CHAPTER 18: ONLY TWO

The clearing fell into a blur of steel and shadow.

Selene lunged, her shortsword carving through the smaller shadowy figure with ruthless precision. The creature tried to parry with its thin blade, but her movements were too fast. A sickening hiss echoed as her weapon pierced its chest, green mana crackling across the wound. The shadow staggered, its formless body trembling before collapsing into a cloud of black mist.

Selene exhaled a sharp laugh, her expression twisted with triumph. "Pathetic."

But the second shadow did not hesitate. The towering warrior with the warhammer roared, its soundless cry reverberating like a shockwave through the air. It swung the massive weapon downward, and Selene barely rolled aside as the ground splintered where she had stood a heartbeat ago. Dust and shards of stone erupted, cutting across her cheek.

Selene’s grin faltered, just briefly, before curving back into place.

The shadow advanced, relentless in its attack. Each swing of its warhammer threatened to shatter the earth itself. Selene danced back, her agility carrying her just outside the arc of destruction. Sparks lit the night each time her blade clashed against the hammer’s surface. The clash of steel and shadow sent tremors up her arms, forcing her to grit her teeth.

For the first time, she was being pushed.

The giant shadow pressed harder, refusing to give her a single breath. Selene parried a downward strike, the shockwave sending her skidding across the dirt. Her boots dug furrows into the soil, stopping her momentum just as the hammer whistled past again, narrowly missing her ribs.

She lashed out, her sword stabbing into its torso. The blade sank in, but the creature barely reacted. Instead, it lifted the warhammer and swung in a brutal arc. Selene barely twisted away, the edge of the hammer grazing her side, the impact strong enough to knock the wind from her lungs.

She stumbled backwards. The grin remained on her lips, though it was tight and strained with tension.

"Stubborn beast..." she muttered. Her eyes flickered with irritation—and then with fire.

Mana surged around her.

Flames ran up her arm, coiling around her wrist before spilling into the blade. The steel glowed red, its edge wreathed in an inferno.

When the warhammer came down again, and Selene met it head-on. The clash sent a deafening boom across the clearing, sparks and fire scattering in all directions. The hammer wavered for the first time, its shadowy surface cracking under the blaze.

Selene roared, twisting her wrist, and flames exploded outward. The giant staggered back, fire searing through its body. Its faceless head tilted toward the sky as it let out a soundless cry, its form unraveling beneath the blaze.

She pressed forward, her flames burning hotter with every heartbeat. The shadow’s body dissolved, fragments scattering into the night air like falling embers. Within moments, nothing remained but drifting black particles fading into the wind.

Silence followed.

Selene lowered her sword, the flames flickering down to nothing. Her chest rose and fell with steady breaths. Slowly, the grin returned, stretching wide across her face as she turned toward Edward.

"It was a good try," she said mockingly, her voice silk wrapped around steel. "But I killed all your little companions."

Edward slumped against the boulder, his hand pressed against the wound at his side, but there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, his lips curled into a quiet smile.

"All?" His voice was calm and steady despite the pain lacing every syllable. "You only killed two."

Selene froze.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Her gaze darted across the clearing, scanning the tree line, the shadows, and the empty silence of the night. But there was nothing—no movement, no sign of anyone other than them.

Edward didn’t move. He simply kept smiling.

Selene’s confusion flickered into laughter. A low, chilling chuckle slipped from her throat before rising into something sharp and menacing.

"You almost got me," she said between breaths, her voice thick with mockery. "But you really expect me to believe you can summon any more creatures? Weakling like you? Two is already far too much for someone of your level."

She lifted her sword, letting fire flicker along the edge once more as her grin grew wider.

"Even the best earth mages can only handle five golems at once. And you—" she leaned forward, her eyes glinting. "you’re a fool if you think—"

The words caught in her throat.

The air shifted.

It grew heavier, oppressively so, as if the night itself held its breath. Selene stiffened, her instincts screaming. Slowly, she turned her gaze toward the forest’s edge.

From the shadows, a faint glow of peach colour appeared.

A figure stepped forward, her presence quiet yet suffocating. Aeris emerged into the moonlight, her peach-colored hair brushing her shoulders, her expression cold and unreadable. At her side, another shadowy figure walked— a mirror image to the smaller summon Edward had unleashed before.

Selene’s grin faltered, her eyes sharpening into something more serious. She straightened, blade tightening in her grip. But then, as if catching herself, her smile returned, sharp and mocking.

"What’s this?" she snickered. "...Reinforcements?"

Fire erupted along her arm, coiling into a blazing whip that snapped and hissed in the night air. Heat rolled off her in waves, scorching the dirt beneath her boots.

But before she could raise her weapon, the flames shuddered and died. Extinguished as if the spell was broken.

Selene’s eyes widened, confusion slicing through her grin.

Aeris took another step forward. Motes of pale green particles swirled around her, glowing faintly in the dark. They clung to her hair and skin, drifting around like fireflies.

The clearing trembled with the pressure of her presence.

Selene’s grin wavered, cracking just slightly before she forced it back. But there was no mistaking the look in her eyes.

Fear.

Before she could move, before she could even attempt to summon another flame, Aeris was already mid-air. Her rapier gleamed, streaking down like a falling star under the moonlight.

Selene’s pupils shrank as the blade tore toward her.