"None shall stop the descent!"
*BOOM!*
Fire engulfed the surroundings.
Shredder managed to scratch Crea's magic circle, causing it to malfunction.
As such, Crea was blown back by the backlash as well, but it was far less compared to the real effects.
Fire raged, the figures of Getrahan and the Emperor submerged beneath it.
But then…
*CRACKLE!*
Lightning burst from within, repelling the flames for Crea to see the Emperor rise from within the fire, his figure majestic with lightning crackling at set paces, almost pouring out of his eyes.
'Ugh!'
Even Crea was repulsed by how fast the Emperor was able to bounce back after withstanding such an attack.
Fear creeped into her heart 'I can't beat him'
But she calmed. 'I don't have to kill him. I just have to keep him occupied long enough'
Sighing in relief, she inhales sharply as the Emperor descends upon her, dodging the attack aimed to hack off her neck like a piece of wood and have the lightning cook it by a mere inch.
Shredder weaved through the air, coming back for another strike.
*Snap*
Crea snapped her fingers, detonating the atmospheric mana.
Like a lie, the fire engulfing the surroundings began dying out, with Crea cutting of her mana supply, it was only natural.
The Emperor was relentless, emerging from the detonation. The lightning slithering across his skin negated most of the damage as he healed his burnt body.
Crea was forced into defence as she tried to create distance but failed, she struck back Shredder by coating her sword with fire.
Hitting it to the side, Crea guarded shredder's next attack with her left arm, having it hacked away like cake, both flesh and armour.
Placing Shredder horizontally, the Emperor struck to split her into two, but…
Shredder caught her bare arm instead, the one cut down just moments ago!
Like a lie, her arm had grown back in an instant.
The perverted ability of demons-regeneration.
Unlike beasts who did this during an advancement, demons naturally regenerated lost body parts, some instantly, most took hours.
Crea's regeneration was fast, but not fast enough to be instantaneous.
The portal opening was already showing its effects.
'The time of the descent is near' she thought.
At this time, numerous tiny markings appeared on the small red crystal, a small portion of it breaking off into the pool below right after.
It was intermittently glowing and then dimming, first slowly, gaining speed bit by bit.
The Emperor was unfazed, simply putting more power behind it.
A red magic circle emerged underneath him at this moment.
'Take this'
A smirk on her face as a pillar of fire sprung up, swallowing the Emperor's figure.
It rose to the sky like a beacon of fire before she could rejoice though, a circle of lightning split it apart and the Emperor lunged at her.
Putting lightning against fire, the Emperor attacked while Crea struggled to defend.
From afar, the colours of white and red intertwined, lighting up the sky.
At the same time, a loud bang came from below.
Getrahan brought down his hammer staff on the formation guarding the cave.
The formation remained intact despite the Emperor's initial lightning and the grandmaster attacks after that.
The reason became clear after Getrahan's second strike.
The formation's barrier shook heavily, cracks spread across its surface, before it stopped and rapidly restored itself.
The formation was directly linked to Crea's mana pool, consuming a chunk of her mana to restore itself.
Getrahan's strike dealt immense damage, the formation then consuming her mana caused a lapse in movement.
That was all the Emperor needed.
*SHA!*
"AH!" Crea was split in half.
The slash went beyond her to place a large gash into the ground.
Not forgetting the main objective, the Emperor headed for the cave.
At this moment, a white streak brighter than his tore through Quartez's atmosphere.
Streaking to the clouds at his highest speed, Ezra tore into a Quartez with a flash, garnering everyone's attention.
Meanwhile… 'My bones are killing me'
Resisting current while flying at his highest speeds had his body sore.
He'd thought about what to do.
He could stop to tell the grandmaster to halt their battles and bloodshed, but it was doubtful if they'd even listen.
Without stopping, he approached the demon's lair.
[There's a barrier guarding it] said Zydrax. [Hit it with your greatest attack]
Flashing past his father, Ezra's white lightning turned black as Darkane appeared in his palm.
Imbuing Darkane with dark lightning, Ezra dived right onto the formation, holding his sword for an overhead slash.
The pressure he emanated was enough for Getrahan to get himself out of the way without being told.
And then the attack landed.
*CRACK! BREAK*
The lightning cracked into the barrier, and like glass, it split in two and shattered.
From where she lay, Crea stretched her arm in direction of the cave.
"No…"
Ezra rushed in, destroying everything in his way as he ran to where the demonic aura was most concentrated.
Breaking room after room, Ezra barged in room with the blood pool…only to be repelled.
Back on his feet right after, he struck out with Darkane imbued with dark lightning, only to be repelled once more.
Of course, it was never easy.
Inside, he could see the small crystal glowing and dimming at a very fast pace.
Sensing the demonic energy it contained, Ezra was temporarily dozed, he had to take a few steps back.
It was so potent Ezra senses were assaulted, his demonic side was brought forward, but shaking his head a few times had Ezra back to his senses.
Sketched on the floor was a circular formation.
[It a magic circle overlapped with a formation] Zydrax identified. [But all formation's have threshold, you have to hit it with an attack above its threshold to destroy it…and hurry]
Without delay, Ezra ran back, where he saw Getrahan and the Emperor approaching.
"I told you not to-
Ezra stopped and turned with his back to his father.
Holding his sword in front of him with his eyes on the room with the blood pool, Ezra's mind zeroed in, achieving maximum concentration, everything else was silenced.
*Vom*
His aura erupted, destroying the cave as white lightning lined up his sword, turning dark when laced with darkness and then the blade grew hot, imbued with fire.
Inhaling, Ezra took a stance.
'Sword Form' the ground cracked. 'Laceration'
He struck.
The Emperor was shocked to see his son flash past him. But was even more shocked when he felt the weight of the attack he landed on the formation.
With his intentions unknown, the Emperor rushed into the cave with Getrahan beside him only to see his son, approaching them…before suddenly stopping?
Confused only for a second as Ezra's aura erupted, tongs of lightning flying out from all parts of his body.
Feeling the power of the attack Ezra was about to conjure, the Emperor thought to stop him, rushing to reach him despite his surroundings.
Reaching arm's length, the Emperor brought down his palm on the boy's shoulder.
But before he could touch him…Ezra flashed away!
'Sword Form. Laceration'
Arriving in front of the formation almost instantaneously, he struck.
The blade met resistance upon touching the invisible barrier but tore through like butter.
From the sword came a hot black lightning strike, cutting right through the room.
It sliced through the blood pool, but reaching the small crystal, it dismantled.
Nevertheless, the attack destroyed some of the falling pieces.
All this happened in seconds, as the slash proceeded to cut through the cave into the ground above.
The cave split apart, and the lower side collapsed, while the blood in the pool spilled out, leaving very little.
The slash travelled so fast, that the barrier's rebound came after it had already cut through the blood pool, pushing Ezra a few steps back.
Gasping for air, Ezra stabbed his sword into the soil and fell on his knees, puking blood.
A smile on his face as sun rays came through the broken cave and shone on his back.
'I did it'
Unfortunately…[No you didn't]
'W-What?' Ezra was shaken.
[You failed. The portal will open any second now, you need to get up]
Still gasping, Ezra grit his teeth, pulling strength from his exhausted body.
Pushing with an arm on the ground and the other on his sword, he tried to raise himself to stand.
Right in front of his eyes, a drop of blood rose to the air, akin to a red dot.
While holding an unnoticeable size, the foreign presence it brought into the room couldn't be missed.
Ezra's blood grew cold.
'No…'
In quick succession the drop of blood began swirling, and other drops began floating as well.
Coming together with the first, it began coagulating, and it swirled even faster, absorbing even more blood.
Ezra gazed blankly at the scenery, nightmares of a past life started replaying itself.
As the blood coagulated, it began sinking into the ground-where the mirror portal for communication was fixed.
Space bent and warped, throwing off Ezra's senses even more.
Then, like the opening of an eye, it opened in the ground.
A pitch black portal.
The descent had begun.
