The Multiverse Hunter

The branches and roots of every tree in the area surged forward, stretching and snaking across the ground in a desperate hunt for the Witch's unseen foe.

Their tendrils reached out with unnatural precision, probing every shadow, but even after a minute of frantic searching, they found nothing. This left the Witch increasingly unnerved.

She had witnessed firsthand how the Sith dispatched the Jedi Master with terrifying efficiency, emerging from their battle unscathed.

Even now, with the amulet pulsing with immense power around her neck, the masked man stirred a deep and primal fear within her.

In an area behind the Witch, hidden among the forest canopy, Ali dropped silently from the top of a towering tree. The seconds he spent airborne felt drawn out and deliberate, a calm before the storm.

As his body descended, he inhaled deeply, allowing his healing cells to pump through his black veins with heightened intensity, reinforcing his legs for what was to come.

Ali gripped his cross-guard lightsaber with both hands, adopting a low stance just as his boots touched the soft earth below. The moment his feet made contact, the forest seemed to hold its breath.

The trees themselves warned the Witch, their groans and whispers reaching her senses just as Ali's body lowered further into a crouch.

Then, with explosive power—

BOOM!

Ali shot forward, leaving a small crater where he had stood. The sheer force of his launch shook the ground, scattering leaves and debris. His sprint was a blur, propelled by a combination of Force Strength and Force Speed with his already inhuman physicality.

Every ounce of energy he could muster was focused into his assault.

The Witch turned her head, alerted by the vibrations of his approach. Her green-glowing eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of the Sith barreling through the air toward her, his red lightsaber carving a blazing arc in the darkness.

Her heart raced. There was no time to summon her magic or raise a defence; the speed of his attack was beyond anything she had prepared for. The crimson blade descended with lethal precision, aimed to cleave her in two.

'I've got her,' Ali thought, confident as his lightsaber closed in on its target.

But just as his blade was about to land, the relic reacted. Sensing the danger to its wielder, it unleashed a surge of deep green energy, forming a protective bubble around the Witch.

BANG!

Ali's lightsaber struck the barrier, causing an explosion of energy that sent him flying backward. The shockwave rippled through the forest, uprooting smaller plants and scattering loose debris.

Ali tumbled across the ground, finally coming to a halt as his boots dug into the dirt, stabilising him.

The Witch stood in place, her chest heaving as she realised just how close she had come to death. She steadied her breath, her hands glowing with green flames, brighter and more intense than before.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The earth beneath Ali erupted as thick, gnarled roots shot upward, their ends sharpened into deadly points. They lunged at him from every direction, attempting to impale him where he stood.

Ali's lightsaber flared to life once more as he spun it with incredible speed, the crimson blade cutting through the advancing roots. Each swing of his weapon melted the twisted wood into charred fragments, but the roots kept coming, seemingly endless in their assault.

In a fluid motion, Ali spun his lightsaber in midair, severing seven roots in a single arc. As the blade hovered for a brief moment, Ali drew his second red lightsaber, now dual-wielding as he slashed through the relentless swarm.

Amidst the chaos, his sharp eyes locked onto the Witch. She was whispering to herself, her arms moving rhythmically in the air, casting intricate spells that controlled the forest.

'Damn it, my Spirit is running low, I have about twenty percent,' Ali thought, feeling the strain of the fight. He had already expended much of his Spirit during the duel with the Jedi, and his Spirit pool was now dangerously depleted.

Above the Witch, branches wrenched themselves free from their trees, levitating in eerie stillness as green energy encased them.

The branches floated toward her, circling like satellites, their forms slowly shifting into sharp, monstrous arrows wreathed in emerald flames.

Ali gritted his teeth, using the Force to control the lightsabers and block the roots for him as he drew his desert eagles. With precise aim, he fired a volley of bullets at the Witch.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Each shot was deflected by another green bubble that she materialised around her, shielding her from harm.

Realising his bullets were ineffective, Ali redirected his fire to the forming arrows, shooting down twenty of them in rapid succession. But for every arrow he destroyed, the Witch conjured two more, their numbers growing exponentially.

'This is pointless,' Ali thought, holstering his guns once again.

With a burst of speed, he leaped away from the roots swarming him. As he landed, the ground beneath him cracked open, releasing even more jagged roots that pursued him relentlessly.

DASH!

Ali sprinted in a wide circle around the Witch, his movements a blur. His superior speed allowed him to keep ahead of her relentless attacks, but he could feel the pressure mounting.

The Witch turned her head, her glowing green eyes tracking him as he moved.

Around her, nearly two hundred flaming arrows hovered, their sharp tips glowing ominously. The Witch raised a single hand, and with an elegant flick of her fingers, she sent the arrows flying in unison.

The projectiles screamed through the air, homing in on Ali with terrifying accuracy.

'Homing arrows. Great,' Ali thought sarcastically as he vaulted onto the thick trunk of a nearby tree. Its branches immediately tried to ensnare him, but he jumped away just before they could catch him.

BOOM!

One of the arrows struck the tree, exploding in a burst of green fire that sent splinters raining down. Ali's eyes narrowed as he assessed the destruction.

'One of those could cripple me for the other hundred arrows to kills me instantly,' he realised.

His mask slipped from his face, falling to the ground below. Without it, his peripheral vision was no longer hindered, allowing him to track every incoming arrow.

Ali's blood pumped furiously, his usually inhumanly slow heartbeat now racing at a pace he hadn't experienced in years. For the first time in a long while, Ali was truly exerting himself.

The Witch watched from the ground as Ali's mask fell, revealing his face. She recognised the impossibly handsome human she had glimpsed earlier when he fought the Jedi, but something was different.

'Demon… What is he?' she wondered, her breath hitching at the sight of him.

Black veins snaked up the left side of Ali's face, spreading from his neck to his temple. His left eye, devoid of an iris, was a void of pure blackness.

But what unsettled her most was his expression.

He was smiling.

'He's enjoying this. LUNATIC!' she thought, gritting her teeth as she poured more energy into the relic.

With a roar of effort, she summoned a massive slab of stone from the earth, lifting it high above her. The rock floated ominously, its surface glowing with green as the Witch channeled her power into it and engraved ruins on it's surface.

Meanwhile, Ali continued his deadly dance among the trees. He used the dense forest to his advantage, forcing the arrows to collide with branches and trunks, causing cascading explosions.

Bit by bit, he thinned their numbers…

His crimson lightsabers spun and slashed through the air, blocking the occasional arrow that got too close and Ali would dash away in time before it exploded in his face. But his focus never wavered from the Witch.

His sharp eyes caught glimpses of her movements, the way she commanded the rock above her. He could feel the raw energy emanating from her magic, but even now, the smile on his face never faltered.

'What do you have for me now beautiful?,' Ali thought, his grip tightening on his lightsabers.

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