The raw elemental energy being channeled by the two fighters started to mingle and rupture as they pushed more and more of their power into the sword that they were fighting over. The red light of the Uthraki’s energy, and the purple light of Jonathan’s, eventually found that they would go no further.
Compressed to their utmost within the blade, they detonated, sending both fighters flying. Jonathan groaned as he rolled across the hard obsidian ground. His front side was bruised, but mostly unharmed. The Uthraki fighter was already standing, with her sword held out to the side. Cracks ran up and down its length, and some of the serrated teeth on it were mangled and broken. A look of pure rage was on her face, and she sank into a low stance. Power rushed to her feet, and what looked like a tendril of lava reached out from the bases of her armored soles. It streaked across the ground towards Jonathan, and a moment later, the woman vanished.
A flitting shape moved along with the stream of lava at a speed higher than Jonathan could easily make out. A moment later, she appeared in front of him, her sword clasped tightly. It came down a moment later, its edge coated with elemental energy. Jonathan tried to dodge, but he was too slow, and the strike barreled into his shoulder. His bones almost broke under the onslaught, but they narrowly remained intact.
He was driven to one knee by the force however, and fell straight into a brutal kick from his opponent. He rolled with the force, but it still knocked out a few of his teeth. A triumphant laugh came from the Uthraki, which Jonathan ignored. He was not fighting at his full capacity here.
With a snarl, he sent his stamina to his legs, sending him shooting up towards his enemy like a rocket. His fist hammered into the underside of the Uthraki’s chin, sending her dozens of feet into the air. Shattered teeth fell like white rain onto the ground, and a spray of blood followed. As the Uthraki came down, Jonathan pulled back his fist, and sent all of his power to it. A whirling storm of energy gathered there, and as the Uthraki touched the ground, Jonathan surged forwards and punched. His fist buried itself into the Uthraki’s abdomen, feeling a moment of resistance. Then it broke through, and the woman was reduced to a rapidly dissipating shockwave of gore.
Essence rushed into Jonathan, sending him up another level for his trouble. Behind him, the two Uthraki who had accompanied the woman were rapidly losing their battles, covered in hundreds of lacerations from the Guild members. However, they were giving as good as they got, and Jonathan knew that if he did not step in, there would be more than a few casualties before this was all over.
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With a steely glance, Jonathan gathered his energy up within himself, and pushed off the durable obsidian. It cracked as he pushed off, but did not shatter, as any lesser material would have. Like a streak of red and purple lightning, he flashed towards his enemies, faster than they could react to.
Both his fists buried themselves in their backs, shattering bone and pulping flesh. He lifted the two fighters off their feet, and into the air, where he proceeded to hit them with a barrage of punches, each glowing with the light of the Void. In their weakened state, they were no match for him, and gravity was far too weak to stop him from reaping his due. In the time that they fell even a single foot, dozens of strikes had landed, turning flesh to jelly in the process. By the time they hit the floor, the Uthraki were dead, and more essence, less than before, entered Jonathan. However, he still was able to gain a level from it. This venture was proving to be quite profitable, if nothing else.
The Guild members withdrew their blades and started to clean them off as if this was nothing more than an ordinary occurrence. With stony faced looks, they headed deeper into the building. This time, it was Jonathan and Edgar who were trailing them. As they hurried to catch up, Edgar gave Jonathan a glance.
“Those fighters act quite strangely. Almost as if they are being controlled by some outside force.”
Jonathan had noticed something off as well, in their synchronized movements, as well as their seeming immunity to pain and fear. No normal fighters could work together in such a tight group so flawlessly. Normally, having dozens of people attacking a single target was a recipe for disaster, as most of their strikes would be blocked by their allies. However, they had made it work somehow.
Before they were left too far behind however, Jonathan picked up the pace, thinking over what Edgar had said. In any case, it hardly mattered right now, seeing as they were allies.
As they followed in the wake of the Uthraki, they heard more fighting coming from the front of the pack, as the guild members engaged their enemies. Edgar sent his own attacks over their heads, aiding the Uthraki with them. Jonathan was unable to do so, so he simply waited until the Uthraki had dealt with the threat. He needed to save his energy for the big boss at the end. Judging by the aura that he had felt, he would need to use all of his power to take out the city lord.
As the Uthraki slowly made their way along the hallway, which seemed to stretch for far longer than was feasible, Uthraki guards jumped out of the side rooms, landing in front of Jonathan and the others. Looks of malice burned on their faces, as if they were enraged that someone would care to invade their master's sanctum. Before they could react however, Jonathan blasted a few of them to splinters of bone and flesh. Now that his level was approaching that of his foes, it was growing easier and easier to defeat them.