NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55: Aftermath... Death?
The ground cracked under his feet as Aleron launched forward, molten aura flaring violently around him.
The woman's sleeve flicked, releasing a blade of compressed wind, invisible until it carved through the space between them.
Aleron twisted mid-stride, letting it whistle past his cheek, the edge slicing a shallow cut along his jaw.
He didn't stop.
Metallic threads from the soil surged upward at his call, weaving around his arms into long, jagged extensions.
With a guttural roar, he brought them down in a diagonal slash. The air screamed as the strike cut through it, the pressure enough to gouge deep lines into the ground even before it landed.
Her hand rose, palm open. The metal struck something unseen and shattered into fragments. The backlash rattled his bones.
"Your control is strong," she said coldly. "But against me, every weapon becomes mine."
The fragments of metal he had just summoned quivered in the air—then shot back at him in a scatter of deadly shards.
Aleron's claws swept across his front, sparks flying as he batted aside most, the rest embedding into his scales with a metallic hiss.
Pain flared causing Aleron to grip his teeth.
'Her control of her origin ability is too precise, and this is just her clone, then, how strong would her true body be?'
Aleron's heart was filled with shock and he found it hard to calm himself, but he had to; after all, he was engaged in a battle.
He slammed a foot into the ground, pouring his Origin energy deep into the earth.
The tremor ruptured the terrain for hundreds of meters, jagged metal spikes tearing upward in a rolling wave toward her.
At the same moment, his wings snapped open and he lunged from above, aiming to strike as the spikes boxed her in.
This time, she moved.
Her body blurred, vanishing from his sight—and reappearing to his right in less than a heartbeat.
Her leg swept out in a clean arc.
Aleron crossed his arms to block, but the force blasted him sideways, metal plates cracking under the impact as he tumbled through stone.
He slammed into the ground, coughing blood, his vision shaking.
Before he could regain balance, a pressure gripped his chest.
It wasn't physical, but something deeper, like an invisible hand crushing his core.
His Metal Control faltered for a fraction of a second.
She was standing over him, both palms extended, a wave of origin energy coiling in the air.
"You fought well," she said, her voice low. "Now kneel."
Aleron's gaze burned. "I don't kneel."
He released his hold on every shred of restraint.
Aleron never had thoughts of surrendering or kneeling and he would never do so.
Without hesitation, he roared and activated the infernal eyes.
Instantly a wave of flame emerged into the surroundings, latching onto the metal.
Burning his origin energy, Aleron caused the flames in the surroundings to burn hotter, even burning through his body.
"What? Another origin ability? How is this possible?" mistaking the infernal eyes for an origin ability, the lady exclaimed in disbelief.
Flames roared from Aleron's body, merging with the metal in the surroundings, causing them to turn molten until they became a single living storm.
The ground under him liquefied, turning into a swirling pool of molten steel.
With a sharp gesture, he drew it upward, engulfing them both in a rising dome of blazing metal.
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't flinch.
She spun her arms in a fluid motion, and the air howled, carving spirals into the molten walls.
But every slice she made sealed itself instantly as Aleron fed more energy into the construct.
He wasn't trying to trap her; rather, he was just buying seconds.
His claws glowed a deep, violent orange as he condensed all the heat and metal into their tips, each one now sharp enough to tear through her defenses in one decisive strike.
The dome collapsed outward in an eruption, and through the burst of light and steam, Aleron was already there.
Her arm rose to block, but his right claw smashed through the barrier, sparks blinding the air.
His left followed, raking across her ribs, the impact ringing like steel against steel.
She staggered slightly but not from pain; instead, a look of surprise appeared on her delicate face.
Aleron pressed forward, every strike now carrying the weight of his fused energy.
Metal spikes shot from the ground to match his movements, forcing her to split her defense between the battlefield and him.
Her once-flawless steps began to break under the relentless rhythm.
Her hand flicked out, catching his claw mid-swing. For a moment, they locked eyes.
"You are… troublesome."
"And you," he snarled, "bleed."
His claw whipped around, its edge gleaming with molten metal, and slammed into her side with a brutal crack.
She flew back, skidding across torn ground until her feet dug in, stopping her slide.
The cold composure was gone now. Her gaze sharpened into something lethal.
A gust unlike before erupted from her, flattening the ground for kilometers. Aleron braced himself, but the force tore at his aura, threatening to rip it apart.
He roared back, flames flaring higher, metal answering his call and surging from every direction.
The battlefield turned into a sea of steel and fire.
She charged.
He met her head-on.
The clash was a storm of wind and flame, metal and force colliding in blinding arcs.
The ground shattered beneath each strike, shockwaves rippling outwards.
Seconds became a blur of motion until, at last, Aleron found it—the smallest opening in her stance.
This was his chance and he was unwilling to let go of it, so, Aleron acted!
He poured everything into one final slash, his claws ripping through her guard and striking clean across her chest.
The sound of tearing fabric and the hiss of burned flesh cut through the battlefield.
She stumbled back, a deep diagonal gash marring her pristine robe, blood blooming beneath it.
Aleron's chest rose and fell heavily, molten droplets sliding from his claws. "That's three."
For the first time, her expression faltered. She looked down at the wound, then at him. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"This… ends here."
She raised her hands, wind and pressure building to an overwhelming peak—but before it could release, Aleron's tail lashed out, driving a spear of condensed metal into the ground at her feet.
Origin energy surged through it, detonating in a violent blast that shattered her stance.
Aleron was already there, his claws at her throat, heat rolling from him in waves.
However, to his shock, the lady didn't seem fazed by his attack; she just waved her hand and the surrounding space froze.
Then she calmly walked towards Aleron.
She suddenly frowned abruptly. 'The origin energy of this clone is depleted, how unfortunate.'
She stared at him for a long moment, then let her hands fall causing the wind to die.
"Impressive," she said quietly, almost to herself. "Perhaps… there is more to you than I thought."
Aleron didn't reply, staring at her with an unreadable expression.
The lady could kill him since he wasn't her match but why didn't she?
Aleron was confused, just then she took a step back then gave a faint, unreadable smile—then dissolved into the wind, vanishing without a trace.
The battlefield was silent.
Aleron stood alone, molten metal cooling at his feet.
"I… won?" the fight had ended so abruptly…