Abyssal Awakening

With Torgeir's back being completely open, the silver haired man couldn't help but laugh inwardly as energy gathered towards him.

"!!!" Sensing this, Torgeir widened his eyes in shock from the familiar surge and immediately turned back.

The beast above him tried its best to protect Torgeir but it was too late.

*BANG!!!

A blast of energy pierced through the wing of the beast, burrowing into Torgeir's stomach and charring his organs. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Torgeir rolled across the ground while the beast dissipated due to the damage he took.

"Urg… Valtor… How dare you show your face around here! Traitor!" Torgeir roared out in anger.

"Traitor? Who me? You wound me old friend. And here I thought you were going to greet me with a smile." Valtor cackled as he snapped his finger.

Around Torgeir's neck, shards of energy flickered to life.

*KRK!!!

Summoning the beast's hand to protect his neck, Torgeir jumped back and reached for a healing vial from his pouch.

"Tsk tsk tsk, let's have none of that." Valtor laughed, not letting Torgeir heal his wounds.

Appearing in front of Torgeir, he twisted his body and kicked him on the wrist, forcing him to drop the vial.

Understanding that his old comrade wasn't someone to let his opponents heal easily, Torgeir gritted his teeth and summoned his spear.

Twirling the spear in his hand, he tried to slash towards Valtor but his blade phased through Valtor's body.

"Come on, you know this weak sh*t won't work on me."

Ducking to the side, Valtor elbowed Torgeir on the side of the head before snapping his fingers once more.

Shards of energy condensed around Torgeir's leg this time but Torgeir was faster.

Destroying one of the shards with his spear, he moved his leg out of the way before the attack tore it off.

Sliding across the ground, he slammed his palm against the ground.

*ROAR!!!!

Summoning the beast's head, a torrent of energy surged towards Valtor without any delay. Had it been anyone else, it would've taken them by surprise but not Valtor.

Torgeir knew that this was futile against Valtor but he needed this gap to heal himself.

Just as he reached for his pouch a third time, shards of energy gathered by the opening and detonated, tearing off the pouch and almost shredding apart Torgeir's fingers.

"Can you stop that boring sh*t? You already know I won't let you heal so why try? Or… Are you finally about to kick the bucket? Feeling desperate?" Valtor's voice rang out as he created a shield using the shards of energy that he conjured around his body.

Gritting his teeth in anger, regret filled Torgeir's chest.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance! I shouldn't have let you leave!" He shouted in anger.

Ignoring the wound on his stomach, Torgeir let out a shout as he forcefully summoned the full body of the beast and activated Resonance.

As their figures overlapped, bestial armour appeared around Torgeir's body with wings, extra limbs and even a tail appearing behind him.

A feral growl could be heard from his helmet as he punched against the ground and launched his body towards Valtor who revealed a twisted smile.

"Good~ Good! This is how it should be old friend!" Parrying Torgeir's spear with a punch, Valtor slammed his elbow into Torgeir's chest but he wasn't phased.

The extra arms reached forward and grabbed his shoulder as Torgeir headbutted Valtor before swiping his tail into Valtor's stomach.

There was no elegance in their techniques. Just a pure brawl between two people who used to be friends.

"I looked forward to today ever since you left me on that battlefield!" Valtor shouted and snapped his finger to create a cage around Torgeir. However, he managed to dash out of the zone and slam his fist into Valtor's face, causing him to slide back.

"I tried to convince you to come with me many times but you refused each and every time. You knew the war didn't look good but you were still stubborn." Valtor wiped the blood from his lips.

"I had a family to look after! If Verona won't save them where else was I supposed to go you dumbf*ck?!" He shouted, conjuring a spiral of energy that exploded towards Torgeir who was forced to block with his wings.

Digging into the armour, the spiral of energy tore apart the wings, causing Torgeir to flinch in pain.

Blood began to seep through the gaps.

Thinking back to what Valtor said, it wasn't like Torgeir didn't understand it either. But to doom everyone in the squad back then to switch sides… He hated it.

He never had a proper family. Orphaned by war. His fellow brother-in-arms became his family. During that rainy day, when he found the corpses of his family and news of Valtor's traitorous actions, it broke him.

"But whatever, the past is in the past now. I was too late and both my family and my brothers have died. It's only you and me left and this blasted queendom of Verona…

"Torgeir! I'm going to raze this place to the f*cking ground. I'll give you one more chance so come with me. Don't make me kill my last brother." Valtor offered one last time to his old friend.

Collapsing on one knee, Torgeir's armour broke apart to reveal the wounds across his body.

The blood pooled beneath him as his vision blurred.

Forcing a smile, Torgeir glanced up at Valtor and shook his head.

Clenching his fist, Valtor bit his lips before letting out a sigh.

"Then I'll spare you the sight of this Queendom falling to ruins."

Just as he was about to attack, the ground trembled as the tyrannical aura of Terminus flooded the outpost.

A pressure never felt before crashed down upon them as they felt like they were being glared down by several Lord level beings.

Slowly turning his head up, Valtor looked towards the fissure as the first beast clawed its way out.

A gargantuan beast- no, rather than a beast this was more akin to a mountain. A demonic mountain shrouded in darkness and fire. A cloud of miasma followed its every move, obscuring its true form from the eyes.

The echoes of metal chains dragged behind it as it clawed its way out. The molten lava bubbling across the gaps of its skin formed a stark contrast against the miasma.

Each movement was not quite that of a beast but more so the shifting of the land. Each step sunk the earth and each breath exuded dark clouds that blotted out the sky.

Even without its full size in view, the outpost was already being shielded in its shadow. Its mere presence tore the fissure apart, forcing it to accommodate the beast as it forced its way out of Terminus.

The only way Valtor could describe it was simply that this was a living mountain.

Even though he didn't speak it aloud, he questioned the possibility of a beast even growing to this size.

Was this truly the beasts that dwelled in the Abyss?

With the mountainous demon forcing the fissure to expand far beyond its original size, countless smaller beasts took this chance to slip through the gaps.

Plant like beasts covered with bloodied thorns and a beating heart, aquatic beasts that shimmered with a myriad of celestial lights and even mechanical monstrosities that are a blend of beast and machine. Jagged spikes that protruded from every part of their body making the act of attacking it harmful to the attacker.

Humanoid dolls no bigger than the average human that rode on the backs of draconic creatures. Ghostly beasts that carried the haunting cries of the dead and the spectral glows of lanterns. Even beasts that were almost entirely formed from energy slipped through the gaps.

A parade of beasts from the prison of the Abyss. Terminus.

Beasts that were sealed away in fear of the destruction they could cause.

*BANG!!!

Right as the mountainous demon stepped through the fissure, an explosion erupted within the crowd of the beasts, snapping all the onlookers out of their stupor. Now fully understanding the danger that had just escaped from the fissure, they ran towards the exits in panic while the screams of beasts erupted from the horde.

An internal conflict as beasts began to battle one another.

Around the beasts, a barrier manifested itself, slowing them down the further they got from the fissure and preventing them from reaching the fleeing people.

Right when Valtor snapped out of his trance from sensing such horrific energy, he realised he gave Torgeir the chance he needed to drink a healing vial and quickly raised his guard but it was too late.

The shaft of the spear slammed into his ribs as nasty cracking sounds could be heard.

"URG!!!" Gritting his teeth, Valtor stopped himself from crashing against the ground while Torgeir wiped away the blood from his face.

Opening his mouth, Torgeir was about to say something when he decided against it.

There was no more words needed between them. Today, only one of them gets to get out of this alive.

"No words? Fine by me. I got nothing to say to you anymore as well." Valtor took this chance to drink a healing vial as the Sigils across his body began to burn with energy.

Activating his resonance, his silver hair turned black as his eyes glowed with a radiant white. Countless shards hovered around him while motes of energy danced across the air.

One last calm before the storm.

One last look at an old friend as memories of their past flashed through his mind. After this, there will be no hesitation.

*BANG!!!

Both men erupted with frightening energy as their weapons collided in mid air. With this clash, their brotherhood ended and there were only two enemies on the battlefield.