617 Dead weight.
Attacked from two sides, Valerius remained calm as he moved to deal with the darkness tendrils first.
Buzz.
His body lit up as bright golden light surged from his body, solidifying to form a shell around him. Contrary to his expectations, all twelve darkness tendrils penetrated his defenses, riddling the light barrier with holes as they pierced Valerius's body.
Valerius's gaze turned sour as he felt his vitality draining alarmingly. The light barrier began to lose its lustre as Valerius struggled to maintain it in his current condition. Only then did the second Blake wielding the Emberforge appear, slamming the weapon into the fading barrier, which triggered a powerful explosion that shattered what was left of the dying barrier.
Not daring to risk spending another second sandwiched between the two Blakes, Valerius's body lit up once again as he transformed into a beam of light and vanished.
Shooting out of the encirclement, Valerius returned to his tangible state only when he was some distance away from the chaos.
Bam!
Valerius felt a sharp pain in his heart while his body shivered involuntarily. Blood trickled down his lips as he looked down to see the blade sticking out of his chest. Tilting his head slightly, he could see Blake's figure towering over him, but before he acted, Blake had pulled out the blade, causing Valerius to squint in pain.
From the corner of his eyes, Valerius saw the blade swinging down, but this time it was aiming for his neck. Immediately, Valerius scattered into numerous bodies of light, converging only a safe distance away. Valerius tried to move but felt an aching pain in his chest. He looked down and was stunned to see the gaping hole on his chest still there, only then did it dawn on him that the stab wound on his heart was not healing as fast. Moving his neck so much was met with aches, causing Valerius to feel it with his hand, only to notice shallow cuts and bruises there.
"Fuck," he cursed as his gaze shifted to the weapon in Blake's hand, its blade shrouded in primordial darkness. At this point, Valerius and Luciano realized they had been surrounded by the Night mist, helplessly watching it envelop the area. All their attempts to escape this have proven to be fruitless.
While all of this was taking place, Blake noticed Luciano was somehow able to sense things going on around him. It left Blake wondering how this was possible, but he quickly brushed aside the thought since he believed it didn't matter. 'Sensing danger and being able to evade are two different things.' Blake thought with an indifferent expression.
However, just when the black tendrils and the Emberforge blade were about to reach Luciano, his earrings let out an unusual glow.
Boom.
A force erupted from him the next instant, destroying the darkness tendrils, and forcing Emberforge to fly back. Blake was momentarily stunned, but It was then that something unexpected occurred.
Buzz.
A peak angel rank eagle appeared amid the chaos, its plumage a breathtaking display of multicoloured hues that transition seamlessly between iridescent whites, silvers, and soft golds. Each feather caught and reflected light in a mesmerizing dance, creating an otherworldly glow around the majestic creature.
A halo of soft, luminous energy enveloped the eagle, casting a gentle glow that accentuates its heavenly presence. This aura seemed to extend to its talons, which were adorned with a shimmering, silver-like essence.
Its appearance was something that caught Blake off guard, causing a delay in his reaction as he watched the eagle flap its wings, releasing fierce wind currents with each flap, pushing Blake's clones back.
'Long time no see.' Blake was quick to remember that this was the same bird that transported them to Calton when they got to the infinite realm.
Buzz.
While still trying to make sense of this revelation, the golden flames and lightning erupted from the bird, completely shrouding its body in it. The temperature of the battlefield skyrocketed in mere seconds, leaving Blake with a slight frown etched on his face.