Anila found herself being pressed as the three Shadows attacked with impressive coordination. More than once, she’d suffered a few cuts and blows as she did everything she could to avoid lethal strikes.

  She dodged two simultaneous attacks from two Shadows, only that left her in the air as Arawn struck right after. He’d switched back to his Lightning affinity, and had chosen that moment to shoot a bolt of electricity her way.

  However, she’d switched back to her Wind affinity even faster, and thus, had time to use the winds to move herself out of the way of the attack. She reached out her hands and used her Vacuum Art to suck the two Shadows in. Chaining the Art with a double Wind Blade, one on either hand, she threw a long range slash at one while stabbing at the other.

  That one had managed to parry her strike, though her Art harshly grinded against his durable sword. With a mental command, she had the winds compressed into a blade burst out, sending this Shadow flying back. The one she’d slashed at from a distance was sent sliding back as the attack struck the middle of his armor.

  The jewel in both of the Shadows’ armor had begun to glow green.

  I need to take these two out before their armor adapts to either of my affinities! Anila thought.

  Arawn closed in on her, and given his new immunity to her winds, Anila had to take to the air to avoid engaging him. As she flew up, she threw a Tornado Sphere at the two Shadows she’d pushed back.

  Arawn reacted to her attack against his allies. To her surprise, he’d thrown his scimitar at one sphere, while racing towards the other.

  Anila watched with annoyance as one of her spheres was split and rendered null as soon as the scimitar touched it. The other met the same fate, as Arawn got in front of the Shadow it had been aimed at. The second that sphere made contact with him, it was negated.

  She analyzed the flow of Ether as she watched all this occur, and noted something that made her smile. Each time her Arts had been negated, she’d noted an equal amount of Ether drain from the sword and the armor. It seemed for the adapted nullification to occur, an equal amount of the power had to be expended to counter. That meant that, hypothetically, there was a limit to what could be negated.

  Which meant the nullification could be overpowered.

  She watched as the scimitar Arawn had thrown began to spin its way back to his outstretched hand like a boomerang. Anila clicked her tongue, This is getting dangerous… Time is currently against me, and I need to thin out their numbers soon, or I’m done for. I need a weapon..

  Thankfully, she knew just where to find some. She formed a large Tornado Sphere, and hurled it towards the three Shadows. Arawn narrowed his eyes, no doubt wondering why on Avani she’d throw an attack she knew he’d just negate.

  He got his answer as the sphere prematurely exploded before reaching them. The released winds pushed back Arawn’s allies, but had no effect on the man himself. A large amount of dust and debris was kicked up by the Art.

  Anila, who had descended to the ground before her sphere detonated, switched to her Inverted affinity, her eyes turning orange. She did so to make use of the boost tapping into her Inversion gave her, which was more than what normal Ether provided.

  She winced as she felt the rage within roar, amplified by using her use of her Inverted affinity. She did her best to suppress it and stay in control as she ran as fast as she could, suppressing her Ether and using the dust and debris to remain hidden as she made her way near where Aria was. Her daughter was wide eyed and afraid, no doubt worrying for her safety while also being in shock at the high level battle before her.

  How Anila wished she could simply take hold of Aria and fly out of Ignis. However, that simply wasn’t an option. Back in the Human-Elf wars, prior to the Great Fragmentation, the elves had frequently taken to the air and used aerial assaults to win many battles. When the Champion began to lead the Empire to a technological revolution, anti-air weaponry had been among many things that had been developed.

  The Dominion had, without a doubt, further refined those defenses over the centuries. This being the capital of the Realm, Anila had no doubt she’d be taken out of the air should she fly too high. She’d avoided it thus far by keeping relatively low, but she had no doubt if she neared the tops of the walls, those defenses would be activated. And she wasn’t fully confident in avoiding those defenses while both fending off Arawn and the Shadows AND holding onto Aria.

  No, in order for them to escape, they must go either through the gates or, as per her initial plan, go under them. And for that to happen, she must to defeat the Shadows she was battling now, otherwise they’d be right on their heels hunting them.

  Anila gave Aria a nod of assurance as she reached her actual goal. That was, the corpses of the guards she’d slain prior to fighting Arawn. She grabbed two swords lying on the ground. She regarded Aria, giving her a reassuring smile before briefly switching back to Wind, and mentally commanding the wind cage surrounding her to carry her further into the alleyways. Should Arawn find her daughter, he’d be able to negate the shield of wind and reach Aria.

  Anila couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Aria reached out towards her as the winds carried her off, and Anila made sure her daughter saw only the confident smile she had. On the inside, however, she was beginning to wonder if she would be able to win. Were it not for that voiding armor of theirs, Anila had no doubt she’d have already slain them.

  “It is what it is,” Anila sighed, as she made her way back towards the Shadows with a sword in each hand.

  She met them halfway, as they had been searching for her.

  She caught one of them by surprise. Thankfully it wasn’t Arawn, so she stuck with her Wind affinity and enhanced her blades’ sharpness by coating them with Wind Blade. The Shadow had struck at her, but hadn’t been expecting her to now have swords. She parried the blow with one sword, and used her other to go for his neck.

  Clang!

  The Shadow had reacted quickly enough to block her sword with an armored forearm. Her wind coated weapon grinded like a saw on metal, sparks flying like rain, as she pushed against his arm. She sensed movement behind her, and ducked as a sword sliced empty air where her torso had been. Her senses told her this wasn’t Arawn either.

  Smiling, she sucked them both in towards herself with a vacuum Art, before slamming them both with a Tornado Sphere each. The wind orbs spun and ground into their armored torsos as they were sent into the air by the powerful Arts.

  Sensing a distant buildup of Ether, Anila flew to the side as a bolt of lighting struck from above, nearly hitting her. She commanded the spheres she’d slammed the two Shadows with to detonate before she switched back to her Inverted affinity, and met the sword of Arawn, who was also now using his own Fire affinity.

  The two began to exchange sword strikes, but Anila quickly took the advantage with her superior physical abilities. She landed a few cuts to Arawn’s face before one of his allies threw an Art her way.

  She sensed the wall of flames closing in on her from behind. She quickly switched back to Wind and threw up a shield of winds, making sure it only formed at her back to avoid touching Arawn. The wall of flames was dispersed as she continued her back and forth with Arawn. The last Shadow came for her and tag teamed with Arawn against her.

  Now, Anila was on the defensive as she had to battle two unnaturally skilled swordsmen all on her own. With each cut they managed to land, she could sense Ether leave her body. They were whittling her down, slowly, but surely. It was made worse when the third Shadow had begun to use ranged Fire Arts to strike at her whenever he had an opening.

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  She was only barely managing to hold them at bay, yet she could feel her movements growing sharper, faster, and more precise. The last time she’d been pushed this far had been centuries ago, and she could now feel the rust she’d built up over those hundreds of years being broken off.

  It was then that one of her swords was broken by a powerful slash from Arawn.

  Moving quickly, Anila pushed Arawn back with her other sword, and used her winds to push the other back. She then quickly moved to the nearby corpse of a previously beheaded Shadow, and grabbed the sword that one had wielded.

  That proved to be a fatal error.

  The second her hand wrapped around the grip of the blade, the handle suddenly became red hot, burning her fingers and palm. Alarmed, Anila tried to quickly let go of the weapon, only for spikes to erupt from the grip, impaling her hand and preventing her from letting go.

  This gave Arawn the opportunity to cut a tendon on the arm that had grabbed hold of the accursed sword, rendering it useless until she could heal it. As if sensing its job was done, the spikes impaling her hand receded, allowing the blade to fall to the ground, leaving her hand a hole riddled, burnt mess.

  It didn’t take long after that to completely overwhelm her. Her body was soon littered with cuts, as she was forced to take a knee when one managed to get behind her and cut her heel.

  She took heaving breaths as her heart raced. Her body began pumping adrenaline like mad. As Arawn approached to deal the final blow, time seemed to slow tremendously.

  Being pushed this far, backed into such a corner, reminded her of the day of the Great Fragmentation. When she and her people had been left stranded in this Realm.

  She remembered slaughtering scores of ashborn that day, but no matter how many she’d killed, more took their place. Her people were either captured or cut down around her, until she’d been the only one left.

  She’d fought with the fury of a gale, and as she realized she was the last one standing, the abandonment and betrayal she’d felt at being stranded, the pain and sorrow she felt for her people who were either dying or being captured around her, and the odium she’d felt for the humes for pushing things to this point… it had all overwhelmed her… made her snap.

  And she’d Inverted.

  It had taken their precious Champion to defeat her by that point, and that was after she’d been weakened and exhausted by the ceaseless fighting. No doubt the Champion believed he’d killed her that day, and from Arawn’s behavior after finding out her identity, that’s what the Champion had gone on to preach.

  She’d gone into hiding among her now enslaved people, fully knowing that they’d lost the battle, but the Great Fragmentation would prevent humanity from conquering the rest of the Realms. It had taken her a long time to heal from that battle, and with the patience only one of a long lived race could have, she played the long game. She’d let time pass, allowing their slavers to grow lax. Then, she’d secretly begun training, working against the collars that were forced onto them.

  The training, however, had to be subtle, otherwise the humans would be alerted, and her identity and survival would be made known. It was for that reason why she’d been unable to train much with her newly awakened Inverted Fire affinity. As an effect of the Inversion, it stoked the rage that she’d struggled to keep bottled up over the centuries. It made her too aggressive, angry, and reckless. That, and Fire Arts tended to be more destructive than Wind.

  It was for that reason why, even after centuries of secret practice, she’d been unable to master her Fire affinity to the same degree as her Wind. With her normal affinity, she’d reached the point where she’d removed all Invocations with all Wind affinity Arts save for one. With her Inverted affinity, the best she’d managed was learning to use some with a mental Invocation. She’d never reached the point of using any of them without an Invocation.

  Until now.

  As Arawn’s sword was slowly brought down, and as death loomed over her, an epiphany struck her, and something clicked into place. Dark flames burst from all the wounds on her body, including the cut tendons on her arm and heel. Caught off guard, Arawn hesitated, and Anila capitalized. Her remaining sword cut across the Shadow’s face, cutting and blinding an eye.

  Arawn roared as he stumbled back, clutching at his lost eye. The other two Shadows, having recovered from their shock, lunged for Anila simultaneously with their swords in a vorpal strike, both their weapons red hot and coated with flames.

  Feeding off the momentum she’d built from successfully pulling off an Invocation-less healing Art with her Inverted affinity, Anila moved in a way that would make a master swordsman shed a proud tear. She quickly switched affinities. Then, using a sword in one hand, and a Wind Blade in the other, she disarmed both Shadows simultaneously. The brief contact with their white hot blades had caused her own sword to begin melting, but it had remained sturdy for long enough to send the weapons flying into the air.

  Dropping her melted blade, Anila switched back to her Inverted affinity, her speed greater than before as she crossed her arms in front of her and mentally cast a flame Art, the Invocation going faster in her mind than if she were to speak it aloud, Embers that smolder with unheard cries for vengeance. Let your fury flow through me to deliver judgment! Burn my foes and leave not even ash in your raging inferno! Astridian Flare!

  Anila thrust her arms outward toward, one hand towards one Shadow, the other at Arawn. From her hands shot forth two powerful dark fireballs that pushed Arawn and the Shadow back as the two tried to push against them.

  Their armor began to glow with heat before the Art exploded in a deafening boom.

  The last Shadow, having been disarmed, threw a flaming fist at her as her back was turned to him. His fist froze partway through, and the flames were put out by winds preventing him from moving any further.

  “You know,” Anila turned back to give the Shadow a malicious, almost delirious grin, “I’m curious to see just how durable that armor really is. Let’s test it, shall we?”

  Before the Shadow could try to move, he was trapped by encompassing winds. Anila began an Invocation for a Wind Art, “Oh winds that flow through the Realms! Currents that flow throughout Avani! I, child of Vindanna born under the Astrid Tree, call for your power.”

  Arawn and the other Shadow tried to move, but both fell to their knees, their armor smoldering and glowing with heat and both no doubt covered in burns underneath. Arawn hissed and grit his teeth, his face horrendously burned, as he and his ally were forced to heal first while the other was still trapped in Anila’s winds.

  “Heed my command, and show my foolish foes your true power! Hold nothing back as I bring forth power surpassing even that of the fiercest gales,” Anila continued, her entire being seeming to glow as a green aura began to build and emanate from her body. She raised a hand to the Shadow trapped before her, “Tear my foes asunder and leave nothing behind.”

  “Why is the... Invocation for this Art... so long?” Arawn’s eye widened as he realized the answer, “No! NO!!!”

  He tried to move forward, but dropped back down to his knees as his body was still mending. It was as though Anila’s flame Art was still burning his body and eating away at it. His healing Art was overpowering the effect, but it still slowed his recovery. Winds began to whip violently around them before being sucked like a vacuum towards Anila.

  “Compress the air I command and crush my enemies!” Anila grinned as she finished her Invocation, “Ultimate Art: Astridian Purgatory!!!”

  The winds began to compress around the trapped Shadow. The air pressure grew rapidly within the sphere of winds forming around him. So intense were the gales and the vacuuming effect of the Art that the very buildings and ruins around them were torn apart, shredded, and sucked in by the winds. The Shadow screamed as the air pressure, ever increasing, began to twist and contort his body, crushing him within. Though his armor was incredibly sturdy, it too began to bend, sparks flying from it as it did. The Shadow was crushed inside the armor, and died before the armor itself gave, crushing the hume’s corpse into red mist as it crumpled into a bloodied ball.

  Using her hands, Anila guided the swirling, tornado-like orb of death around her, tearing apart, sucking in, and completely clearing the area around them. She then launched the Art towards Arawn and the other Shadow. Arawn, his armor having adapted to Anila’s Wind affinity, wasn’t effected by the winds at all. However, the Art was far too large and too powerful for his armor to negate completely. Only he himself was shielded with that nullifying effect. However, all the debris that had been picked up pelted at him, repeatedly inflicting cuts and bashing him with thicker objects.

  The other Shadow would have been pulled into the massive sphere of death had Arawn not been there to reach out an arm and grab hold of them. Arawn himself was nearly lifted off his feet from the force at which the Shadow was being pulled in, but he managed to hold his footing.

  The gigantic orb that held the compressed winds of an entire tempest finally passed them, curving and shooting up into the air. The Shadow fell to the ground in an unceremonious fashion. Arawn stared, with fear he realized, towards Anila, who rotated her wrist around with a grin.

  “Seems like our battle finally shook off the rust I’d collected over the centuries,” Anila noted.

  Arawn could tell, both from her demeanor and from the flow of the Ether, that the elf before him now was different from the one mere moments before.

  Anila had a look of excitement, which was fitting, because she currently felt a rush of exhilaration. A feeling made more palpable by the realization that she’d just entered Etheric Zenith. She clenched her fist, her mask of calm returning, as she stated plainly to Arawn, “It’s time to finish this, hume.”

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