With a deft move, Rio raised a hand, a wooden staff appearing in his palm, he summoned the remnants of dark energy that lingered in the air. The shadows around him coalesced. "You impress me, but chaos is a game in which I excel." He spoke, his gaze shifting up to look at Raphael.
The shadows around him condensed, and then solidified forming spectral tendrils that swirled ominously, intent on overwhelming Raphael. They quickly encompassed the world around them, whipping in jagged lines towards the now airborne Raphael.
A couple of loose tendrils savagely whipped down buildings in the vicinity, eliciting cries of horror from the people below. They had started to flee quite a distance away, but the sheer strength of the whips hurled boulders and debris across hundred metres and more. A few unfortunate souls who had yet to flee found themselves buried beneath the flying debris.
City was quite large, covering a distance of about nine thousand square kilometres. Raphael had barely covered any ground during his fight with the twelve robed individuals, but now fighting Rio, to people of their strength, the city might as well have been a small cage, they could cover that distance in seconds.
Rio's attack alone covered the whole eastern perimeter above the city wall and the buildings around it. People scrambled and struggled to flee from the chaos that ensued. Women and children screamed in agony, many died in droves.
Raphael watched all of this, unfazed. "Chaos can only thrive where there is a lack of control. You may command shadows, but I embody the very essence of control." He stepped forward, his presence unwavering. "And my control touches upon every element"
Raphael centred himself, his amethyst gaze igniting with newfound vigour. The air around him thickened, a warm luminescence enveloped him, radiating outward in waves. He raised his right hand, palm outstretched.
The tendrils of darkness upon him, about to engulf his whole being. What happened next was, simply in context, beautiful. The luminescent light around him gathered on his palm before slowly forming a small vortex of light in front of him that slowly grew into a horizontal whirlpool of rainbow light.
The tendrils were easily swallowed up by the whirlpool of light as Raphael closed his open palm into a fist. Rio's facade finally cracked. That was essentially one of the strongest attacks in his arsenal. He could not remember that attack ever failing. It would usually decimate anything it touched into dust.
His darkness element was simply that overpowered and hard to defend against. It seemed corporeal and incorporeal at the same time; hence most defensive measures were useless against it.
"Impossible! Who are you!"
"Don't tell me that is all you had for a plan. What a sorry excuse for a third-rate villain." Raphael snickered in response.
With a dreary flourish, he pointed toward the sky, causing a dazzling display of sparkling energy to explode overhead, showering the capital in radiant colors, filling the spectators with a sense of ease and comfort. ' Keke, I've always wanted this sort of setting to act as some sort of vigilantee in a mask, should have saved up some more lines for this sort of situation.'
It had barely been a few minutes since the whole incident had started. Even though the knight order of the city seemed slow to react, they were quick to appear on the scene, they began evacuating the area around the centre of chaos. They were dressed in silver Armor and chainmail, numbering in the three hundreds.
The blast had aimed for the front side of the castle on the hill, but the fight that followed was slowly causing destruction around the residential area. Shockwaves from the fight were causing notable damage around, the knights were well aware the fight to come was sure to cause more deaths if they were slow to act. The one before was nothing but child's play. They were aware that this was far above their pay grade. Even so, they had to do their duty.
As if on cue, a bunch of conspicuous individuals began to appear from within the denizens of the capital, dressed and ready for battle. Cedric, the knight commander, dressed in red armour was quick to identify them "Mercenaries, they managed to infiltrate us this far into the capital". His eyes warily scanned each of the individuals in his line of sight. before looking up high to Rio and Raphael.
'I don't know who the masked man is, but hopefully he is not an enemy, this is already far worse than we imagined. They had a demigod with them all this time.' Even though they had long anticipated an attack would come. They had failed to account for this whole outcome and the events that had followed.
The mercenaries all stood with the syndicate, more still revealing themselves. At the end, they stood more than a hundred strong, crooked grins colouring their features.
Urek saw their appearance as an opportunity, " Those who can stand, we fight!" Standing up, he garnered the attention of his compatriots, and charged towards the knights, a water spell already forming on a staff that appeared in his hand.
The chaos escalated, a soldier in red armour, Cedric the commander roared in response, "Form up, let's push these bastards back!" Like a well cogged machine, the soldiers assembled seamlessly in neat rows behind him as he held his ground, sword drawn. He took his stance.
"Mages and archers, take your positions!" In a second, the sides clashed, the sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed loudly. Grunts and cries were heard as first blood was drawn; a knight was the first to fall. The syndicate were clearly outnumbered, tired even from their previous fight. However, they far outmatched the knights in terms of strength and skill. Combined with the backup from the mercenaries, who were used to fighting under such conditions, they managed to hold their ground.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
spells rained down from the rear of the knights as the mages supported them. The air shimmered with the energy of conjured spells as mages threw fireballs and lightning bolts, illuminating the encroaching darkness. On the other side, the syndicate's spellcasters deftly conjured shields, their clear barriers absorbing the magical onslaught while allowing them to strike back with precision. Each spell cast was a testament to their training and discipline, aimed at turning the tide despite their numbers being lower. Their teamwork was flawless.
Archers took positions on elevated ground, their arrows raining down upon the syndicate, trying to penetrate the defences that slowly closed in. The knights formed a tight-knit formation, utilising their strength in numbers.
Rio scowled, feeling a wave of energy surging toward him. "This is folly, who are you?" he hissed, unleashing more of the dark tendrils with a force born of desperation. They whipped through the air, searching for their target with ominous intent.
Raphael reacted seamlessly, channels of radiant energy arcing between him and the encroaching shadows. He seemed to weave through the darkness, each movement deliberate and precise. With each clash, light erupted, electrifying the night air, illuminating the faces of those that bore witness.
The tension escalated, each combatant locked in a dance of power—a stark contrast of light and dark vying for dominance. As the tendrils of shadow advanced ferociously, Raphael summoned his inner strength, releasing tendrils of light that clashed with the darkness in a dazzling display of vibrant colors.
"Let's put your theory to the test, shall we?" Raphael challenged, his voice ringing clear amidst the growing storm.
'How tedious, this will be over quickly at this rate, no fun at all' Deciding to switch things up, Raphael abandoned his spells, opting to summon a sleek black sword from his inner space.
In a calculated move, he launched himself forward, breaking through the barrier of darkness trailing behind Rio. He swung his sword in a vertical arc, aiming for Rio's torso. Rio held his staff in a defensive stance as he met the attack head on. Sword and staff met; Rio felt his inner organs rattling from the collision.
the impact sent a rippling shockwave that staggered the demigod. He was sent hurtling downwards as he landed on his feet, one of his knees bent in a ninety-degree angle. The ground trembled underfoot, and the air snapped with contained energy that spilled out in radiant bursts.
The resulting shockwave spread out in a devastating radius, bringing down all structures around them, Raph followed up, not giving him a moment of respite. He appeared before Rio in less than a second, his sword aiming for his neck. The staff blocked the attacked at just before Rio's head was about to be severed, a thin line drawn across the right left side if his neck.
Raphael's fiery onslaught pressed relentlessly, he followed up with a flurry of strikes, converging on his opponent. And with every strike, Raphael channelled the momentum he was building up, fortifying him with energy that surged like a tide against Rio. He seemed to grow stronger with every strike, an effect of his amplification skill.
His strikes were growing stronger and heavier each time he crossed blows with Rio. As a result, Rio found himself being pushed back more and more. He grits his teeth as he attempted to block an attack coming for his right shoulder only to realise it was a feint. 'I'm losing in every aspect, how! I'm supposed to be stronger than him!' He was getting frustrated, by now he had been pushed back mor than ten steps.
The feint threw him off, Raphael's sword went from his right side quickly to his left, Rio roared as he deftly attempted to dodge. He managed to save his arm from being severed, but the attack left a deep gush in his bicep. His crimson eyes flickered with rage as he withdrew a few metres back as he watched Raphael put his sword over his shoulder, his breath even. 'He does not even seem to be breaking a sweat
Realizing the growing peril, Rio gritted his teeth, determination etched deep in his features. He would not yield. Summoning a desperate, raw surge of dark magic, he combined it into a single, enormous blast that shot toward Raphael, intent on overwhelming him in an explosion.
Raphael met the attack head-on, expelling a casual wave of blinding light that clashed against the dark blast. The two forces collided violently, creating a dazzling spectacle that illuminated the night sky, bursting like a supernova in all its glory.
For an instant, the world held its breath, suspended between clarity and chaos. The radius of light expanded and contracted, flickering as the power of two colossal forces fought for dominance. But as the brilliance began to fade, it became clear which force prevailed.
With a final push, Raphael's light surged beyond, enveloping the darkness and unravelling its chaotic reign. The resulting explosion of energy breathed life into the citizens and the soldiers, their gasps of astonishment soaring to the heavens.
Amidst the uproar, Rio staggered, his previous confidence shattered like glass. The shadows recoiled, attempting to escape the radiant force that enveloped them. "No!
The citizens held their breaths, each pulse in their hearts resonating with the triumph of the masked man as he stood, wind-whipped and victorious, the embodiment of resilience before.