Alister pushed himself up from the rubble, his mind still processing the unexpected turn of events. The pain from the impact radiated through his legs, and he could feel Kaelan’s
frustration bubbling beneath the surface.
The plan had been perfect, or so he thought. But in that crucial moment, everything had gone horribly wrong.
‘How did she do that?’ he wondered, struggling to make sense of what had just happened.
His speed should have been more than enough to close the gap before she could react.
Yet, it felt as if the very ground beneath him had slipped out from under his feet at the worst possible moment.
Na’zehra’s laughter filled the air. “Did you really think you could outrun the laws of this world? You’re amusing, I’ll give you that.”
Alister gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. His sword was still in hand, glowing faintly with the residual lightling of his attempted attack, but the confidence he’d had moments ago was shaken.
“You should know this by now, one’s crest only requires their mind to activate. What’s to stop me from breaking laws with my thoughts?”
Curious and confused, Alister asked, “Then why have you been saying it out loud like you’ve been doing earlier?”
Na’zehra responded in a smug tone, “Because it’s fun. Saying it out loud like that means you’ll expect what sort of move I’m going to make, but you still won’t be able to counter it.” She used both hands to grab her face, licking her lips with her tongue, a blush on her face. “That feeling of helplessness is like poison to a dragon’s pride. Besides just your physical body, your dragon soul will slowly take damage over time as you fight back desperately! Yet you’ll be unable to do anything to save yourself.”
“And the face you’ll make at the end will be so priceless!”
She shook her hips from side to side. “Oh, thinking about it now is making me hot all over.”
‘She’s crazy…’ Alister concluded, tightening his grip on the sword. Still curious about what sort of law she shattered, he decided to ask.
“So, what law did you shatter this time?”
“Ho? Curious now, are we? Well, I don’t mind telling you, that is my style after all.” She paused, dropping her hands and placing the right one on her waist, “I shattered the Law of Motion just as you began to move.”
“Without it, all your speed amounts to nothing. You can’t control your movements, can’t even maintain your balance. You’re like a puppet with its strings cut.”
“I knew you’d want you use you speed to attack me before I could shatter another law.” “I mean, what else could you have used besides your speed? You are a Valor-Void after all.” Her words hit Alister, making him realize she had anticipated his plan, knowing exactly how to counter it. Shattering the Law of Motion meant that his incredible speed had become his greatest draw back.
Without the natural laws governing movement, his velocity had thrown him off balance, making it impossible to execute his attack.
Na’zehra took a step forward, her crimson eyes gleaming. “I told you, little Valor-Void, you can’t escape me. No matter how fast you think you are, I can always be one step ahead.”
Alister’s mind raced, searching for a way out of this situation. Na’zehra’s ability to shatter laws was far more dangerous than he’d initially realized, especially now considering the fact she didn’t need to say it to activate it.
She could nullify any chance he might have, reducing his most powerful abilities to mere parlor tricks.
‘Think, Alister, think! There has to be a way to counter this…’
But the more he thought, the more it seemed like every possible move was countered by her power.
Na’zehra’s smile widened as she watched Alister’s scramble his head for an answer.
“What’s the matter? Are you out of ideas already? Or perhaps you’ve realized just how futile it is to resist me?”
Alister took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. If he couldn’t beat her head-on, he needed to find a way to outsmart her. Or make her fight the battle on his rules.
Kaelan’s voice echoed in his mind, filled with a touch of frustration and anger. ~’She’s toying with me. I need to keep my head if I’m going to find a way through this.’~
Alister knew he had to keep analyzing the situation, looking for any weakness, any pattern in Na’zehra’s actions that he could exploit.
Alister’s gaze moved to the ruins around him. The destruction she had caused was absolute, but what if was something in the environment he could use-something she might not
expect.
‘If I can’t rely on speed, then I need to change how we fight this battle.’
Alister thought, a new plan forming in his mind. ‘And if she wants to shatter laws… I’ll force her to shatter the one that I want her to.’
He looked back at her, thinking, ‘But first, before I conclude on anything, for this to work, I have to confirm something.’
Alister suddenly leaned back, twisting his hips, and with a sudden burst, he threw his sword at her. Na’zehra didn’t flinch, instead, she shattered the Law of Force, causing the sword to bounce off her body and crash into the rubble in the distance.
“Getting desperate? You won’t last long if you’re getting worked up this early.”
“Oh, you need not worry…” Alister smiled beneath his helmet, “This is all part of my plan.” Na’zehra narrowed her eyes, a touch of irritation in her tone as she replied, “Is that arrogance I hear? I don’t like my men talking down on me. I suppose I’ll have to teach you some
manners.”
In that instant, Na’zehra spoke up, “Shattering space law.”
She appeard right in front of him. Without pausing, yelled with excitement, “Shattering force law.” She then raised her leg intending to land a devastating kick.