Chapter 161: I Evolved
Edited Passage
Tempest looked at her with a gaze that said it all. He was not backing down from her, not in a thousand years. His hands moved, and he tightened his grip on his sword. With one massive slash, he unleashed a red sword arc.
Aris watched the attack get closer, and at the last moment, she dashed to the side, evading it cleanly before charging at Tempest. Tempest proceeded to unleash a barrage of slashes, putting his strength into each one that he attacked with. Aris dodged fast. She weaved through every attack with the agility of a wolf, her eyes and ears sharp enough to detect them as they came.
His sword slashes hit the ground in powerful, explosive cuts. They dug deep into the floor of the throne room, throwing debris and dust into the air.
Aris made it through the attacks. She saw that Tempest was about to attack again, and so she countered, thrusting her hand forward as a massive bolt of lightning shot out, the size of an arm. It slammed right into Tempest. The explosive force hurled him back like a ragdoll. He slammed into his throne and broke right through it, collapsing on the other side.
He groaned in pain as he pushed himself off the ground. He looked and saw Aris in the air above him, all her claws already out as she came in, eager to strike. He reacted fast, using his sword to block her attack. A small shockwave spread as the two of them were locked in a stalemate for a moment, their eyes locked in rage.
"Arghhhhhhh, get out of my way!" Tempest thundered. He pulled his sword back and went in for a full slash. Aris weaved to the side, cleanly evading the attack. It cut into what remained of the throne and blasted it into pieces. She spun around and got behind Tempest, unwinding a quick, lightning-covered punch that met right with Tempest’s turning face.
BAM!
Tempest staggered but did not fall. He quickly countered with a slash. She stepped back fast to evade it, but then a red arc shot out. She crossed her arms as the attack slammed into her and burned her back extremely fast. She slammed back into the walls of the building, leaving a massive crack.
She coughed blood. Her hands dripped with blood from where the attack had landed, but she was already healing up from the attack.
Tempest leaped at her, shooting through the air fast while swinging hard. Aris clutched the wall and then used it to propel herself a few meters upwards. Tempest slammed into the wall where she had just been. He snapped his head to look at her, only to see her with both hands stretched out already and a ball of pure lightning forming. She fired it, and it slammed right into him, shattering the wall and throwing him outside the building.
She landed in the throne area, and he leaped out of the hole, only to be met with a barrage of slashes. So she bolted, running along the side of the walls and dodging the attacks.
She came to a point and then stopped. She leaped off the wall, and while she was midair, she transformed into her full wolf state, magnificent and powerful. Her feet hit the ground in elegance as she looked at Tempest.
"Your entire home will suffer if you keep this up," she said, making sure he knew the gravity of the fight that was about to happen.
He smiled in return, calm and very collected, but his eyes burned with rage and a desire to plunge his sword right through her chest and watch her struggle for air. He took a step forward and then spoke.
"Come and see just how far I have grown since our last time." As he said those words, his aura exploded like a vortex, twisting in the sky. It painted everything red.
"You have evolved," she muttered.
"Haha, yes, all the years of sacrifice finally paid off. I finally evolved, and that means I am now stronger than you," he said, filled with pride.
"I see it now. Lady Ophelia asked you to do this," Aris said point blank. "She gave you something that forced your evolution and asked that you repay her by destroying Ren’s home.
I knew you were getting desperate for an evolution, but to stoop to the level of becoming an errand boy for her because you want to get stronger.
Tch, pitiful."
Tempest heard the words that left her mouth, and his rage blew out the top of his head completely.
"That is not true!" he bellowed in a thundering voice that shook the earth.
"Your reaction says it all, and I believed you had pride in your own strength."
"You know nothing about me," he roared and shot forward, his feet pressing against the ground and causing an explosion as he moved. He pulled his sword back and came with a full swing.
She reacted by forming multiple balls of lightning in the air and firing all of them at him at the same time. He slashed with one large slash, causing a chain reaction of explosions and blinding lights. He shot through the lights and came in for another attack. She weaved the attack and retreated a few steps before slamming her paws into the ground and causing a quake and a crack to spread, destabilizing him for a moment while she rushed in fast and clawed at him.
He blocked the attack. Her steel-like claws met with his sword, and he was hurled back. He dug his foot into the ground and stopped himself, then he swung his sword in a large horizontal motion.
A massive over-meter red arc fired out. She very quickly went low and dodged it. It went over her head and proceeded to slash through and destroy multiple buildings that were around, even ending up injuring some ogres that were there as well, but he did not care in the slightest.