Chapter 29: Dual Brothers
After Zane and Arthur stood side by side prepared to fight the Madam, Maria and Gloria had moved back to a safe distance, watching as their brother and Arthur fought the Madam from behind a broken stone archway.
"If you think you have the power, come at me with all you’ve got and bring your brother with you!" the Madam sneered, her eyes gleaming with dark bloodlust as she materialized her crimson blood into a deadly, long-bladed sword.
"Well, if you say so," Zane replied, rolling his shoulders and loosening his grip on his twin hilts. "But don’t blame us for what happens next!"
FWOOOOSH!
Without another word, Zane and Arthur charged forward simultaneously. Zane blurred past the cobblestones holding his dual katanas, while Arthur surged through the air with his radiant light blade trailing golden sparks behind him.
BOOM!
Zane and the Madam’s blades collided in mid-air, generating a violent shockwave that swept through the ruined street with gale-force winds, shattering the surrounding pavement into dust.
Arthur lunged from directly above, aiming a heavy overhead strike straight toward her crown, but the Madam was unnaturally fast. She tilted her body and dodged the light blade with effortless grace.
Before she could even catch her breath, Zane was already behind her back.
"What a sweet little brotherly duel!" she laughed mockingly, spinning around on her heel to block Zane’s incoming twin katanas with her blood blade.
In an instant, they began exchanging blows at terrifying speed. The clash was so blindingly fast that the only things visible or audible were the constant sparks flying through the air and the deafening, rhythmic clatter of steel hitting blood-forged weapons.
"Are they even human?" Gloria said , her eyes trying to follow their movements across the destroyed plaza. "For that woman, I understand because she is a demon. But for those two, it’s crazy, especially Zane, who hasn’t even attended the Royal Academy!"
"Yeah, I know," Maria replied calmly, folding her arms and sitting down on a large stone block to rest. "What do you expect? After all, their father, the King, is overwhelmingly one of the strongest people in the world."
"You guys are really strong, but this won’t be enough to defeat me!" the Madam taunted, casually parrying Arthur’s thrusts while dodging Zane’s low swings.
"You talk too much!" Arthur shouted, thrusting his blade forward with explosive power.
"TCH... "
The Madam sneered, leaping backward into the air and raising her arms.
"BLOOD DROPS : BELL OF THE UNDERWORLD !"
DING... DING...
BOOOOOM!
A massive, ominous bell made of pure, crimson blood materialized in the sky straight above the Madam. With every heavy tolling sound the bell produced, it released a suffocating wave of pitch-black aura that slammed into the ground.
"Damn it, what is this now?!" Zane grunted, shielding his face with his arm against the intense pressure pushing down on the plaza.
Floating beneath the giant blood bell, the Madam raised her sword high.
"RINGS OF EXPLOSION !"
DING... DING... DING...
The blood dripping continuously from the bell began condensing into hundreds of volatile, floating blood droplets in the air around them.
AND THEN..
FWOOOSH!
BOOM! BOOM!
The floating droplets suddenly shot forward, tracking Zane and Arthur like homing projectiles!
The two brothers scattered instantly, leaping across shattered rooftops and dodging between crumbling pillars. Whenever a single blood droplet touched the ground or stone wall, it detonated into a violent explosion!
"Damn it! How can we get close to her?!" Arthur yelled, jumping onto another roof with his eyes darting across the sky looking for any opening in her defense.
On the other hand, Zane stood his ground on the street below, his katanas flashing in a brilliant blur as he sliced through the incoming projectiles before they could hit him.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions detonated right in front of his blades, blowing dark smoke across his face.
’This demon woman doesn’t even give us a chance to breathe,’ Zane thought to himself as he analyzed the flow of her blood droplets.
’Zane! Can you create an opening?!’ Arthur’s voice echoed right inside Zane’s head through a quick mana transmission.
Zane just nodded toward the sky.
And then.... ...
"Dark Void!"
A huge circle of swirling dark energy appeared in front of Zane. As the barrage of blood droplets charged toward him, they were sucked straight into the abyss of the dark circle.
Immediately after, the dark spell expanded, creating seven identical dark circles floating in a wide ring right around the Madam in the sky! All the absorbed blood droplets began pouring back out from the seven dark circles, completely surrounding her!
"What is this?!" the Madam gasped, her eyes widening as she looked around at the dark circles encircling her.
BOOOOOOM!
The droplets touched each other in mid-air and exploded all at once!
FWOOOOSH!
BOOOM!
The Madam was sent flying by the catastrophic force of the combined explosion, hurling backward through the air until she slammed violently straight into the middle floors of the clock tower!
CRACK!
BOOM!
A huge hole opened in the side of the clock tower as structural cracks rippled throughout the ancient building, causing stone rubble to rain down as parts of the tower began to fall apart.
"Damn it... damn it... DAMN IT!" the Madam shrieked inside the dust-filled room, her crimson dress torn and pale face scorched. "How dare you... you damn royal brats! To destroy my face!"
She slammed her fist violently against the stone wall beside her.
STEP...
AHH!
"Why, you... How did you get there?!" the Madam gasped, her voice choking as she turned her head in shock to look behind her.
Arthur stood right behind her, his light blade driven deep into her back.
"The moment when you exploded," Arthur said coldly, pulling his glowing sword free from her back in one smooth motion.
Cough... Cough!
"Damn you... royal brats..." she whispered weakly, falling onto her knees before collapsing onto the stone floor, pooling blood beneath her.
From down below, Maria looked up at the shattered clock tower and shouted, "Is she dead?!"
Arthur lowered his blade, taking a heavy breath as he prepared to step out of the ruined tower. But down on the ground, Zane stood still, his hand lingering on his katana hilt as he looked around.
Zane noticed that the air around them was suddenly becoming vastly more dense and suffocating. High above in the black clouds, the violent thunder began to roar with even greater fury, as well as vicious streaks of red lightning tore through the sky.
Zane’s eyes narrowed at the pressure the atmosphere was pressing down on them like lead.
"No..." Zane muttered, his voice dead serious. "This is just the beginning."