Aurafall: Fragments Of Power-Chapter 40: Countless Colors [5]

The crimson orb loomed in the sky like a red, spectating eye. Its glow reached everywhere, illuminating the heavens with a dull, bloody light.

Below, a city constructed of red stone sat atop a miraculous fountain of flowing water. The torrents surged upward from a still ocean and cascaded back down simultaneously, creating a permanent liquid platform for the architecture.

The city had once been peaceful and bright, its tall buildings seeming to poke the skies. Now, those structures were being systematically destroyed. They exploded, shattered, and crumbled into the depths. All around the city, violent portals tore through reality, and Vikings spilled out to engage in intense battle with the Aura Farmers.

Vikings fell; Aura Farmers fell.

The Awakening Cathedral had been leveled, and in its place sat a large, glowing red portal that swirled violently. Countless Vikings poured out, charging at the defenders. One Aura Farmer shot fireballs from his palms toward the invaders, while another controlled ice shaped into arrows, alongside many others unleashing their powers.

The Vikings, meanwhile, roared and charged with their full strength. they seemed almost indestructible. One Viking was about to strike down an Aura Farmer with a large axe, but a man stepped out of his shadow and decapitated him in a single motion.

The rescued Aura Farmer didn’t get a glimpse of the one who saved his life, but he knew who it was: a high-ranking warrior of the Xuan Royal Family.

"Clan leader," the Aura Farmer whispered, finding new hope and determination.

The clan leader moved through the shadows, becoming tangible only for the second it took to kill the Vikings in his path or save a falling ally before disappearing back into the darkness.

Elsewhere, a Viking roared atop a creature that looked like a red lizard with piercing, armored skin and a massive maw. The Viking used a gargantuan hammer to crush those in his way while his lizard tore them apart.

The shadow of the clan leader jumped from one silhouette to another, chasing the beast. It slipped into the lizard’s shadow, and for a heartbeat, the creature paused, its mouth wide open to kill an Aura Farmer—but it couldn’t move.

A shadow rose from beneath it, swirling around the beast instantly. The lizard contorted as deep, spiraling injuries suddenly appeared across its body, throwing the rider from its back. The creature then exploded, raining crimson blood and flesh upon the stone.

Rising from the darkness was a young man clad in black robes. He had porcelain skin and deep black eyes. He held a long, white odachi, its blade pointed downward. He had long, flowing black hair and an expressionless gaze.

Fang Rui’s robes were sooted with crimson and dirt, but he barely had a scratch on him. He didn’t blink as the lizard’s rider hit the red stone pavement with a heavy thud. The Viking scrambled to his feet, his face twisted in a snarl as he hoisted his gargantuan hammer. He let out a guttural roar, the iron head of the weapon glowing with a dull, heated red.

"I’m going to kill you!"

He swung the hammer in a wide, horizontal arc aimed at Fang Rui’s head. Fang Rui didn’t move until the metal was inches from his face. In a blur of black silk, he leaned back, the hammer whistling harmlessly over him. Before the Viking could recover his momentum, the white odachi flashed. It was a single, clean vertical draw.

The Viking’s roar died in his throat. A thin red line appeared from his forehead down to his chest. A second later, the massive man split in two, his armor and flesh offering no more resistance than paper.

Fang Rui stepped over the remains, his black eyes already tracking his next target. Three Vikings charged him from the left, their axes raised. He vanished.

He reappeared behind the first, his blade severing the man’s hamstrings. As the Viking fell, Fang Rui spun, the odachi carving a silver circle through the air that took the heads of the remaining two. He performed a quick, sharp flick of his blade, sending a spray of blood onto the stone, before sheathing the weapon halfway and drawing it again in a move too fast for the eye to follow.

Ten more Vikings fell in the span of thirty seconds, either decapitated or bisected in the most bizarre ways possible. He moved through the battlefield like a needle through fabric, stitching a path of corpses toward the Awakening Cathedral.

He ignored the minor skirmishes, his focus entirely on the massive red portal. Standing at the base of the swirling vortex was a Viking who looked different from the rest. His skin was a deep, burnt shade of red, and he stood nearly seven feet tall, clad in heavy, obsidian-colored plates. He hadn’t moved since the breach began, his hands resting on the hilt of a jagged greatsword planted in the ground. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

For some reason, Fang Rui decided he had to kill this Viking as soon as possible; the man radiated nothing but omen since the moment he stepped out of the portal.

Fang Rui accelerated. He became a streak of black lightning, cutting through the chaos. Any Viking that tried to intercept him was dismantled without Fang Rui even slowing his pace. He cleared the final fifty meters in three massive strides, the air pressure around him dropping as he gathered his aura. The shadows around him grew deeper and larger.

He skidded to a halt directly in front of the red-skinned Viking, the tip of his white odachi inches from the giant’s throat. Up close, the Viking was even larger, appearing almost the size of a building to those standing below. He was covered in scars, and his hair was a light red, covering his head and face like a distorted bush.

The red Viking finally looked up, his eyes glowing like embers.

Fang Rui frowned. He slowed for a moment, then suddenly blurred. At that moment, hell rose.