The Crossroads of Realities (2)

'If other entities could come to Earth, then does it mean that humans from Earth could go into other realms as well?'

The thought of it sickened him.

No, it didn't only sicken him, it made his whole world spin.

The Eden descended on Earth for only a month, for god-sake, so how were they supposed to fight against people who had a whole lifetime to grow?

And now that he looked back at the woman, he understood how lucky he had been. After all, if he were to be a second late to react, he would have already died.

"How do you know that I'm a prince?" Enzo's eyes turned cold. He might as well try to sound confident if he wanted to survive.

"How? Well, no one can control butterflies except for the royal family," Strangely enough, the woman answered truthfully as if this information didn't bother her in the slightest. "The real question is how can a butterfly prince appear when the royal family died ages ago?"

His little exchange with the woman was enough to give a lot of information to Enzo. However, he didn't have time to think about it for now. The real information that he needed right now was to know why he was on the battlefield in all the places he could have been transported at.

"And where are we, right now?" Enzo decided to try his luck. Although it was really bad since the start of the apocalypse, maybe things will change for the better.

And thankfully for him, the woman seemed to be quite chatty today.

"We are at the crossroads of realities," the woman replied with an air of nonchalance that only added to Enzo's confusion. "This is a place where the fabric of different dimensions intersects. It's a convergence point, and battles like these are fought to protect our realm and others from interdimensional threats."

Enzo's mind was reeling from the information he was receiving. Crossroads of realities? Interdimensional threats? This was far beyond anything he had ever encountered before. He had been living his life, dealing with monsters and dungeons, but the scope of what he was now facing was staggering.

He felt a mix of anger and helplessness. Anger because he had been thrown into a battle he never signed up for, against enemies he never knew existed until now. Helplessness because it seemed like the odds were stacked impossibly against him.

"So, what am I supposed to do here?" Enzo asked, his voice tinged with frustration. "I was just exploring an ancient tower, and suddenly I'm in the middle of a war that spans dimensions. Is this some sort of sick game?"

"Well, how would I know?" She chuckled. "The only sure thing is that I'll be rewarded greatly if I bring the head of a prince. Even though you're weak for a butterfly prince, you're still a prince."

Enzo didn't understand what she meant by 'weak', but he didn't need to. The woman was already upon him, her spear trying to pierce his heart.

Enzo's instincts kicked in, and he barely managed to sidestep the woman's lethal strike. His heart raced as he leaped back, his mind racing to process the sudden shift from conversation to combat. The woman's intentions were clear – she was here to kill him, to claim whatever reward awaited her for taking the life of a prince.

Gritting his teeth, Enzo summoned his butterflies. They fluttered around him, forming a protective barrier that shimmered with iridescent light. The woman's eyes narrowed at the display of his power, her spear poised for another strike.

"I don't want to fight you," Enzo called out, his voice tense but resolute. "But I won't let you take my life either."

The woman's lips curled into a smile, a mixture of amusement and challenge. "You're braver than you look, butterfly prince. Let's see if you can back up those words."

With a sudden surge of speed, she lunged at him again, her spear a deadly blur. Enzo's wings beat frantically as he evaded her strikes, his senses on high alert. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes in this battle – not when his life hung in the balance.

His butterflies went into action, their abilities coming to his aid. Sand butterflies formed shifting patterns in the air, creating barriers that blocked the woman's strikes. Illusion butterflies cast disorienting images in her vision, making it difficult for her to track his movements. And then, he unleashed the carnivorous butterflies – their razor-sharp wings slashing through the air like deadly blades.

But the woman was no ordinary opponent. She twisted and spun, her movements were fluid and precise. She managed to parry most of Enzo's attacks, her spear work a testament to her skill. Their battle became a dance of blades and shadows, each move calculated, each strike a deadly intent.

Enzo's heart pounded in his chest, his breathing quick and labored. This was a fight for his life, a fight against an adversary who had likely faced battles like this countless times before. But he refused to back down. He couldn't afford to.

However, there was a clear difference between the two of them. Until now, Enzo only fought monsters, while this red-hair woman seemed to have spent at least half of her life on the battlefield.

No matter what he would do, it would be a losing fight for him.

So after she thrust her spear toward his head, Enzo's protective butterflies made a multiple-layered barrier to protect him while he was backing up. And then, after accumulating force in his legs, he jumped high into the air.

With all the points he had in strength, he easily jumped at least ten meters high in the sky.

With his wings, he soared higher, slowly leaving the woman alone.

"You bastard, don't you have any pride?" She yelled at him. "Come down and fight like a man!"

"Pride? Just fuck off, will you?" He said, his voice enhanced by his illusion butterflies. "I won't die uselessly because of pride."

Enzo's heart raced as he soared through the sky, his wings carrying him higher and higher. He wasn't about to let pride get in the way of his survival. The woman's taunts echoed below him, but he paid them no mind. He needed to create distance, reassess the situation and find a way to escape this battlefield.

As he gained altitude, the chaos of the interdimensional clash unfolded beneath him. Battles raged on, warriors from different realms clashing in a symphony of violence. Spectacular magic spells go back and forth into the battlefield. Enzo's mind raced, considering his options. He couldn't stay airborne forever, and he couldn't outrun an opponent who was clearly more experienced in combat. Sooner or later, she would find a way to him, or track him to death.

He was sure that the red-haired woman was more resourceful than she looked.