"I'm going to regret this," Orphin muttered to himself.
Without saying a word, his hands began to gradually transform into a monstrous shape. His skin cracked and turned a dark reddish-black, as if blood had congealed beneath it. His fingers lengthened and twisted until they became like sharp, gnarled organic claws. His veins bulged on the surface, pulsing with a faint light that glowed in the dimness. Their movement was unsteady, as if they were adapting to a new form, making sticky, friction sounds whenever the joints moved. Despite the monstrous appearance, the hands remained flexible, capable of grasping and tearing with inhuman ease.
"I don't have much time... We need to finish this quickly."
Orphin climbed out of the crater he was in.
Vallhim froze for a moment,stunned by what he was seeing. He couldn't believe that Orphin had reached this stage, having thought he was still just a seed who hadn't yet mastered Resonance.
"Hey, don't think a pair of new hands will save you!" Vallhim said loudly, then shouted:
"Fourth Sky Cleaver!"
He raised his swords and swung them one after the other with immense power, forming a glowing blue X-shape. The attack shot towards Orphin at lightning speed, who jumped sideways to avoid it. The hill was split down the middle by two intersecting lines, deep and sharp, while stones flew and the earth cracked around the impact.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Orphin picked up a large rock and threw it with great force at Vallhim. Vallhim sliced the rock in half with a single strike, but the symbols carved on its surface caused a momentary blur in his vision.
In that instant, Orphin appeared in front of him, throwing a punch with his right fist. Vallhim dodged it by moving his head at the last second, causing the wind around them to explode with force, pushing the rubble backward.
Vallhim retreated a step, then lunged forward with a direct headbutt that hit Orphin in the face, sending him tumbling away.
Orphin got up,wiped the blood from his nose, and then struck the ground with his hand, causing a light tremor. His goal wasn't an earthquake, but what followed—a huge wave of water rose up, hitting Vallhim and dragging him away.
The water was about ten meters deep. The Sky Cleaver's body that Vallhim possessed made movement underwater nearly impossible. Yet, he shouted through the water bubbles:
"Ocean Cleaver,Part the Waves!"
He moved only his swords, and the water's surface split into two opposing sides, forming a clear path between them.
Vallhim emerged from the water, completely soaked. He looked at Orphin with angry eyes and said in a deep voice:
"I am the Sky Cleaver.There is nothing I cannot cut."
Orphin gritted his teeth and raised his left hand towards the sky, shouting angrily:
"Let's end this game now!"
Dense lightning bolts came down from the sky, striking the ground from all directions. Vallhim nimbly dodged them, then dashed towards Orphin at lightning speed, raising his right sword, ready for the next strike.
Orphin quickly created an earthquake in his hand and used it to block the attack. An earth wave shot out with power, but it wasn't as strong as his previous earthquakes. It was clear that Orphin was not as strong as before, and his time was running out.
Vallhim noticed this immediately and increased the pace of his attacks. One strike after another, fast and from all directions. Orphin tried to keep up as much as he could, but using his earthquake power repeatedly in a short time had weakened his body and exhausted him, almost pushing him to his absolute limit.
Vallhim skillfully dodged Orphin's defenses. After a series of attacks, he made Orphin focus all his attention on his four hands, forgetting about his opponent's feet. Then, Vallhim delivered a powerful kick that hit Orphin in the chest, sending him flying backward until he crashed hard into the wall of a nearby building.
The place shook, and Orphin spat out blood as he slowly raised his head. He found the Sky Cleaver standing in front of him, looking at him with empty eyes that seemed to see right through him.
"I'll play with you a little before I kill you. After all... I'm bored."
This was not the Vallhim everyone knew. The legendary warrior didn't torture his opponents or look down on them. But this time, he didn't see Orphin as a rival; he saw him as a criminal who had killed and tortured the people of the First Kingdom, and he believed he deserved torture, not a fair fight.
From that moment on, the Sky Cleaver didn't use his swords. He started hitting Orphin with only his hands and feet, sometimes throwing him high into the air, other times hurling him into the rubble. Orphin couldn't fight back; he had used up all his energy.
He fell to his knees, unable to move, and the signs of his transformation were gone. Vallhim approached, picked up one of his swords, and placed it on Orphin's neck. Then he lifted it high and said calmly:
"Die."
But just seconds before the sword could touch his neck, the rubble behind Vallhim rose up. The air suddenly changed, followed by a strong wind that scattered the dust in every direction. The Sky Cleaver's body was thrown backward with great force, tumbling across the ground. His sword fell and clattered against the stones.
Orphin stayed where he was, feeling the pressure of the wind pass over him before it gradually began to fade.
"How dare you touch my nephew!" a voice came from behind.
Vallhim turned and saw a man in his late years. His hair was faded, his beard short, and his face carried the marks of many long years of battle. His clothes were dark and tidy, showing he had lived his life between fighting and the wind.
The Sky Cleaver lifted his head and laughed softly:
"You've finally come...Darioss!"
A few meters away, Koran was watching the scene, stunned. Just moments ago, Vallhim was fighting Orphin, and now Darioss had appeared before them. He swallowed hard and said to himself, as if whispering to someone who wasn't there:
"It's Darioss...the Storm of Valdrin. Is he going to fight too? This is a battle of monsters!"