"Struggling, Abby?" Clark sneered, his fist crashing down. She barely blocked, ice shattering against his strike.
" Have you no shame, 2 against 1?. You really expect me to believe you were going to give my friend a fair 1 on 1 fight"
"Come on now, you're a noble. Unlike your commoner friend you can't be underestimated. Besides I told you, you were going to regret siding with him. Nobility isn't meant to protect the weak, were meant to rule them"
Abby's jaw clenched "Just shut up!!". Her voice rang out contacting trying to dodge Duke water whip and defend against Clark's brutal attacks. She was getting overwhelmed and when Duke's water whip does land it's like being hit with an actual whip, it was incredibly painfully, couple with Clark's taunts.
Clark smiled widened. He slammed his fist again, she was about to block when Duke's annoying attack came, she used her sword to deflect it, his whip wasn't strong enough to break solid object but can cause a lot of pain on the flesh. Clark's fist finally came, she moved her other 2 swords but they shattered on contact with Clark's enhanced first again, sending her flying. At this point she knew there was nothing she could do but refused to give up. She stood from the tree, her movement was slow, she was already bleeding from the back of her head, parts of her body was bright red, where Duke's attacks had landed.
"Pathetic. Duke, go check what the delay with that Damian and bring him here. I'll deal with him after I'm done breaking her"
Duke nodded and turned, running back towards Damian's direction.
....
The watches on their wrist pulsed faintly. Only 15minutes left.
Damian and Luke where still fighting , they both glanced at their watch.
"Ha, 15min. Even if I don't beat you, you just being here means you will be expelled"
'15 minutes. Dragging this fight is a luxury I don't have. And Abby, she's probably in a fight with Clark, or worse those two."
Then His shadows flickered, twitching with restrained hunger.
Luke noticed it too, his grin faltered slightly
" What...what are you planning?" Luke panicked as he sensed something unusual but his grin soon returned the moment he saw his pal, Duke.
"Clark was wondering what the delay was" Duke said as he walked towards the open space "huh?... What wrong with him" he wondered as his shadows started moving unnaturally.
"I guess I'll just snap you out of it then" He formed a water whip immediately.
But suddenly Luke, Duke and Ren's instinct screamed at them.
"15 minutes. That's all I have. My plans won't be ruined by a petty noble. I will not be expelled, that's not even an option... Even if it means revealing all three, right here, before their eyes"
Damian, about to use all his three affinity in front of them, they could feel something. His presence was suddenly overwhelming for them. They couldn't understand what was going on. His eyes glowed faintly, the aura around him was almost inhuman, like an anomaly.
Regardless, Duke decided to attack before damain could strike.
But then... He was gone.
Not moved. Not dodged. Simply gone.
"..."
"...."
"Luke behind you!!"
Luke barely registered Duke's warning cry before Damian appeared behind him, as if space itself had bent. One moment Damian was gone, the next he was behind Luke. His shadows stretching unnaturally in the twilight. His fist struck Luke's temple with bone-crushing force, nearly knocking him out cold.
Luke flew to a tree, collapsing with one knee, his vision swimming.
"Wh...what..?" He slurred
Duke's eyes widened. "He... teleported?"
Rage and fear twisted across his face as he snapped his write, summoning his signature water whip. The weapon lashed forward with a hiss, slicing through the air towards Damian's throat.
But a wall of glass surged upward from the earth, solid and gleaming, catching the whip mid-swing. Duke stared in shock. The whip struck again and again, but the glass refused to break, only vibrating faintly under the force. The wall was just as tall as damain around 5ft6.
"What kind of...?"
He didn't finish.
Damian moved. His shadow tendrils surged like living serpents, binding Duke's limb in place. Duke struggled, panic rising in his throat, and before he could free himself, Damian's fist hammered on his chest with a ruthless precision. The sound was sickening, like a thunderclap. Duke's body went limp, crumpling to the ground in unconscious defeat.
Damian turned coldly to Luke, who was barely conscious. Shadows coiled around his legs, pinning him as Damian stepped closer.
"Wh...what are you, how many affinities do you ... Wield"
His voice was weak, he was barely conscious
"I'm simply anomaly in this world" there was no hesitation in Damian's eyes, no flicker of mercy. His punch crashed down like a hammer, and Luke collapsed in silence.
Now, only Clark remained.
He gave a glanced to Ren who had witnessed everything, fear and panic was all that could be seen in his eyes. He was completely frozen in place, how ever Damian knew time wasn't on his side right now, Ren issue would have to be addressed later.
The fight had grown chaotic. Abby had forced herself back into the clash, her icy sword flying like arrows, only to be destroyed and every movement she made send pain coursing through her body. Clark pressed forward with ruthless efficiency, smiling cruelly as he watch her struggles.
"Just give up!" He barked, wrong again
Abby snarled, summoning another blade of frost but her stance was weak-- her body couldn't keep up with his relentless strikes. Her breathing was ragged as she staggered back, blood trickling down her arm from a slash Clark had managed to land. Her eyes, usually sharp with icy precision, were clouded by pain, but she held her ground. Clark smirked, confidence radiating from him, she was at her limit.
"You're strong, Abby" Clark said, raising his fist enveloped with earth. "But you never should have opposed me"
He struck. Abby braced herself, raising her ice sword, though her stance faltered. The impact rattled her bones and her knees buckled. Another blow was coming, she could see it in his eyes, the last strike that would end her fight.
But the blow never landed.
A sharp crash resounded as a gleaming wall of glass erupted in front of her, tall and flawless, catching Clark's fist with a resounding bang followed by shattered glass.
Clark was stunned "is this mirror? What..?"
Then a shadow fell over him and from the shattered mirror crumbling he could see a figure, someone right behind home with a cold and deadly expression.
Turning around, damians clenched fist had connected with his jaw in a thunderous blow before he could turn around completely, sending him sprawling across the dirt.
The forest trembled.
Abby blinked, confused, her eyes farting at the shimmering shattered glass and Damian's cold expression staring at Clark.