Cages of what looked like white roots enveloped the black aliens, occasionally piercing their flesh again to come out on the other side. Liizaâs ice felt alive as it immobilized and froze the two enemies, trapping them in a prison that had far more than cold bars to it.
The evolved warriorsâ black blood from the injuries on their backs and whatever other hole the white roots had opened stopped flowing, freezing while the process extended to other, deeper functions.
The shorter alien tried to oppose the process, only for his survival instincts to scream in danger. He managed to tilt his head to his right, but an attack hit him anyway. Except, no impact unfolded.
Everything on the left side of the shorter alienâs head had vanished. Part of Liizaâs ice, a chunk of his black hair, and his pointy ear had simply disappeared out of existence.
Khan lowered his leg, his senses confirming how his attack had created enough delay to render the process irreversible. The warning from the aliensâ survival instincts had distracted them from the expanding ice, making the warriors too late to attempt to escape that freezing prison.
The gap where the shorter alienâs left ear used to be tried to release blood, but nothing came out. Any liquid inside the two warriors had frozen, and that process gained more ethereal properties when it affected their brains, energy, and existence as a whole.
Evolved warriors existed past their physical limitations, but Liizaâs ice could deal with those aspects, too. The two aliens could still move slightly due to the insane anatomical resilience provided by their status, but Liiza had rendered them virtually powerless.
That conclusion didnât escape the two aliens. The shorter warriorâs grin finally closed, hiding the teeth Khanâs attack had broken. Meanwhile, his taller companionâs lips parted in surprise, releasing frozen, black shards of blood that the previous kick had sent through his throat.
It had only taken a few exchanges after Khan and Liiza had gotten serious, but the two black aliens were virtually defeated. Their lives were in the married coupleâs grasp.
The swift resolution would shock ordinary evolved warriors. They knew exactly how strong and resilient entities at their level were, so witnessing such a one-sided battle would force them to reconsider their understanding of that realm.
The details about that battle would even deepen the shock. After all, the two black aliens theoretically wielded a stark advantage due to their ability to counter the mana.
Moreover, Liiza and Khan werenât properly evolved warriors yet. They had uncommon abilities, but their actual level was below that realm, making their swift victory even more shocking.
Nevertheless, Liiza and Khan had their fair share of advantages, too.
First of all, Khan and Liiza were monsters of their respective fields. Khan was a child of many different worlds, carrying genes that earned him a birthright to the universeâs throne.
Meanwhile, Liiza was one of the founders of the Niqolsâ new old ways. Her entire species had acknowledged her talent ten years ago already, and she had only deepened it since then.
Besides, both Khan and Liizaâs best techniques could ignore the black aliensâ advantage over the mana. Khanâs martial arts were stronger than his spells and couldnât be affected by that strange ability.
Meanwhile, Liizaâs new old ways allowed her to evolve past her speciesâ arts, turning control into domination, according to her short explanation. She had even mutated herself to achieve better results, and the brief battle had vouched for her power.
Ultimately, Khan and Liiza could cooperate at an instinctive level due to the mental connection. They knew what their partner wanted to do as soon as the idea popped into their mind. Their teamwork wasnât something that could be replicated through ordinary means.
Those factors culminated in the aliensâ current predicament. Truth be told, despite Khanâs impressive performance, Liizaâs element had been key to ending things so quickly. Trapping or killing them would have been far more troublesome otherwise.
It was only a matter of deciding what to do with the black aliens now. Their fate was set in stone. Still, their last moments could provide useful information that the universe as a whole might need, and Khan wouldnât feel any remorse in performing some tests after what they did to his ship.
The lightning bolts Khan had previously created were still hovering inside the purple-red cloud, but one floated upward, rising through the sky to approach the aliens trapped in that cage of ice.
Khan didnât send the spell crashing into the aliens. He slowed it down until it almost stopped right before those two black entities, getting one inch closer every minute.
The lightning boltâs destructive presence affected the aliens, tearing their black robes apart and opening cuts on their skin. However, something else hit the spell, too.
Despite Liizaâs ice neutralizing everything about those evolved warriors, their existence kept radiating a modicum of its innate effects.
The lightning bolt seemed to weaken on its own, its energy vanishing for no apparent reason. That should have been impossible, but the event was happening right before Khanâs eyes, and surprisingly, he could guess why.
The process continued until the lightning bolt completely disappeared. The black aliens did nothing. They couldnât do anything in their current situation, but the mana still couldnât exist in their presence, even a version of it as wild as Khanâs.
Khan didnât stop at that single test. His arm snapped upward, sending a red slash flying at high speed toward the shorter alien. Bloodthirst raged in his brain when the attack pierced the evolved warriorâs torn robe, digging into his skin.
The cursed knifeâs will did its best to devour the shorter alien life, relying on Khanâs destruction to spread itself, but its expansion was cut short.
The scarlet slash lost energy on its own, disappearing before it could cut any deeper, only leaving a shallow wound on the black warriorâs torso.
After that second test, there was no denying it anymore. Khan confirmed his previous realization and accepted all the problems it implied. Yet, the black aliens didnât give him time to ponder it.
The taller alien moved his black, seemingly empty gaze to his companion, and the latter matched it. The two seemed to have a brief, silent conversation that led to a joint agreement.
The shorter alien attempted to grin again, and the skin on his cheeks cracked due to its frozen state. The same went for his left arm, which rose toward his horn despite looking on the verge of shattering.
Instead, the taller alien frowned, focusing his mental prowess on a similar task. His effort paid off since cracks opened on his horn, quickly bringing it to the critical point.
The taller alienâs horn exploded, while the shorter warrior directly ripped off his protuberance, and a dense black gas came out of those wounds.
Also, the aliensâ eyes lost their black color. That shade seemed to flow away, exposing a white sclera. Only a dark dot remained at its center, but a scarlet light shone around it, painting red irises into existence.