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- Chapter Four -

- The Golden Colossus vs The Marauder King -

- The Blossom Sea -

The light from the blazing sun shone down uninterrupted; not a single cloud hung in the sky. The clear air allowed the light to shine down and reflect off the endless sea of flowers like the plants were actually mirrors. If one looked hard enough, they would probably be able to see one of every shade of colour in existence. A slight breeze ruffled the flowers, making the ground glitter with their colour. It was quite a sight to behold.

It was nearly too bright for Hermocrates. The man called the King of the Marauder Horde squinted and blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light. A tall man and young looking for his age, Hermocrates had shoulder length black hair, parted in the centre, and swept back behind his ears. He had a matching goatee and moustache combo and sported deep brown eyes. A large scar running down the left side of his face started at his forehead, crossed his eye, and stopped on his cheek. He wore a high collared top, yellow in colour that ruffled slightly at his neck and dark grey trousers with various patches sewn in. Knee-jointed armour, silver with a golden rim, covered the lower half of his legs and feet with four gold curved spikes coming out of the front. Similar armour covered his forearms, and the leather gloves he wore, except only his right arm sported the spikes as well as a plate that covered the elbow. The plated armour covered his chest, leaving his arms bare of cloth, and a large dual-plated pauldron decorated his left shoulder; three spikes curving out of it. A thick leather belt was fastened around his waist by a gold and red phoenix carved as its buckle. Three segmented armour pieces, for the sides and front, hung from the belt. Hermocrates completed his ensemble with a tattered brown cloak that hung to his ankles, and sported a tall collar.

Finally getting used to the bright light, Hermocrates raised the sword in his hand to inspect it. It was a longsword forged of black steel that, although straight, sported inward curving edges. The guard was straight, golden in colour, with two angled fangs dropping at the ends. Its pommel was a simple half-globe that shined in the light.

He swung the sword quickly in small loops, generating a low whistling sound, and then levelled it quickly at his opponent. The smile on his face was not unexpected, battle held pleasure for Hermocrates, but he was a little surprised since the opponent was not who he had been promised. The man who had recruited him for this tournament had said he would get a chance to slaughter the warriors of Spectre, without repercussions from either his own Council, or the leaders of his enemies. His opponent was not Spectre, however, since he knew her to be part of Empire; his own side.

"Eaecat!" he roared, lowering his sword to his side. The woman looked down at him from afar, tilting her head as if she was hard of hearing. "The Golden Colossus, Mason of the Melophee Wall, and Guardian of the Rehovian Peaks; Eaecat the Bright Hand. I was not expecting you… but I am glad nonetheless; I have never fought a giant before."

Eaecat was a giant in the literal sense of the word, seeing as she was nearly one hundred and fifty feet tall. She smiled gently and slowly sunk down to a sitting position, allowing her to better hear the human before her. Eaecat, and all giants, generally had brilliant hearing and eyesight better than any bird, but being closer to the target was always a helpful option.

"Hermocrates." She said quietly, avoiding the chance of blowing out the man's ear drums. "The Marauder King. I have heard tale of your exploits, even in Ycaria."

Her skin shined in the light nearly as bright as the sea of flowers plastering the floor. It was cold and hard to the touch with cracks running along the surface like rock. Her eyes were the same, with no pupils, as was her hair; except the hair flowed lightly in the breeze. The white cloth she wore to cover her lower half was fastened at the sides of her waist with golden rings and hung between her legs loosely. A single length of cloth looped around the back of her neck, over her breasts, and was linked at the small of her back by a third golden ring. A pauldron consisting of three separate plates, overlapping one another, rested on her left shoulder and were gold with a bronze pattern covering it. A large circular shield, bronze in colour, rested on the floor next to her and a large silver sword rested on top of it. A helmet, open at the front with chin guards and a golden mohawk, sat on her head snugly.

Hermocrates smiled at her and rested his sword tip-down in front of him, resting his hands on the pommel. "I like that even the gentle giants have heard of me; it makes me seem more successful than I am."

Eaecat smiled in return. "You are more modest than they say though. Although I suspect that is something to do with the fact I am not your mortal enemy."

A dark look flashed across the man's face before he returned to his smile. "Indeed. If you were a Spectre then we would not be having such a pleasant conversation. Do you know why you are here? Or rather, did someone tell you why you are here?"

Eaecat thought for a second before rolling forward and resting her elbows on the floor and her chin on her hands. "A woman explained the idea to me. I refused and yet I still find myself here."

"Yes, well, I guess they just couldn't turn down the opportunity of having you involved." Hermocrates said, still having to crane his neck to look up at the woman before him. "So, with the pleasantries done; shall we continue?"

Eaecat tilted her head to the side. "You wish to combat me? Only one other I have met voluntarily chose to fight."

"You are a scholar and wise beyond any human, Eaecat. Yet, anyone worth their salt knows that you are also a great warrior. You fought off the Ashen One while your men waited for the chrysalis to hatch; you are a unique woman, giant or not. Although I will not yet get the chance to fuel my vengeance, I would be a fool to miss this opportunity."

"Do you have a plan?" Eaecat said with a coy smile on her lips.

Hermocrates raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Now that would be telling. One moment, though, before we begin."

With a sharp thrust he pierced his sword into the ground and then reached up to the strap that fastened his cloak to his armour. With a quick flick of his fingers, he released the clasp and laid the cloak on the floor, spread wide. Then he reached up and undid the buckles that held his pauldron to his shoulder and placed it in the centre of the cloak. His forearm guards followed, and then the armour that protected his legs, then his belt of plated metal. Finally, he undid his chest armour and pulled it over his head before placing it on the cloak and tying the cloth into a hard package.

This left Hermocrates in his high necked yellow top, with its ruffled collar, and the loose fitting grey trousers with its patches. His feet were now bare because the leg armour had been linked with his leather boots. He wiggled his toes in the grass beneath him, under the flower layer, and quickly stretched his muscles before pulling his sword free and spinning it around him quickly.

Eaecat watched him with interest as he undressed and couldn't help but smile when he lifted his sword. "You do not think you need your armour in combat with me?"

"It's simple really; I figure that if you hit me, my armour will hardly make a difference." Was Hermocrates' reply as he stilled his sword to look back at Eaecat.

The giant rolled to her side and got to her feet slowly. She retrieved her shield, strapping it to her right arm, and then lifted her sword free. She looked down at Hermocrates and took her readying pose; turned so her shield was on the far side of her opponent, while her sword was closest. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Hermocrates couldn't help but shake his head. "A woman one hundred and fifty feet tall…" he muttered. "…with skin as hard as stone yet fluid as water, a shield as wide as a castle and a sword as tall as a building. You sure can pick them."

"Sorry, my ears aren't that good; you'll have to speak up." Eaecat said as she saw his lips move with only a murmur coming from them.

"Let's see how gentle a giant you are, Eaecat!" He roared her name and started forward at a dead sprint, his sword's tip cutting the flower heads at his feet as he moved.

Eaecat reacted instantly and her sword shot forward with a thrust faster than a creature her size had any right to.

Hermocrates took pride in the fact that when facing an enemy in a duel, he could focus enough to feel the vibrations a person's weapon made when passing through the air. His specialty seemed dampened somewhat when he felt a torrent of wind like that of a cyclone trying to force him backwards. His armour was heavy and slowed him in battle, but now he had taken it off he was fast enough to dash to the side and only stumble slightly when Eaecat's blade pierced the ground like a meteorite.

The blow sent rocks and dirt flying into the air and flattened the flowers in all directions. Hermocrates ignored the showering of dirt that landed on him and dashed forward quickly, aiming for Eaecat's ankle. She easily countered the approach by taking a long stride over him and putting distance between them. Hermocrates cursed silently and quickly turned on his heel, dashing forward with a low stance.

With a graceful pivot on her front foot, Eaecat spun around to face Hermocrates again and then dropped to one knee. The shield on her right arm came slamming down and pierced the ground in front of Hermocrates like the Melophee wall itself. The marauder smiled and leapt into the air, spinning violently, and let his blade whip forward to strike the metal in front of him. Sparks flew into the air as his sword coursed across her shield but the only thing that showed he had done anything was a small scratch in its surface; hardly effective, but it was all Hermocrates needed.

He started to step back, to put what distance he could between them, but he suddenly found the metal wall coming towards him before tilting and lifting him into the air. His hands floundered to grab something, anything, to keep him from falling but the shield fell away by itself and left him floating in the air, ready to fall to his death. Eaecat wasn't about to let gravity decide this though as her monstrous blade carved through the air, aiming for the defenceless Hermocrates.

Not that he was as defenceless as Eaecat apparently assumed; with a quick twist in the air, he managed to get his sword between Eaecat's sword and its plan to turn him into red mist. The metals clashed with another shower of sparks and to the giant's surprise, Hermocrates' sword didn't break from the force. He managed to negate any injury but, instead, was sent flying backwards at a tremendous speed.

If Hermocrates hadn't been as confident in himself as he was, he was sure his life would have flashed before his eyes; although he wasn't totally convinced that wasn't going to happen anyway. The wind buffeted his hair in all directions as he tried to right himself and he could see the flowers pass beneath him in a blur of colours. With nimble fingers he spun his sword into a reverse grip and when he was close enough to the ground, he stabbed down quickly. The sudden lurch nearly tore his grip free but he managed to maintain it until he slid to a stop; leaving a long gash in the ground.

With a little effort he pulled his sword free and glanced up to see how far he had flown and his mouth gaped. Eaecat looked like a normal sized person in the distance, although she was rapidly growing as she sprinted in his direction. Hermocrates smiled and felt the scratch he had put in her shield; it was time to flex his muscles a little bit.

As he stared at her approaching, his feet started to slide across the ground and then suddenly, as if yanked by a chain fastened at his waist, he took to the air. Eaecat slid to a stop in surprise and dropped to a knee with her shield in front of her. Hermocrates continued his flight forward, a direct line to her, in a sloping line towards her shield. His speed was increasing the further he travelled and suddenly he was within her swords reach. A look of surprise crossed her face as he slowed to a crawl and let his feet lightly touch the surface of her shield; of which he was now stood on as if the earth's gravity had no effect on him.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." Eaecat said with a tilt of her head.

"This was forged for me by a Giant-Smith." Hermocrates said with a spin of his sword. "He said he knew you."

Eaecat had a small smile on her face. "Taet always was too friendly with his clients. I take it this anti-gravity is the trick he installed?"

Hermocrates slowly walked forward, still spinning his sword in his hands, until he was at the edge of the shield closest to her face. "He called it 'Directional Gravity' actually. You see, the blade was forged with a core of my blood; it links its powers to me and me alone. To anyone else who wields it, it is just a sword; an indestructible one, I suppose, but a sword nonetheless."

"He used a Blood-Link? I understand that the Council made such forging illegal." Eaecat said.

"Oh, don't worry yourself; I had special dispensation from the Grand Cardinal himself." Hermocrates stepped off the side of the shield suddenly and fell towards Eaecat's face, his sword point aiming at her right eye. Eaecat pulled her head to the side quickly to avoid the blow leaving Hermocrates to scratch the side of her helmet. Eaecat turned her head quickly to see Hermocrates flying away from her.

Hermocrates spun in the air to lock eyes with the giant before he slowed down and started back towards her; still dragged by the invisible rope around his waist. Eaecat stood up, noticing that Hermocrates angle of flight changed as she did, and thrust her sword forward at the point she expected him to be a moment later.

The Marauder curved downwards suddenly, causing him to miss the large blade by millimetres, and struck up with his own blade to scratch the side of her sword. The invisible rope caught him again and he shot at her face like an arrow. Eaecat stepped back in surprise and Hermocrates was jerked downwards at the same time. This didn't perturb him as he landed lightly against the plate of her helmet he had scratched and aimed his blade at her eye again. Eaecat shook her head violently and Hermocrates' aim faltered, his blade slicing across the skin of her nose. The attack cut deep but nothing came from it and the blade remained clean.

"Mmm, I was expecting something if not blood." Hermocrates muttered as Eaecat aimed the pommel of her sword at his position.

Hermocrates released his power and dropped to her shoulder, looking up to see if the wisest giant hit herself; she didn't. He smiled and leapt off her shoulder as she manoeuvred her sword to his position. Normal gravity seemed to be affecting him again as he fell and with a flick of his arm, he sent his sword flying downwards to pierce into the ground. His body jerked downwards and increased his speed before he slowed to land gently on the ground. He immediately pulled his sword free from the ground and jumped sideways as Eaecat side stepped and swung her sword at him.

The giant sword carved a wide trench into the ground but Hermocrates didn't wait for its wielder to finish before leaping across the gap and dashing forward. With unnatural speed, no doubt aided by his abilities, he leapt forward and sliced her across the top of her ankle. As before, his sword cut deep into her stony flesh but nothing like blood came out and Hermocrates had to take another unnatural leap to avoid being stepped on.

He landed on top of her lower cloth covering, the excess of which dragged across the floor, and tripped as Eaecat spun to find him. Hermocrates tumbled head-over-heels until he felt dirt on his face. He quickly jumped to his feet and looked up to see the edge of Eaecat's shield bearing down on him. His ability jerked him into the air again, towards her face, but suddenly Eaecat's sword hand appeared out of nowhere and encased him in a closed fist.

Hermocrates braced himself against being crushed but realised that Eaecat was trying no such thing. He shrugged and gripped his sword before driving it to the hilt into the palm of her hand. This time a small trickle of a shining golden liquid leaked from the wound.

"At last." Hermocrates muttered.

Eaecat grimaced as she felt the sharp pang of pain in her hand. The man's sword may only have been the size of a toothpick, but it was still sharp to the touch. She ignored the pain though as she spun on her feet quickly and with a bend of her elbow, she sent Hermocrates into the air.

He didn't go far, however, as he pulled himself towards her helmet quickly. Hermocrates touched the metal with one foot and passed straight by before falling down her back. As he did, he struck out with his sword and landed a large scratch down her back; although it was not deep enough to draw her blood. He slid to a stop where he was, feet planted against her back, and started sprinting up as Eaecat attempted to reach him with her free hand. He arrived at her shoulder and latched onto her helmet again. Except he didn't touch the helmet, he simply passed by her face, released his power and dropped to her chest.

Before her hand reached him, he sliced across her chest but power jumped away quickly as she slapped the place he had been moments before. Hermocrates pulled on her ankle and twisted in the air to land feet first. The world blurred as Eaecat kicked ferociously and Hermocrates let himself fly off her and into the air. This time he pulled on her sword, which she had pierced into the ground nearby to free her hand, and zipped downwards. He bounced off it and pulled on her palm, flying up towards her with his sword dragging beside him. Suddenly the air spun wildly and her shield appeared to his side to slam into him.

He cried out, pretty sure he had just broken his left arm as it bent at a funny angle beside him, but he pulled on the shield to keep himself there as Eaecat twisted the shield and slapped down. He pulled on her chest and when he was close to her skin, but before touching, he pulled on her helmet and shot upwards like an arrow. He passed by her face and in her surprise, used the opportunity to slice his blade forward. It passed across the surface of her eye and her golden blood spurted out as she cried out and dropped to one knee. She threw her shield aside, generating what felt like a small earthquake when it hit the floor, and covered her eye.

Hermocrates pulled on her back and bounced off her shoulder before pulling on the floor and landing gently. Eaecat spun round, a strange look on her face, and suddenly lunged forward with her free hand. Hermocrates pulled on it to take to the air but she lifted her hand and he was jerked along with it. With a grimace he switched to her ankle and pulled himself downwards. Once again, Eaecat moved her ankle quickly and Hermocrates found himself jerked wildly. He could feel his insides bouncing around and was starting to ache all over.

With a pull on her chest, Hermocrates changed his trajectory but Eaecat was quick to react again. This time, however, she stepped forward boldly and Hermocrates found his floor closer than he had been expecting. He landed and grimaced as a small crack sounded at his shins; he was pretty sure he had just cracked both of his legs with the force of the landing.

He pulled on the flowered ground quickly and shot downwards. A metre or so above it, he pulled on her ankle and passed by it before pulling on her back and rising upwards. He switched to her helmet and twisted to land on top of her head by releasing his power. Immediately, Eaecat switched her hand covering her eye to grip the helmet and dropped it beside her. Hermocrates pulled on her eye, zoomed past it, and landed on her metal pauldron, slicing the metal quickly before stepping forward to jump off.

It was a surprise to him to find the flat of Eaecat's sword blade rushing towards him; he pulled on it quickly to get into the air and then pulled on her eye to pull himself out of harm's way. Metal clashed against metal as Hermocrates flew backwards and back flipped before switching his pull to the ground again. However, as he dropped downwards quicker than normal, Eaecat's other hand appeared out of nowhere and Hermocrates barely had time to brace himself before he was slapped out of the air.

Cries of pain escaped from him as he hit the floor and bounced a few times, rolling to a stop. His sword carried on bouncing, out of his reach, before piercing into the ground lightly. Hermocrates quickly took stock of his injuries and grimaced when he realised most of the bones in his body had broken. He took in a series of ragged breaths through wobbly teeth and lowered his eyes to Eaecat.

The giant leader had reattached her shield to her arm and held her sword lightly. A small trickle of her golden blood stained her cheek below her eye but it had stopped actively bleeding. She dropped down to one knee and bent over until she was close to him.

"I'm sorry to hurt you so much, you surprised me with that eye strike. It hurt." She said, softly.

Hermocrates started laughing and then stopped with a grimace. "That was the plan. Thank you, by the way." Eaecat looked confused. "I told you I hadn't fought a giant before and it was nice to get the chance. But I'm finished, I can't carry on; this is your win." Eaecat smiled. "I'll get some training in and then we should try this again, I reckon I'll be able to beat you in a year or two."

"That would be… interesting. Although perhaps I should test you against some of my friends first; I wouldn't want to kill you."

"Heh." Hermocrates said before he leant his head back to rest his neck.

The two of them stayed silent for a couple of moments, Eaecat glancing around slightly, before the giant broke the silence. "Isn't something meant to happen to indicate the winner?"

Hermocrates looked around himself and half shrugged, pain wracking his body. "A light or something should come down; you haven't killed me but the rules say incapacitating me should be enough."

"Are you sure you are incapacitated?" Eaecat said slowly.

Hermocrates allowed a small grin. "I'm pretty sure all the bones in my body are broken. I'd be hard pressed to do anything at all, let alone fight."

Eaecat pondered for a minute before standing up. "Hard pressed… but it wouldn't be impossible for you. If I was a proper opponent for you, you'd fight to the bitter end, wouldn't you."

"Come on, you can't really think I'm holding back on you?"

"Not holding back, no. But you aren't trying as hard as you can. Can you really say, truthfully, that you cannot continue this fight?"

Hermocrates frowned. "It seems the event organisers think so. Oh well, let's finish this then." His body suddenly dragged along the ground, Hermocrates ignoring the pain, and bounced once before he reached out and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He let a cry of pain out, but he pulled on her eye and shot towards at an intense speed.

Eaecat stepped back in surprise and before she knew it, her sword was flying up to meet him. She couldn't stop it, but she was sure Hermocrates could dodge the move fairly easily. He didn't alter his path though and simply stared at her good eye as her sword got closer and closer to her.

"Kill the Spectres for me!" he roared as metal met flesh and his body was ripped into a thousand pieces with a cloud of red mist.

Eaecat opened her mouth in surprise and froze with her blade still outstretched, a small red stain the only remains of the Marauder King. A bright column of light encompassed her and with a flash, Eaecat was removed from the battle as its winner.