The moment the battle began, Lucien and Lunis dashed forward without hesitation. Their steps were sharp, fast, and full of purpose. Zhyra also rushed toward them, her movement strangely quiet despite the speed. Her emerald skin shimmered for a moment, and the living chains wrapped around her arms tightened as if they were preparing themselves for blood.
As soon as they closed the distance, Zhyra acted first. One of her chains burrowed into the ground with a metallic hiss, slithering like a serpent beneath the earth. In the next second it exploded upward from below, aiming straight for the spot both Lucien and Lunis were charging through.
Lucien reacted instantly. His legs pushed off the ground with powerful force, launching him high into the air. His body spun lightly before he angled himself to land behind Zhyra, spear already glowing faintly in his grip. At the same time Lunis slipped sideways, his body leaving a blur of silver-blue light as he sprinted out of the chain's path. Once he reached the side, he redirected his dash toward Zhyra, claws extended and eyes bright with fighting spirit.
Lucien aimed his fiery crystallized spear at Zhyra's exposed back, stabbing forward. Lunis came from the front with his claws raised, intending to slice her open in one clean strike. Their timing was perfect, fast, precise, and meant to overwhelm her from both sides.
But Zhyra was not someone who fell to a simple attack.
She twisted smoothly. One of her chains snapped out like a whip, crashing into Lunis's ribs with brutal force. The impact threw Lunis across the ground, sliding him several meters away before he dug his claws into the dirt to stop himself. Even so, he rose quickly, shoulders tense, sharp breath escaping his mouth. The blow hurt, but Lunis refused to fall.
At the same time, another chain shot upward, blocking Lucien's spear in mid-strike. The sound of metal colliding with crystallized flame rang loudly. Sparks flew. Lucien gritted his teeth as the chain pushed him back slightly, but he forced himself to stay in control, his stance steady.
Zhyra did not allow them a moment to recover. Her eyes shifted, both pupils turning to focus on the two enemies at once. She raised her arms, and her chains burst outward in a wild frenzy, almost as if they were alive and hungry.
"Chains of Devouring Coil," she muttered, and the battlefield changed instantly.
Dozens, no, almost an endless number, of chains erupted around her, each link covered with sharp thorn-like points. They cracked through the air with terrifying speed, whipping down on Lucien and Lunis again and again. The sound of metal slicing through wind filled the area, and each strike carried enough force to rip through stone.
Lucien and Lunis were forced to dodge continuously. Lucien twisted, rolled, jumped, and ducked as each chain tried to slice into him. His spear flashed every few seconds to deflect the hits he couldn't avoid, but the barrage was too overwhelming for him to counter properly. Lunis moved in wide arcs, using his nimble wolf body to leap away from the snapping chains, but even he struggled. Each whip barely missed him by inches, slicing the air where he had been moments earlier.
The constant attacks left no opening for them to strike back. It felt endless, like Zhyra's chains were multiplying with every breath.
Finally, Lunis made a decision. His eyes shone brighter, silver light gathering around his form. With a sharp growl he activated one of his techniques.
"Silver Dash."
His body became wrapped in a protective shining aura. The light covered him from head to tail, forming a thin shield that shimmered like moonlit water. With that shield protecting him, Lunis lowered his stance and charged straight toward Zhyra again, running at full speed despite the chains still whipping around him. The glowing protective layer allowed him to break through several chains as they hit him, the impacts bouncing off instead of cutting into him.
But Zhyra remained calm. Just before Lunis reached her, Zhyra suddenly stopped her barrage of attacks and jumped lightly into the air. Her movement was precise perfectly timed. A chain wrapped around Lunis's neck like a noose the moment she passed above him. As she landed gracefully on her feet, she yanked the chain with sharp force. The powerful pull lifted Lunis off the ground for a second before she swung him away. Lunis crashed into the dirt with a painful thud and tumbled several times, his protective aura flickering from the impact.
Lucien saw Lunis thrown aside and felt a flare of anger. Without pause, he rushed forward. His spear glowed, the flames inside it shifting into a thin bright line.
"Emberline Execution."
Lucien drew a thin line of crystallized flame through the air with a single sharp sweep of his spear. The line hung in the air for a brief moment, silent, thin, and almost harmless-looking. Zhyra avoided it easily, stepping to the side with a smooth dodge.
But what she didn't expect came next.
The entire line detonated.
A burst of fiery energy erupted behind her, slicing through space and burning everything in its path. Zhyra's eyes widened. She moved, but not fast enough. The blast struck her right leg, scorching her skin and sending her stumbling slightly. She hissed loudly in anger, the sound sharp and filled with rage.
"Such an underhanded move," she spat as she glared at Lucien.
Lucien kept his posture controlled, refusing to be shaken by her words. He continued to move forward, trying to keep the pressure on her, spear raised and ready to strike again.
"You're the one to talk," he answered coldly.
Zhyra clicked her tongue and kept slipping away from his reach. She moved quickly, avoiding every attempt Lucien made to get close. At the same time she attacked relentlessly with her chains, forcing Lucien to step back or deflect with every motion. Lunis also recovered quickly and kept trying to stop her movement by lunging with his 'Lunar Claws', but Zhyra deflected each claw strike with effortless chain movements. It was as if she could read their rhythm perfectly.
Then she saw her chance, just a brief opening when Lucien stepped back to avoid a chain strike. She used that moment to widen the distance between them. With that space secured, she whispered the name of her next technique.
"Silent Dismember."
Her body shimmered and then vanished completely. Not just her body, her chains disappeared too. The sudden silence was sharp, almost unnatural. Lucien and Lunis both froze for a second, senses tense.
Then a sharp sting crossed Lucien's cheek. A thin cut appeared. Something had slashed past him.
"Invisible…" he muttered under his breath.
They realized instantly what was happening, not only Zhyra but also her chains were completely invisible now. They couldn't rely on sight anymore. Both Lucien and Lunis had to depend on instinct alone. Every movement of wind, every tiny vibration, felt like it could be deadly. They dodged blindly, barely avoiding the unseen chains whipping at them from multiple directions. And about for a minute they both were just trying not to get hurt.
But this couldn't go on for long. Lunis understood that. His eyes glowed again, and he released another technique.
"Moon Light."
A bright, shimmering white light swept across the battlefield, filling the area with radiant glow. The instant the light touched the space around them, faint outlines began to appear. Zhyra's invisible body shimmered back into view, her form outlined by the moonlight's reflection. Even more importantly, every invisible chain around them became visible as their metallic surfaces reflected the bright light.
Lucien didn't waste time. The moment Zhyra and her chains became exposed, he raised his spear again.
"Pyroclast Hyperspear."
He unleashed a rapid-fire sequence of thrusts, each one releasing a sharp crystallized fire-needle that shot forward like molten volcanic shards. The speed was overwhelming, a storm of fiery projectiles that filled the air.
Zhyra avoided many of them with quick movements, twisting her body and letting her chains shield her, but the attack came too fast. Several of the fire-needles struck her, burning her hand, her torso, and leaving smoking marks on her skin. She let out a furious scream.
"Why you… I will kill you both with my own hands!"
Her anger spiked so rapidly it almost looked painful. Zhyra clutched her head as if something inside was tearing itself apart. Rage flooded her expression, her breathing became unstable, and her chains writhed wildly around her.
Darkness began to leak from her skin. A strange dark aura expanded around her like a spreading shadow. Her voice trembled with fury as she glared at them.
"Now you've done it… SUFFER!"
The corrupted aura swallowed her completely. Lucien and Lunis felt their bodies tense. They could sense it clearly, this was no longer the same Zhyra they had been fighting moments earlier. Something darker, stronger, and far more dangerous had awakened inside her. It was only about to become much worse.
The fight was far from over.