NARROW ESCAPE

The shadowy figure approached Ricci, reporting that he was unable to assassinate Reynold.

Ricci paused for a moment, then ordered his men to prepare to attack.

Sharone and the others were returning from the site where the arrow came from when they were suddenly alerted by a series of explosions. Lin looked outside and saw smoke rise from the flames that ensued after. Everyone was shocked and quickly reacted. They got off the carriage and dashed for the capital.

"Mistresses, wait!" the carriage driver said, trying to prevent them from going into danger, but they were already gone before he could finish his sentence, creating a shockwave as they moved toward the city. They stopped at the city gate. The wails of the citizens and maniacal laughter could be heard through continuous explosions.

"It's Decorum," Sasha said.

"But how did they get into the city?" Lin wondered. Just then, a bolt of lightning shot from the spiral above the tower, striking a building.

"We'll think about that later. Let's deal with them first," Sharone said.

"Let's split up to cover a larger area. I'll go North," she directed.

"Koniko will go East."

"Lin will go West."

"South," Sasha said excitedly, licking her lips as her sword appeared in her hand. She flew off before Sharone could stop her. Seconds later, screeches and roars of pain, as well as explosions, could be seen in the distance.

Sharone sighed.

"Sharone," Adriana called via telepathic link.

"Adriana, are the king and queen safe?" Sharone asked.

"The royal family is currently being housed in a safe location. So far, only a few interlopers have infiltrated the castle, and they all had a single target."

"Reynolds," Sharone said.

"Don't worry," Adriana said, looking at the bodies that were either frozen blocks or impaled, and a suspicious human-sized puddle of blood in the partially destroyed room. She only had a graze on her cheek, and her clothes were a bit ripped. Reynold's bed was surrounded by a barrier.

"Don't worry, they're no longer a threat," Adriana said.

Sharone nodded, thinking that she'd rather not fight her in the future.

"Okay, keep the castle safe while we take care of the city."

"Understood," Adriana said, cutting the link and creating a legion of ice knights.

"Eliminate them all," she said. Her golems rushed out of the door, with two of them remaining to stand guard. She sat on a chair, taking her brother's hand in hers.

"Okay, let's go," Sharone said after her link with Adriana.

They then separated and went to do their respective tasks as a pair of eyes observed Sharone from the darkness before following from a distance.

Within the tower,

Kojo charged at Eiden, his claws gleaming with a razor-sharp glow. Eiden raised a hand, and a swarm of energy balls materialized in front of the eyes, firing powerful beams with deadly precision. Kojo dodged, jumping around and doing backflips in order to evade. Despite that, one of the beams still hit him, knocking him into the ground. The dust cleared, and Eiden was surprised that Kojo had survived the hit, although he was wounded, blood flowing from his wounds.

"So that's what his attacks feel like," Kojo said as his wound closed up.

(Do you want to get killed?)

"I was testing how strong his attacks were."

(Yeah, and if I didn't put up a barrier at the last second, there wouldn't be a spec of you left.)

"Ow, come on, don't be like that. I got you in my corner, so I have room to let loose a little."

(Still, you need to be careful.)

"Yes, ma'am," Kojo said, turning his attention to Eiden.

His barrier was holding up for now. He'd put it up the moment Eiden had activated his ability in order to limit his range, and even though he'd succeeded, he could still feel Eiden's World pushing against his Aegis sphere, a testament to their difference in strength. He glanced at Saleem's body.

"What are the stats?" The information began to run through his brain.

(Eiden is pressing against the barrier while simultaneously siphoning your arcana.)

"So it means the longer I fight, the higher my chances of losing." He sighed.

"Okay," he said.

"Body enhancement spell: Heat," he yelled, releasing his aura.

(Your strength is declining due to the maintenance of the barrier and anti-magic circle.)

"Split psyche," Kojo split his consciousness into two, one part handling his motor functions while the other handling spell casting. The third he allocated to Sysia, who calculated his opponent's moves, giving him some kind of precognition.

Kojo charged and unleashed a barrage of energy threads from his fingers, but Eiden manipulated his World, creating a maze of reflective surfaces that reflected the attack. The sticky strands wrapped around his body, constricting like a vice.

Quicksilver

Kojo ducked, avoiding the attack, and punching the earth, causing spikes of earth to shoot toward Eiden.

Eiden retaliated with a wave of crystal shards, each one imbued with a unique magical property. The shards tore through the earth and into Kojo's flesh, releasing a torrent of blood. Kojo fell back but healed and charged at him. A pillar fell to crush him, but he climbed it and, copying Saleem's technique, unleashed a breath of fire from above. Eiden raised his hand, and the attack got canceled out. But Kojo shot himself forward with a blast of air and, with claws extended and imbued with electricity, he struck Eiden, the shockwave destroying the structures behind him. Eiden, however, remained unscathed, his World protecting him from the attack.

"Tch." Kojo refused to yield, his magic surging in a desperate bid to overwhelm Eiden. He summoned a whirlwind of air magic, but Eiden raised a hand, and the winds died. Kojo's body was lifted off the ground by a pair of eyes that watched him while others fired energy blasts with him at the center. Eiden raised his hand and clenched his fist, causing blocks of crystal to crush him. Kojo broke free and stepped back a few bits of the pillars flying into his face.

"Wait, salt?" Kojo said in surprise.

At that instant, Eiden manipulated the shards to fly and knock Kojo away, with other shards knocking into him from different directions.

Accelerant

Extrasensory Perception

Kojo activated his other abilities that boosted his perception as well as increased his instinct and reactions, respectively. He used his claws to deflect the shards, and Eiden himself drew a sword and came at him. Kojo blocked a strike, leaning back to avoid a second swing, then rolling under him to avoid a downward slash.

He turned and raised his hand at him.

Spatial Compression.

The space around Eiden converged, creating a singularity that sucked everything around it inside, but an Eye appeared behind Eiden and, with a glare, diffused Kojo's attack.

Kojo didn't have time to ponder before jumping back to avoid a pillar that slammed into where he was standing like a meteor. Eiden rushed forward and slashed Kojo, whose body disappeared like mist.

"A body double?" Eiden wondered as he turned to look at Kojo. Kojo raised his hand.

Cursed Chains.

A magic circle appeared under Eiden and chained him in place as he tried to break free, but the chains wrapped around him and connected to a spiked collar around his neck.

"Elemental magic: Glacial Formation + Electrification," Kojo said as he formed some magic circles on his right, his red eyes beginning to glow. Thousands of sharp icicles formed above them, each charged with electricity.

"Gravity," more magic circles appeared in front of Kojo, and gravity pulled Eiden to his knees as a faint magic circle appeared above him.

Elemental magic: Fire + Earth: Rumbling

The ground under him began to melt and bubble as magic circles appeared at Kojo's left.

"Elemental Fusion: Maelstrom," Kojo said, unleashing the compound spell he'd woven on Eiden. Eiden's kaleidoscopic eyes rearranged, forming a Triquetra.

"Chaos Theory: ANNUL," Eiden yelled, unleashing his power and nullifying Kojo's attack. Kojo, drained of energy, couldn't react in time as a jab from Eiden created a deep wound in his side. He dropped to one knee and held his wound, watching as Eiden walked toward him, dragging his sword behind him.

(You're almost out of energy, Kojo. We need to escape, now.)

Kojo charged at Eiden, who swung his sword and knocked him back.

Spatial Domination

Kojo created partial singularities but incorporated them into his attack pattern. Just as he was gaining the upper hand, Eiden used his ability, Chaos Theory, to nullify and reverse his attacks through the eyes that were watching and attacking Kojo from all around.

"Guess he's pretty pissed now," Kojo said, charging and causing an earth spike to rise in an attempt to impale Eiden, who dodged when suddenly Kojo broke through it and slashed his face. Eiden swung his sword, slicing Kojo's arm off and kicking him away. Kojo did a hand sign, and runes appeared in his severed hand, causing it to explode. Kojo ignored the pain and his wounds and charged at Eiden, and the two exchanged blows. Kojo's anti-magic barrier began to waver.

Kojo then ran out of energy, and the barrier broke, Eiden's World fully manifesting. All the eyes fired beams of energy at Kojo, illuminating the room before exploding.

"Time to end this," Eden said, punching Kojo skyward as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Chaos Theory: Void." An eye with stars within it appeared, and energy began to spiral within it. Just then, a white blurry form burst through the gates Eden was guarding, grabbing Saleem and Kojo before Eden could deliver the finishing blow.

As they disappeared into the portal, Eden's eyes narrowed as the portal closed.