"I'm in a hurry, so I'd suggest staying out of my way. I'm not the kind of guy that likes being late," Bastian warned.
Katliah tilted her head with her scarlet eyes trained on the man, pointing her finger at her head, "Haaah?! Didja hear a word I said?! Forget all that other crap—I want a piece of ya, Seraphheart!"
Issuing her challenge, the woman manifested bright-red chains that wrapped around her arms, attached to dual, curved swords she wielded on each hand.
"You're here for Excelsior Mytheart and Emilio Dragonheart," Bastian guessed, though spoke as if he already knew.
Katliah raised an eyebrow before clicking her tongue, "Ya know all of that? Yer as resourceful as they say, Seraphheart. Either way, it doesn't make a difference."
At that exact moment, heavenly seals manifested in front of Bastian, who calmly pushed both of his hands through them. As each of his arms passed through the seals, they became layered in light, golden-and-silver armor.
[Seraphheart System Activated]
[Current Stage: 1/10 | Holy Warrior]
Just as he manifested the heavenly gauntlets, the wicked woman dashed in with her blades trailing behind her, attached by the chains she wore. In that split-second, the ear-to-ear grin of the woman was seen before the curved, black-and-purple blades she wielded were swung.
KLANG
"--" Bastian remained standing in the same spot.
"Aintcha special?" Katliah grinned.
The Seraphheart lifted one arm to block both of the swung swords, using the sturdiness of his holy gauntlets to completely negate the strikes aimed for his head.
Bastian exuded a radiant aura that knocked the woman back, brushing through the dirt like a sweeping tide.
Katliah landed on the ground nimbly despite her heavy-set armor, looking pleased by their first clash.
That wild smile perched on the woman's lips was followed by a tangible manifestation of her killing intent; a blood-red aura erupted from her body, surrounding her like a cloak of malignant crimson that represented her sole purpose:
"Murder!" Katliah chaotically screamed, seeming to lose what little reason she had.
The insanity of the foe he faced didn't surprise Bastian as he sidestepped the nearly instantaneous dash-and-strike from the woman; the missed sword slash caused the bloody aura to rip through the dirt violently.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Katliah laughed without reason.
Bastian watched the woman briefly with an indifferent look in his eyes before raising one of his arms.
'When a human is granted a portion of a Primordial's authority, it often ends like this: that level of power corrupting their mind and turning them mad. They end up embodying the concept they're given, becoming slaves of it rather than making it their own,' Bastian thought.
A sublime, golden light appeared in the palm of his hand as he raised it, gathering the radiance before pointing it towards the crazed warrior: ["Divine Punishment"].
"—Huh?" Katliah's eyes widened upon seeing only the brightness of the light.
As the unique skill was unleashed point-blank against the aspect-wielding woman, it manifested in a radiant force that thundered forth, blasting through the dirt road and the warrior herself.
"Nnngaaah!" Katliah cried out.
The golden shock wave left a chunk of land carved out, tearing through a hundred meters of dirt and destroying a few trees in the way of the one who had been blasted.
"—" Bastian remained composed.
["Divine Punishment"] was a skill he found potent against such abrasive foes; an ability that shaped its destructive force in accordance with the sins held by the target.
FWOOM
The immediate land trembled as a force launched from the broken trees, going into the air briefly before crashing down in front of the nomad. Landing with a wicked smile, the crimson-eyed woman wiped the blood from her bottom lip.
"That packed a punch! Ha-ha! Yer good, as expected!" Katliah laughed before resting her massive, dual swords on her shoulders, "If yer this strong…I can't be expected to bring ya back alive, right? So, that means it's alright to gut ya like a pig?"
"You've got a foul tongue," Bastian quietly remarked.
That observation made the woman reel her head back before lurching forward dramatically, "Hah?! What are ya, some kind of fragile lil' saint?! 'Course I'm foul! I love getting bloody and making people bloody! Now, let's do thi—!"
Before the words could fully leave the battle-loving woman's lips, the scruffy-bearded nomad vanished before her eyes. For a second, it looked as though he had disappeared completely, but the splitting of wind and caving of the dirt meant something else—he was just that fast.
The bloodlusted figure was caught off-guard for a fraction of a second before squeezing the handle of both of her swords, swinging them with a wide arc in front of her that encompassed the entire area before her.
KLANG. KLANG.
Bastian masterfully deflected the sharp-edged swords with his gauntlets as he closed in on the woman.
For a moment, Katliah looked dismayed before a wicked grin returned to her lips as she manipulated the bloody aura around her blades, causing them to launch crimson slashes from every angle around the man.
'Gotchaaaa!' Katliah thought.
—Though, once more, hopes were dashed as without moving his eyes from the enemy before him, Bastian was able to swiftly duck and weave through the bloody projectiles.
"Hah?!" Katliah let out.
There wasn't a drop of sweat seen on the man's skin before he stomped down with a force that shattered the soil around him, producing a wind that stunned his enemy.
He squeezed his gauntlets shut as they hummed with a jeweled light that enveloped them, burning brightly like the morning rise of a star.
["Trinity Impact"]
Each thrust of his fist was unable to be seen; too fast and effortless with each movement that all that was perceived by the one on the receiving end was the pain that followed.
"Gaaah–!" Katliah spit out both saliva and blood.
Though there were only five blows made in succession, there were over a dozen felt, feeling as though three impacts were made with one movement each. This was the unique skill used by the Seraphheart–["Trinity Impact"]--an augmentation that made each of his impacts hit three times.
The force behind each of these multiplied impacts was enough to shatter boulders with ease, pulsing through the woman's body with bone-breaking force as she was harshly knocked back into the dirt.
Bastian sighed, brushing the dirt from his cloak as he looked over at the laid out woman, who was gasping for air after the powerful blows.
"You were way in over your head coming here. Even if I didn't show up when I did, the two you came here for would've been able to handle you," Bastian said, reprimanding the woman with his words, "Mytheart would have crushed you and Dragonheart would've burned you away."
"Kff…Kff…"
Not responding yet, the woman struggled to pick herself up as her arms trembled while she coughed out, hacking up blood. The dark armor she wore had been caved in where the impacts had landed, not seeming to mitigate much of the damage.
"Hate to break it to you, but you were probably sent here by your group because you're expendable. No, that's putting it too lightly–you're a liability to them," Bastian said.
The scathing words spoken from the man caused the woman to growl in anger as blood left her lips almost like rabid saliva, dripping down her chin as she stood with her arms limp and her shoulders slumped.
"Shut up…Ya don't know a damn thing about me. It's my mission to further our Lord's will!" Katliah spewed out, holding a grin with crimson-painted teeth now, "--Even if that means mushing ya into bloody paste!"
That riveting bloodlust manifested itself like a blooming rose; the crimson wind swirled around the woman as her plated armor shifted; violently, spikes shoved their way outward through the blackened steel, manifesting all across her body.
Once more, Bastian peered at the figure with his truth-unveiling skill as his eyes momentarily wielded a golden complexion. What he saw from the Aspect's true aura was that of a march of death; it weaved through the air like laughing skulls, all lusting for violence and gore–this was the embodiment of what she possessed.
The battle-loving woman had become completely covered in spikes, all in varying length and jutting out of every corner of her body, piercing through her flesh and armor with grotesque sounds.
'That's the aspect of "Bloodlust" finally revealing itself. I imagine things are about to get somewhat wild, so I'll take this a bit more seriously,' Bastian thought.
Heavenly seals manifested on the ground where he stood and above his head, meeting together as they passed over the nomad's body, outfitting him in regal, golden-and-silver armor that was finely embroidered with colorful jewels.
A light gently brushed his armor, running along it as if peeling away any impurities and cleaning it as it passed, leaving it spotless and shining without needing the touch of the sun to glow.
A helm with a platinum plume extended from the back covered his head as his gauntlets grew thicker and his boots slammed down, embodying the new stage he entered:
[Current Stage: 3/10 | Divine Warrior]
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