The price of impudence

Azrael's lips curled up into a small smile as his eyes began to glow with an intense and terrifying aura that engulfed his entire body. The woman's amusement quickly turned to curiosity as she asked, "What is this power?"

Without hesitation, the woman commanded, "Kill him."

The giant statue's eyes glowed once more, and a beam shot towards Azrael. However, the beam dissipated into nothingness as it hit him. Azrael stood up, completely unscathed, and pointed his open hands towards his sword which was lodged in the head of the giant statue. The sword shot towards his hand, and he gripped the hilt before muttering, "First god form: Advanced phantom blade."

As soon as the words left his lips, the giant stone statue was cut into countless pieces that scattered across the room, leaving nothing behind.

Azrael's sword cut through the stone statue, unleashing a powerful shockwave that resounded throughout the entire temple. The woman gazed in disbelief at the debris where the statue once stood, struggling to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

As Azrael wondered why there was no growth in his dark ki, Mortimer offered an explanation for the failed attempt to harness the statue's ki. "I had hoped that the stone statue's ki would benefit you by extending the duration of the first form and increasing your dark ki. But it appears that won't be possible."

Curious, Azrael inquired, "Why not?"

"To obtain dark ki, you must kill entities that possess both ki and a soul. The stone statue does not have a soul," Mortimer clarified.

Azrael's gaze shifted towards the woman, who had picked up the spear that the statue had held. She had moved closer to him, and as she grabbed the spear, it shrunk to its original size. "It seems you are not as useless as I thought," she remarked, complimenting Azrael.

"But it's far from enough," the woman said as her ki flared.

"Azrael, you're short on time. You must finish this as quickly as you can," Mortimer advised.

"I understand," Azrael said, looking at the woman and gripping his sword ready to attack.

The woman stuttered as she moved back, grabbing her shoulder and asked herself, "Have I been cut?" She then looked at her shoulder to see no damage.

"Oh, just another one of your tricks. Maybe I should take you seriously," the woman said as her ki flared even more.

Undeterred, Azrael launched at her, quickly closing the distance between them. "Advanced phantom blade," he said as he pulled his sword.

Clang, clang.

Multiple clashing sounds could be heard as the woman swung her spear in an extremely fast frenzy.

Azrael retreated back as he was left in utter shock. "Did she just block the phantom slashes?" Azrael questioned.

"Is that all your tricks? It's still not enough?" the woman taunted.

Azrael knew he didn't have enough time to stand around, so he rushed at her again, swinging his sword. The woman blocked and counterattacked with her spear.

The clangs of their weapons echoed through the temple, filling the air with a deafening symphony of metal against metal as they clashed again and again. The woman's spear whizzed through the air with an agility that belied its size, while Azrael's sword cut through the air with precision and grace. Neither side was significantly pushed back, their movements and attacks seemingly evenly matched.

However, Azrael had a disadvantage, and it wasn't difficult for him to feel the weight of it. He had a time limit, and the longer the fight dragged on, would mean he would inevitably lose. His body and sword crackled with dark electrical charges, as he began to float his sword in the air, aiming his hands towards the woman.

"Strike," Azrael said, as a dark bolt shot from his hand towards the woman, who tried to block it with her spear. She had underestimated the power of the dark lightning though, and as it made contact, it sent her and the spear flying and smashing into the wall.

For a moment, the woman was disoriented, and Azrael saw his opportunity. He aimed his hands at her again and exclaimed, "Just freaking die," as the dark lightning shot from his hands towards the woman once more.

The woman flicked her wrist, and the spear grew to an extremely large size, blocking the lightning from reaching her. The spear stayed sturdy, taking the power of the lightning without getting destroyed, unlike everything else that the lightning had touched.

Azrael was momentarily surprised by the woman's weapon, but he quickly regained his composure. "Oh, what an interesting weapon, but it won't stop me," he said, with movement that was nothing but a blur. In an instant, he had come to the side of the woman where the spear had not blocked, ready to send another attack.

As the woman flicked her wrist, the golden spear moved to her side with swift grace, blocking Azrael's dark lightning once more. With a quick step, she moved away from Azrael, creating a distance between them.

"Ha! You're not the only one with long-range attacks," the woman said as eight golden spears materialized behind her. Each one identical to the one she held, she pointed her hands and launched them towards Azrael.

Azrael deftly dodged each spear as they destroyed whatever they hit on impact, leaving small explosions in their wake. The woman looked on with amusement. "Yes, dance for me," she taunted.

But Azrael had a plan. His hands became engulfed in the eternal flame, and he caught and destroyed every one of the spears with ease.

"You're really full of surprises, aren't you?" the woman said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

Azrael was about to reply, but suddenly, he was hit with a sharp pain to his heart. The pain was so intense that it caused him to groan in agony, his head pounding as if it would explode. "Crap, I'm out of time," Azrael cursed as he fell to the floor.

The woman looked down at Azrael as he writhed on the ground, groaning in pain. "Are you finished? Well, I'm not," she said as she shrunk her spear and launched it at Azrael.

Just as the spear was about to strike, Azrael felt it again—an aura he couldn't forget and ki closely similar to his. As it spoke, the voice was all too familiar. "A lowly being such as yourself has made me leave my throne," the voice boomed, enough to make one's blood run cold. "The price of this impudence. Are you ready to pay it with your life?"

The woman was stopped in her tracks, watching in terror as Azrael muttered, "Mortimer?"