him."
His gaze followed Vulcan, who pressed Alexander relentlessly. Bard watched the angle and the shift in the battlefield, the pattern grew more and more clear.
He's strategic, but not unpredictable, Bard thought. If I place my swords where he's likely to go... I can corner him.
Bard began opening small portals, not launching the swords yet, but positioning them carefully, waiting for the right moment to strike. He knew he had one chance to render Alexander unable to fight. All he needed was the right timing.
Vulcan continued his assault, each swing of his blade forcing Alexander into a defense, the battlefield distorted with shifting pockets of gravity. Bard kept his eyes locked on Alexander's movements.
"There, he favors short jumps when pressed too hard, and always to higher ground when the vacuum field is compromised." Bard thought, his mind sharpening with each passing second.
While Vulcan swung once more, Bard silently opened a half dozen portals in a wide arc around one of the spots Alexander often retreated to. The swords hovered, waiting. Vulcan's blade cut through the air, and just as expected, Alexander vanished — reappearing in the same elevated spot Bard had bet on.
"Now!" Bard shouted, releasing the swords all at once. The moment Alexander materialized, the skewed gravity flared, pulling the swords even faster toward him before he could fully regain his stance.
Alexander's eyes widened in that split-second of realization, and though he managed to teleport again to avoid the first wave, Bard had already anticipated his fallback — another portal had been placed there too. A second volley of swords launched, forcing Alexander to dodge mid-teleport, one of the blades grazing his side and disrupting his momentum.
Vulcan wasted no time, leaping in the moment Alexander staggered, swinging his sword with full force. Alexander barely blocked the blow with his cane, the sheer weight of Vulcan's strike sending him crashing into the ground.
Bard stood tall, lowering his arm. "Your tricks are clever, Alexander... but they're starting to run thin."
Alexander stood weakly, his legs trembling slightly as the pain of his wounds finally began to weigh him down. Blood trickled from the cut along his side, staining the ground beneath him. A cosmic-like aura, dark and swirling with streaks of violet and deep blue, began to envelope his body, warping the air around him.
His voice, though strained, was filled with defiance.
"No… I'm not done yet," Alexander muttered, tightening his grip around his cane. The aura flared brighter, pieces of debris around him starting to float, caught in the rising force of his power, as the ground trembled lightly beneath his feet.
Vulcan steadied his stance, gripping his sword tightly, while Bard readied his portals once more — both knowing this battle was far from over.
"We'll see if you can endure the full force of gravity's wrath..."