Sunlight filtered through the windows of that long hallway, illuminating a lovely scene.
Lloyd had gone after Calypso.
Was it his fault?
He'd forced her to do magic, when she clearly didn't want to. He wanted to obtain the Calypso from the novel, a powerful sorceress with the power of putrefaction and death.
He'd seen her as an object, forgetting she was a human being... A very fragile one.
When he caught up to her, he decided to hug and comfort her.
His words were distorted through this body's natural arrogance, but he managed to convey his message.
Would it be enough to calm her?
Lloyd didn't know.
But before finding out... He felt it.
Killing intent, that made his hair stand on end.
He had to react in time, he pushed Calypso to put her to safety but, he couldn't save himself.
He felt nothing at first, but he knew something was wrong.
Then, he saw how his arms slid and fell to the ground, they'd been cut off.
His expression was of confusion and surprise, his mind trying to process what had happened, before falling into terror.
But there was no time to think. An explosion occurred, the window had been shattered, being pierced by something.
It was an enormous figure, dressed in silver armor.
Lloyd had no time to react, a punch shot toward his solar plexus, with enough force to break his rib cage and ribs.
The boy was propelled down the hallway, crashing into the wall completely destroyed.
"So you could react to that! Fantastic! But what good is reacting to an attack if you don't defend in time? None at all!"
Said the figure, with a loud voice, distorted by their helmet.
Who was he? Why was he attacking Lloyd? Why did he want to take him away?
Those were Calypso's thoughts when she realized it wasn't her who had attacked Lloyd, but a stranger.
Calypso's emotions ignited like a fervent flame in her chest.
Just like when she attacked her mother, in revenge for the bird's death, the young woman's power overflowed again upon seeing a loved one harmed.
Her arm stretched toward the attacker while a flow of immaterial power was expelled from her fingertips.
"Huh?" the attacker turned. "That's dangerous."
A bubble composed of an ominous darkness shot toward the intruder, who quickly raised their forearm.
Doing so, from the armor's bracer deployed a circular metal shield, which interposed itself in the bubble's trajectory.
The latter came into contact with the metal, but didn't explode, instead it penetrated its structure.
The shield began to deteriorate, contaminated by a purple rust that spread across the object.
Acting on instinct, the attacker removed the gauntlet with the shield, letting it fall and turn to dust on the ground.
With a quick movement, the intruder caught the sword hanging from their belt, unsheathing it while drawing an ascending arc with it, blocking a projectile coming from behind.
"So you survived that," the attacker congratulated.
Before falling unconscious, Lloyd forced himself to act. Molding the flow of magical power toward his wounds, he managed to use antithesis to repair the damage.
Upon recovering, he quickly grabbed some loose stones from the wall, and fired them with his thumb.
Normally they wouldn't go very fast, however using antithesis he could reverse weak-strong and slow-fast, making those stones shoot out like bullets.
Lloyd fired more projectiles, which were easily blocked by the enemy sword.
Though his intention was to distract, he didn't want them to get close to Calypso.
"I don't know who the hell you are, but you've gotten yourself in big trouble attacking here. I recommend you retreat before you regret it," Lloyd threatened, giving the enemy a firm look.
"Ha! You've got balls, I respect that," said the attacker, while removing their helmet, letting a mane of blonde hair fall over their shoulders. "I'm Leona, the beast of dawn."
A radiant smile appeared on the woman's face, her golden eyes looked proudly at the boy. On her head stood out two lion ears, revealing her xeno blood.
"Lloyd Morfeus," the boy replied, crossing his arms, not abandoning his arrogant attitude.
"Well Lloyd Morfeus. Shall we continue the dance?"
The boy leaned slightly forward.
"[Shadow Territory]"
In an instant, the light around Leona went out completely.
There was no point in responding.
"[Dash]" the boy shot into the darkness, crossing it in a blink, thus reaching Calypso. "Quick, you need to go warn the professor."
The boy ordered seriously.
"Master!" Seeing he was okay, Calypso felt immense relief.
Her body moved on its own, and she hugged him tightly, as if trying to hold him to prevent him from escaping.
"Please never leave me," the girl begged with a trembling voice, her golden eyes full of tears.
Lloyd was surprised, but it wasn't the moment for emotional scenes, they had to act fast.
"Quick!" the boy ordered.
But it was already too late, the predator had emerged from the shadows, ready to hunt its prey.
"Those cheap tricks won't work," the woman roared, throwing a powerful kick at the boy.
Lloyd had to act fast, he protected Calypso with his body, while receiving the impact on his back.
Antithesis activated, reversing the blow's force to weak. Lloyd didn't suffer damage, however, the kick's momentum was transmitted equally to his body, expelling him and Calypso through the window.
The young ones pierced through the window's glass, accelerating toward the ground.
"Aaaaah!" Calypso screamed in fear, raising her wings.
She'd never learned to fly, no one had taught her how to use her wings.
However, at that moment and by pure instinct, Calypso managed to get them suspended in the air, just above the bush they were going to fall into.
"Huh?" the girl blinked confused, then fell into the bush.
She was a nephilim, her wings are merely symbolic, her way of flying is more similar to levitation than a bird's flight.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd said while getting up, and cleaning the dirt from his clothes, then extending his hand to the girl.
"Yes," she replied, accepting his hand and standing up.
Then, something hit the ground.
"Hehehe," the figure put her hands on her hips while puffing out her chest. "Well. Ready to continue the dance?"
Lloyd sighed, while extending his hand.
"[Antithesis: Creation]" golden particles gathered with each other to materialize in his hand a sword. "Alright, come at me bitch."
A sharp smile appeared on Leona's face.
The combat was about to get interesting.