All But One

The Lion didn't hesitate, bloodlust and primal rage overriding any semblance of reason or tactics as its searing, flame-wreathed claws lashed out in a devastating strike meant to counter the mages' attack with sheer, overwhelming force.

'Bang!'

A terrifying shockwave blasted outwards in every direction, whips of errant flame crazily ravaging across the surrounding area as the ground burst apart from the combined, devastating forces of the primal Lion's strike and the mages' extinction-level firestorm.

When the shockwaves finally cleared away, leaving naught but a ruined battlefield of scorched earth and shattered stone in their wake, Gladius beheld the results of the cataclysmic clash.

The Nascent Lion Beast lay slumped upon the ground, its two front palms little more than mangled, burnt husks of seared flesh. Grievous wounds stretched across its body, the charred remnants of its once-mighty form now riddled with craters that exposed the gleam of pristine white bone amidst the devastation.

The beast could barely keep its eyes open at this point, hovering on the precipice of true, irreversible oblivion as its innate healing factor struggled in vain to counteract the sheer, overwhelming damage it had sustained.

At the same time, the two mages knelt upon the ravaged ground, their bodies violently shuddering as shockwaves of agony lanced through their very beings. Pain unlike anything they had ever experienced filled every inch of their existence, their bodies and souls both pushed to the absolute limit – the last, tattered vestiges of life clinging to the mortal shells that had once housed such immense potential and pride.

Gladius knew, in that moment, what had to be done.

His light steps carried him over to the broken form of the Lion Beast, his spirit sword slashing out in a gleaming arc of frozen fury. 

But the Nascent Lion, grievously wounded and seemingly at the edge of death's door, suddenly felt a massive spike of pure, undiluted bloodlust erupt from the depths of its very core.

Its bloodshot eyes gleamed with the crimson might of a berserk force, rampant Mana answering the primal call of its most base instincts as mystical runes suddenly illuminated across its charred fur in brilliant bursts of ethereal light.

The beast unleashed a sound that could have shattered entire mountain ranges, an unholy fusion of a roar and an earth-shattering bellow of outraged denial towards the concept of death itself. It lashed out with its broken, mangled palms, a malevolent crimson glow of Mana coating the ruined limbs as they exuded a sickening aura of something ancient, something wronged deeply by the natural order of existence.

Gladius focused in that crucial moment, his sword sense finally registering the true level of danger radiating from the beast's berserk state. 

He couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake, lest he find himself on the receiving end of some unknown, esoteric ability fueled by the Lion's desperation.

His feet shifted with practiced ease, each light step carrying him across the invisible currents of the air itself as he swiftly dodged the sweeping arcs of the beast's crimson-wreathed palms. 

Though he evaded the initial strikes, a frantic blast of compressed air howled outwards from their path, generating a strange suction force that seemed to emanate from the very wave of disturbed atmospherics itself.

Gladius could feel his body being pulled, inexorably drawn towards the Lion's wild, flailing attacks by some unseen force that even his light-speed evasions couldn't entirely resist. 

Sensing an opportunity amidst the chaos, he swiftly changed his plan within the span of a solitary heartbeat.

Instead of continuing to evade, Gladius allowed the force of the airwave to draw him inwards, using its very momentum to augment his own blinding speed as he lightly tread upon the invisible currents that swirled around the beast's form. 

His spirit sword lashed out, glows of icy power flowing through the blade as the Sword Ice Force amplified the strength of his strike a thousandfold.

The Nascent Lion, even in its berserk state, couldn't possibly react in time to such terrifying speeds.

A streak of searing crimson erupted forth as the spirit sword's razor edge carved deep into the beast's flank, cleaving through elemental hide and sinewy muscle with equal disregard. But the initial wound was merely the precursor, a single droplet in the torrent about to be unleashed.

The instant the spirit sword's blade bit into the Lion's flesh, it began to unleash a frantic wave of ice sword energy that flooded throughout the beast's internal body like an arctic tsunami crashing against an unprepared shore. 

The horrifying cold lanced through its innards, the profound Chill causing every nerve and sinew to tremble involuntarily as the overwhelming power of absolute zero weighing down the once-mighty form, rendering it sluggish and weighed down by an inexorable, glacial paralysis.

Gladius wrenched his spirit sword free from the Lion's side with a practiced flick of his wrist, the icy power still swirling around the blade in a maelstrom of glittering frost. 

Without hesitation, he lunged forward in a blindingly fast thrust, the tip of the spirit sword aimed directly towards the beast's skull in a singular, death-dealing strike.

A single gleam of razor-sharp silver radiated outwards as the blade closed in on its mark, the unstoppable force of the thrust carrying the weight of a killing edge that brooked no resistance, no obstruction to halt its lethal course.

'Chi!'

Blood sprayed wildly in a crimson fountain, splattering across Gladius's features as the spirit sword tore through the Lion's skull and deep into its brain, instantly severing any and all neural impulses that might have allowed the beast to live for even a single second longer.

The massive form trembled for the briefest of moments, almost as if struggling against the inevitability of death itself, before finally slumping over into a lifeless heap – the once terrifying visage now reduced to little more than a corpse, unable to even comprehend the impossible speeds at which Gladius had moved to enact its demise.

With the threat neutralized, Gladius lightly stepped through the air once more, covering the distance to the remaining Gale Academy mage in the space of a solitary, fleeting heartbeat. 

His spirit sword lashed out, the frozen edge gleaming with a lethal radiance as it showed no mercy to the broken, kneeling form before him.

A sickening sound of rending flesh echoed out into the ruined woodlands as Gladius's blade brutally sliced through the mage's forehead, shattering bone and pulverizing the brain in an instantaneous execution, granting a mercifully swift death. T

he mage's body slumped over, the last vestiges of life swiftly abandoning the mortal husk as the pool of vitae spreading outwards painted the surrounding earth in macabre shades of crimson.

All but one of the mages was dead, their arrogance and misplaced sense of superiority punished with a brutal finality that could not be denied.

Gladius swung his spirit sword in a sharp, economical arc, flicking off the worst of the gore and viscera that clung to the blade's frozen length. He then willed the sword to dissipate, the phantasmal weapon dissolving in a shower of glittering motes that quickly winked out of existence.

His obsidian gaze then turned towards the last surviving member of the Ember Forge contingent – the mage who had led their ill-fated expedition, the one who had dared to treat Gladius as little more than an expendable pawn for their own ambitions.

The mage was a broken wreck, his mind, spirit, and very body hopelessly shattered in the wake of the single-sided slaughter he had just witnessed. 

The look of desolate despair etched across his features was a far cry from the indifferent calm and easy confidence he had exuded throughout their entire journey, the very foundations of his world and belief system crumbling to utter ruin before his eyes.

Gladius casually strolled up to the broken mage, his steps causing the man to slowly lift his gaze, a look of pure desolate horror and unending despair filling every fiber of his being. 

Gladius simply smiled down at him, bluntly stating, "You won't die. I have some use for you, and if you do as I ask, we can go our separate ways and never cross paths again. If you refuse, well, I'll just continue to torture you until you agree. And don't worry, with the power of healing magic, I can keep you alive for a very long time."