Chapter 65: Succumb
"Don't get distracted...!" exclaimed Vahn, breaking Xenovia from her awe, prompting her to raise her Excalibur defensively as he dropped down and slammed his fists against it.
Not expecting Vahn's attack to be as heavy as it was, sending a luminous pulse through the area, Xenovia's thighs bulged as she was briefly forced to one knee. In the same motion, however, she shifted her weight forward into a rolling tackle, causing Vahn to stumble over her before instinctively flapping his wings to rise into the air and flip over onto his feet.
Rebounding from her tackle, Xenovia's eyes glistened with intrigue as she remarked, "Well, you're just full of surprises..." before lunging forward with her Excalibur angled behind her, propelling herself forward with its power.
Extending his hands, fingers spread, Vahn surprised Xenovia for the umpteenth time by condensing the air within his domain and dropping it on her like a hammer. This didn't do any real damage, but it was enough to knock her off balance, forcing her to tuck and roll to avoid faceplanting into the ground. She attempted to transition this into an overhead attack with her Excalibur, but Vahn was waiting for her with a pair of meter-wide spheres formed from light, held out to his sides.
Intercepting Xenovia's attack by bringing the spheres of light together, Vahn produced a blinding explosion of purifying heat and pressure that sent them both reeling. He expected his [Aura of Karmic Protection] to protect him, but perhaps as a result of being his own attack, his face and chest felt warm, and his hair was lightly singed as he bounced across the ground a few times before recovering.
Reaching a similar conclusion, Xenovia, the ends of her hair slightly curly and her bodysuit torn in several places, remarked, "It appears you're not impervious to your own attacks..." with a narrow-eyed smile.
"We both learned something new..." joked Vahn, adopting a smile of his own and raising his fists with his left held out and his right drawn in near his shoulder.
"Speaking of...the power you wield is unmistakably that of an Angel..." remarked Xenovia, raising her sword as she noted, "And the only Angel I've heard of possessing golden wings is Lord Michael..."
Shaking his head, Vahn conceded, "It might resemble the power of an Angel, but this is my own. I won't go into details, but you're mistaken if you believe I received this power from your God or have any relation to any existing Angels..."
"Hmm...I will take your word for it..." responded Xenovia, holding her sword out to her right side and releasing it, allowing it to pierce into the ground before cupping the back of her neck with her left hand and rolling her head.
Realizing that Xenovia was preparing to face him with her fists, Vahn unequipped his gauntlets and retracted his wings, steeling himself for her assault. Moments later, Xenovia was right in front of him, hands raised in a relaxed boxing pose as she performed a series of lightning-swift jabs with her left fist.