"How?" Selena couldn't believe her eyes. Even if he was capable of blocking her attack with Ki, Selena didn't feel any form of energy gathering in Garrion's right arm.

  No matter how tough Garrion was, blocking an attack that could cut through space with his mere skin? It was an unfathomable feat.

  But as Garrion's hand became clearer to her, she caught sight of a thin layer translucent energy shielding other parts of Garrion's arm aside from the part her attack had connected with.

  "You?" She shifted her gaze towards Lian who was holding am arm out. "How did you do it? How did you come up with a counter in such a short period of time?"

  Selena exhaled heavily, easing her shoulders a bit. "Coming up with a barrier capable of blocking such an attack in a short period of time..." She let out a wry chuckle. "Leave it to the head daughter of the Valerion family... You guys really do live up to your reputation."

  The Valerion family, one of Metreona’s famous Pillars. Masters of barriers.

  Barriers were like equations, the more complex the attack, the more complex the formula required to oppose it. To solve them demanded more than energy control, it demanded brilliance.

  And the Valerions had built their legacy on being able to dissect and respond to any ability they encountered, often within minutes. Lian, currently standing before her was the first daughter of the family's head.

  That much, Selena could respect. But it wasn’t what made her uneasy.

  Her gaze slid back to Garrion.

  "And then there's you..." She tilted her head in Garrion's directions. "Yeah, that's my ability..."

  She tightened her grip on her katana. “And yet, even rushed, her barrier should’ve weakened it, not nullified it. That means your arm should’ve been shredded apart, not left with a tiny scratch that isn’t even bleeding.”

  Selena had her doubts when Lian mentioned the King of hell being among the teachers on the Island. She had her doubts when Lian pointed Darius out as the individual that was their main target.

  Why? Her reason was non other than the fact that they'd been freed from the effects of the seal that hid Darius' identity. So why weren't they aware he was the King of hell?

  But when she gave it another thought it began to make sense to her. For such an important individual, it wouldn't be far fetched if two seals were placed on him. And it wouldn't be far fetched if Metreona had another identity seal stronger than the one they shared with the world.

  "So it really is you?" Selena muttered, loud enough for Garrion to hear.

  "How—"

  "That's enough out of you," Garrion said interrupting her.

  "Just come at me, and let's end this quickly."

  Selena didn't say a word for a second, she let out a loud laughter catching Lian and Garrion off guard.

  Lian shifted a leg backwards, tensing her muscles. "This is about to get really problematic."

  "And that's just the way I like my fights." Garrion responded with a grin.

  "You did hear me say problematic, right?"

  Suddenly, Selena took in a massive breath. "He's here!!!"

  Lian’s eyes widened. “Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

  The ground shuddered. In the next instant, the atmosphere shifted to biting cold.

  From all directions, giant spires of ice erupted, each one tall as mountains, converging toward Garrion’s position.

  High above, a figure appeared, blonde hair shining like frost in the dim light. It was the guy standing close to Morgan earlier, Cain.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  He hurled down a colossal spike of ice, its edges glistening with lethal sharpness, aimed straight for Garrion’s skull.

  A long, gleaming lance smashed down from above, shattering Cain’s rain of ice spikes into fragments that glittered in the air like broken glass.

  Hovering above with her weapon still vibrating from the swing, Riley twirled the lance once and leveled it downward, her eyes glowing.

  "Who fucking taught you turn you back on your opponents?" She smiled, eyes fixated on Cain

  Before Cain could retort, his spell being thrust towards Garrion was suddenly swallowed by a glowing hexagonal wall.

  The explosion rippled across the barrier harmlessly, dispersing into sparks.

  “Not happening,” a calm voice said.

  The barrier faded, and Garrion appeared behind it, his broad arm snapping forward.

  He flung Darius away like a ragdoll, crashing through Kane’s mountain of ice with a bone-crunching roar.

  The battlefield settled for a brief, terrifying moment. Three on one side. Three on the other.

  A true stand-off. Things were about to become more chaotic.

  Lian leaped back. Though sweat glistened at her temple from exhaustion, her eyes carried zero panic. Especially when she had the rest here with her

  "That man," Selena pointed at Garrion. "That's him..."

  "There's no time to explain, we have to finish him before they manage to make a dent in the barrier?"

  "Make a dent in it?" Cain asked, confused.

  He hadn't seen Lian's power in action, so he still had his doubts concerning it. However, Selena was aware. Despite being A Rank, Lian's barrier prowess could be ranked as S.

  “Just listen to her, Cain.”

  Darius pushed himself free from the rubble, ice sliding off his shoulders in shards. “She’s right. We need to finish this now!”

  He dashed forward, the air detonating behind him. Garrion stepped in raising both of his arms to block.

  The impact cracked the earth in a hundred-meter radius, release spider web like fissures outward as the ground caved beneath their feet.

  “You’ve gotten stronger.” Garrion smiled, gritting his teeth.

  Darius' ability was shock multiplication. He had the power to amplify the strength behind his hits up to four times their strength.

  He had underestimated Garrion earlier, but after hearing Selena's words and experiencing how strong Garrion was, he was now going all out.

  Cain scoffed, ice already swirling around him like a blizzard. “Look at you fuckers, ordering me around like I’m some foot soldier.”

  Dozens of spears made out of ice formed in the sky and rained down like lightning towards Riley.

  She met them head on, shattering each of them with her lance. “If you don’t wanna be ordered around,” she yelled, “then how about taking a sit and watching!”

  Selena on the other hand charged towards Lian. In response, the barrier master summoned a wall in front of her instantly, hexagonal plates spinning into a glowing shield.

  Selena's blade collided with the barrier making a noise like glass was being torn.

  “So you think you'll get through if you add brute force on top that skill of yours?"

  “I’ll just carve until I can.” Selena grinned, pressure mounting with every swing.

  The battlefield had become a playground of chaos

  Garrion snatched Riley by the arm mid-swing and hurled her across the crater, sending her crashing toward Selena and Lian.

  “Try harder!” he barked at Darius, catching the next shockwave-enhanced strike with his palm.

  Selena leaped back, her blade cutting open the space before her.

  Riley twisted midair, planting her lance against the fractured barrier Lian threw up for her. She pushed herself upward dodging the attack from Selena and landed beside Lian with a grin.

  “That was too close for comfort. Thanks, Lian ”

  “Yeah, just don’t get thrown around next time,” Lian replied, her eyes still locked on Selena.

  Above them, Cain slammed both palms into the air, pulling a frozen mountain down like a god hurling a continent.

  "These guys really are monsters..." Riley jumped upward instantly.

  "Is this idiot trying to shatter the earth?" She said, smashing her lance into it and shattering it into frozen rain.

  Selena took advantage of this distraction and vanished from sight, reappearing behind Lian.

  It was too close, and Lian was too tired to dodge such.

  “Lian!” At the last second, Riley shoved herself in the way. The blade slashed her side, making her begin go bleed heavily, but the strike didn’t reach Lian.

  Everything suddenly went quiet for a moment. All their gazes drifted towards Lian.

  She stood tall at the center of the chaos, one arm extended to the sky and her other hand pressed against her elbow as though holding the weight of the sky itself.

  Hexagonal plates of her barrier began to form and spin around her, compressing tighter and tighter.

  The counter she had been preparing for the Island's barrier was finally ready.

  Selena’s pupils shrank, she immediately realized what Lian was about to do. “Stop her!”

  Darius moved instantly appearing behind Lian, his fist vibrating violently.

  But Riley was already there. Her lance swung up, intercepting his strike with a thunderous crash. The impact hurled her back several feet, boots gouging trenches in the ground but she held.

  "Finally," a smile formed on Lian's face.

  Barrier creation was often looked down on as an ability.

  It's only useful against basic types of attacks.

  Even if you could level it up, you can only defend, not attack. What's the usefulness in that? Eventually it'd fall and you'd be defenseless

  That was what most people would say. However during the seventh great war, the Valerion family proved otherwise. What made them stand out wasn't Just their ability to use and make complex barriers.

  But the talented ones amongst them were also capable to moving further to manipulate and shape this barriers, even making them into weapons.

  The plates locked into position, weaving into a perfect circle of hexagons. She launched it towards the sky.

  The glowing disc slammed into the barrier surrounding the island. Light scattered violently as a hairline fracture zigzagged across the dome, spreading like a crack in glass.

  Everyone froze.

  Lian lowered her arm, her chest rising and falling with exhaustion.

  “It’s in your hands now, Layla.”