Logan coughed uncontrollably as large volumes of blood left his mouth. His body shook unsteadily, on the verge of collapse. He slammed his fist into the ground, disgusted with himself for not being able to land a blow on the man that killed his parents.
He tried getting to his feet, but his body refused to move, as though it understood his intention. His instincts screamed at him to stay down, only death awaited him if he got back up. He bit his lip until blood trickled down his chin, refusing to give in to the feeling
Logan dug his fingers into the ground and crawled his way forward. He had to return to the clearing no matter what. Even if Valtyre swats him away again, he had to try.
‘I won’t let you take more people away from me!’
Logan vowed, he would fight, even if it meant losing his life, he would be satisfied knowing that he avenged his parents and that his friends were safe.
"Get up!"
He reignited the rage from before and doubled down, forcing his body to respond to his will.
Slowly, his wounds healed and strength returned to his body, allowing him to rise to his feet.
Logan focused his senses inward to enter a state of duality, maximising his power output, while maintaining control over his actions.
‘I have to get back!’
He took off towards the clearing, hoping that Nathan and his friends were safe.
Nathan reclined against a piece of wood from one of the demolished trees, transmitting Primah into his body to hasten his recovery.
The injuries he sustained were not life-threatening, however, they were severe enough to hinder him in battle.
If he did not cover his body in Primah at the last second, he would be in a worse state.
"Pathetic."
He replayed the images of Valtyre's movement in his mind, over and over again. Despite enhancing his brain's processing speed beyond it's supernatural limits, he still could not follow Valtyre's movement entirely.
The enemy’s abilities were overwhelming, frighteningly so. To make matters worse, it appeared as though Valtyre barely used any strength at all.
The situation was dire.
It was too early for Logan to receive training in Primah or Eleon transmission; Nathan could hazard a guess as to Logan’s current condition.
Nathan understood that they were outmatched; however, in battle, strength alone does not guarantee victory.
Giving up was not in his nature, despite their current predicament, he refused to accept that he could not protect the people he wanted to protect.
Thankfully, due to his enhanced processing speed, his inner dialogue concluded before Logan regained his strength.
A deep crimson glow surrounded Nathan as he reinforced his body with Primah, steeling himself for a lengthy and intense fight, one where they could easily lose their lives if they lost focus.
Sensing something, he opened his eyes. Following that, he picked an enormous tree trunk off the ground, and hurled it towards the clearing with all his might.
Back in the clearing, Valtyre glanced in the direction where he sent Nathan. The enormous trunk flew towards him at a blistering speed, he dodged it easily, allowing it to continue on its path.
The next moment, he sensed a presence to his rear, accelerating towards him. Before he could turn around completely, a large shadow loomed over him, growing larger by the second. He raised his left hand above his head, catching the enormous trunk swung down by Logan. The trunk snapped in two due to the impact, the largest section remained on his palm, while a shorter piece fell ahead of him.
In that instant, Nathan reached the clearing to the right of Valtyre and rushed towards him. Valtyre kicked the falling section of tree trunk towards Nathan in an attempt to catch him off guard. Nathan easily evaded the incoming projectile, continuing his approach with his fist in position to punch.
Valtyre moved his right hand to block Nathan's punch, still holding onto the larger trunk on his left hand. It was unclear as to how it happened; whether he was distracted by Logan or the flying tree trunk, he did not realise that the figure of Nathan approaching his right side was an after-image, nor did he realise that Logan no longer held onto the trunk above him.
He moved his right hand towards Nathan's after-image, but it disappeared. Surprised, he scanned the clearing and predicted the location where the real Nathan was, he then hurled the enormous section of tree trunk in that direction.
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The exact moment that the trunk left his finger tips, the real Nathan appeared beside his right arm. He delivered multiple thunderous blows to his shoulder, before his left arm returned to his side. Distracted by Nathan, Logan appeared on his left and delivered powerful punches to his exposed rib cage. Valtyre swung his arms towards them, however they vanished before he completed the motion.
That action left his torso exposed. Both Nathan and Logan appeared in front of him, their elbows knocked back in preparation for a punch. It appeared as though they aimed to punch him in the abdomen. For a split second, Valtyre hesitated. He was fooled by Nathan before, thus he did not want to repeat his earlier mistake. He swung his arms forward in an attempt to knock them against each other, unfortunately, both of their figures were after-images. With his arms fixed in a crossed position, he was unable to block the real Nathan and Logan who reappeared above his chest.
They punched him in the face simultaneously, the impact of their blows drove him backwards, dragging the ground with his heels.
After sliding for ten meters, Valtyre released his arms to his side and corrected his posture. He narrowed his eyes at them, however it was not to glare at them.
He grinned. “Interesting.”
Moments before the attack at the barn.
Mr and Mrs Gremzor sat in their living room enjoying a fresh cup of tea. Mrs Gremzor held a brown frame housing a recently taken photograph, she smiled pleasantly as she stared at it.
"Such a rare sight." she said.
"Indeed, I believe the last time was his very first ceremony." Mr Gremzor said.
"Thereafter, he lost interest in all forms of ceremonial gatherings.” Mrs Gremzor said.
"His eagerness for this evening's ceremony came as a surprise. So too did his expression." Mr Gremzor said.
Mrs Gremzor grinned. "Well, beautiful woman have that effect."
Mr Gremzor chuckled. "Indeed they do.”
"It is troubling however, that he has not introduced us. This evening would have been the perfect opportunity for it." Mr Gremzor said.
"Well, perhaps he-" Mrs Gremzor said but stopped abruptly.
She tightened her grip on the frame and glanced at Mr Gremzor with a concerned expression.
"What is the matter dear?"
"Nyelekai released their seals.”
Mr Gremzor rose from his chair. "I shall head to them at once.”
"I shall join you once I have notified the Elders." Mrs Gremzor said.
"Make haste Peietre, we cannot afford any more casualties, especially not the youth of Bracken."
Mr Gremzor arrived at the edge of the woods, several kilometers north of the graduation party. Sensing multiple presences lurking ahead, he walked through the trees to investigate. He reached a small opening of about twenty meters in circumference, and stopped at its centre.
"Show yourselves, there is no point in hiding." he said.
The next moment, four ashen humanoid creatures approached. They were much larger than the beasts that appeared at the barn, around eight meters in height and had roughly three times their muscle mass. Unlike their beastly counterparts, they were not wearing hoods, their mutated faces were clearly visible from the onset.
Mr Gremzor noted that their appearance matched the description of the creature that appeared in the Soato region, fortunately however, they appeared to be a more compact version of that creature.
Surrounded on all sides, he glared at them.
"I gather that you are here to keep me away from my son and his friends?"
The creatures stared at him intently, not saying a word.
Although they did not speak, he sensed an overwhelming amount of hostility around them.
Mr Gremzor observed their behaviour for a moment, then nodded.
"It is as the report suggested, you are unable to speak. It cannot be helped then."
"You should know, I dislike fighting beings of lesser intellect. However, since your kind is hostile towards my kin, I shall show you no mercy."
One of the ashen creatures rushed towards him, it's movement more agile than it's frame should allow. Due to it's enormous reach, it was close enough to pummel him while still maintaining a safe enough distance to guard against a counter attack.
"Not lacking in battle sense I see."
He threw a quick jab towards the creature before it completed its movement. His fist did not reach it's body due to the distance between them. However, the wind pressure generated by his fist, erased the upper half of the creature's body, including the large tree behind it.
Mr Gremzor spun around swiftly, pivoting on his heel. He tapped his foot towards another creature, in that instant, a deep fissure developed below his foot, extending well beyond his target. The ashen creature attempted to rush towards him, however the moment it took a step, it's body split in half from the top of its head down to it's pelvis.
The two remaining creatures took a step back reflexively. Behind them, more ashen creatures approached, a total of forty appeared from the tree line.
‘What an absurd number, how were they transported here so suddenly?’
He glanced at the two fallen creatures, assessing whether they shared the same ability as the one in Soato.
"It would appear that these creatures do not regenerate…how fortunate." a silvery voice said above Mr Gremzor.
"So it seems." he said.
Mrs Gremzor hovered above his head on a wind platform, pointing her index finger towards a group of five ashen creatures. A violet spark surrounded her finger tip as she lowered it to the ground. In that instant, an enormous bolt of lightning descended upon them, reducing the entire group and their surroundings to ash.
Mr Gremzor dashed towards a large group on the edge of the opening, crossing a ten meter distance in an instant. He kicked one of the creatures in the solar plexus, but unlike its kin before it, it's body remained intact.
However due to the sharp impact of the kick, it barrelled into two of its kin behind it.
As soon as their feet left the ground, Mr Gremzor intercepted them from behind. He delivered three deafening blows, shattering their spines, and halting their momentum before they decimated the woodland behind them.
He continued his assault on the large group, rapidly delivering one bone shattering blow after the next. His movement was swift and precise, preventing any unnecessary damage to the surrounding area. Within a matter a seconds, the group of twenty ashen creatures were demolished before they could wreak havoc on the town.
Ahead of him, the ground rumbled under the cracks of multiple purple flashes. Mrs Gremzor floated in mid-air, the ground beneath her was charred and covered in ash.
A few creatures remained after her attacks, some more injured than others. Mr Gremzor approached and prepared to deliver the finishing blows.
"Peietre, you go on ahead. I shall dispose of these creatures." Mrs Gremzor suggested. He stopped his advance and nodded
"Please take care of the rest" he said and rushed towards the barn.