SPINELESS

Adriana's eyes blazed with fury as she clashed with Antoine. Her movements were swift and deadly, the ice swords shed made in each hand cracking with electricity and slicing through the air with precision. But Antoine was unfazed, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he watched her attack from within the mirror. He has taken her image in the reflection and stuck out his tongue mockingly.

With a sudden burst of speed, Adriana closed the distance between them, her sword flashing in the dim light. Antoine stepped out of a mirror to her side and mirroring her attacks,raised a hand and a bolt of lightning shot towards her. She dodged to the side, avoiding the attack by mere inches.

Undeterred, Adriana launched herself at Antoine, her sword slicing through the air in a deadly arc bordered by lightning. The attack hit him but he shattered revealing himself to be a mirror reflection.

"Psycho Light!" Antoine shouted, his voice echoing through the labyrinth.

The air around Adriana seemed to distort, as a blindingly white light enveloped her from above .

The attack psycho light was a tech that reflected the negative emotions of self loading and depression with an individual. Weak willed people would have Thier minds shattered if the attack so much as grazed them but Adriana held strong. She lunged at Antoine from the piller of brightness even as her dark emotions begin to stir.

Fear, anger, and doubt crept into her mind, threatening to consume her.

Antoine , undeterred made fired a vloy of this attack at Adriana's who'd deflect or dodge but the light would just bounce off the reflective surface of the mirror, amplify and strike her again. Even if she deflected the light beams,the attack still affected her. The brightness in her eyes began to fade as she heard the twisted versions of the people around her mock her and tell her she wasn't good enough. Antoine appeared below her and delivered a blast at point blank range. Even with the attack centimetres from her body she still managed to block . She swas thrown a few metres back due to the force. Her sword fell from her grasp and she began breathing heavily as sweat formed on her body.

Antoine's laughter echoed through the labyrinth, his eyes gleaming with triumph. He began to circle around Adriana through the mirrors taking the shape of everyone she cared about to random people in the city, his Psycho Light ability creating illusions that attacked her from all angles.

Adriana's eyes darted back and forth, trying to keep track of the multiple illusions.

Illusions of her friends and family attacked her with swords, spells, and even their bare fists.

Adriana stumbled back, her mind reeling from the onslaught. She tried to defend herself, but the illusions were too numerous, too relentless.

Antoine's laughter grew louder, his Psycho Light ability feeding off Adriana's fear and confusion. The illusions grew stronger, more vivid, and Adriana found herself losing grip on reality.

She stumbled and fell, her vision blurring. Suddenly the ground under her cracked and she fell into a pool of silver water made of her pent up fellings,her own emotions drowning her.Antoine's laughter was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

***

Koniko's eyes slowly fluttered open, her vision blurry as she took in her surroundings. She was met with the concerned faces of Altair, Eduar, Chiron, and Gabbi, who were all standing around her. Altair who was sitting next to her softened her expression as she saw Koniko regain consciousness.

"Thank goodness you're awake," she said, her voice filled with relief.

Koniko tried to get up but Altair quickly cautioned her.

"Be careful, Koniko. You've expended too much energy."

Koniko looker around in confusion. Her memories began to flood back, and she suddenly remembered her battle with Phantom. Her eyes scanned the area, but his body was nowhere to be found. She struggled to her feet, taking in the aftermath of the battle. The goblins had been largely defeated, but there were still a few insurgent s running around,some still fight and others fleeing the scene.

Koniko noticed that there was strong barrier isolating a part of space. Her instincts told her that this was connected to Phantom or at least the person who sent him.

"I sense master Kojo's power from that barrier." Eduar said followimg her gaze.

Gabbi nodded .

" Its frightening the amount of power he posses." He added.

"I want to help him " Koniko said taking a step forward but her legs buckled beneath her as she stumbled. Altair quickly steadied her.

" Be careful she said."

"If the enemy is strong enough that Kojo felt the need to isolate the threat, then there's nothing we can do. We might end up getting in his way" Chiron spoke.

Just then, the ground trembled as a shockwave blew past them. They turned to see Sasha battling or rather beating one of the remaining goblins in a frenzy. Koniko's eyes narrowed as she noticed the other goblins attempting to escape.

"We need to capture them," she said, her voice firm as she straightened.

"Gabbi, Chiron, and I will take care of the force. Eduar and Altair, you should return to the city and make sure everything is under control."

The group nodded in agreement and split up.

Chiron took off in a sprint, and Koniko jumped onto his back, having regained a bit of her Arcana. Gabbi ran beside them. Chiron hardened his shoulder, and spikes grew out, which Koniko loaded and fired at the enemy. The three of them charged forward, determined to capture the remaining goblins and put an end to the destruction.

****

Sasha's eyes blazed with glee as she clashed with Mind. The air was thick with tension, the two warriors exchanging blows in a flurry of movement.

Mind, desperate to gain the upper hand, unleashed a barrage of mental attacks. She sought to crush her Psyche but Sasha charged forward shrugging off the attack with a smile on her face. She sung her blade vertically and released a spatial slash that cut through the ground. Mind sidestepped to avoid them charged foward.

Switching tactics,Mind summoned a wave of flames that threatened to engulf Sasha. But the warrior was unfazed, her sword slicing through the inferno with ease. She used her power to pull the dispelled flames into her flames and swung at Mind whi dodges but the tip of the sword went through a portal and appeared at her side stabbing th back of her waist and burning her.

Mind jumped back and covered her wound with her hands, her anger growing. She spread out her hands and manifested a large inferno of flames compressed heat into a single dark blue ball the size of an orange, its power rivaling that of a nuclear explosion.

"Twilight Sun" she yelled with a snarl, she vanished and appeared Infront of Sasha with her speed and slammed the pulsing orb into Sasha's r bare midsection releasing the attack at point-blank range.

The force of the blast engulfed Sasha in the flames that scortched the ground to the point of melting. Mind smiled.

With a fierce cry, Sasha swung at Mind in a deadly arc from within the inferno

Mind attempted to dodge but Sasha had already manipulated space and created elliptical orbits around herself as the central point, allowing her to manipulate the motion of objects within the affected area. Giving her the power to accelerate or decelerate objects, change their direction, or even trap them in stable orbits.

This was an attack she called ,Obsession Elipse.

Within the Namless Fortress Kojo fought against Faust who was wileding the cross as a weapon. Faust's eyes overflowed with madness as he clashed with Kojo within the confines of his world.

"Aye yo stop this," Kojo said, his voice firm but measured as he wove through the attacks from the monsters and cut them.diwn.wiyh Dragonfang.

"You don't need to go this far. Elizabeth is gone, and nothing will bring her back."

Faust's response was immediate and vehement. "You're just like the rest of them," he spat unleashing blasts of energy that followed Kojo as he dogdged all the while deflecting chains that sought to bind him. "You want to take away the glory of my work. I won't let you!" Faust yelled.

As he raved, Sysia calculated Faust's power. (The locket on his neck is the source of his energy. The signature is similar to that of Nefaria.It must be some sort of powerful daemon.)

Kojo took this in and planned while trying to hold off Faust's relentless attack. Faust was using the manifested world itself, along with the monsters he had created, to overwhelm Kojo. But Kojo refused to back down, using his incredible strength and agility to fend off the attacks.

Quicksilver

Kojo moved so fast that by the time he was Infront of Faust the monsters in his way had fallen apart like sliced pieces of meat. He held the short sword with his teeth while making a grab for the locket.

Faust's response was to unleash a blast of energy that fired at Kojo from all sides Faust looked on with a pleased expression as Kojo's form disappeared in the beams light.

( Analysis complete ✓.

These beams are a curse magic technique Zero Canon designed to affect the psyions that make up a body or being and break them apart, erasing them. I have analyszed the structure of this attack and used your adaptation ability to build a resistance.)

"Sweet, see this is why I love you." Kojo said, his eyes glinting.

( Yeah yeah. Hurry up and get out.)

He broke out of the attack by realizing his aura and stood facing Faust who's expression changed to one of hate.

Kojo regenerated his arm, which had been destroyed by Faust's attack while Faust launched another assult.As Faust's attacks converged on him, Kojo turned his Universal Negation ability from neutral to passive. The attacks were erased, and Faust's eyes widened in shock.

( So why didn't you use this ability from the start. Is being in life or death situations some sort of fetish that turns you on?)

Kojo brushed her aside, his eyes locked on Faust. Sensing energy pooling outside he smiled, knowing that Sasha was about to pull something big.

******

The desperate Mind was trapped in olace. Her speed slowed down when she tried to move out of the way and she accelerated towards Sasha own attacka while hers remained stationary. In a rage she unleashed a barrage of compressed nuclear energy, firing balls of intense heat at Sasha. Using Spatial compression Sasha compressed the attacks to a singular point increasing it's mass will shrinking it to the size of a tennis ball.

"Nebula Nova " Sasha yelled

With a swift motion, she threw it upward and as it approached the ground Sasha used the flat part of her sword to hit the compressed energy towards Mind which accelerated at Light-Speed . The villain caught it with both hands, but the ground around her began to melt, the compressed power straining her limits.

Sasha seized the opportunity, firing a Black Hole Bomb from behind her. Mind raised her other hand to block the attack, but the push of the singularity in her left and the pull of the black hole in her right created a vortex of opposing energy around her.

The air seemed to distort, space itself bending to accommodate the conflicting forces.

******

Kojo's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Faust. His ability enable him to negate anything he saw as an unnatural phenomena and He saw the whole 'resurrect your dead crush thing as an unnatural and unessecary.

" I mean are you that desperate to get laid?" He asked.

( Look who's talking.)

" No the difference is that I have the opportunity but I'm not ready and I'm not really that desperate."

( Yet you dream about their bodies and how it will feel when you-)

" Ok that enough out of you." Kojo y led frowning.

Faust,elaunched a barrage of attacks at Kojo, but the latter simply deflect and negated them with his ability. Faust's eyes widened in frustration as his attacks were cancelled out one by one.

In desperation, Faust activated the statue of Maiden Beatrice, which broke out of its chains and attacked Kojo with the chains binding it as well as a bony spear formed from the bodies lying around. Its mouth grew fangs of different sizes that pointed in different directions, and its melody became a deathly wail as it attacked.

But Kojo was unfazed. He used his ability to negate the statue's soul-snatching ability, pushing it back with earth elemental magic. Faust's face twisted in rage.

In a last-ditch effort, Faust breached the barrier that separated his domain from the outside world, expanding his mind towards the city. He hoped to use his understanding of the people there to manipulate them with his power.

As he reached out with his mind, he saw Dona Crimson, and his heart skipped a beat. She looked straight at him, and Faust felt a jolt of fear. He saw Fiona sitting next to her brother and sister and his mind went blank. She resembled someone,someone he loved and longed for. His heart ached as he sensed the soul of his beloved in that body.

Kojo, meanwhile, had knocked the statue aside and taking advantage of Fausts distraction combined his Negation ability with the Psyionic effect of the Zero Canon creating an arrow of pure arcana imbuing it with his Fear.

(Complete ✓

Universal Negation+Zero Canon+ Fear)

"Dead End Phantasm" Kojo whispered as he fired it and It spun like a drill emiting sparks of lightny fired, blasting a hole through the chest of the statue and taking off its right side including its arm.

Faust's eyes widened in horror as he realized that he was losing.

"No!" he shouted, trying to use his ability to turn the tide of the battle. But Kojo was ready for him.

" Hey,you can't just redefine things or create new words and meanings because you want to," Kojo said, his voice firm. "If you could, dictionaries would lose their function it's better to just accept reality instead of making believe."

And with that, Kojo's ability kicked in, and Faust lost his power. The statue of Beatrice began to collapse and in a last ditch effort he fired a blast at Kojo

********

Mind's eyes widened in horror as she realized she was trapped, unable to escape the crushing forces that threatened to tear her apart.

Sasha stood in front of her and mimicking Kojo leaned toward whilst placing the sword in her shoulder.

" Blade God style Form 8" she said.

Mind tried to escape from Hagar's body but was trapped.

'Spineless" Sasha said swinging her sword,her blade slicing through space like one would cut through a fabric with scissors.Sasha sword sliced through the fabric of reality with ease, cutting across multiple dimensions in a single, fluid motion, leaving a trail of distorted space-time in its wake.

****

Kojo sidestepped as Sasha's attack affected the higher dimensional space they were in bisecting it along with the statue and Faust himself who whispered something before the world turned white return back to normal