AGNOMAKHOS
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 22
Argyros slowly circled around Olivia like a hungry wolf waiting to pounce. His malicious eyes locked onto her as he held his hafted weapon and Lepida Akyrosi at the ready, silently daring Olivia to come closer.
What's his secret? How can he stay standing? Olivia stared at the deep, bloody wound in Argyros' stomach and weighed her options. Should she just drag the fight out to bleed Argyros out? Or maybe stab his stomach again, or try to cut his head off? That would definitely end the battle, but Argyros would be ready to defend obviously vulnerable spots like his neck and stomach.
Olivia's left hand ached as she gripped her broadsword tightly out of nerves. Her next few moves might decide if she lived or died. Anyone else would have run by now, but Olivia thought about how valiantly Kulla stood for the Reverent Army and knew that she had to do the same.
It's go time.
Kicking off the brick street, Olivia let out a yell and swished her broadsword right at Argyros' face, her hair whipping as she shot through the air. With a clang, Lepida Akyrosi rose and took the brunt of Olivia's swing, both swords grating against each other's edges. A split second later, Olivia saw Argyros draw back his hafted blade weapon in preparation to strike.
Olivia crouched and swept Lepida Akyrosi aside with her blade, then sprang to the side just as Argyros thrust with his other weapon. In that instant, when the hafted blade struck empty ground, Argyros left himself completely open to a counter-attack. Now!
With a grunt, Olivia flipped over and supported herself on her left arm, sword still in hand. She snapped out her bare right foot, aiming her kick at Argyros' nose. She saw the older man's eyes widen in shock, and Argyros only barely ducked in time. Olivia felt her toes graze Argyros' gray hair.
Grunting with effort, Argyros slashed his hafted weapon inward, and Olivia gasped as the blade drew a thin line across her ribs. Blood soaked into her uniform until her green mana bubbled up, sealing the shallow cut.
But Argyros wasn't done yet. Lepida Akyrosi stabbed through the air and landed a light hit on Olivia's right calf. Pain exploded in Olivia's calf muscles and she crumpled in a heap, dropping her sword to clutch her wound. She gasped and felt her green mana leaking from the wound, and her leg suddenly felt heavy without the mana to support it. Her vision flicked and her head felt light. I can't keep this up!
Faintly, as though from far away, Olivia heard Argyros take a few steps closer to finish her off. A metal blade swished loudly through the air, and Olivia was sure that the cutting edge was aimed right for her exposed neck.
"NO!" A primal yell tore itself from Olivia's throat. The last of her green mana flared up and gave her the strength to scrambled from Argyros' blow. She was just in time; Lepida Akyrosi came crashing down where Olivia had sat, and this gave Olivia her chance to even the odds. She seized Argyros' right leg and wrenched it aside, and with a yelp, Argyros swayed and lost his balance. He stumbled, flailing both arms carelessly to balance himself.
Growling, Olivia sprang to her feet, wincing at the pressure on her right leg. Ignoring it, she gripped Argyros' right wrist and wrenched it as hard as she could.
Crack! Argyros shouted as Olivia's pressure snapped his wrist. Lepida Akyrosi clattered to the street and Argyros shrank back, his face paling. Encouraged, Olivia leaped into the air and kicked out her foot, and this time, she scored a direct hit on Argyros' nose. Once again, she heard a crack and Argyros' nose bled all over his face.
"You... little bitch!" Argyros said thickly, blood dribbling into his mouth. He hastily slashed his hafted weapon and scored a gash across Olivia's chest.
Fight through the pain. And odd sort of calm overtook Olivia as she landed and stumbled back, her mind going numb. She knew that, even with her healing powers, she was inches from death. But her own death wouldn't matter compared to keeping her city safe; unlike Argryos and his mercenary friends, she had a cause to fight for. And that gave her an edge.
"Raaaaaah!" Olivia pounced like a lioness and tackled Argyros to the ground. She wrenched the hafted weapon from his hand and bashed her knuckles against the man's temple, trying to knock him out. She stood no chance in open combat anymore; better to grapple and use the last of her mana to her advantage.
But, to Olivia's shock, Argyros fought on. Even with a broken nose and wrist, and a lethal wound in his stomach, he found the strength to smash his forehead against Olivia's face to stun her. Then, he flipped her over onto her back and pinned her down, shoving his face into hers.
"I've got you now, little girl," he leered at her. He grinned as he wrapped his hands around Olivia's neck and began to squeeze. "What a pain in the arse you were."
Olivia choked for air, but it was no good. Agyros' fingers were like a vise, and she couldn't break free no matter how she thrashed or squirmed. Her ears rang and the world seemed to spin around her while despair set in. She'd failed.
Wait... what's that? Through a haze of exhaustion, oxygen loss and terror, Olivia saw something new, a glint of silver near the hollow of Argyros' neck. Her eyes widened when Argyros shifted a little to reveal a silver amulet hung around his neck by a leather cord. During the battle, Olivia had been too busy to see it, but from this angle...
Without even thinking about it, Olivia shot out her hand and seized the amulet. Then, with a tug, she snapped it off the leather cord and tossed it aside.
"Guhhhh..." The pressure of Argyros' fingers lifted at once. The old mercenary went rigid, hands scrabbling over his throat and upper chest, desperate to find the amulet. But Olivia held it triumphantly in her hands, mocking the old man with it.
Argyros gasped wetly for breath and rolled off Olivia, his body now spasming. More blood seeped from his chest wound and his skin went pale. He reached out a hand and tried to choke out a few words, but Olivia wouldn't make them out. Then, with a sigh, Argyros went limp.
Hardly daring to believe it, Olivia slowly climbed to her hand and knees and checked her opponent from head to toe. No doubt about it; he was dead. Relief seeped through Olivia like a healing tonci as she heaved a sigh, looking over the amulet. She recognized its arcane runes from a textbook Kulla had lent her; it was a rare artifact, blessed by Pharika (god of poisons and cures) that could extend the wearer's life even through fatal injuries. And once Olivia had torn it off, all of Argyros' injuries had fully caught up to him.
So that's the secret. Satisfied, Olivia limped off to a side alley's protective darkness, lay down behind a crate, and finally relaxed.
*o*o*o*o*
Let's see... ice, tidal waves, water bursting from the streets... Elias is a tricky one, all right, Lakram realized. He shivered slightly in his damp clothes. But whenever he attacks me, that leaves him vulnerable too. I'll have to be the faster one!
That strategy made Lakram's confident grin come back. This wouldn't be so hard after all.
Meanwhile, Elias drew up all the water around him and formed a thick, whirling ring of it around him. From across the street, Lakram saw the cold water as a thick dark ribbon, contrasting to the air's heat. Elias' ice would appear even darker, no doubt. As long as Lakram could see it, he could dodge it.
Elias crouched and thrust out a hand. At once, icicles shot from the whirling water ring, each a foot long and deadly sharp. They flew in a haphazard pattern, intending to skewer Lakram where he stood. Lakram could hear them whistle through the air.
Too slow. Lakram ducked and leaped to the side, and he heard several thick icicles shatter against a temple's stone wall. As Lakram strafed to the side, he saw more icicles track his progress, each closer than the last. Lakram leaped into the air and whirled in place to avoid several well-aimed icicles. He gasped as one of them grazed his cheek, drawing a bit of blood.
Not only did the icicles act as a long-range attack, but they made it difficult to approach Elias. A frontal attack wouldn't work. Unless...
Lakram hurled a coin in midair, and halfway to Elias, he set it off. A fireball swallowed up the air and vaporized the rest of Elias' icicles, and the wave of heat gave Lakram a cushion. He channeled the heat under his feet and glided right toward Elias, vaulting high into the air and out of harm's way.
Lakram hurled two more coins while Elias was still distracted with the fireball. Just in time, Elias flowed all his water into a shield as the coins exploded. The ground shuddered from the blast, and Lakram was knocked back from the sheet kinetic force. Hot steam filled the air, and for a second, Lakram couldn't see what was going on.
Then, Lakram grinned even wider when he saw the burns and bruises on Elias' flesh, patches of heat on the man's skin.
"Impressive, mercenary," Elias commented. He took a few defensive steps back. "Your volume of mana is considerable, and its detonation is well-controlled."
"That's why I'm gonna kill you."
"Not so. I have a duty to fulfill."
Elias gathered his water under his feet and lifted himself on a dervish of water once again. He raged toward Lakram, drawing back his arms to unleash another barrage. Blue mana swelled at his sleeved arms.
Same old tricks. Lakram drew a few more coins from his pockets and sprang into action. His legs burned from fatigue as he leaped out of Elias' way, but the effort was worth it. Elias crashed clumsily into the street in a fierce spray of water, exposing his back. Lakram tossed a coin at Elias' back and prepared to snap his fingers.
WHAM! Lakram yelped as a jet of water sprang out of nowhere, blasting him to the side. Lakram felt the wind get knocked out of him from the sheer force. Gasping, he tumbled to the street, soaking wet. The coin clinked to the ground, still glowing.
"You gotta do better than that!" Lakram yelled. He snapped his fingers and the coin finally went off, but it was too late. Elias flowed away on his dervish and rushed at Lakram again, and this time, he fired multiple water jets from each hand.
Hardened water jets blasted into the street as Lakram hastily leaped out of the way. He back-flipped repeatedly across the street like an acrobat, watching the water jets get closer and closer. Water sprayed everywhere, blocking Lakram's view of Elias. How am I supposed to counter-attack? Then, a thought hit him. Perfect!
"Aaaaaargh!" Lakram shouted as loud as he could, trying to sound more pained than he was. He let a water jet graze him and he tumbled to the street, hoping that Elias had thought it a direct hit. Lakram lay there on his back, vulnerable.
Just as Lakram hoped, Elias drifted over, blue mana swelling on his arms. Wordlessly, the colonel tensed his arms to release a few more jets -
A string of explosions ripped through the street and Elias shouted as the heat vaporized his water and tossed him aside. He hadn't seen Lakram lay several mana-infused coins along his path, hidden by the water jets. Then, seeing Lakram wounded on the street had lowered his guard, giving Lakram his chance.
"How do you like that?" Lakram got to his feet and tossed another coin at the exposed Elias, and he watched as the bald man was flung aside, his body badly burnt. "Thought you could beat me so quick, did you?" He drew another coin and infused it with mana. Just a few coins were left in his pocket, but that didn't matter. He had finally gained the advantage.
Feebly, Elias stirred and crawled to his hands and knees, coughing and shaking. "I... didn't expect that," he wheezed.
"Sure didn't." Lakram held up his coin with a flourish and prepared to toss it.
Another surprise water jet knocked Lakram to his back.
"Damn it!" Lakram spat water out of his mouth and scrambled to his feet. Before he could make another move, though, he realized that Elias, too, was back on his feet.
"You're not the only one who can play dead," Elias huffed. Then, he manifested a thick icicle in his right hand and hurled it at his foe.
Numb shock froze Lakram's brain as Elias' icicle impaled him. He knew he was dead, that it was useless to resist, but he still found the strength to feebly toss his mana-infused coin at Elias' annoyingly smug face. Got... to... set it off.
But Lakram didn't get his chance. Elias vaporized the icicle, and with blood pouring from his injury, Lakram collapsed and knew no more.
*o*o*o*o*
Aching from exhaustion and serious burns, Elias knelt and checked that the mercenary known as Lakram was dead before he relaxed. He sat cross-legged by his fallen foe, dipping his head in prayer. May Athreos guide you to your new life.
Elias regretted the use of lethal force, and even now, he felt his inner calm stirred and disturbed by what he had done. No doubt he'd need days of meditation at the academy's central garden to restore his inner peace, but it could be done. He longingly thought of the flowing water and blossoming trees there, and that alone calmed him down a little, despite the battle raging around him. Besides, he could count on his battalion to keep him safe while he rested. He trusted each and every mage and hoplite under his command with his life.