While they fought tooth and nail, the clash of their unleashed magic in the background erupted high above.
The sky exploded in a rainbow of color, an aurora of fire, frost, lightning, and darkness spreading across the heavens. Waves of raw mana rippled outward in violent pulses, lighting up the battlefield in flickering hues.
Neither Elvira nor the Alpha looked up. They were locked in the center of it all.
The Alpha attacked again, claws gleaming with condensed shadow, aiming straight for her throat.
Elvira parried with the flat of her dagger, but the blow knocked her back—slamming her into a broken slab of stone. She coughed blood, her ribs aching, but she didn't fall.
The Alpha came again, fast and relentless. A tendril burst from the ground. She flipped to the side, the tip grazing her boot—another inch and it would've gone straight through her leg.
The Alpha's claw slashed—tearing her shoulder barrier clean. She raised her hand. "Hallowed Seal!"
A radiant crest of light bloomed beneath the Alpha's feet, exploding upward in a column of blinding force. The shadows screamed and twisted away—but the Alpha tore free again, its body blackened, limbs twitching.
The cracks along its shell deepened. Its form shimmered, like it was struggling to stay solid.
Still, it roared and charged. Elvira's lips tightened. Her magic circles formed again, this time layered in sets of three, rotating around her in radiant spirals.
Ice burst from the ground, locking the Alpha's feet in place once more.
A beam of piercing magic struck its chest, sending cracks radiating across its torso.
A hundred spears of light rained down in unison.
The Alpha screamed, shadows trying to shield it—but the light broke through, impaling its limbs, pinning it in place.
Elvira stepped forward, her body glowing with golden light, her wounds steaming as mana poured through her veins.
One final spell circle formed, larger than all the rest, glowing like a sun. She raised her hand.
A single, massive spear of pure light formed above her, humming with the weight of every spell she had cast before it.
The Alpha could barely move, bound by chains, spears, and the frost biting at its limbs. Its six eyes glowed dimmer now.It raised one claw, weakly.
Elvira's eyes burned. "This is the end." She hurled the spear. It screamed downward, trailing radiance.
The impact shook the battlefield. A pillar of light engulfed the Alpha, swallowing its form in blinding brilliance.
For a moment—there was only silence. Then, the darkness surrounding Elvira faded, peeling back like smoke in the wind.
The battlefield came into view. Cratered, scorched, broken. The once-stable cavern now stretched higher, its ceiling fractured and shattered.
Ben stood at a distance, bloodied and still, surrounded by the aftermath of his own battle. Behind him, the castle he'd built—barely standing, its towers cracked, walls crumbling.
Their eyes met. No words. But they both knew. The thing they'd just destroyed—wasn't the real Alpha. Just a clone. A stall tactic. A decoy to buy time.
They turned in unison, their gazes shifting to the writhing remains of the creature Elvira had just defeated.
It screeched, a roar of pain—its body broken, scorched and pierced, yet still trying to rise. Shadow Tendrils appeared pulling his bodies to stand up.
Ben stepped forward, "Elvira. Dissipate your magic."
She nodded, the light around her dimming, her radiant spell circles fading one by one.
As the pressure lifted—Ben moved. He dashed across the fractured battlefield, rubble scattering under his boots, his eyes locked onto the struggling Alpha.
The creature snarled, its body twitching in spasms of mana.
It raised one trembling arm, still cloaked in flickering shadows, the remains of its strength gathering into a desperate final attack.
Tendrils burst from beneath it, dozens of sharp, shadow-forged lances come toward Ben like a net of spears.
Ben didn't slow. He ducked under one, spun past another, his body weaving through the deadly wave with inhuman precision.
One tendril pierced his shoulder, slicing through flesh. Another raked across his side, leaving a trail of blood but he didn't care. He pushed through, barreling toward the Alpha like a battering ram.
The Alpha let out a distorted shriek and brought its claw down in a last-ditch strike.
Ben caught it mid-swing, gripping its wrist like steel jaws. "Still not giving up?" he growled.
His right arm began to shift. The skin pulsed, rippling like water. Bone twisted, muscle stretched . His hand transformed into a monstrous gaping maw, lined with sharp, interlocking teeth. "CONSUME!"
The Alpha screamed and thrashed, shadows erupting from its back, forming dozens more spikes, tendrils, and blades—all hurtling toward Ben in wild defense.
Shadow blades pierced into his legs and side, forcing him to grit his teeth in pain. Blood sprayed, his armor cracking under the sheer pressure. But he held firm. His foot slammed down, pinning the Alpha in place.
The creature convulsed as its essence began to tear apart.
The shadows fought back—wild, unchained, snapping like serpents—but Ben's appendages burst from his back, latching onto them mid-air, crushing them one by one.
The maw pulled harder, swallowing it's flesh, and shadow. The Alpha screeched, a sound filled with rage and panic. Its limbs flailed, shadows twisting into defensive barriers—But Ben tore through them.
The Alpha's body collapsed inward, breaking down into black mist and shrieking echoes as it was consumed entirely. The shadows shriveled. The battlefield went still.
Ben let out a long breath as the monstrous mouth folded back into his arm. His body dripped with blood, wounds still fresh—but already knitting shut, muscle and skin pulling back together.
It wasn't that he couldn't dodge the attacks. He just didn't see the point.
The fight was over. But the weight in his mind hadn't lifted. The battle had drained him—not just physically, but mentally.
[Alpha Ravager Clone Consumed. Acquired 214 Mana.]
Ben let his legs buckle. He dropped to the ground and collapsed flat on his back, staring up at the ruined cavern ceiling—jagged, broken, impossibly far away.
"FUCK…" he groaned, wiping blood off his face with the back of his hand. He didn't even look at Elvira—just sighed. "Please tell me you've got a clue, Elvira."