For a second, it almost felt like she found a chance– after all, nothing could truly keep up with the speed of materialising through the void.
The void was a plane itself. A zone that could not be touched by natural means.
But when you have an affinity for it, then those means become open to you.
Still, the speed of lightning, which runs at light speed, should not be underestimated.
Especially when fighting against a rank above yours.
And so, from behind, a lightning bolt curled like a serpent and struck her.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, her jaw jarred from clenching too hard– but then tore open as a horrible scream escaped her lips!
"aaaAAAHHHH!!"
A violent charge of raw electrifying energy ravaged through her body, causing her to freeze mid-air as even her bones and muscles were difficult to move.
Valendor turned in that instance with his Great Sword swinging through the air.
He smashed through her with a thunderous quake. A sonic blast ensued as she was sent sprawling back into her Insurgence.
The void shook and then swallowed her, as the assassin disappeared, yet again.
Valendor hummed softly as he dropped his greatsword down.
"She blocked it."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
'The Emperor will not be pleased by how much time I have wasted.'
He clicked his tongue and raised his left hand with his finger spread apart as if forming a claw.
'I will use it then, my second Insurgence.'
Egoists weren't limited to a single trait and form. Many had multiple forms gotten over time and the affinities varied from minuscule, small, average, superior, massive and absolute.
The higher the affinity, the greater the amount of power you wield with that affinity.
Valendor had predicted that the assassin had at least a superior affinity, but now he had to admit that it was beyond that.
Void form was difficult to contain, but even harder to use.
'Even with the most primitive uses… like what she is doing, it's still a force to be reckoned with.'
Give her enough time, and this assassin might become a major threat to the Federation.
"I had wanted to keep you alive!" His voice boomed as the sky split! A third world is forming with a blast of wind.
Invisible threads formed. The erratic flow of air and wind spun as the sound of screaming scraped the skies.
The wind surged and the blackened earth gave way.
A new world began to materialise between the plane of void and lightning. A plane of vast storms and powerful tornadoes– the Wind form.
The assassin, as if sensing the growing crisis, suddenly lunged out from the void.
Tendrils of her insurgence pulled into Valendor's, but with how much time and energy spent, Valendor was certain she was at her last drop.
Insurgence after all, costs a lot of Ego when cast– most of which could hardly be afforded by Invokers. But when compared to the higher rankers, Integrators, it was child's play.
The air warped and hummed. Streaks of purple and crimson took the skies as Valendor swung his Great Sword erratically through the air.
With each swing was a decisive parry and attack of an invisible force that was the Assassin.
She had melted into the void now– seemingly becoming one as her body no longer appeared.
Instead, only weapons managed to materialise before they were thwarted by Valendor's might.
The sound of metal clashing with metal reverberated through their bones.
Ego erupted in waves. A lilac hue that traced the girl's weapon and black, ominous energy that embodied the Great Sword.
Each strike was a birth of sonic destruction and even their Insurgence had begun to fight each other.
Lightning smashed through black holes.
Black holes swallowed the bolts and even the wild wind currents that had begun to stir.
Stray lightning would rush towards the assassin as her weapon materialised, but a small rotating matter would form and suck in the element.
This continued for seconds– minutes, time ticking ever so evidently at a ridiculously slow pace.
The battle was cataclysmic, yet it painted an artistic hue on the once-empty canvas of the Zonal Limbodal.
Suddenly, Valendor twirled his left arm through the air. A sharp glint hinting in his eyes as he proclaimed. "Storm weaver!"
Lightning and wind combined in a display of pure natural disaster.
The rain of lightning multiplied in thousands while a powerful wind current took charge and blew everything off its roots.
The assassin was immediately sent meters away by a blast of wind and lightning.
Her arms held in a cross to shield her from the onslaught. Her ragged breaths reached her ears and a scowl formed on her face.
"Disfigurment descent!"
The void quaked and a hollow screech whistled as a large black spiralling mass surged to life.
It sucked in everything that came in its path. A cancerous mass that expanded with a hollow whistle.
Rain of lightning, capitalised by the powerful currents of wind clashed with an unyielding mass of pure cosmic destruction.
And all worlds sank in on themselves as cracks spread throughout the air.
The skills twisted and spun. A powerful torrent smashing through each other in a tug of war.
Lightning smashed erratically in all worlds.
Thunder rumbled through the skies as dark clouds spread like cancer.
Wind tore off the earth as if it were paper and screamed with a sorrowful cry akin to the banshee.
And the Black hole simply ate everything. Wind, lightning and earth– whatever stood as an obstacle in its path.
The more it ate, the larger it grew, but the stronger the lightning and wind.
The assassin who floated in her Insurgence coughed out blood and fell to her knees.
'This… this is too much!'
What fed her abilities was Ego energy.
An energy that was not finite.
It was evident that the man she fought would have more than her– and compared to an Invoker who could only have one Insurgence, Integrators had two.
'He's not even using the Wind to its fullest form. If he did, then this fight would have been over a long time ago.'
She looked up slowly at the disastrous fight ahead.
'I won't survive this.'
The assassin pulled off her mask as her face squinted in agony. Blood poured out of her mouth like a fountain and a horrid weakness overwhelmed her senses.
She staggered to her feet, spinning her head for a plan when her body froze on the spot, staring at the man who had closed the distance between them.
"Finally, you reveal your face," Valendor said and swung his blade down.
The assassin raised her dagger to block, but the blade suddenly twisted mid-air, changing directions to her exposed flank.
'No.' She thought as the blade sliced across her trunk with critical precision. Valendor then twisted his grip and stabbed forward.
He pierced through her chest, all the way to her back with a wet snap.
The assassin's face widened as cracks spread further within the Zonal Limbodal. It shattered slowly, breaking piece by piece.
She fell to her knees, blood trailing down her lips as the light in her eyes dimmed.
Her life had been snuffed away.
"That was more difficult than expected," Valendor said as he pulled his greatsword out and swung it through the air.
"But we've reduced our enemies by one."
It wasn't much, but it could go a long way.
A satisfied sigh escaped his lips when he looked around.
The insurgence of void had nearly died out, overpowered by his lightning and wind.
'I should return home once my Insurgence makes hers collapse.'
He rolled his shoulders.
'The zone is only capable of maintaining itself when there are opposing Insurgence– once that has been taken down, it almost doesn't exist.'
As he waited, his gaze turned to the girl.
"I should inspect you." He muttered under his breath. "Your face tells me one thing, but the weapon you used was clearly from another."
He furrowed his brows and stretched his hands towards her, but just as he touched her face, the body dispersed in a lilac mist.
Valendor froze. "What?"
He turned around when a quaking sound ensued.
The Insurgence of void began to disperse as well– as if it never existed.
Then the Zone cracked in multiple splints and shattered like glass.
Immediately, Valendor found himself back on the streets of Aurium.
The scars of their earlier battle remained evident on the streets and buildings, but the result of it wasn't anywhere to be found.
He looked around with knitted brows.
"When did she escape? How did she escape?"
He began to replay the battle.
Her futile persistence and the collision of worlds.
When he thought about it, at some point, he had not been able to tell her body apart, but he simply assumed it was an effect of her form.
"She even slipped through the laws of the Zonal Limbodal, and placed a copy to maintain her image until she escaped." He shook his head. "That settles it… Our options are most definitely the Kenzora Syndicate."
The Kenzora Syndicate was a stronghold known for its elite Assassin and Sniper Archetypes. They had a major household like the Ardenthals, which specialised in this very sector.
If there was anyone skilled enough to teach a Void Egoist in the art of assassination to this extent, it would be them.
He turned around, towards the Castle where he could feel the Emperor's eyes on him.
A subtle pressure ran through the man's body and he felt a crawl up his spine.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he laughed awkwardly.
"He will not be pleased."