True Power

White and Blue auras made of Hemo Energy shone brightly around Custos and Chrono. Vale watched them from above, standing calmly on a tree branch. The fight was finally about to get serious.

"Bloodline Art: Plasma Divide!!"

"Bloodline Art: Vector Cut!!"

A crescent-shaped disc of powerful plasma flew towards Vale at dangerous speeds. A smile crept across his lips as he was forced to jump high into the air. The attack zoomed right underneath him, missing him by mere inches. It sliced effortlessly through at least half a dozen large trees, reducing them to nothing but massive stumps.

The trees collapsed with a powerful bang, shaking the entire forest as if a bomb had exploded.

"What power..!" Exclaimed Vale with a grin still wiped across his lips.

However, he soon came to realize this wasn't all. He immediately noticed that Chrono's Bloodline Art was nowhere to be seen. This was when he heard a sharp whistle approaching him from behind.

Quickly, he glanced behind him. For some reason, he didn't see anything but he could definitely feel a strong amount of Hemo Energy approaching him from behind. This confused him significantly. Chrono had attacked him from the front so it didn't make sense for the attack to be coming from behind.

"A Wind Bloodline Art..?" He muttered to himself. "No, it's something else..."

Chrono watched carefully in anticipation. Since Vale was mid-air, he wouldn't be able to dodge as easily. However, this was when Vale twirled himself skillfully, causing the attack to pass right underneath him.

"Not bad, but you won't hit me with such a cheap trick."

Chrono, with a single wave of his finger, redirected his attack, causing it to sever Vale's arm. Blood splattered through the air. His eyes broadened with shock and pain rocketed through his arm.

What Vale had failed to realize was that Chrono's Vector Cut wasn't any normal attack. By using his sword to hit the air before him, Chrono could apply his Hemo Energy to it. Once this was done, he created a blade of air that he could control to his will. He had simply manipulated the blade of air to attack Vale a second time after he had dodged.

Jumping high into the air, Custos followed up with a painful kick to the jaw, sending Vale crashing into a nearby tree. The bark of the tree was torn open from impact, webbing it with cracks.

"Let's not kill him until we find out what he did with Eliisabet," said Custos.

"Maybe he even has a few scrolls himself. It would be good if we could find them."

"I agree."

They then gazed up at Vale who was struggling to pick himself up. Blood poured from his severed arm and pain rattled his body. Even his grin had dissipated into a look of agony. Painfully, he then took a step forward. He appeared to be on the verge of death from the combo of attacks.

"I wouldn't move around too much if I were you," warned Custos. "We're Sicarius in the making and so, we also think like Sicarius. We rigged some of the trees in this area with tiny explosives just in case we needed to use them."

Suddenly, Vale heard a tiny crack under his foot. He looked down to see that he had stepped on a set of tiny balls. They were bombs filled with rampant Hemo Energy. A powerful explosion then went off, sending smoke and fire into the air. Even the tree he was standing on had been blown in half, causing it to fall over with a heavy bam.

"He better not be dead. He was pushing for us to go full strength so he has to deal with the consequences. Not to mention that he still hasn't told us where Eliisabet is..! Cursed Custos.

"If you want me to tell you where she is then you still have to defeat me."

Custos' and Chronos' hearts skipped a beat. They looked behind them in utter horror to see Vale standing behind them. His right arm was still severed and he was covered in burns and small cuts. For some reason, even his face was starting to peel off as if he had been wearing some kind of mask the entire time. His eyes were also now blood-red instead of smoky-grey. However, instead of wearing a look of agony, he had a sly smile wiped across his lips. They couldn't believe their eyes.

Clenching his teeth in horror, Custos swung his sword at Vale. He didn't know how it was possible for him to be alive after taking so much damage. It didn't make sense.

His blade cut through the air toward his enemy. However, as soon as the sword was about to make contact, a large bat-like wing appeared from Vale's back, blocking the sword. Custos could do nothing but look on in shock.

"You've exceeded my expectations, Custos. I'd say you have more latent talent than even your father."

"What the hell is this guy..? Is he even human?!" Questioned Chrono in shock. "Bloodline Art: Vector Control, Animate!!"

Chrono then swung his blade toward Vale, ready to activate his Bloodline Art. However, before he could come full swing, Vale used the back of his wing to swat him away like a modern-day housefly. Chrono spun through the air like a tornado before crashing violently into the side of a large tree.

Custos could do nothing but watch in horror. He was slowly gaining an idea of the identity of the demonic figure standing before him.

"You... You're Valves..?" He trembled.

Valves smiled, revealing his vampiric teeth at the corner of his mouth, "So you've finally noticed."

With his suspicions confirmed, Custos' rage immediately began boiling over like a hot kettle. He clenched his teeth in rage and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"VALVES!!!! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!! BLOODLINE ART: PLASMIC NUKE!!"

Chrono extended his palm right in the face of Valves as a powerful beam of blue Hemo Energy was ignited. It held so much Hemo Energy that one blast could potentially destroy half of the forest.

With a deafening explosion, Chrono released his attack point-blank in Valves' face. Trees, grass, animals, monsters, and even students who were within a half a kilometer radius of the area were about to be blown to bits.