Chapter 90: Nev vs the Blessed
The chamber echoed with the clash of steel and the tortured groan of fractured stone. Neveah, a blur of blue and darkness, danced a deadly ballet against Axl's furious onslaught. Axl, his face contorted with rage, wove a tempest of lightning and earth, each strike aimed to cripple the agile vampire.
Suddenly, the collapsing wall gave way, and a new figure stumbled into the carnage. Azrael, his eyes wide with horror, took in the scene before him. Moira, his new fiery tempered friend and reluctant companion, lay broken and bloodied on the floor. Shards of ice glittered around her, a chilling testament to the violence that had transpired.
A primal rage, hot and fierce, surged through Azrael. Every muscle in his body screamed for vengeance. He scanned the room, his gaze landing on the other fallen dragons – all bearing similar wounds of ice and darkness. His fury solidified into a single, chilling conclusion: the vampire fighting Axl was responsible.
But then, a voice cut through his haze of rage. "Neveah, you bastard!" Axl roared, desperation lacing his voice.
Azrael froze. The name, spat with such venom, sent a jolt of recognition through him. This handsome, battle-hardened vampire, this whirlwind of lethal magic… it was Neveah?
The image of Moira, broken and bloodied, fueled a firestorm within him. He ignored the illogicality of it all – what would Neveah accomplish by targeting dargons? He didn't even stop to think. Right now, all he saw was a monster responsible for Moira's suffering.
With a feral roar, Azrael launched himself into the fray. His blade, imbued with a destructive golden light amplified by his rage, slashed towards Neveah's back. Neveah, slightly caught off guard by this sudden aggression, twisted nimbly, the ice spear in his hand deflecting the blow with a shower of sparks.
Neveah, now facing two opponents, assessed the situation with a practiced calm. Axl, his aura flickering with exhaustion, continued his relentless assault, lightning crackling around his fists. Azrael, fueled by blind fury, attacked with a reckless abandon, his flaming blade a blur of light, each slash making streaks of fire.
Neveah, though outnumbered, remained unfazed. His movements, honed by years of combat, were a symphony of deadly grace. He weaved between attacks, his ice spear a deadly extension of his will. With a flick of his wrist, gravity shifted, throwing Azrael off balance just as he lunged for a blow.
Axl, seeing the opening, slammed a fist into the ground. A jagged wall of rock erupted, aiming to trap Neveah. But before it could connect, Neveah conjured a wave of dense gravity, instantly compressing the rock wall into harmless dust.
The chamber became a whirlwind of clashing elements. Lightning danced with darkness, ice met fire, and the very air crackled with the raw power of their auras. Neveah, fought, his every move calculated to neutralize his opponents.
With a renewed determination, Neveah pressed on, his movements a dance between offense and defense. As whirlwind of darkness and ice,he had Axl cornered. The dragon, battered and bloody, crumpled under a deluge of dark magic attacks. Just as Neveah prepared to deliver the fatal blow to stop this annoying dragon, a shout tore through the chamber, laced with raw terror.
"No! Stop it! NEVEAH!" The voice belonged to Azrael, his face contorted with a mixture of rage and fear. He thought Neveah was going to kill Axl.
Neveah ignored him. At that very moment Astrid and Kim were already in the chamber confused at first but quickly made a scenario on their head, all fault pointing at Neveah.
Kim immediately interpreted the tableau. "I knew this bastard was no good!" she snarled, her form dropping into a four-legged crouch. Claws flashed in the dim light as she propelled herself towards Neveah with surprising speed.
Astrid didn't waste time with words. With a powerful leap, she landed in the center of the room, her warhammer singing through the air. As it slammed into the ground, the earth rumbled, a wave of compressed earth and stone rippling outwards. It forced Axl's crumpled form out of Neveah's path just as the elf launched his attack.
Neveah managed to sidestep the earthen wave, but slightly, his balance was off. By the time he regained his balance, Kim and Azrael were upon him. Kim, a blur of feline grace, was a hair's breadth away, her razor-sharp claws poised above his neck. Azrael, his face a mask of fury, had his flaming blade pointed at Neveah's heart, the heat burning the school's badge.
Astrid hovered a few feet behind, her own aura crackliing around her warhammer, ready to strike.
"What did you do to Moira!?" roared Azrael, his voice thick with a barely contained rage.
Axl, seeing the scene shift, seized the opportunity. With a grimace, he down a potion, his body regaining its vitality and his aura flaring back to life. A cruel smirk twisted his lips as he muttered, "This bastard went crazy and started attacking us. He's a spy, that's for sure. Kill him!"
Neveah, trapped in this unexpected stalemate, remained silent. He knew words wouldn't work right now. And this people clearly made up their minds.
Before he could formulate a plan, a primal instinct kicked in. They weren't just standing there menacingly; they were all charging up attacks, their auras flaring, their faces grim.
Neveah knew then that this wouldn't be a fight for dominance; it would be a fight for survival. Neveah was about to unleash the full fury of his magic.
The chamber reverberated with a deafening groan. The once sturdy walls buckled under the weight of the collapsing labyrinth, sending shockwaves through the room. The sudden movement threw everyone off balance. Kim, frozen mid-pounce, stumbled, while Axl, fueled by his recovered strength, lunged at Neveah.
Neveah reacted with lightning speed. With a flick of his wrist, a dome of shimmering ice erupted from the ground, encompassing himself. Simultaneously, he unleashed a surge of gravity so potent that it felt like the world had flipped on its axis.
Kim, hurled backward by the gravitational force, slammed into the crumbling wall with a sickening thud, her claws scraping furrows into the stone. Axl and Azrael, caught mid-attack, dug their claws and sword into the ground, respectively, desperate anchors against the invisible torrent pushing them away.
Astrid, with snarl, launched herself upwards, defying the crushing gravity, her warhammer gleaming in the flickering light.
From the newly formed cracks in the collapsing chamber, other figures stumbled into view. Some of the students and the remaining dragon students, who weren't summoned, watched in horror as the scene unfolded before them. Their friends and even future lords, were injured and bleeding, and Azrael, Kim, Axl nad Astrid were now locked in a vicious fight with a man they didn't recognize.
They were very confused.
Neveah, his face a mask of grim determination, wasn't interested in a prolonged fight. He needed to get out of this. He summoned two chilling figures from shadow and ice – monstrous versions of himself, complete with swords and shields. These weren't sentient beings, but deadly puppets, designed to distract and disorient to buy time.
They clashed with the remaining foes. Astrid, a whirlwind of fury, parried the dark puppet's warhammer blows with a metallic clang. Kim, despite her throbbing pain, launched into a furious assault on the ice puppet, her claws ripping through its frozen flesh.
These shadow warriors weren't meant to win; they were a mere delay tactic. Neveah used the precious seconds they bought him to turn his full attention on Azrael and Axl. With a brutal efficiency, he unleashed a torrent of attacks. Axl, despite his newfound strength, was quickly overwhelmed, his lightning magic proving ineffective against Neveah's darkness and ice.
Azrael, fueled by rage and desperation, held his ground longer, his sword flashing in a desperate dance.
But in the end, their exhaustion and injuries took their toll. Kim, with a final burst of feline ferocity, managed to shatter the ice puppet, while Astrid, with a powerful swing, sent the dark puppet crumbling to pieces. Now, injured and weary, they could only watch in horror as Neveah turned his full attention on them. Something they'd regret.
Kim, her bones already protesting, went down under a brutal kick, a sharp cry escaping her lips as bones crunched. Astrid, her breath ragged from the gravity spell and the fight, doubled over as Neveah landed a devastating blow to her stomach. Her warhammer clattered to the ground as she crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.
Only Azrael remained standing, his vision blurry, his body screaming in pain. Yet, he refused to give in. Neveah, mere feet away, ice spear glinting in his hand, looked down at him with a cold indifference. In Azrael's eyes, however, burned a defiant fire. He wouldn't let this monster hurt anyone else. He wouldn't let him get away with this.
Azrael stood there, wounded and exhausted, but fueled by a rage that defied reason. He knew he might not win, but he wasn't going down without a fight.