The battle between Seraphina and the Reaper began immediately and with blazing intensity. The thing floating in the air hadn't expected to face its opponent in the same domain: the skies.
The vampire, armed with her two blood-forged swords, darted through the air, attacking the creature relentlessly and putting constant pressure on it with each strike. The Reaper seemed equally capable of defending itself, taking advantage of the reach provided by its scythe. It swung wide and powerful blows, forcing Seraphina back, who used those moments to harass it with ranged attacks that it phased through effortlessly.
"Tch," she hissed, her tone both disdainful and frustrated.
However, she didn't stop there — forming a plate of blood beneath her feet, she pushed off it to propel herself forward, giving her enemy no respite. Aelion, on his side, watched the scene, both perplexed and astonished. The exchange radiated a kind of measured savagery, and even so, it was clear Seraphina was holding herself back from going all out.
Partly, it was to prolong the interaction and gather information; partly, to avoid launching large-scale attacks that would drain her mana and be useless if the enemy used its Intangibility. Moreover, her fighting style was neither basic nor artificially imitated. It reflected fencing that was learned and mastered — far beyond simple horizontal or vertical strikes. She aimed to break and pierce her opponent's guard, parry its attacks, and destabilize it — analyzing her enemy and acting accordingly.
She wasn't just a magician but also a seasoned warrior. Meanwhile, Aelion observed the creature's consistent movements, trying to determine the duration and latency time of its Intangibility skill.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
That was the number of seconds he counted each time the Vestige became impervious to Seraphina's attacks. For now, the duration stood at five seconds.
He needed to confirm its accuracy. Seraphina was preparing for another round of attacks when he called out to her. She stopped instantly, forced to listen to what her partner had to say.
"Don't go to the front anymore! Keep attacking it continuously from a distance — don't let up!"
She nodded, understanding what his words implied. He wanted to force the Vestige to activate its skill, leaving it no other option. Throwing her two swords into the air, they froze midair, and several others appeared beside her.
Hemokinesis – Myriad Blades
Following the motion of her hands and her will, the avalanche of swords rushed toward the target without mercy. At first, the wandering spirit managed to block some using its scythe, but it quickly became overwhelmed under the unending barrage and was forced to activate the skill that had been giving the two protagonists so much trouble. From there, Aelion resumed his count.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
The enemy weaved through the blades, invincible and untouchable, with one goal in mind — to eliminate the one responsible for this situation: Seraphina. Even so, she didn't relent, guiding the tide of blades, increasing both their speed and intensity.
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
At the end of the twelfth second, one of the blades pierced its ghostly body — then another. A smile formed on both their faces; they had finally landed a hit.
"Stop now, and immobilize it if possible."
The warrior, euphoric at the thought of finally finishing it once and for all, was confused when she heard her partner's request. Still, she didn't argue — he knew more about this place anyway, so the best she could do was follow his lead. Using her mastery of manipulation, she merged several of the myriad blades into six massive ones and brought them down upon the creature — not to injure it, but to immobilize it and prevent it from wielding its weapon. Her quick trap targeted its joints, if it even had any, pinning it and blocking its smallest movements. Meanwhile, Aelion kept counting, even after the twelfth second, simply restarting from zero.
1, 2, 3,
Seraphina dismissed her wings and approached him on the ground.
"Why did you stop me from finishing it?" she asked, frustrated.
Unfortunately, he didn't answer, focused entirely on the imprisoned being; sweat beaded down his serious face, his eyes unblinking — he was in complete concentration. Even the murmurs of the system no longer reached him.
4, 5, 6,
A faint twitch of his brow broke his focus — the opponent had started to move.
"Now!! Get ready — twelve seconds of Intangibility, six seconds of downtime!" shouted Aelion, his voice echoing through the chamber.
The Vestige, as usual, escaped by phasing through the blades that made up its cage. Once free of its captor's range, it let out its destabilizing shriek again. Too bad for it — the technique failed, immediately countered by one of Seraphina's abilities.
ROYAL AURA
An unseen and oppressive force abruptly silenced its apathetic scream and pinned it in place for a few seconds. Aelion, who had been ready to cover his ears, relaxed.
"What were you talking about earlier?" she asked calmly.
"The reason I told you to stop was to calculate the cooldown time of its skill. The numbers I gave you are the data I gathered."
"On my side, one thing's certain — it has to become tangible before attacking, and its strength and attacks seem to come only from the scythe, not its body. Quite a troubling opponent."
"You think that'll be enough?"
"I think so. We can finish this thing with that — only if you're durable enough to take it," she said playfully and suggestively.
"I'll try."
The new dynamic was now set. It was Aelion and Seraphina versus the Vestige. When Seraphina's skill finally expired, the fight exploded once more. He had decided to take the aggro; because of that, the vampire had covered the upper area with a net of blood to prevent the creature from escaping and to make things easier for him.
The battle was far tougher than he'd imagined, as Aelion was more of a burden than anything else. He had no knowledge of basic combat — his movements were based purely on imitating what he had seen from Seraphina. He managed to endure hits fairly well but failed whenever it was time to strike, forcing the vampire to step in.
Moreover, the timing was too tight, and the power gap too wide. They needed to keep up constant pressure on the Vestige to force it to use its trump card. Seraphina was far too fast, and Aelion couldn't match her attack rhythm to guide the target toward their intended outcome. Even when they did manage to trigger its Intangibility, they had only six seconds to attack with full force and finish it off. Aelion couldn't do it — the creature, aware of the threat, quickly distanced itself from his limited attack range, and he couldn't unleash a skill powerful enough in the little time available.
In the end, he was the first to be pushed back by a dark, powerful slash that sent him flying. Even so, he felt victory was within reach — they just had to exploit Seraphina's discovery: it couldn't use Intangibility if it wanted to attack or touch someone. When Seraphina noticed him catching his breath in the back, she quickly disengaged from the fight and returned to him.
"I didn't know fighting could be this exhausting," he panted, drenched in sweat.
"Your first time? If it is, I'll admit you're doing well... that thing is an anomaly," said the young woman, surprised.
"Yeah, I feel like I'm the one holding our duo back. Don't worry — I have a plan."
"What kind of plan?"
Without a word or warning, Aelion turned and pressed his lips against hers. Seraphina's eyes widened in shock — she hadn't expected that, especially in the middle of battle. She let her guard down, and that was exactly what Aelion wanted. Thanks to that, the creature managed to approach them unnoticed. When its scythe rose, he was the one who took the hit.
"NO!!!" A scream of unexpected despair escaped her lips.
Aelion took the blow straight to the heart. Thanks to that, he managed to grab the scythe, holding it firmly with his hands and body. With that, he used the only skill he didn't consider extraordinary — ironically, since the strongest ones in his repertoire were useless in this situation.
[Skill Activated: Link]
Magical chains burst from the ground, binding the Vestige in place. It couldn't move anymore. Aelion spat blood — a considerable amount poured from his mouth, yet his determination didn't waver.
"SERAPHINA, NOW! FINISH IT!!!"
The young woman looked at him, stunned, her eyes trembling. It wasn't the first time she'd felt this — that painful feeling in her chest of watching someone sacrifice themselves to help and protect her. She hated it, but she had no choice.
"Idiot..." she murmured softly.
The net she had formed earlier compressed and turned into five massive blood spikes that shot toward the creature, piercing its body through and through. Even so, it was still alive, but it had released its grip on the weapon, which Aelion tore from its hands. Terrified and frenzied, it tried to scream again — but the sound never left its form, because Aelion used its own weapon to cut off its head before collapsing to the ground.
[ Congratulations! ]
[ You have defeated the Vestige of a Wandering Soul! ]
[ You have leveled up. ]