Chapter 31
Raging Storm
As lighting and sand continued to swirl around Set's twin sabers, the fallen prince and Koschei stared across the field at each other. Set with his usual bored and deadpan look, while the old man's wrinkled lips were twisted in gleeful excitement, his one good eye bursting with adrenaline as he crouched low on the ball of his feet.
Propelling himself forward as dark spikes grew across his scythe's blade, Koschei sped towards Set, skidding to a halt right in front of Set's face with his scythe held high, "Lightning and sand?" The old man said with a goofy grin despite the intense pressure his shoulders were now going through, "Interesting! A little demonstration on how it works perhaps?"
The fallen prince exhaled, irritated as he casually swung his left hand, the one that was holding on to the lightning saber. Immediately, a fierce crackle echoed through the air as a bolt of lightning erupted from the blade. Leaping from the crimson steel, the bolt zigzagged through the atmosphere in a serpentine motion, leaving a trail of ozone in the air in its wake. Surging forward with unstoppable force, the bolt traveled in a split second towards Koschei, the old man just barely swerved out of the way as the electricity grazed and burned part of his right ear, leaving behind blackened and smoking skin.
Koschei grunted as he tentatively touched his wounded ear, flicking away the blood residue left on his fingers as he did so. Unexpectedly, Chernabog's talons dug deeper into his shoulders, adding even more pressure and causing slight bleeding as Koschei got to his feet wearing a bloodied grin.
Set's arm swinging so fast that it became a blur? That Koschei could still see and counter easily. But lightning moving towards him at the speed of well… Light, now that was slightly more challenging.
Koschei tapped his scythe against the ground again, cracks formed in the ground below Koschei this time, as more undead arms exploded out from within the ground. Lifting his scythe and pointing it towards Set, Koschei directed the horde's attention towards the fallen prince, and with vicious efficiency, more cracks began to form on the ground between the two fighters as the hands surged across it towards Set.
In response, Set simply plunged his right saber into the ground, a slight tremor rumbled across the entire battlefield before a large row of earth spikes erupted from the ground with a thunderous rumble. The sharp, jagged spikes tearing through the surface, each of various heights and girth.
"DESERT GUARDIAN! "
Upon making first contact, the desert spikes immediately decimated the waves of the undead horde. Tearing through all the undead flesh till there was none left, and forming a defensive barrier made of the earth itself around Set that lasted a few moments or so before the spikes all sank back into the ground below.
"Oh ho! So that's what happens once the chains go off!" Huitzilopochtli exclaimed excitedly, leaning forward to get a better look, "Since when could Set do that?!"
"Calm yourself, Huitzilopochtli," Ra replied dryly, "but yes, before he was given all those ridiculous titles for the murder of Osiris. Set was the Egyptian God of Storms and Deserts, reflected by his ability to channel his control over the two elements into his weapons. First an offensive left, as quick and deadly as a lightning strike. And next a defensive right, as strong and unwavering like an unrelenting sand storm."
"Hmph, then perhaps we should start calling Set the 'Fool of the Duat' instead," Amaterasu said in a condescending tone, "limiting his own strength now of all time?"
Ra said nothing in reply, but from the look in his eyes, he clearly agreed with the Shinto Goddess.
"One side used for attacking, and the other side used for defending…" Huitzilopochtli scratched his head, "hmm, now where have I seen this before…"
"Do you see now, human?" Set said as he lifted his blade from out of the ground, "the futility of your efforts? It doesn't matter how hard you struggle, you can never brave the storm. So why even try? Why even fight?"
Ignoring the fallen prince's words, Koschei gritted his teeth, his eyes glancing from side to side as he began trying to formulate a new strategy based on Set's demonstration of power just now.
Chernabog leaned his head over Koschei's shoulder, the Death Deity's cold breath leaving a prickling sensation across the old man's wrinkled cheeks, "Yes, yes, I know you old nuisance," Koschei murmured, "the god's stronger than I assumed, and I'm in big trouble now… but this battle isn't going to end… until I experience THAT again!"
As Koschei moved forward once again, Set rolled his eyes before beginning to swing his left saber with careless abandon. With every lazy swing of his hand, lightning began jumping from his blade and striking at random intervals in the path separating him and Koschei, creating a deadly field of electric sparks ready to electrocute any foolish enough to enter their domain.
"Ooh! Very nice! But do let this old fogey pass through now won't you?" Koschei cackled wildly as a red bolt just barely grazed his side, Chernabog let out an annoyed snarl as the old man haphazardly began racing straight into the danger zone without a second thought.
"What is Koschei doing?!" Pandora cried out, "if any of those lightning bolts manages to get a proper hit on him, I don't think he'll be able to take it!"
"Set's lightning bolts are definitely dangerous," Göll commented, "but even I can tell he still isn't giving this battle his all, his strikes are all over the place and unfocused!"
"Good observation, Göll," Prometheus answered, "paired with our fighter's current status, all Koschei needs to do is just be one step ahead of Set and get in close to deal the killing blow!"
Like a nimble gazelle, Koschei began running in a weaving zig-zag. ducking and rolling as the lightning bolts just barely missed him, though a few did singe his beard and clothes as he raced through. Very soon, he was just a few more steps away from reaching Set.
Set arched an eyebrow, slightly surprised. Once again, he lifted his right saber and plunged it into the ground, triggering more earth spikes to jut out from the ground moving towards the approaching Koschei.
Spinning his scythe's blade rapidly, Koschei created a whirlwind effect with his weapon. As the blade spun, wisps of the dark, ethereal energy from before begin to emerge once again and dance around it.
As the earth spikes approached, so did the intensity of the energy, the wisps growing thicker and more vibrant, creating a vivid aura around the blade. Within the swirling mass of darkness , faint, ephemeral skulls appeared momentarily. Their skeletal mouths open, letting out bone-chilling shrieks, as if they were trapped within the growing darkness that now was slowly enveloping Koschei's body.
Soon, the dark mass of souls and energy had transformed into a glowing sphere, completely swallowing up Koschei and keeping the entirety of his being safe within its core. The earth spikes crashed into the sphere, but this time they were the ones that were overpowered as the sphere steamrolled its way through the spikes easily like a massive bowling ball.
"VECHNOST GRASP: SOULGUARD!"
"Unbelievable!" Heimdall called, "after braving Set's deadly lightning storm, Koschei has just enveloped himself in some massive glowing wrecking ball! Having just obliterated Set's line of defense, it seems like he's intending on flattening the fallen prince like a pancake as well!"
Set raised his sabers as he gazed upon the spherical giant that loomed above him head-on, the fallen prince stubbornly not even budging an inch as the sphere came closer and closer towards his face. Just then, the front of the sphere began to convulse and writhe ferociously, before bursting open with a wet squelch. The sphere and the skulls it was composed of dissipated into the air as Koschei leapt forth out from within, bringing his scythe's blade down in a sweeping arc.
"CLANG!"
"OH SO CLOSE!" Heimdall cried out, "despite great effort on Koschei's part, Set and his almost monstrous levels of reflex and speed has allowed the fallen prince to parry Koschei's sneak attack!"
Set tilted his head whilst keeping Koschei at a small distance with his right saber, "Hmm, not bad at all old timer." He chuckled dryly.
Koschei grinned, "Old timer? I'm only a few thousand years old! Now let's see how your fancy new upgrades fair in close range!"
With that, the two foes swung their blades back, clashing against one another again and again. Though this time, their close combat bout was much different than before. Koschei still moved quickly from left to right, but now the old man also employed ducking low and leaning back after every strike. A strategy made apparent on account of Set's upgraded sabers, as well as the wild tornadoes that were the hands and arms of the fallen prince, whirling around and around in a drunken manner, threatening to chop Koschei into tiny bits if he wasn't electrocuted first.
"WHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!" Koschei cackled as the clash of metal echoed throughout the arena, his eyes filled with manic glee. "Yes, yes, yes! That's it! It's just like all those years before. The thrill of the battle, the heat of the moment. And of course that bloody nuisance breathing his stinking cold breath down my neck! It's almost exactly like before! I just need… you to take this SERIOUSLY!"
Jumping backwards to create some distance between him and Set, Koschei raised his scythe high into the air, dark energy once again materializing and swirling all around the blade. Seeing his foe was vulnerable, Set held out his arms in a wide arc before bringing them back together in a pincer movement, ready to cut his opponent in half!
Time seemed to slow down once again as Koschei eyes focused intently at the incoming sabers, "Hold it…" he mentally told himself, sweat dripping down his head, "focus… wait for it…" The blades were now halfway through before they would reach his torso, but still Koschei stayed firm, "wait for it… almost there…" Set's blades were now so close to his midsection that they were just about overlapping each other at the tip. Koschei felt Chernabog's claws dig so deep into his skin that blood began staining his chainmail. "Just a bit more… NOW!"
Swinging his scythe down with one hand, blade now fully covered in dark energy, Koschei slammed the top of his scythe right into the ground between him and Set. The old man's timing was so precise, that he brought the weight of his weapon down on both of the fallen Prince's weapons, at the very second right before they made contact with him. Forcing both blades down onto the ground, with Set finding himself being forced to hunch over, due to the sudden weight on his arms.
"YES! Screw you, Set! AHAHAHAHA! That asshole is finally in a position befitting his reputation!" Horus cackled loudly seeing the undignified position his uncle was forced into.
"Don't make a scene now, sweetheart," Isis chastised, though the mischievous twinkle in the goddesses' eyes suggested that she felt the exact same way as her son.
"What a foolish human!" a god called out, "all Set has to do is use his lighting strike, at such a close range he'll fry that geezer to a crisp!"
"Not quite," another god countered, "if Set creates a lightning strike at such a close range, he'll risk damaging himself by being caught in the blast!"
"True…" the first god replied, "But look! The human's blade is made of metal, no? And it's in contact with Set's! So the fallen can force the current of the through the scythe to him! Wait… but if the two metal blades are already in contact… How is that human not…"
Set grunted as he looked up at a grinning Koschei, "That weird soul energy thing, you covered your blade with it to form an insulating layer against the lightning."
The old man whistled, "Ehehehehe, you got me! But now… let's see how you respond to this!"
Dark energy began swirling in the palm of Koschei's free hand, forming a small dagger made entirely of the stuff, the old man raised it ready to plunge it into Set's undefended neck.
"Oh it's over, I can't watch" Horus snickered, placing his hands over his eyes as though he couldn't bear to see Set lose. But his Crystal blue eyes were still very much visible from within the gaps of his fingers.
"Put your hands down Nephew," Nephthys growled menacingly at the Falcon God, "You of all people should know that your uncle can get serious when need be."
"Terribly sorry, Aunt Nephthys." Horus gulped as he placed his arms respectfully by his side, clearly even the Falcon God knew the pecking order.
At that moment, red works began to fly from Set's left saber as the god prepared to unleash another burst of electricity, causing Koschei's eyes to widen in confusion and doubt.
"Whoa whoa! What are you doing here? At such a close range, you'll fry yourself TOO!"
Set said nothing, but it was at that moment Koschei realized that a large amount of earthly material had begun crawling up from the ground up onto Set's leg and beyond. The swirling debris begins to adhere to his body. Pebbles, stones, and grains of sand combined to form a rugged, impenetrable and most importantly insulated armor, that covered the fallen prince entirely from head to toe. Leaving only Set's unamused eyes gazing at Koschei from within his earthly exoskeleton.
"RED STORM!"
"Well gosh darnit…" Koschei chuckled, the old man felt Chernabog's crushing grip go from his shoulder, to around his neck. The Death Deity mercilessly throttled his windpipe as a blinding flash of red lighting exploded from beneath their feet, enveloping both fighters in a shower of sparks and bolts with a raging, "BOOM!" and throwing them both apart and against opposite walls of the arena.
Crashing heavily against the arena wall, Set's armor shattered and landed in a dusty pile at his feet. The fallen prince coughed loudly as he spat out a few grains of sand while thumping his fist against his chest.
"Ugh… sand." He grumbled getting to his feet, spitting out a few more grains, "Useful, but it gets everywhere." Set gazed at the smoking crater that was in the center of the arena now, that human couldn't have possibly survived that.
"Entered a suicidal idiot, died a suicidal idiot." Set grunted as he slowly turned to exit the arena.
"Oh gosh my eyes…" Heimdall groaned as he stumbled around half blind from the lightning before regaining his composure, "Oops, sorry folks… uh let me see… oh! Well! After a rather ELECTRIFYING clash, it seems that Set's speed, and prowess over the storm and desert sand has tilted the scales in his favor! Looks like the winner of Round 4 is… WAIT! What's that?!"
The Watchman of the Apocalypse words directed everyone's attention to the other side of the arena where Koschei had been thrown against. But rather than a mutilated burnt up corpse lying on the ground, they were greeted by another sphere spawned from Koschei's familiar soul magic, the skulls that made up the sphere slowly disappeared again, leaving behind the old man. Despite his outfit and hair being slightly singed, Koschei was still very much alive, having managed to shield himself from the lightning blast in the nick of time.
"Hoo Hoo Hoo!" Koschei cackled as he dusted a few charred bits of cloth off his shoulders, pointing his scythe towards a flabbergasted Set. "Now THAT'S the energy I was looking for! Finally decided to stop moping? EXCELLENT! Hit me with another one of those please! This fight just keeps getting better and better by the minute!
Seeing Koschei alive and still so excitable filled Set with a strange feeling, the fallen prince's vision grew foggy as he doubled over as though someone had just punched him in the gut. One hand gripped tightly across his face as loud heaving noises emanated from his maw.
"You… you… Hraah!" Set growled through his fingertips, slowly lifting his head upwards. "How are you still standing? How are you still trying? How are you still so… excited? Isn't it clear enough that this is all pointless?! You remind me of another idiot I knew, always training, always trying, always STRUGGLING. In the foolish hopes that he may finally win just once… but he never could… he wasn't enough…"
Set lowered his hand, revealing his usually calm poker face had now been replaced by a mixture of confusion, frustration and just a bit of… begrudging admiration? The fallen prince raised his sabres as he took a menacing step forward.
"I assume this so-called idiot is you, no? Well that's not nice! Don't be so hard on yourself!" Koschei said twirling his scythe around, Chernabog and danger be damned, this fight was finally shaping into what he had been dreaming of.
"I swear… you're getting more irritating by the minute, human." Set growled, "I don't give two shits about winning, but now I really, REALLY want to wipe that stupid smirk off your face!"
So... remember how last chapter was something OTHER than the actual Round 4 fight itself? Weeeell, let's just say chapter 32 is probably gonna be the same. XD I'm aiming to finish and publish it by August 9th, for reasons I'll make clear later on, but until then, hope you enjoyed this chapter!
