TWO OF A KIND
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 35
Nihil's oddly cheery disposition set Morrel ill at ease. Does he take this seriously? the Bant battlemage wondered, tightening his fists. Either way, I have to assume that he does. Underestimating a foe is a fatal mistake! A nearby storm was slowly approaching, apparently the source of the disruptive air currents that prevented kitesailing. Morrel wondered if it was the Roil.
Zoira, meanwhile, extended her hand in a gesture to her fire cats, which all charged and pounced at Nihil with frightening speed, their flaming paws galloping on the rocky cliff. With fierce roars and a flash of their saber teeth, the summoned cats descended upon Nihil, who made no move to dodge or block them. A second later, Morrel found out why: a great blast of writhing, purple-black fire erupted from Nihil's outstretched hands, enveloping the fire cats. Morrel took a step back to avoid the heat of the fire, but oddly, he felt nothing. What? Even magic fire has heat! I mean, Rohkan's fireballs were hot enough...
"Was that all?" Nihil taunted Zoira as the flames died down, lowering his hands. No trace remained of the fire cats. He jabbed a finger at Zoira. "Better fight harder or die, elf girl!"
Zoira scooted back one foot, bracing herself. "If you insist," she retorted. "Morrel, Mizuki, cover me!"
"Yeah!" Mizuki agreed, running around the right edge of the battlefield with her giant right arm held at the ready. Morrel went around the other side, drawing two of his throwing knives. I've only got enough red mana for two more detonations. After that, it's fist-to-fist! He hurled his two knives at Nihil's flank while Mizuki pounced with her right arm reaching out for the kill. Aware that he'd have to cast a lot of spells quickly, Morrel braced himself and flooded mana to his hands. A blue-gold barrier erupted around Mizuki a split-second before Nihil blasted purple fire at her, and then Morrel channeled his red mana from his hands to the knives. Just as both knives reached Nihil, eruptions of red mana blossomed from both weapons.
"You use fire, too?" Nihil commented, covering his face with an arm as he staggered back from the flames. "Interesting!" As he spoke, the nearby storm drew closer, its heavy dark clouds obscuring the evening sky, blasting its air currents everywhere.
"Over here!" Mizuki taunted, lashing out with her giant arm's talons. Nihil's gaze snapped back to Mizuki and he merely grinned. Raising his left arm, Nihil seized Mizuki's right wrist, tensing his muscles as he stopped Mizuki's assault cold. Stuck in place, Mizuki wriggled in Nihil's grip and conjured black mana to her left arm for a magic attack. Before Mizuki's tendrils could be summoned, however, Nihil heaved Mizuki over his shoulder, smashing her onto the ground on her back, shocking her.
He overpowered Mizuki's strong arm! Morrel gawked. He felt chills down his back. My melee plan suddenly doesn't sound so good. Zoira, where are your – there we go!
Zoira's fiery summon circle appeared in thin air, and two elephant-sized wingless dragons ambled out, both roaring their fury with hundreds of sharp teeth exposed. Both dragons scampered forward on their lizard-like legs, sending two streams of fire straight at Nihil. Mizuki scrambled out of harm's way while Nihil vaulted to the side, letting the flames wash over the earth instead. Not giving up, both dragons ambled closer to Nihil, breathing another wave of flames.
"So much fire," Nihil griped. He leaped out of the way again, but this time Mizuki conjured her black mana tentacles, sending all of the tendrils at Nihil. The brawny man cried out as a few of the tendrils punched into his flesh while the rest missed and pierced the ground instead. Seeing his chance, Morrel slipped past the raging fire and mana tendrils, charging at Nihil's blind spot. A quick jab caught Nihil's jaw, throwing the man's head around. Unrelenting, Morrel landed two blows to Nihil's sternum, forcing the bigger man to stumble back in shock. Morrel leaned on his right leg as his left foot snapped out, blasting into Nihil's kidney area. Shouting in agony, Nihil crashed to the ground in a heap.
Morrel's heart hammered with excitement and adrenaline at the sight. "Let's finish him quick!" he declared, charging for the kill. Mizuki and Zoira were more than happy to comply; Mizuki sprang closer to the action with her talons at the ready, while Zoira commanded her dragons to breathe another wave of fire.
"Just kidding!" Nihil declared.
At once, something hard and invisible crashed into Morrel, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him back with titanic force. He felt himself get thrown to the ground, rolling to a stop a few feet away. Mizuki, too, was sent tumbling to the earth in a heap, and Morrel realized that Nihil had released some sort of shock wave. He was just toying with us! Damn him!
The twin dragons continued to spout fire, but Nihil charged at the dragons while zig-zagging to throw off the dragons' aim. Leaping into the air, Nihil smashed his fist into one dragon's neck, releasing cords of white mana that snaked over the dragon's body. With a strangled shriek, the dragon slumped limply to the ground as the mana cords sizzled on its scales.
Undaunted, the other dragon lashed its claws through the air, forcing Nihil back. Zoira, meanwhile, conjured six more fire cats and sent them charging at their foe. Nihil's kick blasted two cats away and he whirled around, a quick puff of purple fire obliterating a third. The dragon's paw smashed into Nihil, cutting into his skin and throwing him to the ground.
"Now!" Morrel told Mizuki. He dashed over to Nihil with white mana crackling in his hands, and Mizuki charged with her claws at the ready. Just as Nihil batted away the remaining fire cats and got to his feet, Morrel thrust out his hands. The familiar Oblivion Ring popped into existence, tightening around Nihil's right shoulder like a clasp. A second ring encased itself on Nihil's left shoulder, spitting out white sparks as it tightened itself on its target. Nihil can't do anything if his arms are gone! Morrel told himself smugly.
Nihil wasn't impressed.
"Raaaaah!" Nihil snapped out his arms and with a blast of congealed black and white mana, both Oblivion Rings shattered into ethereal fragments. Mizuki landed right in front of him, raking her claws across Nihil's armored chest while she still had the chance. Her cursed talons cut through Nihil's leather jacket and drew dark blood, and in response Nihil swung a meaty fist, smashing into the side of Mizuki's head, stunning her. A heavy kick blasted into Mizuki's chest, staggering her back.
"Don't you touch her!" Morrel roared, wildly swinging at Nihil's flank. Nihil bashed away Morrel's attack with his left arm, then seized Mizuki's leg with his right hand. At once, more cords of glowing white mana appeared and wrapped themselves around Mizuki from head to toe. Mizuki gasped as her body went limp, even her giant right arm relaxing.
Zoira's summoned creatures descended upon Nihil in a wave, three fire cats and the dragon all slashing their claws through the air. Nihil juked and dodged from side to side, letting the creatures' attacks swish through empty air. One fire cat raked Nihil's back with its flaming claws, scoring shallow burns across his skin. In return, Nihil's kick blasted away the fire cat, then he conjured another blast of dark fire at the remaining dragon. The dragon reeled back from the fire but it was too slow: purple flames bathed its right arm and leg, causing it to screech and wail in protest.
"H-help me!" Mizuki cried out, staring up at the sky. "Morrel!"
"Hold on," Morrel told her tensely, kneeling by her side. He carefully touched one mana cord with a knife, but the knife's steel edge merely bounced off the cord's ethereal surface. Frowning, Morrel stretched out his hands over Mizuki's prone body, flooding his hands with green mana. His head started to feel light and his muscles ached from the constant use of magic, but he had no other choice. Primordial green mana washed over Mizuki's body, sparking and hissing as it came into contact with Nihil's paralyzing spell. Green and white vapors choked the air as Morrel poured more mana into his work, and Mizuki said tightly, "I-I think it's working. I feel a little looser. Keep going!"
"If I can!" Morrel bit back, his head pounding. "Green mana isn't my specialty, nor is red." He could hear a few of the white mana cords snapping from his naturalizing spell, but couldn't tell yet if Mizuki could break herself free. The increasingly strong storm buffeted Morrel with its gales, but he ignored the weather and kept working.
A strong grip suddenly wrapped itself around Morrel's neck, startling him. His naturalizing spell fizzled out as the grip tightened, and Morrel felt himself get hoisted into the air. Nihil's tough but gleeful face was suddenly before his, and Morrel realized that the bigger man had grabbed his neck and now held him up. Morrel's booted feet dangled almost a foot off the ground.
"You're full of surprises, aren't you, boy?" Nihil remarked. "Your melee skills, that fire-knife trick, Oblivion Rings, and now anti-enchantment work!"
"Y-you know about Oblivion Rings?" Morrel choked back. Such a spell was a closely-guarded secret among the battlemages of Bant, as far as he knew.
"You're not a Planeswalker, so you don't quite know as much as I," Nihil told him. "Spells like that are more common than you think. You'll never get a chance to see that for yourself, though, because now I will kill you!"
Nihil planted his other hand onto Morrel's gut, purple fire starting to well up. Morrel felt a thrill of panic. I've got to get free! Zoira! Do something!
As though hearing his thoughts, Zoira's phoenix, apparently recently summoned, swooped through the sky, flapping its wings and releasing a powerful blast of seething air. Morrel felt Nihil's grip on him loosen as the both of them were easily thrown to the ground by the hot gale, crashing into a confused tangle. As the phoenix glided overhead, Morrel lashed out his foot and felt it connect on Nihil, loosening the man's grip even more. Morrel wrenched himself free and scrambled to his feet, quickly checking himself: no burn damage. He looked over at Zoira's unbound dragon and saw that its right arm and leg were completely gone, not even ashes left. Just how hot is that fire?
Nihil sprang to his feet and swung his fist at Morrel's head, forcing Morrel to duck and skitter to the side. Morrel's foot landed on Nihil's thigh, destabilizing the larger man and throwing off his balance. Morrel's jab to the ribs and blow to the stomach forced Nihil back a little, but then Nihil's blow to the face caused Morrel's vision to flicker and his ears ring. Morrel reeled back, barely able to see Nihil's next punch coming. Slipping to the side just in time, Morrel let Nihil's fist swish through empty air and countered by aiming a blow at Nihil's jaw. Nihil caught the blow with his other hand, seizing Morrel's wrist. White mana flared on Nihil's fingers at once.
Knowing what was coming, Morrel in turn wrapped his fingers around Nihil's arm, blasting green, white, and blue mana onto Nihil's arm. Hardened crystals erupted on Nihil's arm, cutting off the man's flow of white mana and disabling the whole limb. Feeling Nihil's grip loosen, Morrel slipped his other arm free and went on the offensive again, raining his fists at Nihil's face and chest. The bigger man winced at the attacks, but then his foot lashed out, blasting Morrel back yet again.
"Enough of that!" Nihil barked, thrusting out his free arm while his crystal arm hung loosely at his side. More purple fire raged out of Nihil's free arm, and Morrel quickly scrambled out of the way just in time. The purple fire evaporated the very earth, leaving a smooth and scorch-free crater in the ground.
How is that happening? Morrel wondered. That fire isn't burning anything. Does it have some other effect? He looked back at the injured dragon and again, saw no marks of burns. Something lit up in hid mind. That fire erases whatever it touches! Nihil uses black and white mana, and I've seen battlemages corrupted by Grixis magic use obliteration spells before. I can't let that fire touch me, or I'm done for!
Nihil swept his arm through the air, flooding the ground with an inferno of dark fire that slowly caught up to the fleeing Morrel. Overhead, Zoira's phoenix blasted a stream of fire at Nihil, who merely leaped out of the way and kept aiming his obliteration magic at Morrel. Realizing that he needed to take Nihil by surprise, Morrel dove for cover behind a nearby boulder, his breath coming in rapid gasps. Taking a second to re-assess the battlefield, Morrel checked Zoira's dragons: the injured one slowly dragged itself forward on its remaining limbs, while the other one started to wrench itself free from Nihil's white mana cords, popping one cord at a time.
A rush of purple fire flooded onto the boulder, rapidly disintegrating the rock into nothingness as the fire pressed closer to Morrel. Alarmed, Morrel scrambled out from his cover and hurried toward Mizuki and the dragons, Nihil's fire slowly catching up to him. Great gouges of the cliff vanished as the fire crept across the ground, Nihil continuously pouring the flames from his free hand.
"I'm... almost free!" Mizuki gasped, straining against her white mana cords. Abandoning all caution, Morrel poured the remains of his green mana onto the white cords, corroding them further. His arms trembled and ached from the effort, but he kept the mana going until Mizuki broke free and leaped to her feet.
"How much of that fire can Nihil conjure?" Mizuki wondered, staring at the blasts of dark fire that went everywhere. "He's not even tired!"
"Well, I sure am," Morrel panted. "I can't even conjure the crystals anymore. I need Zoira's help. And yours."
Mizuki raised her right arm to eye level. "And you'll have it. We just need Zoira to give us cover... now!"
Zoira's phoenix swooped past again, riding the savage air currents and releasing an even bigger blast of fire at Nihil. At the same time, the paralyzed dragon finally broke free of its restraints and ambled forward, adding its fire to the phoenix's. An inferno exploded around Nihil, the intense heat radiating for dozens of yards. Both Morrel and Mizuki braced themselves and covered their faces with their arms against the buffeting hot gales. Now that was bound to deal some damage! Morrel thought with careful optimism. With any luck, Mizuki and I can finish him.
Morrel and Mizuki darted across the cliff toward the inferno, letting the fires die down a little. Before the fires could dissipate, a sudden shock wave from inside the blaze puffed away the flames, leaving Nihil standing tall with mild burns all across his skin and the crystals on his left arm shattered. He was visibly sweating and breathing hard, but still brought up his cocky grin as Morrel and Mizuki came closer.
Dread clenched Morrel's gut. We still didn't get him! I'll just have to pound him flat!
"Stay away," Nihil barked, extending his left palm. A swath of heatless purple fire erupted from his hand, quickly engulfing the ground with deadly flames. Morrel brought himself to a half just before he touched the unnatural flames, Mizuki stopping right beside him. Taking advantage of his protection, Nihil reached his right arm up to the sky as Zoira's phoenix swooped by again. Instead of purple fire, a column of jagged crystals shot out of Nihil's hand. The crystalline formation snagged the phoenix's foot and crept up its body, coating it in plates of crystal.
"Hey! That's your crystallization attack!" Mizuki shouted indignantly, glancing over at Morrel for an explanation.
"I don't know how he's doing that," Morrel bit back as the purple flames slowly died down. "He does have white mana, but that spell requires green and blue mana too."
The phoenix cawed in distress as it came crashing down from the weight of the crystals, sprawling awkwardly across the cliff side. Nihil clenched his fist and the crystals exploded, obliterating the phoenix. The two dragons shuffled back in fear while Zoira stumbled away from the crash site, limping somewhat.
Nihil pounced, both arms outstretched. Zoira backed up a few steps and raised her arms to conjure more creatures, but her eyes bugged out and she gasped in shock when a tight bundle of black mana tendrils erupted from Nihil's hands and impaled her chest. The Tajuru elf trembled, slowly backing up a step as blood leaked from her wound. Black mana sizzled off the tendrils, cauterizing the injury but damaging Zoira's flesh even more.
Her shoulders slumping, Zoira awkwardly turned her head to face Morrel and Mizuki, her eyes going dull. "S-sorry, guys," she gasped, then slumped face-down to the ground as Nihil retracted his tendrils. All of her remaining summoned creatures evaporated on the spot.
The purple flames finally died down, leaving a smooth, shallow trench on the cliff surface. Morrel hesitated to cross it, fully aware of what Nihil was capable of. No way... Zoira can't have died from that! We need her! It would take more than that to take her down... right? And that was Mizuki's spell, those tendrils.
"He's copying all our attacks!" Mizuki gritted, not taking her eyes off Zoira's limp form as Nihil cracked his knuckles. "Morrel, I've seen this before: black mana can dominate and warp others, even copying powers for a time. Blue mana does that better, but black can manage it, especially when paired with the structured, defensive traits of white."
"Very smart, Kamigawa girl!" Nihil confirmed. "I can mimic whatever spell strikes me. Just like this!"
More tendrils erupted from his hands, filling the air in all directions. Morrel ducked and dodged them as best he could, wincing as tendrils sliced past his skin. Protecting himself with a barrier of white and blue magic, Morrel charged headfirst at Nihil with Mizuki at his side. Mizuki's claws lashed at Nihil in a wild frenzy, forcing Nihil to back up and dodge the blows. Morrel got in close and threw the heaviest punches he could manage, landing his fists across Nihil's chest and face. The black-white mage quickly recovered, swatting aside Morrel's latest punch and countering, his meaty fist shooting through the air. Morrel narrowly dodged the blow, slipping below Nihil's guard to throw another punch. At the same time, Mizuki descended her claws on Nihil's head.
The second both Morrel's and Mizuki's blows landed, Nihil tensed himself and released another shock wave, blasting both Morrel and Mizuki onto their backs. The Roil's gales pushed them back even further, scooting toward Zoira's limp form. Morrel shakily got to his feet, his muscles burning and head throbbing. Nihil strode toward him, his cape billowing in the Roil's raging winds. Nihil raised a hand to shield his face from the winds, squinting slightly. "Your time has come, battlemage!" Nihil shouted over the winds. He staggered slightly from the buffeting gales. "This is as far as your journey goes. Azrael will complete his Sphere of Ages and I won't let you or anyone else interfere with his work!"
"Azrael doesn't know what he's doing!" Morrel blurted. As he spoke, cracks started to spread across the cliff, possibly due to the roil. "That Sphere will only unleash catastrophe that will claim many more lives across the Planes! His noble goal is mistaken. Help me stop him! There's no good that can come of it!"
Nihil barked hos laughter over the Roil. "Nice try, son, but I have too much invested interest in that Sphere's completion. I'm going to retrieve the Sphere fragment on this Plane and get the other two that you've collected from Lorwyn and Ravnica. You cannot stop me."
Argh. I'm not in fighting shape anymore, Morrel realized as Nihil drew closer. The best I can do is retreat! "Mizuki! We've got to get away! Let's pick up Zoira and get out!"
"How? We aren't fast enough!" Mizuki argued, bracing herself against the raging storm. The cracks deepened on the cliff, causing the whole formation to groan ominously. "And this storm isn't helping!"
A thought popped into Morrel's mind. "Yes, it is! Get Zoira and back away from the cliff edge. The Roil will do the rest!"
"Raaaah!" Nihil clenched his fists and broke into a headlong charge, but he stumbled and swayed when his foot caught on a broken outcropping of rock. Pouring rain descended as the Roil started to disintegrate the very cliff, grinding it into pieces starting at the edges. Mizuki seized Zoira's left arm and Morrel took the elf's right arm, the both of them dragging their Planeswalker friend as fast as they could from Nihil. The black-white mage started to push through the storm, but then another blast of air shoved him off his feet and sent him tumbling toward the cliff precipice. Just as Morrel and Mizuki reached the safety of the forest, the cliff shattered completely and vast chunks of rock fell into the ravine below, Nihil among them.
Only by staying low did Morrel and Mizuki reach the forest in time to avoid the gales, and Morrel gently set Zoira on the forest's dirt ground as he watched the cliff fall apart. Okay, that gets rid of Nihil... for now. Lucky that the Roil caught up to us, or Mizuki and I would be in bad shape! And Zoira... come on, bounce back from this!
Within the safety of the forest, Mizuki and Morrel propped up Zoira on a tree trunk, searching the elf's packs for any emergency supplies. They found bandages, hooks and rations, but Morrel could already tell he was too late: Zoira wasn't breathing, and after checking her neck and wrists, he felt no pulse either. He locked eyes with Mizuki. "We've lost her."
Mizuki swallowed tensely as the Roil continued its rampage. "Y-yeah." Visibly perturbed, she settled onto a large tree root. "But we'll have to wait for morning before we do anything. It's dark, and there's that storm..."
"Right." Trying not to look at Zoira, Morrel sat cross-legged by another tree. "And when the morning comes, we will do anything and everything we can to resume our mission. Nihil hasn't taken us out of the game just yet."
Mizuki's eyes blazed. "Damned right he hasn't."
*o*o*o*o*
Cards in this chapter... Hindering Light, Tendrils of Corruption, Oblivion Ring, Naturalize, Crystallization, Forest (Vincent Proce)