Valon was taken aback at the fact that Xaryus and Zadius had hesitated.
He had already exchanged several potentially lethal blows with Balki; each of them being evaded or pushed away by another equally lethal strike.
He wished to reprimand his little sorcerers, but he didn't have the luxury.
Balki's blazing weapons were waiting to bite into him if he lost even an ounce of focus. But Valon wasn't worried, he was still more skilled in combat than his opponent.
Evading two sharp attacks from Balki's aspects, Valon allowed his spite ability to consume his mana at an alarming rate. The white mist around him suddenly roared like an abominable beast filled with rage.
With his sudden surge of strength, Valon swung his blade up and into Balki.
Reacting to the sudden burst in speed, Balki brought his aspects together to block the monstrous blow. The sheer strength of the attack had launched Balki into the air.
"To think he can still muster such strength… It's such a shame he had fallen so far."
Balki allowed himself a moment of surprise before activating his [Reaching Flame] ability.
His mana burned away just as the flames around his blade grew stronger and more impatient, as if they were ready to rush towards.
With his eyes locked onto Valon, he flashed his aspects through the air releasing several arcs of flame.
But none of the attacks found purchase, each of them deeply carving into the ground before erupting just beneath its surface.
After a few strides, Valon was approaching the approximate area where he thought Balki would land.
"All I need is one good hit…" He thought.
Valon's mind was swarming with a variety of methods on how to defeat Balki.
Simply having an advantage in rank didn't necessarily mean that he would lose, it just meant he was at a great disadvantage; although, most other sorcerers saw difference in ranks as insurmountable.
But it wasn't.
Once again Valon dashed from side to side dodging a plethora of blazing arcs of fire. Each of them powerful enough to fatally wound him. However, he just needed Balki to land on the ground, using that moment to strike.
Timing the moment that Balki would return to the ground, Valon dashed forward, reeling his sword back and preparing himself to perform a devastating blow.
By the time Balki landed, Valon was already swing his sword down on him.
Balki however, didn't try to evade.
He didn't have enough time to do so; therefore, his only other option was to trade blows with Valon.
"Let's find out who's truly fodder here, Valon!"
Balki roared with a smile on his face as he launched his broadsword in a wide arc towards Valon. He aimed to cleave Valon in half whilst Smiling Blade's attack intended to cut down and through Balki's shoulder.
The Smiling Blade that was revered within the concord would have pressed through such a simple predicament.
But Valon was no longer the same.
"Crap!"
Struggling to change the path of his attack, Valon shifted his waist mid-air barely slamming his sword into Balki's. The loud sound of metal rang out as their aspect's rammed into each other.
The force of the clash sent a shockwave throughout the entire clearing.
Valon had lost his balance from shifting his weight recklessly.
Gracefully, he hit the floor and rolled over his shoulder, effortlessly coming back to his feet.
Balki was already staring at him with an ecstatic and satisfied look on his face.
***
Meanwhile, on the fringes of the sudden battlefield.
Coming back from his senses, Xaryus noticed the gruesome battle that was unfolding between Balki and Andrew.
He dashed towards Rosaly, using the moment Andrew had created for them. As he arrived, the young girl was clearly shaken.
Taking her by the arms, he pulled her up and stared far into her red eyes for a moment.
"I can't stand this!" He thought.
His mind raced with a litany of emotions before he suddenly raised his sword into the air.
Xaryus' sudden movement had quickly brought Rosaly back to reality. She was about to be cut down…
A blood curdling, muffled scream rushed its way out her mouth as she winced her eyes and tried to move away.
However, the blade never struck her, instead she felt cold steel press against her skin rather cautiously. When she opened her eyes, she saw the masked young man carefully, cutting through her bounds with his sword.
"Geez, there could have been a less extreme way to do that!"
Her bounds came loose a few seconds later, and she could still see the fierce battle happening only a few strides away. If Andrew… no Valon, wasn't holding the bald sorcerer back he could have reached where she stood in a single moment.
"You have to run! Go, now!" Xaryus commanded, shoving Rosaly away.
Almost falling to the ground, Rosaly glanced at the second masked individual stepping towards the one that had freed her.
They both shared a brief glance before facing the monstrous battle that was echoing throughout the vast clearing.
"W-Why are you helping me!?" She asked in confusion.
Rosaly was surprised at their strange behaviour. They had no logical reason to set her free...
There was a moment of pause.
Then, the grey-haired individual shared her a glance.
"There's no reason to let you die with us." Zadius responded.
"What?" Rosaly was once again perplexed.
If they decided to take her and escape, they would have had a good chance of survival.
How were they going to die?
She had not known the strife and suffering Xaryus and Zadius endured. Now that their shackles were undone, there was no way they could fathom a world where Valon walked free without consequence.
They were going to seek out justice… Even if it killed them.
But before they could even unleash their abilities.
Off in the distance, Valon wasn't able to defend against a flurry of Balki's attacks.
Out fear of losing his arm, Valon retreated from his intense exchange of blows. In the short moment Valon used to step away from Balki's potentially debilitating attacks, Balki took the opportunity to dash towards Rosaly.
Catching his footing, Valon dashed behind Balki but he was already too far ahead.
"Trying to run, princess!? I'll cut off one of your legs to make sure you can never run again!"
Balki's words echoed throughout the clearing, the look of despair and utter fear in Rosaly's eyes had returned.
She felt helpless once again.
Valon was the only person that could've protected her against Balki's attacks and he was already too far behind.
Her logical mind screamed for her to run but her legs wouldn't move.
"I need to run but… I-I'm not fast enough!" Rosaly's mind raced and her heart ached as she thought of the horrors that would have been done to her.
Seeing Rosaly crumble under her fear, Balki flashed a dark smile.
Now only a few steps away, Balki intended to remove one of her legs and dispatch Valon as fast as he could.
He had expected Smiling Blade to quickly trail behind him to continue their battle. However, he didn't expect the two young, masked sorcerers to lunge at him with their abilities activated
And to add to his surprise, the palpable killing intent behind their advancement was far greater than what he had expected.
Metal rang out as Balki used each of his aspects to defend against Xaryus and Zadius' attacks.
Xaryus' blade was empowered by [Solaris], but its enhancement was far weaker than the flames encasing Balki's blade. Additionally, his body was fueled by his [Solar Augment] ability; his eyes shining a bright yellow.
On the other hand, Zadius had willed the shadows surrounding him to flow around his long daggers. Unlike his brother, coating his weapons in shadows wasn't to provide a substantial boon of strength.
It was because of an insidious trait of his stigma.
Subtly, the darkness nestled around Zadius' daggers were biting against the bright flames encasing Balki's aspects.
Balki had noticed the strange nature of the shadows surrounding Zadius' weapons, and how they made the flames around his aspects flicker unnaturally.
But he was not worried about whatever weak ability Zadius had used. He was, however, surprised at the fact that they were able to stop him in his tracks.
"I intended to blow right past them… Yet they're still standing in front of me! Valon raised some monsters, huh!" Balki thought.