"What a hassle...." Aira muttered, the thought a mere wisp in the furious, accelerated current of her mind. The dining hall, once a picture of refined surroundings, was now a scene of utter devastation. Fine furniture lay splintered, tapestries were shredded, and the polished marble floor was marred by scorch marks, Aura burns, and dark, spreading stains.
Around her, six of Kael's thugged Ascendants lay broken, their Auras snuffed out, their bodies twisted into grotesque forms. The last two, a burly brute with minor Aura hardening and a wiry man who could generate short-range force pulses, hesitated, their faces pale with a mix of fear and desperate awe. They had witnessed their comrades fall like dominoes, dispatched by a phantom blade they could barely perceive.
Aira didn't wait. Her sword flashed, a silver streak that seemed to leave afterimages in its wake. The brute roared, swinging a massive, Aura-hardened fist, but Aira was already past his guard. Her blade sang, a high-pitched hum that cut through the air, finding the vital intersection of Aura conduits in his wrist.
He dropped his arm, paralyzed, and before he could register the pain, Aira's sword was already positioned. A swift thrust to the diaphragm, precise and devastating, extinguished his life.
The last man, desperate, unleashed a frantic volley of force pulses. The air before him rippled with invisible concussive waves, attempting to push Aira back, to create distance but Aira merely weaved through them, her motion so fluid and fast that the pulses seemed to part around her, barely disturbing the air she moved through. In the span of a single heartbeat, she was within his personal space.
The man's eyes widened in terror, recognizing the futility of resistance. Her blade, with practiced efficiency, silenced him, adding another body to the tableau of defeated foes.
Silence, thick and absolute, descended upon the dining hall, broken only by the distant tick-tock of the still-intact pendulum clock and the ragged breathing of Kael. The dust slowly began to settle, revealing Aira, standing amidst the wreckage, her sword held loosely at her side, not a single drop of blood tainting her pristine tunic. Her gaze, cold and unwavering, fixed on Kael, who stood alone in the gaping maw of the shattered doorway.
Kael's face, already contorted by rage, was now a mask of pure, incandescent fury. His jaw was clenched, his knuckles white, and his entire body vibrated with a raw, unleashed Aura. He had watched, helpless, as his hand-picked enforcers, Ascendants with formidable powers, had been systematically dismantled. His personal hatred for the Melanthos, for Aira, boiled over.
This wasn't just a battle for him; it was a crusade, a religious purge. He had hoped his men could at least tire her, soften her for his final blow, but she was as fresh, as lethal, as she had been in countless past lives.
"You Melanthos filth!" Kael bellowed, his voice laced with venom, rattling the remaining Aura-lamps. "You serve the devil, Metamospheeles! You defy the true path! This time, Aira, this time it ends with you!"
Aira remained impassive. "You've said that every time, Kael," she replied, her voice calm, utterly devoid of fear, tinged only with a profound weariness. "And every time, you've failed."
His Aura flared, no longer just a hum but a visible, oppressive pressure though he didn't understand what she meant by 'every time and failed' . Dark, swirling energy coalesced around his form, making the air crackle.
Kael was the third strongest Ascendant in Eldoria for a reason; he possessed a formidable command of raw, destructive Aura, channeled through a unique Aura Blade Manifestation ability.
Though when the Aura system landed on Humanity, it didn't explain everything. Humanity now classified every human according to their abilities, of which included Manifestors Ascendants—those who could summon weapons and strong entities made from Aura. Other classifications included Transformers Ascendants (who could alter their physical forms), Timers Ascendants (who could manipulate time), and Spacers Ascendants (who could control space), and so on.
From Kael's outstretched hand, a sword of shimmering, condensed Aura began to form, not a physical weapon, but a volatile construct of pure energy, crackling with dangerous power. It lengthened and solidified, gleaming with a dark, malevolent light, far more dangerous than any steel blade.
He didn't charge like his men. Kael was a seasoned warrior, driven by hatred but disciplined by experience. He moved with a heavy, purposeful tread, each step imbued with crushing force. The Aura Blade in his hand hummed, eager for contact.
Aira, however, wasn't waiting for him. Her body blurred again, a silver streak shooting across the damaged floor. She didn't simply dodge; she accelerated, intending to disarm him before he could fully bring his powerful Aura Blade to bear.
Kael was fast, surprisingly so, especially for his build. He spun, bringing his Aura Blade up in a sweeping, defensive arc. The energy blade clashed with Aira's steel, not with a metallic ring, but with a searing hiss and a blinding flash of light. The impact sent tremors through the room, a shockwave of displaced Aura. Aira felt a momentary pushback, a tangible force against her enhanced speed, a testament to Kael's raw power.
He pressed the attack, his Aura Blade moving with surprising agility for its size, each strike meant to overwhelm. He wasn't relying on finesse; he was relying on sheer destructive force. The Aura Blade seemed to burn the very air it passed through, leaving scorch marks on the floor and walls where it connected.
Aira parried, dodged, and weaved, her steel sword seeming impossibly light against the weight of his Aura weapon. She looked for an opening, a weakness in his furious, zealous assault.
Kael, sensing her probing, grinned, a flash of maniacal triumph. His Aura flared brighter, and he channeled more power into his blade. The energy weapon pulsed, growing slightly in size, its hum deepening to a terrifying roar. With a guttural shout, he brought it down in a devastating, overhead strike, aiming to cleave Aira in half. The attack was too broad, too fast, too powerful to simply sidestep.
Aira knew this blow. She had faced it countless times. She lowered her sword, holding it defensively, and braced herself, a flicker of grim determination in her eyes as the roaring Aura Blade descended upon her, promising a clash of cosmic proportions.
The very air around them crackled, charged with the impending impact, and for a fleeting second, the dining hall was consumed by the terrifying, destructive beauty of their warring Auras.
Thud! Kaboom!