Lucas added, voice quiet but sharp, "It can't be."
Kaela didn't speak. She simply adjusted her balance, her foot dragging slightly in a curved motion—then locked eyes with the enemy.
"It's the Whispering Fang stance," Dreck muttered. "But… that form was lost."
"Only a handful of Archons knew it. Lucas added.
Kaela cracked a smile. "Guess I'm full of surprises."
Liam blinked at her. "You've been holding back on me?"
"Maybe," she said without looking back. "But right now, no more holding back."
Dreck leaned toward Lucas slightly, voice low. "That technique—it's reactive… It turns ambient aether into real-time counters."
"She shouldn't know it," Lucas said. "Which means… either she's remembering something
Either way, the stakes had just changed.
Kaela's aura pulsed lightly, but it was the stance itself—elegant, coiled, and precise—that stole the night's attention.
And then… she moved.
Kaela moved like a whisper through smoke.
The first assassin lunged—and was immediately on the ground. She hadn't even shifted her weight, just redirected his momentum with a twist of her shoulder and a brush of her palm.
The second came in harder, blades flashing.
She stepped forward once. Slid low. Her elbow struck his ribs, then her heel swept his legs from beneath him in a single fluid motion. He hit the ground before he even realized he'd been countered.
Dreck narrowed his eyes. "She's not just using the stance… she's mastered it."
Liam watched from the side, momentarily stunned. She's on another level…
His fists clenched. A quiet fire lit behind his eyes.
His jaw tightened.
"I won't fall behind you," he muttered—and surged forward.
One of the assassins turned to intercept him, smirking—only for Liam to vanish mid-step. Aether pulsed beneath his feet as he reappeared behind the man, driving his knee into the assassin's back and following with a spinning palm strike that cracked the air.
The assassin crashed into a tree, stunned.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "He's adapting… fast."
Dreck smirked. "He always does when it matters."
Kaela's body flickered forward like a ribbon in the wind—smooth, silent, and sudden. Her palm shot for the nearest assassin's throat, a feint masked as a strike. But he read it.
Steel met skin.
The assassin twisted mid-air, blocking with the flat of his blade and pivoting behind her with practiced grace. A graze of metal slid past her ribs, just shallow enough to miss vitals.
"Tch," the assassin scoffed, eyes narrowing behind his mask. "You've got talent… for knowing such a stance."
Kaela dropped low, using the momentum to sweep his legs, but he flipped backwards, landing lightly on his feet.
Another assassin stepped forward, his voice gravelly. "You'll regret letting the kids take us on two versus four."
He gestured to Liam with a mocking tilt of the head. "Well… not that it matters. You'll be next."
Dreck smiled faintly, arms crossed. "Big mistake."
Lucas's expression was unreadable, but his gaze remained sharp. "They've already underestimated them."
Without a word, Liam moved.
His breath synced with Kaela's as if they'd rehearsed it—his foot slamming into the ground as he dashed left, drawing two of the assassins. They reacted instantly, blades flashing.
Liam ducked under the first slash, twisting his body mid-roll to avoid the second. Strafe Step. He dropped into a low sweep—Phantom Leg—tripping one of the assassins to his knee before backflipping out of range.
Kaela, meanwhile, flowed between her attacker's movements with eerie calm. Her palms deflected strikes not with force, but with precision. Each redirection turned the assassin's own power against him.
One blade came too close.
Kaela tilted just enough, then countered—Whisper Fang: Twin Spiral—her arms moving in a slow spiral that ended with two pinpoint jabs to her opponent's pressure points. His limbs froze momentarily.
But the other two assassins were closing in fast on Liam.
Liam grit his teeth. "Kaela—!"
"I'm on it!" she replied.
With a twist of her heel, she leapt between them, catching one by surprise with a rising elbow that cracked his chin. The other swung—Kaela ducked, then flicked a kick to his stomach, sending him staggering back into Liam's strike.
Shock Pulse.
Liam's palm exploded with aether just as it connected with the assassin's back. The man flew forward, colliding with his comrade in a heap.
Lucas's eyes widened. "They're syncing."
"Improvising," Dreck corrected. "But dangerously well."
Only two assassins stood firm now, circling slowly.
Kaela's breath came evenly.
Liam wiped a trickle of blood from his lip and stepped beside her.
"Round two?" he asked.
Kaela smirked. "Let's finish this."
Kaela cracked her neck and eyed the two remaining assassins circling them.
Then she smirked. "Are these guys stronger than the last one… or did they just bring more wimps?"
From the shadows, Lucas answered coolly, arms folded. "No. You've just gotten stronger."
Kaela glanced back briefly, a flicker of pride in her eyes.
Liam chuckled beside her. "We'll take that."
The two assassins exchanged glances—and for the first time, hesitated.
Mistake.
Kaela surged forward again, feet gliding effortlessly across the pavement as if gravity had loosened its grip on her. Her body twisted mid-stride, slipping into a low sweep aimed at the nearest assassin's legs. He jumped—barely—but the second she rose, her elbow crashed into his midsection.
He wheezed and stumbled back, only for Liam to appear behind him in a flash.
Twin Spiral Jab.
Two quick strikes, one to the temple, the other to the jaw—both reinforced with pulsing ambient aether. The assassin dropped like stone.
The second one lunged at Kaela, daggers drawn. Fast—far faster than the others had been.
But Kaela didn't blink.
She spun around him, guiding his own momentum past her shoulder, then rammed her heel into his spine with a burst of Counter Surge. He groaned and crumpled.
The last two didn't wait—they attacked together.
Liam pivoted left, intercepting one with a sweeping block, but the other got close—too close—to Kaela.
"You'll regret letting the kids take us on," the assassin hissed mid-strike. "Two against four? Foolish."
Kaela grinned. "Well, it's your funeral."
"It doesn't matter," he snarled. "You'll be next."
He thrust forward, blade aiming for her shoulder—but a shadow streaked between them.
Liam.
Phantom Cross.
His forearm slammed into the assassin's wrist, deflecting the blade, then his palm struck the man's chest, pushing him off balance.
Kaela didn't miss the opening.
She shifted, grounded her feet—and drove her fist straight into his stomach. Aether exploded from the impact like a shockwave. The assassin coughed blood and dropped.
The final assassin stood alone now, cautious, steps backing away slowly.
From the shadows, Dreck's grin widened.
Lucas muttered under his breath, "These two… they're syncing."
Kaela turned toward the last assassin and raised her hand.
"Ready to finish this, partner?" she asked.
Liam cracked his knuckles. "Born ready."
As Liam and Kaela prepared to strike down the final assassin, the air thickened.
A pulse—subtle at first—rippled through the space behind them.
Then it hit.
A wave of heat, sudden and searing.
The three fallen assassins rose to their feet, bodies steaming, dark embers trailing from their limbs. Their cloaks burned at the edges, revealing faint crimson marks glowing across their skin like molten veins.
"We underestimated the kids," one of them growled.
All three spoke in unison. "Stage Two—First Flame… ignite."
Flames erupted from their bodies—not wild, but tightly controlled, dancing along their arms and weapons like living spirits. Their eyes glowed with a deep, unnatural red.
Kaela took a step back, her expression tense. "I guess this is Stage Two of the First Flame."
Liam inhaled sharply, sweat already forming on his brow. The heat was real—oppressive.
"But we'll see this through," Kaela added, eyes burning with resolve.
Together, they launched themselves forward again.
The clash was instant and brutal. The assassins moved with blinding speed, their strikes now lined with fiery trails. Kaela ducked under a flaming kick, spun behind her opponent, and struck—only for the assassin to twist unnaturally and counter with a blazing elbow.
Liam traded blows with two at once, deflecting a flaming dagger with his forearm while launching a knee into the ribs of the other. Sparks flew with every impact.
They were faster. Stronger.
But Kaela and Liam didn't back down.
Liam dropped into Aether Shift, evading a scorching blade by inches and countering with a rising hook. Kaela weaved through her opponent's strikes like water, Whispering Fang responding almost instinctively, aether crackling with each step and motion.
Still, the assassins were gaining ground—inch by inch.
"They're pushing us hard," Liam grunted, back-to-back with Kaela.
"Good," Kaela said, smiling through grit teeth. "Means we're getting stronger."
And with that, they surged again—this time, not just fighting back.
But adapting.