Act 3 - Chapter 10, Part 1

Chapter 35: Ajal; Shauran 45th, 344SR; 18:30

"Spirit Bloom... Wrath of the Reaper!" Ajal roared.

His spirit overflowed across his spine, and energy burst out of him as it pulsed out of his body like a light beneath his skin. The barrier of light cast by Arid Lightbringer had been corrupted and now acted as a shield, no one could stop Ajal. A white beam of light, taller than the Celestial shot forth from where he stood.

"Leanne! Laris! Assist me!" Arid called to two others.

The noble of House Lightbringer was still calm, his lazy eyes flashed blue and two blue rings appeared behind him. His cape flapped in the strong winds caused by the force of the divine Spirit Bloom. Arid wore black dress pants and a white shirt with the golden insignia of a sword on his chest, the guard of the sword embedded with a single eye.

Two blonde angels in tight clothing with white cowls covering their left and right sides walked out of the crowd of armed shock troopers. The woman Leanne had a ponytail on the right side of her head, but her cowl draped over her shoulder. She was six feet tall, holding a whip of light in her hand. The boy Laris was short, he didn't look very old. He had his hair tied to the left side of his head, and his cowl draped over the opposite side.

"So... This is a divine being..." Leanne whistled at the sight.

"The fool really thinks he can stand against our alliance..." said Laris.

The army of hybrid resistance members looked up in shock at the massive pillar of light. The descendants of Argol were armed with katanas, curved swords, and jagged knives. The angels gripped their arm cannons and batons powered with logorite, they didn't seem phased one bit by the sight. All of their weapons pointed to the ground, they looked up at the white light spreading the clouds in the sky apart. Even the hybrid civilians were in awe at the sight of overwhelming power. The barrier shattered as the intense force tripled in strength. Banhu's unconscious body was pushed by a strong force despite his weight. Zeus was in a daze as he looked up at the light hitting the sky, his green eyes shook.

"Banhu-" Iris tried to shout, the resistance commander was lifted off her feet and she stuttered.

"Alexander didn't say anything about this... Zeus! Focus!" Angela held her ground.

The light within the corrupted barrier disappeared, and Ajal stood in the center holding a double-ended scythe. His third eye was wide open, emanating bright purple steam. The silver handle of the scythe was forged from a dense lead. One side of the scythe was a lavender-colored crescent. The black dot fixed within the center of the lavender blade seemed to distort the space around it. The other side was decorated with a silver three-eyed skull and a black scythe with jagged curved edges.

"Spirit Bloom...?" Arid repeated as he stared at the black dot in the center of the crescent. "Another technique from Aka..."

Arid lifted his palm to his mouth and spoke into it, a light from his palm reflected off of his face. Ajal squinted as he saw that, 'What the hell... Something is glowing off of his hand?'

"You made that big light show yet you're barely any different! Don't mess with me!" Zeus shouted confidently as he charged forward.

Ajal could feel the spirit of every combatant and civilian no matter how minuscule. Zeus approached from behind, jumping into the air. The cape on his back was a separate spirit, it wrapped around his arm and turned into a large blade. Ajal spun his staff, the shadow blade changed shape.

"No- Idiot! Block!" Angela shouted.

Ajal gripped the silver staff as the blade changed shape, turning the weapon into a sword spear with a black ten-foot blade. Zeus panicked as the edge approached, he raised his guard to block. They clashed in mid-air, however, the force of Ajal's strike sent him soaring over the crowd of hybrids.

"What the fuck!" Zeus shouted.

"Zeus!" Angela cried as she held her blade low and ran forward.

"Thanatos's Light..." Ajal whispered.

Ajal disappeared, leaving a white flash of flame behind. Another white flash appeared at the same time at the spot where Zeus was about to land. Ajal's foot was raised into the air.

"Huh-"

Ajal swung his foot down and hit Zeus directly in the back of the neck, he slammed the angel into the ground.

"Agh!" Zeus grunted.

"Zeus!" Angela shouted as she charged forward.

Angela dashed forward with her claymore, her head still clad with the white mask with three slashes on its left side. Ajal simply stared at her and walked towards Arid. Angela slashed down at Ajal, but her blade clashed with something in mid-air. She was shocked to notice that nothing stopped her blade, there was an invisible wall between her and Ajal.

"What!? What the hell is this!" Angela gritted her teeth as she tried to push her blade forward. "Dammit! Why!"

Angela pulled her blade back and then swung wildly, however, each of her strikes was stopped as she felt something grasp her hand. She looked at her wrist in shock as the creases of her clothes tightened more and more.

"Haha! What a weakling! Is that really the best House Rover can do?" Leanne chuckled.

"Why are you laughing..." Ajal asked but he cracked a smile. "What the hell are you two wearing?" Ajal laughed between words.

"Excuse me?" Laris stepped forward, and Leanne tilted her head.

"You look ridiculous... Do you seriously fight in that- Oh wait! You're both Lightbringers? Even better..." Ajal laughed.

Several soldiers from Argol lifted their blades to the red patches of fur on their shoulders. Igniting their blades with crimson flames. 'Anubis's Abyss!' The black and white wave passed over the entire battlefield in an instant, almost like a switch was flipped. Each of their blades lost the crimson flames, and the blue circles behind Arid disappeared. Ajal's Spirit Sense was in a state of overdrive. 'I don't feel a single soul from that group of angels in the white suits... An illusion? It didn't disappear after Anubis's Abyss... That could be magic...'

"All forces! Standby! The Lightbringers shall slay this fiend!" Leanne shouted.

"Hold your ground... We can't use our gifts whilst this field exists..." Arid advised.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Ajal asked. "You filming in a movie or something? That army behind you isn't real..."

All three Lightbringers raised their eyebrows. The hybrids looked amongst themselves in confusion.

"Huh?" Angela looked between Arid and Ajal.

"Wh-what... You think we'd show up without-"

"Don't even bother lying," Ajal pointed at his third eye with a wide grin. "I can sense Spirit very well, and I don't sense a single one from that army... Reapers Assault..." Ajal's third eye flashed.

A being shrouded in a black cloak emerged from the shadows around Angela, rising into the air and floating. The being spread out its six arms, two attached to the main torso, the other four were silver, forged from the same lead as his weapon. The being had one eye on its face and that was it, it possessed four floating arms with purple eyes on their palms. The total number of eyes reached six with the final massive one in the chest. The being floated high into the air, spreading out its cloak and releasing a rain of spinning black scythes at the Lightbringers.

"What the?!" Angela looked up in shock.

Arid conjured his staff, a blue-colored scepter ornamented with blue orbs on both ends. One end had a small crystal, it was surrounded by swirling rings of silver, and the other with a larger crystal orb. The two blue circles behind him overlapped and moved in front of him, forming a shield. The being which emerged from the darkness dived back into the shadow. Arid's staff glowed a bright blue, his eyes glowed the same color. The scythes cleaved right through his shield. Leanne and Laris jumped to the sides.

"Mirror Magic! Distortion!" Arid chanted quickly.

Arid teleported a short distance away as the scythe slightly grazed him. He reached for his face with a surprised look.

"Thanatos's Light..." said Ajal.

His body disappeared, leaving wisps of black and white flames behind where he stood. The moment Laris landed Ajal teleported behind him. The short Lightbringer looked up in shock, the difference between them only now becoming apparent to him. Ajal jerked his elbow back and struck Laris in the head, the single hit was all it took to knock him out.

"Huh? How did he get there-" Leanne stopped as Ajal ran straight at her.

"Leanne get back!" Arid shouted.

The only thing she saw was Ajal's fist in front of her. She flinched and shielded her face, but Ajals first planted into her stomach. She coughed as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, she lost consciousness as well. 'Huh... I expected more from Lightbringers...' Leanne and Laris both fell to the ground quickly. Arid kissed his teeth and spun his scepter around.

"Mirror Magic! The illusion of the Mist!" Arid chanted.

The fake army of angels appeared in front of Laris and Leanne. 'He's giving them cover...'

"Zeus! Get Laris and Leanne out of the way!" Angela ordered.

Arid reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with a strange symbol of a cloud on it. 'Runes? He did just use Mirror Magic... This guy is a skilled magic user.' A blue fire ignited off of the scepter's orb. The cloud symbol glowed a bright white before it vanished from the sheet of paper. As it disappeared, the flame on the end of the staff started to spin like a tornado. The flame was continually compressed as a ball of light surrounded it and continued to compress it further. 'I was never that good at magic... That's rather impressive...'

"Particle Magic!" Arid braced his stance as bolts of electricity from his staff crackled in the air.

"Particle?" Ajal tilted his head. 'A fourth level spell... probably...' Ajal glanced at the ground in a moment of confusion. 'Or was it third-'

"Particle Projectile Cannon!" Arid roared as he fired an orb of blue energy through the air at Ajal.

It burned the ground in its path, growing in size as it flew through the air. A vibrant blue hue glowed from within the blast, its core was a spiraling bright orange. Ajal remained still as the ball of light approached.

"Yama's Ray..." said Ajal.

His third eye glowed a blinding purple in an instant, a highly condensed beam blasted straight through the ball of blue energy. The two blue circles behind Arid moved to his front to defend him from the blast. The blast collided with the shield and launched Arid off his feet. He was about to fall.

"Mirror Magic! Distortion!" Arid quickly repeated as he teleported backward multiple times.

"Thanatos's Light!" Ajal vanished and appeared in front of Arid.

"Light Magic! Solid Light Blade!" Arid grasped his staff with both hands.

A blue light, similar to the substance that formed the two circles behind Arid, shaped into a blade at the end of Arid's scepter. Ajal spun his silver scythe in hand, flipping it to the purple crescent and spun it in hand. As Arid swung down, Ajal swung the glowing purple blade by Arid's, he didn't block Arid's blade, but the blade of light was absorbed into the center of the crescent.

"What?!" Arid stuttered in surprise.

"It's meaningless for you to keep trying against me, you won't win," said Ajal.

Ajal swung the blade up and slashed Arid's shoulder, the arm holding the staff. He tightened his grip on the staff, as he stumbled backward. His blood dropped onto the ground.

"Guh!" Arid grunted as his white shirt was stained with a damp red. "Meaningless...?" Arid seethed.

Arid's eyes flashed blue and he suddenly teleported backward. 'That wasn't the same as his other spells... That thing behind must be his gift, but what is it actually doing...' Arid crouched down as he held the wound.

"The angels are distracted! Assist the commanders!" one of the warriors from Argol roared.

'Shit... I need to stop them from fighting...' The thunderous footsteps of the charging army couldn't get rid of the sound of steps approaching from behind him. 'Three souls?' Angela and Zeus charged forward, Zeus's cape had formed into a single jagged longsword. Angela conjured her mask. The light blinded Ajal for a moment, and all the shadows around him disappeared. 'Ugh...' He still held the silver-colored scythe, but the shadow-bladed side disappeared. Angela and Zeus both jumped with their longswords held high.

"Meaningless?!" Arid scoffed as he raised his staff at Ajal.

A blue light lit up behind Ajal, and he quickly raised the lavender-colored scythe. A blast of blue crackling energy collided with the end of Ajal's scythe, he was being pushed back from the force. 'Muer's Heart isn't working against it... This blast is from his gift?' Ajal stepped to the right and just barely evaded the two swords soaring for his head, releasing the blast towards Angela and Zeus. Angela quickly shielded Zeus. Arid's blast engulfed them both and struck civilians of hybrids as well as hybrids from Argol.

"He's-" Ajal glanced towards where the blast traveled before he noticed the beam moving towards him.

"Die!" Arid roared with grit teeth as Ajal hopped and skipped backward away from the beam.

Ajal looked down and noticed the shadows had returned, the shadow of the reaper separated from him and soared at Arid at an unreal speed. The blue beam of light traveled toward multiple civilians as well as the hybrid commanders. Ajal came to a stop as the beam continued to approach 'That piece of-'. Instead of sending the shadow behind Arid, it zipped in front of the beam's path. 'Thanatos's Light!' Ajal teleported in front of the hybrids, in the beam's path. The reaper rose from the shadows, each eye on its body glowed a bright purple.

"Yama's Ray!" Ajal roared.

Ajal fired a blast from his third eye which collided with the main blast and blocked it from hitting the hybrids. The reaper behind him fired a blast from all six eyes directly at Arid. Arid's beam disappeared, the blue circles behind him separated, and at the same time, Arid's body seemed to duplicate in the process. 'What the... An illusion? Or is that a real clone?' Angela coughed as she stood up weakly.

"You okay kid..." Angela croaked as she weakly looked down at Zeus.

"Hey... Captain..." Zeus stuttered.

"You dare call my purpose meaningless!" Both of the Arid's shouted to Ajal's shock.

"You crazy bastard... You don't even care about hitting your own allies!" Ajal cursed with an enraged tone.

Angela turned to Arid with an incredibly upset expression, she almost fell but Zeus caught her under the shoulder.

"Hey! You piece of shit! You didn't even stop firing after you hit her!" Zeus screamed, his voice brimming with rage.

"Silence! The elimination of the divine being is more important!" Both of the Arid's spoke down to Zeus.

The cowl around Zeus formed into the head of a dog. Zeus and the dog grit their fangs at the noble he was supposed to be allied with. 'What the hell...' The clones both turned and pointed at Ajal, the two of them mirroring each other's actions. His voice had a slight echo behind it.

"You! Are the only thing here, that is meaningless!" Arid and his clone scorned Ajal.

Ajal raised an eyebrow. 'He really didn't like that comment...' The blue circles behind both clones shook erratically.

"All of the divine beings are just meaningless monsters! Weapons made just to destroy! The angels have been cursed with your existence from the very beginning!" Arid and his clone seethed. "Especially you!"

The voice sounded strange compared to the original pitch, the reverberating tone of his voice sounded like it was echoing.

"The beginning?" Ajal tilted his head.

"I didn't think you could get angry... Glad that's more important than almost frying me..." Angela spat with an upset look as she weakly stood.

"You filth... Invading our world and meddling with our progress... The angels are cursed to meet you damn divine beings and have our progress stopped, each, and every, fucking- time!" said Arid. "Angela! Stand up! This fight isn't over yet!"

"Fuck off!" Zeus stood up and spat some blood on the ground in front of Arid. "We don't need this piece of shit! We can take him, captain!" Zeus's cowl cloaked his arms and grew blades.

"Unfortunately... We do... We can't even land a hit on the guy on our own, especially not anymore now that he powered up..." said Angela.

The Reaper and Ajal stood between the two factions of hybrids, intimidating both sides at the same time. Several hybrids tried to attack the civilians anyway. 'Yama's Ray...' The reaper fired two beams across the ground between the two groups of people, burning the ground and creating a ditch full of molten stone. The resistance commander with two katanas knelt and touched the molten stone. It burned his hand and he pulled away quickly.

"Hybrids! I ask you to please stop this battle at once! Forsake my selfishness and please stop!" Ajal projected his voice.

"And who the fuck are you?" a blonde-haired man with narrow facial features shouted. "No, who the fuck do you even think you are!"

"Blaize! Don't test this guy! He ruined Banhu without breaking a sweat!" Iris warned with a serious tone.

The clan leaders all bared their fangs, growling from all of the hybrids and sounding like a rumble. The civilians who admonished the rebels approached the clan leaders they were loyal to. It surprised Ajal to see the peaceful people of Andurill sneering and cursing the other side. The descendants of Argol all howled and barked, the entire army of savage warriors ready to fight. 'I can't let them get near the civilians...'

Blaize wore similar pants to Banhu and Iris. A cloak decorated the left side of his body, and the other half seemed to be tucked into his waist, most of it burned off. 'Another one of those resistance commanders...' Ajal shook his head, then started forward towards the angels. Angela and Zeus both took a stance.

"Just, hold on... What makes you think you have- any right?" Blaize tilted his head as he asked with a mystified squint.

"You're going to keep fighting alongside the guy who just blasted you?" Ajal turned around and asked Angela. "I won't let the hybrids fight while I'm still breathing, but you angels I have a bit of a grudge for."

"This fucking prick is ignoring me..." Blaize shook his head and raised his hands in the air.

"I have my own reasons for fighting, yours isn't bad though..." Angela grinned as she held her claymore in front of her. "Ice Magic... Ice Armor" Angela's body was clad with plates of rigid ice. A layer of frost caused the steel blade to condense, crackling as it shrunk ever so slightly.

Zeus glanced at her with a confused look, the woman's yellow eyes were full of confidence. 'Hm...' Ajal smiled as he closed his eyes and sighed. 'Spirit Manipulation...' Ajal's heart started to beat faster. He spun the scythe around in mid-air as he took a stance. He crouched down low, holding the double-sided scythe with both hands.

"That thing is moving through the shadows... And somehow attacking what's in the physical world..." Arid and his clone both mentioned.

"The shadows?" Angela repeated. "So that's how he blocks without moving a finger... But I can see that thing back there... It isn't in the shadows right now..."

"So long as he's trying to stop those brutes infighting... He'll be at a disadvantage..." Arid grinned.

"You blast me again and you'll be at a really big disadvantage..."

"My apologies, I lost my temper for a moment."

The noble of House Lightbringer and his clone both pulled out another sheet of paper, the one on the left held a tear shape on it and seemed to be dripping water. The other one pulled out a page with the cloud shape on it.

"Let's show him how House Rover hunts, shall we!" Angela grinned.

"Yeah!" Zeus roared.

Zeus dashed and threw his fist forward, the blade on his arm extended towards Ajal, Angela ran forward without her mask on. Ajal dodged the blade as he ran toward Angela. 'Her ice magic isn't that special...'

"Mirror Magic! Distortion!", "Particle Magic!" Arid and his clone initialized different techniques.

The clone on the left vanished, and the other stood in place charging the offensive magic. Angela and Ajal swung their blades, and as they clashed Zeus dashed to Ajal's left and swung at his head. Ajal ducked just before the blade could cut him. Angela swung her blade upwards, Ajal saw the attack coming, but he was in a bad position to counter. Zeus readied his next swing. Ajal shrouded his body in a black and white flame as he let go of his scythe, leaving a trace of the flame behind. Angela knocked the scythe upward, believing she disarmed him. 'Thanatos's Light!' Ajal teleported into the air and caught the scythe.

"Yama's Ray!" Ajal fired a blast from his third eye at the ground between them.

"Die!" Arid roared.

Zeus and Angela both jumped backward as Arid fired the orb of energy at Ajal. 'Anubis's Abyss!' A black and white wave extended over the two combatants from House Rover. Zeus's gift disappeared, Ajal dashed forward and pressed his foot into the ethereals gut.

"Ack!" Zeus coughed before he crashed into the ground.

Ajal raised the back end of his scythe at the approaching blast of particle magic. The space around the crescent was distorted, he redirected the blast around him and then back towards Arid. However, the moment it separated from Ajal, he noticed a flaming ball strike the magic blast. It exploded in front of Ajal in an array of blue hues. The elegant and lustrous plasma seared Ajal's arm.

"Ah!" Ajal winced at the heat.

However, he was caught off guard as Angela slashed him from behind. 'Damn!' Ajal turned and swung his foot at Angela, only to be blocked by the gauntlet of ice. Angela grinned as she stepped forward and slammed her other bulky gauntlet into Ajal's head. Ajal winced in pain as the ice crashed against his forehead. She clubbed him back and forth with the blocks of heavy ice, but as she swung for a fourth hit Ajal grabbed her arm.

"Muer's Heart..." Ajal chanted as his third eye flashed.

His arm clad itself in a black aura and Angela's expression lit up. She tried to pull away but Ajal's grip dug into the cold ice. The rough edges scraped the tips of his fingers, but the ice around Angela turned black.

"What the!" Angela struggled to break free, the ice on her body condensed and locked her in place.

"Stay there-"

While Angela struggled to break the black ice, Ajal sensed something approach quickly. Only to turn and see the white-coated dog which transformed into a cowl jump at him and bite his shoulder.

"Ah! Ow!" Ajal cried as he fell back against the ice.

The dog tackled him into the black ice and knocked it over. Angela was released as the ice hit the ground and cracked, giving her the leverage to break the rest. Ajal grasped the upper jaw of the dog with one hand as he pried its teeth from his collar. 'Aaah! I don't want to hit a dog! Get off!' Ajal threw the dog off of him, but it turned into a liquid and traveled through the air. Ajal quickly got to his feet only to see Zeus right in front of him, the cowl formed into blades on both arms. The ethereal swung at Ajal, forcing him to dodge. Zeus grinned as he spun in for another slash. Ajal laughed slightly as he twirled his scythe around and engaged. Zeus exchanged a flurry of slashes with the reaper in the shadow, Ajal swung his scythe up and launched Zeus off the ground. Angela got to her feet and charged back in, running past Zeus as he flew by.

"Damn!" Zeus grunted as his feet dragged against the ground. "Raah!"

'He's getting faster!' Ajal's body cloaked itself in a black and white flame. However, a flash of blinding light from Angela erased his abilities. 'Shit-' Ajal felt Zeus's blade pierce his right thigh, it embedded into the ground and pinned Ajal in place. Zeus jumped back as Angela charged at him for the finishing blow. Zeus's blade was still attached to his arm, Ajal clenched his teeth as he grasped the tendril between the blade and Zeus.

"Guh!" Ajal clenched his teeth as he took the pain. "Ha- Ahh!"

"Huh!" Zeus stuttered as he was yanked forward.

Ajal pivoted on his other foot, slammed his punctured foot into the ground, and pulled Zeus over his head through the air.

"Ah!" Zeus cried.

"Wha-!" Angela hesitated as she saw her lieutenant flying right at her.

Angela lowered her blade and took the hit head-on, catching her lieutenant but immediately falling over. Ajal winced as Zeus's gift changed its density, slipping out of his leg and traveling back to the ethereals side. Blood splattered on the ground. 'Agh! That was a bad one... It'll take some time to heal from a wound like this...' Ajal turned to where Arid's clone was, the one that fired the particle magic was gone. 'That fireball from earlier came from the west,' Ajal turned.

Around the edges of the clearing, several buildings still stood tall. At the very top of one of the buildings was a blue light growing in intensity. 'There you are... Spirit Sense...' Ajal closed his eyes as he focused on the building, there was one presence, Arid's. 'No one else is in that building... Good...'

"Reaper's Assault! Thanatos's Light!" Ajal activated two abilities at the same time.

The reaper spread its arms and the cloak. Multiple black scythes flew out from beneath the cowl. Each was shrouded with a black and white aura, flying through the air toward the buildings.

"Yama's Ray!" Ajal chanted.

The eyes on the reaper's forehead and chest glowed a bright purple before they fired at the cylindrical blue tower. Two blasts pierced through the building, the other four missed, two to either side of the building. The reaper continued to fire the blasts from each eye. It moved the path of the beams upward on an angle and sliced the building into six different pieces.

"Hey!" Vala shouted as Ajal devastated a building with a single attack.

'Thanatos's Light!' Ajal teleported to one of the scythes embedded into the wall of the building. Ajal grasped the scythe and it dragged down the wall slightly, before coming to a stop. He could feel the spirit of one of Arid above him. His third eye glowed purple as he fired straight upwards, burning through the buildings.

"Mirror Magic! Distortion!" Arid chanted from the top of the building as he teleported to a piece of falling debris.

'You won't get away again!' Ajal kicked off the glass, shattering it. He landed on a chunk of a flat wall and ran up. Jumping to another, then igniting his spirit and long jumping to the next one falling towards him. Ajal hopped across the debris through the air towards Arid. The black blade extended into a large scythe.

"Dammit! Mirror Magic-" Arid tried to cast his teleportation technique again.

"Thanatos's Light!" Ajal casted his own.

Ajal blinked between chunks of falling debris as he pursued the noble, each of the thirty-six scythes he fired at the building all acted as a point he could warp to. Each of those pieces of debris currently rained down over the clearing. Arid landed and looked left and right for where Ajal could've blinked too, his blue mantle flapping in the wind. Ajal jumped between chunks of glass and slashed through a chunk of debris. 'I don't need to rely on my sight!' His scythe pierced right through to the other side and slashed Arid's back who was in front.

"Ah!" Arid cried.

Arid whipped his whole body around and raised his staff. A blue bolt of energy fired out from the scepter's head. It struck Ajal head-on, burning his skin and launching him into the part of the building still connected to the ground. 'Thanatos's Light!' Ajal immediately teleported to a piece of debris nearby, crouching down as he focused his spirit on his legs.

"You're all the same! Jalrog! Now Grelt! Do us all a favor and die!" Every last one of you Divine bastards!" Arid screamed, his voice reverberating much more than before.

Arid pulled his staff back as it glowed a bright blue, he thrust forward and fired a torrent of blasts at Ajal. Ajal teleported to a scythe jabbed into a piece of debris above Arid and avoided all of them. The ground approached at an increasing speed. The circle behind Arid seemed to move around as if looking for Ajal. 'Is his gift a spirit? I don't sense two spirits from him...'

"Jalrog? Now Grelt? What are you talking about!" Ajal shouted.

"Our history will mean nothing to your burning husk!" Arid looked up and pointed the scepter straight up at Ajal.

'Thanatos's Light!' Ajal teleported to a nearby shard of the building which hadn't been falling, flying with the momentum towards the disorientated Lightbringer. Ajal focused his spirit on his foot. 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal kicked Arid in the back of the head, the smack echoed through the air as the noble was launched, twirling towards the ground at an unreal speed. To Ajal's surprise, before Arid could crash into the ground the circle behind him moved, absorbing the impact of the fall.

Ajal landed on the ground at an incredible speed, dragging his feet against the ground to a stop. The force of his landing filled the area with smoke. He stood in the cloud of dust and started forward towards Arid. Two spirits approached Ajal, 'The ethereal again... He just doesn't know when to quit...'

"Raah!" Zeus jumped through the air with a long sword held above his head.

Ajal raised an eyebrow at the simple attack, he raised his scythe. Blocking the straightforward attack, however, both his eyebrows raised as he realized Zeus held Angela's claymore. 'Where is his-' Ajal looked down and saw a blade form around Zeus's foot. Zeus jumped and kicked upwards. Ajal's whole body arched backward to avoid the blade. However, it just connected with his upper lip and slashed through it.

"Urk!" Ajal winced with grit teeth as he stumbled backward.

Zeus's cowl formed around his arms and created two short swords on each hand. He dashed forward and tried to swing upwards with both blades, Ajal dodged to the left and right as blood trickled down his chin. Zeus slashed over and over, grunting and growling like he was rabid. Ajal's third eye followed every moment, every change in his intent. Zeus kissed his teeth in frustration as Ajal avoided the fifth set of slashes, he lunged forward for a stab. Ajal dodged to the side, then raised his foot and slammed Zeus's arm to the ground.

"Agh!" Zeus cried.

Ajal lifted the boy off the ground with the top of his foot, then spun and delivered a heavy kick.

"Ah!" Zeus whelped as he was launched like a ragdoll.

Zeus tried to orient himself in mid-air. The cowl moved around to defend him, but Ajal could read its spirit as well. Zeus swung his arms to twist his body around and slash, but Ajal tilted his head just enough out of the way. Wind from the slash blew through his hair as the blade cut through the air next to his head. A gasp escaped the boy's mouth as Ajal stepped forward and swung his fist into the right side of Zeus's torso. A shocked gasp escaped the ethereals mouth.

"Imperial Battle Arts!" Ajal stepped forward and focused his spirit. "Hammer!"

Another Spirit Ignition sent Zeus across the clearing, the young angel was rendered unconscious from the single attack. His body dragged against the dirt before it came to a stop. Zeus curled up and grasped his side, he struggled to breathe as he coughed. Ajal sensed Angela's spirit approach quickly. He turned and dashed straight at her and swung down, Angela's eyebrows rose as she slid across the ground to her sword. Ajal turned, but Angela held one of those papers up. This one had a red symbol that looked like a flame.

"Fire Magic!" Angela raised the paper as it glowed a bright red. "Fireball!"

A ball of flame shot forth from the paper, Ajal simply spun his scythe and blocked it with the lavender blade. 'Such a simple spell... How many times do I have to tell them magic doesn't-' As the flames faded, Ajal noticed Angela was gone.

"Mirror Magic! Refraction!" Angela shouted from behind, but the woman with icy blonde hair approached from the front.

'Illusions... The real one is definitely behind me...' Ajal trusted his ears and turned. He hesitated as he noticed three clones of Angela. 'Not a single one of them has a spirit! Shit-' Ajal stepped back. Narrowly dodging a stab from his right.

"Tsk!" Angela kissed her teeth.

Ajal grasped the blade with his bare hand and held it tightly. He raised his right leg and quickly delivered three kicks to Angela. One to her foot which made her wince. The next to her stomach robbed the air from her. And the last struck her chin and broke the bottom of her mask, her eyes faded as she tried to stay conscious. Ajal pulled the blade and her back in.

"Ack!" Angela grunted as Ajal swung her across the ground.

Ajal dashed forward once more, closing the distance between him and Angela again. She was wide open as Ajal pulled his scythe back. Angela stumbled backward as Ajal was about to end her, she fell on her rear and looked up with wide eyes. Ajal's expression softened, he stepped back and looked down at her.

"Kill her! What are you waiting for!" Blaize asked, the hybrids had been observing the intense battle closely.

"W-what... Why won't you finish me off!? You could've done so easily already!" Angela stuttered.

"I've never seen anyone use magic like you... You can't do much but you're crafty... Stay down please, I don't want anyone to kill each other..." said Ajal.

"Huh?!" Blaize scoffed. "What kind of joke is this?!"

Ajal heard a crackle to his left as he turned and saw Arid charging another attack. Ajal eyebrows raised as he saw Zeus on the ground between him and Arid.

"No..." Angela gasped. "Arid! Wait!"

Ajal sighed as he readied to intercept the blast, however, he felt a heavy spike in spirit. 'What the...'

"Thor!" Arid called.

'Thor...?' Ajal squinted. 'It feels like he's casting another spell-' Ajal stepped back as a yellow bolt of lightning crackled through the brightened night sky and landed behind Arid. A bearded giant with glowing blue skin landed on one knee behind Arid. 'Holy shit... That's a high-level spell... He has to be using primitive magic... Which means I can't take it with Muer's Heart...' The fifteen-foot giant stood tall, its body was sculpted with perfect muscles. Its waist is covered by white robes. It lifted its arms into the air and a massive golden bolt formed in its hand. Arid looked at Zeus and then grinned. 'He's going to... Bastard-' Ajal dashed forward quickly.

"Bite of the storm!" Arid roared.

The giant behind him threw the lightning bolt down at Zeus. Ajal jumped in the way, then thrust the glowing purple end of his scythe forward with both hands. He struck the bolt, lightning crackled in all directions, and it burned his sleeves off up to his shoulders. Ajal flew back and crashed into the ground, dropping his scythe as he tumbled onto his stomach.

"Agh!" Ajal pushed himself up with his forearms, they were burned black by Arid's attack.

"Zeus!" Angela ran past Ajal on the ground.

Ajal struggled to stand, he looked up at Arid whose body seemed to be almost glowing blue. 'Where is his clone... I thought this would be the real one considering he took the vantage point...'

"I really believed you wouldn't be a fool... Together we could've expanded our control beyond this world... The technology that brought you here... It's more advanced than anything we possess... Unfortunately, you are a fool," Arid sneered.

"There's no way we'd get along... You're just a piece of trash in general..." Ajal huffed.

The blue circle behind Arid disappeared. He smiled as his body started to fade into a cloud of blue dust.

"Maybe I'll see you in hell one day, divine being," Arid smiled as he vanished.