Arden's eyes lingered on the tattoo at the side of the bandit leader's neck. His blade was lowered, but his aura wasn't.

It pressed down on the man like a promise waiting to be fulfilled. The others in his party caught on quickly. Rael's knuckles tightened, sparks already crawling over his gauntlet. Nyra's eyes sharpened like drawn steel, while Zephyra's low growl rumbled through the mist, flames flickering faint around her scales.

The difference was clear. They weren't fighting ordinary raiders anymore. Their killing intent spoke louder than their movements.

"These aren't simple bandits," Arden said quietly, but the words carried weight. "You should've stayed in the shadows. Meeting us today… that's your doom."

The guards and laborers of Boro's group shivered.

They had seen Arden angry before, had seen him stand firm against clans who tried to push them, but this was different. His anger here wasn't loud, it was buried and cold, and it rolled through his team as if they had all been waiting for this.

The bandit leader squinted at him, then his grin stretched wide. "So the rumors are true.

The masked man, and two dual affinity brats at his side. Even the beast matches the stories." His eyes dragged across them with a greedy gleam. "Perfect. I'll take the lot of you. That mask, those affinities… and even the pet. She'll fetch a price of her own."

Zephyra hissed, blue fire lacing her breath.

Arden tilted his head, his tone calm but sharp enough to cut. "You'll choke on your greed."

The leader lifted his sword and barked an order. His men surged forward again, this time with less hesitation.

They tossed out strange devices, small stones that cracked open with smoke, glass vials that burst in bright flashes, and blades coated with shimmering poison that caught the light unnaturally.

These weren't tools sold to the public. They were contraband, black-market resources no traveler should have.

The first volley of arrows came from hidden angles, tipped with a sticky resin that spread into nets on impact. Nyra's wind whirled in a sharp twist, snapping the nets midair, her ice forming anchors that scattered across the ground as markers for their footing.

Rael broke through the first wave, lightning bursting from his gauntlet as he slammed into two bandits at once. They tried to counter with a flash pellet, but his aura burst scattered the light and revealed them again. He laughed, reckless, punching one through a tree trunk.

Zephyra darted along the battlefield, fire bursting from her claws as she struck down anyone who tried to flank. One of the bandits threw a vial that erupted in a sickly green fog. She didn't hesitate, her flames burned it clean from the air before it reached the wagons. Her growls kept the guards steady, her presence alone a warning to anyone thinking to run.

The bandits had numbers, dirty tricks, and weapons that shouldn't have been in their hands, but each move faltered against the coordination of Arden's party.

It wasn't just strength, it was the way they fought, every strike followed by another, every gap covered, their rhythm leaving no opening to exploit.

And through it all, Arden didn't move much.

His blade rested at his side, his eyes fixed on the leader. Both of them were still, measuring, weighing.

The chaos around them only made their standoff sharper.

The bandit leader smirked. "What's wrong? Letting your pups do the fighting?"

Arden's voice came like a quiet blade through the noise. "I don't waste effort on carrion. But you…" His aura pressed forward, heavier, darker. "You'll need more than tricks to walk away from me."

The leader's grin didn't fade, but his stance shifted. He raised his sword properly now, shoulders tight, as if he knew he'd been marked.

Around them, steel clashed, flames roared, lightning cracked, and ice shattered the ground. But at the center, two predators waited, the battlefield shrinking around their stillness, each daring the other to make the first move.

Arden's gaze stayed fixed on the man in front of him. Something didn't sit right.

The pressure rolling off the bandit leader wasn't ordinary.

His realm sat at the peak of Vein Bloom, already rare for someone who chose the path of banditry, yet his aura was heavier than any human Arden had faced until now. Fire curled tightly around his body, controlled, refined, the mark of a battle mage who had seen more fights than he cared to count.

But there was something else. Arden couldn't place it, and he wasn't about to waste time digging for an answer while the man stood in front of him. His lips curved with the mask. "If you're waiting for me to bow, you'll be waiting a long time."

He struck first. A burst of light under his feet carried him forward, blade cutting a sharp arc aimed at the leader's side.

The man blocked, sparks scattering as fire-coated steel clashed against Arden's life-powered strike. The exchange was quick, light, testing, neither of them committing too much, but enough to taste the other's strength.

The fight flowed like that at first. Arden shifted smoothly, dodging swings by a hair, countering with short slashes and feints that always kept his opponent on edge.

His life energy surged through him with every motion, fueling his body, making his steps sharper, his blade faster. The bandit leader's strikes were heavy and calculated, but Arden slipped through them with ease, sometimes leading him into overextending, sometimes landing shallow cuts that forced him to readjust.

"You move well," the man grunted, eyes narrowing. "But let's see how long you last when I turn up the heat."

Flames flared around him, his aura snapping into focus. Fire licked at the ground, scorching the dirt beneath his boots, his next strike carrying far more weight than before. His swings came faster, each one trailing burning arcs that distorted the air. The casual probing was over.

Arden stepped back, blade raised in a calm guard. The ground cracked under the impact of the man's blows, but Arden's movements stayed fluid, his life energy flaring to keep pace. He still hadn't drawn on anything beyond his natural enhancement, yet every dodge and counter carried precision.

"Stronger than I thought," Arden muttered, sidestepping another fiery cleave.

He twisted his blade in reply, driving it across the leader's guard, forcing the man to stagger back a step. "But strength without aim is just noise."

The leader spat into the dirt, fire still burning around him. "Then I'll burn the noise into your bones."

The air between them grew heavier, fire clashing with radiant energy as both pressed forward.

It wasn't the full storm yet, but the sparks in their exchange promised it.

The fight was beginning to climb, each strike building toward something larger, neither willing to step back now that blood had been drawn.

And though Arden's expression stayed unreadable, his voice carried the same sharp edge as his blade. "Show me what you're hiding. Or I'll cut it out of you."

A/N:

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