A mass of white beings came out of the door and threw themselves on the group. The Emperor was directly drowned under the bodies.
"Emperor Turcan !"
Elie screamed at the top of her voice, but she needn't have worried. Exorian knew it. It wasn't the first time he'd fought against them.
And in just a few blows that seemed invisible, a dozen bodies were sliced open. The Emperor pulled his head out of the pile of white creatures before stabbing one of them who was moving towards Jin.
"Wow."
Nathanaël was astonished. It was the first time he'd seen him fight, and yet he was forced to admit that he had nothing to envy Marc or Jin. He might even have been better. His sword continued to cut cleanly through the beings that kept coming out of the church. They wouldn't bleed or die when their bodies were simply cut in two. So they had to be destroyed or killed.
One of the beings came upon Jin.
His smile could not help but grow to his eyes. He suddenly disappeared from the white being's field of vision before delivering a violent kick to the back of his head.
"My master is faster. You're lucky."
Marc watched Jin smash the white beings before wondering who was whose pupil. It was sheer carnage. He single-handedly dealt with all those coming at the group, but one got lost and charged at Marc.
"I'll take care of it."
Elie stepped in. She grabbed the arm of the being who had reached out to punch Marc in the face before giving him a magnificent Judo hold and smashing him to the ground.
"Don't touch him."
Marc looked at Elie, wondering who was supposed to protect the other. Exorian looked at Elie, wondering who was the buttler and who was the girl to protect. The two looked at each other and wondered if they were going to lose their places.
The Emperor continued to slice and dice everything in front of him. His sword was unstoppable, and his movements so precise that even the slightest strike would cut down anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path. Although the white beings outnumbered their opponent by a wide margin, they were completely powerless against the wall of blades rising before them. The Emperor was simply too strong for them.
So they began to back away from him.
"Well then. Aren't you coming anymore?"
His emerald eyes sparkled, which certainly didn't make anyone want to approach him.
"In that case, I'll come."
The Emperor jumped on the white beings.
But Marc was afraid of one thing.
He knew that these strange beings felt no fear. On the contrary, if they backed away, it was because they were up to something.
"Careful!"
A white being emerged from the retreating group and countered the Emperor's sword with another. The impact sent everyone nearby flying and a violent wind struck Marc head-on.
This one was strong, and not just a little.
For his part, the Emperor was surprised to see the pale white sword—which seemed to be nothing more than an extension of the white being—easily parry his own.
"You countered my sword. Interesting."
They both jumped back, ending up a good ten meters apart. The Emperor quickly put himself on guard realizing that this one was especially strong. Yet , the white being, for his side, didn't stand guard, observing the Emperor's movements with eyes that reflected the universe.
"You're not on guard? Aren't you underestimating me a little?"
With a sharp jerk, the Emperor split the air before him. Although he was a long way from the otherworldly being, the latter parried the blow as if they were standing next to each other. And indeed, the ground was sliced right through him, tearing the top of his clothes.
The scene looked extraordinary from afar because it didn't even seem real.
And the Emperor seemed to want to play...
"So, are you going to come now?"
The being in white gripped his sword tightly before charging at the Emperor. The latter took a step back before countering with his sword. The two stood face to face, each trying to dominate the other's sword by force. But they were no match for each other. The Emperor pushed it back violently and struck again, splitting the air a second time. As a result, the being received a huge gash across the upper body.
The Emperor then attacked first, while the being was recovering from that famous blow. But as soon as he was close enough, the Emperor sensed imminent danger. The being copied the blow that split the air in the Emperor's direction. A perfect copy of what he had seen.
Turcan narrowly dodged the blow and noticed the mark it made on the ground.
"Majesty!"
Exorian saw for the first time his Emperor in a delicate situation. The being in white had recovered from his wounds and no longer had any gashes on his belly.
The Emperor then realized he had found a worthy adversary. His emerald eyes returned to the creature, this time with a hint of rage.
"I don't like you."
The two stood on guard and began to turn in a circular trajectory.
"I haven't got all day, so if you'd let us in, that would be fine with me."
Seeing that he received no response from the otherworldly being, the Emperor smiled.
"It's true, I am the Emperor. I don't ask. I command."
After this sentence, the atmosphere slowly began to change. Marc saw the Emperor's aura surge in all directions, violently pushing back the being in white. The latter recoiled under the power of the aura. With his eyes filled with stars, he could see the Emperor's eyes shining a powerful emerald green. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the white beings's field of vision. Then, in the second blink of an eye, he was right underneath him, gripping his sword, ready to do battle.
Exorian didn't even see him move...
No one saw him move...
Not even Marc...
With a third wink, the being in white's head flew up in surprise at what had just happened.
The Emperor took a step back, but the being's body was still moving. He split the air and the blow reached Turcan, who narrowly parried it but didn't push it away.
"I order you to die."
Angered by the creature's unwillingness to obey him, the Emperor raised his sword, pointing skywards. And in the same time, the being in white took the opportunity to charge at him.
"Majesty!"
Exorian despaired under the spectacle.
The tip of the Emperor's sword glinted under a ray of sunlight that illuminated it for that instant.
Then he gave the order.
"Disappeared."
In an instant, his sword once again split the air, and not only that. The white being didn't even have time to reach him with its blade. It was already cut cleanly in two. The blow was so violent that it had two impacts. The first was the clean cut of the being in two, and the second was its total disappearance. It was as if he had been shredded by the power of the blow.
Jin was stunned by this magnificent sight. Marc couldn't believe his eyes. Exorian acted as if he'd always known the outcome of the fight, even though he'd been under stress the whole time. He cleared his throat, pretending he hadn't just let out a cry of concern.
Then, the Emperor looked up at his audience.
"This is surely not the end. There'll be more inside. Get ready."
There was no immediate response when he entered the church alone. His green cape seemed to blaze in the sunlight. His gait was reassuringly safe. On his way back, he turned to Marc.
"You take care of those inside. Don't disappoint me. "
"Okay."
Marc smiled. They all smiled despite the enormous dangers that awaited them, and they all entered the church that could have been their tomb.