The Extra Wants Control

Azrael, fueled by a cocktail of fury and desperation, charged at Neveah. His movements, however, were sluggish, his strength waning. Neveah sidestepped the attack with effortless grace, the back tip of his ice spear hit his stomach, clearly not taking this serious or so Azrael thought, a mockery. The futility of it all, his own weakness, tore at Azrael's heart, fueling his rage further.

"Pathetic," Neveah muttered, his voice cold and detached.

Across the chamber, Axl watched with a twisted sense of glee. Neveah's relentless assault had subdued Kim and Astrid, but it was clear Neveah was getting fatigued, he was not as ruthless as before.

This was his chance. A cruel smile stretched across his face as he pulled out a small, ornately carved orb from his pocket. Dark energy pulsed from the artifact, swirling around it like a miniature storm.

Without hesitation, Axl aimed the orb at Neveah, his finger hovering over the activation point. He didn't care if Azrael, caught in the blast radius, got hurt too. It wasn't that he had anything personal against Azrael, it was about eliminating Neveah and it was a perfect opportunity.

Axl never hesitated, his finger twitching above the activation point. Why should he care about consequences. What mattered now was to kill Neveah, the rest of the things his family will handle it. Besides Azrael doesn't even have a big background, it didn't matter if he was a blessed like him, he was a peasant at the end of the day on top of being an insignificant human.

A desperate shout ripped through the chamber. "Axl! Don't!"

But it was too late. Driven by a blind thirst for vengeance, Axl slammed his finger down on the activation point. The orb flared to life, a beam of emerald green energy lashing out towards Neveah. The beam was as strong as an upper eight star attack.

Azrael, noticing the shift in Neveah's attention, glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the deadly projectile hurtling towards them. His heart hammered in his chest. He couldn't dodge in time. He was going to die, here, in this collapsing tomb, alongside the very person he was trying to kill, what's worse is that he didn't get to have his revenge.

A flash of blinding green light engulfed them. The chamber echoed with a deafening crackle, the very air crackling with potent magic. Then, silence descended. Everyone who had taken cover or ran far from the trajectory, held their breath, waiting to see the aftermath. As the emerald light faded, a tableau emerged that defied explanation.

Neveah stood untouched, his figure shrouded in a now swirling vortex of darkness. The orb that Axl had used lay at his feet, shattered into a million shimmering pieces. But the most shocking sight was Azrael. He stood unharmed, no longer fueled by rage, but by a look of utter bewilderment. He looked at his hands, then back at Neveah, his mind struggling to comprehend what had just transpired.

Had Neveah somehow deflected the attack? Or was there something more at play here?

The answer was, at the moment when the tomb groaned its final protest, with the very air thrumming with anticipation. With a deafening roar, the ceiling gave way, a cascade of dust and debris raining down upon the chamber.

Lara who saw her injured comrades – Astrid and Kim crumpled on the cold floor. She surged forward, her aura flaring as she channeled healing energy, a gentle green glow emanating from his hands. Vera, her eyes red-rimmed with worry, mirrored her actions, her own healing magic bathing Astrid in a warm light.

Amidst the chaos, when Axl, was fueled by a desperate hope and a twisted sense of vengeance, unleashed his final attack. A beam of concentrated light, an upper eight-star attack by its intensity, lanced from his hand, a searing green laser aimed squarely at Neveah and Azrael.

Vera's anguished cry, a choked "Noo!" echoed through the chamber, her tears blurring the scene before her. Lara, however, remained a statue of stoicism, her cold detachment a stark contrast to the unfolding mayhem.

Neveah, his senses honed to a razor's edge, reacted with lightning speed. With a flick of his wrist, gravity itself warped around him and Azrael. An invisible force propelled them upwards, just as Axl's laser beam ripped through the air where they had stood moments before. The destructive energy carved a smoking gouge into the chamber wall, a testament to the attack's power.

Neveah landed with a controlled grace, Azrael sprawled gracelessly beside him. For a moment, their eyes met, Azrael's filled with a mixture of confusion and grudging respect. Neveah, however, had no time for such things.

He focused on the figure shrouded in darkness standing amidst the dust and rubble at the entrance - the source of this entire mess, Axl,and he charged towards him as the tomb collapsed.

News of the collapsing tomb spread like wildfire through the continents. People who had been guarding the perimeter, alerted by the tremors and thunderous roars, reported the scene to their superiors. Curiosity, concern, and a healthy dose of fear rippled through the ranks. What had transpired within the ancient tomb? Were the students safe? Had they found some great artifacts?

Slowly, a throng of people began to make their way towards the ravaged forest. Even Race leaders, their faces cold, but inside etched in worry and anticipation, marched alongside seasoned instructors. The devastation was undeniable. Trees lay uprooted, the earth bore the scars of violent tremors, and a dense cloud of dust hung heavy in the air.

As the crowd ventured deeper, the sight that greeted them was far from the triumphant return some had envisioned. The entrance to the tomb was completely crushed into rubble, a gaping maw of debris the only remaining evidence of its once imposing presence.

Scattered around the clearing lay the students, some groaning in pain, others unconscious. And some students who had taken Vera's and Lara's lead were healing students. The staff and instructors who saw this immediately sprung into action helping the injured as well as tallying the survivors to get a good idea of the survivors. But a question was on their minds," did they come out with nothing?"

Then suddenly, Axl, propelled by the shockwave of Neveah attack, went flying through the dust cloud, like a broken doll flung through the air. Neveah, hovering above the settling debris, was a chilling picture of rage and annoyance.

He swooped down, his dark aura swirling around him, and landed a booted foot right on Axl's writhing form. A guttural growl escaped Neveah's lips as he used Axl's body as an impromptu surfboard, skimming over the collapsing trees and foliage at breakneck speed.

"What are you doing you bastard?!" Axl rasped, the dust and Neveah's foot on his neck choking his words.

"Take a guess," Neveah replied, his voice devoid of warmth.

They tore through the forest, a macabre comet hurtling towards an unknown destination. Axl, wheezing for air, used the momentary reprieve to fuel his defiance. "Do you know who I am?" he spat, his voice laced with desperation. "I'm the prince of dragons! You think you can get away with this?"

Neveah remained silent, his focus on the people arriving. Axl, mistaking his silence for fear, continued his rant.

"You'll fail, vampire! I'll hunt you down. I'll destroy everything you hold dear – your family, your friends… all of it. And the women? Oh, the women in your life – they'll be my playthings. Slaves to serve my every whim.

And then, when I'm bored, I'll give them to my surbodinates to play with, and after they are broken I'll ki… kuekk" Axl chocked before finishing.

Just as Axl reached a fever pitch, Neveah abruptly dug his heel into his neck, pinning the dragon prince to the ground, chocking him. Axl wheezed.

A spear of ice materialized in his hand, darkness swirling around it, but at its tip, a tiny, swirling vortex pulsed with an ominous energy – condensed gravity, potent enough to turn Axl's arrogant head into a bloody mess.

A booming voice, raw with power, echoed through the forest. "Stop!" It was Aethelred.

Neveah, mid-thrust, froze. But it wasn't Aethelred's voice that truly startled him. His spear disintegrated to dust as he was going for the kill and he was binded by golden chain in his position.

The chains seemed like they came from above but it's ends were faded and invisible, as if they were not there but held by air. Neveah tried to free himself but...

In the blink of an eye, the world dissolved into a blinding white light. When his vision cleared, he found himself in a stark white room, devoid of any features except for five figures shrouded in darkness. Their faces remained hidden, but a potent aura emanated from them, a mixture of power and… something else, something Neveah couldn't quite place.

A wave of golden energy washed over him, pinning him in place.

"You dare harm our chosen?" A single voice spoke, yet it echoed and resonated, sounding like a chorus of whispers. The words were laced with an undeniable authority.

" Great... Just Great." Neveah thought grimly, this situation got even more ridiculous.