Elena materialized, in an empty dark room. She walked toward Jokul.
"The boy has found a new band." Elena reported to her partner. "And they're looking for me."
Jokul sauntered a step closer his painted smile widening into something predatory. "I don't know about you, darling." he drawled. "But I wanna break some little fragile things some more."
"I think this time we take all of them down." Elena replied. "We leave no survivors."
"Even the boy?" Jokul asked, his head tilting.
"Especially the boy."
Jokul chuckled and Elena dissolved them both into the nearest shadow. They reappeared instantly on the shadow cast by Ravyn's back.
Their presence made the four turn violently.
Jokul threw his head back in a theatrical laugh. "Well, if it isn't the angry little girl, the brittle little King and their boy toys! Did you miss me?"
Luna didn't recognize his face but she felt his mana and recognized the purple card motif instantly. She pointed a trembling, fire-flared finger at him.
"You? You killed Ria!" she shouted.
"Did I?" Jokul tsked, holding up a card to inspect his reflection. "Hard to keep track of all the broken dolls but I do remember the screaming. A truly exquisite sound!"
Luna's control fractured but a hand clamped onto her wrist, Ravyn's.
"I know you're still mad at me." Ravyn said quickly, his eyes locked fiercely on Jokul. "But let's take him down together, like old times. For Ria."
Luna met his gaze. "For Ria." she repeated.
Ravyn's entire body flared in the deep red aura. "Try keeping up!" he said to Luna and shot forward. And he was a blur aimed straight at Jokul.
Jokul barely had time to react, crossing two purple cards over his chest to block Ravyn's uppercut.
CRACK!
Jokul's feet left the ground and he was hurled far across the street. Luna was already mid-air, having flash-stepped above Jokul's expected landing zone. She slammed her heel down, kicking him deeper into the ground.
"Whoa!" Kyrren exclaimed, pushing and pulling Damien by his clothes. "Why didn't you tell me the baddie had a man? And he's a clown?"
"Can you focus?" Damien hissed, frustrated by Kyrren's antics.
"How can I do that when a pretty lady like that chose to date a clown? Man, this is messed up. Look at that guy! I'm disappointed in her taste in men!"
Elena seized the moment of distraction, shooting forward, her twin wickedly curved daggers aimed at the vulnerable back of Kyrren.
But Kyrren was faster. He snatched Damien's katana from its sheath in a blink and blocked her daggers just inches from his neck.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as steel met steel. Elena spun, trying to kick him. Though Kyrren caught her foot effortlessly. Damien saw the opening and tried to punch her but Kyrren yanked Damien back by his clothes, pulling him out of the strike's path.
Elena pulled her leg free and leaped back.
Damien turned on Kyrren, mana flaring. "What is your problem, man!?"
Kyrren sighed dramatically. "Men aren't supposed to beat up women, kid!Especially a baddie like her. Though, this one is clearly possessed by that not-good-looking guy, so I'll let you smack the evil spirit out of her just this once. But don't ever use sneak attacks on her."
Kyrren handed the katana back to a stunned Damien and stepped aside.
Damien took his stance, his mana pulsing. And he blurred. Elena blurred to meet him and at the centre their weapons connected in a dizzying exchange of steel.
Elena, using her two blades, forced Damien onto the defensive. She went low, aiming a slicing attack at his legs and he jumped back, narrowly avoiding the cut.
Elena flash-stepped, catching him mid-jump. He blocked the strike but the momentum carried him crashing through the thin wall of an abandoned warehouse.
The interior was pitch black, lit only by slivers of moonlight, casting long shadows.
Damien heard Elena's seductive laugh filling the warehouse. And a cold hand touched him seductively from the shadow behind but when he whirled around, slashing with his katana, she was gone.
He made his stance and flash-stepped toward the hole he had crashed in with, trying to escape the darkness but Elena reappeared in front of him, their weapons connecting and sending him reeling back.
And she dissolved again, laughing.
Suddenly, she began appearing and disappearing everywhere, swift as a viper and landing cuts on Damien. He couldn't keep up, every time he turned to slice, she was gone, using the density of the shadows to become an unstoppable, spatial threat.
He was bleeding from several shallow cuts now.
"So, this is how you want to play it, huh?" Damien roared, his mana flaring violently, turning his katana hot white.
Arc Seal: Mana Enhancement
He made his offensive stance and within a blink, Damien made a single, blinding slash that swept through the entire warehouse.
Every object and even the warehouse walls was cut cleanly and seemed to float momentarily in the air.
Elena was forced out of the shadow she was hiding in and the thousands of sliced objects began to fall.
Damien flash-stepped upward, with a slash aimed at her but she dodged. Then he grabbed her leg mid-jump, pulling her down and delivering a crushing kick.
She slammed onto the concrete below. Damien kicked off from one of the floating objects, landing next to Kyrren outside just as the rumble settled.
Kyrren immediately grabbed Damien, pulling and pushing him rapidly by his collar. "How dare you kill a baddie, you dumb brat!" Kyrren shouted, truly annoyed.
But then, out of the settling rubble, Elena rose. Blood stained her forehead and trailed down her waist.
Damien's eyes snapped and he shot forward, eager to finish the fight but a chain wrapped around his waist.
"Oh no, you don't!" Kyrren said, pulling Damien back with immense force.
Elena dissolved into the nearest shadow and vanished completely.
Damien skidded on his feet and turned on Kyrren, instantly. "Damn you! Look what you've done! Now she got away!"
Kyrren let the chain fall. "Kid, I told you to smack the evil spirit out of her, not kill her. You should start listening to your elders. And look at yourself, you were gonna pass out before even getting to her."
"No, I was not!" Damien shouted back.
Kyrren then delivered a precise, lightning-fast strike to the back of Damien's neck that rendered the boy unconscious.
Damien's body went limp. Kyrren caught him gently. "See? I told you you were gonna pass out. You're very welcome, brat."