Sacred Brother

A single second of distraction, a single thought astray from the fight and your opponent, could cost you victory.

This was especially true for mages.

This simple belief was known by many warriors and adventurers.

Seledia wasn't an exception.

However, in this instant, she completely forgot this simple belief that saved her life so many times.

She couldn't bear to hear his words directly aimed at the guilt and pain hidden in her heart.

When your pain can't get any stronger, only the fury remains.

The kind of unquenchable fury created by years of frustration and sorrow.

The kind that only needed a little push to control you.

She forgot how dangerous it was to get drown by her own emotions and recklessly charged forward.

She just wanted to silence this man.

With her speed, she reached him in the blink of an eye and punched him with her right hand still glowing with the magic she prepared earlier.

She was too fast for him.

Her punch, with her entire strength and rage behind, hit him right in his muscular c.h.e.s.t.

And went through him.

Vated wasn't fast enough and was mortally wounded.

Seledia froze after her surprising success.

With half of her arm still in his c.h.e.s.t, she looked up to meet his eyes.

Cold and cruel eyes devoid of pain.

As if waking up from a dream, she realized her mistake but it was too late.

The earth under her feet suddenly became unable to support her weight making her rapidly sink.

She didn't have the time to free her feet when the figure of Vated began to blur.

His muscular figure quickly disappeared to let place to a massive chunk of earth the same size as him.

Her arm was trapped by this chunk of earth while her feet continued to sink.

At the same time, the massive figure of Vated appeared a dozen meters behind the chunk of earth as if he was always standing there.

"Die!!!"

With a powerful war cry, Vated ran toward her with his giant axe raised high in the sky ready to strike.

He wasn't as fast as Seledia, but he crossed the distance separating them in just a few seconds.

Seledia's heart skipped a beat while she used her entire strength to preserve her life.

"Overload!!!"

Just before Vated's axe could reach her head, a wide ring of fire appeared around her and spread in all direction.

Just as if she was at the center of a giant growing fireball.

The blast was strong enough to repel Vated and free her arm from its prison of earth.

However, her feet were still trapped while Vated was only pushed back a couple of meters away.

After fixing his posture outside of reach of her magic, he immediately put one hand on the ground.

"Earth Lance!"

He couldn't come close to her but his magic could.

A large spike of hard-looking earth materialized near Seledia's feet to skewer her.

Unable to counter on time, she twisted her body to avoid but it was impossible with her feet trapped.

She repressed a scream of pain when the attack pierced her right t.h.i.g.h and nailed her in place.

"I'm not over yet!!!"

With a loud cry, Vated once more released his magic.

Three more lances made of earth attacked Seledia.

However, this time she was able to react.

Her overload magic disappeared, immediately replaced by a powerful wave of fire under her feet.

The power of the blast, under her trapped feet, was enough to burst the earth around her.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

With a loud scream of mixed pain and anger, Seledia was propelled out of reach of Vated's magic while the three lances pierced the air just under her.

Ignoring the blood freely flowing from her wound and the aching pain, she once again triggered her magic.

Another powerful and violent blast of fire sent her flying at high speed toward Vated who immediately raised his large axe to welcome her assault.

Still in midair, Seledia suddenly violently kicked downward to hack at Vated's head.

His weapon intercepted the attack but the violence of the choc made his powerful feet sink into the ground.

With a backflip, Seledia fixed her posture and finally landed.

The pain of her wound, when she touched the ground, made her flinch for a second. However, she quickly clenched her teeth and, once more launched forward without fear.

Seeing her attack without any regard for her wound made Vated frown in annoyance. He knew that he missed his chance to end this fight quickly.

Even if she was violently charging ahead to confront him, this time, it wasn't a reckless charge anymore.

She wouldn't fall into the same trap twice.

Seeing her hands once more glowing with a fiery and disturbing light made him realize that he would have to put his life on the line to defeat her.

He had to go all out.

Following his will, the skin on his face and exposed large arms began to turn darker.

"Earth guard"

With the magic he trusted the most, Vated also rushed forward.

Seledia's punch was fast but Vated still blocked it and made Seledia back off. He immediately countered with a violent swing of his axe meant to cut her in two.

Seledia bent backward to avoid just in time the deadly attack.

The air moved by the large axe tickled her face but she ignored it. She didn't try to stand up, but used the support of her hands on the ground to rotate her lower body and give a powerful kick with her valid leg glowing with the same fiery light.

This counter was too sudden for Vated to defend with his sturdy but difficult to handle large axe.

He let go of the handle with his left hand and used it to parry.

*BAM*

Despite the fact that his arm was covered with the magic of which he was most proud, Vated still felt his whole arm burning and going numb after this strike.

Vated knew of Seledia's famed magic power, but the raw strength of this frail-looking woman was enough to surprise him.

However, his magic wasn't there for the show.

It helped him defend and bought him enough time to use his right hand to attack with his axe.

However, Seledia seemed to already anticipate his intention. Before he could hack downward, she already retracted her leg and pushed her body up with the strength of her arms to quickly stand.

Her elegant movements were fluid and much smoother than Vated's.

His axe was still above his head when Seledia returned to her feet just a meter away from him.

Too close.

His eyes narrowed when he realized it, but it was already too late to parry or move away.

He clenched the handle of his axe harder and followed with his attack, intending to crush her skull before she could reach him.

However, she was just too fast.

With her entire strength behind, Seledia sent a powerful palm strike with her right hand glowing with a light seemingly strong enough to melt anything.

The attack was sudden and landed on Vated's abdomen just before his axe reached her head.

This time, even his magic wasn't enough to protect him.

*Boom*

With a loud exploding noise, Vated's massive body was sent flying backward. The shock cut his breath and made him groan in pain.

His back was the first thing to touch the ground when he landed.

Even with his experience, it still took him several long seconds to surmount the burning pain on his stomach, regain his senses and to stand up. Without his earth guard to protect him, this kind of attack would have killed him.

Contrary to his expectations, Seledia didn't follow up with her attack, but remained standing with her right arm still raised in front of her.

However, instead of her palm, a single finger was raised toward him.

"Shit!" He cursed when he realized what was going to happen.

It was too late to react.

Too late to avoid.

Too late for anything.

With eyes that could kill alone, she adjusted her breathing and released her magic.

"Flame Oblivion!" She coldly whispered.

Immediately after, from her harmless finger, appeared a single red dot.

A seemingly ordinary dot, much less impressive than her previous large scale magic.

However, its radiance was without equal.

Just like a newly created sun burning for the first time and wanting to flood the entire world with its light.

The incredible blaze only lasted for a second before disappearing from Vated's view.

His eyes didn't see the attack leave Seledia's finger. He didn't have the time to notice the long red trail that the magic left behind either.

Only a peculiar whistling noise announcing its arrival reached his ears.

For the first time since the start of this fight, Vated felt the shadow of death coming closer.

Because his instinct told him that he couldn't evade or resist this attack.

In this split of second, he already knew without a doubt that he would definitely die.

Just before the attack reached him and robbed him of his life, Vated looked at Seledia's cold and murderous eyes.

He didn't scream.

He didn't curse her.

He simply smiled and welcomed her attack.

*BAM*

The destructive attack reached his heart.

However, there wasn't any blood. Only a blinding light suddenly coming from Vated's left hand.

The light lasted for long seconds before disappearing as suddenly as it appeared.

Seledia narrowed her eyes in front of this unexpected turn of events.

A disturbing silence settled between them while Seledia slowly put her arm down.

This time, there wasn't any doubt in her mind anymore.

"I knew it…"

She couldn't even finish her sentence when an ordinary-looking ring began to crumble on Vated's left hand.

"You're using artifacts!"

Vated's smile grew wider after her words.

"You're right, but knowing it won't change a thing. However, I'm surprised. It seems like you kind of expected it."

Hearing his words, Seledia snorted before replying.

"I'm not blind. Even if your magic is strong, my understanding of my own element is obviously much higher than yours. Despite that, you resisted some of my most powerful attacks without breaking a sweat. I would be a fool if I didn't notice that something was wrong. I suppose that it's also one of those artifacts that helped you create this illusion earlier, right?"

Vated laughed in derision after her words.

"You're still sharp despite all these years after all… I didn't want to reveal it for as long as possible, but I didn't have any other choice in front of your attacks. However, even if you know that, it won't save you."

"Who do you think I am? I'm not a newbie. This was a defensive artifact, probably of the earth attribute. I know perfectly that those kinds of protective items can enhance your magic and even automatically save your life once. I also know that artifacts of this quality are extremely rare and expensive. You can't have several of them on you."

"You're sure?" Taunted Vated.

One by one, Vated slowly revealed the artifacts on him hidden under his clothes while enjoying the incredulous expression on Seledia's face slowly forming.

Two rings.

A small inconspicuous dark earring on his left ear.

A wristband.

Vated revealed one by one the artifacts now shining with a deep brown light, one after the other.

Despite losing one, he still had at least four other artifacts.

"You can go visit your stepfather's grave to thank him for this. He sure was a pain in the a.s.s but he wasn't stingy."

Contrary to his expectation, his attempt to destabilize Seledia was vain.

Her expression didn't even change after his words.

"Oh? You seem already aware of the truth about the old man. How is that possible?"

Seledia stayed silent in front of his surprised and suspicious face.

"Well, I don't know how you could possibly know the truth or why you came back so soon, but don't you find it funny? Even dead, the old man still doesn't seem to want to leave you alone."

His laughter following his words resonated inside the desolate clearing until Seledia suddenly interrupted him.

"Those artifacts can enhance your strength, your magic and give you this kind of abnormal defense, but you seem to forget something… They can only protect you from a fatal wound once each!"

"..."

"I just have to kill you again… and again… until no other artifact can act as a substitute!"

Seledia immediately punched the air in front of her after her words. She was too far away from Vated to touch him directly but that didn't matter.

A large fireball flew at high speed toward him after her casual punch.

The taunting smile on his brutish face disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.

He rolled to the side to avoid the attack. Despite its speed, the strong magic missed him but three others soon followed.

Vated didn't avoid this time. While getting back on his feet, with his giant axe in his right hand, his skin once more turned dark.

*Bam* *Bam *Bam*

The three attacks crashed against him but were unable to penetrate his defense.

"Earth Judgment!"

Immediately after, Vated punched the earth under him with his massive fist.

With a loud rumble, the earth around quickly cracked apart. In a deafening rumble, a large rift overturning the earth around, reached Seledia in only a few seconds.

When she saw the earth cracking apart in front of her, she didn't hesitate.

A powerful flame burst from under her feet and propelled her into the air.

Her mobility was her most obvious advantage against Vated.

Especially her ability to fly.

As long as she was far enough from the ground, then no matter how strong his attacks were, he wouldn't be able to harm her.

In the blink of an eye, Seledia reached several meters high. The earth quickly disintegrated under her, but none of it was able to influence her.

She pointed out one of her fingers forward directly toward Vated's heart.

The same blinding red dot began to form once again at the end of her slim finger.

Seeing this made Vated's expression turn ferocious.

"As if I would let you!!!"

With a loud scream, he raised both of his arms at the same time in a violent movement full of rage.

The cracked earth under Seledia suddenly changed.

"You!"

She canceled her attack and once more used her magic to fly further away.

*Whoosh*

A giant spike of earth nearly skewered her. Despite her fast reaction, the attack still scratched her back, draining blood at the same time.

Seledia didn't even have the time to wonder what had happened when another strange rumbling noise alerted her.

Another spike of earth rose toward her at an incredible speed, like a thin and sharp tower of earth, long enough to reach her in the sky.

Seledia's reaction speed was fast enough to avoid again but more were coming.

One after another, giant spikes appeared all faster than the previous. They disintegrated even faster than they formed, but no matter how many she avoided, others continued to appear.

Faster and faster.

Vated, with his arms still raised, wore a serious expression on his face while intensely looking at the fleeting figure of Seledia.

Short burst of flames could easily be seen among the appearing and disappearing deadly spikes of earth.

Another spike grazed her, barely missing her left shoulder.

No matter how fast or agile she was, Seledia couldn't get out of this situation. She was well aware that Vated's previous attack was to create this trap.

His previous magic wasn't meant to harm her.

He was obviously aware that this kind of attack targeting the ground was totally useless against someone able to fly.

The real purpose of his attack was simply to destroy the earth around her.

Seledia couldn't use the earth element. Therefore, she didn't immediately understand what happened.

However, when she saw these deadly spikes, forming so fast underneath her that she could barely avoid them, she realized that by destroying the earth, he was able to get rid of his most obvious weakness.

His lack of speed.

His defense was impressive enough to force her to fight him head-on in the hope of killing him. However, the difference in speed between them was too much even with this kind of defense.

That's why he destroyed the earth.

Earth belonged to a cohesive whole.

Its hardness and resistance were second to none among the other elements, but its ability to be manipulated was quite lacking.

Even Vated, an experienced true Sacred mage, couldn't use the earth under Seledia to attack her fast enough to hope to hurt her.

However, everything became different if he destroyed this cohesive whole.

The destroyed earth was much easier to manipulate, allowing him to create these endless spikes at an incredible speed.

With a wave of her hand, Seledia skillfully sent a fireball flying toward Vated while avoiding another deadly attack.

The attack connected but Vated didn't even flinch.

This kind of power wasn't able to break his defense nor was it able to stop his mad assault.

Among all her aerial maneuvers, she couldn't gather enough power to threaten him.

After several minutes of vain attacks, Seledia nearly couldn't endure anymore.

She could probably fly away into the sky despite his attacks. This would allow her to catch her breath and get out of this situation, but she knew that it wasn't a smart move.

Vated was covered in artifacts.

Their first role was defensive, but they could also have other functions. Just like the one able to create illusions.

She didn't doubt that among his cheaty arsenal, he had one of them helping him recover or saving stamina and mana.

She knew that the longer this fight dragged out, the higher her chances of defeat were.

She couldn't afford to delay her assault.

She had to attack him with real life-threatening magic.

To force his artifacts to protect him.

This was the only way to destroy them and the first step to defeat him.

As she strengthened her determination not to run away, two close spikes sprouted at high speed from the ground almost at the same time.

One aimed at her head, the other at her c.h.e.s.t.

Other spikes were coming around her, cutting all of her retreat paths.

Seledia clenched her teeth and gave up on avoiding.

With a violent kick downward, one pillar was completely destroyed. She immediately rotated her body in midair to give another violent kick toward the other attack coming almost at the same time.

The two rising pillars of earth shattered under the combination of her strength and magic.

However, the short time she used to strike was enough for Vated to lock into her position. She didn't have the time to fly away when other spikes of earth rose from the ground to kill her.

"Overload!"

Just like previously, a huge growing fireball started spreading with her at the center. This violent multi-directional attack was enough to destroy the earth spikes around her.

However, this kind of magic had a cost.

Seledia knew it.

In this battle of stamina, she had to preserve her mana. Therefore, she quickly dispelled her magic making her vulnerable once again. However, she didn't wait for the situation to repeat itself.

She spread her arms toward the ground and triggered another magic.

"Wind arrow!"

The barrier magic of the wind element shot toward the ground at high speed.

Even if her ability in this element wasn't able to hurt Vated directly, it was more than enough for what she wanted.

The blow of wind hit the destroyed earth.

Almost immediately, a dense cloud of dust rose and surrounded her.

"What the…" Cursed Vated while putting one hand in front of his eyes to protect him from the sudden dense cloud coming his way.

Without any way to know where Seledia was, Vated couldn't continue his attacks. He strengthened his earth guard and clenched his axe harder.

With a large motion, he wildly swung his axe. The violent attack was enough to cut the smoke in front of him.

After a few more violent hits, the dense smoke quickly scattered freeing his eyes from this unnatural and dangerous veil.

However, before he could react, a slim figure appeared behind him.

"You!"

With a large motion, Vated pivoted on his feet and hacked behind.

Seledia didn't avoid and simply let the giant axe cut her head.

However, like a dreamy mist, the axe passed through without inflicting any wound.

"You think the same trick will work twice on me!" Furiously roared Seledia while launching forward with her usual flame.

She clenched her glowing fist and punched the air in front of her without any hesitation. Among the dispersing cloud of dust, the figure of Vated suddenly appeared at the end of her fist.

"Woah!"

Even the dark skin on his face couldn't hide the surprise and pain he felt in this instant.

The red punch hit him straight in his stomach.

"You're mine!" Roared Seledia before releasing her magic.

The glow on her fist, still in contact with Vated, condensed and shot out. This kind of attack was more than enough to pierce through him despite his abnormal defense.

However, a blinding light suddenly enveloped him.

*Bam*

The violence of the impact sent Vated flying backward at high speed. His massive figure flew for several tens of meters without being able to stop.

*Boom*

His mad course finally abruptly stopped against a giant tree almost fifty meters away from Seledia, still hidden by the cloud of sand.

The light around Vated disappeared as soon as he touched the tree.

Despite the violence of her attack, Vated stood up almost immediately after regaining his ability to move.

The ferocious expression on his face along with the lack of wound was enough to understand that her attack didn't hurt him

However, when she saw the small earring on his left ear crumbling, she understood that she still succeeded.

"I'm not done yet!!!"

With a scream filled with determination, Seledia rushed forward with her magic to not let him any time to counter.

She had to destroy his artifacts before it was too late.

Before running out of mana.

Before losing the ability to fight.

She had to crush him.

However, Vated didn't back down.

Without his axe in his hands, his dark right hand still punched forward to welcome Seledia's attack.

Dark and red.

These two colors clashed, trying to devour each other, none willing to lose against the other.

Neither Vated or Seledia took a step back.

He had to kill her to survive.

She had to kill him to protect her family.

Along with their growing determination and emotions, the respective lights covering their fists spread around.

Slowly, these lights engulfed their figures and their surroundings while spreading a noise seemingly announcing the end of the world.