Extra's POV: I am the Sixteenth Son

Roch stood tall, facing the four remaining subordinates of Elowen. Just moments ago, he and Elowen had their first clash, and she had no idea what his talent could do. That mistake cost her dearly.

She had been thrown around like a child's toy. One second she was standing proud and confident, the next she found herself yanked forward by an invisible force. She tried to fight back, muscles straining against the pull, but it was no use. When she got close enough, Roch's large hand wrapped around her throat like a steel trap. With a grunt, he drove her down into the earth with crushing force. The impact left a deep crater, dust shooting up everywhere.

But something was wrong. Roch's golden eyes swept across the battlefield, counting heads. He had arrived with ten loyal subordinates, and now he could only sense one heartbeat among his men. The others were dead.

"Well, that's inconvenient," he muttered, brushing dust from his robe.

Without wasting time, he moved to protect his last remaining man. The four enemies were already rushing toward the lone survivor like wolves closing in on wounded prey. Roch raised his hand and pushed his palm forward.

Suddenly, all four attackers felt like they had hit an invisible wall. The force sent them flying backward through the air like leaves in a storm. They tumbled across the ground, groaning and cursing.

"My turn," Roch said with a cold smile.

He set his sights on Dorian first. The man was still shaking his head, trying to clear the ringing from his ears. Roch's talent was magnetism, and Dorian was a level 3 lightning user - the biggest threat on the field.

With a lazy flick of his wrist, weapons scattered around the battlefield began to shake and rise. Swords, spears, and daggers floated behind Roch in a deadly formation, their metal surfaces gleaming.

Dorian never saw death coming.

Roch flicked his wrist again, and every weapon shot forward like arrows. They moved with perfect aim, all targeting Dorian's heart. The man's eyes went wide with terror, but he didn't have time to scream before the blades found their mark.

Dorian dropped like a stone.

"One down," Roch said, counting on his fingers. "Three to go."

The floating weapons turned toward Eoin next. He was scrambling for his hammer, but the weapons were faster. They struck him down before he could lift a finger.

"Two down."

Erik was about to follow his fallen comrades when his mind snapped back into focus. The sight of his friends dying shocked him awake. He gripped his longsword with both hands, knuckles white with tension.

A spear came whistling toward his chest, but Erik was ready. He parried the weapon with a sharp clang, sparks flying. Without missing a beat, he channeled his ice element, feeling the familiar cold rush through his veins.

The air around him shimmered, and about fifty ice lances appeared in the sky above him. Each one was sharp as a needle and hard as steel, glowing with pale blue light.

Erik glanced around quickly, confirming that only he and Ashlin were still breathing. Then he pointed at Roch.

"For Dorian! For Eoin!"

The lances shot forward through the air, leaving trails of frost. They whistled as they flew, all aimed at piercing Roch's heart.

Meanwhile, Ashlin had recovered from her earlier tumble. She used her wind element to cushion her landing, floating down like a feather. She landed beside Erik, ready to support him. But what happened next made both of them question everything they thought they knew about power.

Roch looked at the incoming ice lances with mild annoyance - like looking at a buzzing fly.

"Ice Element," he said with a disappointed shake of his head. "How predictable."

There was a shift in the air around him. Power radiated from his body in waves, making the ground beneath his feet crack.

Then, something impossible happened. All fifty ice lances began to crack and shatter in mid-air, falling apart like broken glass. They turned to glittering dust before they even reached him.

Erik and Ashlin stared in horror, mouths hanging open. They held each other for support, both shaking.

"That's... that's impossible," Erik whispered.

"Nothing's impossible when you have enough power," Roch replied, taking a step toward them. "Let me show you what real strength looks like."

But just as he lifted his foot, something whistled through the air.

THWACK!

An arrow appeared out of nowhere, aimed straight at Roch's head. But his reflexes were inhuman. His hand shot up and caught the arrow just inches from his face.

"An arrow?" Roch examined it with curiosity. "This should be that woman's work... didn't think she would recover this quickly."

Even Erik and Ashlin hadn't been able to follow the arrow's path. It had moved faster than their eyes could track. Yet Roch had caught it like child's play.

"Very impressive," he continued, still holding the arrow. "But ultimately pointless. Did you really think a simple arrow could—"

He never finished the sentence.

The arrow exploded in his hand with the force of a small bomb. The blast threw Roch backward through the air like a rag doll. He crashed into the earth, carving a deep trench as he skidded to a stop.

Smoke and dust filled the air. Everything was silent.

Then, through the cloud of debris, a figure descended from the sky. It was Elowen, and she looked like an angel of death. Her obsidian hair whipped around her face as she controlled the wind currents to slow her fall. Her eyes blazed with cold fury as she saw the bodies of Dorian and Eoin scattered across the battlefield.

She landed gracefully, her voice carrying on the wind.

"You killed my men."

From the crater, Roch climbed to his feet. His golden robes were torn and bloodied, but he was grinning.

"Well, well," he said, dusting himself off. "That was quite the surprise. I haven't been caught off guard like that in years."

He looked at his singed hand, then back at Elowen with respect.

"Your signature technique, I presume? Very clever. Push your mana into the arrow, create a delayed explosion when it's stopped. I must remember that trick."

Elowen didn't respond. She just nocked another arrow and began moving forward.

The two Grandmasters faced each other across the battlefield. Their combined power made the air thick and hard to breathe. Erik and Ashlin found themselves gasping under the pressure.

"This is insane," Ashlin whispered. "They're both monsters."

Elowen raised her bow, but this time, instead of a single arrow, she began to channel something far more dangerous. The air around her started to swirl faster, creating a small tornado that lifted debris from the ground.

The swirling air began to solidify, forming dozens of glowing arrows made of compressed wind. Each one hummed with power, ready to explode on impact.

Roch watched this with the interest of a scholar.

"Now this is more like it," he said, clapping his hands. "A proper Grandmaster technique. Allow me to respond in kind."

He raised both hands toward the sky, and suddenly every piece of metal on the battlefield began to shake and rattle. The weapons of the fallen, chunks of broken armor, even the buckles on Erik and Ashlin's belts began to vibrate.

"You're not the only one who can make weapons from thin air," Roch announced.

The metal debris rose from the ground like a flock of deadly birds, each piece spinning as it joined the growing cloud around Roch. Swords, spears, chunks of armor, and countless fragments formed a deadly constellation that orbited him.

"This is getting out of hand," Erik muttered, pulling Ashlin further back.

"You think?" Ashlin replied, her voice high with panic.

Both fighters unleashed their attacks at the same time.

Elowen's wind arrows screamed through the air, each one leaving a trail of compressed air. They moved so fast they created sonic booms that cracked the earth below.

Roch's metal storm met them head-on, each piece intercepting the wind arrows with impossible precision. The collisions created explosions that lit up the night sky. Each blast sent shockwaves across the battlefield that made Erik and Ashlin stumble and cover their ears.

"They're going to destroy everything!" Erik shouted over the noise.

The two Grandmasters were ready for their real clash. Elowen raised her bow, her eyes blazing with determination. She nocked seven arrows at once, each one glowing with compressed mana.

With a fluid motion, she released them all. The arrows spread out in the air, each one following a different path as she controlled them with wind currents. They curved and twisted through the air, all aimed at Roch from different angles. As they flew, she poured more mana into each one, making them glow brighter.

Roch watched the approaching arrows with interest. Just as they were about to strike, he raised both hands and pushed forward.

A massive invisible wave of magnetic force erupted from his palms. The arrows were caught in the blast and sent flying in all directions, exploding harmlessly in the distance like fireworks.

"Nice try," Roch said with a smirk.

Elowen didn't waste time. She immediately began her second attack. The air around her started to swirl, and she formed multiple wind blades - sharp crescents of compressed air that gleamed like silver knives. With a gesture, she sent them spinning toward Roch.

But just as the wind blades were about to hit, Ashlin made a mistake. She tried to help by shooting a gust of wind to boost the attack's power.

Roch's golden eyes snapped to her, his expression darkening.

"Interfering?" he growled, irritated.

He raised his hand toward Ashlin and clenched his fist.

Ashlin began to scream as she was yanked through the air by an invisible force. She flew toward Roch like a missile, unable to control her flight. When she got close enough, his large hand wrapped around her throat.

"Don't interfere in a Grandmaster's fight, child," he said coldly.

A metal sword from the battlefield rose into the air behind him, its point gleaming. Without hesitation, he guided it forward, piercing straight through Ashlin's heart.

Her eyes went wide with shock and pain. Blood spilled from her lips as the light faded from her eyes.

"Ashlin!" Erik screamed, his voice breaking with grief and rage. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his friend die.

Elowen felt something break inside her chest. Her hands trembled as she watched Ashlin's lifeless body fall to the ground. The anger that had been building inside her finally erupted.

"I've lost too many people to the Ouroboros Accord," she said, her voice shaking with rage. "Too many good people have died because of your organization. I won't lose anyone else. I can't lose anyone else."

She turned to Erik, who was still crying and screaming Ashlin's name. Their eyes met, and she gave him a single, firm nod.

Erik understood immediately. Still sobbing, he turned and began to run as fast as he could.

Roch's remaining guard saw Erik fleeing and started to chase after him. "Coward! Running away!"

But Roch didn't follow. He stood there, studying Elowen's face with interest. Something in her expression had changed.

Elowen took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She looked at Roch with steady eyes, her anger now cold and focused.

"I can't win against you like this," she said quietly. "You have a strong talent, and more experience than I do."

She raised her bow one final time, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

"Domain."