The remaining Krepsunas charged at Vastarael in a disorganized frenzy. He watched them with detached amusement, tapping the end of his glaive lightly against the asphalt.
"Let's see…"
The first beast lunged toward him with its massive jaws aiming for his throat. Vastarael sidestepped, swinging his glaive. The sapphire blade hummed through the air, meeting the beast's neck. Its head hit the ground before its body crumpled. Another Krepsuna leapt toward him but he twisted his body effortlessly, narrowly avoiding the attack and brought the glaive's blade end down on the creature's skull with enough force to crack the asphalt beneath it.
"Too slow."
Three more charged at once. Vastarael spun his glaive again. He ducked under the first one's swipe, ramming the weapon's shaft into its chest and sending it flying backward with a sickening crunch. The second tried to flank him but he dodged, using his glaive to cut through its midsection cleanly, leaving the two halves of its body to fall lifelessly to the ground. The third barely had time to react before he slammed the flat side of the glaive into its side, hurling it into a nearby wall with enough force to crack stone.
Elyonari watched as she fought the other five humanoid dogs. Where she fought with calculated moves, he fought with such gentleness. Every single strike was a kill. He paused for a moment to survey the battlefield. The remaining Krepsunas hesitated now.
"Seriously? Is this it? Come on, send more. This is barely a warm-up."
The Krepsunas snarled but didn't advance. Instead, they seemed to retreat slightly. The Passageway pulsed violently. A low growl echoed from within. It was so deep it reverberated in Vastarael's chest. The Krepsunas on the battlefield immediately stopped moving.
Vastarael narrowed his eyes, gripping his glaive tighter.
"Oh, here we go. I knew my Bane wouldn't let me off that easy."
The ground trembled as a massive figure began to emerge from the Passageway. First came a clawed hand, each talon as long as a sword and glowing with a crimson glow. Then a hulking torso, covered in burning, molten fur that dripped embers onto the ground. Its head followed, grotesque and canine, but with horns curling backward like a demon's. Its glowing orange eyes locked onto Vastarael with an intelligence that far surpassed the lesser Krepsunas.
The beast was enormous, easily four times the size of the others, standing upright on two massive legs at an overwhelming twelve meters. Its presence radiated pure malice and even the air around it seemed to grow heavier.
"That's no ordinary Krepsuna."
"No kidding. Looks like the boss finally decided to show up."
The beast let out an earth-shaking roar and the remaining Krepsunas immediately rallied behind it, their fear replaced with renewed aggression.
"Stay back," Vastarael said over his shoulder to Elyonari. "I've got this. Count and record how many seconds I have to kill this thing. I need to try something."
Elyonari frowned but nodded. She trusted him, though the sheer size of the creature made her slightly uneasy. Vastarael adjusted his grip on the glaive as he channeled his essence into it. He stared down the massive Krepsuna.
"Alright, big guy. Let's dance."
The moment the massive Krepsuna roared, Vastarael sprang into action, causing a slight air shift from his pounce. Elyonari glanced at her staff as she began counting aloud.
"One..."
Vastarael charged forward with explosive speed. The massive Krepsuna swung a clawed hand down meant to crush him but he anticipated the attack, sidestepping at the last second. Without breaking stride, he spun his glaive in a full circle, slashing cleanly through the beast's arm. The cut was so precise that for a heartbeat, the severed limb stayed in place before crashing to the ground.
"Two..."
The beast howled in rage and lunged forward. Vastarael ducked low, sliding beneath its massive frame with the grace of a dancer. As he passed, he drove the glaive upward, causing the blade to slice deep into the creature's underbelly, leaving a glowing trail of energy that hissed as it burned into the flesh. The Krepsuna staggered but Vastarael was already behind it, poised for the next strike.
"Three..."
Pivoting on his heel, he leaped into the air. The creature whipped its tail around in a desperate attempt to knock him out of the air but Vastarael twisted mid-flight, narrowly evading the attack. He fell on its back, balancing effortlessly on the unstable surface. The sapphire blade glowed brighter as he drove it down, piercing through the beast's shoulder. The impact sent a shockwave of energy through its body, momentarily paralyzing it.
"Four..."
The Krepsuna regained its senses and bucked wildly, trying to throw him off. Vastarael clung to the embedded glaive, using the momentum to swing himself around to its side. He yanked the weapon free, flipping in mid air to land on the ground in front of the beast. It swiped at him again with its remaining arm but he countered, spinning the glaive like a whirlwind. The blade intercepted the claw, severing the remaining limb instantly.
"Five..."
The creature, now disarmed and furious, released a roar and charged forward, using its massive bulk to try and crush him. Vastarael vaulted over the charging beast, flipping gracefully over its head. As he descended, he slashed downward, the glaive carving a deep gash across its spine. The force of the strike sent a slight air wave and the Krepsuna stumbled, collapsing onto one knee.
"Six..."
Taking advantage of its vulnerability, Vastarael sprinted forward. He struck repeatedly as he dismantled the creature piece by piece. By the time he stopped, the Krepsuna was riddled with glowing, searing wounds. It collapsed onto all fours, barely holding itself up.
"Seven..."
Vastarael stood directly in front of the beast. Without a word, he pierced through its chest. The energy from the glaive surged through the creature, shattering its infected body from the inside out. The Krepsuna let out a final, ear-splitting howl before it disintegrated into ash, leaving nothing but a faint scorch mark on the ground.
He turned to Elyonari, who stood frozen in her tracks.
His breath came in short gasps as he worked to recover from the effort. Despite the victory, his jaw clenched tightly. He looked at Elyonari, who still seemed in shock, her staff lowered to her side.
"Seven seconds. You went all out on your weapon mastery, didn't you?"
He exhaled sharply, standing upright and shaking his head.
"Seven seconds... that's still not enough. Adelasta could do it in three. I'm too slow."
The comparison stung, though he knew it was no one's fault but his own. Vastarael prided himself on versatility. As both a Weapon Master and a Mage, he had unparalleled flexibility in combat, able to adapt to almost any situation. Yet, this versatility often came at a cost. His mastery was spread across disciplines. The thought of Adelasta, always loomed in his mind.
She was his exact opposite though.
If she were here, she would have ended this in three seconds. With her daggers alone, her efficiency in close combat was unmatched. While Adelasta excelled in pure, ruthless physicality, Vastarael leaned more heavily on his Magecraft.
If he had used his essence-based Tethers—Circlecraft, Sapphire Materialization, or even a fraction of Omniphage—the fight would have ended before Elyonari could count to two. And if Adelasta used her fire abilities, she would have spent seven seconds.
But that wasn't the point.
"No, I wanted to win using my glaive alone."
His fingers tightened around the shaft of the weapon. Each strike and movement during those seven seconds had been calculated but it still wasn't enough for him. To someone like Vastarael, perfection wasn't just a goal. It was an expectation he placed upon himself.
As the ranking of the beings involve the Nexuses, Primordial Deities, Deities, Divine, Ascenders, Essentia and Normals, the Krepsuna ranking involved the Phantasms, Overlords, Forgotten, Scavengers, Sunderers and Warped.
Killing a Warped Rank Krepsuna using nothing but his glaive would make anyone else shocked yet here he was, disappointed in himself. If anyone else had been watching this, they'd be on the ground, coughing up blood. Seven seconds against a creature of this size and power, without mystic or divine abilities, was beyond incredible.
"You're insane, you know that? Most people would celebrate surviving something like this. You're over here tearing yourself down because you weren't fast enough? Vastarael, do you even hear yourself?"
He didn't answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the faint scorch mark where the Krepsuna had stood moments before. Finally, he sighed, shifting his glaive back onto his shoulder.
"I hear myself yeah, but if I don't push myself, how can I ever reach her level? Or surpass it?"
Elyonari hesitated, watching him carefully.
"You're both ridiculous. Adelasta with her daggers, you with your Magecraft, always competing with each other. But did it ever occur to you that seven seconds with a glaive is nothing short of a miracle? Especially when that thing could have leveled the district in the same amount of time?"
"Miracle or not, I need to be better. I've got this reputation to uphold, after all."
Elyonari rolled her eyes but smiled.
"Right. Can't let the world forget you're Vastarael Richinaria, the divine prince who takes down massive Krepsunas in single digit seconds."
The teasing in her voice pulled a chuckle from him but the determination in his eyes didn't fade. Seven seconds might have been impressive to the world but to Vastarael, it was just another reminder of how much further he had to go.
Since he is useless as a Mage once his essence runs out and it would take time for him to recover it in time, he wanted to be better in Weapon Mastery in case the worst happened.
"So... what do we do now?"