Clyde immediately clenched his jaw, his expression hardening into a cold, unreadable mask as the three spears of light streaked through the air toward them.
There was no panic, only precision in his gaze. His hand moved in a blur gripping the hilt of his Elderglass sword.
The blade that usuaally clear like polished sapphire, now glowed with radiant power. Gold and silver light dancing along its edge.
Since absorbing Uriel’s Angel weaponry, the Elderglass had changed. It exuded a divine pressure now, almost humming in anticipation, like it wanted to taste battle.
"Get back," Clyde said to Asqa with calm but sharp voice.
Asqa didn’t argue. She immediately flew backward, gaining distance without a word. She knew better than to interfere when Clyde got .
The three spears of light were nearly on him.
Clyde surged forward, a streak of motion against the sky. His sword sliced through the first spear with a sharp crack, then twisted and brought it down through the second and third in the same breath. All three shattered into golden dust, dispersing harmlessly into the wind.
Clyde’s eyes locked on the hill ahead where the origin point of the attack located. Three figures stood at the summit, clad in sleek silver armor that gleamed even under the dim sky. Wings extended from their backs, shimmering with magic energy, and each held a long, narrow weapon shaped like a hybrid between a lance and a rifle.
"I can see the enemy," Clyde said, hovering in place.
"Me too," Asqa replied, now floating behind him at a safe distance. Her eyes narrowed. "You want me to attack them?"
"Yes." Clyde nodded once, sharp and sure. "Start with the one on the right."
Asqa’s fingers were already moving, her wand glowing with something like runes or arcane symbols. A spell circle spun into existence beside her, its glyphs glowing red-hot.
A massive fireball now hovered before Asqa, pulsing with unstable heat. The air around it shimmered violently and faint crimson veins of power crackled across its surface like lightning trapped beneath molten glass.
It was one of her newest skills that she earned through hard, grueling battles in the monster-infested zones of the Ruin. The skill called [Infernal Bloom.]
She launched it with a flick of her wand.
The fireball tore through the air, shrieking like a comet, heading straight for the trio on the hill.
The silver-armored warriors reacted instantly. Their wings flaring wide as they raised their hybrid weapons. In one synchronized motion, all three fired. Beams of sharp light lancing forward and slamming into the fireball mid-flight.
The explosion rippled out, a shockwave of heat and flame flooding the hilltop, crackling with magical backlash. Smoke and burning air twisted upward.
But as the smoke cleared, something else surged behind it. Another fireball came, just as large, roaring toward them like a second sun.
"Another one in an instant?!" one of them shouted, voice distorted by some kind of vocal enchantment through his helm.
They scattered in panic, abandoning their position on the hilltop. One shot upward, another dove low, and the third rolled to the side in midair, just as [Infernal Bloom] twin exploded right where they had stood, turning the hilltop into a crater of ash and flame.
Clyde didn’t miss a beat.
He bolted forward, dashing through the trailing embers like a silver comet. His eyes tracked the center warrior who raised upward and he raised his blade mid-flight.
"Hello there," Clyde said with a grin.
The silver-armored warrior barely had time to react before Clyde was on him.
The silver-armored warrior raised his weapon with trained reflexes, attempting to land an attack at Clyde first, but he was too slow.
With a quick motion Clyde brought his glowing Elderglass sword down in a diagonal arc. The blade sang through the air and sliced the Angelic hybrid weapon clean in half.
A crack of light and steel echoed.
The warrior staggered back, eyes wide beneath his helm. The shock lasted barely a second because he wasn’t just any soldier. He was trained for war for long time.
He drew a sword from his waist with a smooth motion and lunged at Clyde, wings flaring as he surged forward with a flurry of strikes.
They clashed mid-air, suspended above the smoldering hilltop, blades sparking with every blow. Magic and momentum crackled around them as they traded attacks.
The warrior’s movements were sharp and strong. But Clyde managed to parry and then slashing with flowing movement.
Their blades collided again and again creating a storm of flashes and sound.
Then Clyde abruptly shifted stance.
He stepped in close, faster than the the warrior’s eye could follow, and grabbed the warrior’s sword arm with a crushing grip. The movement was so sudden the warrior didn’t have time to react.
Clyde’s other leg snapped up in a brutal kick to the warrior’s chest.
The warrior was sent flying downward like a meteor, smashing into the ground with a resounding boom that shook the cracked earth beneath them. Dust and debris shot into the air as the crater expanded.
From above, one of the other warriors hovered in place, gripping his still-functioning hybrid weapon tightly.
"You! You’re the one Lord Gabriel warned us about. The abominable creature!" His voice rang out, distorted but unmistakably hostile.
Clyde turned his head toward the voice, amused. "Abominable creature?" he said with a laugh, eyes glinting with sharp amusement. "That sounded offensive."
The warrior snarled and shooting toward Clyde at full speed. His weapon charged, glowing with radiant light as it aimed to fire.
But then a greenish arrow streaked in from the side, glowing with mist-like magical energy and humming.
The airborne warrior twisted at the last second, forced to abandon his attack and redirect his weapon to deflect the projectile.
He barely managed to parry it. The arrow shattered against his weapon with a hiss of verdant smoke.
Asqa hovered nearby with wand in hand, her expression focused.