It's review answering time!
Arthur: It's going to go just as well as expected.
Bircorn: Resurrection is one of those spell's I'm simply not going to touch on. It's potential power is beyond absurd, even if I took a nerf bat to it. Just using it once sets up so many plot points and holes that it simply isn't worth the effort. Plus, it takes the story completely off the rails the moment the church finds out about it, because let's face it, if someone can bring back the dead in their entirety, then everyone will want that person in their conner.
Now, on with the show!
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"Absolutely not! I forbid you from doing something this stupid!" Louise was furious. Understandable so, but it already becoming problematic.
"I have to agree with Louise. This is impossible, even for you, Isabella," oh, come on, even Siesta was against me on this one! Understandable seeing how this was the Karen of the Heavy Wind. However, I was giddy with excitement. I knew that this was likely going to end with me eating dirt. But I simply just didn't care. Victory in the traditional sense was all but impossible.
Part of the reason I had called for this little meeting, in fact. The goal, at least, I hoped it was the goal, was to impress, not to win. Which meant I was going to need a plan to last as long as possible. That was beginning to shape up into a challenge all by itself. The largest problem was I had absolutely no idea what Karin was even capable of. I'd heard the stories, of course, and even read a few books. But those were stories, not military reports. Overexaggerated, underexagerated, there was no real way of knowing.
Which was why I went to the Louise first. If anyone knew Karin's real strength and actually be honest with me in the current situation, it was her. What I hadn't counted on was her extreme reaction. She, like me, understood why this fight needed to happen. Louise wanted to be apart of the upcoming war, but she seemed to be just as terrified of her mother. What had happened to warrant such a response?
"You do realize I know that I really don't have a chance, right?" I stated, crossing my arms. This was a lost battle before it even began. I knew that. But it didn't mean I would be going home without swinging. I had already gotten this far, and there was no sense in stopping now.
"That doesn't matter! My mother is going to kill you!" Louise shouted. Ok, that was a bit extreme. And Louise was starting to freak out. What exactly had occurred for Louise to be so scared?
Lacking any other way to calm her down, I pulled her into a hug. It was about the only thing I could think of, but it worked. Louise's breathing slowly beginning to even out, as I let go.
"Better?" I ask. Louise nodded, keeping quiet. Ok, hopefully, she would stay calm for the rest of it. I was going to need her knowledge for this. Without it, I stood absolutely zero chance. Most of my plan had already began to take on a far more defensive stance than I normally would. But that wasn't going to do much good either.
Truthguard had rapidly become my best and only reliable form of defense. Primarily due to it's ability to project barriers. The other tank artifacts, while good in their own whys, lacked the whole, not get hit by blades of air that can bisect me with ease, thing. While the Scale of the Earthwarder would certainly also prove formidable as well, it didn't have the charm of avoiding any form of contact.
"Her signature spell is called the Heavy Wind. It's cyclone embune with razor wind spells, able to rip through armies in a single cast," that was interesting. And alarming. I grew up in Kansas, and as such was no stranger to the dangers of tornadoes. While one could argue that it was what the phenomenon picked up that made the disasters so dangerous. In reality, a tornado could destroy a house in less than a second, provided it had the strength. The shrapnel just made the damage even worse. This, however, sounded just as bad as well. Adding razors made of wind, hidden inside the twister, rendering them practically invisible. What truly was dangerous is the fact her signature spell was easily an EF 3 or stronger tornado given blades of death.
And that was just one spell. Karin would have many, many more. Building up that level of power had to take time, right? So she would have to use other spells in order to force an opponent to keep their distance. If I could get on top of her and stay there, I might be able to prevent her from making use of the spell. Doomhammer, maybe? Fists of the Heavens? Haven't had any use for that yet.
"Another of her stronger spells is wind lance," Louise spoke "It uses two cylinders of wind, one inside the other, to break open enemy formations." Oh? That was clever. Putting a spell inside another was not just powerful, but smart. Rather than simply two spells, if someone actually managed to block the first, they would have no time to deal with the second.
"She also knows an array of lightning spells, wind hammer, and blur," Louise continued, listing each off. Lightning was to be expected, and a bit problematic, but it was standard fare for a strong wind mage. Wind hammer was fairly basic, but still strong. Blur was one I was less familiar with. Did it boast speed? Was it physical, or did it have an effect on casting?
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"I'm impressed. Most would have not bothered to show," Karin's voice came from above. Ok, first of all, was she on a manticore? That made sense, seeing as she founded the manticore corps. It must have been her familiar. Appearing on mountback was certainly made her look more imposing, and had already messed with my strategy. Now she had complete control and surveillance of the battlefield. That was problematic even in the best of cases.
"Maybe I just want a chance to see exactly where I stand. Sparing with school children that assume their victory is assured don't exactly make for good opponents," I said. I already held Derf in a loose grip in my hand.
She had aerial superiority and I needed to change that somehow. An immediate offense was out. Karen would be able to see it coming and counter any attack with ease. Which left me on the defensive. The place that I really, really didn't want to be. If I left her unchecked and free to do as she pleased, I was going to end up beaten in short order.
"Very well. Begin," with that, Karen simply raised her wand. Truthguard formed in an instant, armor and all. In that instant, Karen's first wave of attack was already upon me. The screaming gale came straight for me like a train. A massive tower of wind had already begun to close the gap.
Truthguard ignited with energy, the bubble of holy power rapidly expanding outwards, surrounding me in a sphere of safety. The spell impacted the barrier, attempting to overcome it. I held my ground was the screaming wind attempted to overtake the barrier, as the razor's hidden within tried to cut it to pieces. Each impact caused the shield to quake.
Slowly but surely, the storm began to engulf the barrier, surrounding it on all sides. The eye of a hurricane was the safest place to be, right? I didn't know if the same was true for natural tornado's, but it certainly was working here. I waited for a few seconds, keeping the dome up against the storm.
Ok, it looks like we are good to…
'Partner, watch out!' Derf's voice forced its into my mind, and I brought the shield up by reflex. In less than an instant, the new incoming spell punched through the bubble around me and closed the distance. The shear force from the impact nearly sent me sprawling. Armored boots dug into the ground, in a vain attempt to stop me from being forced back. Holy magic ignited from the shield, wearing away at the spell. I braced my sword arm against the shield. Finally, the pressure on the shield relented, nearly causing me to tip over.
That was one wind lance. One! It punched a hole through my defenses like it was nothing! And.
"Derf, are you ok?" I looked down at the shield that Derf had become. This, this was impossible. Should be impossible. In every sense of the term. She, she had nearly broken Truthguard with a single spell. I had no words to describe what just happened. The shield was barely holding together. Cracks ran across it's face, emitting a harsh light. I couldn't take another hit with Truthguard in it's current state.
'I've certainly felt better, partner,' Derf responded. Ok, that's it. I really couldn't tank another attack like that. Eating that probably took everything but divine shield, and I wasn't trusting my defenses right now. I had to go on the attack.
Truthguard fell away, and my bubble with it. The howling gale was almost deafening now, without my protection. I was now exposed to the elements. With that exposure, came power. Power that I was able to tap into, with Doomhammer in my hand. As Karin's storm raged around me, thunder rumbled in the heavens, as a storm of my own began to take shape. A gale within a gale. A cyclone of my own roared to life, slamming into Karin's. Both windstorms battered against the other. One was going clockwise, and the other counter. They simply canceled the other out.
Next, the earth began to rumble and quake. From her position in the air, Karin hopefully wouldn't be able to feel it. With a mental push, four pillars of stone erupted from the earth, twisting through the air straight at Karin. It wasn't easy to guide all four through the air, an act only complicated when she began to open up with spells of her own. No wind lances, thankfully, but even wind hammer was able to take chunks out of the attack with little difficulty.
Altering their trajectory, the pillars shot past Karin, as I focused on the earth within. On my command, stone shot out from each of the pillars, slamming into the sides of the others, with the top and bottom filling themselves in. I had managed to confine Karin, if only for a moment. And that moment was all I needed. I let Doomhammer go, and without it's power connecting me to the elements, the pillars no longer had the durability they once had. Even at my present distance, I could already see that my cage was falling apart.
Wind began to pool in my hands, swirling with raging fury. I grasped the Fists of the Heavens, allowing their energy to flow through my body. I focused everything on speed. With a single push of my feet, I was flying. Each pillar that I had created was little more than a springboard, as I closed as much distance as possible.
The earthen prison I had created finally yielded to Karin's onslaught, breaking apart in a massive cloud of debris ranging from dust to small boulders. Just like I had planned. Each piece was a springboard, and her breaking free had granted me the ability to strike from every angle. My first strike came from above, coating my leg in a swirling wind as I came crashing towards my target. I was moving fast. Not so much so that I couldn't be tracked, but it certainly wouldn't be easy, and it would be extremely hard to react in time to dodge or even block.
Karin blocked the first strike with almost insulting ease. It had to be her blur spell. Nothing else could have allowed for her to continue to block my movements. Each blow I attempted to land was parried, knocked aside like it was nothing at all. Attacks from the underside, flanks, and above were countered. I attempted to make use of every single angle, relentless in my assault. But I was beginning to run out of room. Each time I launched off one of the rocks, it shattered into smaller parts, rendering further attacks from the same direction impossible.
Damn it! This wasn't working! I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for much longer! Gravity was already causing the debris field to lose altitude. I needed to get her on the ground if I was even going to stand a chance! So long as she was on that manticore, that was simply impossible. If I could ground it, Karin would be forced to land. But none of my hits were connecting! If I couldn't land a blow, how was I supposed to dismount her? Her experience gave her an impenetrable defense, which meant I wasn't going to be able to rely on something she'd might have seen before. But the Fists of the Heavens were built around speed and power, both traits granted from manipulation of air and wind. Two things, that by the end of the day, Karin was extremely well versed in.
Which meant I was going to have to get creative. A magical attack that granted me some semblance of elemental control. That meant I had switch back to Doomhammer. It was a change I made gleefully, as lightning shot through the sky and thunder screamed. The Fists of the Heavens faded, with both hammers appearing in my hands. I landed on one of the last remaining platforms above Karin, before calling forth a totem. As my last foothold shattered beneath my feet, roots and other forms of plant matter lashed outwards, streaking towards both Karin and her mount.
It worked. My plan actually worked! Karin was immediately forced on the defensive in an attempt to prevent herself from being ensnared. Her mount was not so lucky, wings becoming wrapped up, sending the two towards the ground. Regardless, Karin's wind magic was more than enough to land safely, only kicking up a small amount of dust.
I, on the other hand, came crashing down like a rocket, sending stone and dirt flying into the air. My lungs screamed for air, as I became aware how much of my body was covered in sweat. The adrenaline rush was already beginning to wear off, and I simply felt drained. Apparently switching artifacts so often was still exhausting for me. But this fight still wasn't over.
"Not many have been able to remove me from the sky. It seems fate chose my daughter's protector well," Karin spoke. "However." I was barely able to block the following strike in time, with her sword nearly grazing my cheek. She was fast! I stomped on the ground, causing an eruption of spikes to tear their way through the earth. Karin darted around the attack, continuing her assault.
I swung Doomhammer upwards in an attempt to force distance, but she maneuvered around the attack, forcing me to parry with the flaming off-hand. Strike, wait, no. Shit! Only timely earthen shard stopped me from being hit in the stomach. Another blow came in at my side. This was getting bad! Doomhammer made for a poor defensive weapon, and was running out of steam, fast. The prison trick had taken a lot out of me.
I attempted to block the screaming gale that was thrown my way with a blast of my own, which was knocked aside. The earthen spikes rose again, with Karin dodging with ease, despite her heavy armor. Lightning began to crackle around her wand-sword. My eyes were beginning to get heavy, myself teetering on the brink of collapse.
Everything I had left, every ounce of energy remaining, I released. In a single instant, lightning raged. Then, my eyes closed.
Fight time. One minute, thirty seconds.
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Oh dear, this chapter. This has something that has been on my mind for quite some time. The debate of whether or not to have Karin and Isabella fight was not an easy one. On one hand, Isabella never had a chance. Yes, her weapon's are powerful, and yes, she's a great fighter. But Karin is far stronger, far more skilled, and has decades of experience. Hell, it's pretty much cannon fact that Karin rival's Louise in raw destructive power, and suppasses her simply due to experience.
Ultimately, I decided to go with it. And Isabella simply got stomped. As far as I'm aware, out of the few other fics were Karin has fought Louise's familiar, Isabella likely is the weakest to stand against her. So I had Karin hold back a bit, if only to give Isabella a chance to show what she is capable of.
Personally, I hope I was able to attempt to live up to her capacities, and I truly hope I kept her in character as I see it. A stern, stoic, harsh, yet caring figure.
I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope to see you next time!