Chapter 79: Goal
The snow-covered landscape trembled and shook as the ground cracked and splintered beneath the feet of the two combatants. The air was electric with anticipation as the earth itself seemed to writhe in agony. The snow-capped mountains surrounding the valley reverberated with the force of the tremors, their peaks shattering into a thousand pieces as the quake intensified.
In the midst of this apocalyptic chaos, Selwyn clashed head-on with Mikoto. The air was filled with the cacophony of cracking ice, shattering rock, and the screams of terrified creatures fleeing from the devastation.
Selwyn, his sword raised high, struck at Mikoto with a swing of his sword. Mikoto raised his arm and reinforced it with a surge of mana. The sword sliced through the air mere inches from Mikoto's face, but he held firm, his arm glowing red as he absorbed the blow.
The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the landscape, causing nearby snowdrifts to slide and tumble down mountainsides. The earth cracked and fissured as if rent asunder by some titanic force. Selwyn, his sword still raised, stumbled backward as the ground gave way beneath his feet.
Undeterred, Mikoto seized the opportunity to strike back. He leapt high into the air, his feet leaving the ground as he propelled himself upward. A dozen circular glyphs materialized around him, each one pulsating with powerful mana. Beams of crimson light shot forth from these glyphs, streaking through the air with insane speed and precision.
Selwyn, anticipating this attack, dodged and weaved with ease, his sword slicing through the air in swift arcs as he avoided the onslaught of magical projectiles. However, the sheer force of the attacks caused immense destruction to the surrounding environment. Snowdrifts collapsed, trees toppled, and boulders shattered into rubble.
As Mikoto started to descend back to the ground, Selwyn launched himself into the air with incredible force, breaking through the earth itself as he soared toward his opponent. His sword flashed in the night as he aimed a powerful blow at Mikoto's head.
Mikoto maneuvered mid-air to avoid the blow. He used levitation magic to launch himself high above Selwyn's strike, using his momentum to carry him upward. As he landed back on the ground, Selwyn found himself several paces away from Mikoto.
In an instant, thousands of new glyphs erupted around them, their pulsing energy bathing the surrounding landscape in an eerie glow. Streaks of pure blackness shot forth from the glyphs, each one imbued with a destructive force that could shatter and implode everything they struck.
Selwyn danced through this barrage of magic with ease, his sword flashing through the darkness as he dodged and parried each attack. However, despite his incredible agility and reflexes, he could not help but be battered by the sheer intensity of Mikoto's magic.
As Selwyn dodged another blast of dark energy, he felt a sudden jolt. Mikoto had appeared behind him, his eyes blazing with an intense red light behind his mask. Selwyn reacted swiftly, swinging his sword in a wide arc to strike at Mikoto.
However, Mikoto was too quick. He leapt over Selwyn's blade, soaring upward into the air and performing a mid-air flip that sent him spinning high above Selwyn's head. As he landed back on the ground, Selwyn turned to face him once more.
With a burst of speed and power, Mikoto extended his hand, and a devastating blast of energy struck Selwyn with immense force. The warrior stumbled backward as if struck by a lightning bolt, his sword flying from his grasp.
The resulting shockwave sent Selwyn tumbling through the air like a rag doll. He crashed into a nearby snow-covered mountain with such force that it shattered into a thousand pieces beneath him. The mountain came tumbling down in a massive avalanche of snow and ice that buried everything beneath its deadly weight.
("He's definitely stronger than that Amaury chick.") Mikoto mused as a tremor shook the ground. ("But he keeps dodging through any attacks, and even if they do land, I'm feeling like they aren't doing much.")
The ground shook once more, and moments later, Selwyn emerged from the wreckage of the mountain unscathed. His eyes blazing with that eerie excitement, he rose to face Mikoto once more. The man's body blurred and disappeared as he appeared beside his fallen blade. He picked it up and smiled.
"I did not think I would come across someone like you." For the first time they fought, Selwyn spoke. "I was convinced I would be plaque by weaklings since coming to Verdantis. Barring the one known as Dante, not even the Inheritors would satiate my thirst." He looked up at the night sky. "You fight to kill."
"And?" Mikoto frowned, just hearing this guy speak was telling him a lot. "You're a crazy animal, and I aim to put you down. I won't stop at just completely eradicating your body; I want your soul too." He had the means to destroy one now. Selwyn chuckled much to his confusion.
"Yes, come at me with everything you have. Fight and fight." Selwyn raised his blade even from the distance Mikoto could see the tip of the blade was aimed at his chest. "I must say I enjoy that look in your eye; your mask does not hide it." Before Mikoto could retort, his body instinctively tensed.
His eyes dilated as a foreign energy engulfed Selwyn; he could not 'see' it, but his eyes told him something was there. An energy entirely different from mana, a kind of energy that should not fundamentally even exist. Mana coursed through Mikoto's body as he reinforced it ten times over on top of using various defensive charms. Even a shower of nuclear bombs would not have scratched him. Even so...
"My name is Selwyn Von Auerswald, and the one who chose me is the dragon of the end." Then a simple word left Selwyn's mouth. "Eviscerate."
And something tore through Mikoto's defenses as if they were nothing. Blood splattered from his mouth and out of his mask as he found a gaping and jagged hole in his chest.
-------------------
Lucinda frowned as immense tremors assaulted the ground beneath her feet; it was so immense that buildings and structures all around her threatened to crumble down.
("What is causing all these tremors?") Lucinda briefly questioned, but she remained focused on the opponent in front of her, her blade still firmly in her hand. Ezerald stood atop the broken remnants of a small broken building; judging from the mannequins spread about, it used to be a clothing store, but now it was naught but rubble. The demon stood leisurely, a hand atop her hip and not a scratch on her. Granted, Lucinda herself was not injured.
"Hmm, what monsters this era has." Ezerald murmured as she stared off into the distance. "All the more reason to wipe you lot out."
"Wipe us out?" Lucinda furrowed her brows. "You mean to eradicate all humans and demi-humans?" She questioned.
"It is my organization's goal." She admitted casually as if she were not speaking of mass genocide; the absurdness of their supposed goal was failing to sink in. "You all have grown much too relaxed in this world that does not belong to you, nor the Gods."
"What are you even talking about?" Lucinda blurted out as she glared at the demon. "Wipe us out? Have you gone insane, demon?"
"Mayhap, but it is entirely possible." Ezerald said with an empty smile. "Of course, we'll be starting with wretched spawns such as yourself before moving on to others." She declared, her tone low and eyes unnerving. "If I am being quite honest, your existence vexes me the most." Her words were ones of anger, yet still that eerie smile and blank eyes remained. "Octavia, Octavia." She muttered. Lucinda just found herself more confused at that name being uttered, but for now, she could maybe pry for information. Ezerald was much too evasive and quick; strong as Lucinda was, it would not do her good to drag this battle out.
"Your purpose here was to gather more souls, right?" Lucinda surmised as she continued. "Since you lost the soul of the dragon, you've all grown desperate in your goals, and that's why you attacked this large a city." Lucinda waited for her words to sink in, but Ezerald merely tilted her head.
"The dragon's soul is not lost; it's quite fine." She answered almost innocently. Lucinda's eyes widened before they turned serious.
"You're bluffing." She accused. "I used the Divine Blade Fate sealer."
"Ah, the Fate sealer, what an irksome weapon." Ezerald looked at the night sky as if recalling a memory. "A blade that can influence fate, reality, and destiny itself. You no doubt used it to alter the blade's own personal reality to be able to destroy both body and soul when you dispatched the dragon. Fortunately, I was there to release the dragon of its soul before you destroyed it."
"Then why attack Emberreach!?" Lucinda demanded; in her anger, her mana flared higher.
"The prince was bored." Confusion spread across Lucinda's face as Ezerald spoke. "In his words, he wanted more sport before leaving Verdantis. Though me and my brethren are here to collect more souls for personal purposes."
("Prince....Selwyn!") Anger could not quite describe her state of emotions; she never wanted more to kill another person. She would have to apologize to Mikoto, but she needed to handle Selwyn. He was no doubt here causing mayhem. ("I have to beat her here and now before I can reach Selwyn.")
She would avenge those that have been unfortunate enough to die at that monster's blade.