"Are they now?" Vacuse asked.
Eloryna was grateful and moved far away from him. By this time, they were already outside the building, ignoring the battle sounds coming from within.
Vacuse followed her, sending spears of void at her with incredible viciousness.
But she wasn't an SS rank ranked daughter of a Grand Duke for nothing, as she avoided everything.
Then she suddenly stopped fighting, her face tensed, and the ice sword she was holding disappeared into seam. At the same time, her two hands came forward, upward, and then downward.
The wind around Vacuse stiffened, and he had just a second to get ready before a massive force slammed into him from above. He grunted as he was forced to his knees, his bones quaking, and the ground beneath shattered.
Not only that, everything around him, and he himself, was being squeezed by a terrible pressure. His bones seemed on the verge of getting crushed and his flesh flattened.
His head was filled with pain, and his eyes watered from the force.
What the fuck? Is this some kind of telekinesis?
Vacuse fought back against the force. He got his feet back under him, not minding the destroying ground as he gritted his teeth. "Wh...at...the fuck!"
Eloryna was breathing just as hard, as she seemed to have used a lot of energy to pull off the attack. Her eyes widened when she saw Vacuse fighting back against it and actually standing.
Her hands trembled, and she poured more energy, making the air around Vacuse visibly warp downward. "Have you ever swum in the deep ocean? The more you go down, the deeper the pressure.
"This right here is me borrowing that pressure. I am going to crush you into a bloody paste!"
Vacuse smiled. Indeed, the pressure was suffocating, and anyone less would have turned into a red puddle on the ground. But Vacuse was a Dragon.
And one of the Initiate abilities of the Dragons is a strong body.
Besides, Vacuse was an SSS rank.
By the time a few more seconds passed, he was already used to the pressure, so he stood fully, his eyes blazing purple. The same light, but in a fainter way, covered his skin.
His internal organs trembled slightly as he began to walk towards her.
Each step he took caused a shockwave, and the ground shattered and then flattened as the pressure spread.
Eloryna's eyes widened, and for the first time since they met, a hint of fear entered her eyes. "St...stay back!"
Vacuse grinned with satisfaction.
He was walking almost properly, if a little slowly. "I thought you had decided to kill me, eh? Eloryna Stormhaven."
Fury clouded her face, covering the fear. Although she knew that she wasn't the strongest of her age or in her stage, the people that had overpowered her previously were those she looked up to or admired, people in the same status as her own.
She had looked down on him utterly and absolutely. SSS? What was the meaning of that rank if it was in the hand of someone clinging to old glory?
The Western Region was an old glory, something that had been. They were unworthy to even have the rank of Grand Duke. Grand Dukes were strong and powerful, they were glorious.
But the Vorrakyn... they were not.
So when she was coming to Burnis City, her father had made plans to kidnap him, as he wanted to experiment on a Dragon. But Eloryna hadn't really thought more of it and had even said to her father casually that should they clash, she would simply kill him.
But now... now she couldn't be so casual.
She felt as if something cloaked with dread and the promise of death was approaching her with a smirk on his face. She had made a mistake that might be her last.
There were only a few feet between them now.
Soon, he would reach her.
She shuddered and looked down at her right hand, where a ring in the shape of a blue seashell rested.
And a blue beam flowed out, turning into the shape of a scepter. It was dark blue.
But Vacuse didn't care about how it looked, because he had stopped walking and now stared at it with a pensive look on his face.
The air had grown still around him, and the moon was disappearing under a dark, broody cloud that suddenly appeared. Thick, soundless lightning flashed through the air, adding static and bearing terrible pressure.
The Artifact was powerful... it was the most powerful artifact that wasn't a war artifact he had ever seen.
Vacuse's eyes narrowed. If he should do anything, he was sure he was going to die.
Eloryna stopped her attack and smiled smugly. "This artifact is too much for the likes of you. But sometimes, those beneath grow thick thorns that need a stronger hand to crush."
Vacuse looked at her silently. "You really are stupid, are you not? The words you just spoke are only for those who have the upper hand in a battle. You do not."
Her face grew pensive, and her hand on the scepter grew tighter. Vacuse saw the moment she decided to use the Artifact. He saw the way the muscles of her hand tightened and how she shifted subtly.
But he was already on the move, much faster than her.
His body was suddenly covered in purple lightning, but so deep it seemed black. It was not the Void energy, as it had the smell of rusting metal like blood and the feel of destruction.
Vacuse then exploded forward. Follow current novels on novel⸺fire.net
It was almost as if he disappeared, even his afterimages blurred into a streak.
It was the same technique as the one Blood Spike used.
He appeared in front of her before she could use the Artifact, his hand reaching for the scepter above her own hand.
The next moment, the sound of bones snapping like twigs filled the air, followed by a piercing painful scream.
The scepter fell to the ground.
"Shut up," Vacuse said.
Then he shut her up with a punch to the gut.