Kuro and Kuriko were locked in an intense battle, yet both had smiles on their faces as if they were speaking through the exchanges of their fists.
"You're moving sloppy Kuro. Out of breath already?"
Kuriko asked in the midst of lifting his arm up to block an incoming kick, pushing him to the side a bit. Kuriko countered with a swift palm strike that was mere inches away from Kuro's chest, generating enough air pressure to launch Kuro backwards.
"Yama Sword Style #2: Dimensional Slash"
With movements in the class beyond supernatural, Kuriko unsheathed his sword with precision. First, a horizontal slash imbued with his magical art known as spatial magic. This slash projected itself from the sword, distorting the very spatial structure around them.
Next was a downward vertical slash, though this time the sword seemed to be imbued with something different. It not only subtly altered the space around them, but time itself began to act erratically but when it met with the spatial altering projectile, a supernatural phenomenon occurred.
The two perpendicular projectiles slashes of different infused cosmic forces had generated a force so strong that it created a vacuum. The space itself peeled open in a fashion similar to opening a fancy restaurant box, sucking in everything in the immediate vicinity before stabilizing.
Kuro watched in anticipation at the powerful spell activated in effortless swiftness which altered the very state of this dimension itself, causing a destabilization of reality for a split second, fixing itself to create a path between this dimension and what laid beyond it.
"Soul Art #1: Twin Daggers of Continuum"
In Kuriko hands was no longer a sword, instead it was two daggers constructed of literal spatial and temporal energy in solid form. Both daggers shimmered in hummed in resonance by close proximity, subtly generating a field of spacetime around himself that altered the trajectory of vectors that sped past a certain velocity.
Kuro eyes widened in surprise at the literal two concepts that made up half of reality being wielded by Kuriko. Kuro knew those blades were dangerous even just beyond cutting, a subtle shiver ran up his spine in excitement at finally being pushed to the limit once again.
.
The thunderous sounds of powerful magic altering the state of reality had reached the ears of Riyah and the strange women that stood before her.
"Nice to meet you little girl. My name is Shura Yami, the demon queen. Conqueror of worlds and the ruler of the damned. You'll make for a nice hostage"
The women now introduced as Shura explained in a tone as if it was simple. This made Riyah take a ready stance but before the teen girl knew it, she was met with wave of darkness curtesy of Shura.
"Now, I can't have him escape my grasp, but I also want to see how strong that blued eyed girl is. AH, I know"
"Nether Art #1: Necromancy"
Shura's entire body began to exude a dark and sinister aura which materialized as thin lines of flickering darkness. In mere moments, monsters of varying sizes and species rose up from the ground right behind Shura, extending out in an extremely long line.
"T-this is the power of the demon queen..."
Riyah stammered out in fear which had been noticed by Shura, a devilish smile replacing the arrogant smirk on her face. Behind her stood the army she has raised and cultivated for countless of millennia, the rise of the undead who fell by her hands.
Before her fall as the demon queen, she held a title that had put fear into the hearts of gods and demons alike. She was originally known as the 'star of origin', an aspect of existence that mediates the existence of all stars in the multiverse. That was until she had fallen into the pits of darkness, casted away and forgotten by the life that cultivated within existence.
This transition was the first to ever happen, corrupting her Aether over time which eventually led to the energy that dominated all aspects of evil. The Nether. This energy transcended even the constraints of chaos, mediating the forces that acted in defiance against the living. She was the epitome of evil. The Anti-God. A source of all evil against the source of all good.
Her true presence left reality trembling in fear. Even the winds stirred with unease as she lifted the restraints of her true prowess. Gravity acted in defiance within the immediate area, levitating pebbles to boulders with relative ease manifesting as a byproduct of her unrestrained power.
.
On the other hand, the squad of girls that waited for the return of Riyah and Kuro had sensed an overwhelming flow of magic energy that resembled a calm river. Then they felt something far worse, a malevolence so bad that it could not be explained into words.
This sudden energy had bombarded the senses of everyone, on a global level. This meant that the sinister energy was the only energy that could be felt throughout the planet. Coming close was Miyah, Kuro, Kuriko, and Oka.
Immediately, the squad rushed towards the source of the energy with worried expressions plastered all over their faces except for Miyah who still held her indifferent mask whilst running with the group of girl adventurers.
.
'Miyah. They do not have the skills to handle her as of now. Use any excessive force to make her retreat to another world for now, until they are ready."
.
Kuro and Kuriko stopped mid-swing of their fists, turning their attention to the sinister energy that enveloped the planet itself. The smell of rotten corpses filled the air of the entire forest, an eerie sense of dread hanging from the shoulders of all who did or did not sense this newfound energy.
With nothing else to be said and a silent agreement, both boys rushed towards the source of the energy with no hesitation. Their sheer speed overlapping with each other in resonance, crossing hundreds of meters in seconds. To an outsider perspective, they moved as gold and white streaks of light respectively.
.
"Good. I got their attention--AH THERE SHE IS!"
Shura exclaimed in uncontained excitement at finding one specific person. Then with blitzing speed, she rushed past Riyah and swept her up off the ground in a bridal style carry much to the shock of Riyah who could only simply be carried away.
Though not soon after both girls now stood face to face with the squad of girls, Kuro & Kuriko, and lastly Miyah who finally arrived in a slow walking manner. Her silver hair basking in the blazing light of the sun as the wind subtly brushed the bangs from in front of her eyes, revealing an unreal pair of azure-colored eyes that could be mistaken for the sky or the ocean.
It held a supernatural glow that contained an infinite set of knowledge beyond human comprehension. It was as if she knew the past, the present, and the future of anything she looked at. Unbeknownst to any of them, this was exactly the case and why she never expressed any emotions.
Miyah was far from human than anyone knew. Though she appeared as human, her real identity was that of a high elf which not only granted her extraordinary magical energy but also the control over Aether which was the building block of living energy. The exact opposite of Nether. This power was given to her by a being beyond existence itself. It was the end & the beginning. It controlled everything and knew everything. An omnipotent entity known as The Author.
"It's been a while, Shura. You continue to cause my master trouble, so I will give you one chance and one chance only to flee to another world or face the consequences of your meddling."
Miyah explained in her usual cold and impassive tone. Her typical stoic expression never wavering for a second even in the face of a legendary entity. Meanwhile, the others who arrived had listened intently, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
"Tell your master to kiss my ass! No one can tell me what to do so do what you must. At least you can try."
Shura spat back in disgust and unfiltered rage, yet Miyah sighed as if she already knew the answer before it was even said which left both of them to stare at each other. Shura with rage and Miyah with boredom which angered Shura even further.
Then before a simple blink of the eyes could be performed, Shura had left her spot in a subtle blur. She stood directly in front of Miyah with clenched fists that were imbued with hellfire flames. Miyah continued to look on with an unimpressed expression despite the vast speed Shura possessed.
"Very well then. I warned you"
Miyah exclaimed in a hushed whisper, slipping past two jabs that would've burned her head off (allegedly) and countering with a swift palm strike to the chest, forcing Shura to stagger back a bit.
"Dimension Magic: Manifold Prison"
Miyah uttered out in a hushed whisper just as an ethereal chain shot from Miyah palm to the inside of Shura's chest as if it was intangible, reaching to the very depths of her being and establishing a forced connection.
"NO! NOT AGAIN!"
Shura yelled out in anger at the technique that seemed very familiar to her. Shura body began to emit steam as if she was burning from the literal inside, space itself began to crumble around her as if it was about to collapse at any moment.
Then she vanished as if reality had blinked once. No sounds, no movements, no indication of any external phenomena. She simply vanished without a trace which left everyone speechless.
"It's time to get you up to speed Kuro, otherwise you'll die with all that power"
Miyah proclaimed with a slight turn of her head to face Kuro, her impassive expression never leaving her face as she did.