Barrier Fall

The Storm

Nox launched forward at blistering speed, barely in control.

WHAM! His fist smashed toward Raizen.

CLANG! Raizen blocked with the flat of his sword. For a heartbeat their eyes locked. 

"Move!" Juro's shout cut through the clash.

Nox twisted left just in timeJuro's sudden strike closed in. Raizen turned, lightning exploding from his blade.

BOOOOM! 

The two forces collided, scattering dust and rock in a shockwave.

But Nox was already clinging low to the ground like a lizard. In one motion he vaulted upward, strings of raw instinct pulling him. A blade clamped in his teeth, another in his left hand, his right fist cocked back,three threats all at once.

Raizen's eyes narrowed. From watching Nox he knew he was ambidextrous, each attack could land with lethal weight. Which one would it be?

Then he caught Juro hurling down at terrifying speed from above. His back pressed against the wall of the crater.

"Tch… fine. I'll blow you both away!"

KRAKOOOM! Thunder ripped the air, blasting them across the pit. When the dust settled, the crater itself had deepened like their fight had carved it into the earth.

Raizen now stood outside, peering down.

"Done?" His calm voice made Nox's blood boil.

"Give me your hand!" Juro barked.

Nox stretched his right hand, Juro swung him twice like a hammer and hurled him at Raizen.

Nox shot forward like a spear, Juro's lightning falling from the sky to meet the strike in the same breath.

Raizen braced, raising his sword horizontally overhead with both hands to block the bolt exposing his chest.

BANG! Nox's fist slammed into him like hailstones against steel.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! Raizen smashed through tree after tree before finally cratering into the ground, sword still in hand.

"Ohhh YEAH!" Nox roared, fists raised. "Finally ready to take us serious… old man?"

Raizen rose slowly, eyes cold and dangerous. "Yes."

"...Nox." Juro's voice trembled like he knew what was coming. "Get ready."

Raizen smiled faintly at Nox. The boy glared back. Then,he vanished.

Nox's eyes darted,left, right

"Boo."

Raizen appeared before him, his punch detonating Nox back into the crater.

BOOM! Juro joined him a split second later, smashed down before he could react.

Raizen exhaled, almost like relief.

The boys clawed their way back up, panting, battered.

"What the hell, man?" Nox spat. "You said you were around our level!"

"He didn't say it would be easy," Juro wheezed, legs shaking.

"Hey are you alright,"Nox said as he held up Juro.

Raizen's voice cut through their exhaustion.

"Nox! You put everything into every swing, thinking strength alone could take me out. But you," he looked at Juro, "you fought smart, improvising with every strike . And you" his eyes turned to Nox again. "you've mastered using Iora both in defense and offense without burning yourself up."

The boys straightened unconsciously, listening.

"Landing a clean punch on me during your first spar… not many can claim that. I commend you."

The praise barely had time to settle before his grin widened.

"Now… round two."

The beating continued until sunset. By evening, the crater was littered with their sweat and exhaustion.

"I could sleep a year," Nox groaned.

I could make that permanent you know,Raizen leaned against a tree, staring at the binding ring on his finger. Half full now, its toll pressing on him too.

Nox was too exhausted for his usual witty response.

The three warriors collapsed beneath the fading sun, too tired to hunt, too tired to move.

Night fell. The jagged moon carved shadows across the clearing.

Juro's stomach growled like thunder. He stood, sword dragging. "I'm hunting rabbits before I starve to death."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Nox muttered, sprawled nearby.

Raizen stayed back, arms folded, eyes on the moon.

But as Juro turned, a massive shadow loomed.

"JURO!" Nox's shout split the night.

Raizen stirred, but he was too far.

Nox blasted forward, exhaustion forgotten. His fist smashed into the horned beast before it could strike, turning it into a spray of blood.

Another beast dropped from the trees behind him. Juro yanked Nox back, lightning sparking at his blade.

ZAP! The monster died mid fall.

The boys collapsed together, legs quaking.

Raizen strode toward them, his voice grim.

"We're surrounded."

From the trees, shadows unraveled into snarling beasts. Seventeen… no, more.

He tossed down the bag of weight pads. "Remember when I told you the binding rings could save your lives? Absorb the iora within these. Now!"

The boys obeyed, channeling Iora, Energy surged back into their bodies like fire in their veins.

The monsters charged.

CRACKLE! Raizen's lightning scythed in a circle, vaporizing everything in range.

But more emerged. these were different sleek, furred, golden eyed, their looks more detailed. Menacing, almost looked human.

And then the leader came. Seven feet tall, scarred, regal in its brutality. Its horns parted the swarm like a king's crown.

"The Necromancer," Raizen murmured.

Juro and Nox steadied themselves at his sides.

One beast rushed at Juro,he countered with a lightning strike, but it survived the first hit. Nox followed with a crushing hook, dropping it.

Raizen raised his sword toward the towering leader.

"Remember me?"

The thing's voice was a growl.

KRAKOOM! Lightning obliterated its head.

Only for it to regenerate in seconds.

A guttural roar echoed. The others surged into its body.

It shrank as it absorbed them, condensing into a five foot form. Sleek, humanoid, teenage in frame. Skin black as void, eyes burning gold, teeth sharp like knives.

Raizen's voice was low, heavy.

"We thought they'd lie low until the full moon. So I let down my guard. I wore this ring believing we were hunters…" He raised his left hand, the binding ring glinting under the moonlight. "But tonight it seems… we are prey."

The boys froze, but Raizen didn't stop. His tone hardened.

"We can't defeat it as we are. The only way to survive is for me to overload the ring and return to full power… but I'll be vulnerable for up to forty seconds."

Nox cracked a grin, brushing blood off his lip.

"So we just babysit you for forty seconds? Sounds easy."

Juro slid beside him, blade sparking, eyes unwavering.

"It would be our pleasure."

The beast's lips parted. Impossible! A smile. The grin stretching too wide, too human,eyes burning gold.

A hard battle they weren't quite ready for, has now presented itself, but they were determined to win.