The fight kept picking up the pace. A cacophony of ringing metal, powerful impacts and furious winds hit Edward’s ears.

Marcus and Layla flawlessly moved together. Intertwining their strikes, without getting in each other's way. When Atlas hit one of them back, the other pushed harder, letting the fallen ally quickly recover and join back the fight.

Layla swung her greatsword horizontally. The Legend smoothly ducked under the blade, and punched towards the woman’s abdomen. Marcus parried the attack with his shield, kneeling under the power behind the Legend’s fist. That’s when Layla struck once again, her sword flowing smoothly from one action to the other. The man bent to the side, his jacket fluttering behind him.

No matter what the two Marked did, they couldn’t land any more hits. The hurricane ruffled their hair, and a golden aura surrounded their black combat bodysuits.

The duo was getting more and more tired, but the fight was slowly moving in a certain direction on the battlefield… That was Marcus’s intention from the start, and after a while, Layla caught on as well. They fought many battles together and the connection between them didn’t require words.

Each time they fell, they did it in the direction of Edward’s hiding spot. And each time they managed to make the enemy take a step back, it was also towards the same place.

[The Valkyries look on curiously…]

Suddenly Marcus and Layla abandoned all defense, simultaneously putting their all into a downwards slash. Atlas jumped back, but all of a sudden his eyes widened, and the man twisted his body in a weird way. Edward’s sharp blade passed right next to the man’s back, catching only a glimpse of the Legend’s jacket…

They still weren’t done yet. The other two Marked continued their attacks, the man tried sending another gust of air, but they sidestepped it as if already anticipating it. The warrior had to actually focus on defense now. He stopped the two blades with his hands, but then had to jump over Edward’s slash.

The trio of friends pushed harder and harder, and Atlas turned serious. He sent powerful punches that pushed the fighters away, and destroyed whatever happened to be behind them. A single clean hit would send any of the three out of the fight.

Despite that, they kept pushing, putting more pressure on the opponent. Finally a cold glint appeared in Layla’s eyes.

“I can see it motherfucker,” she whispered under her breath.

Atlas dodged Edward’s thrust, and then moved to the side, avoiding a diagonal slash coming from Marcus. Layla moved back her sword, but then she let it hang in the air a moment longer and dashed to the side. The Legend’s fist flew right by her face, leaving a tiny cut on her smooth skin.

“Told you fucker.” She turned her body, letting her blade finally fall through the air.

That’s when the same familiar glint sparked in the eyes of Edward and Marcus.

The Legend was forced to move away from Layla, but was immediately met by the brown haired youth trying to pierce his abdomen. He gathered his strength, tensed his body, and summoned Valhalla’s power, the aura around him growing even brighter.

The winds were already destroying the surroundings, but now something akin to a tornado spread from the man’s body. Atlas pushed out his arms, throwing away everything in the vicinity.

Marcus and Layla got sent flying uncontrollably, but there was one other person, besides the Legend, who stayed unmoving.

Edward stabbed his sword into the ground the moment he saw the winds gather together. He now knelt on one knee, holding both his hands on the hilt tightly. When the initial impact passed over him, he pulled himself back up, groaning from the pain of his still fresh wounds. Ed pulled out his sword and gave it his all into a final lunge towards the opponent.

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“You…!” The Legend was caught off guard, after putting a lot of effort into the previous attack. He noticed the young man a moment too late. He tried to turn away from the blade, but couldn’t react in time.

Edward’s sword sliced straight through the man’s jacket, as well as a layer below it, leaving a long gash across the warrior’s chest… Atlas reacted immediately, fiercely kicking Edward away, who disappeared somewhere in the debris.

But that didn’t change a simple fact. Another warrior’s blade, who wasn’t even a Legend, reached him. Some drops of blood slowly dripped onto the ground.

In the meantime, something happened to Edward that none of the other fighters could see…

The young warrior, lying confused on a bunch of metal sheets that used to be parts of one of the buildings, heard an ethereal voice right next to his ear.

[Even a Legend can’t escape your blade…]

[Your great feat has been recorded… Make a Legend Bleed.]

[Your sword will reach far, and cut through what can’t be grasped…]

Ed stood up calmly. He didn’t even notice half of his ribs were shattered where the Legend kicked him. He moved like in a trance. His face was completely expressionless, as he walked towards the enemy.

Layla and Marcus ran up to him, worried about their friend’s injuries. But the young warrior just passed them calmly.

“Get ready to run,” he said.

Atlas stared at the blue eyed youth with madness on his face. The winds reflected his mood, blowing everything away uncontrollably.

Now Edward understood why they called him ‘The Furious Hurricane’.

Atlas readied his fist, while Edward brandished his sword.

The golden aura covering the sword of the Marked seemed different than before. It felt more real, almost tangible. Its edges were sharper, and even seemed to be shaking a bit. It looked like the sword was excited for what was about to happen.

The Furious Hurricane launched his first forward, sending a condensed shockwave right at the defenseless trio.

Almost at the same time, Edward swung his sword, and as the blade reached its furthest point, the aura around it seemed to want to continue onwards. Purely instinctively Ed let go of that part of his power. It detached itself from his sword, but didn’t dissipate. The golden light formed into a crescent shape travelling towards the enemy’s attack.

The curved ethereal blade cut the shockwave in two, dissipating in the process. The opponents' attack split in the middle, destroying some of the surroundings, but missing the group.

“Wow…” Marcus stared at the sight in awe.

Layla paused for a moment, also shocked by what she had seen, but took a step forward nonetheless. They weren’t going to allow Edward to handle this alone. The duo was about to stand next to him, when their friend brought his sword to the side, blocking their way.

“Wait a moment… Can you hear it? They already started the engine.”

Indeed… When the two Marked listened intently, they picked up the hum of a helicopter’s rotor, barely audible in the wind.

“We don’t have much time. I’ll try to stop him for a moment. You two try to cover our escape…”

“Are you done discussing your plans? None of you will get out alive after all of this…” The Legend’s face twisted in contempt.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to get out alive either way?” Layla couldn’t stop herself, earning a condescending look from her comrades.

“Shut up bitch!” The warrior was already gathering the winds for the next strike.

Edward immediately took a more grounded stance. He called out in his heart for more power, and feeling the golden spark light up, led the energy from his torso, to his arm, and to the very tip of his blade.

Once again he swung the sword firmly, sending another arc forward, at the same time as his opponent launched his fist. But this time Ed didn’t stop at that. He continued the movement of his blade, turning his body 360 degrees, and changing his grip on the hilt in the process. As he finished the rotation, he sent his sword forward, letting go of the crossguard.

“Now!”

The earlier attacks met in the air, causing a cloud of dust and debris to fly up from the ground. At that moment, Edward’s sword was already flying through the air. With the technique worthy of an olympic javelin thrower, and the superhuman strength of a Marked, it became a deadly projectile.

“Alright, let’s run! Now!”

Not even waiting to see if he hit the target, Edward turned around right away. He grabbed Marcus and Layla by the shoulder, and ran with all his strength towards their last ticket out of here.

A fraction of a second later, a furious scream of pain rang out behind them.