Carrying the unconscious Eisen on her back, Ariana followed Ren, who was holding Sezel in her arms. They had just arrived outside of the cave, putting them on Kyu's back when Ren's hands lit up with violet lightning. Stretching them out, she formed an electric field around them as it blocked the incoming fireball that was burning in a violet hue just at the last second. The flames burned wildly, like a storm around them, before slowly dissipating. It revealed the deathly pale Ariana, standing behind Kyu and her Master. Unharmed but overwhelmed.
"Kyu, stay here and defend Ariana!" Ren ordered with a serious voice as she floated upwards.
"But Kyu can fight too!" Her pet protested.
"I order you to protect her! If you dare to ignore me, I'll disown you!" Ren looked back with a serious expression that neither she nor Ariana had ever seen before.
"U-um…" Kyu nodded, unable to say anything back to her at that moment.
Not far away, a young, thin figure appeared. He had silvery hair on the top of his head and a pair of amethyst eyes. He was wearing normal civilian clothes and a friendly smile, looking down at Ren.
"My guess was right! Let the bait bring me the main prize~" He chuckled as he watched Ren fly up to stand before him.
"I remember your aura… but it was that of a mortal's before. I examined you when we visited Gorgan and surveyed him and his people…" Ren looked at him for a little more before summoning her real spear, holding it firmly.
"Mmm." He nodded with a smile. He was the one who previously disguised himself as Jellat, the rebellious City Lord's clerk. "After your visit, he got arrested and, later on, executed for treason by the Empire. All of the remaining members of his family were stripped of their ranks and titles and replaced with another, more loyal family. My mission by then was a failure as I was also sent away to find a new occupation in life. Forever barred from politics. Honestly, when regaining my true consciousness, I expected to be at the moment of my 'execution.'"
"Is this then some kind of revenge?" Ren asked, shaking her head, not really interested in what he wanted to tell her.
"Revenge? Oh, no, no! This is my new mission! Capturing or killing you! You unfilial great-great-granddaughter of mine." He laughed playfully.
"I may have inherited the Naulins' looks, but that is the furthest my relationship goes towards your people." Ren shrugged.
"Oh, no, we are connected by blood, youngster~" He shook his head. "I am the father of the current king, Rudrick. That makes me your great-great-grandfather… and as your ancestor, it is my job to rein you in! You had your rebellious phase, girl, it's time to come home-"
He couldn't finish his sentence as Ren's spear stabbed out. She aimed it towards his face with lightning speed. Only when he caught it between his fingers, covered with purple flames, did the thunder arrive, accompanying Ren's attack.
"You are really fast and impatient, girl!" He looked into Ren's eyes. "It's a mystery to me how that whore of a traitor woman birthed a warrior like you."
"The only surprise here is how can you spew such foul-smelling shit out of your mouth without choking on it," Ren replied calmly before tearing away the spear, leaving cuts on his fingers, and repeating the attack, moving quicker than sound.
Every stab with her spear left behind flashing violet lights and aimed at vital points. She was blasting out with an ear-shattering noise of thunder every time. Yet 'Jellat' either dodged them or blocked her stabs with his own hand, diverting the strikes away from his body. When they separated once again, he just flicked his hands, letting the small drops of blood fall down to the ground, unbothered by them.
"You can't win, girl." He shook his head. "I have long ascended to the 2nd stage of Harmony. I can feel the direction of your attacks even before they arrive. The fact that you are still relying on a weapon tells a lot about your amateur ways. When you wield real power, you don't need weapons anymore, as you yourself become the weapon!"
"Are you trying to teach me now or something?" Ren tilted her head to the side, "Because I only hear bullshit."
"This is why you don't mix with lower lifeforms. Your mouth is the gateway to degeneracy!" 'Jellat' sighed, with a disappointed voice.
"Says the one who, instead of roleplaying as nobility back home, goes on kinky adventures, dressing up as fuckboys to nobles in a foreign country. How many times have you sucked him off for that juicy promotion?" Ren grinned provocatively, and finally, Jellat's expression became more serious. "Was it yummy? You enjoyed it; admit it~"
"I think I don't need to waste any more words with you, girl! You may have great potential, but I decided to kill you."
"So I struck a nerve? Sorry but not sorry!" She laughed, licking her lips.
Now, it was 'Jellat' who attacked first. Out of nowhere, violet flames formed into two whip-like shapes, striking Ren from both sides. She flashed quickly, dodging one and attacking the second with her spear, stabbing through it, but the flames quickly reformed, going after her like tentacles. No matter how much she struck at them, they reformed themselves. Sometimes, they even split apart, going after her again and again, resulting in a chase playing out in the sky. It was looking like a firestorm with lightning flashing inside of it, watching it from the ground.
"Give up and accept your death! You just prolong the inevitable! You have no chance of winning! I am above you!" 'Jellat' roared.
"Yeah, you can sense every move I make because of your connection to nature…" Ren looked back at him, blocking one flaming whip, but her spear was already badly damaged and melted in multiple spots. "But let's see if your body can keep up with your senses!"
Ren took a deep breath, releasing all of her powers, blasting away the flames around her, and she was already beside 'Jellat.' She was stabbing towards him from his left side, while her previous image was still dissolving at where she stood a millisecond ago. The tip of the spear arrived at his side while his hand was just in the motion of pressing down to block it, clearly a few moments too late.
"You are fast, but still…" His body burst into purple flames, covering him completely as Ren's spearhead melted away, giving him time to grab onto its shaft.
As Jellat's fingers touched the spear, he realized it too late. The melting of the tip was not what he thought at first. As soon as his fingers grabbed onto it, the image of the spear was distorted and 'melting' as if it was nothing but an afterimage left behind by Ren.
"You-!" He grunted as the real spear penetrated his chest from behind. He hurriedly increased the flames' intensity around his body, quickly melting the spear for real now, forcing Ren to retreat and leave her weapon behind.
His whole body was surrounded by the purple flames, masking his presence, while Ren's figure was flashing with the same purple light, but instead of fire, electricity danced around her body.
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"Girl, you are making me really mad!" 'Jellat' roared as his body slowly appeared before her once more, emerging from the fire. The spear was already nowhere to be seen, and the wound was closed in by burning the flesh of his own. "I'm going to kill you, skin your pet, and cripple your disciple!" He shouted while his body was being covered in burning armor, looking like a living flame demon, leaving only his eyes visible under his helmet.
"You can try, but you are going to fail," Ren responded, popping a pill into her mouth, recovering her strength once again to its fullest. She was tossing out multiple coins that started to rotate around her by themselves. "Have a taste of this 'grandpa'!" She shouted, striking out with a palm strike, hitting one of the coins.
"Damn!" 'Jellat' cursed as he formed a giant shield before him. The incoming, bright lightning beam hit it with immense force, followed by the second and third. It was pushing him backward in the sky without giving him any time to counter it. "What is this spell?!" He groaned, reinforcing his shield again and again. He was watching with wide eyes as the coins had already arrived before he could react at all. They were superheated and glowing in a variety of colors, melting right through his defensive spell, disrupting it.
By the time Ren shot out all of her six coins, a loud crack resounded in the air as 'Jellat's' shield and armor broke into pieces. It was making him falter and tumble even further back. The pieces of his defenses, filled with Ren's electricity, flew everywhere like fireworks, showering the land with fire and lightning. Luckily for Ariana and the unconscious two, Kyu was standing on her hindlimbs, raising her paws up to the sky with a widely open mouth, absorbing everything that would endanger them. It was the first time for Araina to ever hear something unbelievable escaping Kyu's mouth.
"Kyu doesn't want to eat anymore…" She moaned with tears in her eyes, consuming the wild, mixed powers rampaging above them that would easily kill the three behind her. "Kyu's tummy hurts…"
The deafening, thundering noises were suddenly overturned by an angry roar as Jellat flew forward, reforming his armor. He was advancing on Ren with his full might, directing punches at her chest and head. She immediately copied his moves, meeting fist with a fist and kick with a kick. As the two fought, the previously cloudy sky turned even darker, foreboding and ominous, as the heat meeting with the late autumn's cold air drummed up nature's attention. It was summoning a real, wild storm around them. The rain that started falling quickly evaporated when nearing the two. It was loudly sizzling away as it landed on 'Jellat's' flames, creating white smoke trails everywhere they flew while fighting.
When they finally separated, Ren's uniform was battered and torn apart in multiple places; her skin and face had burnt spots on them. She was breathing heavily, grabbing onto her dislocated left arm, popping it back into place as she was spitting out a tooth of hers. It was clear, going by the sheer force behind each punch, that her opponent was stronger, yet she still kept up the pace.
"You are something else to still be able to stand!" His voice resonated from under his flaming helmet while looking into Ren's eyes with his own glowing irises. "I don't know if you are brave or stupid to have the courage to look into my eyes." 'Jellat,' he said as he flew forward again.
When Ren wanted to raise her arms to block, she found out her body refused to respond, and a thought crept up in her mind of not resisting at all. In the end, she had to take the punch full on, flying backward, spitting out another tooth and blood. Then the second punch came right into her stomach, the third to her chest, and finally, a kick onto her waist, with a resounding crack, shattering her pelvis.
"Stupid girl!" He laughed. Looking into a Naulin's eyes while fighting is pure arrogance on your part! Did you forget our speciality?! Ahahaha!" 'Jellat' gloated, grabbing onto Ren's hair and holding her up by it. "Now I'm going to fry your brain and torture your soul directly!" He cackled while opening Ren's eyes with his fingers and invading her mind. "If you thought I am the same as the branch family dregs and the others that you may have met before… you are gravely mistaken. My eye powers are way above theirs!" He whispered while his helmet disintegrated, revealing his arrogantly smiling face.
At first, everything went smoothly for him, but after a few seconds, Ren's mind started to resist. It was even pushing back at him, shaking his own mind. It was then that a small, bare foot landed square in his face, breaking his nose as Ren kicked it right into his skull.
"Thanks for the lesson, geezer!" Ren snorted with a battered look, already grabbing onto his hand, looking into his eyes with a grin. "I had to see a complete version of this technique! 01 and 02 only scraped its surface!" She laughed with a sore -and also injured- throat, delivering her knee with all of her might into the hand holding her by the head.
"You let me invade you… so you can learn it… nonsenseeAArrghhhh?!" 'Jellat' screamed like a banshee as in his daze, Ren's knee snapped his hand into two, with armor and all. His white bones were sticking out, being burnt by his own powers.
"Yeah, dipshit!" She pulled on his mangled hand, tearing it off from where his bones stuck out and tossing it away like some trash before throwing another bunch of pills into her mouth. She couldn't wait for a full recovery as she immediately started summoning multiple clones of herself. As soon as they appeared, they threw themselves at 'Jellat,' blowing up again and again.
Jellat was screaming loudly, fighting off the clones and explosions with his remaining arm, but every burst of violent energy also drew down nature's yellowish lightning. They were coming non-stop from the forming storm above them, right onto Jellat, making him scream even more painfully.
"I don't believe it! I won't accept it! Someone below me won't defeat me!" He screamed maniacally, throwing himself towards Ren, looking like an enraged beast.
"I won, old man…" Ren smiled, already exhausted yet picking out four of Toobu's Instant Fire. Ren's eyes lit up brightly, stunning the crazed Jellat, who, for a minuscule moment, lost every function of his body.
“No… way…” He whispered, feeling his mind infiltrated. That millisecond was what decided the outcome as Ren already let loose the burning, electricity-filled fireballs all at once. "No…" 'Jellat' tried to speak before being consumed by the horrific explosions. At that moment, before Ren could feel the joy of victory, she heard a last murmur. "I can't accept… this!"
"Shit!" Ren tried to flee, but 'Jellat' had already ignited the chain reaction as his remaining energies caught on fire, washing over everything inside of him before he exploded.
It was a literal firestorm that descended down on the land. It was as if the end times had come, while Ren's figure was swallowed up by the raging, violet fire a second later.
"Back! Back to the cave!" Kyu screamed, picking up the unconscious girls and Ariana, rushing inside before the lava-like purple fire descended upon them.
The whole cave was rumbling, and they could feel the heat from the outside for many minutes before it slowly began to dissipate. When the shaking finally stopped, and the quiet returned, it only left the pouring rain's orchestra behind. That was the moment when Ariana finally regained her composure.
"We need to get to Master!" She stood up, wanting to rush out from the cave.
"You stay here! It can still be dangerous! Kyu goes!" She pulled her back, shaking herself a little. Coming to the cave's entrance had to be blasted open as molten rocks and dirt sealed it up completely.
Outside, the scenery was completely ruined. Every plant, tree, and shrubs were gone; only black ash was left behind. The ground was now made out of a sticky and muddy mess, soaked by the rain that was pouring down from the sky. Kyu started to sniff out the whereabouts of her Master, but it was almost impossible to do so in this kind of weather. Going towards the spot where they last hovered above, she finally came across the remains of 'Jellat' who only left behind a burnt, torn apart, half-corpse. His chest opened up from the blast, like a volcano's top, still oozing purple, lava-like mix of energy, blood, and who knows what.
"Master!" Kyu shouted multiple times before finally receiving a weak answer.
"I'm not dead… yet…" Ren groaned softly.
When she rushed towards her voice, Ren was lying on her back, not just naked and missing every strand of hair or eyebrows, but there was barely any skin remaining on her that wasn't burned to some degree.
"Master!" Kyu panicked, going circles around her, not knowing what to do.
“Relax… dummy… I just got… hotter….!” She joked, but it went over Kyu's head, who was unable to calm down. “My holding bag… has been burnt… there should be an… emergency token in… Ariana’s… notify the… Sect."
"Y-yes! Yes, yes, yes! Kyu goes and does it!" She sprinted away.
“Tell them… to bring… new clothes…” Ren groaned, coughing, as even taking a breath was like inhaling a mix of acid and sulfur. Kyu just nodded multiple times again while rushing back toward Ariana. She fell multiple times while on her way but finally made it inside the cave. Ren just lay there, letting the cold rain cool down her still-burning body. “Fuck… this hurts…” She chuckled, fighting the blackness creeping into her view. "Fucking sore loser… I hate my grandparents… all of them…" She grumbled as the darkness was winning, washing out colors and the sky. Finally, her consciousness gave up and slowly faded away.