[https://i.imgur.com/sfHqwWT.jpg]

Marina won, thankfully. She kills orcs while being surrounded from all angles but up with muscle-bound monsters. Twisting columns of fire bore into two orcs. A stone club appeared in her blind spot and collided with a blue wall. Spikes grew from the barrier and pinned the orc full of tiny holes. Drac saw the battle from afar in the air—much more than twenty. More than two hundred orcs roar aloud. War cries spit flem, and blood rushed to their eyes in madness.

H- Go low this time.

Drac let gravity take him down. He fell into the forest with his back to the ground. Spreading his arms wide, A second Heilong was summoned. Several inches from the forest floor, Drac tuned Ignis and levitation. Fire blasted out of his feet. Leaves scattered as Drac cruised close to the grass and soil of the forest floor. With arms still wide, his blade passed through three orc’s ankles. The shocked orcs fall with cleaved feet. A sword was unsummoned. Drac twisted his body to face the ground. A mighty pulse step pushed him up. An aura-coated sword scraped on the soil, making a line in the dirt. A wave of bright white light trailed the arc of the attack, and an orc and his stone club were slashed in half. The wave continued through meat and bone. Blood splashed and splattered. Arms were severed, and bodies were split as Drac's aura wave killed eight.

A- Almost got it…

With a short sword above his head, Drac coalesced his aura to its point. Tendrils of aura twisted around his sword, and he brought the mass of aura down. Drac’s aura curled together while it flew towards the horde. Six were snared in the white energy, and several others escaped by jumping out of the way with large burns and injuries. The shoddy-made aura dragon doesn't travel far and dissipates.

A- Damn. Dont worry. You will do better next time.

A orc jumped and smashed down on the man in black while he floated in the air. A pulse step on a blue platform allowed him to avoid the club, and Drac pulsed close. Intestines spill from the orc. Drac picked his new target. Drac rushed towards the ground, and a wide swing attacked him. Ignis was tuned, and Drac dodged a club as wide as Bob. A head fell, and Drac finally landed on the ground beside it.

“Hey, Marina.”

"Hello, sweety." Marina smiled while charring an orc's head to its skull.

Marina braced with arms out against clubs as the orcs pounded on her barrier dome. She stood in the middle of several adventurer parties. Drac took a moment to take in the environment. The maimed young warriors glance at the masked man with trepidation.

H- Bodies. Most are human. Mmm, I would say they are beginners. Surprised by the horde, they ran back here until they had no choice but to fight back.

A- Should have gone faster.

Drac agreed.

A familiar warmth flowed through his body once again and Drac split into-

H- Hold on. Keep it hidden for now. The news hasn't travelled this far.

Drac thought for a moment before he let the warmth go.

A- Go all out on your own, Drac. Let's see what you alone are capable of.

Drac smirked under his dark mask.

He flared his aura. A white flame climbed high into the sky. His energy radiates around. The air shudders in his presence. The adventurers behind Drac hid behind each other as they watched Drac flex his prowess. The blonde mage cackled and flared her own aura. Rather than a roaring flame. A mist surrounds the adventurers she protects. They notice her aura clinging to them. The mist hardens in barriers.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Marina shouted to all who could hear her voice, “YOU ARE WARRIORS. PROTECT YOUSELVES.”

And before anyone could react, she charged forward. A straight punch with a vanbrace fist explodes an orc.

The fiery aura sucked into Drac, filling his bones, muscles, and nerves. A white glow enveloped itself around him. Drac looked over his shoulder. Men and women his age. They stood frozen while Marina fought to protect them.

H- Disappointing.

“You heard the woman. She gave you a chance. Fucking use it.”

A club destroyed the ground. And the man in black was nowhere to be seen.

“Couldn't wait, big man?.” Drac pulsed-stepped on the orc’s shoulder, and a fist tapped the monster's temple, and it burst into chunks.

“See. It's easy.”

The adventurers look at each other. Their courage built with every kill Drac and Marina made. The adventurers charged in the dozens. Screaming their war cries as they conquer their fears. Their swords sliced, and their arrows poked. The mages burned orcs. The clerics healed all. Warrior and Orc clashed, and a swordsman’s blade fell off his hand. The lone warrior closed his eyes and awaited his death.

A familiar thunk.

A blue murus shattered around him. A second chance. The warrior scrambled for his sword. And with all his might, a wave of aura flew off the tip of his blade. An orc gushed blood from a large cut to its chest and fell. The lone warrior exhaled deeply with relief. He looked around and saw many around him protected by the same blue barrier. A masked man landed beside him.

“Told you. A chance.” And without another word, the strange warrior in black flew back into the fray.

A- Their weapons are too massive to weave through.

Drac dropped to the floor; his chin nearly touched the grass as he floated under a club. He grabbed the ground with an empty left hand. Aura coursed through his forearm and he pulled himself forward. An orc staggered with one less foot. Drac twisted as he stood up. A long aura sword cut the large monster from the back. A club crashed on Drac from above. He braced with heilong and groans. A pulse deflected the massive weapon of rock to the ground. A pulse-step onto the club and Drac ran along, cutting the orc's arm, shoulder, and head. Another step, and Drac is high in the air. Drac winds up and thrusts. A cone of white aura bore through the chest of one orc and decimated the leg of another. While in midair, multiple slim waves were unleashed from his sword. They cut the ground below, dicing monsters into pieces.

DODGE!

In the air, Drac tuned Murus and pulse-stepped off a platform on his right. The scorching heat of a massive wave of aura passed him by. A gust of wind blew him into the bushes. He twisted and landed with his feet on a tree. Splinters scatter around from the force. Tuning Levitation, Drac looked everywhere, and aura sensed everything.

A- Over there, brother. Our enemy is not hiding.

Orcs separated as one walked through the crowd. Adorning a jagged steel crown and with a shorter stature, an orc dragged a sheet of metal that could resemble a sword. It glows a subtle white.

Drac flipped off the tree. Walking his way back to the battle, Drac stretches his worn muscles. Orc down at him, never engaging as the leader was here. The battlefield stood still at the arrival of the OrcLord. The adventurers trembled under the aura he emitted. With weapons out, the guard is their protector. Marina kneeled by them, exhausted. Clerics gathered around her, covering her with holy amber light. Marina winked at Drac, and he relaxed.

Orc soldiers move to create space. Drac and OrcLord meet in the middle of the orc-made arena. Marina and the young adventurer stand with the rest of the orc audience hundreds of metres away.

“Duel?” Ask Drac. He stared up at the Orclord. Human and Orc stand about 3 metres away.

“Unfortunately.” A loud and deep voice boomed for the older orc.

“By Orc rules?” Drac asked.

The OrcLord lifted his giant slab of metal and its glow brightened till it became blinding.

H- That’s a yes, I guess.

Drac assumed a familiar stance. Reverse grip to his chin and empty hand low.

A- Why that shit stance again?

D- It is best to stick to what you know best when you might die.

H- Shit? How come you lost our spar yesterday?

A- Cos' you're a sneaky bastard!

The OrcLord swung down.