30, 29, 28, 27...
I have to get out of here. Aric thought as he manifested a grappling hook. The C4's about to blow.
But three enemies were closing in. Kayla hurled lightning spells to support Kylien's fire spears, which exploded on impact like miniature grenades.
"Hey!" Aric shouted mid-dodge, "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with matches, 'Hellspawn Junior'? Or did she just not give a damn about you and that's why you turned into such a flaming disappointment?"
[THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE! THE JOKE DIDN'T LAND AT ALL!] Ivy screamed in his head.
AHHH WHO CARES! I GOT 15 SECONDS LEFT BEFORE THE C4 BLOWS!
Apparently, sarcasm and humour wasn't Kylien's strong suit,
"You dare insult me and my MOTHER!?"
He hurled another massive fireball at Aric, who rolled forward just in time to avoid being incinerated
"Oh, I'm daring plenty tonight!" Aric said while shooting a grappling hook out of the broken window. The hook latched onto a nearby balcony railing.
"Well, gotta blast!" He gave a mocking salute as he grappled away.
Before the trio could react, a clickechoed in the walls which followed by a violent;
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The C4s detonated in rapid sequence. First came the shockwave, ripping through the town hall's foundation then the walls crumbles, windows shattered, and support beams were torn apart.
Outside, Seraphina instinctively shielded herself in a cocoon of darkness. When the dust settled and she emerged, all she saw was rubble, smoke, and fire.
And Aric? Nowhere to be found.
"UGH! ARIC! YOU FUCKING FOO-"
Seraphina voice stopped abruptly when she saw someone hanging off the side of the building. Dangling like a piñata several stories above the ground was Aric. His arms strained against the weight of his own body and his ears were temporarily deafened by the explosion.
"...Serrrrrraaaaaaaphiiiiiinnaaaaaaaaaa." Aric croaked pathetically, "A little help pleaseeee?"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! Do you have ANY idea how close I came to thinking you were DEAD?!"
"Uh…technically, I WAS thinking? I mean, look at it this way. It worked, right? They're toast!"
"TOAST?! YOU'RE HANGING OFF A ROPE LIKE A DAMN MONKEY, ARIC!"
She did eventually let Aric down with her tendril. While there was rubble, the area around was littered with bodies. Five master mages lay dead. Each body bore gaping holes through their torsos or hearts.
Aric was momentarily stunned by the sheer brutality of the scene,
"Damn. Remind me never to piss you off again. Also, I thought killing wasn't your thing?"
Seraphina sighed, "I mean, I've never killed anyone before. But five people ganged up on me so what was I supposed to do? Let them overwhelm me?"
Aric studied her face carefully. He knew the weight of taking a life, even in self-defense. The first time always left a mark.
No matter how justified it felt.
"You okay? Mentally, I mean."
Seraphina looked at him before sighing deeply,
"Well… I'm fine, I guess. It was either me or them. They were about to open their barrier—the realm-changing thing you keep mentioning. If they had succeeded, they would've killed me and probably everyone else in Ashwick too."
"It's still shocking though. I didn't think I had it in me to…to actually kill someone like that. But when it came down to it…I chose survival."
Aric nodded in understanding, "It's not easy. The first time never is. But you did what you had to do. And honestly? From where I'm standing, you saved a lot of lives tonight. So, good job."
"Thanks, Ar—"
Before she could finish, the rubble started to move. Just a second later, the debris exploded outward as Kylien, Leone, and Kayla emerged from it.
They were injured but very much alive. Kayla had a faint orange glow around her as she was healing herself.
"Enough games!" Kylien growled. "I'll burn this entire town to ash. You had your fucking chance Vayne and instead you blew up the negotiation and us for no fucking reason. I really thought you humans were smar-"
"Oh shut your bitch ass up." Aric snapped as he drew his pistol and fired directly at Kylien's head.
As expected, the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off his passive barrier.
"Tch. Fucking passive shit."
Seraphina blocked the attacks coming from Leone and Kayla,
"I THOUGHT YOUR PISTOL WAS STRONG!"
Aric threw a smoke grenade and ducked behind a crumbling wall,
"IT IS! BUT THIS FUCKING HALF-DEMON HAS A PASSIVE BARRIER! I CAN HIT THE WOMAN AND THE BIG GUY BUT NOT HIM!"
Seraphina closed her eyes briefly to focus on chanting an original spell in her mind.
In Narxiua, most grandmasters reached their peak by refining existing techniques, pushing their powers to absolute limits and growing stronger incrementally.
Demon grandmasters introduced harmful barriers designed to annihilate foes, while elf grandmasters pioneered non-lethal variants meant to restrain or protect.
Humans, however, rarely innovated beyond imitation.
Until now of course.
"Threads of the void, bind thy soul;
Drain thy essence, make thee shiver.
Bound by the shadows, end thy days."
Dark purple tendrils erupted from Seraphina's hands as she finished chanting in her head. This original spell wrapped the tendrils around Kayla like leeches, slowing her movements, dulling her mind, and siphoning her very life force.
Aric sprinted toward Leone and Kayla while manifesting a rifle. A Zastava ZPAP M70 and spraying bullets wildly to cover himself from Kylien.
Kylien was getting showered with bullets and was too busy shielding himself,
Damn coward. I don't know what that weapon is but I just need to destroy it.
Aric assessed the situation quickly,
"Seraphina! I got a plan! I can fight Ms. Electric and Mr. Oversize. You should handle this half-fuck here!"
Seraphina didn't respond. Instead, she wrapped her tendril around Aric's waist and yanked him backward just as Kayla, Leone, and Kylien unleashed a synchronized attack. It was a devastating combination of lightning, brute force, and flames hurtling straight toward them.
Seraphina raised both hands to make a shield of pure darkness in front of them. The attacks collided with the barrier which created a shockwave that made the ground cracked.
"Are you sure?" Seraphina said while maintaining the shield.
"Handling two grandmasters is not something you can do. You may have modern weaponry, but—"
"I can fight those two!" Aric said confidently, "But I can't fight the half-breed. Those two are idiots, and I've already made them bleed. I don't care if they're grandmasters or masters or whatever fucking masters, it's a losing battle if you can't go all out because you're worried about protecting me. I'll bring the woman and Mr. Gym Bro away from the fight so you can focus on the de—"
Kylien then declared, "It's time to END THIS! BARRIER: CINDERSHADE WASTELAND"
The world around them change into a realm of shadow and fire.
Aric was disoriented and felt dumber the longer he stayed, "What the hell is this!?"
"We are in a barrier. That half bastard's one." Seraphina replied back while also feeling weaker.
In Narxiua, demons have an easier time mastering magic compared to other races. Most are born with large mana reserves and an affinity for fire. A natural gift that often made them formidable beings.
What set Kylien apart however, was his talent. Not only could he wield more than two magics—an extraordinary feat for any race but his mastery extended far beyond talent. His barrier technique was so refined that it allowed him to create realms tailored to his will.
This particular barrier named, CINDERSHADE WASTELAND weakened the trapped victims' mana and mental state while amplifying Kylien's own power exponentially. Worse still, he retained complete control over its effects.
He could exclude allies from harm and even grant them additional strength. When Kayla and Leone stepped forward, they were fully healed and their abilities amplified beyond recognition.
"You see, Vayne." Kylien said as he raised a hand wreathed in black flames.
"In this barrier, I am unstoppable."
With a wave of his arm, he unleashed a barrage of attacks of spears of darkness and black flames that were guaranteed to hit due to the barrier's influence, coupled with Kayla's crackling balls of blue electricity and Leone's massive manifestations of fire-enhanced punches.
Each strike was overwhelming and impossible to dodge within the confines of the realm.
But Seraphina knew that. She knew that an offensive barrier would guarantee hits onto the victim so she made a square shape with her fingers. It formed a cube-like structure around her and Aric and that cube was known as a Box.
A Box is a technique that allows the user to temporarily negate the effects of a hostile barrier while also countering incoming attacks. However, mastering it required unparalleled precision in mana control. Making it one of the rarest and most difficult techniques to execute.
For several seconds, the Box held firm and deflected every attack effortlessly even if they were guaranteed attacks. With the Box now being their defence, Seraphina decided to open her own barrier.
One she hadn't used since a sparring match 20 years ago.