'Wait...this power feels only as close as an Aether Master. I can block it!"
As the giantess and her lance came close enough to pierce the Marquis, the latter threw up a hand seal and began to call up any aether he had left over. Just because that freaky energy from before ate away his armor and handicapped his ability to gather aether, doesn't mean he wasn't able to use it at all. The air around him soon became heavier and denser.
[Celestial Diamond Aegis!]
A massive and majestic crystalline shield, embellished with golden religious iconography, materialized out of the aether and in front of the Marquis, directly in the giant lancer's path.
"That frog bitch might have been able to punch above her grade, but I doubt some random giant warrior can! Now break your spear upon my impenetrable shield and lament your feeble attempt!"
Infuriated by the boast, the giantess let out a roar and thrusted forward.
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This boast by the Marquis wasn't completely for show.
[Celestial Diamond Aegis] was a major grade Ethereal defensive art that, as the name implies, could be used to create a massive diamond shield that radiated a holy aura. Additionally, the power of the shield scaled with the user.
This defensive art was developed during a period in Valresta's history known as "The Celestial Wing Hegemony", when sixty percent of the world was under the rule of a crazy religion-based empire that originated from the Radiant Feather contient.
Supposedly this art was a mainstay to an elite military unit known as the "Jewel Legion", who made use of the art in order to slowly and methodically break their opponents spirits with how powerful their shields were.
When completely mastered, the shield created could completely block any attack, as long as the attacker was at the same level or below the user of the shield, or if the attack used was weaker than the shield.
Using the Marquis as a baseline, an opposing Aether Grandmaster would need to use another Ethereal major art in order to possibly break it, or a World class art to just annihilate it. While anything below Grandmaster would have no chance.
Aether Lords and above would be able to break it no problem using any level of arts, as well as high tier aether beasts.
Then again, this shield art was made on the basis that the opponent was a conventional warrior or aether beast, and not weird monsters made from unadulterated madness and sheer force of will and fury
History, as it were, tends to repeat itself.
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"Now break!," the Marquis mocked with a smile as the giantess slammed her lance into his shield.
The Marquis was mentally prepared to counter and laugh at his opponent once the lava lance had shattered into tiny pieces against his diamond shield. He was not mentally prepared for his shield to melt as the lava lance pierced right through it, and stabbed him in the stomach.
The smile that was on his face became stunted and strange as the simultaneous sensations of burning and being stabbed hit him at the same time.
'A...mortal...wound?'
The Marquis did not pass out from the pain, the perks(?) of being an Aether Grandmaster, so he was fully conscious as the lance in his stomach suddenly disappeared,only to be replaced by the sensation of being flying kicked on both side of his stomach. This also gave him a perfect view of both that weird horned monster and Zhen Liu, kicking through his sides, with their legs glowing like lava.
"That was...you two?!"
"I was gonna try and say something clever here...but I think 'fuck you' will suffice," the young man replied as he kicked right through the Marquis.
Before the Marquis could muster a counterattack, Zhen Liu and his demonic puppet had already finished their attack and have moved out of the Marquis's reach. However, this was going to be the least of the Marquis's worries.
The Marquis was all set to curse and try to fire off his own attack back at the foul young man who attacked him, until he felt the wounds on his sides starting to get a lot more energetic. In fact, it felt a lot like the energy that had just eaten away at his aether armor earlier.
He tried to suppress the energy and wounds with his own aether, isolating it to parts of his body could cut off if he couldn't stop it altogether, but that just agitated the energy and caused the wounds to start glowing brighter. Then the sparks started happening.
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After essentially slashing open two massive gashes into the Marquis's sides, and doing so in time with the final guitar solo of "Holy Lonely Night", Nepherage and Zhen Liu landed on the ground immediately behind him. The two of them forcefully dragged their feet through it in order to slow their momentum, as well as transfer heat from their legs and into the ground. It was at this point, the song finally ended.
'Huh...that's weird.'
[Milord? What's wrong?]
'Well...I've watched something happen in a show before, granted that was probably just special effects and for the sake of drama, but whenever they did the finishing move and it was successful, there would normally be a really big-"
Above their heads, and a couple dozen feet behind them, the Marquis had brilliantly exploded in a rainbow colored cloud of smoke and black energy.
Nepherage and Zhen Liu couldn't see this, due to their backs facing against the explosion when it occured, but Hurricroak, Frosttusk, the Razor Maiden and Draigo had a front row seat. Granted, the latter was stunned speechless.
"Ah, fireworks. Always the best way to end a performance."
"That was...violent."
None of the kaijin saw any body parts get sent flying after the explosion, so they assumed that maybe the Marquis had vaporized.
The three kaijin kept a close eye on the smoke cloud, waiting for something to happen.
That something turning out to be the Marquis's burnt as hell body, hitting the ground like a brick.
And somehow not dying from either that explosion or the impact.
"Oh wow, how resilient...," Hurricroak mockingly praised. "Well then...fresh trophy it is!"
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'Huh? What was I doing? Where am I? And what's with this dress?,' a pale girl in a maid dress wondered as she looked about. She soon noticed the two unconscious women laying in pine boxes to her left and right.
'Did...did I sign up for something freaky again?'