Asqa spun midair. Her white coat flaring with the wind and rain. Her wand glowed a sickly green, pulsing like a living heart.
With a flick of her wrist, hundreds of greenish arrows exploded from the tip of her wand. Each of it trailing venomous energy and lashing in a different direction.
The sky filled with streaks of poisonous light that ancing like serpent fangs.
The arrows howled as they fell unnaturaly fast. The arrows guided by hunger for living targets.
The soldiers on the ground stared upward, momentarily frozen by fear and by the recognition of the spell’s terrifying nature.
The veterans among them had seen what this type of magic could do. This was no ordinary rain of arrows. This was a killing garden in the sky.
"Barrier! NOW!" a mage commander barked.
The trained water mages responded instantly. Their chants rose into the storm and the hovering rings of water around each unit of soldiers and mages suddenly solidified and snapping into shields of glimmering liquid crystal of rippling water magic, like dome-shaped waves frozen mid-crash.
But the arrows kept coming.
The moment the first [Venombloom arrow] struck the shield, the greenish hue of its magic darkened, blooming like ink spilled in water.
The magical barrier hissed with a sharp sizzling sound. Steam and mist rising as if acid had been poured onto boiling flesh.
More arrows followed and with every impact the poison grew stronger and more potent, corroding the magical defense.
Cracks formed in the barriers. Webs of weakening enchantment spreading like disease.
In bursts of collapsing light and hissing vapor, the shields fell apart.
But Asqa is not done. The second wave of [Venombloom Arrows] arrived.
Screams and plea filled with pain tore through the rain.
Dozens of soldiers were hit, green magic piercing their armor and sinking into flesh. The impact alone wasn’t lethal but the true power was in the venom.
Those struck thrashed as toxic magic surged through their veins. Their skin erupting in blotches of black and green. Their bodies convulsing with unnatural spasms.
Some collapsed instantly. Others staggered, gasping for breath, clawing at their necks as the poison bloomed inside them.
Still spinning midair, she unleashed a third volley. Giving them more arrows, more venom, and more death.
The generals below screamed for countermeasures, shouting orders over the howling storm, but even they couldn’t hide the panic in their eyes.
This was no longer a duel of strength.
It was a massacre in the making and Asqa looks calm and focused in the eye of the storm.
Meanwhile, above the battlefield on the ground, high beyond the reach of poisonous arrows and screams, Clyde and Susanoo clashed in theirnown battle.
The storm churned wildly around them. Clouds tearing apart with every swing of their weapons. Thunder didn’t just roll but they are screamed, as if the heavens themselves were splitting.
Clyde’s Elderglass sword blazed with fire that pulsed wildly. The flames weren’t just red or orange but also tinged with dark mist coiling. The flame is stronger than the usual fire he used.
Across from him Susanoo, the god of storms. In his hands, he wielded Totsuka no Tsurugi. It shimmered like a mirage.
Their blades met in a blinding clash.
A flash of white fire and searing lightning burst across the sky, splitting the clouds in half.
The shockwave that followed flattened what was left of the cherry trees below and sent cracks racing across the outer palace walls.
Clyde pushed forward, fire trailing in a spiral from his sword. He spun mid-air and brought the blade down with , aiming to shear through Susanoo’s guard.
Susanoo blocked with Totsuka, and the they met, space warped around them. The sky rippling like water from the impact.
"You wield this flame well," Susanoo said. "But flame cannot burn my storm!"
He surged forward, Totsuka lashing in a brilliant streak of light.
Clyde twisted away in time. The blade passed his shoulder by a hair and the sky behind him were cleaved in two, revealing the void of the sight behind Susanoo’s domain.
Lightning speared downward in, drawn by the swing.
But Clyde was already moving. Heat and wind howling around him.
He gritted his teeth, flame building at his feet, then rocketed upward. He flipped mid-air and descended on Susanoo with an incredible speed, blade first.
His sword ignited in a full arc of fire power. Fire curving with the swing like a solar flare unleashed.
Susanoo raised his hand, summoning a circular shield of wind and cloud and the two powers collided midair.
The explosion that followed wasn’t just heat and air. It was powerful magic and willpower colliding at full force.
Below, even Asqa’s battle paused for a heartbeat. Everyone looked upward.
The sky itself bled with fire and thunder.
Clyde emerged from the chaotic magocal storm, panting but grinning. His sword was still glowing in his hand.
Susanoo narrowed his eyes. A line of Celestial blood trickled down one arm.
The god raised Totsuka again and pointing it at Clyde.
"Come, creature," he said. "Let us see whose will breaks first."
And they clashed once more. Fire and storm screaming through the sky.
Clyde unleashed his full power.
Dark mist erupted from his body and coiling like sentient smoke. It didn’t snuff out his flames but merged with them. The fire around him turned darker.
Susanoo’s eyes narrowed. He felt a threat, real and ancient, blooming inside this creature. A power that didn’t belong in this world.
Without hesitation, the god summoned the full breadth of his power.
The air boomed with magical pressure as Susanoo pushed his entire power into the Totsuka blade.
And then their blades met. The shockwave parted the storm and sent thunder crackling across the sky.
Again they clashed. Sparks of fire and lightning danced across their body.
The third strike created a sonic blast so loud it silenced the battlefield below for an instant.
Then the Elderglass sword erupted.
A surge of black mist exploded from the blade. It lashed out like a whip, bypassing Susanoo’s defenses and slammed directly into his chest, sending him backward through the storm with blood spraying into the rain.
But Clyde wasn’t done.
The mist slithered again. This time lashing toward Totsuka no Tsurugi itself.
Susanoo tried to pull it back and shield it, but the dark mist bit into the sword and wrapping around it.
Clyde roared, his eyes burning with flame and fury, and swung one last time.
The Totsuka blade broke.