The Extra's Rebellion
Chapter 103: Clash of Titans (3)

Chapter 103: Clash of Titans (3)

"Damn it."

Normally, in this kind of situation, Zephyr would’ve won.

But pain pulsed through every nerve in his body. The attacks he’d suffered were small— light, even— but they had been too many.

Too frequent.

They had piled on him like a thousand needles, and now they weighed down his movements, numbing his senses.

Still, he was lucky— Noctis wasn’t doing much better.

While Zephyr hadn’t landed many strikes, the ones that did connect were catastrophic.

Noctis’s body was torn open in places. Heavy wounds. Deep cuts. His Aether was the only thing preventing him from bleeding out, tendrils of darkness snaking across his skin to seal the gashes.

’How is he doing that...?’. Zephyr was honestly stunned.

Even now, he could see it—how the shadows bled from Noctis’s body, wrapping his wounds, suppressing the flow of blood. Not healing, but stabilizing. Sustaining.

That level of control... it was too clean.

Too suspicious.

At their level—Zeta, Elpison—their abilities were supposed to be raw. Limited. Stiff. Clumsy.

Zephyr himself had tried to manipulate space countless times—always failing.

He could lock space, and enlarge it. But shaping it? Directing it? That was another story.

And yet here was Noctis—from a small clan, no less—wielding darkness like an extension of his limbs.

A prodigy. A freak of talent.

"Damn it."

Zephyr’s grip on his katana tightened as he staggered on his feet, scythe dragging behind him in the snow like a wounded tail.

His limbs trembled—not from fear, but from weariness from loss of blood.

Small cuts laced his arms and chest, some shallow, others digging deep enough to sting with every breath. Pain rippled through him in waves, but he pushed forward. He had to.

Noctis rose slowly across from him, hunched and breathing heavily, a trail of black trailing from his shoulder to his waist. The darkness coiled and pulsed, struggling to hold the flesh together.

He was pale, his once-pristine coat hung in tatters.

But his eyes— were still sharp, and were now burning with determination.

"How are you still standing?". Zephyr thought, staring across the broken battlefield.

The they both moved, discarding the message of pain their body sent them

CRACK—!!

Their blades collided again.

A simple slash from Noctis—vertical, brutal, almost lazy.

Zephyr’s katana parried it—but the force behind it sent him sliding backward, boots tearing into snow.

Another step. Noctis twisted, shadow swirling into a blade along his right shoulder. He spun with it, launching a mid-kick toward Zephyr’s side.

Zephyr ducked—

Too slow.

The kick grazed his ribs—THUD—and he grunted as air burst from his lungs.

He turned the pain into motion, lashing the chain out with a flick of his wrist—scythe sailing wide in a wicked arc.

CLANG! One of Noctis’s shadow arms blocked it— barely.

Then—

Limbo — Hollow Breath Transition.

Zephyr blurred, reappearing beside Noctis’s unguarded right.

SLASH—!

The katana sliced forward.

But Noctis dropped.

The blade shaved his cheek—blood burst from the edge of his mouth—and he retaliated with a rising elbow from one of the shadow arms, catching Zephyr across the chin.

CRACK!

Zephyr’s vision flashed white.

He fell back, rolling through pristine snow and bloodied snow, coughing blood.

But he grinned.

"Your leg’s shaking". He rasped.

Noctis looked down—just as Zephyr whipped the scythe again—aiming low.

Too fast. Too close.

The blade sank into Noctis’s thigh. Deep.

"Agh—!"

He staggered— almost fell— but the darkness wrapped around the wound, sealing it with black cords like thread pulled tight.

Zephyr surged forward, swinging katana and scythe in tandem—a storm of steel and chain. His body screamed in protest. Muscles tore. Vision blurred. But he pressed.

And Noctis matched him.

Six arms dancing.

Black swords, spears, claws—all conjured in rhythm, each parried or countered.

But not perfectly.

Zephyr fainted left, then drove the katana upward—catching Noctis along the collarbone.

The blade bit in as darkness spilled out, blood too.

But Noctis headbutted Zephyr in return.

CRACK—!!

Both reeled.

Snow flurried around them like a blizzard of ash.

They stood— barely, both breathing in rasps.

Their clothes were torn, their bodies bleeding, their Aether waning. Neither could afford another full clash.

But neither would stop.

Zephyr tilted his head, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Staring at the new location.

Somehow the clash had taken them beneath a jagged cliff, a lone monolith of frostbitten stone jutting skyward—one singular, towering pillar holding the weight of an entire shelf of snow above. A precarious balance. One wrong move would bring it all crashing down.

And then—

CRASH—!

Their blades collided again. Zephyr’s scythe met Noctis’s black blade in a wide arc that split the ground at their feet. The impact sent both skidding, boots grinding against ice.

Noctis’s gaze flicked upward—then locked back to Zephyr.

Without a word, he blurred.

Tenebrae — Mantle of Madness.

The darkness coiled behind him like a living cape—four shadow limbs and two wailing heads exploding from his back. But instead of attacking—

He leapt.

Straight for the towering pillar. He was retreating.

His back parallel to the ground, his real limbs holding tight to his weapon, but the shadow limbs clawed in reverse, crawling up the vertical face of the column—each grip punching deep into the ice-coated stone as he ascended backward, staring Zephyr down the whole way.

A grotesque, inverted ascent. Like a demon walking on the ceiling of the world.

Zephyr’s eyes narrowed as he moved fast, his injuries burned but he still moved forward and soon arrived near the base of the pillar.

Limbo — Border Jail.

A cage of hardened space exploded from Zephyr’s form, it expended and smashed into the base of the pillar like a hammer from another realm.

Cracks spidered up its side—then—

KRRRRAAAAAK—!!!

The snow shelf above, already strained, finally gave.

An avalanche roared.

Tons of compacted ice and frost broke free, a crashing wall of death that collapsed directly onto Noctis.

The moment before impact, Noctis’s shadow limbs screeched in alarm—but there was no escape.

The snow crushed down.

SLAM—!

The entire cliff groaned as it collapsed inward.

Zephyr watched from below, breathing hard, mist curling from his mouth. But he didn’t wait.

Another Border Jail.

He triggered it around his entire body, the spatial force trapping him in it’s embrace, then he lept sideways into the falling debris like a bullet through the avalanche.

And then he was projected hardened space under his feet, riding the avalanche like he was surfing.

And through the swirling chaos of white— He saw him.

Noctis.

Midair, somehow he had escaped the avalanche and was now in the air.

’You’re not getting away’.

Zephyr hurled the chain.

FWIP—

The scythe blurred through the air, curved like a predator’s fang.

SHLK—!

It bit deep into the back of Noctis’s left calf—the hook driving through flesh and muscle, anchoring him mid-flight.

Noctis’s eyes widened, and his scream was silent under the roar of the avalanche.

He reached for the blade. One shadow limb tried to sever it. Another tried to pull himself upward.

Too late.

Zephyr yanked.

HARD.

The chain screamed, metal shrieking as it snapped taut, and the scythe ripped downward, tearing through flesh.

RIP—!!

The back of Noctis’s leg split open—blood spraying through the snowstorm like red ink against white canvas.

"Agh—!!"

He fell.

Together, they plunged—one dragging the other—spiraling through ice and snow, chain binding them like cursed tether.

Noctis twisted midair, trying to stabilize himself, but the pain in his leg ruined his rhythm.

Zephyr didn’t let up.

He projected a slab of hardened space below him and kicked off, launching downward faster—toward Noctis like a falling guillotine.

Their bodies collided.

CRACK—!!

They smashed into the lower cliffside, ice and blood exploding outward. Stone fractured. Shadow limbs convulsed, lashing wildly.

Zephyr’s knee drove into Noctis’s chest, knocking the wind from him, and before the shadows could retaliate—

SLASH—!!

He carved his katana across one of Noctis’s arms—real this time—not the shadowed ones.

It didn’t sever, but it split muscle and bone, the limb hanging limp.

Noctis gritted his teeth, barely conscious, but his hand still twitched to summon another blade.

But Zephyr was already there.

He stepped in, scythe dragging through the air, curved tip glowing with violet hue as Aether surged through the chain—

And with a growl—

"Conviction".

Because of the position of his Scythe, he could only use the butt of his Katana to hit Noctis’s head, and Noctis vision momentarily flashed white.

And then—

They both dropped.

The cliff face cracked beneath them as the last of the avalanche dust settled. Zephyr slammed into the snow first as the last of the avalanche buried him.

Noctis collapsed a heartbeat later—dragged down by pain and gravity, a heap of blood, shadow, and shredded pride.

After the snow settled only one figure was seen, bloodied from head to toe, his left hand lay limp by his side, his left calf barely held on by his darkness. But he was the last one standing.

Zephyr on the other hand was underneath the snow.

"Grrr". A grunt of pain escaped his mouth, currently his katana was embedded in his chest, just few meters shy from his Aether hearth.

Luckily for him, he knew the snow would collapse on him, so he had projected a harden space around his figure before he plunged into the snow. But he fell awkwardly, when he used the butt of his katana to hit the back of Noctis’s head the sharp edge was pointed at himself.

It was his battle instincts that saved him.

His second perception relayed to him Noctis’s position, he was too far and Zephyr was sure he would be able to catch him off guard and kill him. If he didn’t die first.

He fought through the haze of pain, gritted his teeth then.

’conviction’.

He tore a piece of his clothes wrapped it around his mouth then he used his first art to harden the space around his chest that was Peirced. He clothed his hand in harden space and then with force snapped the blade from his chest.

"Agrrrrrrr". A muffled sound rang out as Zephyr chewed on the piece of cloth in his mouth. For a brief moment his harden space flicked, enough for snow to almost cover him, enough for Noctis enhanced perception to notice.

He started to huff while holding the hilt of his blade in his hand. Mind too tired to think, body desperately begging him to rest.

Then in one Swift motion he broke through the snow, the harden space desolved as he lunged towards Noctis.

Unfortunately Noctis had noticed the slight depression on the patch of snow so although caught off guard, he was able to react.

He edged backwards as his right hand caught Zephyr hand that was holding the broken blade.

But Zephyr battle instinct was overwhelming, he edged closer to Noctis that Noctis could feel Zephyr’s breath in his face.

Zephyr left leg slipped in-between Noctis legs and closed behind his injured left leg. Zephyr applied force in his upper body and overwhelmed Noctis enough for him to shift back.

But Noctis injured leg gave way and they both fell down.

Being on top, Zephyr had the advantage, so his hand slipped out of Noctis’s hand with force and into his neck.

But a shadow head appeared at the last time and bit into the blade, but it wasn’t fully formed so Zephyr blade bit into Noctis neck, but wasn’t able to go further.

But luckily for Zephyr they were still falling.

Puti.

Zephyr blade sank into Noctis neck as the ground hit like a hammer, with the force of the earth and gravity, the blade sank into Noctis’s neck. His eyes blanked out immediately.

Zephyr stayed upon the lifeless body for a while before struggling to stand up, then he saw what looked like a convention of squads, his gaze found Samantha as he smiled, then said.

"See..... Your conviction".

Without waiting for a reply he staggered up to a tree and Leaned on it. Then closed his eyes as a smile graced his lips.

"Now a little bit of me time".

Due to the silence, the words drifted to Samantha’s ears as she stared at the figure leaning on the tree.

His white hair dyed red by blood, a blade protruding out if his back, the hilt buried in Noctis’s neck. His eyes closed as a smile graced his lips. His hair flapping in the breeze.