The battlefield roared with chaos as Vastarael and his team split to face their foes. The black crystalline Krepsuna lumbered forward, its massive claws dragging through the earth, glowing cracks along its body pulsing like veins of molten fury.
But the focus was on Phaenora and the girl.
The serpent Krepsuna towered above them, its sleek, ebony scales glimmering faintly under the dim, otherworldly light of the battlefield. Its humanoid head was crowned with jagged, glowing spines and its eyes burned like twin suns. Phaenora tightened her grip on her sapphire glaive, her knuckles white.
"Stick close to me," she said, sparing the girl a quick glance.
But the girl had already darted ahead.
"Wait—what are you doing!?"
The girl didn't reply. She swung the sapphire sword Vastarael had crafted for her. It was a slightly crude blade that shimmered dimly. It wasn't perfect since Vastarael only mastered in making sharp glaives, but as she charged at one of the serpent's flailing tendrils, the blade did its job.
With surprising precision, the girl cleaved through the tendrils that whipped out at her, her small form weaving through the strikes like a dancer. The creature hissed furiously, rearing back as if insulted that someone so small dared to wound it.
Phaenora was shocked for a moment before launching herself into the fray. She slashed upward in a clean arc, her glaive colliding with the serpent's head as it lunged toward the girl. Sparks flew as the strike glanced off its reinforced scales, but the creature hissed in pain.
"She made me do it," the girl shot back, twirling to slice through another snapping tendril.
"Oh, is that how it is?"
The kid was fast—too fast. Her small frame made her harder to hit and the sapphire sword, though rudimentary, seemed to mold itself to her grip like a natural extension of her body.
She was a natural born fighter.
The serpent lashed out with a massive swipe of its tail. Phaenora barely had time to react, diving to the side. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, shattering Krepsunas caught in its path.
"Okay, kid, if you can keep doing whatever that is, I'll try to stab it in the face."
The girl grinned, "Got it!"
'Move. Cut. Dodge. Breathe.'
Those were the only thoughts running through the girl's mind.
Her small frame darted through the chaos, her sapphire sword glinting with every strike. The blade wasn't perfect—its edges were somehow blunt and it had a strange weight to it, but it worked. And with her energy coursing through her veins, it cut through the Krepsunas like they were nothing.
If the weapon wasn't sharp enough, she had to use her own strength to make up for its bluntness.
She slid under a snapping tendril of the humanoid serpent, thrusting upward to sever it at the joint. The severed piece dissolved into black mist before it even hit the ground. The serpent roared, its glowing eyes narrowing on her. It lunged but she darted sideways, slicing across its snout in a quick, sharp arc.
A Krepsuna lunged to attack while her back was turned. Before she could react, Phaenora leapt between them, her weapon cutting the creature down in one clean motion.
"Watch your back, kid!"
The girl glanced up at her and nodded.
"Don't thank me yet kid. This thing's still alive."
The serpent coiled back and it struck, its massive head barreling down with terrifying speed. Phaenora pushed the girl aside, raising her weapon to block the strike. The force of the impact sent her skidding back, her boots digging trenches into the dirt.
"That's it!" Phaenora growled. "I'm done playing defense!"
She charged, her blade glowing faintly as she poured part of Vastarael's essence into it. The serpent lashed out again but Phaenora was faster. She dodged left, then right she closed the distance. With a thrust, she leapt, driving her weapon into the creature's eye.
The serpent howled in pain, thrashing wildly. Phaenora clung to her blade as the creature tried to shake her off, its massive form convulsing violently.
"Now!" Phaenora shouted, looking at the girl.
The girl nodded, raising her sword. Red energy crackled around her as she poured everything she had into the blade. She sprinted forward, dodging the Krepsunas swarming around her and leapt into the air.
She plunged the sword into the serpent's other eye.
The creature screamed, its massive form collapsing to the ground in a thunderous crash. Black mist began pouring from its wounds, dissolving its body into nothingness.
Phaenora felt the power of the Krepsuna they killed coursing through her body and it was more than she expected it to be.
'Is it because that it was a powerful Sunderer?' She thought.
Panting, Phaenora pulled her blade free and jumped down, landing beside the girl. "Not bad, kid."
The girl smiled, though her hands trembled slightly from the exertion.
Before the girl could reply, a deafening roar echoed across the battlefield. They turned to see Vastarael, standing tall as the crystalline Krepsuna loomed over him. He spun his glaive, its sapphire edge glowing brighter than ever.
"Looks like he's still busy," Phaenora said, gripping her weapon tightly. "Let's take care of the others. He'll handle him."
°°°°°
Vastarael was struggling, actually. He gritted his teeth, the crystalline Krepsuna standing like a monolith of destruction in front of him.
His weapon had done little more than carve shallow gouges into its armor-like hide and even Phase Slash, one of his weapon's skills that had shredded through souls before, couldn't penetrate the monstrous spirit this thing possessed.
"Tough bastard," Vastarael muttered under his breath, spinning the glaive one more time. He leaped forward, bringing the weapon down with all his might. The glowing edge connected with the Krepsuna's shoulder and skidded off, barely scratching the surface.
The humanoid creature retaliated with a swing of its massive, clawed arm, black crystalline shards flaring out with the motion. Vastarael ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow as the air split with a deafening crack. The Krepsuna was slower than him but its sheer durability made every exchange a losing battle.
Not even his plasma blasts were doing any damage. It was as if the black crystal was immune to mystic attacks.
And, to make matters worse, he could feel his essence draining faster than normal.
"Damn it, Phae," he muttered, glancing toward where Phaenora was cutting through lesser Krepsunas with relentless efficiency. She was using his essence to fuel her strikes, drawing from their connection. It wasn't her fault though. He'd told her to but it left him stretched thin.
The black crystalline Krepsuna roared, charging forward. Vastarael sidestepped but its claws slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that cracked the earth beneath his feet.
"Alright, fine," he growled, dismissing the glaive with a wave of his hand. The weapon shimmered out of existence, leaving his hands empty. "You want to play hardball? Let's do this the old-fashioned way."
Vastarael's arms began to glow faintly as sapphire wrapped around them, forming gauntlets with sharp knuckles. He clenched his fists, the weight of the sapphire adding to his already considerable strength.
The Krepsuna snarled, its crystalline body pulsing with a dark energy as it charged again. Vastarael didn't dodge this time. Instead, he met the charge head-on, his fist slamming into the creature's chest with a sound like a cannon going off.
The impact sent both of them skidding back, tearing trenches into the battlefield. The Krepsuna stumbled but didn't fall, its glowing eyes narrowing as it steadied itself.
"Oh, you're still standing? That's cute," Vastarael said, shaking his hands loose before surging forward.
Vastarael didn't like switching to brutality but at this point, he has no choice. If slashing didn't work, all he had was break through the crystal coating its body with pure strength.
He ducked under the Krepsuna's sweeping claws, stepping in close and delivering a rapid series of punches to its torso. Each strike landed with a bone-shaking crack, sapphire against crystal, sending tiny fractures spiderwebbing through its body. But the creature wasn't idle either. It lashed out with its massive tail, catching Vastarael off guard and sending him flying backward.
He slammed into the ground, carving a shallow depression as he skidded to a stop.
"Okay," he muttered, spitting out a bit of dirt. "That actually hurt."
The Krepsuna lunged, not giving him time to recover. Vastarael rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws that smashed into the ground where he'd been lying. He sprang to his feet, pivoting to slam his fist into the side of the creature's head.
The blow connected, hard enough to send the Krepsuna reeling. Its massive form staggered, crashing into a nearby rock formation and shattering it into rubble.
Vastarael didn't let up. He was on it in an instant, his fists a blur as he rained blows down on its crystalline body. Each punch sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, the ground beneath them cracking and collapsing from the sheer force of their battle.
The Krepsuna roared, slamming its claws into the ground. Massive spikes of black crystal erupted from the earth, forcing Vastarael to leap back. One of the spikes grazed his shoulder, tearing through the sapphire coating and drawing blood.
"Nice trick," he said, shaking his arm to dispel the pain. "But I've got better ones."
He charged again, ducking under the spikes and closing the distance. The Krepsuna swung its massive arm but Vastarael caught it, his sapphire-coated hands gripping the crystalline limb tightly. With a grunt of effort, he twisted, using the creature's momentum to hurl it across the battlefield.
The Krepsuna crashed into the ground, skidding across the earth and carving a deep trench in its wake. It roared, already climbing to its feet, but Vastarael was faster.
He leaped into the air, raising both fists above his head. As he descended, he brought them down with all his might, slamming into the creature's back and driving it into the ground. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, flattening everything in a hundred meter radius.
Their battle was carving the battlefield into something unrecognizable. Deep depressions and tunnels marked where they'd clashed and the ground itself seemed to buckle under the weight of their power.
The Krepsuna wasn't giving up. It lashed out with its claws, forcing Vastarael to retreat momentarily. But he wasn't done yet.
He charged again, weaving through the Krepsuna's attacks with practiced ease. Each strike he landed was precise, targeting the fractures already forming in its crystalline body. Slowly but surely, the creature was starting to break.
But it wasn't going down without a fight. With a desperate roar, it unleashed a pulse of dark energy, forcing Vastarael back.
"Alright. This is going to cost me but..."
He surged forward one last time, dodging the creature's wild swings and closing the distance. He delivered a crushing uppercut to its chest, shattering the last of its armor.
The creature flew up, the impact causing a sonic boom. Vastarael jumped up, using essence on his legs, making him able to catch up to the Krepsuna.
He clasped his hands together and brought his hands down like a hammer, slamming them into the Krepsuna's torso.
A shockwave erupted from the collision, rippling outward with enough force to shake the battlefield below. The sky itself seemed to ripple and the Krepsuna was driven downward like a meteor, its massive form plummeting toward the earth. Vastarael followed through, keeping the pressure on as sapphire energy cascaded around him.
The Krepsuna hit the ground with a deafening crash, the force of the impact carving a massive depression into the battlefield. The earth cracked and split, deep fissures radiating outward from the point of impact.
But that wasn't all.
The sapphire essence Vastarael had channeled into the strike detonated on contact, unleashing a blinding flash of light that engulfed the entire area. The battlefield was bathed in a brilliant blue glow, the sheer intensity of it forcing even Phaenora and the girl to shield their eyes.
As the light faded, the battlefield fell silent for a moment, the dust and debris slowly settling. Vastarael stood at the center of the newly formed crater, his hands still glowing faintly with residual sapphire energy.
The Krepsuna lay motionless beneath him, battered and dead.
Vastarael exhaled heavily and glanced up at the sky, where the faint remnants of his sapphire trail still lingered, and then back down at the broken creature at his feet, which slowly turned into ashes.
He saw the hologram's notification in front of him after feeling power course through him and smirked.
[You have killed a Crystal Humanoid.]
[Your physical body grows stronger.]
[Your sapphire durability has increased!]