[To recap, Alexander and Anemone encounter a formidable adversary in Metal. Whose real name remains unknown. After a quick exchange, details are brought as to who Alexander truly is. He is the current head of the Silverettes and a member of the generation which is supposedly assumed to surpass the three crescents. Metal belong to the same generation.]
Now;
This is a three way standoff in which I know nothing about what the others are thinking. Alexander does seem to be on my side but I don't trust him one bit. I need to analyze further— for now, not using my prime visualization but the magic theory I have stored up in me. Anemone let out a sigh before her once green-hued eyes faded to a light gold. She struggled to make back to her feet. Her body aching as those covered in needles. The cuts she had incurred earlier proving to be the most taxing of challenges to overcome.
How I wish my pain sensitivity didn't go up each time I am in magic release. It makes focusing so much more difficult. Her body shivered. Her breath, shallow, as she panted.
"Can you keep going….Ane?" Alexander paused before his gaze shifted back to metal who smirked at the gesture. "Metal—when I said love of the game, I never meant you should take it that seriously. You look more like a sadist."
"I mean look at her. She is quivering, groaning with each move she makes. But still, she is trying to get up. She might as well be trying to sway my opinion of her." Bluish glowing goo fell from his shoulders. Slithering as though it was alive. A yellowish aura shrouded his body before he dashed forward.
"Couldn't you just wait?" Alexander stepped back, dodging an uppercut that was heading his way. The brownish aura that shrouded his hands intensified before he clenched them together, going for a hammer fist. "Earth Art: Roaring Column; Tectonic shift."
Metal, seeing this, retaliated. "Metal Art: Structural Amorphi; Metallic glass."
Alexander's aura clashed against the bluish metallic goo. The force, sending a Shockwave through it. "Huh?" He wondered before he was met by a crescent kick which sent him flying. That's an art I named metallic glass by lack of a better name. Due to its amorphous structure, it undergoes what are known as localized atomic rearrangement. Allowing for efficient shock absorption.
Anemone looked on, wondering. What property of metal was that? No, wrong question. Why would metal absorb shock? He is using his structural Amorphi variant of metal arts to reconfigure the otherwise crystalline structure of metal. The irregular arrangement will grant irregular properties to the resulting product. Does that mean his list of desired results is practically endless. No, I doubt it? He wouldn't be on our level if he had.
Alexander dodged the volley of hits Metal was sending his way. He dodged, parried, sending some of his own before being countered and being forced to dodge yet again. Their clash appeared interlocked. Each matching the rhythm of the other.
Alexander intensified the aura in his hands once more, going for another hammer fist. When metal stepped through, his head, moving under his arm. Before, delivering a back fist. This stunned Alexander briefly. In that moment, the bluish metallic goo hardened. He was aiming to skewer Alexander's throat when a gust of wind blew passed them. That distorted the goo, reverting it into a yellowish aura before it disappeared.
Thanks to Anemone's brief interference, Alexander gathered his wits about him before he chanted. "I am the earth….an indomitable force. Through me, life is born. Earth Art: Roaring Column; Reconceptualize. Now, Golem Art: First Glory manifestation;— Attes." A pulse of magic like sonar was released from his body. His aura intensified before it dissipated. Living way for stripes to manifest all over his body. They matched the color of his once bright aura that now lay dormant. Seeing this, Metal jumped back.
Behind him, rocks began to materialize, stacking on one another. A bright brown light appeared about seven meters above him before more rocks surrounded it. A humanoid golem had just formed. It towered, ten meters in height. Arms stretched as it had placed them beside Alexander. It had six pedipalp legs, with a back that was about seven meters long. "To me, it shall inevitably be returned."
Metal looked on before he smirked. "A golem manifestation—you are a member of the Silverettes Alright. They are rumored to have the strongest Golem living among them. Could this be it?"
Anemone was in awe, just when she thought the battle couldn't get anymore outrageous, it did. By leaps and bounds at that. Her eyes widened, as she felt a sudden headache. Information update. That's a first glory golem. The lowest in the manifestation series of golems. I never knew he could summon a golem. Those things are supposedly taxing for the magic reserve.
A structural genius and a user of a golem. It's a shame, they are both on the real plain right now. Now, "Prime Visualization: Plane Alignment Alteration." Let me disturb the equilibrium. "Wind Art: Rampaging Blades; Volley of Zephyr, Spirit Zephyr!" All her twenty blades gathered in the sky before scattering throughout the battleground. They surrounded the two releasing waves of gales.
Metal and Alexander stared at each other. The bluish goo straightened and formed a long rod. He spun it before a yellowish aura coated it. The aura that surrounded him intensified before he lunged toward the golem. The golem pulled back its fist, then dropping it toward him.
He suddenly stopped, shifting the momentum from his run into his swing. The fist clashed against the rod before it shattered. Metal planted his feet firmly against the ground before jumping. The aura surrounding the rod exploded, before he propelled it through the golem's head. It ran through it, ripping it in half.
Anemone's eyes rolled, desperately trying to track Metal's movements. He propelled himself downward. Landing with one foot on the rod. He flipped through, grabbing the rod from behind him. No sooner had his foot touched the ground than he dashed forward. He was aiming for another swing, this time for Alexander.
Alexander ducked, revealing the volley of revolving sharpened stones he had behind him. He projected them toward Metal, who parried them repeatedly. When he looked ahead, he was met by an uppercut. This stunned him, sending him flying.
Alexander felt the gale storm wane when he heard a whisper. "Thanks for this Alexander. This is the ideal opening." He smiled, watching her blitz past him. At the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of green light. Nine blades revolving about themselves. Is this—her spirit Zephyr.
As she flew toward Metal, she thought, Truthfully, killing someone doesn't take much. A node fracturing level of Spirit magic should do the trick. One to the heart for Cardiac arrest and organ function seizure. That reality never changes. So goodbye...Alexander. Even I know full well, that someone who targets only an aspect of someone…..can never be trusted.
She released another gust of wind, propelling herself even faster before catching up to Metal. Metal, who was still dazed. She accelerated, before projecting herself downward and placing her soft hands against his chest. "Now…" she trailed off before exclaiming, "Spirit Zephyr!" Ten of her blades returned to her.
By the time Metal gathered his wits about him, it was already too late. A large wave of spirit magic ran through the node in his heart. Corrupting it, further and further still. The rod liquidated, turning to goo before jumping to Anemone's face. They attempted to suffocate her when she increased the pulse. Propelling Metal downward.
The brown eye of the shattered golem began to glow. She crushed into the ground, wounding her already ripped body as she screamed and groaned in pain. A fate worse than death. She had damaged all the nodes in her limbs. That abrupt surge in spirit magic…it almost fractured my nodes. She panted, crawling away. Mustering whatever strength she had left. She felt cold. Her body, stripped of all its magic. Her vision blurred as even the ability to perceive the world at all waned. Everything appeared blurry.
She felt a jolt. She forced herself to turn around before looking toward where she sensed it. There— Metal stood. Blue metallic goo dripping from him. He panted, allowing it to solidify. He then raised it. Aiming to skewer Anemone.
No sooner had he started dropping the rod than his throat burst. A rotating earth bullet had just skewered him. He felt next to her. Alexander walked toward her as she stubbornly clung to life. The golem carried him to her side.
"That was a good one Ane. You almost had me. But, I shifted a bit so you fractured the node in my spin. I am only paralyzed now," Alexander said, coughing as each breath was a greater struggle than the last.
She coughed before she looked toward him. "Who is that? They look so big." The golem was about to strike her when she saw black feathers. Kano? They turned to silver before a Silver ray descended from the sky. Accompanying it, flashes of lightning that ran rampant. Ripping apart the ground.
"Must I always babysit— miss?"
Walter? A silver aura coated his hands when he grabbed the incoming fist. He crushed it before locking eyes with Alexander. Alexander's eyes narrowed, "Treacherous Blood Silverette!"
"I dislike that name….CHANGE IT." Anemone passed out. Her breathing becoming more erratic.
[Special note: when Anemone propelled herself toward Metal, she used spirit magic. Clashing it with the already existing amounts she released in the atmosphere. It generated a swim effect. This is why instead of experiencing physical damage, her nodes paid the price.]