Battle at the Castle:
Maximus and Verdia were clashing swords across the large empty opening between the gates and the doors to the castle. With each strike blocked by the other, sparks flew out to escape from the metal blades. On the last clash Maximus backed away and stood still as Verdia circled him to study his opponent further.
"There has to be an opening I can exploit in this fight, some weakness I can take the advantage on." Verdia said to himself and darted for his opponent's back.
Maximus patiently waited to have his enemy come closer. Verdia lunged his sword forward to pierce his back. Once Verdia was within range, Maximus side-stepped to his right and the blade missed him and spun around to kick Verdia away. His foot slammed against the side of Verdia's chest and an indention formed. His feet slid across the ground and he planted his sword into the earth to slow himself to a stop.
"Lucky hit, let us see you try it again!" Verdia shouted and roared raising his sword in the air.
Maximus lightly grinned and blocked the attack with his right hand's sword and swung the other across. Verdia saw the blade inching closer and quickly moved his sword back in a sawing motion to block it. His sword was wide enough to act as a temporary shield and he took several steps back. Verdia began to focus the aura he was given into his blade and the shiny sword soon had a dark ominous haze engulfing it.
"I wonder what this could mean?" Maximus said to himself.
The next moment Verdia thrusted his sword forward and Maximus prepared to block. The moment the swords clashed against each other, Maximus weapons instantly broke apart and shattered into pieces.
"I have you, now die!" Verdia shouted with excitement thrusting his sword forward, aiming at Maximus' heart.
"Maximus!" Aqua shouted in fear as she was about to watch him die before her.
The next instant Maximus created a barrier that held the sword strike at bay. He noticed it was breaking through as the aura was transferring into it and was no longer on the sword. The barrier shattered after a few seconds, but long enough to allow Maximus to create another pair of swords. He swung his right hand upward to force the blade into the air and moved to strike his foe. Verdia took another back step to avoid the blow. He almost lost his footing and stumbled to stand up. The two stopped momentarily to study each other, guessing at what the other might do.
"His strength and speed have increase exponentially, not to mention he has acquired new magical skills to go along with it. I wonder if he has leveled up quite a bit since we last crossed swords. Or is there something else at play here." Verdia wondered to himself.
"If he and I had crossed paths before, I wonder how that battle went? Perhaps I will ask the others later. I will say for a big sword such as that, the strength in his right arm must be impressive to keep up with me and I haven't even begun to show my true strength." Maximus paused for a moment. "Then again, Aqua informed me earlier during our little outing, the Curse of the Nephilim was lifted from me when I arrived here. But I feel no different from when I was last upon my homeworld. Still, that was not all the curse was engulfing anyway. I should thank her immensely for that, since there is no way of knowing how troublesome he could be for me."
The next moment Verdia dashed towards him once more and their weapons clashed and the two held their position, staring each other down.
"I should really let loose, but after what I was sensing earlier, I should take my time with this. Hope he doesn't mind being a test run to start off." Maximus said to himself.
Maximus crossed his swords in a scissor motion to force Verdia back with a little more strength, but barely enough to call it a hard effort. He quickly motioned his arm forward and used his magic to create a Mana Burst. The shock was visible for only a split second as blue sparks rushed out to the side of his hand.
Verdia was sent flying back over fifty yards, grinding his feet against the ground in an effort to stop himself. The moment he stopped and regained his composure, he saw Maximus already before him. He had one of his swords thrusting forward in his right hand and his left hand had the sword flipped around, the tip of the blade facing back.
Verdia quickly swung his sword up vertically and Maximus blocked it with his left sword. The next instant Verdia spun to his right to be on Maximus' flank and quickly motioned his sword to cut him in half at the waist. He shouted with all of his might seeing his revenge come to fruition and the next moment his sword passed through Maximus. His body laid there in two and Verdia could not believe his eyes.
"Maximus!" Aqua shouted fearing Maximus had met his end and was on the verge of crying as the tears quickly formed.
Verdia began to laugh uncontrollably.
"You little,"
Before Aqua could go on, Maximus placed his left hand on her shoulder. She was surprised to see him alive and uninjured.
"Maximus, you are alive!" She shouted with joy and hugged him. "Don't you scare me like that again." She said with her face cutely puffing up.
Maximus place his right hand on her head and smiled. "Don't worry, I am not so easy to bring down, especially in that fashion." He said and winked at her.
Verdia was too much consumed with his fake triumph he did not notice Maximus was with the others. His laughter was so loud it echoed across the vast opening.
"Now then, to," He stopped for a moment and to his surprise he saw Maximus standing next to Aqua. "What!" He shouted in disbelief. "What is the meaning of this," He looked down and saw no blood on the body before him. "How are you still alive? I cut you down in two, I know I did!" His voice began to carry an angry tone.
"Well, this is disappointing, I would have thought you would have been good enough to see me create a Magical Doll to take my place the last few moves before baiting you into that false sense of accomplishment. But I see you are not well attuned at detecting magical employments such as that. Nor quick enough to see it take place. Also, I should inform you, my real strength and power is far more beyond that which you have fought thus far." Maximus said feeling disappointment for his foe.
"You're bluffing, there is no way you are that much powerful!" Verdia shouted in disbelief. "The gap between us in power and strength cannot be that much as he is making it out to be. He will pay dearly for this boastfulness." He said to himself.
"Well, allow me to demonstrate all the areas I am better at than you." Maximus said and motioned Aqua to let him go.
The instant she released him, a large spark formed over where he stood and within the same moment Maximus appeared behind Verdia. The next second Verdia felt his presence behind him and tried to turn around as fast as he could, but to Maximus, he was moving in slow motion.
"My speed is beyond what your eyes can see." Maximus informed him.
Everyone in his party was amazed at his speed, covering the distance of sixty yards in the same moment he disappeared.
Maximus took hold of Verdia's shoulder to tilt him down a bit and slammed his right leg against the side of his chest once more in an upward motion and was launched into the air, high above the castle. He looked around and saw he was already above the clouds with Maximus flying at his side.
"My strength is incomprehensible compared to yours." Maximus said and appeared ahead of him some distance. "And my magical power is a wonder to behold!" He shouted.
Verdia saw a bright blue light shining within Maximus' hands. "What is that?" He wondered.
"Heaven's Blaze!" Maximus shouted once more and moved his arms down.
The blue fire and lightning engulfed Verdia to the point his armor was beginning to melt and his body was burning against the holy aura of the attack. The lightning electrified his body far beyond the threshold an ordinary person can withstand.
Moments later, after seeing the report of the explosion, the group saw Verdia falling towards the earth and landed within a clearing of the forest surrounding the hilltop where the castle sat. Maximus glided down and hovered over his foe in a dominating way. His arms were crossed as he waited for his foe to stand.
"By the looks of it I would dare go far as to say I am nothing like I was when I last fought you, am I? I wonder how that fight truly progressed?" Maximus asked.
"It went well for me until you transformed into your Angelic state, revealing your identity to me as an Angel from Heaven." Verdia replied.
Maximus began to laugh at his answer. "You think I am some Angel from Heaven." He continued to laugh. "That's hysterical!" Maximus began to lose control of himself as he struggled to keep his composure.
"But it's the obvious conclusion! Your real form was so magnificent how could you be anything else, but an Angel." Verdia snapped back at him with a hint of confusion.
"I don't know what to tell you buddy, but I am no Angel." He said after regaining himself and landed on the ground. "I am a Human Nephilim, a descendant of the Nephilim Race, who were born from the result of an Angel, even if they were Fallen Angels, and a Demon coupling. That is all the knowledge you will take with you when you die once more." Maximus informed him.
Verdia quickly saw an opening to attack and threw his head high in the air. Once his head reached the height of its climb, the red eye glowed with a fiery orange light and behind the head a fireball shaped in an eye formed.
"What is he doing?" Maximus wondered to himself.
Verdia's body stood up and with both hands took hold of his sword and swung it at supersonic speeds.
Aqua and the others arrived just as Verdia's head was employing the light. "Maximus!" She shouted feeling concerned for him.
In that moment time slowed to a crawl as Maximus employed a spell to temporarily slow everything around him. He stood there sensing what was happening and began to feel disappointed once more.
"You are willing to employ a last-ditch effort to cut me down. That is commendable, however as I told you before," Maximus said as time was beginning to return to normal pace and Verdia's body had not yet closed the distance between the two.
The next moment Verdia's sword was stopped by one of Maximus' weapons and the other one buried into his foe's heart he had summoned from where the Magical Doll laid. Verdia felt the sting of his blade in his chest and saw white light flowing into him from it as his head was falling towards the two.
"My speed, strength, and magic are beyond you. I was trained to be a Mage on my homeworld, even was given a spell book that held all the knowledge of The Order of Mages had collected over their long period of existence. You would have a better chance if I didn't know any magic, but even then, it still wouldn't be enough because of who my ancestors were." Maximus informed him.
Verdia's head landed on the ground and he began to cough as his body stood still. He soon could feel the stinging Holy Light slowly disintegrate his Undead corpse. Cracks in his armor webbed out from the swords position, revealing the white light shining from within.
Meanwhile, the Lich was watching the battle come to its conclusion.
"As I first suspected, looks as though I will have to step in after he is dealt with." He said and waved his hand over the orb.
Back at the clearing.
"Is this how I am going to die, being bested by the same guy twice and I was unable to avenge my own death!" Verdia said to himself. "No! I will not let it end like this!" He shouted.
The next moment Verdia's body began to force the light from his body. He took hold of Maximus' forearm and moved it away from him causing the short sword to exit out of him. Soon an unholy aura began to seep out and Maximus sensed his power intensifying by the moment. He dashed away towards the others readying for anything.
Maximus looked down at his blade and saw it was melting away, turning to ash. The Dark Aura seemed to devour it like acid dissolves items. He let go of it and saw it was soon engulfing the ground. He snapped his fingers and briefly used his Holy Magic in an effort to purify it. He noticed nothing was happening at first and began to intensify the Holy ray. Once it was over, he turned back to Verdia who was picking up his head and turned around to face him.
"Hmm, this should be interesting, to outmaneuver him while he is in this state. It would seem I cannot allow myself to touch him or possibly get too close. If I were to do so, I might have quite a problem on my hands. I was hoping to save this for later, but it seems I have no choice." Maximus said and prepared himself.
"Allow me to take the lead on this one, Maximus, Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.
Beneath Verdia's feet a large circle formed and he was engulfed by a bright light. The Holy essence immediately doused the Unholy Aura away. His body began to burn inwardly and he rolled around the ground screaming in pain.
Aqua noticed his body had not been purified and back up to stand next to Maximus.
"That spell didn't work on him?!" She said with a little fear in her voice and was bewildered about the situation.
"What do you mean, he 'yowled' and rolled around for a bit." Kazuma replied.
Maximus stood there noticing the aura had not fully dissipated.
"Ugh, I cannot believe I am forced to do this, but I have no choice." Verdia said and raised his right arm. The next moment several dozen of Undead were summoned to him. "Now then my minions, go forth and slay them all!"
"Look at him, he is so petrified of your spell, he had to call in back up to assist him." Kazuma informed her and she nodded her head.
"How annoying, I thought he was going to employ another trick up his sleeve and it turns out he wasted it on summoning minions instead of accepting the inevitable." Maximus said feeling disappointed.
"What, that's not what I am doing here besides, everyone knows you have to fight the minions before you go on to challenge the boss!" Verdia snapped back.
"Then why did you rush after him at the start instead of doing what you are employing now?" Kazuma inquired pointing at Maximus.
"I was just… well, you see,"
"Whatever, Sacred Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.
The same circle appeared beneath their foes and the Undead troops were immediately vaporized and Verdia began to roll around in pain.
"What, that spell didn't work on him either?!" Aqua said wondering what was going wrong.
"No, it did work, it's just he's still has a lot of dark essence within him to prevent himself from being terminated." Maximus said as he approached Verdia. "Why don't we put an end to this little song and dance." Maximus held out his hand and a bright silver ball of light began to form. "Any last words before I permanently put you back into the ground from whence you came?" He inquired.
"Yeah, see you in Hell." Verdia said laughing.
The next moment dark rays strode forth and immediately engulfed the two of them. A massive ball of pure darkness expanded out followed by a loud sonic boom. The sound of the blast echoed so loud it gave the impression the very air in the sky broke a part. The others had braced themselves and when it was over, they saw no one before them but a large crater. The smoke rose high in the sky and formed a large mushroom cloud.
Aqua began to worry about Maximus' safety and walked toward the large crater which was ten yards in diameter and five yards deep. The moment she stood at the edge and before a word could escape her lips, she saw Maximus at the center of the crater. His coat and clothes were shredded and had strange burnt marks. His aura was floating out of his body and she had guessed he used it to shield himself from the blast.
"Another wasted attack, another desperate ploy which yielded no results for him. If that explosion had the ability to destroy an entire mountain, it might have given me more damage than this. Had he used that type of mana from the start, our battle might have a different outcome." Maximus said and began to turn around to walk out.
"Wait, where's Verdia's body?" Aqua inquired.
"He used that aura in an attempt to have me be disintegrated by the blast while blowing himself up in the process, however it was not enough for I am still here." He said looking over himself.
"But your coat is damaged again, guess I will have to fix it once this is over." She smiled as she inspected it.
"It's a real shame he used up all that mana boost near the end to summon those minions. If he had used it to boost himself, he would have fared decently, however it still would not have been enough either. Not to mention it seemed he pinned everything on that special move of his. What a shame indeed." Maximus said feeling disappointed.
"Do you think he could have done a lot better if he was more conservative with his mana?" She inquired.
"I rather doubt it, with the way he was fighting and all. I would go as far as to say he had no prior training at all or possibly since he was revived, he may have had a limit." Kazuma said.
"Indeed, but who knows for sure." Maximus concurred.
"Geez, I wonder how strong this guy is? First, he kills a Manticore with relative ease, slays a bunch of toads no sweat, beats Verdia; twice, and slays that Black Fang bear. Are there no limits to what he can or cannot do?" Kazuma wondered to himself.
"Well, we better return to the castle and clear all or any foes left within." Maximus said.
Meanwhile within the castle, the Lich had a disappointed look on his face.
"I suppose his revenge was not strong enough to fuel his will to defeat him and if that is so, what else could he have been thinking about to hinder him. If he had more focus, he could have won. I suppose it is my turn after all." The lich said.
The group had just entered the door when they noticed everything was still well kept despite the damages on the roof and walls. The decorations were on par with that of one who would be considered a King or Nobleman. The front room was tall as twenty feet in height and two rolls of pillars stretched forth from the doors. A single red and gold carpet was upon the ground stretching the distance to another door. Everything was exceedingly fine in all manner of crafts, vases, tables, and curtains.
They looked around and saw no signs that anyone had been there recently despite its well-kept aesthetic. Maximus' senses were still in an alarmed state as the intense feeling was growing by the second. He kept his focus in front of them while they were looking around.
"Hey, I wonder if we will find any treasures within the castle?" Aqua said as she moved a couple of small boxes around.
"That would be nice, I would say if there is any, we should split it equally. What do you think Maximus?" Megumin asked as she looked at him. "What is it, what's going on?" She inquired feeling the tension within him.
"If you are going to take anything from here, you will first have to contend with me." The Lich said as he appeared before them. "If you want all the valuables, you will have to deal with them, the ones who lost their most prized possessions when these adventurers died here long ago as well." He finished as he laughed.
The next moment nearly sixty Undead appeared in front of the lich.
"Now then, away with,"
Before the Lich could continue the Undead bodies quickly charged toward Aqua. She soon noticed they were eyeing her and began to run away towards the entrance, crying.
"This isn't fair, why are they after me." She shouted
"Why are they chasing after her when you would have thought they go for me?" Maximus asked out loud.
"Or me since I am a crusader, they should be barreling down on me. This is so unfair!" Darkness protested.
"Well, Aqua is a Goddess and they are Undead, so I guess you could say they are seeking religion?" Kazuma suggested.
The next moment Maximus appeared outside and picked up Aqua, holding her in his arm.
"Heaven's Blaze!" He shouted and his attack engulfed the whole lot of them.
The next moment he appeared back within the castle and she quickly embraced him.
"Thank you, Maximus for saving me from them." She said with tears still in her eyes.
"Why did you forget to employ Turn Undead upon them?" He asked with a concerned tone and a small hint of annoyance.
"I'm sorry, I will do better next time." She replied sniffing her nose.
"Let it go for now," He said releasing her from his arm. "At this moment, we have him to deal with and I am sure he is going to be more of a problem than Verdia ever was." He finished.
She noticed he had not taken his gaze from the Lich and saw a concerned look in his eyes.
"Well then Maximus, shall we continue?" The Lich asked.
"First meetings, usually warrants an introduction; no?" Maximus said to him. "Besides, you are already familiar with me and I do not know your name. What is it may I ask, as to remember you?" He inquired remembering how some knights of old would conduct a duel in the old ages.
"Well I suppose you are right, where are my manners. I was once known as a well accomplished wizard some thousand years ago or so. My name is," He paused for a moment as he tried to remember his own name. "I have forgotten it." He stood there with a sad look on his face.
"That must be annoying, to forget your own name." Kazuma said as he was next to Megumin.
"Well, how about you just call me Leech for now." He said.
"Well that's uninspiring." Aqua said with a blank expression on her face.
"Well, it has been over or around a thousand years since I became a Lich, but there you have it. We have exchange names and are ready to pursue further discussions, no?" Leech said.
"What do you mean by that?" Kazuma inquired as he stood next to Maximus.
"It is quite simply my boy; the Demon King has a few vacant spots open among his Generals and would like to extend an invitation to join him. This of course is an exclusive offer to Maximus alone as he recognizes your talents and would be a shame for them to go to waste. I will add if any of you would like to join his army, all you have to do is say the word and we will welcome you into our little flock." Leech informed them.
"No way, I would never join with the Demon King's forces! As a Crimson Demon, I cannot abandon or betray my village to a low life scum such as he." Megumin said as she tried to stand in order to strike a pose but fell back down.
"I too cannot," Darkness said as she struggled to stand. "As a knight it is my duty to safeguard the helpless from evil and crush those who are wicked." She finished.
"There's no way I would be siding with the Demon King anytime soon. Besides, I, the Goddess Aqua, would be shunned by all of my followers as well as Heaven itself if I were to join forces with the likes of him!" Aqua replied to Leech with a sense of grace and a repugnant thought.
"Are you sure about that? If you join us, we will make sure you are taken good care of. You will not have to sleep in the uncomfortable stables you are living in now." Leech said to tempt them.
"You're serious!" Kazuma said. "No, wait, don't let him seduce you with promises! Besides, it would look bad if we ended up joining their side." Kazuma said to himself feeling conflicted. "No, I cannot give in and join you, no matter how tempting your words are." He squeezed out.
They all soon noticed Maximus had yet to answer and stared at him intensely. He turned to each of them and noticed they had not taken their eyes off of him.
"Before I answer, I wish to know what your intentions with the town of Axel are, the one that is a short distance from here?" Maximus inquired.
"We currently have no plans for it at this time, does that suffice as an answer for you?" Leech said.
"Meaning you might have some in the future?" He shot back.
"As of right now, I know nothing what my masters have in store, but I know there is nothing at this time." Leech replied.
"I'll consider thinking it over on one condition." Maximus said pausing for a moment. "You leave this place and never return."
"Interesting, why would you forsake everyone in an exchange for this place I assume?" He inquired a little further.
"I would not call it forsaking them in a time of need, since the Demon King's armies have yet to appear. Of course, I was informed the town which I stay at rests far from his castle. But still, I have yet to hear about towns or cities being raided, pillaged, and burned to the ground of late. I cannot help but wonder why that is?" Maximus replied.
"I know not the things which my masters plan or the information they know, only what I am told to relay to you. As I said before, he has heard of your exploits and is willing to offer you a spot in his court and or a General of his army. What do you say?" He asked.
Maximus looked at the others for a brief moment before turning back.
"And what did he say about Verdia's encounter with me the first time?" Maximus inquired. "I am told he nearly sentenced me to die, what's his position on that?"
"Verdia was only sent to investigate something, of which I do not know, however, if he attacked you there must have been a reason for that." He responded.
"It's quite the generous offer, however I have no intention of joining any one side until I can get more information about this supposed conflict plaguing the land." Maximus said.
"I see, negotiations have broken down then?" Leech asked.
"Not necessarily, I am just declaring my intent to remain neutral. However, if any of his subordinates happens to be around me and start to cause harm to the innocent, then we will find ourselves at odds. I am content with where I am and who I am with." Maximus said.
"I see,"
"Although, I have to say I am liking the scenery here and plan to move into this structure for my own reasons. If you are planning to use it further, then we have a problem. On top of that, I feel as though our paths may cross someday, but I maintain what I said before and will help others if I am near and see the dangers they are in firsthand. What do you say to that?" Maximus said before Leech could continue.
"I say that I lied about the whole offer and you have fallen for my deadly trap!" Leech shouted with his arm rising and his orb appeared in hand.
Maximus bolted towards him within the same moment Leech made his move. Maximus quickly created two swords once more and sliced Leech across his chest and spun around to strike his back. Leech's body fell lifeless to the ground and to everyone else, the short exchange happened so fast they had barely blinked when it was over.
"A noble effort Maximus," Leech said and Maximus turned around. "However, it is not enough for the likes of me." He finished hovering in the air looking down at him. "Now then, let our battle begin!" He said with excitement as six purple and white orbs formed at his sides.
Maximus readied himself for another fight and at the same time began to worry about his party members. "This is not going to be easy." He said feeling the intense aura radiating from the Lich.
