Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world Chapter 478: The First Companion [2]

From the dunes, countless human-sized sand figures emerged, their faces contorted in eerie twists.

Composed of thick, swirling sand that buzzed with power, their forms constantly churned and reformed.

Brandon released a quiet sigh. "An entire army..."

Rheanne clenched her silver blade tighter. "Remain vigilant."

The sandmen launched their assault without any prior notice.

Dozens charged in an unyielding surge from every angle, their limbs stretching into sharp sand blades and claws.

One sandman pounced first, swinging a raking claw at him.

With fluid grace, Brandon dodged aside, seized its outstretched arm, and flipped the creature over his shoulder using its own force.

Before it touched the ground, his elbow smashed down into its chest with savage power.

CRACK!

Sand burst outward as the monster's body crumbled apart.

Two additional sandmen struck from the rear.

Brandon whirled low, knocking one down with a mighty leg sweep, then propelled into a seamless backflip.

In midair, he spun and slammed both heels into the second sandman's skull, pulverizing it.

His landing was soft, but he was already in motion once more.

A sand blade sliced toward his neck.

At the final instant, Brandon bent backward and retaliated with a blazing palm thrust to the foe's chest.

The blow hurled the sandman back, its form breaking apart while airborne.

He bolted from a trio of sandmen, channeling the speed into a whirling kick that demolished two simultaneously.

Upon landing, he sank into a deep stance and swept the fourth's legs away, then crushed its center with a hammering fist from above.

'Haa... My storage ring holds a sword and dagger that'd simplify this. But pulling it out would spark suspicions, damn it.'

Across the fray, Rheanne swept through like a silvery tempest.

Elegant yet lethal arcs marked the path of her silver blade.

She barely had to push herself.

Her blade hummed through the air as she glided with poised accuracy amid the sandmen swarm.

SHIN- SHING- SHING-

Every stroke landed flawlessly. Sandmen fell in sequence, severed cleanly at heads, bodies, and limbs before nearing her.

A cluster of sandmen attempted to encircle her, but Rheanne just flicked her empty hand.

The very space warped around her, the atmosphere snapping like fragile ice.

CRACK- CRACK- CRACK-

Spatial ripples expanded outward, shredding the trapped sandmen as reality tore around them.

Fine powder was all that remained of their forms, drifting away over the sands.

Rheanne pressed on without pause.

Her blade carved silver trails while her free hand gestured now and then, warping space to pulverize clusters of sandmen.

Amid the battle, Brandon eyed her. 'She operates on a whole different plane... and that's spatial manipulation? She bends space itself.'

'Reminds me a lot of Elize's abilities...'

He evaded a slashing sand blade, clutched the attacker's limb, and vaulted over its head using it for support.

During the flip, his knee plunged into its core, obliterating it.

Crouching on landing, he unleashed a rotating back kick that felled two more sandmen instantly.

She looked his way during combat. "Can you handle any weapons?" Her single stroke halved another guardian.

Brandon evaded a sand blade aimed at his throat. "Yeah. Sword or dagger."

"I see..."

Rheanne reached out with her left hand.

Around her palm, space curved and rippled like liquid.

A tiny tear appeared in the air, as though accessing a parallel realm.

Her hand plunged into the rift, withdrawing a sword.

The weapon boasted a sleek straight blade and a silver hilt bound in black leather.

Brandon's eyes grew wide with wonder. 'How in the world did she retrieve that?'

With an effortless underhand toss, Rheanne sent the sword his way.

"Here."

Catching it airborne, Brandon felt the hilt settle perfectly in his grip.

Perfectly weighted and light, the blade balanced flawlessly.

A swift practice swing whistled through the air with crisp precision.

"Not bad," he said under his breath, a grin breaking through the mayhem.

A subtle smile of approval crossed Rheanne's face as she felled sandmen with fluid blade sweeps.

"Good. Let's wrap this up fast."

In a frantic last push, the surviving sandmen rushed them from every direction.

Together, Brandon and Rheanne sprang into action.

He rushed ahead as the nearest sandman swiped with a ragged claw.

A precise upward slash blocked the strike, followed by a twirling side cut that bisected the creature at the midsection.

Both halves dissolved before striking the earth.

He kept pushing forward.

He dodged beneath yet another sand blade, tumbled ahead, and rose slashing as his sword sliced through two sandmen in a seamless arc.

Springing aloft with a twist in mid-air, he hammered the sword downward in a devastating overhead chop that pulverized a third guardian’s core.

Across the battlefield, Rheanne whirled amid the swarm like a pale tempest.

Brandon and Rheanne battled in flawless harmony.

United, they cleaved a route through the mob.

Sand burst around them in unending eruptions.

While the Guardians crumbled and dissolved.

At last, after endless-seeming strife, the final sandman tumbled into lifeless powder.

Silence enveloped the dunes again.

Just the faint murmur of wind lingered.

Brandon panted lightly with sweat streaming down his face, yet his eyes sparkled with rush.

He glanced at the sword. ’This one feels really good in my hand...’

Relief nearly escaped as a sigh when the earth shuddered fiercely under them.

Even more sandmen surged up from the dunes.

A piercing blue gleam ignited in Brandon’s eyes. ’Round 2, huh...’

Just as he moved to charge, Rheanne held him back. "Wait-"

He whipped around to her; she indicated the heavens.

Brandon tracked her stare.

Far overhead loomed a colossal boulder, house-sized easily, hurtling from the skies like a fiery harbinger.

SWOOOSH

The enormous stone shrieked across the sky, ballooning larger with every second as it plunged at breakneck pace.

THOOOOOOOM!

It slammed straight into the sandmen throng with colossal might.

A gigantic shockwave blasted outward, flinging sand everywhere like an atomic detonation.

The ground quaked savagely.

Guardians were annihilated on the spot, smashed under heaps of stone and grit.

Any survivors of the first impact got hurled by the spreading doom circle, dissolving to dust without a sound.

Once the dust and sand started settling, a massive pit scarred the desert sands.

The stone lay buried at its heart like a crashed star.

Brandon gawked in total stun. ’She can summon meteors...?’

He turned gradually to Rheanne. "You could have used that from the start."

A tiny, sheepish smile curved Rheanne’s mouth. "I wanted to see how skilled you are. Sorry for that."

Brandon huffed a quick, unbelieving laugh. "You wanted to test me?"

"I wanted to see how powerful my partner is so it’s easy to cooperate in a fight."

A snicker bubbled from his lips. "Partner huh..."

Then it struck him. ’Wait... am I altering the past?’

His gaze tightened in contemplation. ’Future Rheanne told me that she had someone precious with her... who is the second awakener.’

’So for this past Rheanne, I am the second awakener...’

’Wait, wait, wait... what the fuck?’

’Maybe I am not changing the past with my existence. Because if I am changing the past, then my existence in the future would be no more because of the butterfly effect.’

’Which means, my existence in the past will also disappear... but I am still here.’

Suddenly his pupils contracted with epiphany. ’What if it’s like a Bootstrap time paradox?’

---

A/n: Time travel might seem chaotic, but I’ve used a closed time loop known as the Bootstrap paradox, one of the simplest time travel concepts, and I’ll strive to handle it well.

Golden tickets and powerstones are appreciated