"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
...
The heroes were beaten, the kids and Sophia were victorious. Now there was just the rest of the battles to worry about.
...
Battle OST: watch?v=abjE9Qx0O60
...
Lord Veramir vs Lord Wymarc
...
Lord Veramir stayed on Lord Wymarc's tail until they reached the edge of the battlefield, just next to the tree line. Veramir moved past him and cut his path off with a large swing of his sword. Wymarc stopped in his tracks as the sword seemed to kill the soil, the grass nearby and began withering a nearby tree. Veramir would not let him reach the forest.
"Stabbing me in the back, both figuratively and literally? Al, why?" Veramir asked with a bit of anger, though less anger than someone in his shoes ought to have.
"It wasn't for the queen, nor king if that was what you were thinking, Vera." Wymarc readied himself.
"Then why? I'm genuinely curious." Veramir wouldn't drop it.
"...You're aware of what happened to my sons?" Wymarc asked.
"Hmm, yeah. The youngest died, all of them sick, right?" Veramir wondered how that connected.
"It was the shield hero who saved my two oldest. He couldn't save my youngest, but he did all he could and stayed with him in his final moments." Wymarc said as he went to clash with Veramir.
Veramir accepted the exchange.
"That's a pretty good reason. All the same, you die here!" Veramir went to perform some sort of attack, but he was interrupted.
Two figures came from each of his sides to attack. Veramir positioned his hilt to block the first one's sword and used the tip of his blade to catch the other one's axe. It was Silvius and Fitts. As quickly as they came at him, they pulled away. His cursed sword was damaging their weapons.
"Oh, a Briarhaven knight and... Sir Fitts? The one we blamed? Why must I fight those that have good reasons to fight?" Vera asked in an annoyed manner.
"We are here to assist you." Silvius told Wymarc.
"What is up with his sword?" Fitts asked.
"That weapon is a source of worry for us. A cursed sword that grows stronger the more humans and demi-humans it kills, but weakens by killing monsters. It is the absolute best instrument of murder in Melromarc, [Grief]. I had hoped it would have weakened over the years with no more victims..." Wymarc explained.
"Sorry to exceed your expectations!" Veramir yelled as he swung at all three of them with his sword's outstanding reach.
All three blocked and were pushed back. That was the goal. Veramir separated them enough to pick one of them off. He rushed Silvius with the intent to kill. Silvius blocked the next attack as well, but he wasn't going to be able to do more. Veramir was overpowering him and was going to kill him before either of the others were going to reach him on foot.
A sharp pain in Veramir's shoulder proved him mistaken. Fitts switched to his crossbow and tagged him in the upper arm, weakening his pressure on Silvius long enough for Wymarc to reach them and force Veramir to back up for the moment.
While they regrouped, Veramir glanced at his wound and ripped the bolt from his arm. Slowly, his wound closed up, shocking the other three.
"Passive healing...? It's not just as strong as it was back then, it's stronger? How?" Wymarc was lost.
Veramir held the blade to one side, turning to his side. He tightened his posture and waited.
"By killing, obviously." He said as he began calmly inching forward.
In response, the three of them took stances as well, but couldn't cooperate too well, having never fought alongside each other before. They clashed again. They were tenacious, but every attack they blocked sent them reeling back and damaged their weapons further. Even Wymarc needed to reapply holy water to his blade sooner than expected.
Veramir saw he was winning and took a step back to catch his breath. Wymarc was still wanting answers.
"I researched each of you before this betrayal. Averill was supposed to be the strongest. You've only killed six people via capital punishment since the war and three of your slaves died over the years, that's nine people. This power... You'd need to kill someone every week for something like this!" Wymarc was too confused.
Veramir was amused by just how wrong Wymarc was.
"Oh, you did research, you say? If you can't figure it out, you lack imagination." Veramir concluded.
Fitts saw that stalling to regain themselves was more beneficial to their enemy than themselves. He took the lead in re-initiating combat. Veramir wished to catch his breath more, but also saw the lag in their movements. Fitts attacked without communicating to the other two, meaning they didn't start moving until they saw he was already in motion. This delay would have been deadly, normally.
Fitts had dozens of goodies looted from church followers over the last few months and against a cursed weapon, it seemed the perfect opportunity to use some of it. He activated his cloak, which made him harder to see. This allowed him to slip past Veramir's strike. Veramir tried a follow-up strike, but Fitts wasn't swinging. He pulled out a canister and opened it. It shot a large amount of holy water at him, spread out, like a net or sheet.
Veramir didn't want to risk weakening [Grief], so he opted to back up. The problem was that backing up was now running into the other two. Veramir realized that Fitts understood the 'flaw' in running in without communicating and turned it into a feature of his attack. The delay left them primed for a pincer maneuver.
Wymarc struck Veramir from behind, but Veramir took the hit freely to avoid the holy water. Right after the holy water missed, Silvius came in for his own pound of flesh. He hit with more youthful force and sent Veramir stumbling backwards, Veramir did hit him too, though. Both suffered.
Wymarc was already offering Silvius holy water, but he simply took some from the wet ground and held it in his wound. Veramir needed a moment, so he continued his conversation.
"Think Al, what did I use my slaves for?" Veramir asked.
Wymarc knew that conversing was to Veramir's benefit, but the moment those words entered his head, he was struck with horror.
"Y-You... raped them... Which means-" Wymarc wanted to vomit.
"Exactly. Procreation gave me an endless supply of bodies. That's why I have so many slaves and why I'm always looking for more. I get a kill every nine months per slave." Veramir confirmed, seemingly proud of the act. As if the ingenuity of the plan somehow had merit divorced from the vileness of his actions.
Even Silvius and Fitts stopped dead in their tracks. They thought they were fighting just a man, but his evil sword and vile actions, he was a devil made flesh. Neither thought something so evil really existed in this world. As Veramir planned, they remained still as he recovered and planned his attack.
"That makes them your children! You killed your own children! Moments after birth! You monster!" Silvius yelled in horror.
Veramir argued, not because he cared, but because it bought him time.
"They came from demis. My wife was killed by demis before we could have a child. So whatever I do to them, and whatever comes from those acts, are in no way the same as the child my wife and I would have had." Veramir said matter-of-factly.
They were all staring in horror and disbelief.
"Their bodies and children are to pay for what they took from me." Veramir added.
Veramir was now ready for more. He moved fast and they all didn't adjust fast enough. Fitts' armor was torn through as if it weren't even there. In a single strike, Veramir took more than 40% of Fitts' Hp and rendered his left arm useless. A follow-up strike might have killed him, but several knives struck his side and he backed away to avoid a few more. He turned to the other two, but neither looked like they had thrown them more than the other. He was a bit confused.
Wymarc approached, chanting.
[Zweite Holy]
The ball of magic caused Veramir to move as expected. For all his strength, Veramir's fear of weakening his sword even by the tiniest bit left him incredibly predictable. Silvius pressed him back while near the traveling spell, meanwhile Wymarc checked on Fitts and needed to apply holy water to be safe. Silvius would not pursue further than necessary and moved back as the other two moved up. They needed to stick together, if Veramir killed one of them, the other two wouldn't last much longer after that.
"I admit I'm surprised. I knew Al would take some time to kill, but you two surprised me. Are you class upgraded yet?" Veramir voiced his observations.
The only answer he received was all three of them rushing him. They clashed a bit, but Fitts was down an arm and that gave Veramir all he needed to start outpacing all three of them. It was Wymarc who now wanted to talk, to collect themselves.
"Vera... I don't understand. You perform such evil, focus on strengthening that blade, yet you kill your children?" Wymarc asked.
Veramir knew what he was doing and so responded without letting up.
"I fail to see the question, Al." Veramir responded.
Silvius was now taking the lead, over exerting himself to try to make up the difference in power.
"Why care so much about the sword? At your age? With no kids?" Wymarc added.
"..." Veramir didn't respond.
"How many years can you still swing that sword? And after that, what? You've no one to grant it to. Your legacy is a mountain of bodies and countless broken women, that's all you'll have left this world!" Wymarc was yelling at the end.
Veramir was being affected by those words and all three of them saw it. They pounced on a momentary lax in his guard and gave several hits, but still received some themselves. They disengaged, Veramir and Wymarc caught their breath, Fitts and Silvius grabbed some much needed holy water to treat their newest wounds.
Veramir felt he had to respond.
"You're absolutely correct. This world has only ever taken from me, so I'll take from it as much as I can." Veramir argued.
Wymarc just stared out at Veramir, as if he was a complete stranger and one of the closest friends he ever had at the same time. Both are true. Wymarc also stopped caring about the fight for a moment. He needed Veramir to hear him.
"You old fool... You committed some of the worst possible acts possible in raping those slaves. In spite of that evil, you were given the greatest gift this world has to offer in exchange, children!" Wymarc was fighting back tears as they reengaged.
"Like I said, they came from dem-" Veramir went to argue, but Silvius and Fitts were pressing him harder than before, or maybe something else was happening.
"You do all this evil while bemoaning an unfair world! Do you know what a child is to a father!? Fulfillment, happiness, purpose... and you spat at it! If this world is unfair, it was in your favor!" Wymarc screamed and the three of them began to noticeably begin winning.
They would switch between attacking together, which Veramir couldn't contest, and attacking from multiple angles at once, which he couldn't dodge.
"..." Veramir gave no response to his old friend.
"At any point, you could have stopped and raised even one of those children and found all the things you complain that you lack or deserve! Don't you see!? The world owes you nothing!" Wymarc wasn't hitting as hard as his younger allies, but his blows hit deeper all the same.
"...but I didn't want them..." Veramir quietly argued.
They continued to clash and Veramir continued to lose.
"I just wanted her. I didn't want whatever scraps that life offered me, I wanted the happiness I chose." Veramir found his voice.
Fitts used an artifact that shot out holy light, Veramir had his body take the hit, protecting his blade.
"Life isn't fair or just. I lost my wife, all my siblings, and my youngest. All I have left is my two sons. I-" Wymarc tried speaking, but Veramir shouted.
"And it's bullshit! You just have to scrounge your way through life!? No matter how much you do, no matter the good you do, life just gets to toss you however it likes and you-" Veramir shouted, but interrupted himself.
"You lost your wife. How many children have your slaves lost? How many times have you assaulted them? Words are wasted on you." Silvius interjected.
Silvius caught Veramir with a decent hit to pair with his words.
"None of you get it... All I have left is my grief." Veramir motioned to his sword. "I kill whomever I feel like until it's finally sated!" Veramir yelled.
Wymarc seemed done talking to him, he didn't respond.
Veramir came at them with strength he seemed to be lacking only moments ago. His swings were wide and fast. Even all three of them together would find it daunting to contest his strikes as they were.
While they were strong and fast, it had its shortcomings. He'd exhaust himself at this rate, but they'd likely be dead before then. The other weakness was how open he was after he arched his swing. Silvius tried to get in that gap, but took a hit that left him worse than Fitts.
If Veramir was thinking correctly, they were finished, but Fitts capitalized on his crazy behavior. Fitts had Veramir strike the axe again, destroying that side of the head. He still had the other head and now his weapon was lighter. He hoped that this would be the difference.
He timed himself as perfectly as he could and came in to swing at Veramir. Veramir proved he wasn't crazy. He went to lean just outside of the axe's range. He was going to let the blade miss his neck, then come in on Fitts' follow-through. He was planning to use the same strategy as Fitts to kill him.
But just as he went to dodge the blade, Chloe slammed into the back of his head with everything she had, her feet planted firmly.
She had been the one to throw the knives earlier and was doing her best to assist indirectly, but now was crucial.
Without the ability to dodge the axe head, Veramir's throat was sliced open.
A fatal blow... for most.
Veramir grabbed Chloe's boot from behind his head and slammed her on the ground. His throat began to heal as everyone jumped in. Fitts blocked his follow-up strike on Chloe as Silvius and Wymarc assaulted Veramir while he was hurt. Wymarc even landed a strike to the heart through his armpit.
Veramir slowed, but didn't stop. He just kept healing.
"No... use... too much... grief." Veramir struggled to say through his throat injury.
With Chloe to assist, the four of them brought Veramir to the ground and they continued to attack him, but nothing worked. Silvius then stabbed Veramir's other arm to the ground and abandoned his own blade to begin wrestling for [Grief].
At first, Veramir seemed to have an inhuman grip on the weapon, but all four of them either attacked his arm or assisted Silvius in disarming their opponent. After entirely too long, Silvius wrested the weapon from Veramir's grasp and all at once the wounds that he was shrugging off were felt as if this moment was the first that they were real.
Before these wounds could claim him, Silvius drove the blade through the man. He felt no resistance, as if he was cutting through air. Silvius also saw his own wounds vanishing. He'd love to return to Liviccic's side right away, but needed for the other two to also wield the weapon to heal first.
They could not beat the weapon, but they were able to kill a wicked man. All four of them vowed to free all of Veramir's slaves after this, legally or otherwise.
...
Wagner vs Eadwig
...
Wagner stumbled back from the surprise attack and cursed a bit to himself. He looked at his son with his good eye, rage overflowing.
"To turn steel on your own family!? I will crush your throat!" Wagner bellowed.
Eadwig rushed at his father without another word. He knew that closing the distance between the two of them was of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, Wagner began to spin his mace head upon him while casting magic.
[Zweite Torrential Force]
A powerful wall of wind surrounded and shielded Wagner, it would cut and tear anything that came into contact with him. Eadwig knew his father and his abilities well. Wagner would maintain that spell until he felt like dropping it, but he knew more than that. He knew his father would run into foes with it, but also knew he was fast and that Wagner knew that too. He also knew that Wagner could finish a chant for another spell while maintaining this, only dropping it as the next spell was cast, but any physical attack dropped the spell.
Because of this, he assumed his father would answer with a spell. Wagner began chanting, as Eadwig assumed. After Wagner was done chanting, he surprised his son by shooting his mace out at him. Eadwig was able to dodge, but barely.
He thought his father simply tricked him, but it was thrice.
[Zweite Air Sickles]
Blades of wind shot out heavily towards the side he was dodging towards and Eadwig had no choice but to dodge the other way again, receiving a large cut on his upper left leg. Lastly, Wagner pulled his weapon back, which struck Eadwig badly. The spell had forced him to retake his old position, guaranteeing the hit. Eadwig was struck to the ground and was now the one cursing.
"Try all the tricks you want. Scheming, dealing, cowardice, none of it works on a real warrior." Wagner told his son. "You are better behind a desk than me, I admit. Here though? On the battlefield? You'd have done well to listen to me."
Eadwig pulled himself to his feet with some difficulty. He looked at his father a moment. His father finally admitted that he was a better businessman than himself. He took comfort knowing his father finally gave him a complement in the end.
"That's exactly why you'll lose. You have strength, but in the real world strength isn't that important. You can acquire strength using wit, but the opposite is not true." Eadwig responded.
He pulled out another six knives, three in each hand. He heated them with his fire affinity, but didn't throw them.
"Real strength is all that matters. Why negotiate with someone when you can defeat them and dictate terms afterwards? I wish every day that you were a year older. You could have seen war, you could have seen the truth of it." Wagner responded.
Eadwig put three knives away and reached for something behind him.
"Then show me that supposed strength." Eadwig goaded.
Wagner didn't so much 'fall for it' as he 'answered it'. He launched his mace head with a strong overhand throw. It hurtled towards his son, but just before impact, it stopped.
"Wha...?" Wagner was lost.
As the kicked up dust began to settle, he saw the cause. Eadwig had a metal wall that held itself firmly to the ground. The mace damaged it heavily, but it held.
"This little tool is a simple alchemist toy I bought on the cheap. Through my connections with the merchant's guild, I find all sorts of things." Eadwig revealed.
"Connections with the merchant's guild? Traitor!" Wagner focused on only the most petty of the information.
"Yes, the merchant's guild. Trade isn't conquest. Rarely are there pure enemies and there are never pure allies. The merchant's guild simply wants trade, as do I. Better to work with them for greater profit than wish to be the one on top of a considerably smaller market." Eadwig explained his thought process.
Wagner just shook his head, he felt that his son was a failure.
"This is one example of wit beating power... Shall I show you another? Now!" Eadwig shouted.
A number of mercenaries came down with their blades and pinned Wagner's chain to the ground. Needless to say, he was furious.
"You damned fools! I'm the one paying you, not him!"
"You're willing to die as a proud warrior, but these men only fought for coin. I've guaranteed their payment with my inheritance. It would be obvious who they'd choose to serve, given the two of us. That's always been another of your problems... You fail to see what other people want. Caring only about what you want while ignoring the desires of others leaves you unable to do business. You can't exploit or align the desires of people, you are a terrible businessman." Eadwig stated.
He recalled his wall and began to run at his father. With Wagner's weapon seemingly secure, he began chanting. Wagner surprised the mercenaries by grabbing the chain with both hands and pulling his weapon with all his might. The mercenaries' weapons snapped as the mace broke free. Wagner ran at his son, ready to catch his weapon and strike. Eadwig was panicking, but kept it together. He saw his father's hand position itself to catch his weapon, he used that to know where to dodge.
Wagner caught his weapon, but the force of his returning weapon delayed his swing long enough for Eadwig to reach out and place his hand on his father's armor.
[Zweite Ardent Alloy]
Wagner's armor became uncomfortably warm, not hot enough to burn. Eadwig dodged the following attack by running behind his father's open side as the weapon swung. It crashed into the ground and Eadwig felt that his father truly went for the kill.
"That was it? You wasted cowardly tricks and all you got to show for it is that I'm sweating? Why even use that curse? You're terrible at them, you know that." Wagner questioned.
Eadwig returned to a decent distance and regrouped with more mercenaries.
"A single attack does get me closer to beating you, but you are a substantial challenge. It seems more prudent to adopt an investment strategy that will see success in the long term." Eadwig answered matter-of-factly.
The mercenaries huddled near Eadwig, awaiting further orders.
"...When did you even convince these men to betray me?" Wagner now thought to ask.
"...You must be joking. While you got into arguments with your buddies, I maintained our primary contribution to the war effort, our men. I learned their names and skills and organized our internal leadership. I decided who was in charge of who and what orders were handed out. I had all the time in the world to win them over." Eadwig answered.
Eadwig used a series of hand motions to communicate with his men that one of them taught him. They were able to form a new plan on the spot without Wagner knowing what it was.
"So, it was to be betrayal from the start?" Wagner asked, fuming.
Eadwig used [Fast Kindle] to instantly burn all the grass near in a decent area to create smoke.
"I only betray you because the queen is here and that means we lose. I had no intention of betraying you until Monica's life was on the line." Eadwig informed his father.
Wagner didn't blow the smoke away immediately because he could tell his son hadn't moved yet from his voice.
"You've proven yourself to be a snake and a coward, why would I believe you?" Wagner asked.
"Because I gain nothing from lying, either way I have to kill you and present it to the queen. So, when I say that I would have died under your orders, I meant it." Eadwig answered.
Wagner thought for a moment then began chanting.
[Zweite Air Sickles]
All the smoke blew away as invisible blades struck Eadwig's portable wall. The wall was still together after the fact, but barely. It'd not withstand another attack. Wagner had an issue, though. Eadwig was behind his wall, but his mercenaries were not. They ran to the sides, wide, then came at him from both sides. Wagner chanted as fast as he could.
[Zweite Torrential Force]
Wagner was once again safe behind his barrier, but he began to become concerned. The mercenaries only backed off a bit and surrounded him completely. Eadwig retrieved his portable wall and moved forward as well. One hand signal from Eadwig and a mercenary was chanting.
"Ha, try as you may, this wall of wind shields me, even from other magic." Wagner explained.
He was proven to be not entirely correct in his previous statement.
[Fast Sinkhole]
The ground beneath Wagner sank nearly ten feet. He had to catch himself with his arms to keep from falling in, which meant his weapon stopped spinning, which meant his wind wall fell. Even before the spell ended, Eadwig found the first hole opening and slipped through. He came from his father's side as he was pulling himself out of the hole. Wagner didn't hear his movements, but heard the chanting. He blindly swung his weapon in Eadwig's direction, who dodged as only the chain was to hit him.
[Zweite Ardent Alloy]
Eadwig closed the distance and touched his father again. Now the heat was harmful, but Wagner had the stats and strength of spirit to not let it show. As quickly as he approached, he ran, wanting to avoid his father's retaliation. Wagner's anger was growing. He pulled himself from the hole and went to launch his weapon at his son, but something hit him, or more accurately 'fell'. The portable deploy-able wall that Eadwig used was of no further use, so he threw it above his father and transformed it to its large and heavy form. It dealt no damage, but it distracted Wagner when he needed it most.
Again, Eadwig met up with his mercenaries, the former bandit boss now among them.
"A spell of the lowest tier and throwing junk? That's what you have left?" Wagner sounded disappointed
Eadwig answered his father clearly, but to the surprise of the mercenaries, he also gave them their next order with his hands. He was having two completely different conversations at the same time with no issue.
"Diversifying one's portfolio is important. Not only does it avoid a market crash, since you didn't put all of your eggs in one basket, but it also means you can re-prioritize and restructure to take from areas that don't need it to further prop up a market that is beginning to boom." Eadwig answered.
Wagner ignored the feat or didn't notice.
"Stop speaking of war as business!" Wagner complained.
"No. Everythi-Almost everything is business." Eadwig corrected himself.
Eadwig took out three small metal balls and charged them with mana before throwing them at his father. Wagner answered in kind, throwing his weapon at them. On contact, the three balls exploded, knocking Wagner's weapon away.
"Faubrey bombs? And it gained you nothing. How much money did you spend to match a single swing of mine?"
"Only 6 gold in total, but I've now seen the finish line." Eadwig informed him.
Eadwig and seven of his men ran in, but a few stayed behind. The next few minutes was a series of baiting and dodging. Neither Eadwig nor his men even tried to attack him. Even with great coordination and solid tactics, Wagner killed three of the mercenaries in that time. It was after the third one was killed that Wagner spoke of his displeasure.
"You're out of tricks. No more toys, your men are being whittled down, the armor is a bit painful, but the damage is so too little to matter. You've always been a clever boy, you know this won't gain you anything." Wagner told him.
Eadwig went to give a long winded response to buy time, but far behind his father, a hand came from the ground with a thumbs-up. Eadwig failed to hide his smile. He rushed his father directly and so did his mercenaries.
"Finally, the fight. All five seconds of it!" Wagner swept widely with his weapon, but hit none of them.
They all hopped into holes created by two of the other mercenaries. Not only were these holes ten feet deep, but they all connected to at least one other hole via a tunnel. Wagner could destroy the holes, but it's a slow process. It also undermines Wagner's wind magic.
Wagner looked down at the hole he discovered and lost it.
"Of course! Always the coward! Dammit! Stop running and fight me!" Wagner was angry.
Eadwig would describe it as blinding anger, which was good. Eadwig began chanting as Wagner began crushing entrances. However, he'd not seen the one that mattered.
Eadwig finished his chant and he moved the damaged portable wall, revealing they purposely placed a hole underneath it. He reached for his father and for a third time-
[Zweite Ardent Alloy]
Wagner was not caught off guard, but the pain was too much for him to ignore now. His skin was fusing to the armor as he yelled out in pain. The pain was enough to resign an ordinary man, but Wagner was not an ordinary man. To Eadwig's surprise, his father swung at him again. He grabbed what remained of the wall, but it was shattered by the following blow and Eadwig was sent flying. When he landed, he looked for the closest hole, but saw none.
His father's weapon came again, but a series of well-timed spells struck the mace head, sending it off course a few feet. The mercenaries would do what they could to protect the one that was going to pay them.
Eadwig surprised everyone by grabbing onto the downed weapon. Most of them thought he was crazy, Wagner voiced their thoughts.
"Multiple mercenaries couldn't bind my weapon, boy. You think you can?" Wagner taunted.
"I'm not going to hold it back." Eadwig clarified, as he began to chant.
"Going to heat my weapon too? Not going to happen." Wagner thought as he pulled his weapon back to him.
To his surprise, Eadwig held on and was pulled back with the weapon. Before reaching him, Eadwig jumped off and touched his father. He was quite pleased with himself.
"Dammit!" Wagner thought.
[Zweite Ardent Alloy]
For a fourth time, his armor was heated and now it was glowing bright red. Wagner couldn't contain his screams or focus at all. His returning weapon smashed into him and knocked him down, only increasing the screams.
Wagner would not stand again, Eadwig won.
He wasn't done yet, though.
"Sword!" He demanded.
Most of the mercenaries were confused, but the former bandit leader understood. He let Eadwig borrow his blade. Eadwig used [Zweite Ardent Alloy] on the weapon and went to his father, to end his suffering. He readied the blade with a little trembling.
"Goodbye, father."
He then struck his father's neck twice to decapitate him and end his father's pain and maybe soften his own guilt.
"..." He sat there a moment, before handing the man back his sword and giving his next order aloud.
"Now that I have my father's head as proof for the queen, we turn traitor. Kill the church members and all who defend them!" Eadwig commanded.
...
Liviccic vs Grimwald
...
Grimwald grabbed two bottles of poison with her left hand and a dagger with her right. She seemed to not be intimidated in the least. Liviccic chalked that up to her 40 elite knights. Liviccic was looking forward to having 80 more minions, counting the tyrella he'd kill and make his. He eyed them all. They were all amazing men and women, level 35 seemed to be the norm, which put his general knight level of 26 to shame. He wished to end this quickly, so he started by using something they hadn't yet seen. Something only usable now because Leon pushed Ren.
The Soul Eater appeared from below Liviccic with an already charged green blast and fired it at the men. With a loud explosion, they went flying. Liviccic and the Skull Captain moved forward, ignoring the carnage. Many men recovered or were not hit by the Soul Eater, most of them rushed Liviccic.
He could use [Rancor] and mow them all down, but he'd wait. He moved back and forth with his Skull Captain, fighting the fools. They were not expecting his physical abilities, as he swatted them away and some off their mounts. He wanted to kill Grimwald and be done with it, but he'd show his power to these people and give them a chance to surrender. If he just killed the lot of them, Melromarc would be at a major loss.
He would use [Vile] on multiple tyrella, killing them on contact. After swatting away most of them and showing some strength, they seemed to understand the problem and turned to Grimwald as she walked closer, casually. Her relaxed nature helped reassure her men.
"You are indeed strong. I see your father in you..., however, overt strength will fall to the subtle." Grimwald warned.
She opened one of the bottles and dipped her blade in it, she then threw the other bottle at Liviccic and then threw her blade. As if practiced to perfection, the knife reached and cut the small moving bottle. The moment the two compounds met, they exploded.
Liviccic took a step back and let the Skull Captain take the lead for a moment. With his stats, the poison would not be immediate, but his father fell to the same witch's brew. The point was made for him when the Skull Captain began to take heavy damage. It happened so fast that he was dead in seconds, turned to liquid. The poison was actually an acid, one that worked well on bones. Losing the Skull Captain was a serious loss in the short term, but better than Liviccic's armor.
Besides, the Skull Captain was a lower level than some of the soon-to-be-dead lords they were fighting.
Liviccic just realized that Grimwald was chanting, but at a whisper. Normally that shouldn't be doable, but she seemed to do just that.
[Zweite Pestilence Haze]
She released a reddish brown mist that began to cover a glowing area. Liviccic had already been gaining distance from the moment he heard her whispering. He had to keep retreating for 20 yards to avoid the mist. He wanted to believe he was strong enough to simply run on through the mist, but even with all the power he had now, he had to remember that she killed his father.
He had a skewed memory of the man, he was powerful, level 65, a higher level than Averill. Even beyond that, he looked up to the man and he felt he was nowhere near as powerful as him. The truth was that he was already stronger in many ways. His father had a normal class upgrade of about 30% increase, so even at level 46, Liviccic was stronger. He didn't have the martial prowess, leadership abilities and other learned skills, he believed he was inferior in all ways. It led to a more defensive fight than was necessary.
The mist hit three of Grimwald's own elite men and they were brought to their knees in short order, but they weren't going to die. Liviccic took this to mean that her poison spells were far weaker to her specifically prepared concoctions.
He had the Soul Eater fire another shot of its blasts, aiming at more tyrella mounts. The wind from the shockwave dispersed the poison in the air.
"Just throwing power around? It won't lead to my defeat." Grimwald chastised.
"I have dozens of ways to beat you. I just want your elite guard to live. You poison them as casually as you poison anyone else. All I need to do is demonstrate my strength and treat them better than you and I may be able to spare them." Liviccic answered loud enough for many of the guards to hear him.
"So proud and dumb. Announce your plan to your enemy and hope the-" Grimwald went to insult Liviccic more, but she was attacked from behind.
Liviccic had used [Revive] on a dead tyrella mount and had it sneak behind Grimwald and bite her arm. With her stuck in place, the Soul Eater began to charge a blast aiming for her. She used her free arm to throw a dart into one of her elite's neck.
"You'll die if I don't give you the antidote. Block the attack and maybe live, otherwise die for sure!" Grimwald explained.
The man was frightened, but ultimately ran in front of her and took the attack. The blast kicked up dust as always. As it settled, Grimwald was fine and the man was nearly dead. The blast also sent the zombie tyrella several yards away. She looked down on him a moment and sighed.
"Well, you survived, but by only a little bit. My poison will kill you before the antidote will kick in..." She gave him the antidote anyway. "Here, I kept my word."
"P-Pot...tion" The man struggled to beg.
"Hmm? I only have a few, sorry." Grimwald told him.
Liviccic used [Seeking Skulls] and ran at Grimwald with the Soul Eater by his side. She saw the sudden change in tactics and began retreating herself. She had numerous traps and tricks to use on the strong, but was disappointed when Liviccic stopped advancing when he reached the downed man. He handed the man a potion while never taking his eyes off Grimwald.
"Drink and live, stand against me ever again and you'll be worse than dead." Liviccic told the man.
Grimwald saw that her playfulness and Liviccic's genuineness may lead to a mutiny if she continues to not keep track of herself.
"How generous, but now you and your pet are together, surrounded by my men. That thing can't hit them all." Grimwald announced.
Some men had considered Liviccic's words, but he was a kid and he was surrounded. They didn't feel like they were in better hands heeding him just because his pet monster was more dangerous than most.
"I'm tired of this." Liviccic snapped his fingers and in a flash, the elite guard were being attacked by new enemies.
"What are they?" Grimwald asked in horror as strange creatures covered in fur began attacking her men.
"A wave monster called a 'Skin Walker'. They have the odd ability of gaining stats and abilities based on the fur or skin they wear. I acquired them when I fought alongside the shield hero in the last wave. Briarhaven has a rich history of hunting, being able to empower my minions by simply draping them in the pelts of our finest quality made them the obvious choice... Your men should still be able to win given their talent, but by the time that happens, you'll be dead." Liviccic told her.
Grimwald was reeling from that. She knew he had some odd abilities, but to have a force he is willing to throw away that is just slightly weaker than her own previous force was terrifying. The news of Liviccic knowing the shield hero prior was also not lost on her. She lost her confidence and asked a single question.
"How can you do these things...?" She was lost.
Liviccic locked eyes with her, then looked through her, like she was nothing.
"You can kill a man, leaving him lifeless and useless... I can do so much more..." Liviccic whispered loud enough for her to hear it.
Grimwald collected herself.
"I admit I thought you would be as straightforward as your father. Perhaps it's time I was the straightforward one." Grimwald thought aloud.
She pulled out a needle and syringe.
"Do you think I'll let you get me with that?" Liviccic asked.
"It's not for you." Grimwald clarified, as she injected the solution into herself. "This is a poison that kills the victim by forcing the body to utilize its mana as much as possible. It grants incredibly physical enhancements by burning through your mana, once done, you die... Of course, I'll have killed you and given myself the antidote before it reaches that point." Grimwald informed him.
Just as she finished speaking, the poison began to work, as waves of mana swirled around her. She felt way stronger, maybe even stronger than Liviccic, but he had more going for him than she had going for her. The two engaged physically and a few things became clear. Her knife-work was top notch and Liviccic already had six wounds to prove it, and the second thing was that she was superior to him, even with the bones, if barely.
Liviccic sent the skulls forth to give him distance and knock up smoke as he pulled another trick. He had only a moment to pull it off, before Grimwald shot through the smoke and struck him again. This time, though, he blocked and with ease. Grimwald was dumbfounded. He somehow gained physical abilities in ten seconds or so that placed him above her again.
"How!? You shouldn't be able to match this! That's ridiculous."
"When you spoke about how no one could beat you with overt power, I took that to mean you would undermine their strength, but here you are, using overt strength. I guess trying to get your men to mutiny forced you to step up..." Liviccic answered calmly.
He pushed her back several feet, then revealed how he once again overpowered her. He had the Soul Eater possess his body to provide further strength from his shadow. He revealed it by having it once again separate from him and fire a pre-charged blast at Grimwald while she was still being thrown back. She was hit and shot further away. Liviccic hoped that this was enough of an injury to even the playing field because he needed the Soul Eater to face the Elites that stayed loyal.
As soon as the Soul Eater went to leave, Grimwald was already on top of Liviccic again. She injected them both with something, then Liviccic grabbed both of her arms and held her there.
"It's over. I gave myself the antidote, all of it. I gave you the rest of my mana burn poison. You will die regardless of what you do!" Grimwald revealed with a wicked smile.
"...Sorry to ruin your big moment, but I don't have mana." Liviccic revealed with a deadpan look.
She stared blankly at him, not believing him for a second. Everyone had mana, it was common sense. As the seconds went by and the mana burn never started, she began to accept the truth more and more.
Liviccic freed the eight sets of skeletal arms from his sleeves and had them collectively hold Grimwald in place. 16 arms all holding her still. He then casually pulled out a syringe of his own.
"You know I'm quite resistant to poisons?" Grimwald mocked.
"After I inject this, feel free to even take any antidotes you have, it won't matter." Liviccic answered emotionlessly.
"You believe you can make a poison I can't cure?" Grimwald was insulted and curious.
Liviccic injected the poison while explaining it.
"This is the venom of a living legend, a white widow. Not only that, she was raised by the whip hero from around 100 years ago and has risen to the monster status of royalty. I then used my own methods to place a curse within it as well... Good luck." Liviccic explained.
After injecting her with the contents, he threw her several feet and waited. She picked herself up and she began to pull out a series of tools and potions to create a cure.
"Revealing it was a venom and not a poison was foolish." She remarked, but she could feel the pain building.
She injected one cure then began working on a second one before she could feel if it worked. She felt the first help a moment, but not for long. Next, she drank something, but again the pain lowered for only a moment. She began to feel the pain more and more as she scrambled through her kits. She even drank a very powerful all-purpose heal that took her a week to make... it worked well, but gave only temporary relief.
Liviccic half watched her struggle, half watched her men watching her. He took this moment to speak to them.
"You can all still live, your lady is nothing special. Certainly no one worth dying for. She is a supposed expert in poisons and yet I beat her at her own game on my first try. Surrender a-" Liviccic was speaking formally.
"I'm not beaten! I-" Grimwald interrupted.
"The dead should be silent!" Liviccic interrupted back.
She flinched at that and kept trying to save herself. Her supplies were running low, her vision was blurring and her muscles were starting to become paralyzed.
She knew it, she was going to die.
"Looks like I have a lot to tell your father on the other side..." Grimwald said as she gave up.
"An apology is among those things?" Liviccic inquired.
"Of course... not..." She was growing too tired to speak.
"Then you won't be seeing him at all." Liviccic told her, his own wicked smile forming.
She was confused by this statement.
"Does he have a specific anti-venom? Will he save me, just so he can torture me?" She thought, but couldn't ask.
"You seem confused, so let me explain. This monster here is called a Soul Eater... You can probably guess why." Liviccic disclosed to her.
She couldn't scream, only her eyes could express her existential dread. She wanted to promise that she'd apologize, but she couldn't speak. She was doomed and could only let a few tears out to express all that she felt.
As the cursed venom killed her, the Soul Eater drank her essence. Liviccic didn't watch, his eyes were on the elite guard, who looked terrified. By showing them a fate worse than death, their will was broken.
They surrendered.
...
Averill vs Kurtis' group
...
Averill took in the small group of ten, he was hoping for more, but they seemed varied enough to be fun before he went to fight Monti again. He took note of Godiva immediately. The fact that she was a fist fighter was a bonus, but the way she moved told him she was the fun to be had here.
"So you will be my entertainment until I can fight that wave boss?" Averill asked.
"Oh, Monti Iwatani? Sorry, but the savior's children will not need to bother with you. I-We will prove more than adequate." Kurtis said, the rest of them preparing themselves.
His words piqued his interest.
"Oh? You know that beast? Then you should know that all of you combined are horribly weaker than he is... Let me explain the difference in strength between those of us at the top like that 'Monti' and the lot of you." Averill gained a wicked smile.
He flew at them with speed that simply didn't match his size. They were thrown off by this and it cost them dearly. He looked at the rabble before him and chose the one he felt would be the least fun to fight, he chose Cassian. In one clean motion, he struck him with the open palm of his good arm and simply pushed Cassian's head and neck off of his shoulders, decapitating him.
"Cass!" Clement screamed.
Averill turned to the others with a smile. His size, speed, strength and disposition left them all in fear.
"Do you get it now? Some fools that aren't even half my level should know their place." Averill threatened.
While most of them were trembling, Wallace and Edmund acted. Edmund began to cast a spell while Wallace raised his shield to protect him. Averill made no move to challenge them.
"I'll let him finish." Averill said, as if he was entertaining a child.
[Zweite Strength Bind]
His existing chains sprang to life with his spell and shot off to bind Averill's good arm. Averill let it happen, if anything, he was pleased. The chain wrapped around his arm and weakened that limb by a large amount.
"Thank you. Now with both my arms like this, I might have a bit of fun from you lot." He answered, looking at the group. Kurtis saw he was eyeing them to determine his next victim.
"Swarm him!" He ordered.
His voice held an authority that got the others moving again. Clement threw her boomerang with everything she had and it was the first to reach him, damaging only barely, even with wind magic surrounding it. Godiva and Beatrix were the first to reach him. They both tried pelting him in blows, but he swatted at them and forced them to disengage for a moment. The rest came after that, Severin coming down with his greatsword seemed to do the most, then Sigrid swinging her quarterstaff with an axe head formed out of ice. Kurtis and Wallace came in to defend them, staving off his retaliation.
He was taking it easy, sure they damaged him and he was still wounded from Monti, but he doubted these weaklings could do much. He took his time settling on a second target. He heard Edmund begin to cast another binding spell, this one to cut his hearing. He was hoping to leave the mage for now, but hearing was important. For example, he heard Clement's weapon returning to her. It was going to hit him again, but he decided to deal with the last of the un-fun ones together.
He caught Clement's weapon without looking and threw it at Edmund.
"No!" Clement screamed.
She was able to use her existing magic to veer it off course and spare Edmund death. This was a surprise to Averill, who seemed genuinely upset.
"Stupid fucking weapons. All these toys, doing weird shit!" Averill complained.
Averill blew past Kurtis and went to grab Clement, Wallace was not as easily moved and Kurtis recovered soon enough and assisted further in holding the man off.
"My, my, that's a hearty defense..., but can it handle this?" Averill asked rhetorically.
He brought both arms to his sides and fire magic began to swell. Something strong was coming, injuries and bindings be damned.
"You can't block that! Dodge!" Mia recognized that and screamed to her friends.
They knew that Mia would know best, but Wallace wasn't fast enough in his heavy armor.
[Flame's Maw]
His arms came together as his fingers formed teeth and his hands formed jaws. Fire formed into those shapes and they met in Wallace's guts, breaking past his shield, his armor and his flesh. He pulled back a moment and eyed his work.
"I felt a lot of resistance there, good job." Averill offered.
Wallace was in disbelief. He was going to die from a single attack. He wasted no time on self-pity or fear of the hereafter. He only glanced at Kurtis and tossed his damaged shield to him. It had two large gashes out of it which resulted in it now looking more like a Greek Achilles shield. Kurtis picked it up quickly.
"See this through." Was Wallace's last words before collapsing, dead.
"..." They were, again, shocked.
"Bastard!" Godiva mimicked Averill's own move with lightning and struck him hard in the stomach.
Averill was amazed she was able to copy him in a single showing, but he saw no mistakes in her movement or mana. He slid a few feet back and laughed through the pain.
"I definitely found a good toy, but the rabble needs to be curbed." Averill announced.
The others were converging on him again, but before they could reach him, he stomped the ground with everything he had. The shaking caused them to slow their advance, but that wasn't the purpose. The stomp caused several rocks to be knocked into the air. He struck them as they rose and fell, launching them at Edmund and Clement who was near him, retrieving her weapon. The pelting of rocks were beyond painful, but none were a killing blow.
The others reached him again and there was an exchange of blows. Averill wanted to play with them more, but he really needed to take care of the un-fun one first.
[Phoenix's Flight]
In the middle of the fighting, Averill jumped incredibly high, propelling himself further with fire. He began to descend on the pair in the back and they knew they were dead. Edmund threw himself on top of Clement, who in turn placed her weapon over both of them.
It didn't matter.
His fist broke through the weapon and pierced both of his targets, killing them.
The others stared in fear and anger. Four of their allies were dead and there was still a long way to go before they could win. They all knew they were likely to die, that they were likely to all be killed without taking him down. Mia was more of a mess than any of them. She thought they could win as a group, but she was wrong and it has now cost four people their lives.
Averill was surprised to see Edmund's spell didn't fade, but instead strengthened to a curse. A dying man's last offer of help to those left alive. Averill was fine with it for now, he'd get a cleric to remove it later. He used another [Phoenix's Flight] to move back between his foes and renew the fight.
For them, it was a fight to survive and to take revenge for those he killed, but for him it was simply a man indulging himself in the juvenile fun of his youth. The facial expressions on the combatants painted the whole picture.
As the fight continued, Averill knew he'd need to pick off another fighter or two to keep the damage he took down enough that he could make it last longer, but he was wondering who to pick. After a moment of thinking it over, he decided Severin would be the next to go. His greatsword didn't do that much damage, but it was the most after Godiva, so he had to go.
He took one of the gourds that was hanging from his waist and struck Severin with it in his open palm, covering him in alcohol. The strong smell alerted everyone of what was about to happen. Kurtis was freaking out. One of his two closest friends was dead, Wallace, and now his other was going to die. He couldn't think straight.
Sigrid had an answer, though.
[Zweite Ice Sculpture: Fullplate]
She attempted to surround Severin's armor in even more armor made of ice, it would protect him... if it formed. The spell was the hardest spell she could pull off, but it was a failure this time. That was because alcohol had a vastly lower freezing temperature and it interfered.
Averill struck Severin and sent him several feet back and, as predicted, he was now on fire. He screamed and his cries rattled them all further. They were about to break when he stopped. They thought he was dead, but he wasn't. He stood while burning alive and ran at Averill. He couldn't see, but he was right on target. Averill was impressed with his moxie and let the hit land. After the blow landed, there was a pause.
"Well done." Averill offered before striking him again.
They spared a moment before they renewed.
"I'll take the lead." Godiva offered.
"No I will." Kurtis argued.
"I'm stronger!" Godiva argued back.
"I brought us here, it's all my fault."
"..." Godiva wanted to disagree, but she knew he was to blame, even if she'd never blame him.
Beatrix and Sigrid exchanged looks and they wondered how to win, or if they even could. Their foe was old and bloodied, but seemed like he'd never go down. They re-engaged, as Kurtis lead the assault. Averill took his time playing with Godiva, but made sure to attack the others every so often. After a bit more, Beatrix and Godiva broke off to take a potion, something that pissed Averill off.
"I'm doing my best to tolerate the weapons, but now potions!?" Averill complained as he allowed the other to get free hits on him while moving to the offenders.
He was still fast and it happened quickly. He went for Beatrix first and came down on her with killing intent. Her rapier was of a higher quality and stabbed right through the man, but the wound was too small for him to care. He tossed her sword to the side as he crushed her chest in his hands. Godiva had finished her potion and began hitting Averill with everything she had.
It hurt, but he finished her off without letting go. Beatrix's family was once a lesser house that served Averill's, but no longer and never again. Six were dead, four remained. Kurtis ran up behind Averill and placed his partisan around his neck and pulled back.
"Run! We can't do this! I don't want any more of you to die! Leave me!" Kurtis yelled.
The only one who seriously considered running was Mia, but the shame made her change her mind immediately. Godiva would follow Kurtis anywhere, even to the grave. Sigrid didn't bother considering it because they'd never escape.
Averill was tired of weapons and just wanted to fight Godiva some more. He grabbed Kurtis' partisan and snapped it in two, then wrestled both pieces from his grasp. Godiva saw what was happening and went off, lightning mana pouring out of her as she went to hit Averill with a hit he thought was decent. He dodged back, letting her fly past him. He then drove both sections of his own weapon into Kurtis, past Wallace's shield.
Kurtis slowly lowered himself to the ground.
"Did I do it? Did I make it back to being a good man before... before the end?" Kurtis' breathing slowed and then stopped.
Godiva heard them, Kurtis's final words. She never recovered from her fall after missing. She laid there, face down in the dirt, her mind too scattered for anything coherent to pass through it.
Sigrid saw this and rushed to Mia.
"Are we running?" Mia asked.
"We wouldn't make it." Sigrid responded honestly.
"Then we die" Mia resigned herself.
"We just need to think of something and-" Sigrid tried arguing, but was interrupted by Mia.
"All I can do is combine items! I can't do anything!" Mia screamed.
Sigrid slapped Mia as hard as she could, Mia was stunned.
"If all you can do is combine items... then make them count." Sigrid echoed old advice back to the person who gave it to her.
"..." Mia started to think and after a moment she got up and ran, gathering several items from her dead friends.
Sigrid went to go to Godiva's side, to convince her to fight, but it was unnecessary. A bolt of lightning came down and struck Godiva. After the flash was gone, she was standing and facing her foe.
"That look in your eye, it's perfect. While not nearly as strong, you might be more fun than that 'Monti' will be." Averill complimented.
Godiva said nothing as she met Averill somewhere between their starting positions. Sigrid gave Godiva armor when needed, but otherwise couldn't help her win. Averill approved of this, it wasn't annoying and only made the fight last longer.
As they kept going, Averill would use a technique, then give her a good chance for her to use it on him. He was improving her abilities in the fight, wanting an ever more entertaining bout. Godiva didn't seem to notice this and if she did, she didn't care.
Everything came to a head when Sigrid ran out of mana just as Mia reached her and showed her what she made. Sigrid only stared a moment before snatching it out of Mia's hands and running back into the fight. Mia was angry and scared, because she understood what was going to happen.
Averill and Godiva's battle was winding down now. Even with a mangled arm, a cursed arm, several wounds and fighting barehanded against Godiva, who used weaponized gauntlets... the winner was becoming clear. Godiva was beaten and unconscious, but still standing and even responding on instinct to a point.
Averill had some words for the defeated.
"That might be the most fun I've had in ten years. I thank you for the thrill." He offered.
"..." Godiva was unconscious and couldn't respond.
Stab!
Averill looked down to see that Sigrid had stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. He grabbed her and began to crush her.
"Weak. Weapons are for those without claws or fangs. No matter how strong they are, they will never conquer my flesh. My body stands supreme. Did you really think your little knife would do me in when none of these fools could?" Averill asked while crushing her.
"It's... not..." Sigrid struggled through the blood filling her throat.
"Hmm, what's that?" Averill asked playfully.
"It's not my knife... It was Cass'... and now... It's Mia's." Sigrid finished as she triggered the weapon.
The knife was a combination of Cassian's knife, Severin's greatsword and Beatrix's rapier. Beatrix's rapier was used to give them the cutting power while Cassian's knife and Severin's greatsword served as forms.
The knife transformed into a greatsword and, based on the angle of the stab wound, it meant that the blade reached all the way from his stomach to his heart. He was beaten purely by the power of a weapon.
He stared at the wound, felt it a moment. He then looked up to see Mia approaching.
"For a toy... that was pretty neat." Averill offered.
He slumped over, Edmund's curse weakened his heart beat faster, quickening his death.
Mia ignored him and went to Sigrid, who was beyond healing, a mangled mess from Averill crushing her.
"Siggy..." Mia whispered, crying.
"It's fine. I was finally useful when I saved you... We all have something we can do and my part is over... a lot of our parts are over..." She looked at her dead friends. "But you and Godiva have more to do... a lot more... I can't wait to hear all about it..." Sigrid finished.
Mia held what was left of Sigrid in her arms and cried until all the fighting died down.
Until she received medical attention, Godiva stood firmly, still unconscious.
...
Lord Langiva vs Queen Mirellia
...
Langiva kept himself boosted with [Lightning Speed], as he barreled through Mirellia's forces easily enough. He didn't kill unnecessarily, wanting to reach the queen as soon as possible. He ran straight through carts and men that would slow him down. He was going for speed, not stealth, he wanted her to see him coming. He thought she'd meet him in the field. If for no other reason than to show her strength in doing her part in stopping this coup on all levels.
The queen saw this as he planned and went to meet him. Those around her, her shadows and Van told her not to. She ignored them. She was confident she could beat her opponent, but beyond that, she wanted to ask Langiva some questions. Ake had joined the others, but a shadow was already going to fetch him. He was level 40 from Tyrant Rex and that meant he was the highest level on their side of the assault after the queen.
Langiva removed his buff and slid into a stop as he spotted his target right in front of him. The queen was standing near a large stone at a slightly uphill elevation, a thick sheet of ice working as a barrier. Langiva was disappointed if Mirellia thought he wouldn't break that in a single hit.
"Hello, Bors. I'd like to speak to you before we do something foolish." The queen greeted him warmly. If it was fake, no one could tell.
"I don't have the time to speak to you, Mirellia. Let's just do this." Langiva answered. Saying her name and not 'my queen' should be enough, he thought.
"Then I will be brief... Why? You do not desire war, you don't enjoy killing... You don't own demi-human slaves or haven't shown signs for holding them in a lower regard... So, for what reason did you turn on me? On your country?" Mirellia was far from an ice queen while asking, she was confused and let her emotions show freely.
"...You're right. I don't do this for pleasure nor prejudice. I do this because if I don't, Melromarc is doomed." Langiva finished and exploded at her.
The queen began to chant, but she'd never finish before he struck. His glaive took a wide arc with his left arm and tore through the wall even easier than he thought. Only after he did so, did he see his blunder.
He didn't hit the queen, because she wasn't there. The wall was at an angle and not as thick as he originally believed. Its polished surface was being used as a mirror to trick Langiva while the real Mirellia was near the large rock. He heard her voice now coming from his right side as she went to stab him.
[Drifa Permafrost]
Langiva had no choice. His glaive and left arm would not be able to intercept it in time. He shocked Mirellia by catching her knife with his right hand. The spell did what they both knew it would. His entire right arm was frozen solid, all the way to the shoulder. She quickly retrieved her dagger and Langiva lamented that he was caught by such a trap.
He was now down an arm. He uses a two-handed weapon, now his attacks and follow-ups were going to be subpar. He'd still outperform her physically.
"Your arm is not beyond saving. Surrender. I need to keep as many greater lords as possible." Mirellia offered.
"You'd suffer a traitor!? I knew it!" Langiva lost his temper and made a foolish move.
He surprised them both by sucker punching the queen in the face with everything he had. Doing so shattered his frozen flesh from his bone and left his arm beyond any point of repair. The queen didn't think he'd act like this and scrambled to her filolial that raced to her. Langiva was in too much pain to pursue at the moment, but kept yelling.
"That is why I did it! This country has become weak! The man I admired most of all has become a complete joke. Outplayed by someone as simple as Balmus and even worse, his own daughters. The only woman I ever bowed to has become so desperate for allies that she would suffer a traitor, I was right to turn on you! This country is doomed!" Langiva screamed, partially in anger, partially in pain.
The queen reached her filolial and mounted it before re-engaging him in a conversation.
"I understand your frustrations, but I have returned and the church will fall. If nothing else, think of your daughter! If you die a traitor here, she dies too." Mirellia warned.
Langiva began to overcome his pain as he locked eyes with his former ruler.
"Oh please. The staff hero became a sack of shit with your useless ass right by his side, Balmus undermined you for years and you refused to deal with him until it was too late, and my daughter is already in Zeltoble. Either I win and she comes back or you win, but she is out of your reach. Unlike you, I protect what's mine." Langiva countered.
Langiva started to walk towards the queen, confident that he was faster than her mount. She soon put that to the test as the two began to fly across the hillside, between and around lesser skirmishes. Her majesty's mount was a worthy one, but Langiva kept pace with it with every step. He eventually got tired of the game, seeing the point was to exhaust him. He used [Lightning Speed] again and blitzed the pair. He landed two strong kicks on the bird before bringing his glaive down for a killing blow.
The filolial caught the weapon in its beak and was able to soften the blow considerably. The filolial was bleeding from its beak, mouth, and upper neck, but survived. It tried to use its talons to strike back, but Mirellia had to pull her mount back. Langiva was slowed by being down an arm, but would take a hit to take her filolial's leg.
"Too afraid to attack? Is that the queen Melromarc remembers? Is that the queen that Melromarc deserves?" Langiva taunted.
The queen would not respond to taunts, he knew that. She had several ways to set up winning conditions from here, but she needed Langiva to make a move first. She'd get just that. Langiva stabbed his weapon into the ground while he chanted. The queen knew the spell and directed her mount to flee.
[Zweite Storm Canvas]
The whole area became electrified around the glaive, not bothering Langiva in the slightest. Mirellia was able to direct her mount to the large rock she hid behind before. From atop it, they were spared the lightning. Mirellia was now thinking and began to speak to Langiva for more information.
"You speak of a war with certainty. Are you aware of any such forces? Which nation would dare?" The queen asked.
Mirellia needed all the information now, because Langiva, while not unbeatable, was not likely going to give her the luxury of going easy on him. She'd have to go for the kill. Langiva answered, because of reasons that the queen didn't know yet.
"Who knows, it might be Siltvelt again, maybe Faubrey, or god help us, Q'ten Lo. Regardless of the foe, Melromarc needs strength. We have the means to be the greatest force in the world and yet we wander around in the dark, guideless. Gaelion is dead, the church betrayed the crown, the staff hero became so pathetic that his own 10-year-old daughter locked him up. This country should be overflowing with power and all of its power is either dying out or being turned on itself." Langiva answered promptly.
The queen had her plan now. She'd try again.
"And if I were to rededicate myself to empowering Melromarc? Focus on gathering and maintaining strength wherever possible? Would you yield?" Mirellia asked.
Langiva let out a laugh.
"Only a fool would take your word! You're the reason it has become so bad. You have that silver tongue that has solved countless issues, but your gift with negotiations has left you blind to power and what it can achieve. Not every enemy can be negotiated with, take the waves as the ultimate example. No policy or promise will solve them, only boots on the ground." Langiva finished, staring a hole through the queen.
The queen raised her hands and began to waste an enormous amount of mana to begin spamming [Zweite Icicle Prison]. The first few caused him to dodge backwards, every one after that caused him to dodge forward. He took note that one of those was a 'Drifa' tier version, but it missed just like all the rest. With every miss, he grew more sure of his victory. The ice was also under the effects of his spell, so if the goal was to make footholds, that too was a waste.
Every miss was another failure to add to the list of reasons he was right and she was no longer fit to rule. He was surprised when he heard a different chant and wanted to laugh. It was a waste of mana in his mind and doomed her. She had her filolial leap at Langiva from the safety of the rock, but it wouldn't make the distance in a single jump. She stood atop her mount and to Langiva's surprise, she leapt from its back as well to make the distance.
[Drifa Ice Sculpture: Claymore]
The blade and guard of her dagger was covered in ice as it formed a large claymore already striking downward. Powerful magic was rolling off of it, but Langiva was more than sure of his victory. He reached back and grabbed his glaive. The next moment, he knew he lost.
He glanced back in confirmation.
Mirellia was not casting spells out of desperation, it was a means of winning. She purposely forced him back before forcing him forward, so whatever changes she made with intent was behind him, out of view. She had used her one [Drifa Icicle Prison] to encase his glaive. He could free it, but not in time.
She outplayed him.
The ice blade came down and struck his left shoulder, cutting deep enough to render his left arm useless. He fell to the ground, his spell undone. Mirellia gave her filolial a glance to make sure it was alive, it was. She then faced her current opponent and former ally.
"I need you to surrender. You will never fight again, but if you surrender, your men will too. In exchange for lightening the losses Melromarc will suffer, I'll allow your daughter to replace you, provided that she swears fealty to me and my family." Mirellia offered one last time.
Langiva was breathing heavily, but responded none-the-less.
"You came to talk me down, but I won't listen to you even if I want to, because just like with my daughter, it's a win-win. Either you can't defeat me and I win, meaning Melromarc is safe. Or you win, I was wrong and there is plenty of power left, meaning Melromarc is safe. I literally can't lose. No matter the outcome, I achieve my goals, that's power."
"I have already won. Do not speak of power while I'm standing over you." Mirellia responded coldly.
Langiva started to laugh. "Is that so? Then what about this!"
Langiva started covering his body in lightning, taking a page out of Monti's book. The short exchange of his countering [Overdrive] gave him much insight into the ability's inner workings. The makeshift spell was certainly strong, as he leapt to his feet, scaring the queen. Though the spell was a far cry from Monti's in many ways, namely that this was damaging Langiva.
He was killing himself. The spell had to be a curse for him to cast it so easily.
He laid into Mirellia with a series of kicks, aiming for her chest to knock the air out of her and keep her from chanting. Next, he tripped her with a low sweep and went to stomp on her head.
"Gwak!" The queen's filolial kicked him heavily in the ribs and pushed him from stomping Mirellia.
She sprang to her feet and whistled for her filolial to retreat with her. Langiva was coughing up blood at this point and had little time before his Hp would reach zero. He gave chase while Mirellia began chanting. Langiva rushed her, wanting to take her head off even if it cost him his leg.
[Drifa Ice Sculpture: Gauntlets]
The queen conjured thick gloves made of ice. One was held up to block the kick, which it did, but shattered. She reached out and grabbed his leg with the second armored hand. She held it long enough for her filolial to kick him again. She let go so he'd be pushed back. He thought it was to create distance, but she needed him in that position to win. She ran to her destination as Langiva forced himself to stand. Blood was now flowing freely and he was going to die.
In a final act, he rushed at her with enough strength to destroy his right leg. He didn't care, he had one limb left and that was enough to win in his mind. Unfortunately for him, Mirellia undid all her ice magic, converting it to water. From her position, she was safe, but the moment Langiva touched the water, the conductive properties interfered with his makeshift spell and he was sent to the ground. He writhed in pain and his face remained in the water.
After a moment, the queen approached and moved him on his side, so he didn't drown in the shallow water. She went to speak, but Langiva beat her to it.
"You're still the same brilliant woman, you've lost none of your luster... So why? Why did you do nothing as our country grew weak and self-indulgent? Why did you let the greatest man I had ever known become that way? Why did you never see that if another country came with war in mind, we'd lose? My family, my countrymen, they'd all fall. If you were still the person you were back then..., why didn't you stop all of this...? The country of Melromarc... will be toppled. Less than 100 years..., maybe less than ten..." Langiva was growing weak.
She'd be honest with a dying man, her truths couldn't harm her this way.
"...My family has been a weakness. I refused to address Aultcray or Malty because of that weakness. I refused to go too directly against the church because of the ease at which they could target my family. I wanted to safeguard my family first. The blame is mine... I am sorry."
Langiva laid there, letting what remained of his curse kill him. He took a moment to gather his final thoughts then he spoke his last words. "...Tell Luge I demand an apology. I... miss him."
The lords were dead and now only Balmus remained as leadership. The hydra had only a single head left.
.
[Author's Notes]
Veramir was far more evil than even someone like Idol. I might have gone too far. At least Silvius has a cool sword now.
Eadwig killed his father in a small number of actual attacks while explaining why his dad sucked at business.
Grimwald suffered the death Liviccic wanted for her, but maybe the Soul Eating was a bit much?
Out of the 11 people that entered Averill vs Kurtis' group, only two people made it out alive. As I said on the discord, "Wars should kill people".
Those confused, 'Luge Lansarz Faubrey' was Trash's birth name, Langiva knew him before he married Mirellia.
This marks the end to the traitorous lords and hopefully a turning point for Melromarc. They also all died with curses... I'm sure that won't ever come back up...
13 named characters died. No big deal.
13.5K words, that's more than double my average chapter, so please forgive the delay.
I really want to know everyone's favorite fight.
Please leave a review!