DoorBound

Atlas was caught off guard by this man. Instead of attacking Sebastian or Iris, he went straight for him. He barely had time to think due to the sheer speed of the tiny man. He knew that raising his sword meant death.

Atlas was ready to warp away, saving himself, when Sebastian stepped in front. He geared up, ready to parry the oncoming attack or at least block in some way. The man didn't slow down as he got closer and closer to meeting Sebastian. The moment the blades clashed, another powerful shockwave flew across the slab.

Atlas was sent flying into the air. He landed on the edge with a soft thump and tried to regain his balance.

"These two were anomalies," Atlas thought.

Instead of having a clash that was on the level of normal humans, these two were a different level of fighters, in a class of their own. This made him wonder about how truly strong Aether could make someone.

Atlas knew he had to get up and help Sebastian once again, but this one attack reminded him of the overwhelming difference between himself and someone who actually had training and could clearly use Aether to a high degree.

His previous kills on the two girls were by catching them by surprise and also using his warp technique. If he fought them in a fair fight with swords, he would surely lose.

Still, he grabbed his sword and raised it once again.

Sebastian used his sword to swing strongly from left to right. The man ducked underneath and once again used Aether, seeping it into his legs and pushing off the ground. This time, Atlas could see something new—Sebastian himself was using Aether, and it had the same color as the man, a dark black, except his was only faintly visible.

Sebastian poured it into his arms, and they moved at incredible speed, blocking the lunge.

The man then jumped backward into the air and landed on the edge of the platform. He swapped the way he handled the daggers, from holding them both up to holding one up and the other down. He then moved at incredible speeds, this time going for a jump attack at Sebastian. He flew through the air and slashed with both at the same time. Sebastian hit the man with an attack at the same time. Another large shockwave from the clash was produced, but this time a clear winner was shown.

Sebastian stood tall with a look of surprise on his face. The man's dagger broke from Atlas's attack into pieces, leaving it with no friction for the swing to hit and slow down. This meant Sebastian's attack, instead of stopping mid-air, hit nothing. As for where the man was, he somehow sidestepped on air to the right.

He was using the same daggers that had just broken into pieces. Most people would assume they were now useless, but no matter what, it was still a sharp object. He then stepped on the air again and was sent flying, stabbing into Sebastian's head straight through his right ear.

Sebastian's whole body stood as if nothing had happened. The only reason he fell to the ground was due to the man landing on his shoulders and pushing him down.

Sebastian's body flopped on the ground with the clear victor atop, holding a broken dagger in one hand with the other being a stump.

This left Atlas surprised because the man won in such a manner, bouncing off the air, and also due to the fact that during the fight, he held onto the dagger using no fingers, as if he was clenching with just his palm, yet still ultimately won the fight.

The small man looked at Atlas and smiled, readying himself to pounce yet again.

***

Near was finally able to finish off the broad man, even if it meant losing his left fingers. He was still the victor.

Sucking up the pain, he let Aether flow through his body again, rejuvenating it, and readied himself to push off the ground towards the tall man.

He paused for merely a second to catch his breath. Using his technique that much in a short period was hard. Being able to turn the air within a meter of his body into a solid surface was something that took a long time to master.

Every time he wanted to use it, the Aether from his body was drained. Most of the time, he would do what just happened in the fight and make a surface to push himself towards enemies. In some niche scenarios, he was even able to block an attack with it, but only against weak opponents.

Looking down to inspect his body, he saw something a little out of place. Where his stomach was, he saw a pointy metal object sticking out. He touched it, trying to see what exactly it was.

A sudden realization entered his mind.

The girl!

He swiveled and tried to kick, pouring Aether into his attack, meeting nothing but air.

The pain washed over him from what had just happened.

***

Atlas saw Iris behind the man as he smiled and, clearly showing his intent to attack, Atlas readied himself to warp.

Thankfully, Iris made it in time and sneakily sunk her blade through his abdomen.

The man kicked with full force at high speeds, but Iris was one step ahead and ducked under it. He then fell to the ground, holding the place he was bleeding from.

"YES!" Atlas screamed internally.

Iris was able to once again take advantage of the enemy's weak state to finish them off. Atlas wasted no time and ran over towards the man, raising his sword and swinging at his neck, trying to decapitate him.

As the sword went towards his neck, it was stopped by an invisible wall. This confused Atlas, who once again swung at him. Again, it was met with a wall. He tried once more, this time pouring Aether into his muscle groups, and as he swung, he felt the energy from his muscles increase by more than double.

It definitely did not match the speed of the man or the now-dead Sebastian, but it was faster than Atlas thought was possible.

The invisible wall shattered, and the sword sunk into the neck—not fully decapitating him but cutting deep enough to leave a fatal wound.

The man on the ground, with a sword still stuck in his stomach and a neck bleeding out, looked up at Atlas and pointed towards the sky. Atlas wasn't stupid enough to turn and be distracted. No matter how hurt someone was, they were still dangerous.

A wild animal with no way out will fight until death with as much strength as possible.

He studied the man's actions, and once the feminine voice rang out, declaring the death, he relaxed.

"You have slain Veiled Near."

"Your core has grown stronger."

Atlas was surprised by the second line. Instead of being met with just the announcement of the kill, this time, he was told that his core had grown stronger. He didn't know what met the criteria for gaining this message, but it was something to study in the future.

He tested his core, flowing Aether throughout his body. This time, the Aether seemed more like a liquid, but only slightly. It felt like an icy flow of energy coursing throughout his body.

Keeping that thought in the back of his head, Atlas turned around and faced the other fights.

This time, instead of a stalemate, there was a clear winner on each side. Atlas's group had survived, but only barely, each person filled with cuts and wounds from head to toe.

One other member of Atlas's group also died, the man who had rounded the corner previously to check for Atlas's presumed attacker.

The total outcome left only four people from his group alive, with the other group being fully dead.

Atlas fell to the ground when something unfathomable occurred.

From about fifty meters out, a tentacle pierced through the water, sending waves towards their location.