His Moon Sword expanded in his grip, etchings burning alive along the blade's surface. Lightning rippled off its edge, each arc buzzing like a furious storm barely restrained.
It propelled itself into the air and came crashing down with a fierce strike. Levin raised an Abi shield, but the beast's blade sliced through it with brutal ease. The sword drove into his stomach, the impact sending him flying across the battlefield. Though Levin managed to protect his core with Abi energy, the blow left him staggering and badly wounded.
Clutching his side, Levin stretched out his hand as Achilles charged. With a defiant shout of "Macer Terra 1!" his body became encased in spider-like armor, his speed and strength surging.
He met Achilles head-on, steel ringing against steel in a furious clash.
But Achilles' rage was overwhelming. With a savage swing, he struck Levin across the face and drove his blade toward his chest.
Levin's Abi flared again, preventing the weapon from piercing him, but Achilles unleashed a devastating beam of Abi energy straight from his blade, blasting Levin off his feet. Levin steadied himself mid-air, halting his fall, but the force ripped his transformation away. His armor shattered, leaving him battered, bloodied, and reverted back to his base form.
Levin's eyes widened. "Pita! Asteroy! Fall back—!"
But Asteroy only grinned, confidence dripping from his voice. "Fall back? For this? Abi or not, artists are all show. No skill."
He charged in recklessly, staff raised.
Jett's body blurred. His sword moved faster than the eye could follow.
A crack split the air, then silence.
On the ground lay Asteroy's shadow, body cleanly severed in two.
"ASTEROOOY!" Pita's voice split with anguish.
Jett stomped hard against the ground, the impact cracking the earth beneath his heel. Shards of stone, some small as pebbles, others as large as boulders, shot upward, suspended in midair. With a sharp swing of his Moon Sword, Jett's Abi surged across the fragments, coating them in radiant energy. One after another, he struck the airborne rocks, launching them like a barrage of cannon fire. The glowing projectiles slammed into Pita's body with crushing force, driving him to his knees.
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Jett stood tall, lightning crawling across his blade. His voice came out low, groggy, warped under the weight of his new form.
"I... am Achilles."
With impossible speed, Jett lunged. Levin and Pita summoned Abi shields, walls of crackling energy manifesting in front of them. Jett's blade shattered them on impact, fragments of lightning scattering like glass. His strikes carried the weight of rage, grief, and righteous fury, every swing echoing like thunder.
Pita's face twisted. "Levin! I'm running out of Abi!"
Levin kept his distance, sweat forming at his temple. "Hold back. Keep moving. This form... he can't hold it long. His body will collapse under the gravity of its ability."
But before Levin could finish, Jett blurred forward again.
Pita spun his staff desperately. "Abi Craft: Titan Spider!"
Crackling energy surged upward, forming into a massive arachnid of electric light. Its blade-like legs stabbed down with terrifying force, smashing Jett into the ground and erupting the battlefield into a storm of dust and stone.
Pita gasped for air. "Got him..."
The dust swirled, then parted.
Jett Achilles stepped forward through the smoke, lightning bleeding from his armor. His sword glowed so fiercely it hurt to look at.
He swiped his sword obliterating the Abi spider.
In a blink, he was in front of Pita.
"No!" Pita raised his staff—
Jett vanished again, reappearing at Pita's side. His blade flashed once.
Blood sprayed.
Pita screamed, collapsing to his knees, his staff-arm cut clean off.
Levin roared, launching an electro hand that shot across the field, smashing into Jett and forcing him back.
Sparks erupted across the dirt as the knight skidded to a halt, sword still raised.
Levin rushed to Pita, dropping to one knee. Pita writhed, blood gushing from his stump. Levin pressed his hand against the wound, electricity sparking violently. The stench of burning flesh filled the air as he cauterized it.
Pita's teeth clenched, his face pale. "He... took my good arm..."
"Don't talk," Levin snapped, fury edging his voice.
Jett stood before them, lightning crackling around his armor, his blade aimed like a judgment. His voice trembled, filled with both grief and rage:
"In the name of my friend Roberta... I will slay you all."
The battlefield hummed, trembling under the weight of his vow.
To be continued...