The battle was still far from over. Jack held his sword at the ready while the N'ghftnah melted back into invisibility, its presence lingering somewhere within the shadows of the forest. Then the Ahephai moved; it crouched low and vanished in a blur. A crimson streak shot toward Jack, the creature's arm blade aimed directly at his eye. Jack intercepted the thrust with his sword at the last possible moment, but the attack did not stop there.
The Ahephai unleashed a storm of thrusts, each one faster than the last. Crimson flashes filled the air as its blades stabbed toward every opening. Jack fought to keep up, desperately blocking and deflecting the barrage with his sword and his quartz-crystal arm, sparks erupting with every impact.
Using his seismic senses, Jack detected N'ghftnah sprinting toward him from behind, ready to slash his head. He quickly turned back to the Ahephai and blasted it away with his quartz-crystal arm, which burst into countless crystal shards. The Ahephai leaped backward as several shards embedded themselves in its body.
After that, he quickly dashed to the left, but not before a blade slashed across his right cheek. "Ngh." He grunted.
Jack whirled around and raised his sword. Molten magma surged from his arm, flowing into the blade until it glowed like a fragment of a volcano. Facing the N'ghftnah, he unleashed a devastating slash. The creature reacted instantly, throwing up its left claw to stop the attack.
But the magma-infused blade carved through the claw. Molten lava streamed through the air behind the strike, and the severed limb spun away from the creature before crashing to the ground. The N'ghftnah let out a pained roar as its claw was cut off in a single blow.
The N'ghftnah's entire body was now exposed, its invisibility broken. Clutching its severed claw, it desperately tried to shake the molten lava from the wound. Jack lunged forward, his magma-infused sword thrusting toward the creature's face. But before the blade could connect, the Ahephai flashed between them. Its high-speed strike cut across Jack's forehead, sending his entire body flying backward.
Jack crashed onto the grass and rolled across the ground. Just before he could tumble any farther, he drove his sword into the earth. The blade bit deep into the soil, halting his momentum in a shower of dirt. At the same moment, the magma surrounding his sword and arm faded and returned to normal.
Inside the earthen barrier, Alette concentrated on mending Bryce's severed arm, her healing magic steadily closing the injury. A sudden crash interrupted her focus, followed by the harsh scrape of armor against the ground. Concern flashed across her face. Thinking it might be Jack, she quickly rose into the air and peered over the wall. Beyond it, she found him kneeling on the battlefield, his sword planted firmly in the dirt for support while blood streamed down his forehead.
Alette's eyes widened in alarm, and she gasped. "Jack!!" she shouted desperately.
Jack pushed himself to his feet and brought two fingers to his forehead. When he lowered his hand, the blood stained his fingertips. His eyes moved toward the Ahephai before scanning the battlefield. The N'ghftnah had already vanished from sight, its body fading back into invisibility, leaving only uncertainty behind. He then turned his attention toward Alette.
"I'm alright." Jack called back. "Just keep focusing on healing them." Blood dripped from the gash on his forehead, tracing a blood line down his face, but he spoke as though the injury were nothing more than a scratch.
Jack rose to his full height and fixed his eyes on the Ahephai. The Ahephai crouched then vanished in an instant; the battlefield was filled with its afterimages. Dozens of phantom silhouettes darted through the forest, encircling Jack from every angle. Jack twisted and turned, parrying strike after strike as sparks erupted from each collision. A deep slash tore across Jack's left arm, ripping through his chainmail and drawing blood as the creature's assault continued.
"Agh!"
Jack's gaze fell upon the wound on his left shoulder. Three parallel slashes marked the injury.His expression hardened. That wasn't Ahephai's work alone. While his attention had been consumed by the creature's countless afterimages, the invisible N'ghftnah had slipped through his defenses. He realized too late that he had stopped relying on his seismic sense.
He raised his foot, ready to reestablish his seismic sense. Yet the Ahephai gave him no opportunity. Three afterimages materialized at his side and sprang toward him, their blades sweeping downward in a coordinated strike. Lightning crackled across Jack's body as he vanished from their path in a burst of speed. A moment later, the three attacks slammed into the forest floor, gouging deep scars into the dirt.
As Jack retreated a step, he reestablished his seismic sense. The vibrations instantly revealed the N'ghftnah's position, right beside him, its claws already sweeping toward his head. Reacting without delay, he ducked beneath the strike and raised his hand. Brilliant light gathered at his fingertips, illuminating his face. A fraction of a second later, a concentrated beam of light erupted from his hand and struck the N'ghftnah squarely in the chest.
The beam of light struck the N'ghftnah in the chest and sent it tumoring violently across the battlefield. Dirt and grass flew in every direction as the creature rolled. It buried its remaining claw into the ground, carving a long trench through the earth and bringing itself to a stop. Before Jack could press the advantage, two crimson afterimages flashed across the battlefield.
They passed directly between him and the N'ghftnah like streaks of red lightning. Seizing the opportunity, the N'ghftnah allowed its body to dissolve back into invisibility until it vanished completely from view.
"Tch..."
Jack's eyes swept across the battlefield. The Ahephai's afterimages had cornered him from every direction, while the invisible N'ghftnah remained hidden, patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike his back.
With the Ahephai's afterimages surrounding him and the invisible N'ghftnah lurking nearby, Jack chose a different approach. He slid his sword into its sheath and closed his eyes.Both fists tightened near his waist as he concentrated, shutting out every distraction.He waited for a single, perfect opening. Crystalline frost crept across his right hand, while his left arm glowed with radiant energy.
At the precise moment his instincts sensed imminent death, Jack moved. He lowered himself into a crouch before exploding upward and backward into a twisting flip. The Ahephai's blindingly fast slash swept overhead, narrowly missing him as it cut through empty air. In the same instant, the N'ghftnah emerged with a vicious thrust of its claw. Rotating through the air, Jack threaded his body between the converging attacks, evading both creatures with breathtaking precision.
Mid-rotation, Jack spread his right hand. Ice surged from his arm and split into four razor-sharp spikes that erupted toward the N'ghftnah. The spikes pierced through the creature's body and anchored it firmly to the earth.
At the same moment, radiant energy gathered around his left arm before detonating outward in a brilliant flash. The blast struck the Ahephai squarely in the legs, interrupting its advance.