The battlefield had changed.
Where once the armored warriors had the advantage, now the Abyss bent to Kael's will. Shadows thickened, stretching unnaturally, forming walls, illusions, and shifting terrain that made the warriors hesitate for the first time.
Kael didn't waste the opening.
He surged forward, moving faster than before, his body now a fusion of flesh and Abyss. A single thought sent waves of dark energy pulsing outward. The nearest warrior raised his sword to block too late. Kael's fist collided with his chestplate, sending the armored figure hurtling backward, crashing through the twisted ground.
Lyra, seeing the shift in battle, pressed her own attack. Her blade flashed, clashing with one of the warriors in a shower of sparks. Even against divine steel, she refused to yield.
The leader of the hunters the one with the greatsword of judgment finally moved.
Kael barely saw him coming.
One moment, the warrior stood still. The next he was right in front of him.
The swing came with devastating force. Kael blocked, abyssal tendrils forming a barrier, but the impact shattered his defense. He was sent flying, skidding across the battlefield before slamming into a jagged outcrop of black stone.
The world spun. His body ached.
He's fast.
Kael forced himself to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth. The leader wasn't just fast—his attacks were precise, refined. Unlike the others, he wasn't here to test Kael. He was here to end him.
The warrior pointed his blade at him. "You fight well, Abyssborn. But it is not enough."
Kael grinned, wiping away another streak of blood. "Then I'll just have to fight harder."
He vanished reappearing behind the warrior in an instant. His fist, crackling with abyssal energy, drove toward the warrior's back.
But the leader anticipated it.
In a blur of motion, he spun, parrying with the flat of his blade, then slammed his elbow into Kael's ribs. Kael gasped, the force cracking bone, sending him stumbling.
But he refused to fall.
Instead, he embraced the pain, using it to fuel his next move. He lashed out, shadows surging forward in a torrent of black tendrils.
The warrior slashed through them effortlessly but it was exactly what Kael wanted.
In the fraction of a second it took for him to cut through the darkness, Kael was already in motion.
He appeared above him, twisting midair. His leg came down an axe kick infused with abyssal power.
This time, the warrior blocked but staggered.
Kael landed, breathing hard but victorious. "Not bad," he muttered.
The warrior raised his blade, his golden aura flaring even brighter. "You're learning. Good. But not fast enough."
Kael's smirk faded.
Something in the air changed.
And then the warrior unleashed his true power.