Lucas and Astrid stared at what Caleb had become. Their clothes were disheveled and covered in embers, their masks tore into pieces.
"CALEB! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Lucas yelled, unsheathing his blade.
"w-Wait- Lucas don't tell me.."
Lucas snapped his gaze to Astrid, a shadow crossed his face as his eyes welled up with tears, "Astrid, do we even have a choice?!" his voice thick with emotion.
"I-..."
"Either fight with me to get Caleb back, or just stay there and act like a coward!" Lucas amplified his energy into his sword, lunging towards Caleb.
"hic- fuck this." Astrid summoned her blade, also amplifying hers with energy and sprang towards Caleb.
The two charged at him on both sides, surely Caleb wouldn't be able to escape from them, right?
As the tips of their blades made contact with just a mere centimeter of Caleb's skin he disappeared. Reappearing from behind, hitting them with a dark magnetic force—pushing them down to the ground causing a big impact around their surroundings.
Guests around weren't able to help in battle only watching and helping the others around—it's useless anyways.
Lucas vomited a mouthful of blood, his body trembled from the impact, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly—his knuckles turned white.
Astrid coughed up blood, and slowly got up, "L-Lucas!?"
"I-I'm fine! Let's go!" he said through gritted teeth.
"Gㅁve up yㅁu're– just hㅁrtㅁng yourselves." Caleb appeared right behind Lucas, his greatsword nearly touching his nape, but blocked it with his energy sword—clashing with him.
"Ack!- Caleb, Y-you bastard!" he said between grunts.
Astrid stood there analyzing the unraveling battle, clutching her sword with trembling fingers.
Shit. shit. Shit. What should I do?! Right, right. Find an opening!
Astrid concealed her presence but did you really think with her current abilities—Caleb wouldn't even notice?
"Trying to find an opening eh?!" Caleb shifted his gaze away from Lucas momentarily, disappearing once again and reappearing behind Atrid.
"CALEB YOU– I'M THE ONE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!" Lucas exclaimed, appearing right behind Caleb just in time—landing a clean slash on his back.
"Paㅁtheㅁtic." a feral snarl ripped through Caleb's throat, as he countered with fluid strategy—he drove a brutal kick into Lucas's stomach. The impact launched him backward, slamming him spine-first against a tree—knocking a few more trees along the way due to its impact. A wet choke escaped his lips, a spray of blood burst past his lips, whimpering, as he struggled to get back on his knees.
"C-Caleb…" he thought, struggling to wield his blade.
That clean slash Lucas caused on Caleb's back was also completely useless. Why? He has regeneration abilities better than the two combined.
Clash after clash, Caleb kept on regenerating.
Every cut Lucas managed to carve into him sealed shut within at least 10 seconds or so, flesh stitching back together in tendrils. Bone rearranging itself with unpleasant wet cracks. Caleb's breathing was labored—but
that didn't mean he was exhausted. Rather he was pissed off—the battle was taking a lot longer than he anticipated.
'Is this how weak your body is?! You can't even eliminate two people with just 10 percent of my power in you?! OH. DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE HOLDING BACK, ARE YOU?!'
Caleb fumbled with his sword—wincing at the words of his own father, the words "mistake" and "pathetic" kept repeating in his head.
"..."
This allowed Lucas and Astrid to land a powerful energy blast together. Slowing down Caleb's regeneration rate.
Lucas stumbled back, panting, barely able to keep his blade raised. He knew he'd be done if he ever continued. His arms trembled violently, shocks of pain flaring up each time he gripped the hilt of his blade. A deep ugly gash along his ribs leaked blood slowly onto the ground, he also broke a few bones— worse of all his regeneration was incredibly slow. Despite all that he ignored all that, he was dedicated to bringing his friend back.
As for Astrid, she wasn't doing too good either. Her hair was sticking to her face with sweat and blood, her left eye swollen nearly shut. She braced herself against a sharp column, one knee threatening to buckle every time she moved now.
"I…"
Caleb appeared right in front of Lucas. Lucas barely had a single second to spare before Caleb's hand closed around his throat. Lifting him up with a reluctant hand. Pressure tightenened—Lucas clawed at Caleb's wrist, choking. His wrist.
Caleb flinched, releasing him. His wrist filled with deep visible scars where he had done many suicidal attempts when he was little—before he even met Astrid.
Lucas dropped, gasping for air, slamming onto his knees. He looked up to meet Caleb's stunned and traumatized expression.
"ASTRID, NOW!!!"
Astrid swung her sword towards Caleb, "FLASHPOINT IMPACT!!"
The moment the blade struck into Caleb's chest, ignited in a brilliant flash of light. Sending a concussive shockwave. Caleb's body convulsed violently. Skin singed where the energy met his flesh and hair. Bones crackled under the sheer force. The shockwave tore through muscle and caused his whole left arm to burst into particles of blood and flesh. Dust and debris exploded around them.
For a quick moment—Caleb's vision blacked out, before quickly regaining his senses. His body regenerated almost instantly.
'STOP HOLDING BACK BEFORE I TAKE OVER THIS PATHETIC BODY OF YOURS '
Caleb's eyes flickered due to his father's words. His jaw tightened—it ached, a low hum of power shivered the air, barely noticeable at first, then growing into a roar that made the ground tremble beneath them.
The only way to beat a rank Demonic/Divine Lieutenant was at least 10 International ranked figures—and at that time Lucas and Astrid weren't even at that rank yet—the two were only ranked at Supreme.
[''''' System Ranking List''''']
1.Feeble
2.Moderate
3.Formidable
4.Elite
5.Commander
6.Supreme
7.International
8.Demonic/Divine Lieutenant
???
['''''More Ranks will be featured as the story progresses''''']
—— <{[ — ■■■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■ —]}> ——
He snapped. Every last bit of his restraint of his body dissipated. His body pulsed with new profound strength. His energy erupted like molted lava, crackling energy that danced around the edges of his greatsword. The ground cracking beneath each step he took toward Astrid.
Astrid was still on her knees, staring at him blankly, "ASTRID!!" Lucas yelled hoarsely. Her sword clenched weakly between her fingers helplessly, trembling under her grip.
Before she even realized, Caleb's sword appeared before her chest. The tip hovered, millimeters from her heart, the weight and energy surrounding it would just be enough to crush her. Astrid's eyes widened, it was as if her heart was in her throat.
Time seemed to slow down, every rapid heartbeat coming from Lucas and Astrid echoed like a banging drum
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! ASTRIDDD!" Lucas screamed, harrowingly.
Before Caleb was about to plunge his greatsword into Astrid's chest…
—he paused.