The Cycle

of Destruction

I moved swiftly, dodging the soldier's slow yet powerful swings. His movements were just a second slower than usual, but with immense power behind them. I darted around, much like Ena did, but going in with bursts of speed rather than maintaining it.

My arms were surrounded with jade ribbons and opaque armor to harden them. I swung in the air, releasing a jet of wind that Thiên parried effortlessly. As he parried, he slashed at my hands, breaking my barrier but leaving my actual body unscathed. I felt a surge of vigor as Orella planted a rune directly on me, and I reinforced my defences once more. Thiên slammed his hilt on my fist and dragged his blade down to cut me. Orella threw her mirror like a frisbee, reflecting the blow and creating an opening for me.

I wound up my arm, focusing all of my strength on my single fist. I punched Thiên's face with the most force I could muster, turning a quarter of it to sand. His durability was insane, and I had to create a blast like that ten times over to have any sort of impairing effect. I shifted the barrier and blessing to my leg, sweeping Thiên to try and trip him. He stood there, unwavering as he grabbed my leg with his arm and threw me across the battlefield. I flew through the air as Orella took my place in the fight, with more runes prepared.

Orella could not summon anymore animals, in fear of passing out. She needed to save energy for the Siea Yami rune, in case it was needed. She walked forward, placing runes around Thiên as traps. Orella drew one rune on each of her hands, reading agility. She went toe-to-toe with Thiên, using her speed to outmaneuver his attacks and whittle him down as I recovered. Orella drew a quick rune on Thiên's back as it glowed a vile green.

"Tag back!" I yelled, rushing forward.

Orella used Thiên as a launchpad, kicking herself backward. I grabbed her midair and pushed her toward the ground, using each other's velocity to our advantage. I decided to use a different approach, with swift but weaker attacks in comparison to a single, destructive blow.

I granted myself more defense and honed it on my limbs. I kept leaping around, landing blows just before I went out of range again. Thiên spun around with his sword, making a whirlwind that pushed me back on the ground. Orella shot a rune out, sparkling with lightning. It conducted with the tornado, striking Thiên as he was temporarily paralyzed to stop his pirouettes.

His back began to bubble, as the rune melted and oozed down his body. An awful smell arose as the acid burned through his skin, forcing it to sand. Thiên grasped his sword at the hilt as the gems on it shimmered. It radiated brightly and expunged his ailment, emitting a slight shockwave.

Thiên whipped his sword down and flew towards me. He readied his blade, spinning in the air like a drill. I tumbled to the left to just barely evade him. He stabbed into the dirt, and quickly used it as a platform to leap once more, taking his sword once he had his starting speed. I made a wall to stall his attack as he smashed through it, leaving me slightly vulnerable. However, I took the opportunity that I created myself and went straight for his torso. The blast that resulted toppled him over, allowing for me to get the upper hand. I focused my strength into my fists once more, striking Thiên's face several times. He began to wither away slightly, but it only seemed to anger him more.

He held his sword with both hands and thrust forward. I caught the blade in time, but his strength was on par with mine, even with my enhancements. The weapon inched closer to my face, as I struggled to find a way to get out in time.

"No!" screamed Rolf, as he started off towards me.

"Don't you dare," Dhari commanded, grabbing his arm. She summoned a small knife and stabbed it deep into Rolf's thigh, causing him to scream out. Both him and Ena suffered from wounds, and Dhari had no intentions of letting them aid me.