A low, rumbling laugh escaped the Orc Chieftain as his crimson eyes locked onto the woman in the sky.
"A human… wielding magic from the Old World?" His voice was laced with intrigue, yet there was an undeniable undercurrent of something darker—excitement.
With a heavy thud, he dropped his remaining axe, letting it sink into the blood-soaked ground. A deep red glow enveloped his massive frame, pulsing like a heartbeat as his body began to shift. His towering form shrank, muscles compressing, bones adjusting until he stood no taller than a human. Despite the loss in size, the aura of raw, unrelenting power surrounding him remained.
"It would be a waste," he mused, flexing his fingers before reaching down for his axe, now reduced to match his new stature. "To use everything I have against the first person in centuries… who wields that magic."
His eyes briefly shut as he took in a slow, deliberate breath. The ground trembled as his other axe, still buried in the earth, jerked free on its own and flew into his grasp.
Then, his eyes snapped open.
"Fight me!" he roared, his voice carrying across the battlefield like a war drum. "Human who wields the Old World's magic!"
Crimson lightning crackled along the dual axes in his hands. The sheer force of it scorched the earth beneath his feet, carving deep fractures into the ground as sparks danced around him.
The woman in the sky tilted her head slightly, expression unreadable. Then, she closed her book with a quiet snap and let it disappear into the bag at her waist.
"A challenge, is it?" she murmured, her tone more amused than anything. Slowly, she descended, her feet touching the earth as if gravity itself bent to her will.
Dante noticing this situation used [Phantom Replacement] on everyone there with dirt near where they entered this gate before everyone watched what was about to unfold.
The Chieftain rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck from side to side as arcs of red lightning snapped between his fingers.
"Come, human," the chieftain said, lifting his axes into a ready stance. "Show me if the Old World's magic still has fangs like it did!"
The woman simply lifted her hand, and for the first time since arriving, she smiled.
"As you wish."
The air grew dense, thick with an unseen pressure. The sky darkened, a blue glow radiating from her fingertips as an invisible force wrapped around the battlefield. The ground beneath her cracked slightly, frost creeping outward in delicate patterns as if the world itself shuddered at what was about to begin.
As Dante's replacement happened, Aria looked at the woman and something deep inside her stirred—a feeling both foreign and familiar, as if a long-buried instinct had suddenly awakened. Her breath hitched, her grip tightening around her katana. A strange warmth coursed through her veins, sending a shiver down her spine.
Her eyes locked onto the mysterious woman, unable to look away. It wasn't just curiosity—it was something deeper, almost like deja vu. The world around her seemed to fade into the background, her senses honing in on every movement the woman made, every shift in her stance.
Aria's heartbeat quickened. Who… is she?
The woman rolled her shoulders back, a steely determination in her eyes, before cracking her fingers. She turned the aged book to a page near the beginning, and from thin air, a brilliant white staff materialized in her grasp as the book vanished into wisps of light.
The chieftain grinned wickedly, his muscles coiling as he launched himself at her with blinding speed, making it appear as though he had teleported. With a fierce battle cry, he swung his axe down toward her, but she was ready. With a snap of her fingers, a shimmering barrier shaped like a crescent moon erupted around her, absorbing the impact of his strike and reflecting the force back with a radiant glow.
She pointed her staff at the chieftain and conjured a small dark blue comet, which shot forth with precision, slamming into his stomach. The impact sent him hurtling backward, skidding across the ground until he dug one of his axes into the earth to halt his momentum.
Using that force to propel himself forward once more, the chieftain charged, lightning crackling around him. He struck the barrier with such ferocity that it shattered instantly, sending shards of energy spiraling into the air.
Just as he expected her to be caught off guard, the woman vanished in a blink, reappearing behind him with a deft grace. She took a step back as he swung his axe in a wild arc behind him, crimson lightning arcing from the blade and tearing into the ground.
The chieftain jumped back as vines erupted from beneath the ground before swinging forward destroying the vines instantly.
As the group watched this fight unfold, Dante spoke first. "Did it feel like she predicted what was going to happen? She appeared behind the chieftain but then jumped back as if she knew he would swing backward."
Stiles nodded, his brow furrowing. "It's almost like she can read his movements. The way she reacted… it was weird."
Energy swirled around the staff as she pointed it toward the sky, summoning a rain of comet shards that shot down, homing in on the chieftain. With a fierce grin, he swung his twin axes in a wide arc, channeling enough electricity to shatter each comet mid-flight, scattering fragments of light across the battlefield.
In a split second, he hurled one of his axes directly at her. She instinctively jumped to the side, narrowly evading the deadly projectile. However, her instincts flared again as she caught sight of the second axe hurtling toward her, clearly aimed at her landing spot. Reacting quickly, she activated a shimmering barrier just in time to absorb the impact, the sound of metal clashing against magic reverberating through the air.
She vanished from sight, reappearing to her left with fluid grace. The chieftain, however, was quick to react; his first axe returned to him with blinding speed, shattering her barrier and whirling back into his grasp.
"This will be fun…" he laughed, his eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and menace. With only one axe in hand, he charged forward, leaping into the air and spiraling down with devastating force. As he descended, she cast another barrier, which absorbed the impact and redirected the energy back at him. The chieftain was sent hurtling backward, skidding across the earth before managing to catch himself. With a fierce shout, he summoned a healing spell that enveloped him in a radiant light, instantly mending his wounds.
Without missing a beat, he yelled as his second axe shot from the ground toward her. Sensing the surge of mana, she deftly vanished and appeared behind the chieftain. Her staff glowed with a pale blue light as icy frost spiraled around him, encasing him in a solid block of ice.
In an instant, she vanished again, retreating to a safe distance. "... my mana is getting lower... that first spell took a lot," she thought, her heart slightly starting to race as she glanced back. Just then, the block of ice began to crack, electricity coursing through it until it shattered explosively.
"What is your name?" the chieftain called out, his second axe flying effortlessly into his hand.
"Serena... Serena Nightbloom," she replied calmly, the weight of her name hanging in the air. As her staff vanished, the aged book took its place, glowing with arcane energy.
"Great! I am Mox of the mighty clan of High Orcs," he declared, exhaling slowly as his axes shimmered with crackling electricity. The atmosphere pulsed with tension as both of them stared at each other waiting for the other to move first.
As they stood in tense silence, locked in a battle of wills, Serena's mana slowly replenished—drawing from the ambient energy seeping through the gate. She clenched her fists, feeling the steady flow reinvigorate her. "If this turns into a stalemate, victory is mine…" But her gaze remained fixed on Mox, muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike.
Serena flipped through the aged book, her fingers gliding over brittle pages before stopping on one. She whispered an incantation under her breath, and in an instant, a surge of mana erupted around her, engulfing her in a radiant white light. The book slowly disintegrated into shimmering embers, replaced by a pair of gleaming brass knuckles forming around her fists.
Mox remained silent as he let his axes crash to the ground. His eyes narrowed. "A mage abandoning range to fight up close? What the hell is she planning?" Instinct kicked in, and he leapt backward, widening the distance between them while dropping his axes into the ground.
Serena watched his reaction carefully, her lips curling into a smirk. "An orc who doesn't blindly charge in the moment a mage drops their weapon? This bastard isn't just strong... he's smart."
Victor, observing from the sidelines, scowled. "What the hell is that orc bastard doing?" His fingers twitched in frustration. "This is the perfect time to overpower her! Orcs are dumb, but this... this is a whole new level of stupid."
SteelArm stepped forward, his voice cutting through Victor's rant. "No... Mox made the right call." His sharp gaze locked onto Serena. "Look at her—her mana is flooding her body and the space around her. That kind of surge means she's most likely enhancing physical capabilities. If she willingly switched to close combat, that means she's confident those buffs make her more dangerous up close than she was at range."
Stiles, crouched behind a boulder, tapped his chin. "So you're saying the orc figured that out instantly? Instead of fighting in his usual style, he chose to create distance... and even dropped his axes to make himself lighter?"
SteelArm nodded, his eyes flicking to the discarded weapons. "Those axes aren't just iron. Gold, steel, bits of diamond… who knows what else? Individually, they're not too heavy, but combined into weapons that size? That's a massive weight to swing around. And yet, he carried two weapons made from all of that like they were nothing." He crossed his arms. "But now? Now, he's prioritizing speed over raw power. That tells me one thing—he knows exactly how dangerous this buff could be."
"A mage willingly dropping their weapon? Do you take me for a fool who'd charge in without thinking?" Mox scoffed, his eyes locked onto Serena. "Especially against a mage who wields Old World magic? Underestimate me again, and victory will be mine."
His gaze sharpened as he quickly calculated every factor—the distance between them, the shifting flow of mana, the terrain beneath his feet. Every detail mattered.
The battlefield was silent except for the faint crackle of lingering mana and the distant hum of the gate behind them. The tension was suffocating, each second stretching into eternity as they calculated their next moves.
Then—Serena struck.
In a flash of white light, she vanished, reappearing inches from Mox with her fist already swinging forward. Mox's instincts kicked in, his hand snapping up just in time to catch her strike. The moment their skin met, a shockwave erupted from the impact, sending tremors through the ground. Dust shot up around them as the force rippled outward, shaking Mox slightly.
But he didn't hesitate. His counterpunch came instantly—a brutal, earth-shattering strike aimed straight for her.
Serena reacted on instinct, shifting her leg in a fluid motion, hooking her foot around his wrist and kicking his arm off course, deflecting the blow. Without missing a beat, she teleported again—this time appearing behind Mox.
Before he could turn, she drove a devastating kick into his back. The impact sent him hurtling forward, his body crashing through the air like a cannonball. The ground trembled as he landed, skidding across the battlefield, dust and debris exploding around him.
Serena lowered her leg, exhaling slowly.
SteelArm watched the unfolding chaos with keen eyes, a smirk creeping onto his face. "See? I told you Mox made the right call. He's adapting, and now that's put him on the back foot."
Victor, still tense and frustrated, turned to SteelArm with wide eyes. "What the hell are you talking about? You have to be kidding me? He just got sent flying! How is that a right call and how the hell is he adapting?"
SteelArm raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Just watch. Mox may have been caught off guard, but he's got the strength to bounce back from what I've seen. This fight is far from over."
Victor hesitated, his brows furrowing as he considered SteelArm's words. He glanced back at the battleground. Reluctantly, he nodded. "Alright, fine. Maybe you have a point."
With a sigh, he lowered himself to the ground, leaning against the rock for support. His eyes fixed on the fierce exchange, the tension palpable as he waited to see how this clash would unfold.
Mox let out a low, rumbling laugh as he pushed himself off the ground, the imprint of a foot still visible on his back. "Now this… this is what a real fight looks like!" His voice boomed with a mix of exhilaration and defiance.
As his mana surged, a crackling energy enveloped him. His axes soared back into his grasp, but instead of wielding them, he crushed them in his hands, the metal warping and twisting into a pair of gloves that hugged his fists like a second skin. With a fierce grin, he summoned arcs of lightning that danced around him, illuminating the darkened arena. "Get ready... Here... I... Come!"
In an explosive burst of speed, Mox lunged forward, vanishing from sight and reappearing directly in front of Serena. The ground beneath him trembled with the force of his movement, and electricity crackled violently, arcing around him like a storm unleashed. Before Serena could react, Mox's fist shot out, landing squarely in her stomach with bone-jarring force.
The impact sent her flying backward, her body spiraling through the air as tendrils of electricity wrapped around her, latching onto her skin and igniting a searing pain that coursed through her veins. She gasped, unable to scream, as the shock jolted her senses, leaving her vulnerable and reeling from the brutal blow.
The moment Serena hit the ground, Mox was upon her again, his movements a blur of lethal precision. With a brutal snap of his leg, he unleashed a devastating kick to her side, propelling her into the air like a ragdoll.
As she soared upward, a crackling line of crimson electricity surged toward her, drawn like a magnet to its target. Mox sprinted along the arc of electricity, his body crackling with power, closing the distance in an instant. He reached her just as she reached the peak of her flight, seizing her by the arm with a grip that felt like iron.
Before she could recover, Mox delivered another crushing blow to her stomach, the impact resonating through the air like thunder. The force of the strike sent her hurtling downward, her body plummeting to the ground with bone-rattling force.
The earth trembled as she crashed into it, the impact creating a shockwave that rippled outward, dust and debris flying into the air. The brutality of Mox's assault left no room for mercy, each move calculated to maximize pain and humiliation.