Chapter 8: Godslayer vs. Godslayer

(4 weeks 1 day after birth of 8th Campione)

Jereth

"Found him yet?"

"I'll tell you as soon as I do. Now shut up and let me concentrate."

I can't help but grin at Elizaveta's total lack of respect towards my status as a Campione. In fact any of the Mage Associations would be blown away at how free with the insults my subordinates are.

I kinda like it.

Leaning back in my seat I glance out the window at the dipping sun and slowly advancing wave of fog. Typical afternoon in San Francisco. Glancing at Elizaveta I see her leaning against the car with her eyes half-closed in apparent concentration. Well it's 4:00 now, so everyone's starting to get off of work and causing quite the bit of foot-traffic that must make it a right pain to find one specific person.

"And just when, it hit me, somebody turned around and said PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC WHITE BOY!"

"Can I just say your taste in music seems awfully…refined? You're pushing 4 decades there."

"So you need me to stop talking enough that you can concentrate, but not enough that you can't belittle my appreciation of downright awesome music?"

"Selective hearing."

"Aw, you're so adorable when you're being snarky."

Sighing she tiredly replies, "Why am I even keeping an eye out for the 6th? Isn't he going to find his way here eventually anyway?"

"Of course, but the guy's about as predictable as a gerbil on crack with a lit match stuffed up it's butt. Most likely he'll just walk on over and want to say hi before we actually fight…or he might just get so excited that he charges sword drawn and causes a ruckus. I have a standing policy to hope for the best and prepare for the worst…hence why you're my lookout."

A look of annoyance on her face she mutters, "Alright fine…twist my arm a little why don't you?"

"I take requests."

She ignores me and I go back to mentally fine-tuning my plan.


As far as the current generation of Campione go Doni is the lowest on my threat list right next to Alec. Not because they're weak, but because they have clear and 'rational' goals in life that I can always count on them to make. Alec is an intellectual…sorta. Just remove the whole, 'for the betterment of society', part of the definition. He's a critical and logical thinker who's only real 'quirk' is that he'll do anything to further whatever subject he's researching.

Someone I can talk to like a somewhat normal person.

…again, sorta. 'Normal' and Campione have a relationship like oil and water.

Anyway Doni craves experience. Where a lot of the Mage Associations trip up is where they assume Doni's only interested in fighting.

Don't get me wrong, the guy has a serious hard-on for a good scrap, not to mention that a lot of his actions tend to either directly or indirectly lead to situations where he has to stab something with his sword, but it's that kind of limited thinking that lead the Cooper and Bronze Crosses to label him as a walking disaster of idiotic proportions and are unable to effectively handle him.

What a bunch of dumbasses.

The guy is the ultimate free spirit who, once he decides to do something, does it. Seriously, he can fight someone to the point where they're both bloody and exhausted, then an hour later sit down and have lunch with them. Does that sound like the behavior of some mad berserker, or someone who just prefers to do everything he does to the extreme?

Shit, I kind of even admire him for that.

Point is, Doni is nowhere near the idiot most people think he is.

…Ok that's not exactly true, he's still pretty dumb…it's just that most people don't seem to realize that his ignorance of the consequences of his actions isn't some willful disregard for other people…it's just his viewpoint on how the world works.

And I'm going to get him on my side. Having a supremely capable fighter who likes to get into brawls is gonna be kinda critical.


"Found him. About three hundred meters from our 3 o'clock. On Kearny Street."

We're currently parked off of the Embarcadero near the ferry that leaves for Alcatraz, mostly just hanging around waiting for Doni to show up. Looks like the wait is over. Switching off the car I step out and take a look where Elizaveta said he'd be coming from. Sure enough I see that familiar mop of spiky blond hair walking down the street, still wearing the same outfit as he was in South America. I feel the side of my mouth quirk in amusement as I spot Andrea Rivera's annoyed face as he keeps pace alongside Doni, clearly not enthused with following his old associate on what he no doubt considers a wild goose chase.

Never mind that he might piss off John Pluto Smith (A.K.A., Annie-split personality-Charlton) and cause a ruckus considering how close the two cities are to each other.

Meh, everyone worries too much.

Doni must have spotted me as he suddenly perks up and starts happily trotting over, his usual sword concealing tube slung over his shoulder.

"So how are you gonna handle this?"

I glance at Elizaveta and simply shrug.

"I think I'll wing it."

She narrows her eyes and grudgingly admits, "Dealing with this guy, that actually makes an unfortunate amount of sense."

"Glad you approve. Keep an eye on Rivera."

At this point our two opposites are within shouting distance and Doni gets a big ol' smile on his face as he closes to maybe three feet away and stops. There's a moment of pregnant silence before I break the metaphorical ice and extend my hand saying, "Good to meet you Salvatore Doni, I'm Jereth. You're younger brother I suppose."

He grasps my hand with an enthusiastic shake of his own and happily replies, "Pleased to meet yah Jereth, can I just say it's a nice change of pace to have a fellow Campione actually be pretty relaxed about all this? I remember Godou freaked out at first and wanted to run away."

That said he then looks at me with a slight pout and asks, "Speaking of running away that reminds me, how come you just up and disappeared last time I saw you? I was almost ready to bully the Associations into finding you."

I shrug and bluntly reply, "I was in the middle of important work and was still getting a handle on my Authorities. Heck, even if we had fought then I wouldn't have been much of a challenge for you. So I saved myself an inconvenience and you a disappointment."

He looks at me oddly before shrugging and saying, "Well whatever, we're here now so let's get to it!"

I'm about to agree when I notice his lips are noticeably cracked and his eyes are slightly sunken. Obvious signs of dehydration. Raising an eyebrow I carefully ask, "This might sound like a bit of a strange question but…you've been eating and drinking recently, right?"

"Nope! Not for the past 2 and a half days!"

I glance at Rivera and he irritably sighs, responding with, "The moron believes that fasting before a fight sharpens his technique, he kept prattling on about how he was certain he would get to test himself against the new Godslayer this time and refused any and all forms of nourishment."

Doni turns to him with a slightly defensive look and retorts, "Hey I was right though, why don't you ever believe me?"

"Because 99% of the time you're not right idiot!"

As fun as it is to watch the two argue I decide to cut in with, "Well now that we're all here you sure you don't wanna at least have, I dunno, a cliff bar or something before we start?"

He cheerily smiles and simply replies, "Nope! All set to go here!"

I merely shrug and file this under the, 'just Doni things' folder.

"Well more power to you. Shall we be on our way?"

"Huh? We're not gonna fight here?"

I snort and reply, "Hell no. I like this part of town, we're taking this out to Alcatraz!"

He bounces back and says, "Ooh, I like the sound of that! A prison island, reserved just for the fight between the two of us…heh heh, I think we'll be the best of Brothers, Jereth!"

He immediately starts walking towards the ferry in the distance before I can hand him his ticket. Sighing, I turn towards Andrea and simply state, "You have my sympathies friend."

He exhales heavily and morosely replies with, "You think I would be used to it now."

I hand him two tickets and Elizaveta walks up alongside me and coyly says, "Nice job getting him to agree to the arena…you made up the part about liking this part of town, didn't you?"

Smiling I reply, "Yep. Never even seen this area until a few hours ago. But hey, it was a convenient excuse, not to mention it worked."

She shakes her head and her short hair splays around her face in an almost hypnotic wave.

Uh oh. I'm starting to pay attention to the way her body moves. Keep it in your pants Jereth.

"If improvisation is going to be your plan all the time I think I need to up my life insurance."

Snorting I reply, "No need for that, just ask Tim about all the great health benefits you get from working under me."


Alcatraz island has a pretty interesting bit of history. First it was a military garrison, then a military prison and finally a penitentiary for prisoners who didn't play nice at other jails. A home for the biggest and most uncontrollable people on the West Coast.

Seems perfect for a duel between Campione, some of the worst troublemakers this side of the universe.

We grabbed the 4:30 ferry, the last of the day, and are now hanging out until the island clears out. Doni seemed happy to just explore the rest of the island with the other tourists until it's time to meet up, taking Andrea along with him. Elizaveta and I decided to just break off from the group and jumped up to the roof of the Dining Hall where she's currently grilling me over my strategy.

"Explain to the new girl how exactly you plan on winning what's arguably one of your worse matchups among the current Kings and why you want to even bother with this anyway. Unless you're planning to actually kill him, Doni's not just going to leave you alone because you beat him. Hell, he'd probably start trying to pick fights with you even more frequently than before!"

"You cast a cloaking and misdirection spell over us right?"

"Don't change the damn subject."

I roll my eyes and reply, "Relax a bit kiddo, I've given this plenty of thought."

"I'm 19 Jereth, despite what I look like. I have Witch blood in me, remember?"

"And I'm 22 or 23, so I still get to call you kiddo, remember?"

She gives me a look that clearly says, 'you have 5 seconds to tell me what I want to know before I start punching you', which earns a smirk out of me.

"I'm going up against Doni for two important reasons and two not so important reasons."

I unzip my bag and pull out the first weapon I randomly grabbed from the armory, revealing a saber-style Falchion that I pull from it's sheath and start inspecting.

"First big reason is that I need to prove to the Monasteries that I'm worth supporting. Sure, Loyd is behind me and I pretty much just did a hostile takeover of the NA Branch but I guarantee you the other Branches are playing it safe for now before throwing in their lot. Secondly, it'll also be a useful card to hold over the other Association's heads. If we ever, maybe I should say eventually, get into disputes with them it'll pay to be able to say, 'Hey I beat your Campione in a duel just a few weeks after I became a Godslayer, don't fuck with me'. Intimidation is gonna be key there."

She nods thoughtfully before asking, "And the other 2?"

"Personal interest really. While I could potentially just avoid Doni for however long I need to, I'd rather have him know my face and name as soon as possible. If I can get on his 'friendly' side now that'll be a big plus. As for my last reason?"

I lock eyes with Elizaveta and grin savagely.

"I want to test myself against the best. So far I've only faced off against Perun and he underestimated me to a laughable degree. I want to measure myself up against someone who can push me to my limits and then some. It's kinda a flaw of all Devil Kings really."

She huffs a sigh and stares out over the bay as the sun slowly dips beneath the horizon.

"You are gonna be a nightmare to serve under, you know that?"

"Creele and Tim do seem to find it necessary to remind me of that fact every chance they get. You'll complete the trifecta of nagging subordinates I've been missing."

She scowls at me and I can't help but chortle. I slip in my contact lenses that'll keep my eyes from lighting up like a Christmas tree when I use Weaving of Black Wool and roll my shoulder. Now we wait.


Before I know it the last boat has left after Elizaveta and I hypnotized all of the island staff to head on home early with the rest of the tourists. The sun's just beginning to dip and the fog's rolled in as Doni and I face off, with my newly acquired bodyguard and Andrea taking a seat on the roof where I was previously occupying.

Doni's practically bouncing on the balls of his feet and I have to admit his excitement is a little contagious. Rather than nervously acting out my energy I make sure my sword is properly attached to my hip and crack my neck, getting amped up for the coming battle.

Suddenly calling out Doni asks, "So do we want to get right into it or take our time first?"

I raise an eyebrow at Doni's unusual display of patience and shrug.

"How about we stick with purely martial skills for the appetizer? We can pull out the heavy duty stuff later…and don't stab me through the head or heart!"

"Works for me! Let's get to it!"

Feeling a burning sensation ignite in the bottom of my spine I show my teeth in a grin a wolf would recognize and reply, "After you Honey-butter."

He pulls loose a European hand-and-a-half sword that's purely functional in design from it's sheath and let's it hang loosely by his right side, blade canted at a 45 degree angle away from his body. Unconventional, but then again there's next to nothing conventional about his sword skills so whatever.

My newly ingrained Godslayer instincts are quietly warning me that it's not nearly as haphazard a stance as it looks though, and that I should get ready to fight.

Thanks, but I kinda already figured that out on my own.

Settling into a simple Razmafzar ready stance with the falchion I take a deep breath and ready myself for the first blow.

We stay like that for a few seconds with nothing but the cool air and rolling fog moving.

…And then a few seconds more…followed by a few more-

watch?v=e0kle5YWdJs (Dive into the 9)

Doni suddenly closes the distance with a blindingly fast skip and swings his sword in a straight horizontal arc that I barely angle my own blade to catch, sending his over my head in a skittering arc.

However, before his blade completely clears my body he somehow alters the momentum of his swing downward and then to his left, clearly intending to rip my blade out from my hands.

Letting decades of training take over I let go of the sword's handle just as he begins to push, causing my blade to rapidly spin end to end as his momentum pushes against it…but it doesn't travel more than a few centimeters in either direction, practically floating between us.

Grinning I catch the rapidly whirling blade and make a simple thrust towards his gut while his blade is still out of position…or at least I thought was, because all of the sudden he flips the sword around in his hands so that he's holding it reverse-style and blocks my stab, causing us both to briefly leap apart and re-evaluate our opponent.

Two identical grins appear on our faces before we charge once again.


Elizaveta

I'll grudgingly admit to being impressed. For anyone to survive a head-to-head sword fight against Doni without the help of an Authority is pretty damn impressive. For the past two minutes they've been going at it like there's no tomorrow, exchanging blows at speeds of almost one strike every 0.75 seconds, the only break being maybe 2 or 3 seconds of wary circling before they get right back into the swing of things.

Excuse the pun.

"Unbelievable…"

I glance over at Rivera who's watching the battle taking place with obvious astonishment on his face.

"The only person I've seen match the idiot in sword skills was Luo Hao herself, and she's been obsessively honing her skills for centuries. Who's this King of yours?"

I shrug and simply reply, "He's not my King. And allow me to correct you on one more thing. He's not matching Doni in battle, in fact I'd say he's lost any advantage he once had at this point."

Rivera squints and carefully says, "I don't see it."

"Probably because they're moving so damn fast. But Jereth is on the offensive less and less after each exchange. Not to mention he isn't even trying to block Salvatore's attacks head on anymore, merely angling them off to the side or giving ground rather than lock blades. Not the moves of someone who's in control of the flow of battle, wouldn't you say?"

He nods but then looks quizzically at me.

"So why is he still attempting to match Doni then? Wouldn't it make more sense to call it now? I hope you don't mind me saying so, but my initial impression of your Godslayer was that he's far more…level-headed than most other Campione."

I can't help but wryly smile as I go back to spectating the battle, watching Jereth suddenly adopt an 'irregular guard' style the Monasteries use, holding the sword much like a baseball player would hold the bat when attempting a bunt and slamming the flat of the blade against Doni's own which sends him skidding back a few feet.

Unable to help the happy smile that comes to my face as I excitedly watch the battle I simply reply, "That was my impression also. Can't say I'm completely bummed about being wrong though."


Jereth

I'm actually running out of breath. First time in awhile that's happened.

What really sucks is that Doni's breathing is barely sped up, beats me how the Bastard isn't just as winded as I am.

I mean, it's not like I'm out of shape or anything…

I ruefully grin and say, "Guess that moniker 'King of Swords' isn't a fluke, is it now?"

He shoots me a radiant smile and easily replies, "You know it! And you ain't too shabby yourself, my sword is practically shaking with excitement!"

I cast a rueful glance at my falchion, which is slightly bent at it's midpoint after my last block, not to mention it's edges are beat to hell, full of ragged metal dents after the beating it's taken the last few minutes. To be fair Doni's weapon isn't looking too much better, after all these are non-magic weapons. With the kind of force we were putting into our blows I'm honestly surprised that they're not in pieces by now.

Casting aside the dented blade I turn to Doni and ask, "So what do you say we cut loose with the real deal here? No more warm-ups."

"Ready when you are! I have to say, it's really cool that you're so into this, most of the other Campione just run away or get all annoyingly serious when I challenge them to a fight. I think I found my soulmate after all this time!"

I snort and reply, "And people say you're not eloquent."

"Well I won't deny that I'm bad at trying to explain stuff…maybe this is easier because I'm saying what I'm feeling? Ah who cares, let's go for round two!"

Holding his sword at a 90 degree angle from his body he begins to intone, "I hereby swear, I forbid the existence of things I cannot cut! Rippling Arm of Silver!"

As his arm is suddenly ensconced in a mirror bright covering of metallic silver I ready my own Authority. Unfortunately there's no storm already brewing so I'm gonna have to brute force this and suffer the consequences later.

"Violent skies fly to my side and sound our clarion call, the founder of lightning and guardian of the one true root seeks your aide! Father of Storms!"

A distant rumble is heard that gradually grows louder and flashes of light begin to illuminate the surrounding mist like the muzzle flares of far off artillery. Raising my hand to the sky I additionally chant, "Guardian of the Olden Tree, raise your weapon against the watery depths and march against the shapeshifter of death. Perun's Stones!" and a bolt of lightning suddenly strikes my hand with a resounding CRACK that shakes the the very air around us. Once the light dissipates my hand is full of fulgurite battle-ax and I violently grin.

"Wrong pantheon and everything, but let's Ragnarok-and-roll!"

Suiting actions to words I swing the axe downwards and a bolt of lightning follows my motion, striking where Doni used to be. The guy's quick on his feet all right.

He probably didn't have to dodge so fast though since the bolts I'm calling down are only peewees compared to a natural strike, something like 100 megjoules compared to the more standard 500.

…Not that you would still want to get hit by one of those, now that I think about it...

Quickly dancing within a meter of me Doni let's loose a blindingly fast slice towards my shoulder that I lean back away from and instead of doing the smart thing and backing the fuck away I dive right into his range and latch my hand onto his silver clad arm, hoping to lever him over my shoulder and slam him onto the ground.

I'm so confident in my plan woking that it takes a second to realize that when I slammed my hip into his he didn't move so much an an inch. And then another second to notice the glowing runes surrounding the two of us.

Looking over my shoulder at Doni's smug face I scowl and ask, "And just when the Hell did you turn on Man of Steel?"

"Right after we started using our Authorities. My duel with Godou taught me to always be prepared no matter how confident I may be! It's been really helpful truth be told."

Thanks for nothing 7th, you taught the idiot how to use his head a bit.

Throwing myself into a full powered leap away from him I don't quite manage to entirely escape his attack as the tip of his return stroke cuts a thin line across my back.

Nuadha's power activates in that split second and a wild spray of blood jets from the wound, causing quite the unpleasant sensation, like someone dumped a colony of fire ants on my back.

Completing my roll I quickly take stock of my condition and internally breath a sigh of relief. While it hurts like a bitch it was only the skin and a thin layer of muscle that got sliced, nothing I can't handle.

But seriously though. Ow.

I glare back at Doni who craftily says, "Don't get too cocky Jereth, you're a pretty darn good fighter, I'd hate to accidentally kill you!"

"Oh, so the no killing rule is out I take it? That didn't take long."

"My mistake, I'll certainly try not to accidentally kill you, but I tend to get excited easily. No hard feelings right?"

"Nah. By the way, have a nice trip and see you next fall."

"Huh?"

His look of confusion is turned into one of surprise once I activate Weaving of Black Wool and move onto the next phase of things.

Causing the ground beneath Doni to shoot up in an uneven and haphazard motion he quickly loses his balance and lands on his back in a less than impressive manner.

Grinning I quickly spin my axe around a few times before slamming it down on the ground, sending several arcs streaking towards the quickly recovering Doni. Unfortunately Man of Steel is in full force and my lightning doesn't do much more than scorch his shirt and raise a few minor red welts.

Basically useless.

Quickly gaining his feet I raise a few more stone walls between us only to hear him shout, "Oh Sword, shining bright, release flames!", followed by a spray of superheated gravel that opens up a few smoking cuts on me as he uses the explosive properties of his Authority to cut apart my improvised barriers.

He waltzes through the smoking remains happily twirling his sword at his side and I can't help but admire his natural showmanship. As an actor I can appreciate the psychological power of showing off, which Doni has down pat.

He'd make a good action star. Provided he didn't actually destroy the studio or anything.

Realizing that the rock walls aren't doing the job I quickly leap back staying a step of ahead of him and manipulate the surrounding ocean and air currents into a crushing wave of pressure and slam them into the approaching King of Swords. Almost 1500 psi of compressed water and 150 mph winds batter him in a crazed mix that even Man of Steel has trouble advancing against.

A real sweet benefit of the Magic perception provided by Weaving of Black Wool is that I can cut short the flow of magic just before impact, maximizing the force of the spell. A Campione's natural magic resistance would fuck with the Magic powering the spell and lessen it's effects, but with my level of control I don't have to worry about stuff like that.

That said I frown as I think about what to do next. While Doni can't really move forward with my Magic holding him back, I'm burning through my reserves pretty quick here. It's a losing stalemate essentially.

Well…it'd be a stalemate if I couldn't use 2 Authorities at once.

Ok, I get why it's generally accepted that using two Authorites at once is either insanely difficult or downright impossible. It's basically trying to look left and right at the same time, forcing two massively powerful Magics to cooperate and work in synch without them spiraling out of control.

For me it's merely difficult, not impossible. Years upon years of Monastic mental training gives me an edge here, since intense concentration and self-suggestion are practically second nature to me at this point in my career.

Long story short, while I'm holding up Doni with the Weaving of Black Wool I'm slowly but surely diverting power to Father of Storms, building up the necessary strength to graduate from negative lightning strikes to positive lightning. Perun was able to throw around positive lightning like it was nothing but then again he's been using that shit for as long as he's been alive.

I've had it for barely three weeks, cut me some slack.

Finally hitting the sweet spot I swing the axe downwards once again and this time the noise created is loud enough to leave my ears ringing. A corkscrewing bolt far brighter and larger than my previous ones crashes down from the sky right towards Doni…

…Who somehow, despite the deluge of wind and water smashing into him, swings his sword in one of his trademark blink-and-you-miss-it slashes…

…and cuts the bolt to pieces.

Lightning strikes are pretty damn impressive all on their own. The sheer speed and power they contain is one of nature's most lethal phenomena.

And Doni just cut one apart.

It's actually pretty bizarre to watch. Once Rippling Arm of Silver makes contact with the bolt it suddenly shivers wildly and throws off a shower of sparks that covers half the island, dissipates with a tremendous booming noise and makes every hair on my body stand on end.

I spend the next few seconds staring at the smiling Bastard before my mouth opens and I shout, "That…was fucking AWESOME! Hold on, lemme get another strike set and we'll-"

I snap my jaw shut as I realize my inner nerd took over my brain for a second there and sheepishly smile.

"Actually, never mind. Pretend I never said that."

He casually rests his sword on his shoulder and flippantly replies, "Whew, I won't pretend that wasn't close though. That thing you do with Magic is actually pretty troublesome for me to deal with…guess I gotta shut that down before I can think about winning."

Well, looks like we're moving to the final stage of this battle if he does what I think he's gonna do…

"O priestesses of Bacchus, be drunk with the wine of gods! Divine Confusion!"

The streamers of Magic that were swaying across my vision suddenly dissipate along with the control I had over them, obviously the result of Doni's Authority. Just like I expected him to.

Smiling predatorily Doni eagerly boasts, "I hope you've got something else in your back pocket Jereth, otherwise this is gonna be ending soon!"

Smirking at his confidence I merely reply, "Funnily enough…Lonely Widow wishing for release cry no more, the Earth will grant you passage and protection for you're journey, whether threat from God or Man be made apparent. World Tree Usurper!"

When Doni first activated the explosive properties of his Rippling Arm of Silver he made one big mistake, said mistake being that he didn't take into consideration where I was standing. While the spray of burning rock largely flew by me with no real damage, a fair chunk of it hit where Elizaveta and Andrea were standing and observing our battle. At a glance I had seen that Elizaveta had a bleeding gash across her face, clearing the conditions for Veles's Authority to activate.

After that it was just a matter of catching Doni off guard.

With a startled exclamation a mass of tree roots ranging from the size of a pencil to as large as a cantaloupe wrap around his legs from behind and with a massive exertion they pull him off his feet despite Man of Steel adding a pretty hefty increase to his weight. I resist the urge to laugh as his unceremonious faceplant into the ground leaves a perfect imprint of his features as they crush the gravel beneath it.

Saving my laughter for later I send out a few tendrils of lightning to keep him from cutting himself loose from the branches, despite the fact that he's currently laying on his stomach with his sword physically unable to reach his lower half.

I wouldn't put it past Doni to pull some bizarrely impossible maneuver that ignores physics and free himself given the chance to do so.

With the arcs of electricity forcing him to keep his sword in front of his face lest I burn his eyes out I force the mass of branches entwining his entire lower half to pick him up…

…and fling him almost 100 meters out into the bay, several of the plants uprooting themselves due to the strain of lifting Man of Steel. He lands with a thunderous splash after haphazardly pinwheeling throughout the air for a few seconds and I ignore my growing exhaustion due to summoning the overhead storm in such a hurry. Instead I run to the edge of the island and look to where Doni splashed down.

He'll either cancel Man of Steel and swim back, or more likely he'll keep it active and just climb his way back onto the shore. Or at least that's what he would do if Divine Confusion didn't wear off at that moment. Grinning I reactivate Weaving of Black Wool and immediately spot his massive Magical signature quickly making it's way across the bottom of the bay, not diminished in the slightest.

Time to play dirty then, before I get too winded too continue the fight properly.

Making a fist I rapidly create a rotating Magic sphere almost twenty meters around Doni and lift, the orb of water carrying him rapidly to the surface, the shifting current keeping him from breaking through due to his weight. Breaching the water's upmost layer I steer the murky orb directly overhead and begin to squeeze. Compressing the ball of water as much as I can I simultaneously begin to charge another strike of lightning, raising my axe as I do so.

The orb now being a mere 4 meters in diameter I can barely make out Doni's heavily distorted form still surrounded by the glyphs of Man of Steel. Being contained in that compressed cage of water is severely limiting his options and my next lightning strike will deal some heavy damage if he can't block it somehow.

C'mon man don't force me into a drawn out slugfest, I'm already starting to fade from using Father of Storms so recklessly!

And then to my intense relief I see him let go of his sword and slowly wave his arm back and forth.

Releasing a sigh of both satisfaction and exhaustion I deactivate Father of Storms and Weaving of Black Wool, causing my recently created water ball to burst apart as the force constricting it disappears and the storm overhead to slowly dissipate as my Magic stops anchoring it in place. Doni lands on his feet and sheathes his sword before walking over to me with pure delight written all over his face.

"Hoo boy was that exhilarating! My dear friend Godou put up a heck of a fight the first time we met, but that was something else! I already have a best friend, but I'm really liking the idea of calling you my Brother!"

I wryly smile and reply, "So let's try not to pull a Cain and Abel then eh?"

"A who and what now?"

"Never mind, it's an old reference."

Suddenly feeling weak I sit down heavily on an upturned piece of cement and try to keep my shaking under control. Doni looks at me with an upraised eyebrow and remarks, "You don't look so good. Are you gonna die?"

I'm about to sharply retort when all of the sudden his stomach let's loose a ferocious growl. I shoot him an amused look and he has the decency to look a little embarrassed.

"Dunno if you should be worrying about me with a growler like that. Were you even in top form during our fight? Cuz no offense, but you look like shit."

That's no exaggeration, now that the fervor and excitement of battle has left him he looks like he's in dire need of a blood transfusion and a hearty meal. He scratches the back of his head and sheepishly grins, replying "Well…I did feel a little dizzy during our duel, I'm pretty sure that was because I was having so much fun though!"

Unable to stop my eyes from rolling I blandly reply, "Or it could be because you were dehydrated as the middle of a friggin' desert during drought season. Unbelievable…I hit you with lightning, suffocate you with water, batter you with hurricane force winds and you don't even flinch, but low blood pressure? Watch out everyone, a Godslayer's greatest enemy hypoglycemia is here and we're all out of glucose tablets!"

"Ok ok I get the point. Sheesh I thought Andrea could be mean."

Not bothering to hide my grin I reply, "Hey, it's the younger Brother's duty to annoy the heck out of the older Brother. Tell you what, give me a few minutes to recover and I'll treat you and Rivera to dinner in the city, sound like a plan?"

His eyes light up at the prospect and he quickly replies, "You're on! We'll make it an all you can eat-buffet challenge and decide who has the bigger stomach! Hey Andrea! Get a load of this!"

He quickly runs off with only a slight unsteadiness to his gait and I don't bother trying to hold back my trembling at this point. Shit…apparently forcefully summoning a lightning storm that quickly brought my body temperature down to 95 or 94 Fahrenheit, definitely in the chill zone.

"Well I don't think anyone is more surprised than me that you actually pulled off a win of sorts."

Grinning I turn around to face Elizaveta who's wearing a look of grudging respect and amazement at my underdog 'victory'.

"So does that mean I have your undying respect and loyalty now?"

"That'd sound more impressive if you weren't pale and violently trembling right now."

She loses some of her snark and narrows her eyes before quietly asking, "Jokes aside are you all right? I'd say you have early onset of hypothermia if the shaking and paleness is any indicator."

I merely shrug helplessly.

"It is what it is. It'll pass before too long, and I'm not getting any worse at least."

"If you say so…" she replies doubtfully.

Taking a closer look at her I see the faint outline of a scar across her cheek where the gravel spray hit and offer a sincere smile.

"Good thinking taking the hit so I could activate World Tree Usurper. Creele told you about my Authorities I take it?"

"On the car ride from the airport he did."

I can only shake my head in amazement.

"That man never leaves things to chance. If he didn't have a dick I'd be tempted to think he was a Hime-miko in disguise."

"Now that's an image I'd like to never imagine again, thank you very much."

We both share a brief smile before I quietly say, "Seriously though, good job thinking on your feet like that. Things probably wouldn't have gone as smoothly if you hadn't done so."

She shrugs as if to say, 'you expected something else?'.

Groaning I try stand up and find it nearly impossible to get my legs to unfold beneath my body. Sheesh that battle did a number on me.

Elizaveta rolls her eyes and grabs my hand, hauling me back to my feet with a smirk on her face.

"The Devil King needs a young lady to help him stand on his own two feet? How shameful."

"Har har. On a completely different note, do you mind if I start calling you Eliza?"

She gives me an incredulous look and after a second she says, "I don't mind, but why?"

"Because it's easier to say than Elizaveta, not to mention that we're going to be working together quite a bit in the coming years. A little familiarity can't hurt."

She's silent for a few more seconds, her pale blue eyes carefully searching mine before she turns away with a slight hint of shyness on her face.

"Suit yourself Jereth."

I grin despite the ache in my bones and reach my hand out to caress her scar and activate Weaving of Black Wool, healing the cut completely as if it never existed in the first place. She shoots me a surprised look and aggressively asks, "What the Hell was that for?"

"What, you don't think I was going to have my stunningly beautiful guard walk around with a scarred face if she didn't have to, do you?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere Jereth. Besides, another ten minutes and I would have finished healing it myself."

"Drats. Guess I'll have to settle for killing a few more Gods to win your favor then."

She rolls her eyes as we both head off to where Andrea is yelling at Doni for almost killing him during the fight, Doni looking largely unapologetic. Taking the opportunity to assess the aftermath of the battle I can't help but take a bit of testosterone fueled pride at the damage Doni and I caused. The entire courtyard is a mess of half exposed tree roots and upturned pavement while the water tower is haphazardly leaning to the side on a dented leg. The dining hall looks like someone used it for target practice, being completely pockmarked with holes caused by Doni's Rippling Arm of Silver when he was merrily blowing apart rocks.

If all my battles with the the other Campione are gonna be as weird and destructive as this one it's gonna be an interesting few years ahead of me.


And that's the chapter! This was my first attempt at actually writing a fight between Campione and I'm super-stoked(actually scared poopless) at how everyone feels about it. Feel free to let me know!

Kshail: As mentioned in the chapter above she's actually 19, but the Witch Blood is largely preserving her youth and slowing down her aging process (much to her consternation). And I appreciate you mentioning the way I introduce characters, I wasn't sure if people were enjoying the introductions or finding them excessive.

Griffin13: (See above comment for Elizaveta's age thingamabobber) As for the Campione leading a faction, well, Jereth and the Monasteries are gonna be causing quite the ruckus later in the story.

Tsun: It's interesting you mention that, because Jereth and the rest of the Monasteries are well aware of the KotE's danger and the necessary steps in his revival. They're going to be taking measures to nip that particular problem in the bud, so stay tuned!

Matrience: And thanks for the review!

piddle: While I don't have any plans to have Jereth encounter Pendragon, he IS going to run into someone who has a bit of a past with the KotE and receive a little help from them. Thanks for the review!

Edit: Woops, didn't notice the music wasn't included in the initial upload (Facepalms) All better now.