'Xaltar did good to take out the illusionist, the redhead is still standing, but no matter the outcome of her fight with Xaros and Xarina, she won't be able to be a problem afterwards… As for the second-in-command, she's stuck facing that abnormal living that Loimos considers an ally, so she as well won't be an issue no matter who comes out on top… The lord will win for certain, so it's up to me to eliminate this guy' Xator held his arm up high, his index claw brimming with intense soul energy, an attack that would be the most powerful he could possibly unleash.
The restless's clubbed-tail swung from left to right as the seconds passed, neither of them making a move.
'Now, will you stand your ground like before, or choose to dodge at last?' there was only one way to make sure it would reach its intended target, and so, Xator brought his finger down in a perfectly vertical motion, and for an instant, it was like nothing happened, until the very air howled, brutally split in half as a dreadful, condensed slash of stagnant soul energy tore its way forward, ripping through the ground, ripping through the air, standing as tall as two men stacked atop one another.
And it wasn't even aimed at Aliocen, but in the direction of Aliata instead.
"Wicked bone-fucker! I wouldn't have dodged anyway!" predictably, the elite was quick to get in the way, brandishing his mace and attempting to block the projectile as Xator's claw-index cracked and fell to dust, it would seem that even his own body couldn't handle that sort of condensed power.
A cloud of sparks erupted as the slash met with the red mace's handle, creating so many of them every instant that the elite was barely even visible anymore, his every muscles flexed to their most dire limit, his feet dug into the ground, leaving trails as he was pushed back, arms trembling under the strain.
Not only was the slash heavy, fast and powerful, but it also possessed a sharp edge and vibrated intensely, the restless had truly put in his all to make this attack combining all of his remaining energy as lethal as possible.
Every moment that was spent struggling against it was greatly costly to Aliocen, as although it might appear that he was holding on well, the truth was that his soul weapon was being torn apart every second, forcing him to expand soul energy to repair it, and at the rate things were going, he was burning through his reserves incredibly quickly, so he needed to urgently redirect it before all that he had left was spent.
It was easier said than done, it felt as though his arms were going to fall as his very bones vibrated, his strength had to be used to keep his weapon from trembling uncontrollably just as much as it was needed to keep himself from being swept off his feet.
Truly, no one but him amongst the elite under Alistel would have been capable of such a feat, but then again, had his and Aliata's position been switched, she would have easily been able to destroy Xator, whose ability to manipulate energy was essential to his strength.
'Damn it… Why did I even jump in the way? I should have just trusted her to see it coming…' he thought, knowing full well that he would do the same if given the occasion again, it was instinctual for him to take hits for others, being the only one that wasn't squishy amongst them all.
Aliocen struggled against the attack for what felt like hours, but wasn't even a minute in reality, finding the strength to raise his weapon, and lifted the baleful slash alongside it, redirecting it toward the sky, where it flew until it disappeared from view, this attack much too potent for Xator to get the energy used back, especially after forcing so much on his ability, and thus body to achieve it, his bone could move just fine, but they were clearly much more feeble than normal.
However, the living nearly fell down to one knee, only catching himself by planting his sword into the ground, indeed, both his second and first step wore off from burning an excessive amount of soul energy, Aliocen looked like he had been drained of his blood, armed with only the base form of his soul weapon, and even that seemed to not be in its best shape.
They would have to end this fight without anything flashy, but Aliocen seemed confident, without soul energy into the mix, Xator was many times less threatening than normal, but the elite remained a force to be reckoned with.
The living pushed forward, swinging his zhanmadao through the air into a wide arc, Xator stepped back to avoid the strike, and his tail shuddered, the various plates lining its entire length spreading apart, allowing its clubbed end to reach further, swinging right for the elite's head.
Aliocen scoffed at awful speed of the attack and just slashed right through the tail, cutting right through as Xator rushed past him, expecting a swing of the restless's claws, but none of that happened as he the living spun around, raising his blade aloft, ready to bring it right down onto the living, who dodged again by throwing himself to the side.
"What, are you scared restless?!"
Xator didn't respond and just kept on dodging and weaving in between Aliocen's attacks, the living's speed and strength were definitely many times lesser than before, being drained of nearly all of his soul energy in just a few moments had certainly not been ideal as he failed to strike Xator repeatedly.
But eventually, Aliocen got used to the restless's rhythm, one swing chipped at Xator's shoulder, another claim a few claws, another left a wide gash across his chest, confident that victory was assured by now, the living went in for the final blow, his blade falling toward the top of his enemy's head, intending on splitting him in half, only for Aliocen to notice something right as he committed to the strike.
Something barely noticeable occurred, a minuscule flare within the undead's singular socket.
When Aliocen realised what this meant, it was too late, and a bullet of soul energy was launched forth, piercing him right through his unprotected chest and through his heart in the same motion.
"I thought you used up all of your energy in that slash?"
The sword vanished into a cloud of sparks before it hit the ground, Aliocen remaining standing even as all life left his body.