He gritted his teeth and refocused on Zurin, who was already charging at him again.

Their weapons clashed, with Rayleigh deflecting her axe and countering with a slash aimed at her neck. She jerked her head back and the blade missed by inches.

But the burning sensation intensified.

His skin reddened further as the pain creeped up toward his shoulder now. He pushed through it, parrying another of Zurin’s strikes and retaliating with a thrust toward her chest.

She blocked it with the haft of her axe, then shoved him back with raw strength.

Rayleigh stumbled, with his breathing heavier now. The burn wasn’t natural, and It wasn’t coming from her either.

Right then he leaped backward, putting several meters between them.

Zurin grinned, planting her axe into the ground and cracking her knuckles. "What’s wrong? Getting tired already?"

Rayleigh’s eyes then darted toward Xylo, who stood calmly a short distance away. The masks floating around him had dark miasma curling off their surfaces.

And one of them, a mask with a twisted, agonized expression was positioned directly in front of Xylo’s face.

That was when Rayleigh realized the burns he was feeling, came from the Sorcerer Demon.

This spell was demon magic, and each of these masks when worn over Xylo’s face, inflicted the target with a unique status effect.

Then the mask changed once more, with a new one floating into place. This one had hollow, sunken eyes and a slack expression.

Rayleigh’s body grew heavier and his movements became sluggish, as if something was draining the energy straight out of him.

His mana reserves dipped, and his stamina and battle aura output began to wane, as he now suffered from the effects of exhaustion.

In that moment, Zurin charged again right to cut through. But thankfully, Rayleigh could still muster enough speed to move aside, while swinging his katana almost simultaneously.

However, the strike lacked the sharpness it had before. Zurin blocked it easily and retaliated with a brutal overhead swing.

Rayleigh barely dodged, rolling to the side as the axe crashed into the ground where he initially stood.

He forced himself to his feet, but his breathing was labored and his muscles ached, his grip on his katana noticeably weakening.

Then mask changed again. This new one had a sleepy, drowsy expression.

Rayleigh’s vision blurred and his eyelids grew heavy. He could feel his body begging him to stop, to rest, and close his eyes.

It was the effect of Dizziness.

Zurin came at him again, sweeping her axe toward his side. He raised his katana to block, but his movements were slower, and when the axe struck his blade, the force of it sent him staggering.

"Come on!" Zurin shouted, her grin manic now. "You’re supposed to be strong, right? Show me something!"

Rayleigh gritted his teeth and forced himself to move. He ducked under her next swing and drove his katana upward, cutting clean through her left arm at the elbow.

The limb fell to the ground.

But Zurin laughed while reaching down and picking up her severed arm with her remaining hand.

She pressed it back against the stump, and hissing sounds followed as the flesh reconnected, with what looked like vapor rising from the reattachment point.

"Damn," she said, flexing her fingers. "That one actually hurt."

Rayleigh stepped back looking utterly distraught. They exchanged a few more clashes between themselves, but under the effects of the masks, it only made it hard to fight and harder to land decisive blows.

Rayleigh stumbled back from a kick to the chest, and Zurin followed immediately, sensing his body beginning to fail.

She closed the distance in a burst, swinging her axe in a wide arc. Rayleigh ducked beneath it, slipping into the opening as her throat was left exposed and unguarded.

He poured everything he had into this counter-attack as his katana flashed forward, aiming straight for her neck.

This was it.

The cut that would end her. The one thing they could not regenerate, once severed; the head.

But just as his blade was about to connect, the mask around Xylo changed one final time.

This was a blank, emotionless mask with no features.

Right then Rayleigh’s body locked up. His muscles froze mid-swing as his katana stopped just inches from Zurin’s throat.

The Effect Of Stun.

Zurin’s eyes widened in surprise, then her grin returned, wider than ever.

She repositioned, gripping her axe with both hands. "Bad timing, pretty."

Then she swung, and the blade of her axe caught Rayleigh across the chest, cutting in deep. Blood sprayed into the air as he was thrown backward, his body slamming into the ground several meters away.

He gasped, clutching at the wound. vision swam, and pain radiated through his entire torso.

Zurin started walking toward him, dragging her axe behind her. "Alright, let’s finish this."

But before she could close the distance, Xylo’s voice yelled out, "Get the girl! They’re moving!"

Zurin stopped, turning her head toward him. "What?"

Xylo held up his arm, showing the markings on his skin. "She’s leaving the building. They’re trying to get her out."

Zurin cursed, glancing back at Rayleigh’s prone form. Then she turned and sprinted toward the building, leaving him behind.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

-

Meanwhile, in the car driven by the old man..

Then other servant was in the passenger’s seat while Ishtar huddled in the back. She kept glancing behind with teary eyes , calling out softly, hoping Rayleigh would follow.

"Ray... please... Ray..."

Then, without warning, Zurin landed on the car bonnet like a missile.

The impact was brutal and vehicle jolted to a stop with the bonnet crunched beneath her weight.

She had this grin on her face, and before anyone could react, she swung her axe in yet another wide arc.

The windscreen shattered and the blade cleaved straight through both the old man and the woman in the front seat. Blood sprayed across the dashboard and Ishtar screamed out her lungs.

Zurin yanked the back door open and grabbed Ishtar by the arm, hauling her out of the car. Ishtar struggled, kicking and thrashing, but Zurin’s grip felt like iron.

"Come on, girl," Zurin said with a disgusted look. "Time to go home."

-

Xylo had approached Rayleigh, with the exhaustion mask worn in front of his face.

Rayleigh was on the ground, with the deep cut across his chest bleeding heavily.

The exhaustion effect only weakened him further. He couldn’t move.

Zurin walked toward them, dragging Ishtar with one hand. Ishtar’s face was streaked with tears, and she struggled desperately, crying out.

Then she saw Rayleigh.

Her eyes widened, and she screamed louder. "Ray! Ray, no! Ray!"

Rayleigh lifted his hand weakly, reaching toward her, but his arm trembled and fell back down.

Xylo stepped forward and pressed his foot down on Rayleigh’s hand, pinning it to the ground.

"Stay down," Xylo said quietly.

Zurin dragged Ishtar toward their car parked up front. "Let’s go."

Ishtar thrashed harder, tears streaming down her face. "No! No! Let me go! Ray! Ray, please!"

She was being forced back. Back to that hellish cell she had been rescued from.

Her breathing quickened and her chest tightened.

"No... no... no..."

And then something inside her snapped.

The markings on her arm began to glow, and a light green hue spread across the Carrion Seal, flowing with power.

Ishtar’s eyes lit up with the same green glow, and her scream turned raw and desperate.

"Nooooooo!"

A sudden shockwave burst from her body, expanding outwards in a force so overwhelming, that it sent Zurin and Xylo flying in different directions and crashing into the ground several meters away.

When the shockwave cleared, for a moment Ishtar looked furious for a second with her eyes still glowing.

Then she quickly looked around towards Rayleigh, and without thinking, she ran.

"Ray! Ray!"

She dropped to her knees beside him, grabbing his hand with both of hers. "Ray, please! Ray, wake up! Please!"

But he didn’t respond. His eyes were half-closed, and his breathing faint, with blooding pooled beneath him.

Ishtar’s tears fell onto his chest. "No... no, please... Ray..."

Then the glow on her arm intensified and a strange greenish like energy began to flow from her arm into Rayleigh’s body.

The Power Of The Carrion she held was healing him.

—-

A/N: 6/12 bonuses done✅

350 tickets goal complete ✅