Red lightning crackled across Zolvorn’s blade as the screams of terror in the square ran. Luke blade in hand stood up soaked as his cloak billowed in the wind. “You’ve murdered so many.” He looked to the head of his Griffin as a single tear streamed down his cheek. “Who the hell are you!?”
A devious smile stretched across his face as the crowd of dead and bloodied citizens tried to crawl away. Some including Victor started to grab people and pull them away. “The name is Zolvorn. I’m here for your head. If you want to save these people you could kneel and let me take it, but I hope you don’t.” He gripped his massive black blade and crouched his knees.
Forala stomped forward. “ZOLVORN, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A FAIR FIGHT!”
“Oh, it’s you. That’s not going to work here and now. Bossman gave me direct orders to take his head.” His shoulders could be heard cracking as he wound up a swing.
Spinning fast enough to echo across the city a woman clad in black emerged from above her scythe reaching for Zolvorn’s neck. A piece of his sword detached effortlessly blocking it. “Oh, more combatants join the fray. Unending Stamina. High Effort Healing”
Lidia screamed. “EVERYONE UNDER LEVEL 50 EVACUATE! TAKE THE WOUNDED WITH YOU!” She landed sliding behind Zolvorn. Serena and Jenora had already pulled away three people. Victor realized there was something he had to do.
His blade returned to his greatsword and he relaxed his stance and peered over his shoulder menacingly. “As long as I walk away with his head, I guess there’s no harm in playing with the rest of you.” He darted toward her. She tried to take his head off once again only to find his swing wasn’t aimed toward her but at her weapon. It flew from her hand as his fist hit her square in the chest. “Amateur. Do you even fight people?”
She landed inside a building standing up without her weapon. She spit out blood. “What an arrogant man. Shadow Step.” She disappeared.
Zolvorn waited for the predictable appearance in his shadow only to be shocked when she appeared in front of him off of his sword's shadow. A solid kick in the chest slid him back toward the square. “At least you’re a little interesting.” Suddenly above him with glowing golden eyes, Luke appeared with his blade blazing toward Zolvorn’s skull. Zolvorn twisted around spinning his greatsword into Luke’s blade. The clang sent a shockwave through the town shattering every window in the square. Beneath him, he felt a heel dig into his neck. Lidia kicked him upward. His blade slid off Luke’s sword and he was propelled upward. A massive wound across his chest as he soared into the air erupted into blood. Luke landed a clean blow.
A massive smile across Zolvorn as he faces the sky hearing Luke below. “Flee cultist! You cannot defeat me within this city!”
“BUHAHAHA!” He cackled evilly as the wound sealed mid-air. One segment of his blade formed a footrest above him. He landed on it. “BRING ME MORE!”
He jumped down to the ground toward Luke. “BARRIER SHIELD!” A massive golden barrier appeared in front of the shield on his left arm. Zolvorn barreled through it cracking it as easily as they cracked the glass.
His blow finally stopped at the shield reverberating across the city square. His shield cracked ever so slightly. “Gizixil help me angelic armor is a tough nut to crack, but that makes it more fun when I finally do break it open.” He propelled himself backward.
“ANGELS WILL NEVER BREAK!” Luke lifted his sword above him. “By the power of heaven. By the virtues seven. I stand before the darkness. I shall end the rule of the heartless. Let those who call for help in the dark of night, find an angel shining to show them the light.” A massive pillar of light engulfed him. His armor was sealed and wings formed on his back. “ Barrier suit. Decimating blade. Hearty regeneration. “ His golden cape flowed in the breeze as he pointed his blade at Zolvorn. “You will perish here helpless against the onslaught of high-level honest good-hearted folk. Do you have any last words?”
“Now this is what I came here for, but that question is mine.” Zolvorn grinned leaping toward him. “Colossal Strike!”
Victor shouted, “DODGE IT!”
“ Barrier Shield! Reinforce !” Luke braced himself.
Cracks in the roads and buildings around Luke and the very city itself formed as he buckled beneath the force of the blow falling to one knee. His shield cracked more visibly this time. “BRILLIANT! SHOW ME YOUR RESOLVE!”
A blade whirled into Zolvorn’s body as Patricia approached. He backed up, removing it. The wound closed instantly. “Cute.” Zolvorn disappeared moving so fast no one could follow him. He picked up Patricia from behind. “Never understood how halfling fighters fight. You’re always too weak.” He flung her off into the distance through a building. “Back to business.”
“Have your cultists no conscious?” Luke asked.
“Of course I do. You’re just holding me to your standards. Not to quibble about philosophy but the Golden Goddess’s reliance on making money to achieve the greatest power is far worse than anything I’d ever do.” He rested his blade on his shoulder couching down again. “My strength is won by my own two hands.”
Forala cracked her knuckles approaching Luke. “You know I respect that.”
Lidia popped out of her shadow. “It would be respectable if he wasn’t such a piece of shit. Look at all this collateral damage. You should stand back Forala.”
“Nah I’ve been itching for a rematch.” She opened her hands sharpening the ends of her fingers into talons. “I’m going to rip out his spine.”
“The overconfidence here is honestly downright insulting. Let’s get to it then.” He gripped his blade with his arms throbbing. “FIEND LIGHTNING!” Bolts of red lightning blasted through the square setting several buildings ablaze. The three of them avoided the blast but it hit several other people in the distance completely vaporizing even their skeleton. People around them screamed as several people evacuated the few remaining people. “Uhg unreliable.”
Luke flew toward Zolvorn with a blast of air behind him. Zolvorn blocked his blow but Luke pushed him back. The two of them flew toward the northern part of town. Zolvorn dug his heels into the road to slow him down. Luke didn’t notice the two missing pieces of his blade. They impacted his wings pushing him into the ground. Zolvorn tried to plunge his blade into Luke’s skull. “HOLY BLAST!” A wall of light shot forth shoving Zolvorn back toward a shop searing his arm. It healed instantly. Luke stood up. Forala and Lidia appeared behind Luke. “His rigor is astronomical. Anything other than decapitating him isn’t going to even slow him down.”
“That sword of his is a problem. It blocks automatically. We need more people.” She tilted her head pulling back her Scythe ready to strike.
“Father Reynold should be further north. We have to push the combat toward him.” Luke raised his shield.
“His spine is mine.” Forala shifted closer to halfway between a drake and a human.
“This is going to be my whole day isn’t it.” Zolvorn stood up slightly annoyed. “Oh well, at least it’s a fight.” His blade broke into four segments three floating in front of him. Zolvorn seemed to start taking things more seriously as he stopped talking and appeared in front of them near their faces in a flash. All of them blocked the blades headed for them but Forala began bleeding severely as she slid back away.
“MASS ACCELERATED REGENERATION!” A fat man extended his hand from a distance and pointed toward Forala. Her wounds healed quickly. “Well well well. A cultist? In my city? Luke, I’m disappointed he lasted a single swing!” A hearty laugh echoed through the streets as people fled. Zolvorn appeared in front of him as his blade snapped back together. “ SUPERIOR BARRIER !” A small tight barrier formed around him as Zolvorn clinked against it stopping dead. “Oh ho! A feisty cultist indeed. Luke, I do feel it is time you put an end to this there has been enough destruction. Maximum Boost: Strength .”
Lidia grabbed Forala and leaped away. “Shit! Get back!”
Luke Lowered his blade and braced his feet against the ground shattering the road as he approached Zolvorn. The road launched upward with every step. He swung up with Zolvorn blocking just in time. Even Zolvorn didn’t expect the force that accompanied his sword finding himself above the clouds instantly. “Unreal that priest might be a problem.” Luke flew up toward him and took a swing. Zolvorn’s blade fell overhead. “ Colossal Strike !” Their clash cleared the clouds in the sky silhouetting them for the entire city to see. “FINALLY THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO SEE!” He launched his fragments at Luke. “SHOW ME YOUR DETERMINATION!”
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Luke fended them off easily flying toward Zolvorn. Zolvorn parried the blow grabbing the top of his chest plate and squeezing. He cracked it. Luke gripped Zolvorn’s Neck and tried to put his blade to it. The fragments rushed to defend as Zolvorn noticed they were headed down far faster than merely falling just outside the wall. “REPENT IN YOUR LAST MOMENTS!” The two of them crashed into the ground creating a massive creature outside the northern wall.
Zolvorn’s Blade held. He linked the hilt with the fragments and placed his other hand on the flat part of the fragments. “Well, I guess I should put forth some real effort since that shitty priest ruined the fight.” He slowly pushed Luke off him and eventually pushed him back.
“There is no way you’ve been holding back.” Luke stared in disbelief a few steps away.
“You’re kidding, right? You don’t believe that.” Zolvorn raised an eyebrow. “Still that priest will be annoying. I can already tell. So he dies first.” Zolvorn darted straight through the wall back into the city. A section of the wall collapsed as Luke raced in the air toward Father Reynold. Zolvorn arrived in the streets just past the church at Father Reynold first. He pulled his blade back over his head.
Before Zolvorn could swing from behind him Lidia appeared disarming him. His hands disappeared flopping into the street. He kicked her away through another building. “Oh ho! What a funny cultist. You’ve been disarmed. Surrender now and your death will be humane!”
“Good moves. I underestimated you.” His arms snapped back reforming hands. His blade flew back to his hand. He leapt up raising his blade over his head. “Ah, shit.” Luke appeared behind him and he had to block. He soared into the sky again. ‘If that priest makes it to that shitty church I’ll have to pull out all the stops. I really should end this how disappointing. Luke could have been a great fight.’ He sighed as Luke flew toward him. “ Gizixil’s Amplified Rage .” Zolvorn’s veins pulsed red as his eyes began to glow. “ Fiend Lightning .” A single bolt of lightning rushed toward Luke too fast to dodge. The bolt charged through him to the ground igniting a building and sending Luke crashing into the statue of the Golden Goddess.
Zolvorn landed right next to him with Father Reynold on the steps. “Oh ho. I’m disappointed with you Luke!” Luke’s wounds began to close. “You there cultist. What is your name? I am Father Reynold.”
Zolvorn stepped forward toward Luke ignoring him. Gripping his blade in both hands with Luke panting he raised it above his head. “This is farewell. Colossal Strike !”
His blade fell to Luke’s shield. “ BARRIER SHIELD !” The clang once again shattered the barrier but slowed it down enough that it only cracked his shield in half. The strike shook the surrounding buildings even the church.
“Damn, angelic armor is just too durable. Like cracking a turtle.” Zolvorn complained. “You know I offered the chance to stop the excessive destruction. At this rate, I’ll have to kill that priest too.”
“Oh ho! Kill me? You can’t even hurt me-” His voice stopped as Zolvorn disappeared reappearing behind him.
“ Colossal Strike !” Zolvorn glared menacingly.
“ SUPERIOR BARRIER !” He shouted. Like an egg Zolvorn cracked yet another barrier cleaving deep into Father Reynold’s back. Father Reynold coughed up blood. “ Superior Barrier! Accelerated Regeneration .”
Zolvorn once again lifted his blade as Luke stumbled to his feet. “Colossal-”
His blade disappeared automatically blocking the scythe at his neck. “DAMN THAT SWORD!” Lidia kicked the other side of his neck knocking him off balance. “Reynold, are you still alive?”
“Barely.” He coughed again on the ground while regenerating.
“How long?” She asked as Luke stood up.
“About 60 seconds.” He coughed.
“Damn it.” Lidia grits her teeth as Zolvorn charges her. She blocked the blade only for it to detach letting Zolvorn slice through her chest. She fell back into a shadow.
“Maybe she should die first. She’s just running interference. What a boring fight. So many opponents and only one is even close to worth my time.” Zolvorn griped.
Victor finally reached the northern part of the city in front of the church. “LUKE!”
He threw Swordie at Luke. Luke caught Swordie who instantly transformed into another Sword of the Divine. “Hah! Just what I needed.” He held aloft his second blade enveloped by a glowing light. Zolvorn angrily tried to slice at him only for it to bounce off the golden aura around him “By the power of heaven. By the virtues seven. I stand before the darkness. I shall end the rule of the heartless. Let those who call for help in the dark of night, find an angel shining to show them the light.” He was fully healed. He dropped his shield. “One hell of a risk kid, now get out of here.”
Zolvorn moved in a flash in front of Victor. His coat blew toward Victor just inches away. He stared at Victor. “If Gizixil hadn’t explicitly told me to spare you I’d paint the walls with your guts right now. Flee. Now .” Victor turned and ran as fast as he could. Zolvorn menacingly looked over his shoulder at Lightbringer Luke. “A second sword will not save you, or that priest. I’ve been humoring all of you because I wanted this to be fun. Magic Dampening. Stamina Sapping .”
Magic Dampening Rank 10
Rarity: Divine
Requirements: Berserker 51, Fighter 91, Cost 2560 points
Sustained Skill
Stamina Cost: 512 stamina per second.
Greatly increases the mana cost of activating a spell. Limit once per day.
Stamina Sapping Rank 10
Rarity: Divine
Requirements: ????
Active Skill
Duration: 60 seconds
Cooldown: 600 minutes
Stamina Cost: 3000
Greatly increases stamina cost of movement and skills.
“That ought to do it.” He walked toward Luke slowly with a devious grin on his face. “Well, what are you waiting for? He’s got about 30 seconds left until he’s healed enough to help again. So stop me.” He marched relentlessly slowly toward Father Reynold Luke took a swing and slowed him down. He could feel the massive cost of the swing sweating even from a normal strike. Zolvorn took another step forward. “Go ahead.” He pushed them closer to the small barrier covering the fat Father Reynold. He took another step. Luke relented stepping back unable to continue to hold him back.
Luke panted still blocking as Zolvorn walked past him toward the priest. He raised his blade once again over his head. “You didn’t have to get involved, oh well worshipers of the Golden Goddess tend to be boring just like you. Colossal Strike .” Almost disinterested his strike fell cleaving Father Reynold in half. “Just for good measure.” He raised his blade again. “ Colossal strike .” His head flew far from his corpse. “One down. Two to go. We can wait for Stamina Sapping to stop if you’d like. It’s rather boring honestly to win with such tactics. Winning because you can’t move would just be disappointing.”
Luke collapsed to one knee panting as he looked at Father Reynolds's head rolling toward him. A tear rolled down his face. “I’m so sorry friend.” He closed Reynolds's eyes. “Why didn’t you kill me when you activated those skills.” He stood up readying his blades.
Zolvorn waited confused. “Seriously you can’t see who I am? Why do I fight? It’s FUN! It makes you stronger! Everything about combat is what a mortal should live for! Sure you’re losing but if you beat me you’d just be inspired to never let what happened today happen again! It drives us. Conflict is everything in life.”
A scraggly old man with scorched clothes wandered toward them wearing a burnt sailor hat blue saber in hand. “You sad sack of soggy shit! I was taking a dump when you threw that lightning!”
Zolvorn turned to him and blinked once confused. “Who in the Void Lords asshole are you?”
“I’m Sea Salt Sam you sorry stained simpleton. You soiled my shirt with that shock.” He pointed his sword at him. “I’m here to slice my share of justice from your stupid ass.”
Zolvorn burst out laughing. “Okay! Okay! That’s funny. He’s got to be the funniest thing I’ve seen in weeks.” He threw a segment of his sword at him. The blade segment was easily parried embedding into the ground. “Hold on what?”
Luke smiled. “Well, it’s a shame he’s late. Hey! Sam! We need to fight inside the church!”