[AN: I apologize guys for any mistake with the name of the antagonist, I wrote this chapter a while back when I was going to name the antagonist Zero but now I changed my mind because Bane sounds a lot cooler]
The nine Aetherians charged at Bane and he simply smiled, and he slammed his hand towards the floor which created the pulse that sent them flying backwards.
One of the younger Aetherian used his telekenisis to bounce back up immediately and ran at Bane trying to pierce him from behind with his Aether spear.
Bane anticipated his attack and simply spun 180 degrees to the right and grabbed the spear with his right hand and used the Aetherian's own force to throw him over his body into the air.
Before the Aetherian could react, his own spear went right through his own head creating a perfectly cooked hole in his skull.
Bane looked at Lorik and said, "You and your fellow traitors haven't even entered this hall for a minute and two of your members are already dead."
Lorik rage was ignited, and his fury grew as he looked at the corpse that landed close to him.
"I can feel your rage, oh perhaps he was your disciple." Bane chuckled.
"His name was…" Lorik tried to make a speech but Bane cut him off saying,
"I don't need to know the name of dead men."
"You!!!" Lorik leapt at Bane but Bane simply dodged as he ignited both of his Aether swords and struck at him.
Bane moved like a phantom, effortlessly sidestepping Lorik's furious strikes.
The twin Aether swords in Lorik's hands left glowing arcs in the air as they sliced wildly, but Bane barely seemed to exert any effort in avoiding them.
His movements were fluid, precise, almost casual—like he was dancing through the storm of blades.
Lorik's fellow Aetherians closed in from all sides, their auras flaring with intent to kill.
They surrounded Bane, forming a semi-circle, each wielding their own Aether weapons—blades, spears, and hammers glowing with energy.
A chilling silence fell over the hall as Lorik moved back into formation with his team as they prepared to unleash their combined power.
Bane's smile didn't waver. He spread his arms wide, his fingers crackling with Aether energy. "Come, then," he whispered, his voice calm and cold.
Lorik gave the signal, and the eight remaining Aetherians charged, their weapons aimed to strike in perfect unison.
A hammer, glowing with molten heat, came crashing down toward Bane's head.
With a flick of his wrist, Bane unleashed a telekinetic pulse, stopping the hammer mid-swing and freezing its wielder in place.
Before the Aetherian could react, Bane twisted his fingers, and the aether forming the hammer shattered into a cloud of fragments that swirled around its owner like a deadly storm.
Before the aether hammer could regenerate, the condensed aether fragments pierced through the Aetherian's armor, burning through flesh and bone, leaving behind a lifeless, smoldering corpse.
Two Aetherians lunged from either side, their swords gleaming with Aether-infused ice.
Bane didn't move.
Instead, a shimmering construct of telekenisis shield formed around him—a translucent shield in the shape of a sphere.
The swords struck the barrier, and the moment they made contact, spikes erupted outward from the shield like a porcupine impaling both attackers through their chests.
Their weapons clattered to the ground as they slumped over, lifeless.
An Aetherian wielding twin whips of condensed aether attempted to ensnare Bane from a distance.
He lashed out with the crackling whips, intending to bind Bane in place or even dice him into numerous pieces.
Bane raised his left hand, and with a simple clench of his fist, the whips shattered into sparks.
Before the Aetherian could recover, Bane extended his hand toward him, and a telekenetic force formed around his neck, grabbing him.
With a flick of his wrist downward, breaking his neck with a sickening crunch before flinging his hands sideways sending him flying across the hall, where he slammed into a stone pillar with another sickening crunch.
Lorik's rage boiled over.
He watched as one by one, his comrades were dispatched and it didn't even seem like Bane was breaking a sweat doing it.
His Aether swords ignited and his physical and aetherian attributes temporarily enhanced as he channeled his fury.
With a roar, he charged again, aiming directly for Bane's heart.
Zero sighed as he extended both hands. In an instant, telekinetic forces formed around him intercepting Lorik mid-charge and wrapping tightly around his limbs.
Lorik struggled, trying to break free, but the tendrils tightened, forcing him to his knees.
"I warned you," Bane said softly, his tone devoid of emotion. "You entered this hall seeking glory, but all you've found is death."
Lorik's eyes blazed with hatred, but before he could speak, Bane made a small gesture, and the telekenisis force tightened around throat, cutting off his breath, but not enough to kill—just enough to silence him.
"Now watch, " Bane said mockingly forcing Lorik to face him as he proceeded to kill of the rest of his team mates.
With a final, dismissive wave of his hand, Zero released the force holding him down.
Lorik held his neck gasping for air. He looked up at Zero, his expression a mix of fear and humiliation.
He had already realized that Bane was toying with them.
When he tried to use any of his aether abilities on Bane it didn't work.
It didn't take a genius to understand that Bane's stats outclassed them by a massive distance.
Bane could have stopped them from using their abilities the moment they stepped through the door.
To make the humiliation worse Sylas had walked over to his teammate with a broken neck and killed him with a share of broken armour from another team mate.
"Go," Bane said, his voice echoing through the hall. "Take your broken pride and leave. Tell the others what happens when traitors stand against me."
Lorik hesitated, torn between his desire for revenge and the instinct to survive.
But in the end, survival won out. He scrambled to his feet, casting one last hateful glance at Zero before fleeing towards the grand doors of the hall.
But before he could make it through the door an aether spear went through his head killing him instantly.
"Fool, did he really think I was going to let him go just like that?" Bane muttered with a faint smile curving his lips as he turned and strode toward the throne at the far end of the hall.
His gaze drifted toward the holograms of the men and women watching in tense silence. "Any one of you want to join them in the grave?"