KABIR KHURANA

As Crimzor’s life force dwindled to its final embers, a new presence materialised in the vicinity, emerging seemingly from thin air just as Crimzor himself had. This sudden appearance was likely a consequence of the dissolution of an illusion, as if hidden figures, already present yet concealed, were unveiled by a disturbance in the arcane fabric.

Blood was oozing from the exact spot where Crimzor had been struck. As the figure drew deep breaths, the grievous wound was slowly healing.The figure in question, wounded and panting heavily, was none other than Violexa herself.

It appeared that my disruption of her powers, which had obscured Crimzor, had indirectly affected her as well, though she was situated at a distant location. The chink in her otherworldly armour had been exposed and the damage inflicted upon her illusions reverberated back to afflict Violexa herself.

In the fleeting moment our gazes locked, Violexa’s form dissolved once more, the illusion reconstructing itself in the blink of an eye.

With the swiftness only combat could forge, my attention pivoted to Eugene. He stood before me, bearing an array of wounds as he nimbly parried Jadonix’s lightning-imbued spear thrusts. An elegant dance of repulsion and redirection unfolded before me, the verdant bolts of energy skittering off his body like water off a duck’s back. Eugene’s manipulation of gravity was his shield, an opposing force that deflected the potent strikes.

This skilled defence provided a brief interval for me to eliminate Crimzor, a task I accomplished in those crucial moments. However, Eugene’s limits were approaching; he could not indefinitely fend off Jadonix’s relentless assault.

Jadonix himself was not unscathed. The vivid hue of his lifeblood trickled from a network of lacerations, evidence of Eugene’s sharp strikes on his flesh. While these wounds impeded his swiftness to some extent, they were overshadowed by Eugene’s grievous injuries.

In the blink of an eye, my bow shrank in size and returned to its miniature form, and my agility returned in full force. My arrows, propelled at supersonic speeds, harried Jadonix, forcing him into a temporary retreat. In this respite, both Eugene and I could momentarily regain our strength.

"Eugene, let’s swap opponents! Crimzor is defeated!" I spoke, a thread of urgency lacing my words as I reached out to touch his hand. A pallor of frost spread across his wounds, halting the surge of blood outward and briefly relieving him of pain.

"Agreed," Eugene responded, his graceful movements guiding him away as he vacated his position.

My trust in Eugene was unswerving. Violexa’s illusions could not ensnare him due to his inherent blindness. His ability to detect distortions in gravitational forces made him an ideal adversary for her, and Crimzor’s absence meant that he could now concentrate his efforts on countering her abilities without impediment. The dynamics of the battlefield had irrevocably shifted in our favour.

I directed my focus to Jadonix, who surged towards me at an astonishing pace, his spear, resembling precious jade, crackling with vibrant emerald arcs of lightning that melded into one from five different angles, creating a dynamic afterimage.

Anticipating his advance, I nimbly leapt backward, the lack of weight in my body causing me to glide through the air effortlessly. My response was rapid; a volley of arrows was dispatched towards him. However, his fluid evasion caught me off guard, and his velocity undiminished as he pursued me with unwavering swiftness.

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This unyielding pursuit perplexed me. Ordinarily, his momentum should have been hampered by my previous assault. A sole conclusion remained: an illusion was at play.

In that critical instant, the air surrounding me underwent a drastic shift, akin to the crushing depths of the ocean’s abyss. This artificial increase in air pressure, a manipulation born of my thermal control, was potent enough to rend a human body asunder within seconds.

Jadonix, on the cusp of delivering a fatal blow from my rear, was ensnared within this sphere of deadly air pressure, his form clearly visible due to the rupture of Violexa’s mirage. He bore a multitude of lacerations, his skin nearly ripped apart by the overwhelming force. Emerald lightning discharged from his form as he endeavoured to withdraw, but I seized the advantage of this exact moment.

I stopped his retreat attempt by seizing the centre of his jade-like spear with my bare hands, upsetting his equilibrium. This act subjected me to the charring bombardment of his electric weapon, but I persisted. His weapon, once dazzling and fearsome, had undergone a transformation, liquefying into a molten puddle of substance under the effect of my powers.

In the midst of this chaos, I summoned superhuman strength to handle the now bendable spear, throwing Jadonix through the air. His body slammed against the stony face of a cliff, engraving his shape with misery. Nonetheless, I did not give him a break. A barrage of silver arrows punctured his form before he could gather his bearings or drop to the ground. These shots were precisely timed to connect with his soaring trajectory, sealing his death as he struck the cliff.

His situation resembled a crucifixion, with his body adorned with a constellation of little, glittering arrows, each securing him in place to prevent his fall. His energy ebbed away in the tableau he offered, poised between earth and heaven, his pallor becoming stark as his dying breaths weakened.

This rapid sequence of offensives on my part unfolded within mere seconds, affording Jadonix no opportunity for retaliation and leaving him defenceless against the onslaught.

Among the paladins encircling the precipice, jubilant cheers erupted as they bore witness to the demise of a Voidshade, a sight that galvanised their spirits. Empowered by this newfound hope, they surged forward to confront the remaining void creatures.

My laboured breathing echoed my exertion; a considerable portion of my powers had been expended in this onslaught. Recuperative time was necessary before I could reengage in combat.

Just then, I heard a tremendously loud scream.

"Aa-" When I looked that way, the scream abruptly stopped.

At that moment, the figure of Violexa appeared out of thin air, and the scream, which had mysteriously ceased, resumed, "Aaaah!"

I saw Violexa appear and disappear as the scream broke off and began, as if she was phasing in and out of her illusions. It appeared that her abilities had become unreliable.

In this tumultuous context, she seemed magnetically drawn towards Eugene, an augmented force of attraction propelling her closer to him. This phenomenon resulted from the amplified gravitational forces between them, a consequence of her faltering powers.

Manifesting grievous wounds, Violexa wrestled to extricate herself from Eugene’s magnetic influence. Her form bore wounds and gashes, a testament to the magnitude of air pressure she had been subjected to. The source of these injuries could be traced back to my dismantling of her illusions to thwart Jadonix’s approach, a move that indirectly affected her due to her inherent vulnerability—akin to the strategy employed against Crimzor.

Eugene, poised with patience for this precise juncture, capitalised on the opportune moment, akin to a raptor poised for the arrival of its prey. The culmination of his anticipation arrived, and with meticulous precision, her head was swiftly severed from her body. Blood spewed forth akin to a fountain from her decapitated neck, her lifeless frame crumpling to the earth, and the battle concluded for her.

Eugene’s injuries commenced their rapid healing, his blade absorbing the splattered blood that lay about. The restoration of his equilibrium occurred as he reclaimed his usual state.

"Phew. It’s finally finished." With a sigh of relief, I moved my sight to the dead corpses of the three Voidshades, a concrete reminder of our victory.