The Battle Begins

"Where are they?" Flying over the vast forest hundreds of feet below her, Raven couldn't see the so-called reinforcements Taella mentioned. She had flown extremely far from their camp, and only hill's and distant mountains were ahead, no airships or signs of vehicles.

'She must have lied to me trying to buy time.' Raven looked annoyed as she stopped flying forward and prepared to turn around. However, just as she did, a flash of light caught her attention. It was a bolt of lightning as the thunderous sound echoed into her ears.

"What in the world was that?" That bolt of lightning had come from the ground up. Alongside that, there wasn't a cloud in the sky where it struck. Narrowing her eye's she began flying at an even faster pace than before towards a hill in the distance.

In a matter of minutes, she had arrived, and her eye's immediately locked onto someone sitting on a rock on top of the hill. They were extremely relaxed, yet they seemed to have noticed her long before she noticed them.

'A person? He looks young. What is he doing all the way out here?' Cautiously she landed on top of the hill. She didn't hesitate to draw her sword as she spoke.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Her tone was cold and forceful. Anyone who knew what kind of person Raven was would be on guard hearing her.

"Raven Branwen, a pleasure to finally meet you. I've been looking forward to this." Shen smiled as he stood up off the rock he was sitting on. He began slowly walking towards her, which immediately caused Raven to step back, putting up her guard.

"Don't move, or I'll cut you down where you stand. Are you related to the group attacking my tribe?" Seeing how defensive she was, Shen stopped walking towards her.

"Yes, It would be strange if I wasn't related to my own forces. But don't worry about your tribe being dealt with." Hearing that, Raven frowned.

"So you're the one in charge? What are you after?" Raven cut to the chase, asking the only question she really cared about.

"I want the Relic hidden within Mistral's Vault. In other words, the Relic of Knowledge. I'm sure I don't have to explain much else to you, do I?" The instant Shen mentioned the Vault, and the Relic, Raven's fierce gaze turned shocked and slightly fearful.

'He- He's working with her? But how did they- Dammit! Do they know where I am? Have they been watching me? Or did they just recently find out? If that's the case, then the Tribe might be under attack by Grim as we speak…'

Countless thoughts rushed through her head in a matter of seconds. But one thing was clear, she and everyone else were no longer safe here. They needed to leave and move far away so Salem couldn't track them down. Gritting her teeth, Raven didn't bother with Shen quickly turning around and planning to leave.

However, by the time her body had done a one-eighty, the sound of electricity crackling was followed by Shen's figure appearing in front of her.

"Now, why would I let you leave after spending so much effort luring you here?" Despite Shen appearing neutral, his voice was carrying clear signs of hostility. Raising his right leg, he kicked straight towards her with enough force to cut through the air like a knife. Raven's eyes widened as she held up her sword to block.

In a clash, she was immediately sent sliding back with her sword shaking from the attack. Regaining her footing, she immediately grit her teeth staring at Shen. Without any prompt, she rushed towards him, launching herself off the ground. Seeing that, Shen smiled, reading himself.

'She's even faster than Adam, Blake and Neo.' Still, he could track her movements. As she rushed towards him, she placed her sword in its sheath. Then the instant she was within range, she drew it at speed faster than the eye could track. Leaving a red streak in its wake, Raven's fiery expression turned to a startled one.

Her attack made contact and went straight through Shen's body as he reached out with his hand. Before she could react, he grabbed her by the face and bent his entire body. The next second, he slammed her into the rocky ground cracking it and creating a web over fifteen meters around them.

Raven's head felt as if it was ringing as she felt her mind briefly go into shock.

"One Million Volt Vari." Not stopping there, Shen released a discharge from his hand. It coursed through Raven's body like a current, making her feel a stabbing sensation.

"Agh! Aghhh!" She let out a scream as the pain riddled her mind. However, after only a couple of seconds, her eye's suddenly flashed with red flames. Her screams devolved to groaning as her eyes locked onto Shen.

'Oh?' Out of nowhere, the ground under Shen morphed itself. As if he had been hit by a truck, a pillar of earth shot out of the ground, hitting him in the chest. His automatic Logia effect did not activate either. Due to that, he was sent flying away from Raven into the air.

Feeling the pain, Shen winced a bit as he regained his balance and began falling back onto the ground in a crouching position. Standing up, Raven's eyes were still flaming red as her expression showed a clear amount of hate and anger directed at Shen.

'So that's the power of a Maiden? Able to not only be able to manipulate the weather but also the elements of Fire, Ice, Air, Electricity and Earth. Find one skilled and strong enough, and they're like the Avatar on steroids.' Alongside that, their control is generated through magic which let them bypass Logia's effect.

Those facts paired together was the reason why Maiden's were close to the peak of dangerous individuals on his list.

'Well, this is going to be a handicapped fight for me. I can't kill her, and I have to make sure she doesn't kill herself. In that case, Gae Bolg's abilities are out of the question, meaning I have to weaken her and then restrain her. Pokemon all over again.' It also meant that he couldn't play around.

Holding out his hand Gae Bolg appeared in front of Shen in a flash of red light. Grabbing it, he spun it through the air before taking a stance.

"You're going to regret coming after me." Her voice sounded even more intimidating as before as she prepared to attack. Bending her legs just slightly, Raven's movements were like a blur as she rushed Shen. Her speed had actually caught Shen off guard to the point he was forced to use Goro Goro to compensate.

His movements left a trail of lightning in their wake as even Gae Bolg was coated in lightning. At the same time as she attacked Shen, Raven's blade was covered in a blue frosted aura. Soon their weapon's clashed, and as a result, an explosion of power echoed out. Electricity fired out into the sky and ground behind Shen as the air and ground behind Raven froze.

'How did he… He managed to keep up with me even after using the Maidens power? This isn't the power of a Semblance? But at the same time, it's not like a Maidens either… Magic?' Gritting her teeth, she began to push against Shen, who did the same in response.

Soon their powers canceled one another out as they were briefly knocked back from one another. The next second, however, they resumed their attack. Less than a few feet from one another, their weapon's cut through the air in front of them. Countless sparks flew along with mini-explosions of ice and lightning.

Hundreds of attacks were exchanged in a matter of second's as even the rock directly under their feet began to crack and dip. Shen's senses and eyes were watching every move as he searched for an opening. As their weapon's clashed once more, he found one.

Honing in on it, he retracted Gae Bolg in a flash only to pierce forward towards Raven's chest. Seeing that Raven used her flight in close proximity allowing her to briskly move out of the way before countering. She slashed horizontally at Shen, aiming for his head as wind coated the blade.

Once again, Shen's body transformed, leaving a trail of electricity as he ducked under the attack. As it passed over him, it left a blade of wind that swept over the entirety of the hill behind Shen. Any rock's in its way were immediately cut clean in half as the heavy wind blew over the forest below.

After ducking, Shen turned his back towards Raven, using this as an opening. He kicked her directly in her stomach as a look of pain appeared on her face, and she was launched back. As she was, his body completely transformed into a bolt of lightning chasing after her.

Appearing right beside her as she flew, he raised his hand as a purple aura covered it. He punched down on her the next instant, stopping her flight and slamming her into the ground. Raven felt her Aura wane as her mind suddenly flashed with pain.

Nearly collapsing into the ground, her entire body tensed up. Appearing out of nowhere, an explosion of flames engulfed her and spread out like a wildfire. Engulfing the area, Shen back stepped away as his body was singed. Jumping onto her feet from the ground, her gaze locked onto Shen as she attacked.

Turning his head was retreating, her blade just barely cut Shen's cheek as he regained his footing. Swinging Gae Bolg once more, Raven countered with her own strike. Her sword fell down onto Gae Bolg as their forces clashed.

"You really enjoy close quarters, don't you?" Raven stared at Shen as he spoke, and a grin appeared on her face, and the electricity around his body began to grow wild. Her eyes widened, but at that point, she was too close to him to escape. The air around Shen became superheated as it suddenly expanded into a shockwave of pure force.

The air from the shockwave hit Raven like a wall knocking her away. Her body slammed against the ground, cracking it multiple times before stopping. After a second, she shook her head and stood up, looking towards Shen. He was doing the same, only with a slight smile. Despite all of that, the two of them were not injured in the slightest.

"Raven, you can't win a war of attrition against me. Instead, I'll give you the option to surrender yourself to me. If you do, I'll cease the assault on your tribe." He spoke plainly as Raven stood straight with her eye's seemingly examining Shen.

"As if I would ever agree to that. I'm not an idiot. I can tell after fighting you don't have Aura. Instead, your stamina, strength and regeneration are what is letting you fight on terms with me. But to keep up with my speed, you need to rely on your lightning ability." Shen raised a brow as he responded.

"So, what are you saying?" He was interested in what she was getting at.

"I'm saying what we were both thinking. I don't think you'll be able to handle it. So I'll be offering your words back to you. Surrender yourself to me. I could use someone strong like you on my side. I doubt Salem knows how strong you really are." Hearing her, Shen narrowed his eyes before sighing.

"I'll admit you are beyond my expectations. But don't count that as me running out of options. What I lack in speed and power, I can more than make up for inabilities. Besides, I know how you treat people who don't conform to your way of life." Hearing that, Raven placed both of her hands back onto the hilt of her sword.

"Fine. Then I'll kill you here and make sure Salem loses track of me for good." Negotiating was clearly not going to work. There was only one option that was before both of them. Either she killed Shen here and now, or Shen would capture her and use her powers to further his goals. There was no middle ground between the two.

So let the true battle begin.