Kills

Erik's eyes blazed with intent to kill as he surged forward. He thrust the blade toward the tall figure's head with speed that caught his opponent off guard. The figure managed to deflect the attack slightly but Erik's sword still pierced through the edge of his mask and slashing across his cheek. Blood trickled down the tall figure's face, falling down his mask, and a look of shock crossed his eyes.

Erik didn't let up. He immediately followed with a powerful kick to the figure's chest, sending him stumbling backward.

The tall figure struggled to regain his footing but Erik was already advancing once more with a swift slash of his sword. The figure raised his own blade to block but Erik's strength was overwhelming now. The force of the blow drove the figure to his knees, his sword barely holding back Erik's attack as it pressed down on him.

Erik thenn kneed the figure in the face, causing his head to snap backward. The impact shattered what remained of the figure's mask, revealing a blodied pale face beneath it. Erik wasted no time and immediately brought his sword down, severing the hand that held the enemy's weapon.

"AAAAAAARRGHH!"

A scream of agony erupted from the figure as he clutched the bleeding stump where his hand had been.

The other black-robed figures froze when they witnessed their comrade's defeat and heard his pained scream. Their earlier arrogance was gone, replaced by a sudden realization that they had underestimated their foes.

Liam seizing the moment and charged forward with a fierce grin on his face. He locked eyes with the dual-dagger wielder, who was momentarily paralyzed by shock.

"Surprised, motherfucker?!" Liam said with mockery tone.

Without waiting for a response Liam swung his axes with brutal force, catching the figure off guard and wounding him deeply across the chest. The figure stumbled back, clutching at the gash, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Mia also decided to attack. However, instead of immediately closing in with her spear she raised her hand and conjured a fireball then hurling it at her opponent. The fireball struck the figure square in the face. The force of the explosion sending him reeling backward, his hood and mask disintegrating in the flames.

With her enemy disoriented Mia charged. Her spear aimed directly at his midsection. The figure barely had time to react before Mia drove the spear deep into his stomach. The figure gasped, a mixture of shock and pain in his eyes as he fell to his knees, Mia's spear still embedded in him.

The battle had turned decisively in favor of Erik, Liam, and Mia. Their enemies that once so confident and composed were now either defeated or on the brink of it.

Erik's voice rang out over the sounds of battle. "Finish them off!" he shouted to Liam and Mia.

There was no hesitation in his friend's response. They moved to deliver the final, killing blows to their opponents.

Liam grinned savagely as he raised his axes. He didn't waste any time and bringing both axes down in a brutal arc that ended the life of the dual-dagger wielder in a single strike. The figure crumpled to the ground.

Mia withdrew her spear from the stomach of her opponent, her eyes looked cold and focused. With a swift motion she thrust the spear through his chest, piercing his heart. The figure gasped, his eyes widening in shock before his body went limp, collapsing to the ground at her feet.

She pulled her spear free, the metallic sound echoing through the glade as she stepped back, her breathing steady, her expression cold.

But Erik wasn't done yet. The tall figure lay before him, writhing in pain from the loss of his hand, blood pooling around him. Erik's eyes looking at him. His jaw clenched. He had no intention of granting his enemy a quick death.

Erik stepped forward and without a word methodically severed the figure's remaining limbs, ensuring that he couldn't pose any further threat. The tall figure screamed in agony again, but Erik's expression remained impassive. He knelt down beside the bloodied and broken figure, grabbing him by the collar.

"Now, you're gonna start telling me what I want," Erik demanded with low and dangerous voice. "If you want to live, you'll tell me what this is all about. Who are you and what is your purpose, and where you keep Freya?"

But instead of pleading for his life the tall figure's lips curled into a twisted sneer, blood staining his teeth as he spat out a curse.

"You think you've won, boy?! You think killing us will change anything?!" His voice was a rasp. "Your world is ending, and there's nothing you can do to stop it! Darkness will fall on all the realms, and it will consume everything you hold dear!"

Erik's eyes narrowed, but the figure continued, his voice gaining strength despite the blood loss he suffered.

"First, Midgard will fall. Then the others will follow one by one. Your precious Asgard is doomed! and there's nothing you, or anyone else, can do to prevent it!"

Hearing the threat to his home, something snapped inside Erik. His face twisted with rage and without another word he raised his sword. With a swift and merciless stroke Erik severed the tall figure's head from his body.

The head rolled away, the expression of defiance frozen on the lifeless face.

Erik stood over the corpse, his chest heaving with the intensity of his emotions. The threat lingered in his mind, the words echoing in the silence that followed.

What this figure says will come true if they don't act quickly. Midgard – Earth – and Asgard, the place where their families were staying right now, will be destroyed. They can't let that happen so they have to move quickly.

Erik wiped the blood from his blade then turned to Mia and Liam, who were catching their breath after the intense fight.

"We have to search them. There might be something useful on them," Erik said.

Mia and Liam nodded and they began to search the fallen bodies. Erik joined them moving methodically as he examined the tall figure he had just decapitated. They checked every pocket, every fold of the dark robes, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

It wasn't long before Liam's fingers brushed against something cool and metallic beneath the folds of one of the cloaks. He pulled it out and found himself holding a medallion, heavy and intricately carved.

"Guys," he called. "I found something."

Erik and Mia immediately moved closer to get a better look. The medallion looked old but the symbols engraved on its surface were unmistakable. Runes, twisted around the edge of the medallion in a pattern that made their eyes narrow with recognition.

"This is the Rune of Teleportation," Mia muttered.

"We can use this to go to their lair," Erik said.

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