Chapter 106
Kaya's lightning body flickered as she moved, arcs of electricity jumping from her shoulders, her arms, her legs. Across the basin, the young man with the golden eye stood with his blades spinning lazily in his hands, his grin wide, his coat dragging on the stone behind him.
He had been watching her since the fight began, circling, waiting, letting the others engage while he studied her.
"You're the weaker one," he said.
Kaya said nothing. Her kunai were drawn, her white eyes fixed on his movements, tracking the spin of his blades, the shift of his weight.
He laughed. "Cold too."
He dashed forward,
Abyssal Lightning Spell: Surge Step
Electricity crackled around his feet, propelling him forward at seventy-five meters per second. His blades came up, black metal flashing.
Kaya met him.
CLANG!
Her kunai crossed, catching both blades as sparks flew. Her lightning met his—blue against black, the two forces hissing where they touched. He pressed forward, his grin never fading, his blades pushing against her guard.
"You're strong," he said, almost admiring. "Let's see how long you can last."
He pulled back, spinning, his coat whipping behind him. His blades came around in a wide arc, aiming for her side.
Kaya dropped low. The blades passed over her. She drove her knee into his stomach.
His grin faltered. Air left his lungs in a sharp gasp. He stumbled back, his blades dropping, his guard open.
She didn't rush forward, and even moved back a little knowing very well that he let that opening there.
He straightened, his grin returning, wider than before. "That hurt," he said.
Abyssal Lightning Spell: Storm Blades
His blades crackled with black lightning, the energy racing along the edges, making the metal hum. He lunged.
Kaya raised her kunai.
Ting-ting-ting-TING!
Their blades met in a blur of steel and light. Each strike sent sparks flying, the air between them thick with ozone. He was fast, his attacks relentless, his blades always moving, always finding new angles.
Kaya held her ground. Her blocks were tight, her counters precise, her lightning body keeping her speed matched to his.
But he was not trying to overwhelm her. He was testing her. Looking for something.
She saw it in his golden eye—the patience, the calculation. He was waiting for her to commit, to overextend, to give him the opening he needed.
She decided not to give him one.
Lightning Spell: Volt Needles
Thin bolts shot from her free hand, aimed at his chest, his throat, his eyes. He twisted, his blades coming up to deflect, but one slipped through, catching his shoulder.
His arm went numb and the blade nearly fell.
He laughed anyway. "Clever."
Abyssal Lightning Spell: Thunderous Rebuke
Black lightning exploded from his body in a ring of concussive force. Kaya was thrown back, her lightning body flickering, her ears ringing. She hit the ground hard, rolling, coming up on one knee.
He was already there, striking his blades down on her.
She raised her kunai.
CLANG!
The impact drove her knee into the stone. The force made her arms shook as her teeth ground together. He pushed down, his blades pressing against hers, his face close enough that she could see the gold of his eye, the flecks of red in the black of the other.
"You're slowing down," he said.
She smiled.
Lightning Spell: Bolt Barrage
Lightning erupted from her body in all directions, a storm of blue-white bolts that tore through the air between them. His eyes widened. He threw himself backward, his blades spinning to deflect, but the bolts were too many, too fast.
One caught his leg, another his arm and a third struck his chest.
He hit the ground hard, skidding across the stone, his coat tearing beneath him. He came to a stop at the edge of the basin, his chest heaving, his blades fallen beside him.
Kaya stood. Her arms were shaking with the lightning body surrounding her flickering, only because of her Mana being Low.
She raised her kunai and moved.
Lightning Spell: Lightning Strike
She crossed the distance in a flash, her blade aimed at his chest. He looked up, his golden eye wide, his hands empty.
Then he smiled.
Abyssal Lightning Spell: Parasitic Charge
Her lightning, the energy flowing through her body, her blade, her strike—it seized. The current reversed, black lightning racing back along the path of her attack, slamming into her chest. Her lightning body shattered. Her kunai fell. She hit the ground, gasping, her limbs refusing to move.
He rose slowly, picking up his blades, watching her struggle for breath.
"You fight well," he said. "But you made a mistake. You gave me time to learn you."
He raised his blade.
Kaya's fingers found the hilt of her fallen kunai.
"You're strong, but predictable. Your attacks always come from the same places. Your lightning always moves the same way." He shook his head. "A shame."
He brought the blade down.
She rolled.
The blade struck stone, shattering the rock where her head had been. She came up behind him, her kunai in her hand, her body screaming, her lightning barely there.
He turned, his golden eye wide.
She drove the blade into his side.
Blood soaked his coat, his blades fell again, clattering against the stone.
Kaya stepped back, her breathing ragged, her vision blurring. Her Mana was too low.
He looked at her, his golden eye dim, his hand pressed against the wound. "That was..." He laughed, a wet, broken sound. "Good."
He raised his hand. Black lightning gathered in his palm.
Kaya could not move.
Ethan appeared beside her.
Wind Spell: Lance
A spear of compressed air shot from his blade, crossing the distance between them in an instant. It struck the man's chest, driving through his guard, through his ribs, through his heart.
The black lightning died. His hand fell. He stood for a moment, his golden eye fixed on something far away, something only he could see.
Then he collapsed.
Ethan stood over him, his sword raised, waiting. The man did not move. Blood pooled beneath him, black in the firelight.
Ethan lowered his blade and turned to Kaya.
She was on her knees, affected by his spell.
Ethan offered his hand, and she took it.