POV: Selena
In the sky, away from the frontline, I faced my own cursed scourges—three Level-3 beasts.
The first was Kurn, the Abyssal Knight: a twisted Dullahan with a horse's lower body and equine head—with a faceless humanoid torso grafted onto its back. A creature born from ancient nightmares.
The second was an illusory butterfly. Its true form unknown, it took any shape, tormenting minds with perfect illusions. It chose the worst: Bruno. Wearing the battle armor I saw delivered to him. No helmet. And of course… that gentle smile.
The third was the most dangerous: a sub-aquatic wyvern. Massive, swift, capable of forming spheres of water mid-air—reshaping battlefield skies and moving like liquid thunder.
I brandished my black sword. My war armor sealed me. And beside me flew my familiar: Pyrael, the golden sub-phoenix of fire.
Without warning, the battle began.
One slash from my sword and Pyrael surged in flames at the three beasts. It spread its wings violently—and a blazing breath engulfed the sky.
But the wyvern burst through the air in a speed surge, appearing at my side in the blink of an eye. It unleashed a jet of compressed water.
Pyrael met it with flame. Dragon and phoenix. Ancient rivals. The hatred instinctive.
As the two clashed, I advanced on the other two.
The damned butterfly—in Bruno's form—spun the lance with perfection. It mimicked even his combat patterns. And that… was a problem.
Bruno fought like a serpent. Sneaky, unpredictable. I'd never seen him fight directly, but this creature… knew.
I blocked the lance with my sword. But I was caught off-guard by a punch to the gut, followed by a blaze on my face.
My golden flames dissipated the fire, but the impact sent me flying backward.
"What did he learn in that forest?" I thought, as a chain wrapped around my arm, transmitting heat.
I sighed. Thanks to my innate ability, I dispersed the heat.
Even with little magical skill, Bruno always turned everything to his advantage.
I looked again.
That face… was no longer gentle. It was the same I saw after the forest. Empty. inscrutable.
"If this creature reproduces Ignis's form… it'll be a serious problem."
I smiled ironically.
Illusions fool weak minds. But copying someone proud and stubborn like him? Fatal mistake.
Kurn and "Bruno" advanced together.
I raised two fingers. A thick, golden flame erupted ahead.
Kurn swung his gigantic sword and cleaved the fire. Bruno charged through arrogantly.
That was enough.
I advanced. My blade sliced the air—Crack. Crack. The heat created invisible fissures.
I struck Kurn's arm—but my sword passed through as if it were shadow.
Bruno appeared behind me and tried to strike my head.
I dodged, leapt, and slashed his neck. He staggered, bleeding—his eyes burning with hatred.
He knew what was coming.
Vitae cloaked my blade. A brutal, imperfect, yet powerful thrust.
I raised a flame barrier. It held but cracked. I kicked his chest forcefully. He flew back.
Kurn came next—but his sword was slow.
I crossed fingers. A fire arrow, nearly invisible, shot forth.
It hit.
A hole opened in his arm. The roar he released was pure rage.
A shadowy light began covering him.
"Shit…"
Before I could react, a giant blue butterfly appeared. It created a wind shock with its wings, blowing me away.
It had abandoned the illusion. Now it fought with its true strength.
I opened my vampire wings and hovered in the sky.
And then… I saw.
Kurn was transforming.
The horse's body deformed. Becoming fully humanoid. Muscles tensing grotesquely.
His ancient sword shattered. And a new, gigantic one appeared—six crimson points burning.
"…Shit."
The sky trembled with tension. Kurn stood fully transformed—no longer the distorted Dullahan-hybrid, but a towering humanoid knight, muscles coiled beneath midnight-black armor. The six crimson points on his colossal sword pulsed with eldritch energy.
I hovered, wings unfurled, sensing the surge of his power. He roared and swung that heavy blade in a massive arc. The air cracked—wind force enough to crack stone.
I twisted midair, slashing with Vitae-flamed edge, but sparks flew as metal met shadow-energy. The wound burned, but barely sanged him.
On my flank, Pyrael and the wyvern clashed. Golden fire met liquid storm in a tempest of steam and sparks. The wyvern roared, water spheres spinning around it like planetesimals. Pyrael's wings flared, scorching a flaming halo.
The butterfly—my copy of Bruno—rose again. Blood dripped from where I'd grazed his neck, but his form remained. He lunged, lance blazing with Vitae-fire, sharp and precise. He moved like the real Bruno—predictable, relentless.
I counted the seconds. Kurn's blade began to glow brighter, black flames licking its edges. He was close to unleashing a devastating technique—the Abyssal Break.
I grabbed my sword with both hands, channeling Vitae into its core. Flame flickered around my silhouette. "Pyrael, cover me!" I shouted.
Pyrael screeched and charged the wyvern, drawing its attention. In that instant, I dove toward Kurn, wings beating furiously against the turbulent currents.
His sword descended, a meteor of dark light. I braced—channeling a shield of golden Vitae. Impact. The world exploded. Pain flared. My barrier cracked. But something else happened: my Vitae-fed lifeforce pulsed outward, meeting Kurn's Abyssal Break stroke with counter-motion. The energies clashed like opposing stars.
A thunderous shockwave radiated outward. The wyvern was thrown off course; the butterfly staggered; even Pyrael's flames dimmed. For a heartbeat, everything was still.
Then I pressed forward—sword ignited in golden flame. I jabbed straight into Kurn's chest. His armor cracked. The crimson points on his sword dimmed.
But he didn't fall. He staggered back, glaring. His new armament flickered, then shattered—sending shards of eldritch steel raining down.
He roared and lunged again. I met him with Vitae-empowered slash. Sparks exploded. We clashed, blade against blade, shadow against flame, flying in an aerial dance of violence.
And then—I heard a familiar voice scream:
"SELE—NO!"
---
POV: Sitha
The battlefield hung in smoky haze. My purple beam and the wolves' triple-dark bolts still crackled from their collision. Every muscle in my arms trembled from channeling the Eye's power. Vitae dripped from my fingertips, releasing a sour tang in the air.
The three Nightfall Wolves staggered under the blast—they hadn't fallen, but their coordinated formation faltered. Their barriers shattered. Soulless black eyes focused on me, low growls rumbling through the sky.
Virelia hovered nearby, wings dipped, wielding her blazing spear. Ezir leapt onto a cloud of residual magic, purple eyes gleaming.
I drew a steady breath, centering myself. "Focus," I muttered. The Eye's vision pulsed—arcane runes spinning in my mind.
One wolf lunged through the smoky fog. I summoned a barrier of pure Vitae again. Its jaws slammed into it; magical force rippled outward. I held firm.
Across the sky, Virelia unleashed another fiery thrust. The flaming spear struck the nearest wolf—incinerating strong fur, but the beast staggered onward.
Ezir leapt from the air and sank claws into its flank. The creature howled. Black energy seeped—but Ezir's essence burned with purple radiance, countering the darkness.
I soared upward, crescendoing Vitae around my fist. Channeling the Eye's power yet again, I formed another conjuration arrow—this time laced with fierce divine purpose.
"Virelia, Ezir—cover me!"
She nodded. Flame flared around her spear. Ezir hissed. In perfect synch, they flanked me as I dove toward the nearest wolf.
Energy blazed from my hand—streaking purple-white—impacting the beast's chest. Vitae surged through its dark veins. With a burst, it collapsed midair—body dissolving in stained cloud.
The other wolves paused, dazed. Their coordinated strike was broken.
I landed beside Virelia and Ezir on a drifting ember cloud. "Two down," I whispered, voice hoarse. "One more."
The last wolf advanced—alone now, rage boiling in vacant eyes. I steadied the Eye's focus. Memories of long nights of study and sacrifice flashed through me. The rune-core of my being glowed.
I opened the Eye fully. My aura erupted—purple-white radiance extending outward in rippling waves. The wolf charged, jaws open, but met a wall of blinding light so pure its darkness recoiled.
It screeched and halted. Its form shuddered. Magic unraveled. And in that moment—I struck. A final conjuration arrow pierced its forehead. It yelped. Fell.
Silence returned.
Virelia and Ezir landed beside me. Smoke drifted toward the horizon. The three fallen wolves dissolved into nothingness.
"We did it," Virelia whispered, exhaustion in her voice.
I wiped the sweat and blood from my brow. "Yes." My aura dimmed. The Eye closed. I drifted downward, heart pounding.
I looked at the sky where Selena still battled. Flames and shadows swirled at the horizon. I swallowed.
"I'll go help her."