The air turns heavy as the red-eyed man steps deeper into the old house. Aiden's breath stills. He can't interfere — just witness.
The old woman stands by the bed where the skeleton once lay. Her back is straight. Her wrinkled hands glow faintly with blue light, her eyes locked on the intruder.
"Who are you?"Her voice echoes with power — not frail, not frightened."What have you done to my village?"
The man doesn't answer. His red aura pulses outward, distorting the air around him.
"Give me the aura."His voice is flat. Mechanical. As if this was routine.
She sighs, slowly raising her hand.
"So you've come for that cursed flame..."Her fingers curl — wind picks up inside the room, papers flying, floorboards shaking."Then take it… if you can."
The room explodes in a clash of energy.
The woman vanishes in a flash of light — reappearing above him mid-air, her foot wreathed in blue fire, slamming downward. The man blocks it with one arm — the impact craters the ground beneath him.
Aiden stumbles back.
The man retaliates instantly — his fist glows red as he strikes upward, sending a shockwave that blows open the ceiling. The woman flips backward, landing like a cat.
"You're fast," she says."But you're not him."
"I don't need to be."
He dashes forward — leaving a red streak, throwing rapid punches like a machine. The woman flows around them gracefully, redirecting with her palms, countering with sharp jabs that leave glowing burn marks across the man's cloak.
She claps her hands — and a barrier of shimmering blue light traps him momentarily.
"That aura doesn't belong to you. It was never meant to be taken by force."
"Then it was a mistake to let it exist," he growls.
The man roars — red energy erupts from him in a violent burst, shattering the barrier like glass. He charges again, this time faster, using short-range teleport bursts, appearing at her side, behind her, above her.
She counters with blinding precision — her hands weave signs in the air, each one forming floating seals that slow his attacks and explode on contact.
But she's getting slower. Her breath is heavier.
He senses it.
The man draws a jagged dagger from his sleeve — coated in black smoke — and throws it. The woman deflects it, but he uses the opening to rush in.
Punch. Kick. Slash.
She blocks most of them — but one lands clean.
A deep strike to her ribs.
She coughs blood — her aura flickers.
The man prepares the final blow, hands forming a red sigil.
"Farewell, Guardian."
"Not yet…" she mutters.
Suddenly, she channels all remaining energy into one final move — her body burns with white-blue flame, overwhelming her aura. The entire house quakes.
She throws her arms outward — and time itself slows down for a brief second.
She appears behind him, palm to his back.
"Soul Severing Palm."
She strikes.
The man's eyes widen — his aura collapses violently, and he's sent flying through the wall, landing outside in a pile of ash.
But as she falls to her knees… her body begins to turn to bone.
"Too much…" she whispers.
Her hands crumble. Her face begins to hollow.The aura was never meant to be used this way.
The red-eyed man, now bloodied and stumbling, stands up.
"Tch… I can't survive body reconstruction in this state…"
He turns to leave — limping past the flames now consuming the village.
Then... he vanishes into thin air.
The village burns.
And the last Guardian's body turns to ash.