From the sea of white, Eryon's mana stood still. No fluctuation. Just an ominous silence.
Butterfly watched him closely, wary of any sudden movement.
This can't be all.
In the next second, as if fate responded to her thought, Eryon reacted.
His mana surged violently, increasing exponentially with every heartbeat.
I knew it.
Butterfly took a defensive stance as the black mana erupted to the sky, melting the snow around him instantly.
Eryon roared once again, this time feeling like the axiom was shaken by his pure rage.
In a blur of speed, he launched himself straight at her, taking her by surprise as he raised his hand and caught her by the neck.
His grip was firm, leaving Butterfly no way out of it.
This is not good…I can't breathe!
With only centimeters between their faces, Butterfly saw him clearly for the first time.
From the cracks of his armor, black blood seeped out, dripping onto her. She could see the metal plates of his armor shifting, tightening around his flesh with every passing second.
From the very moment Manachor took control over him, it didn't only control Eryon, but it tormented him as well.
Butterfly was visibly shaken. Panic set in as she frantically tried to come up with a way to break free.
Manifesting her daggers, she stabbed at his arm repeatedly, all in vain, her blades only sparked against the cursed metal, unable to even scratch it.
Seeing his target trapped in his grasp, Eryon raised his greatsword, preparing to end Butterfly once and for all.
Terrified, Butterfly's control over the Axiom went wild. She started to shift the scenery rapidly, desperate for a solution.
At first, the axiom shifted instantly in an ocean, water surrounding them.
Eryon didn't flinch. He simply tightened his grip, ignoring the water, refusing to let his prey escape.
I need something… anything!
Frantically, the mana zone shifted again and again.
A volcanic crater. A ruined city. An underground cave.
The environment flickered like a broken screen until finally, it settled on a dense forest at the edge of a sheer cliff.
Seeing the scenery stop changing, Eryon prepared to strike. His sword starting to descend.
Butterfly closed her eyes, bracing for the end.
When,
From the top of the mountain a boulder fell, landing exactly on Eryon who was forced to let Butterfly go. Seeing herself free, Butterfly didn't waste any seconds, she retreated to a high tree branch, collapsing against the trunk.
Cough, cough!
She coughed intensely, gasping for air.
That was way too close…
She touched her neck, where his fingers had been. Her skin was burned black as dark steam rose from the bruise.
How much mana do you have left?
Butterfly wondered as her mana was almost entirely depleted, struggling now to even hold the axiom together.
Moments later, the boulder below began to crack from within. A black light shone through the fissures until the rock exploded into dust.
Eryon rose from the debris, his gaze locking onto her immediately.
With heavy steps, he marched through the forest. But as he took his next step, his foot found no ground.
The scenery changed once again. The ground and sky disappearing, everything being consumed by darkness while only distant stars lighten the world.
Gravity dissolved as well, leaving both flowing in an infinite space.
This is everything I have left. If I want to finish this, I need to do it now.
"ERYON!"
Butterfly screamed in that space, her words still reaching him as his attention shifted on her.
"You plan to destroy everything in your way and yet you can't even defeat me! You are laughable!"
Butterfly tried her best to taunt him, even tho she didn't know how to do it or what to say.
"...C'mon, show me everything you have!"
Silence fell over the dark expanse. Eryon floated there, staring at her, emotionless and still.
Did that work or was that too obvious?...
The silence lingered for only a little longer though before Eryon roared again. Massive amounts of mana began to gather in his sword, glowing like a dark star in the emptiness of space.
It worked, it worked…
Butterfly thought, preparing to fly erratically through the void to dodge the incoming beam.
But as Eryon positioned himself, his blade didn't point at Butterfly. It pointed at the darkness itself. At the wall of the Axiom.
He isn't aiming at me.
He's aiming at—
Her thought was cut short. Eryon had changed his strategy. He no longer cared about swatting the fly, instead he wanted to overwhelm the space.
Launching a powerful wave of concentrated black mana, the attacks flew past her.
The first wave dissipated into the infinite space, hitting nothing.
Frantically, Eryon sent wave after wave in all directions, turning the void into a storm of black energy.
"This is… crazy…"
Butterfly whispered when, in the next instant she raised a hand to her mouth feeling a warm liquid surge up. Looking at her hand, seeing her blood painting her palm. She was vomiting blood from pure exhaustion.
If this continues like this.
And just as she feared, Eryon's next attack didn't dissipate. It hit something invisible. A shockwave rippled through the dimension.
Seeing that his strike had found a boundary, Eryon swung his sword again, concentrating every hit on that single spot until the fabric of the Axiom cracked. A rift opened, revealing the real world outside.
With a single burst of speed, he propelled himself straight toward the rift.
The exit was right in front of him. Meters separating him from freedom.
But just as he reached it, the rift slammed shut.
Far away, Butterfly hovered, trembling, her hand outstretched. She was focusing every ounce of her will on maintaining the Axiom's integrity.
"Y-you, are not going a-anywhere."
She breathed heavily, her condition worsening with every second.
Eryon stopped. He looked straight at her, piercing her with his gaze. Then, he raised his sword and started to send chaotic waves of mana everywhere, hitting the walls of her dimension repeatedly.
For every blow that dissipated into the empty space, it felt like the lash of a wet whip across her back. But the blows that struck the invisible walls directly… those felt like a physical punch to the gut.
The entire space trembled as more and more blows connected, creating small rifts all around them.
Butterfly darted her eyes frantically, mentally closing each tear so that Eryon could not escape through them, her body screaming in agony with every repair.
Irina, Sato, and Shigure stood close by, Megumi still being unconscious. They watched the empty space where the stadium used to be, now replaced by the dark sphere of the axiom, waiting and hoping for the best.
As they were watching, a surge of black mana erupted from it, tearing the axiom as it regenerated moments later.
"Butterfly!" Sato watched, pained that he couldn't do more for her.
He instinctively took a step forward, as if to rush in, but stopped dead in his tracks. He realized with a sinking heart that even if he entered, he would be incapable of doing anything to help.
Irina, on the other hand, remained calm and collected, barely reacting to the leakage of mana. Beside her, Shigure watched the invisible dome with hopeless eyes.
In the distance, the roar of an engine grew louder. A motorbike appeared, with Killa speeding toward them.
"Is that?..." Irina muttered under her breath, her voice cold, clearly unhappy about the new arrival.
"Killa!"
Happy to see her, Sato stepped past Irina to greet her.
Oh, right. Killa and Irina haven't met until now.
"Irina, she is the one that helped us fight Eryon. She is not an enemy."
With that, Sato went ahead to greet her while she struggled to park the motorbike, deciding in the end to leave it on the pathway.
"I wonder about that."
Irina narrowed her eyes, recalling the moment Killa almost shot her when she tried to slap Sato.
"Did you miss me?"
Killa turned off the engine, sitting sideways on the bike. She grinned at Sato, who stood in front of her, clearly relieved to see a friendly face.