VR- BATTLEFIELD
[FINAL ROUND]
The blaring sound of retreat orders echoed through the battlefield, but before Selena could take a step back, a deafening explosion erupted from the clash of Cassandra's gaint scyther made of darkness and Ryu's red mana sword. The sheer force of the blast distorted the air, and Selena barely managed to summon a golden-hued holy barrier in time.
The impact slammed into her shield, cracking it almost instantly. The next moment, she felt an unbearable force collide with her body, sending her flying several meters away. Pain blossomed through her body, burns searing into her skin as her consciousness faded into blackness.
***
Slowly, her mind clawed its way back to reality. A dull ringing in her ears subsided as her eyes fluttered open, hazy and unfocused. The sky above was filled with streaks of golden and crimson light clashing at speeds that most would fail to perceive.
Leon and Ryu.
Selena's eyes widened as she recognized the two figures locked in battle. Leon's golden blade crackled with electricity, each of his movements eerily precise despite his eyes being closed. Ryu flickered around him unpredictably, his crimson mana blades slashing from impossible angles, but Leon always managed to counter or evade with minimal movement.
A pained groan caught Selena's attention. She turned her gaze to the side, her breath hitching as she saw Evelyn on her knees, panting heavily. Her body was covered in burns and deep wounds, her sheild cracked and charred. Near her lay Sylvara and Lunara, both critically wounded. Lunara's left arm was completely gone, blood pooling beneath her.
Gritting her teeth, Selena forced her battered body to move. Every step was agony, her legs wobbled, her burns stung, but she pushed forward.
She reached Evelyn first, raising a trembling hand, and golden light enveloped her palm.
"[Divine Grace]," she murmured, her voice hoarse. Chanting the spell.
Her hand glowed with holy energy.
Warmth spread through Evelyn's body as Selena's holy magic attempted to mend her wounds, but the spell flickered, struggling against the severity of the damage and shortages of mana from Selena. Evelyn, sensing Selena's struggle, turned to her with exhausted eyes.
"You're injured too," Evelyn rasped, concern flickering in her gaze.
"Doesn't matter," Selena responded weakly, offering Evelyn her shoulder. "We need to get to the others."
Together, they limped toward Sylvara and Lunara. Selena's hands trembled as she gathered her remaining mana and cast, "[Luminous Salvation]."
A golden dome spread around them, its radiance enveloping all four of them in warmth. The spell worked slowly, healing their wounds bit by bit. Sylvara let out a shaky breath, strength slowly returning to her limbs, while Lunara groaned as her body's vampire regeneration, now aided by the spell, began stabilizing her injuries.
Evelyn stood with difficulty and shifted her gaze across the battlefield. In the distance, Elaine was healing Kairan and Lyria. Their wounds were deep, but Elaine's nature magic was mending them at an impressive rate.
Elaine sensing the gaze turned toward them. Elaine met Evelyn's gaze, a silent understanding passing between them.
"We have to help," Elaine said as she finished her healing. "Leon is fighting Ryu on equal ground now, but we don't know when the fight could shift in Ryu's favor."
Kairan and Lyria nodded.
A few meters away, Morganna stood up, picking up her reaper from the ground. A dark aura pulsed around her, death mana coiling from her fingertips as she assessed her damaged leg—replaced by a skeletal limb infused with necrotic energy. She rolled her shoulder and stepped forward.
Her body pale with no sign of blood and an fist size hole where heart should be.
*****
Leon dodged a vicious slash aimed at his neck, tilting his body just enough for the blade to miss by a hair's breadth. But Ryu wasn't done. In an instant, another red blade of condensed mana manifisted at Leon's side, thrusting toward him. Leon vanished with a burst of lightning, "[Flash Step]," reappearing several meters away just in time to avoid the strike.
Ryu smirked. "You're fast, but I wonder…" He raised his hand, and multiple crimson mana blades materialized in the air, hovering ominously before launching toward Leon in a deadly barrage.
Leon's body moved on instinct, his muscles acting without thought. He twisted and dodged, his blade moving in perfect synchronization with his movements. His Ultra Instinct allowed him to avoid every blade effortlessly, but Ryu merely grinned wider.
"This should be fun," Ryu muttered, vanishing from sight.
Just as Leon landed from a dodge, Ryu was already behind him, swinging downward. Leon blocked, sparks flying as their weapons clashed. But then vines erupted from the ground at Ryu's feet. He barely dodged, flickering away, but suddenly, a swarm of dark bats manifested before him, obscuring his sight.
"Tch." Ryu used ghost fang, sliced through them with several strikes in an instant , his ghostly blade leaving behind crimson trails, only for the bats to disperse into black smoke. A momentary distraction.
Elaine closed the distance, her blades glowing with silver energy. "[Silver Fang ]!" she shouted, spinning in a rapid assault aimed at Ryu's blind spots.
At the same time, Evelyn rushed in, her sword igniting in golden flames. Sylvara followed, her wind-infused blade cutting through the air. Lunara, her dark scythe ready, moved alongside Evelyn, while Selena followed behind Elaine, supporting their advance.
Kairan, Morganna, and Lyria closed in from the sides, surrounding Ryu from all angles.
Attacking at same time.
Leon also appeared behind ryu using [flash step] his lightning greatsword ready to attack.
But Ryu only smirked. "You still don't get it, do you?"
His red mana sword flared with a sinister glow. "Coming into my attack range together…is the biggest mistake you could've ever made."
He raised his sword. "[Hell Waltz—Elimination.]"
In the next instant, Ryu vanished.
A blur of red light streaked across the battlefield, faster than even Leon's Ultra Instinct could react. Ryu's mana sword moved moved so fast it disappeared from sight.The sound of slicing air echoed, and red lines appeared on the ground, on weapons, on armor—on bodies.
A second passed in silence.
Then, blood sprayed into the air as deep cuts appeared on every single one of them.
One by one, they fell. Elaine. Evelyn. Lunara. Sylvara. Selena. Kairan. Morganna. Lyria.
Even Leon, despite his heightened state, was sliced in pieces.
Battlefield was silent. Apart from.
Sound of blood,flesh,body parts, armers and weapon scraps falling on ground.
TO BE CONTINUE...