Two blades under the light of Horizon's sun.

From Orion's left side, Amelia, using her earth 'Elemental Mastery', walked toward Orion.

Opposite to her, May, her fire sword tightly clenched in her right hand, walked toward his right side.

She was the weakest of the group. As a simple human only supported by an elemental, there was very little she could do to get stronger.

Her power was within the limits of what a human could do.

To begin with, May was born without magic. After her death in Bandir, she was brought back by Henrietta as an act of pardon for what had happened.

Now a walking corpse, her strength entirely depended on the jewel attached to her nape.

But her dignity as a member of the Agathion faction and the pride of being part of Orion's family made it impossible to give up on her dream to stand by his side.

The day she stood up in front of the three armies, her mind had been made.

She would find a way to prove herself and to get stronger in front of adversity.

Being taught by a Remnant greatly improved her reaction time and overall power usage, making it possible to use more energy while dishing out devastating blows continually.

Even as a human, she fought alone against hordes of corrupt beasts and giants, protecting the city she cherished for a year.

Proving that she was strong wasn't the problem at this point.

It was to know if she was worthy of being here. If Orion needed her.

She knew she was loved, and it wasn't a worry to begin with. But as a warrior, as a soldier, she had to know.

Was her power enough to make him turn his gaze toward her?

At this instant, she steeled her resolve.

A fiery storm escaped her blade as she swiped it in front of her.

The fire covered her whole body, heating the air surrounding her and burning the grass into ashes.

Orion glanced to his right side, reacting to her magic.

They exchanged a glare before both leaped forward.

*Cling*

A blade of light in hand, Orion parried her. Copying Noah instinctively, he pushed her back with one strike.

Sliding on the grass, she rapidly recovered her stance.

"Tsk."

Clicking her tongue, she returned to the assault.

Amelia appeared behind him with her scimitar, Ceres, above her head, clasped with both hands.

Dropping it straight down toward the back of his head, she clenched her teeth while putting everything behind this hit.

Orion turned around and took a step back, watching the carbon blade graze his nose as it moved downward.

"Heh!"

Letting out a mocking smile, her blade pounded the ground, creating a large spiderweb crack that took his footing away.

May was already on the move, appearing behind him in his blind spot.

Swinging her sword behind his back, she was about to strike him before Orion warped away from danger.

"Damn it!"

Her blade went toward Amelia, who stared at the fire sword coming closer to her arms.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

She pushed on them and let go of Ceres, springing away from danger.

If she hadn't reacted in time, she would have lost both arms.

While Orion reappeared further behind May, he noticed an unarmed Amelia falling toward the ground.

He vanished, only to appear in front of her with a fist drawn back.

"!"

Protecting herself from the attack, she brought both arms in front of her.

Her carbon-based suit solidified into a solid matter to alleviate the impact as his fist met her forearm.

*BAM*

Amelia went flying downward, crashing brutally against the ground.

It shook as columns of dirt exploded around the crash site.

"..."

The violent shock caused Amelia to lose consciousness for a few minutes. She had avoided getting injured, but the sheer strength of his punch instantly knocked her out.

"!"

May, who had recovered her footing, watched with horror as Orion stopped pulling his punches.

If even Amelia were unconscious, it wouldn't take long for her to be brought down.

Swallowing the little drop of saliva in her mouth anxiously, she carefully observed Orion.

Immediately after dropping to the ground, he vanished.

"!"

She turned around and held her blade horizontally above her head to parry his attack.

*Cling*

With one single move, Orion's hand, in a chop, broke her weapon's blade.

Horrified, May watched as his hand continued.

Gritting her teeth, she let her back tip backward as his hand came closer to her chest.

His hand grazed her chest and barely injured her as she fell to the scorched and cracked ground.

Her body rolled further inward of the center of the web of cracks before she stood up.

Confused, the berserk Orion turned to her with a visible shock.

"What? You think I'd let you incapacitate me?"

With a serious glare, she looked at the place Orion had grazed her.

The center part of her top was open under her breasts all the way to her belly button.

There was a red mark going down that told her his attack nearly split her stomach in half.

'My fire is no match for his power...'

Orion was unimpeded by the energy swirling around her. The fire, which came from a powerful fire elemental, wasn't enough to even burn his hand.

'That's... slightly pissing me off.'

With a frown, she stared at the broken sword in her hand.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The blade that accompanied her during many battles was no more. All that was left of it was a cleanly cleaved blade that wouldn't be a liability at this point.

She opened her hand, letting it drop to the ground.

'What am I to do now that I don't have a weapon?'

She thought about creating a weapon made of fire, but it was quite taxing to do so. Against Orion, she needed to be absolutely focused on nothing else but him.

Recovering from his shock, Orion frowned. His body began to warp, spelling trouble for May.

"Shit..."

With a forced smile, she readied her body.

The space next to her left side showed signs of alteration, catching her attention.

Immediately, she dropped one knee toward the ground and punched the air.

Orion missed her head by a bit, while May hit his stomach with a devastating blow.

But it was far from affecting him, as all it did was push him a few centimeters away.

Taking this moment to dodge, she rolled on the ground, avoiding a punch that crashed where she was.

His gaze grew darker and darker as May continuously avoided his attacks, as if she could notice where he was going to warp.

In fact, she could do just that. It was a perceptible alteration of the area he wanted to go, and it showed for a brief moment before he warped at that spot.

Using this element to her advantage, May avoided most of the attacks, causing Orion to snap.

"!"

A dark aura covered his body. Dark magic erupted from his body as he let rampant energy inside him.

Dark spots formed all around the field, ready to swallow her whole with one wrong step.

"Bring it on!"

Smirking at his attempt to intimidate her, she glanced over her shoulder.

'I'm back here...'

Ceres was still embedded into the ground, waiting for its master to awaken from her concussion.

'A sword... I need a sword.'

With trembling hands, she extended her arm toward Amelia's blade.

Her body screamed at her not to do it.

Placing her hand on the scimitar's pommel, she felt a sharp pain rush through her head.

Using someone else's element was impossible. Especially a weapon made by using magic.

But May refused to give up.

'I'm already dead! A little pain is nothing!'

Pulling Ceres from the ground, she ignored the stinging feeling in her brain.

*Flash*

Catching fire, Ceres' blade changed to a molten mess.

But as a powerful blade, it contained the destructive element of fire that May usually contained.

Searing, an ardent energy flowed inside the blade. As intense heat radiated from around her in a large radius, she frowned with caution.

"With power in my hands, I will bring you down."

Pointing the scimitar's blade at Orion, she pulled it closer to her hand and grabbed it with both hands.

'Amelia, I'll borrow your element.'

Rushing forward, she met Orion head-on.

A dark spear appeared in his hand as he took a step back.

May dodged the dark spots on the ground, easily revealed by her intense fire. As Orion thrust his spear at her, she parried his attack.

*Cling*

The spear moved upward as sparks exploded from the molten blade.

Noticing the deadly projectiles, Orion jumped backward.

Pursuing him, May kept pressuring him.

For a few minutes, she appeared to overwhelm him, as he suffered continuous attacks that seeped into his muscles.

Overwhelming heat, coupled with damaging projectiles, forced him to stay on the defensive.

But it was a matter of time before Orion stopped playing.

Willingly, he let one hit go through. The blade rapidly fell downward, ripping the air in half.

It sliced Orion in half before May realized that it was an afterimage of him.

"...!"

She reacted too late.

Orion stood behind her, his fingers on the jewel stuck on her nape.

*Pull*

Horrified, everyone watched as Orion pulled the elemental from May's body.

A trail of blood followed his hand as both the light of the elemental and the light in May's eyes disappeared.

Tetra frowned furiously as she realized her power wouldn't be able to save her, as this was past any kind of injury she could heal. Damage to the soul was something she couldn't deal with.

As she fell forward, Orion warped in front of her.

He grabbed her head before lifting her body. With her feet hanging off the ground, he stared inside her empty eyes.

"..."

Great dissatisfaction flashed on his face as he glared at the jewel in his hand.

Then, Orion clenched it in his hand before thrusting his hand into her chest.

But no blood, or even the sound of bones breaking, appeared from his violent action.

Instead, his hand had vanished into an opening.

As Orion's expression kept fluctuating into annoyance, the last pair of wings raptured through his back.

After a minute, May's hand twitched.

"PWAAAAA!"

She inhaled violently as a bright fire exploded from her body.

It even began to devour Orion's skin, who released her after pulling his hand from the space over her chest.

May dropped to the ground, staring at her hands while taking deep breaths.

"What?"

*Thump*

Touching her chest, she felt the burning heat of life devour her body.

The freezing touch of death, which accompanied her life for the past twenty years, dissipated rapidly as warm blood coursed her veins.

*THUMP*

Her eyes gleamed the light of life, as the elemental jewel crystallized above her chest.

As if invigorated by the sun's rays, an energy that she was unfamiliar with flashed in her mind.

Orion, satisfied, nodded with a stern expression.

Close to having recovered his mind, his actions spoke louder than ever.

Even in this berserk state, his thoughts were going toward his partners. Only May managed to bring the conscious part of Orion, who wanted to free her from her affliction.

With tears trickling down her face, May peered into the eyes of the man who swore to save her.

As Orion's wings began to stretch widely behind him, skin rapidly grew over them.

May moved away from the battlefield, while the rest of the group stared at him with awe.

Until a small black spot appeared over his head.

The end was near, and his awakening was imminent.

But one last challenge was left to the group.