The tranquil atmosphere near the pond was now a storm of light and explosion. The once still air trembled under the crushing pressure of six powerhouses unleashing their full might, shaking the floating island from its core.
Arthur stood on one side of the clearing, Chi surrounded his armored figure as the mist around him began to scatter due to the sudden burst of pressure from his body, then arcs of lightning started to cover his body. Opposite him, the demon Anwir and the bandaged martial artist landed side by side, their combined aura cracking the air.
Selene floated a few meters away, her golden eyes were calm and unreadable, her long hair rising from the pressure of the magic she held back. Across from her, the other demon and martial artist stood ready, both already releasing their domains, saturating the air with killing intent.
The ground was fracturing due to the pressure their domains imposed on the island.
Boom!
Both sides launched forward at the same instant.
…
Anwir raised his hand, and the surroundings distorted. Arthur's vision dimmed, and the sky rippled like waves.
"Welcome to my Domain," the demon's voice echoed, his form splitting into dozens of clones. "Here I am the god."
Arthur's boots slid to a stop on the rocky ground as he scanned his surroundings. Everything looked… off. The trees seemed to bend and twist, reaching towards him, and the ground was trying to engulf him as they covered his legs and was rapidly climbing up his body. The mist coalesced into figures of hundreds of demons, each bearing Anwir's face, and were grinning.
'Illusions,' Arthur thought, as his eyes narrowed. He knew they were an illusion but his body still felt they were extremely real. He flew up to avoid the ground and the encroaching trees, he could already feel his body was adapting to the sensation. That means whatever was affecting his brain would be dispelled in some time, till then he would have to fight with this disadvantage. He could have used his technology to mitigate this disadvantage, where is the fun in that.
One of the illusions lunged at him, with its claws outstretched. Arthur didn't move from his position, as lightning flashed from his palm, slicing through the air and dissipating the mirage into smoke. But three more replaced it instantly.
Behind him, a ripple occurred in the air as the real Anwir appeared with a dagger in his hand, slashing down toward Arthur's spine. Arthur turned sharply, catching the blade mid-swing with his bare hand, as sparks flew.
"Nice trick," Arthur said flatly, his eyes glowing faintly golden. "But you cannot hide from me forever."
Anwir smirked, pushing mana into his domain as the illusionary world grew darker. "I will let you know it's useless to struggle once you're inside my domain."
Arthur grinned, lightning danced off his skin. "Struggle? I'm just getting started."
The demon's smirk faltered for a moment as Arthur released his Chi. Thunder cracked overhead, and the illusions around them rippled and distorted as arcs of lightning tore through the false space.
At that exact moment, the martial artist charged in, his muscles swelling as golden light wrapped around him, his Chi Domain bursting into existence.
"Die!" he roared, as his punch smashed toward Arthur's head like a meteor.
Arthur caught the strike, the ground beneath them cratering from the impact. The martial artist's Chi pressed outward, his domain trying to crush Arthur's will, to steal his strength.
The martial artist had a domain of Chi which helped him increase his strength and durability and weaken his opponent's. Though it depended on his will power, how much he was able to weaken his opponents, if his willpower is weaker than his opponent then it would only be able to increase his strength but unable to weaken his opponent's.
Arthur felt the pressure clawing at his mind, a heavy force trying to bury him. But his gaze sharpened. "You're gonna need more than brute force to defeat me."
He channeled his own Chi, compressing it around his body, not expanding outward but inward. And increasing the gravity around his body by hundreds of times, and the martial artist's domain cracked and dissipated as it tried to near Arthur's body.
The martial artist grunted, his face twisting in disbelief. "How…!? My domain…!"
"Your domain relies too much on your opponent's strength," Arthur said, his voice low, and lightning crawled up his arms. "And since it appears my domain is stronger than yours it couldn't keep up and dissipated as it came in contact with it." Though there was a bigger caveat in why he was able to dissipate the martial artist's domain, and that is because both of their domains required Chi to operate and his Chi manipulation level was higher than the martial artist.
The demon tried to take advantage of the moment, appearing behind Arthur once again, as the dagger he held glowed with a black light. "You talk too much!"
Arthur spun, raising his hand. "Maybe." A sphere of condensed lightning exploded at point-blank range.
BOOM!
The blast vaporized a dozen illusions and hurled the demon backward, his cloak was torn apart, and his skin sizzled due to the high temperature of the lightning.
Arthur dashed forward before the demon even hit the ground, his movements appeared blurred. He ducked under another punch from the martial artist and countered with an elbow strike that sent shockwaves through the man's ribs.
The bandaged man coughed up blood due to internal injury but refused to fall as he reinforced his body with Chi. His eyes blazed with fury as he shouted, "You think you can match my will?!"
Arthur's lips twitched at how loud the martial artist was. "You're welcome to test it."
Lightning burst from his feet, and he slammed a knee into the man's stomach. The martial artist's eyes went wide. His body bent like a bow before he was launched across the clearing, smashing through several crystal boulders.
Arthur turned just in time to see Anwir rising again, rage twisting his features. The demon shouted something guttural, and the illusion warped back into dozens of spears of black mana forming in the air, all aimed at Arthur.
Arthur lifted his hand, and said in a flat tone. "It's useless to use your illusion against me." Arthur was not bragging as the illusions were weaker than the original, and it didn't matter how many the demon was sending after him, they were not able to cause even a bit of damage to him.
The spears fired at Arthur, as his domain erupted from him for a short distance.
Every black spear that entered the radius was crushed and disintegrated instantly, their energy dissipating in the atmosphere.
Then Arthur vanished from his position and appeared behind Anwir, his hand was crackling with concentrated Chi.
"Your domain may work against opponents weaker than you," Arthur said softly. "But… You are not strong enough for it to affect me."
He slammed his hand forward, and a thunderclap split the air. The explosion swallowed Anwir whole, his scream echoing across the island as his illusion shattered completely, and Arthur turned towards the injured martial artist.
…
Selene faced her opponents calmly, blue energy covered her as she hovered a few feet above the ground.
The demon opposite her stomped on the ground once, his domain spreading instantly. The entire terrain trembled as the ground split open and giant stone pillars rose into the air.
The martial artist beside him activated his Chi Domain, his body glowing golden. "She's strong, I'll try to suppress her Chi flow."
Selene smiled faintly, almost pitying them. The demon raised his hand, hurling massive boulders her way, while the martial artist dashed forward, his palms glowing as he aimed for her chest, seeking to disrupt her energy.
Selene vanished, and a gust of wind brushed past them. Then her voice echoed behind the martial artist, "You are too slow."
A surge of lightning engulfed him before he could react, the crackle echoing across the clearing. He was flung back, with smoke rising from his body.
The demon cursed and slammed his palms into the ground again, the entire field erupting into spikes of stone. "You can't dodge forever!"
Selene didn't dodge. She raised a hand, and the spikes shattered midair. The space around them distorted faintly as her domain, only partially opened bent space itself.
The demon's jaw opened wide in disbelief. "I… Impossible…"
She appeared in front of him, with a flicker of blue light. Her knee crashed into his ribs, followed by an uppercut. He flew backward into one of his own rock formations, shattering it.
The martial artist recovered with a growl, forcing his Chi Domain outward again, trying to affect the energy inside her body. He could sense her life force, but it was like trying to grasp the sun with bare hands, it was too vast and too radiant.
"W… What are you?" he gasped.
Selene had multiple elemental powers, ranging from lightning, to light, wind, and the more esoteric space element. The martial artist and the demon to their despair found that even with both of them combined they couldn't suppress her.
Selene tilted her head upwards, lightning crackling along her arms as she raised both hands. "Heaven's Descent."
A sphere of condensed plasma formed above her, it was small at first, then started to expand until it illuminated the entire clearing. The demon screamed, summoning dozens of earth walls, but they melted instantly under the sheer heat.
The martial artist tried to move, but space warped around him and suddenly, he couldn't twitch a muscle. Selene's golden eyes flashed. "You tried to manipulate my lifeforce. Let me show you what real control looks like."
She snapped her fingers. The energy sphere detonated, collapsing inward before bursting into a radiant explosion.
When the dust cleared, both her opponents lay on the shattered ground, barely conscious, their domains shattered like glass.
Selene landed softly, as she restrained her aura. She sighed. "That was… disappointing."
…
Arthur landed beside Selene a moment later. Behind him, Anwir's and the martial artist's body was carried by two huge hands made out of Chi..
Selene glanced at the wreckage he left behind. "You look like you had fun."
Arthur wiped the dust from his cheek and said. "Fun might not be the right word."
She crossed her arms, smiling faintly. "They're still alive?"
"Barely," Arthur said, looking back at the two unconscious figures.
Selene's gaze softened slightly, though her tone remained even. "Let's not kill them yet, we need to hear why they attacked us. Maybe they have a way to collect the liquid from the pond."
Arthur nodded. "Okay."
Behind them, Finn and the others emerged from the chaos, bruised but alive. Finn let out a low whistle as he saw the devastation. "Whoa! This place is wrecked."
He nodded at them, then said quietly, "This place won't stay hidden much longer. We should move before more people arrive."
Selene nodded. "Agreed."
Then they disposed of the bodies of the dead and gathered the unconscious people to question them.
***
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