BTE (67) — The Nightmare Never Ends XII (Patreon)

A/N: Guys, sorry for the slow updates. I've actually found a new job. It's a full-time one, and I'm pulling a disgusting amount of overtime. Updates will roll out slow for a while. If you're unsure whether to pledge for the next month, I recommend you not to, and to wait until the end of october - which should be when I'll back in full swing. Thank you. 

Meanwhile, in the sky. Lightning slithered around the vortex of clouds like a nest of snakes.

Standing on top of arguably the largest creature currently on the planet, was a lone Galvathian, quietly flying through the treacherous skies. He was bedecked in the same armor as his fellow soldiers, though the slight decorations denoted him to be a warrior of higher standing.

His name was Gusilho—one of the Seven Warrior Commanders of the Galvathian Empire. His position and title alone was enough for him to be revered by the majority of his kind. He was also a ruthless killer.

Gusilho stood up to his full height, his dark crimson eyes watching as Leandro began his onslaught against the Galvathian. "As expected..." He said, frowning. "A variable has appeared. Those damn freaks knew that even something like this would happen?”

Below him, an interesting confrontation was about to happen. His Deputy Commander, Giselle was facing the Earthling that caused so much trouble for the Galvathians. Trouble, perhaps, was quite the inflated statement. If he unleashed the entirety of Galvathia’s forces on Earth, not even that special ‘variable’ could do anything but watch in silence as they annihilated every single inhabitant on the planet.

Then again, they didn’t need to do that.

Gusilho looked up at the vortex. Deep inside the swirling, cracking clouds, was a circular, silver rift in the shape of a mirror, but as large as a stadium. It was their means of traveling into this world. 

And within that rift, two majestic, enormous eyes stared back at him.

“Yes… if Giselle fails…” Gusilho smiled. “If she dies, you may enter.” His lips peeled back, exposing sharp teeth. He spoke to no one. To the vortex, maybe. To the creature beyond it. He didn't care who was listening, for his voice was only heard by one person in this world.

…

On the ground, Giselle wrenched herself free, stepping back, nursing her wrist. "Are you ready to die, Earthling?" She said, as she lowered into a combat stance. Her claws and fangs extended, the muscles bulging against her shiny, black scales. 

Leandro merely tilted his head as he stared at her, and stared, and continued staring. 

Giselle would never admit the slight shiver that ran down her tail. 

“You seem to be aware of the difference between us." He said, his voice calm, almost bemused. "Yet here you stand, baring your fangs like a cornered mouse. What’s the plan, then? Hoping I'll trip over my own feet? Or maybe you think sheer willpower will bridge the gap?" He took a slow step forward, his eyes never leaving hers. "It's almost charming, your determination. Foolish, but charming. Do you really believe you have a chance, Giselle?"

"Just come at me and get it over with!"

Giselle let out a furious, animalistic snarl. She launched herself forward with the speed of a rocket. Her spear twirled in her claws, propelling towards his head. 

"Are you stupid? There is no need to rush." He said, taking a single, casual step to the side.

Giselle missed by a hair's width, the sound of the air exploding out in a small gust was heard. The concrete on the ground was gouged by the sharp edge of her claws as she slammed down past Leandro.

She barely had any time to react as a fist flew at her face like a meteor, impacting with an audible sound. She was thrown into the air and landed back on the ground, her body skidding a few meters before coming to a full stop.

She looked at Leandro with wide eyes. "How... how strong are you?"

"Very. Now then..." Leandro lowered his arm, staring at Giselle with those contemptuous green eyes. "I suppose we can call this your last chance, Giselle. If you can make me bleed, even a bit, you can walk away. Though I’m uncertain if you’ll still be alive by then."

Everyone seemingly held their breaths. Humans and Galvathians, they all formed a circle of spectators. Even those severely injured limped their way over to watch the ongoing battle. 

Giselle wiped a bit of blood off the side of her mouth with her palm. "I’ll make you more than bleed, Earthling." She rose up, dusted herself off, and charged with even greater vigor than before, her body disappearing from the human eyes.

The moment she reached Leandro, he vanished. Giselle swung her spear with tremendous strength and speed, tearing apart a portion of the concrete with a loud bang. Its shaft hummed with energy, adding an additional burst of kinetic energy that continued tearing through the ground.

When she didn't hear or feel a cry of pain, she turned back and saw a silhouette, as fast as the lightning, racing towards her. Giselle felt something hot and burning cut across the surface of her body, slicing through her armor like paper, drawing a trail of blood along her scales.

Her eyes widened at the sensation, at the sight. It was the sensation of a blade, of heat and power.

She jumped away from the enemy and rolled along the ground, before launching into the air once again to confront Leandro head-on. Her spear became a whirlwind of graceful movements. Stabs. Slashes. Stabs. Each time Giselle swung her spear, she gained more and more momentum, creating a tornado of flashing, gleaming metal around herself.

She could hear it, the sounds of her weapon meeting thin air as Leandro continued to evade every single strike with a relaxed grace that Giselle found herself increasingly enraged by. She couldn’t believe she was being made a fool of by an inferior being such as the humans.

"This... is... bullshit!!" Her face twisted into an ugly mask of fury, her spear turning into a blur.

Leandro backhanded the tip of her spear to the side, breaking her balance. She heard the wind whistle, and when she blinked, he was already in front of her, left hand palming her chest armor.

Giselle's body flew outwards, towards a building. However, she stabbed her spear into the ground and arrested her momentum. 

"Call your commander. I'm sure he'll prove to be a more dignified challenge than what you're putting up. Though I doubt that it'd change anything in the end. You'll still all die."

"Are you insulting me, Earthling? No, you must be insane if you think you're a match for one of our Warrior Commanders. The moment the Commander decides to fight, your head will roll and your body will become a meal for our kin. I am nothing compared to him."

Giselle felt something surge within her body. Her veins, her blood. Her Aura. It began to course through her body like an endless torrent.

"Oh? It looks like you're finally ready.” Leandro raised his sword. “Finally ready to stop fooling around with all these bullshit moves that you don't even understand."

Giselle gritted her teeth, but forced herself to cool down. She stood up, brandishing her spear. Her Aura, once like a river of blood, now was a raging current, her blood vessels were lit up by her power.

"This..." A soldier said, with a mixture of awe and fear. "She's finally using it!"

"This is the true strength of Giselle?" The Galvathians were confident in their strength, but even they could not help but feel nervous as the deputy commander of their forces began to glow brighter and brighter.

"Come then, Earthling. Come meet your demise."

Leandro merely arched an eyebrow. "Well, if you insist."

He raised his Moonlight Edge up in front of his eyes, the blade glinting as the moonlight shined down on it, giving it a beautiful luminescent sheen. The moon itself appeared to be closer, the skies dimmed in favor of its brilliance. 

He began to glow a brilliant, burning white. The white flames around him blazed stronger, his hair dancing in the air. His foot slid forward, and a burst of wind put Giselle on high alert. She could hardly follow the movement that followed after. 

A gleaming blade cut through the air. The light it left off made Giselle have a vision of instant death. She barely ducked under it, her spear-tip sailing up to uppercut Leandro through his chin and pierce his brain. 

He kicked her away, right as a pillar of Aura burst out of Giselle’s spear. It flew harmlessly in the sky. With a growl she pushed forward, stabbing and slashing, each swing leaving trenches in the concrete. 

Her movements were sharp. Swift. Graceful. Yet Leandro could read every single one of them. His mind worked in ways no human could possibly achieve, not without his level of strength. He ducked and dodged, each step calculated, every strike of his sword redirecting a deadly blow.

Her spear was like a gun itself, shooting beam upon beam of Aura, not unlike Abrais did. Leandro twisted out of the way, deflected a beam with the tip of his blade, and charged back in with a diagonal slash that sliced through her armor. She cried out, moving out of the way right before Leandro’s Moonlit Edge skewered her heart. 

He whirled his sword around and parried the spear aimed at his side. An ear-screeching clang sounded out. Their weapons met with an impact that sent shockwaves through the air and sent Giselle tumbling across the ground.

Leandro casually walked forward. 

"I know it might sound a bit presumptuous, but are you really the strongest you can possibly be? Because right now, this is getting embarrassing. Your minions are glaring at me, you know. They probably want to rip my throat out." He tilted his head, peering down at Giselle's struggling, downed form. "A bunch of dogs."

"You..." Giselle's lips twisted with a sneer. She pushed herself up.

She pointed her spear at Leandro, who didn't even bother to raise his sword.

"Come." He taunted her, like a fisherman with a fishing rod waiting for his prey.

"You have a death wish!" Giselle roared. Her spear moved, but even to Leandro's eyes it was barely faster than the blink of an eye. Her body exploded into a cloud of dust as she dashed towards Leandro with the speed of a cannon shot.

A trail of light was the only thing Leandro's eyes saw. He took a single, simple step to the side.

There was a flash of light.

There was a sharp sound of air exploding out.

And Giselle's face twisted in confusion. She could see nothing but Leandro's face in front of her.

She felt the impact. It wasn't the impact of metal cutting through armor and scales.

No.

It was an impact of a fist into her gut. It felt as if someone just hammered the most delicate part of her body.

No…

No…!

No! No! No! No!!

What is this?

Giselle picked herself up once more. 

Why was her Aura so weak in front of him? 

She couldn’t understand.

Everything was so muddled, so inexplicably confusing. Earthlings were not supposed to be this strong. Their threat level was Type 1. Barely, at that. Yet this one, who’s glowing eyes beheld her with amusing contempt, was on the same level as one of the Warrior Commanders. Ridiculous! 

Shouts rang out behind her. Rough voices that overlapped. 

“Deputy Commander! You can do this!”

“You can get that Earthling! You’re stronger!”

“Go, Lady Giselle!!”

Giselle glanced back at her soldiers—the ones that followed her through thick and thin. She didn’t know all of them, but she could recognize some of the faces. All of them had gone through the academy together, and now…

“They’re going to die, Giselle.” Leandro stood in front of her, looking down at her. “Where’s hope? Where is it, Giselle? The people you slaughtered looked for it, preyed for it, while they were dying, eaten alive. I’ve heard a mother screaming over her dying son. A child. And it was the only thing they could cling on to, hoping, wishing, that by some miracle someone would save them. And now, I find myself wondering... who will save you?"

His words echoed within Giselle, reverberated inside of her, a strange, calming wave that made the Galvathian's tail flick up in agitation.

"Shut up!!"

Her Aura flared out once more, causing even some of the Galvathians and humans watching the scene to have to squint and cover their eyes. The air rippled. The ground rumbled. Her body shone brightly, casting the battlefield in her radiance.

Her spear turned into a blur. The spear's point struck forward, thrusting with a speed faster than a bullet, tearing through space like a laser. The world seemed to still as it approached Leandro's face.

Galvathian Spear Style — Falling Star. 

A resounding boom echoed as the point of her spear touched something. It was not flesh. This Earthling’s blood and entrails didn’t spill out onto the ground. A silvery light, like a tongue of white fire, cleaved through the air in a crescent. 

Giselle watched in disbelief, in shock, as Leandro’s attack cut the spear cleanly in half with a single strike. The metal flew up into the air and fell to the ground in pieces, shattering in remnants of blue energy. 

And then she looked at her left shoulder, where her arm used to be. A lance of pain shot through her entire body, making her double down in pain. “Aghkk!” Blood spewed out like a sprinkler. She heard her soldiers cry out in distress—they moved, shooting forward to put themselves between her and Leandro.

“I’ve honored your terms and conditions, Giselle.” Leandro said as he gently perched the tip of his sword under her chin. She looked up at him. She couldn’t understand. What was he? A creature of unknown strength that appeared within Earth just as they arrived? “It's time to put an end to this. Don't be too loud when you scream."

The tip of the sword flashed out in a beam of pure silver light. Giselle, with wide, horrified eyes, could only watch as it filled her entire vision, as if she were staring for too long at her beautiful home planet's star. 

Moonblade Style — Crater Impact.