Chapter 91: Sword of Gold

Pallax held up a weapon that seemed to combine Gollog's sword and dagger, with both weapons having their pommels removed and being attached to one another. What was one a sword of opalescence began to shine a golden sheen, which generated a golden aura that brightened the immediate surroundings. The reassembled weapon, once shined a clean surface that matched Gollog's color scheme, was replaced with a vibrant brilliance that could have made the emperor himself envious. The blade was held Pallax, which he carried using his new two sets of purplish-black gloves that was once manipulated by the commander of the Pyramidal Guard division. Such a weapon generated an intimidating aura that Kay could feel.

Pallax held the weapon high above his head, nodding in acknowledgement. "Hmm... It feels like as I remembered it."

Kay pointed at Pallax's weapon. "What is that?"

Pallax lowered his longsword and flipped it in his hands. "An ancient weapon of yore. It was used before and after the Golden Star Empire was forged. Gollog used to wield this weapon with deadly efficiency, but had it divided into seven pieces when forming the command structure of his kingdom. Commander Ralkan had the replicating exploding daggers. Commander Kralluf had the mass modifying hammer axe. Commander Faddoh had the matter manipulation field generator. Commander Guik had the pocket space inverter disks. I had the incinerator ray, while my emperor had the imperial sword and dagger blades." After an experimental swing of the weapon, Kay noticed that the longsword had cut through the air so blindingly fast that he heard the small pop of a miniature sonic boom quake the air. The longsword even ignited the air as it flashed its dangerous golden power! Pallax then beheld the weapon with a smirk. "It's been quite some time that I had wielded a sword. But then again, I had always been a better swordsman than a gunman."

Kay nodded at the weapon. "Mm. I'll have to admit, that is quite a fancy letter opener."

Pallax chuckled as he turned to Kay. "Letter opener? Kay, this weapon was forged by The Eternal Ten. It is a tool of incredible and destructive capabilities. It can be very dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, while it can be an absolute force of world-ending nature when wielded by masterful hands."

Kay squinted his eyes. "Hmm. And are you a master wielding this weapon?"

Pallax snorted in slight humor. "I am a master swordsman, Kay. I am not a master of this specific weapon in question. However, if you wish to taste its metal, we can begin our duel now."

Kay stretched his arms and wings as he slowly approached Pallax. "That's all I needed to hear." One of his wings unfurled and reared back before launching into a stabbing attack.

A sudden flash of fire, immediately followed by a small sonic boom, launched Kay backwards. He was instantly disoriented by the blow as pain shot through his winged limb he used for his attack. Once Kay finally landed, he sat up and looked to see that Pallax was picking up his severed wing experimentally. Kay looked behind himself and saw that a burnt stump had replaced his wing. Kay looked back at Pallax and saw him swishing his longsword with effortless ease, targeting his limb to further practice his new weapon. Each cut had replaced the wing with a line of smoldering ashes, slicing with the efficiency of a high-intensity plasma cutter. Once Pallax was sufficiently pleased with his butchery skills, he turned back to Kay. "To underestimate The Warden Sword would be tempting death. At least make this duel interesting for me, Kay."

Kay clenched his teeth. "... Kay, this is going a lot differently than I expected."

{Overcommander Kay. Heed me.} Spoke the voice of the reborn Overmind within Kay's head.

Kay's eyes widened. "Overmind?!"

Pallax tilted his head. "Did you say something, Kay?"

Kay got off from the ground and onto his feet. "N-nevermind." 'Overmind, is that you? I thought that you'd... like... went to sleep in my head or something.' Kay asked his own head. He never thought that he would ever asked his own head such a question. What was strange about this question was that The Overmind was speaking from within his own mind. He had thought that he would never turn up again.

{It is I, yes, and I had never left you alone since our conscious merging.}

Pallax began to sprint towards Kay with his dangerous weapon, while Kay used his remaining wing to anchor into the metal behind himself. His remaining wing pulled him out of cutting range of Pallax's warden sword just in time as another flash of embers and a small sonic boom threatened to end whatever it touched. Pallax continued to pursue Kay with determined zeal. "Then hold back no more! Clash against me! Duel till death comes!"

{Hmm. The willpower of this general is quite admirable. He would make a fine addition to our ranks.} Hummed The Overmind with eager interest.

Kay ducked and weaved between Pallax's attacks as he did his best to survive. 'Overmind, this isn't exactly a good time to talk!'

{And truly, it isn't. However, I must warn you of his weapon. It has properties that are similar to the Nerazim's psionic blades. Thought it is not wreathed in the familiar substance that is void, it can still bring great harm to us.}

Kay didn't pause as he leapt and somersaulted over Pallax. As Kay concentrated on healing his missing limb, avoided any lethal strikes from Pallax, and also communicated with The Overmind in his head, he felt as though his multitasking skills were being put to the test as he juggled everything that required his attention. 'Say! That is quite interesting! I'll just signal Pallax to pause our duel and ask where he got that dark templar tech from!' Kay replied sarcastically. However, his sarcasm was rewarded with a sword being impaled straight through his left forearm. When Kay quickly made some distance between himself and his dueler, he noticed that Pallax wasn't trying to get into striking distance again. Kay took a sigh of relief as he pulled the sword from his arm. However, Kay noticed that there were now TWO warden swords at the moment. "... Huh?"

"Detonate." Said Pallax with a stern tone.

Kay's hand exploded, the force of which sent him halfway across the room. As Kay got up and checked his person, he noticed that his arm had grown a new stump, meaning that his arm had been blown to smithereens from the explosion. His entire forearm was removed from his elbow. Kay hissed as the pain began to set in. "Erh... One of Ralkan's gimmicks. Figures."

Pallax pointed his sword at Kay. "I thought you might have liked that. Here's one from Faddoh." Kay could feel that an invisible veil had wrapped around his own body, and he soon saw that a line of distorted air was connecting himself to Pallax's pointed sword. With a heave, Pallax lifted Kay into the air, and then slammed him down onto the ground forcefully. Kay impacted into the floor and made a welt into the metal ground, forcing the air in his lungs to leave in an exhaling wheeze. Once Pallax demonstrated some of his newly gained abilities, he then began approaching Kay in a slow walk.

{Your witful rancor aside, you must head me and be made aware of his sword. If General Pallax decides to become serious, then he will surely put a permanent end to our lives.} The Overmind in Kay's head warned.

Kay grunted as he crawled out of the Kay-shaped crater. Kay splattered a few drops of blood onto the floor as he coughed. As he stood up again, he limply turned to face Pallax. "... Gyeh. Fuckin', rah... Gah... Duh hive shove ooh ea lieu."

Pallax chuckled. "Have I knocked too much sense out of your head already? I expected more of a fight from you."

Kay shook his head before he began to give an intense glare to Pallax, which resonated with murderous intent. "Oh... Oh, I'll show you a fight." Kay held his palm out in front of himself and clasped it tightly, focusing on the thought that his fist is actually gripping tightly onto Gollog's general. The psionic powers that Kay summoned surrounded Pallax in a field of energy that lifted and crushed him. With Pallax briefly incapacitated, Kay psionically shifted closer and then leapt into the air towards Pallax. Kay then proceeded to dropkick the levitating general with great force. The heavy attack not only pushed Pallax out of the gripping field, but it also launched him toward the wall of paneled glass, resulting in a hard collision.

Pallax coughed and laughed. "Huagh! Hahahaha, that's the spirit!" He then began spinning his sword at dizzying speeds, which then generated duplicate swords that homed toward Kay like heat-seeking twirling blades.

Kay used his telepathic power to deflect each duplicated sword that careened his way, each one twanging with an obnoxious note as their attempt to cut or pierce Kay had failed. one of such swords had bounced towards Gollog, but he had reflexively caught the awol weapon with a deft catch. He huffed as he chucked the weapon to the side. "Pallax, I am able to survive in the vacuum of space. You cannot. Be careful."

Pallax nodded as he ceased his sword throwing. "I take it that if I detonate my duplicated swords now, they might rupture the glass panels in this glass observatory."

"Exactly." Gollog hummed.

Pallax paused before gesturing to the duplicated swords that have been scattered across his and Kay's dueling arena. "Dissipate." The duplicated swords that littered the immediate area briefly flashed before turning into a glowing dust.

Kay sighed. He was already regrowing his lost limbs, mainly being his forearm an his wing, but he was beginning to understand how dangerous Pallax had become ever since he gained his new weapon. "I take it that these duplicate swords of yours responds to your verbal commands in general. Which means you can't tell one to explode without having all of them explode."

Pallax nodded. "It's the nature of their duplication. Though each duplicate weapon can explode or dissipate, they do not carry the same powers and abilities as their original weapon."

Kay nodded as he stared at Pallax flatly. "Then show me how Guik's weapons work."

Pallax nodded. "I shall." He began walking towards Kay as he enveloped his sword with the black disk that Guik had once wielded. "And please do give me a better challenge. All you have been doing is dodging my attacks."

{Refrain from being hurt or captured by that, Kay. I foresee a terrible end with us trapped inside of it, and worse.} The Overmind apprised Kay.

Kay was hesitant, but he sighed. After some seconds of musing, he had decided to utilize his powers in a different manner than he was comfortable with. In truth, he only thought of the tactic during the duel. But Kay decided to heed The Overmind's warning. "HERE YOU GO!" Kay shouted as he brought his arms forward and summoned dog-sized wormholes affixed on the surface of the floor. Six misty green banelings filtered out from the wormholes and began rolling towards Pallax with suicidal eagerness.

Pallax held his ground as he made his Warden Sword' black disk collide with the rolling banelings. They didn't explode, but rather, the seemed ti enter through the black disks as though it acted like a non-Euclidean portal that connected to a shadowy realm. After all six banelings were gathered, he made the disk emanate with the same flame that enveloped the sword, and Kay felt the banelings within the black disk cease existing. Pallax banged on the sword to push out his Warden Sword's current occupants. What had left the sword's black disks resembled piles of soot. Pallax chuckled after he had inspected what remained of Kay's summoned banelings. "Was it my imagination just now, or did you summon bursters to your aid?!"

Kay had finally understood why The Overmind was worried about getting stuck within the black disks. Not only did Guik's black disks, or 'pocket space inverter disks' as Pallax had called them, slice through flesh and contain any attack they absorbed until released back at their enemies, but they also prevented any energy from leaking out once it is trapped within its self-contained void until it was ready to be released. Kay couldn't even feel the lingering thoughts of the banelings as their soot left the weapon. Not only could physical matter be incinerated within the pocket space inverter disks, but it can also contained and disrupted psionic energy. Kay sighed. "Actually, I forced open a few wormholes to bring those banelings to this fight. Just something I thought up on short notice."

Pallax readied his sword again. "Can you also summon monsters other than your 'banelings', as you call them?"

Kay shook his head. "Actually, summoning banelings feels a lot easier than the other zerg strains for some reason. But if I'm given some time to concentrate, I can bring some bigger competition for you to play with."

Pallax smirked as he pointed his sword. "As if I would ever give you that opportunity." A duplicated sword shot forward.

Kay deflected the sword with his mind, but it had also detonated at the moment of deflection. A cloud of smoke blinded Kay, while the detonated duplicate sword had also deafened his hearing. Even with the smokescreen, Kay felt danger quickly approaching him. He used his wings to dig into the ground behind himself and pull his body away from the ominous sensation, but his action was a little too late as Pallax had stuck Kay. Once Kay escaped the fog of war, he saw that one of his feet had been lopped off, which was replaced by a bloody stump. Looking back up, he saw that Pallax was using Guik's black disk weapon to try and capture Kay. Kay decided to use this opportunity to launch a kinetic blast, but was saddened to realize that the damaging spell was absorbed into the black disk. Kay quickly backed away from Pallax and retreated to the paneled glass wall once his counterattack failed, since he knew how dangerous his own attack was.

Pallax brandished his sword as he began to walk towards Kay again. A smile crept across his face. "Shame that I didn't get the rest of you that time."

Kay launched another kinetic blast at Pallax, followed by several energy blasts that attempted to scour and cook the general, only for the general to absorb the attacks into his black disk again. "As if I would ever give you that opportunity." Kay spat back venomously.

A huff of respect answered Kay as Pallax's Warden Sword was leveled to point at the bug-man beast-master. {Hmm. Overcommander Ascendant, hear my suggestion. Witness how he controls his weapon. To learn your enemies is to learn their weaknesses.}

Kay gritted his teeth. To Kay, it felt like he was fighting four commanders that was merged into a single composite entity, which had the tactical genius of a general. Pallax unleashed the power he had stored in his Warden Sword and unleashed it towards Kay's direction. Kay leapt out of the way, which impacted the glass paneled wall violently, which turned the panels into murky-white spiderwebs. In response, Kay focused his psionic powers into a condensed singularity in front of himself. Pallax, however, was quick to capture the apocalyptic detonation that was being created in front of him. Kay frowned. "... Damn. I guess I won't be winning with that ability."

Pallax inspected his Warden Sword and scowled. "I remember that you tried using that same attack aboard Kralluf's capital fortress twenty years ago. Guik had unleashed it upon your person, but the attack ended up piercing through two fortresses and penetrating deep into Kiln's surface." Pallax looked up at Kay with a stern glare. "Have you forgotten how you were defeated that day?"

Kay launched another kinetic blast, only to have that attack become absorbed into the black disk. "Better to disable one of your counter strategies than to worry about it. Think about it. If you used that attack, then you'll be blowing a big hole in this space station. I can breathe in space, but you won't be able to without the help of a space suit. Tell me. Can you control your counterattack with that black disk power you gained from Guik?"

Pallax shook his head. "No. And since you won't stay still long enough to let me use that attack on you anyway, I won't be able to end our duel any time soon. If I get a lucky shot and kill you, then the only thing I have to worry about is my breathable air. If I am unlucky and miss, then it will mean that I will die while you continue to plague Kiln."

Kay bared his teeth in a predatory grin. "It's a fifty fifty chance. Want to take that gamble?"

"How can I when I am having so much fun?" Pallax answered as he went into a sprint, charging towards Kay.

Kay launched himself forward, only to use his own momentum to skid across the ground and slide between Pallax's feet, completely bypassing his deadly and sharp sword in time. Kay then noticed that, despite the general's hellishly fast strikes, Pallax couldn't reliably aim his Warden Sword quick enough with his reflexes alone. But even so, he could unleash his weapon at the very moment his reflexes kicked in, but it seemed like his weapon acted faster than his reflexes. Kay didn't have enough time to dodge Pallax's follow-up attack as he spun around, like an out-of-control carousel, which caught Kay with the edge of his blade. Kay felt himself being launched into the air, but he caught himself and landed upright. Looking down upon his chest, he saw that his protective carapace had several horizontal lines running through it, with the deeper cuts having the carapace itself peeled off and revealing his softer flesh beneath, which was slowly seeping blood. Clutching his chest and groaning, Kay looked back at Pallax in both pain and frustration. "Then I think it's about time I get serious."

Pallax stopped his spinning and faced Kay, though he looked a little dizzy from his last attack. "Hah, it would be a nice change of pace! Come at me then!" Pallax said as he readied his guard, preparing himself for Kay's supposed onslaught.

Kay had only a few seconds to come up with a plan, and he knew that he needed to act quickly. Because of Kay's psionic potential, he could already think of several different strategies that could either stun or confuse the general long enough for Kay to deal a decisive blow. He noted that Pallax was easily disoriented when being crushed in his psionic grip or after unleashing his spinning slashing twister move. However, Pallax would likely dodge Kay's ability when he sees him gesturing to begin that attack, or would avoid using his anti-flanking melee spin attack if he wasn't being overwhelmed in a close-quarters scuffle. What Kay needed was to find some safe ground to heal on while Pallax is detained or distracted. And that was when Kay thought up the plan he needed to pull of the strategy he needed. Kay slowly raised both of his hands upwards. "Not just yet." He then waved his hands outward, the motion seeming to produce small spores that immediately grew into toxic nests on the surface of the floor. Creep began to grow across the ground, which continued to grow as more toxic nests began to grow from even further away. Kay was glad that not only he was able to generate and place toxic nests on any surface, but that the commanders and various broodmothers under their command were able to do so with a similar efficiency. He had to politely 'request' their assistance in this duel. And since that the defense system of the sky rings have been completely disabled and destroyed, the zerg commanders and lieutenant broodmothers had the availability to assist their overcommander.

Pallax's expression soured from this change in strategy. "Hmm... Clever. Surrounding yourself in burster nodes will only make it harder for me to kill you."

Kay smiled. "These 'burster nodes', as you call them, can also be used offensively."

Pallax began to notice that the toxic nests were forming closer to his position. A swipe of his Warden Sword prevented their full germination, but more buds of toxic nests still kept growing around him. The toxic nests not only continued to grow close to Pallax, but they also began to spread out in all directions, becoming like a lethal garden weed to a wide metal lawn. Pallax growled excitedly. "VERY clever."

Gollog sighed. "Deal with this endemic of acid-filled flesh weeds, Pallax. I imagine that they will do more harm to the arena than to you."

"Yes, my lord." Pallax said and began swinging his Warden Sword, sending out several swirling duplicate swords to clear-cut paths through the toxic nests. Kay leapt off of the ground and onto cleaner stretches of metal floors, only for the floor to become riddled with toxic nests soon after. The toxic nests' explosive acids could quickly eat away at the duplicate swords that were summoned to weed them out, though none of them budded quickly enough to pose a threat to Pallax.

However, Kay was hoping that this extraneous effort in clearing away the toxic nests would tire the general. The frantic way that Pallax used in order to swing his sword to create sacrificial duplicates that can clear away several patches of toxic nests would mean that he would tire himself much expediently than before. All Kay needed to do was to find a window of opportunity and capitalize on the revealed weakness. Kay half-suppressed his laugh. "You're supposed to be dueling me, and yet you're still listening to the orders of your asshole emperor? Rather pathetic. Do you want him to hold your hand? I can wait for you to get him."

Pallax breathed heavily. "You're making it obvious to me that you are stalling."

Kay nodded as he avoided a few spinning blades, though they turned into soup after connecting into several toxic nests. "You're a smart boy. Figure it out!"

"Oh I think I did. Time for me to get serious and change tactics. LEVITATE!" Pallax shouted as he jumped up in the air. Instead of falling back to the ground, he instead became suspended above the dueling arena by a warbling distortion of air.

Kay grimaced. "The fuck? Seriously?" He groused openly.

Pallax sighed in exasperation. "Mass manipulation enables me to control the weight of my body. And if I made myself lighter while I used matter manipulation, I would then be able to lift my own body. It's like a form of flight, really." After taking a few breaths of air, he was able to recover from the exhaustion.

Kay didn't like how this turned out. By removing himself from the ground, Pallax essentially found safety from the dangerous acid-filled toxic nests. Though Pallax was safe from the toxic nests while in the air, it would also mean that he could use a new slew of tactics that Kay was unaware of. Still, Pallax could send down a storm of duplicated swords without risk of being dissolved by toxic nests, and Kay was safe from being in the reach of Pallax's 'real' Warden Sword. Experimentally, Kay shot a kinetic blast at Pallax, only for the general to absorb the attack with the black disks he had acquired with Guik's help. Even as he sent a volley of energy blasts at the general, his Warden Sword absorbed each attack with the fullest of ease. Two more kinetic blasts did nothing but disappear as they collided into Pallax's black disks, shielding him from the raw damage that would have turned him inside-out several times over. Kay growled at the gilanian general with a heavy emotion that was well past frustration. "I should have expected this."

{Luckily, I have foreseen this.} Exclaimed the Overmind in Kay's head.

"Then you are a poor excuse of a commander!" Kay brought his hand forward to try and crush Pallax in his psionic grip once more, but Pallax zipped out of the way in time. All Kay had grasped with his power was nothing but air. Pallax's escape was narrow, but it displayed a level of speed that surprised Kay, whom was rewarded with a glowing sword aimed at his head.

Kay ducked down in time, only to grunt an answer as Pallax flew over him. "Oh I'm going to gouge out your eyes using your own jaw!" He then turned his attention to the Overmind that was the secret fourth audience member to this duel of death. 'Okay then, Overmind. Have any tips that can slow this fucker down?'

{I have a simple answer to this crass question. Use your psionic power to create a forceful grip all around you than in a single location. Do so by imagining an enclosed fist that is exploding into existence!}

' 'All around me?' ' Kay replied dubiously.

{You have the capacity for such a power. I have witnessed it in one of my visions in the possible futures of our past, even while buried within your subconscious mind. It is the same power that the Kerrigan used in the alternate realities that existed before our times. I shall share one of these visions with you, and in turn, teach you of one particular ability's use. It is dubbed 'the Immobilization Wave'.}

'Kay, but not right now! I'm in the middle of-' A flash of memories that never were emblazoned Kay's mind for a brief second. '-battle...' This strange vision happened so fast, yet Kay was able to remember it so well as though it was his own. The vision that The Overmind shared with Kay had contained so much data. However, Kay decided that such information was to be investigated later, since he was fighting a general in a one versus one free-for-all. But with new information on hand, a plan had formed within Kay's mind.

An enveloping blue light was produced around Kay's form as he rose into the air, doing so when Pallax tossed a hail of swords towards where he once stood. Upon seeing that Kay had left the safety of the toxic creep covered floor, Pallax took the perceived opportunity to close the distance and strike his opponent. But Kay reacted in time as he unleashed a psionic pulse that rapidly expanded outward and clung to every surface. The shockwave that Kay produced splintered many of the windows in the glass observatory, but they remained resilient and continued to keep the air within the mag rail station from leaking into the vacuum outside. Pallax's expression became pained and surprised as he was slowed down by the psionic energy that cloyed his movement. "GUH~?!'

Kay leapt back into action, and did so by leaping towards Pallax that was hanging in the air in disbelief. A clawed hand found its way on Pallax's collar, while Kay gleamed a baring scowl. "Got you."

Pallax reacted by swinging his blazing Warden Sword at Kay. The general managed to slice off one of Kay's arms, but he did so at the cost of Kay's other intact arm snaking its way to Pallax's mouth and, as he said he would do, rip out Pallax's own jaw. "LOOUAGH~!"

Kay jumped off of Pallax as the general swiveled in the air. Once Pallax was alone in the air, he gingerly pawed his own face to find a hot dampness drooling down his nonexistent chin. Pallax grunted in pain, but his injury seemed to have only enraged him further. He glared down at Kay with murderous intent, no longer content with getting enjoyment with the duel he had asked for. Kay, whom was now safe back on the ground, was focused on his missing arm, which had regrown back slightly faster than before when he used his mending ability on top of the noxious creep he stood upon. Once Kay's arm grew back to its full length, he took Pallax's jaw and split it down the middle. Kay looked up at the general and pointed the jaw that once belonged in his mouth at him. "Pallax. I want you to know that it has been a pleasure."

After Kay psionically summoned a crushing grip for the final time, Pallax had nowhere to go as he became unwillingly engrossed by its effects. Kay leapt at Pallax once more and dug the general's newly bifurcated jaws into his own eyes. Kay leapt off of the general that began to madly swing his Warden Sword, screaming and roaring in pain. He lost control of his ability to fly as he slammed into the ceiling and walls of the glass observatory, sprinkling the toxic nest covered ground with slivers of glittering fragments. "GAAAAUUUUOOOORRRRGH~!~!~!" Pallax dropped his sword near Gollog as he slammed into the ceiling for the final time before landing in a highly-packed patch of toxic nests. Once he landed on the toxic nests, an explosion of highly pressurized acid removed any trace of his existence, with the exception of the blood that still clung onto Kay's hands.

Kay sighed in relief as he turned toward the emperor of Golden Star, who was fixated on Kay with a leery and stern scowl. Though Kay was not able to read his mind, he can tell from his expression alone that Gollog was not amused by Kay's perseverance.

They stared at each other, while an ominous feeling began to suffocate the air. The intensity was so great that it could have been described as being tangible enough for knives capable of cutting through such tension.

Gollog's empire was undone.

A/N: I wonder how a Heartless invasion would fair in the WH40K franchise? '3'