“Let us see,” Trix said, as he suddenly plunged his axe’s broad blades into his minion’s chests. Blood flowed out of them like vines growing blood red and poured slowly into the wicked metal. “How unbreakable your bones are!”

“Break my bones, tear my flesh, pierce my organs.” Erika mumbled out, her eyes widening fully as her irises focused into fierce golden slits. Grasping her weapon with both hands, she held it before herself and aimed at the Imp as a spark of blue energy began surging out from her palm and up the hilt. “I’ve trained too long. I’ve lost too much. I want it back, Demon. Give it back.” She hissed, her voice now imbuing with the overflowing mana.

More and more blood poured out of the two dead Imps as Trix simply cackled, “Give you what back!? I lost my body parts and look at me! Better than ever!” He exclaimed, the other two Imps having long scurried off in fear and the remaining corpses being quickly drained into husks, Trix was now alone yet the aura of demonic energy which surrounded him was beyond a lesser demon’s.

Erika exhaled, mana fused with her very breath, she knew she was losing control.

Her anger fuelling and directing her, she didn’t care.

Anyone that was nearby now, she wanted dead or worse.

She set her mind on it, she’d give them worse.

“Dragona!” Trix exclaimed with a hiss as the blood finished pouring into his weapons, a dark red aura bursting out of his body once it did.

“Demon!” Erika bellowed, lightning then surging out of her hands and into her dagger, suddenly sparking the mana which she had been building up. Confused and surprised, Erika lost complete control of her attack, sending forth a wide barrage of lightning strikes towards Trix.

Evading the first attack by shadow stepping away, dissipating into darkness before reappearing into a similarly dark spot, Trix came to being behind Erika as she recuperated from her confusion.

Each turning to meet the other, crooked axes and a splintered blade clashing as did their gazes, a demonic stare of amusement meeting a draconic glare of fury.

As shadows and trickles of blood flowed around Trix, golden blazes and sparks of electricity danced about Erika, her hair having turned to gold more than ever before. Almost one third of it had.

Both of them then pushing the other off, each slid back and away from the other, coming to a face off a mere five feet away.

Erika took in a deep breath, energy still pouring out with her breathing, she pushed to calm her nerves and mind. Although her eyes remained wide and piercing, her muscles untensed, her body loosened and her mind cleared.

Losing her thoughts of anger, she changed to a prepared one-handed sword stance.

Her eyes now, albeit still radiating fury, were focused.

Her mana still surging about her, she didn’t have the time to rein it back under control.

It was now or never, and every second counted, whether it was towards death or survival was entirely up to her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujeNsrNfkZ8

As Trix once again faded to shadow, Erika reined back her senses, localizing them to her vicinity. She did not know how his ability worked, but she knew one thing.

And proving that once again was Trix appearing nearby, and within range of his axes. It confirmed it to Erika that he had no intention of making this a ranged fight. As she turned quickly to face his barrage of attacks, parrying and evading for dear life, the Imp was ruthlessly fast and surprisingly strong.

But then again, so was she.

Quickly Erika parried his axes aside, making her own openings which the Imp’s savage slashing allowed. Striking through his failed attacks, her footwork was flawless as she went in for the kill. Her bladework even finer as her weapon converged back into itself as she struck the demon.

Yet, an unknown force deflected her attack right off the creature’s skin.

Again and again, she danced through the Imp’s barbaric movements, finding her blade’s way to his flesh, but it did not land.

Except…When she struck his metallic hand to disrupt an attack, visible pain flushed through the Imp’s face as her weapon and his arm vibrated from the collision.

His metallic parts aren’t protected! Then…

Erika formulated a plan of attack, as without pause she moved on from being on the defensive.

Spreading out her shattered blade, she struck widely, sending forth a barrage of mana infused shards. Trix shadow stepped away, avoiding the rain of metal entirely.

The first time, and the second.

Yet right then Erika noticed the pattern, the restrictions set upon his ability to fade in and out.

He needs a shadow.

She thought, her solemn gaze then turning into a wide grin, as she suddenly plunged her weapon into the ground. Leaving herself still and entirely defenceless.

Trix knew better though, he had seen this attack before.

Immediately he shadow stepped away from the trails of blue mana which lay around him, as they quickly sunk into the ground.

Appearing in her shadow behind her, he then noticed the trails dissipate instead of fade into the ground…

As from the ground beneath him several shards of mana infused metal rose out, piercing into his left leg and slowly cutting through with raw magical power. Once again Trix shadow stepped, only to find himself on the ground crying out in pure agony.

He forced himself to glance down where his left leg now lay no longer, seemingly completely left behind after the brief teleportation spell.

Gazing over to where Erika lay, he saw it behind her, still standing up right as glowing shards of blue held it in place.

He heard it then, a low chuckle. “Teleportation magic, you’ve bound your artificial limbs with runes same as your equipment to make it possible to transfer yourself through the veil with them.” The shards left his metallic leg and descended back into the ground, rising out from before Erika as she retrieved her weapon. “But, what happens if I damage those runes?” She mused with a wicked grin.

Grimacing through the pain and anger, Trix shadow stepped once again, yet this time he appeared in front of Erika.

She expected him to fall, but suddenly his right leg’s foot opened up and released a steady stream of steam. Trix straightened his arms, as they as well locked in place, his axes spread widely at shoulder’s length…

“DIE” The demon growled, as his entire body suddenly began to spin, creating a whirlwind of death with his axes.

Erika quickly willed her shards to rise up before her, forming a brief barrier which was just as quickly sent pulsating back as the screeching sound of metal scraping against metal began. At the same time, the barrier bashed into her, sending her body tumbling backwards.

She heard the sound stop, and her heart sank. Trix reappeared before her and out of a tree’s shadow. Still locked and spinning like a death machine, mere inches from eviscerating her in half.

Her shards were too far, they wouldn’t make it in time.

And as she fell towards certain death, Erika sprung her tail before herself, pushing down hard into the ground before pushing herself away from the spinning blades.

Recuperating her shards, she sent half forth towards Trix now, yet he shadow stepped once more. Too quick for her shard’s slow reaction.

But this time she was ready, as the spinning death top reappeared beside her she sent the remainder of her shards into a defensive barrier whilst at the same time moving her other half to where she’d be pushed to. Finding herself being pinballed from one barrier into another, Trix was also surprised as he found himself being deflected twice in a row.

Yet the second time Erika had a moment to react, not being bashed away this time around, she turned to Trix’s appearing form and sent half her second barrier collapsing upon him. While she could command each shard in unison, she could only give that batch a single command with every action, so a distinct delay was visible as she then pulled back the remaining quarter of them to herself whilst Trix deflected off most of the assailing shards.

Disappearing once more, yet this time, the Imp did not immediately reappear.

Erika’s senses spread wide, searching for her foe, but it was as if the Imp had gone.

Neither scent nor sight, not even sound.

Erika felt blind as she waited, her breaths growing more erratic with each passing silent moment.

“You are stronger,” Trix’s voice creeped into her ears then, coming from nowhere, masked by some strange magic. “Stronger than I expected. Yet, you are his daughter after all.”

A wicked cackle followed, as Erika heard footsteps rushing into her direction…

Thorn? Did he bring help?

She thought, turning to the darkness of the forest…Only to see stout dark silhouettes forming in the hundreds.

Growling.

Grinning.

Laughing.

“I don’t usually waste precious minions, but watching our little fight? They’re hungry you see…Kekekeke~”

The bodies poured out of the shadows then, armoured Imps wielding crooked weapons for their stature, the demons had blood lust in their eyes as they converged out of the forest and towards Erika.

Panic taking over her mind, she barely gave it a second thought before turning tail and dashing off into the night.

Watching trees and bushes blurring by, Erika ran for her dear life as the sound of monstrous barking then reached her.

She dared a glance back only for her heart to sink deeper, seeing the Hellhound riding Imps quickly catching up to her, four legged demonic beasts mounting armoured Imps who wielded wicked looking chains.

As she felt her well of mana reaching its half point, she knew she needed to end this quickly. Watching even as the beasts used the trees and their branches so easily too, once she came upon a wide opening much larger than the last Erika came to a full stop.

Turning around, she willed her blades forward, using each second at her command to will the barrage into separate attacks, one by one.

Yet she was too slow, unable to fully predict the enemy’s path to her, she caught some knocking them off their mount but most evaded the attacks and began circling around her.

Wicked cackles surrounded her as twisted spiked chains began rattling and spinning in the wind.

Erika willed her shards back, forming them around her like a thin barrier, she commanded them to spin too. A whirlwind of blades covering her.

Then a laugh reached her, as through her barrier she barely made out a silhouette appear outside it.

A dark shadow grew all around it, suddenly pouring into the axes it wielded before slamming them into the barrier.

Shards flew everywhere as Trix held his axes inside the whirlwind, slowly tearing it apart as he laughed maniacally.

As chains began flying through the gaps.

Entangling first around her hand, the spikes digging even through the patch of scales there, the pain filled her as she was suddenly pulled aside and thrown to the ground. Trying to rise, another two sets of chains flew her way, one catching her in the gut keeling her over with the pain and nausea that followed, the third entangled around her feet as it came low.

Erika was dropped to the cold hard ground once again, her eyes meeting the sky as the formed grey clouds lit up briefly.

Thunder filled the forest, lightning up the trees and altering the shadows to darker forms.

Erika knew she was doomed the moment the rain began.

Trickling down onto her fallen body, onto her grimacing face as she struggled against the chains, fighting the pain.

Having lost her grip on her dagger, she reached out for it helplessly, as suddenly a broken metallic foot stomped down onto her hand. Wincing, Erika then glanced up to see Trix, using his broken leg as a walking stick, having shoved a metal rod down through it.

The Imp’s warped demonic face sneered down at her.

“We will begin with your arms and fe-” Trix began to say, but his voice suddenly cut off.

All sound all around her, went silent, all but the thunder.

Find it.

The words came into her mind as Trix spoke, aligning with when the Imp opened his mouth, but never the words he actually spoke. No where near his voice either…

His was a hiss.

This voice…was a growl in her mind.

Find it.

It said as Erika watched Trix laugh and chuckle with his minions who enclosed around her.

Confused by the words, she looked around, only now noticing that she was in a strange crater that lay at the very centre of the opening.

She saw nothing else out of the ordinary, only that water was slowly filling up and…Trix noticed too.

Smiling wickedly, he gestured his butchers to pause, then simply watched with wide expectant eyes as the rain water began to reach her ears.

Slowly but surely, the water reached her chin.

The ever-grinning Imp watching with great amusement as his minions now held her down and pressed to the ground.

Until the water finally covered her ears, hearing sound of the liquid filling her ears, the sound of thunder suddenly faded.

The words, the voice, find it.

They came into her mind again, like a whisper from a beast.

Briefly she pulled out of the water, struggling against the Imps, she tried to keep her ears from the water.

Until Trix stomped down the blunt top of his axe into her gut, making her lose her breath and shoving her back down into the water.

Find the voice.

It said, as the water slowly reached her eyes and mouth.

Find your voice.

It said, as she blinked once the water fully covered her face, opening her eyes to suddenly feel free.

No restraints held her, no Imps, no Hellhounds…No ground even.

Erika floated, she found herself floating in a vast ocean.

Seeing no surface above, and nothing but a dark abyss below, she turned around in further confusion.

The voice of your people, find it, for it is within.

The words spoke directly into her, as the water before her bent and formed those same words.

Deep within the abyss of your soul, find it young one.

Dive, search.

The voice said, Erika then realising that she was indeed still drowning.

Having not taken in a long breath, she found herself at a loss for it.

At first, she turned towards the surface, although seeing none.

She wanted to live, she dearly wanted to.

No child, you will find no solace in the light.

The voice said, as suddenly what Erika thought was the sunlight…disappeared.

Confounded, she understood now.

This wasn’t reality, but an example of what was happening within her mind.

Whether she was dead, or still alive, she did not know.

But two choices lay before her, struggle and die or answer to the stranger in her mind…

Not much of a choice at all.

Gritting her teeth, Erika turned to the abyss below.

Squinting her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness.

Briefly she closed her eyes, a moment lost, a moment to choose.

Erika dove down, making her choice and placing her bets.

Erika was drowning, but she was diving deeper and deeper.

Darkness encompassed her, still feeling herself drown yet, albeit she yearned for it Erika found that she did not need air.

She pressed onwards, pushing aside the water with both arms and legs, she tread deeper into the cold abyss.

Then suddenly, the water around her began to boil, and she couldn't hold it no longer...Erika took a deep reactionary breath.

Searing agony filled her as she felt her very skin melt off her body.

Revealing the scales beneath.

Erika gripped and pulled at herself from the pain, only ripping away the skin further, until finally her form was changed.

She glanced down at her white scaly arms and monstrous blue claws.

Find it.

The voice said once more.

Call out, call out and find it.

Erika understood, although confused, she somehow understood what she was looking for.

As her draconic form went wide, she moved herself to face where the sky should have been.

Reaching deep down within herself, she understood now that she didn’t have to swim deeper.

She needed to look deeper.

Deeper within herself.

And there she looked.

And there she found it.

Blinking her eyes, she reopened them to find a pale Trix standing over her.

Still in her humanoid form, yet her eyes glowed a vicious gold which slowly permeated into the water.

The golden energy spread, filling the pool briefly with blinding light, as Erika pulled out of the water and bellowed.

A terrifying yet majestic roar left her petite mouth, making both the water and air tremble.

Each Demon froze at the sound, terror pouring down their bodies and locking their muscles into place. Even Trix leapt away, putting distance between them.

“Release me.” Erika growled, and the Impish minions scrambled away, allowing her to rise out of the water and into a knee.

“T-This c-changes nothing!” Trix exclaimed, “What a-are you fools waiting f-for!? K-Kill her!” He shouted at his horde, yet none moved an inch.

Erika rose to her feet, her gaze rising to meet Trix’s as fear now filled him as well.

An aura of power radiated off her, a feeling of great pressure pushing each and everything around her down to the ground.

As from the forest around them, growls reached their ears.

Bright eyes of many differing colours prowled the shadows, large bestial eyes radiating a primal ferocity.

The Draem stalked out of the forest’s shadow, drenched in rain, it only made them look fiercer alongside their size.

Stomping forth and coming to settle behind Erika, two dozen draconic beasts loomed behind her now.

“Give it back.” Erika then said, her eyes wide as they lay frozen upon Trix, he himself finding movement impossible.

“G-Give what b-back?” Trix stuttered out.

“My peaceful life. My family. My friends. Give it all back.” Erika growled.

“I-I ca-can’t!” Trix implored, shaking in his metallic leg.

Erika grimaced, raising her left hand forth, “Then begone from my sight, vile vermin.” She said softly, a cold smile forming across her face before she waved her palm.

The Draem pounced, a rush of fur, scale, fang and claws descending down upon the Imps and Hellhounds, neither standing a chance as the stampede devoured, squashed or eviscerated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcm-Cyjl2F8