Summoning Sentinel’s Vow took nearly every ounce of magical power Kaara could muster. All but a small buffer which both defended her soul from another injury and allowed her to cast small cantrips like blood darts and quick healing. She could only use those spells for a few seconds at a time, but that was all she needed.
Perhaps it was because she had experienced it so many times, but Kaara could tell Sancta had injured her soul already. There was a subtle vacancy in her eyes that Kaara recognized. Between firing those arrows, summoning thorn walls, maintaining this magical cage, and using bark skin with fake blood, Sancta had overtaxed herself in an effort to compete with Kaara. If it was a contest between whose summoned weapon was more powerful, then Kaara won by a terrifying margin.
Sancta had likely practiced with her weapon before. She had time to make the spell efficient, and was now utilizing it to its greatest potential. Kaara on the other hand was relying solely on her magical might to make up for their difference in skill. After cleaving through Sancta’s bow during her first rush, Kaara had realized something: She did not need to get close in order to hit Sancta with her weapon.
Sancta knocked her arrow, but Kaara jabbed the air with the spear end of her halberd. A spike of ice launched from its tip and pierced Sancta’s shoulder before she could properly draw her arrow back.
Their weapons were not on the same level. Kaara had summoned something far beyond Sancta’s ability to compete with.
Kaara swung her halberd through the air, sending a flurry of cutting waves to Sancta who desperately dashed and rolled out of the way. She scrambled to heal herself and avoid the onslaught, but Kaara cut her off.
Perhaps they had been equals when they first fought, but Kaara could feel the difference between them now. They were both at their limit, but Kaara’s limit was far greater than Sancta’s. Waves bashed Sancta against the branch walls she’d created. She yelled out in frustration, gritting her teeth and drawing one last arrow. A tree branch slammed into Kaara’s ribs and sent her tumbling. She caught herself on all fours propping herself up by her halberd and rushing forward.
Sancta sprouted branches, brambles, and vines to cut her off, but Kaara cut through them with ease. The frigid air she created was slowing down the growth of Sancta’s plants. Even if Kaara was hampered by her injured leg, she still closed the distance before Sancta could pull her arrow back. She aimed for the horns, “It’s over!” she shouted.
“Not yet!” Sancta yelled back, loosing a half drawn arrow at her head. Time slowed, with her leg injury Kaara would not be able to move out of the way in time. Her arms were already mid swing, she couldn’t deflect it. Kaara let her instincts take over, and caught the thing in her teeth.
SHWING! CRASH!
Kaara’s Halberd cleaved through the air, severing Sancta’s horns before the cutting wave that followed shattered the bark wall behind her.
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Since Sancta had only managed to draw her bow back half way the arrow had been a lot slower and weaker than the others. She spat it out of her mouth along with a bit of blood. She would be tonguing splinters for days after this.
Wooden spikes sprouted from the ground as Sancta dispelled her bow, digging into Kaara from all sides. They hooked into her, threatening to tear her to shreds if she continued to struggle and pull away from it.
“Stop! Your horns are cut! You lose!”
“Shut up! I don’t care about your stupid rules!” The spikes dug into Kaara’s flesh, driving deeper and deeper inside her body. They shredded through muscle and skin right down to the bone. She screamed out, cutting herself free with her halberd and dashing forward to send her good knee into Sancta’s nose, “Stop fighting! You’re done!” Kaara grabbed her by the hair, and bashed an uppercut into her face. Kaara was losing a lot of blood from her leg. She had to stress her soul to staunch the flow.
“I’m not! I’m not finished with you! I won’t let you win!” Sancta screamed, wildly thrashing about as the walls of their arena now tried to attack Kaara.
Her body moved on its own, jumping away from Sancta and cutting through the attacking branches. She winced, feeling her shredded leg give out underneath her, “I don’t want to hurt you, give up!”
“Shut up! I don’t need your pity! You’re going to have to kill me! I’m not done, I haven’t lost! This isn’t over! It can’t be!” Sancta’s voice was shrill as she summoned every ounce of magic she had.
A swarm of thorned branches came crashing down on Kaara along with the nearby tree roots thrashing like violent whips. Kaara cut through, but there was too much. At this rate, Sancta was going to shatter her soul over this.
“Yggdagon!”
This arm of the wood elemental burst from a nearby Ingen tree, moving to snatch Kaara up and crush her.
But before Yggdagon could reach her, a wall of stone erected between them and she was pulled away in a gust of wind. Kaara saw Tadios launch himself into the wood elemental as a brilliant explosion sent it crashing to the forest floor.
“Jeeze, what a fuckin’ bitch,” Arik said, “Thanks for the assist Rorik!”
Rorik gave them a thumbs up, still swinging from the snare he’d been caught in.
“I guess I can understand wanting to continue the fight, though,” She mumbled, setting Kaara down, and collapsing to one knee as she clutched her arm.
“Are you alright?” Kaara said, summoning her healing water.
Arik clicked her tongue, “Yeah I’m fine, but- well” She pointed at her cut horns, “I’m out of the game now. Your leg’s pretty bad, though, so worry about yourself first.”
“So then Tadios-” Kaara looked over to Sancta, who was now unconscious in Tadios’s arms.
“That’s about enough out of you, don’t be a sore loser.” He said, “Rest easy.” Tadios looked to be almost completely unscathed, but his clothes had been torn up. He looked over to Arik and nodded, “Sorry I couldn’t enjoy our fight more. I know you avoided my horns so we could go for longer, but when I saw my chance I had to take it.”
Arik groaned, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I was being a dumbass, honestly. I forgot what the win condition was. You’re trying to save your stamina for other fights right?”
“Yes ma’am. We’ll have another match real soon after your arm heals up. Or maybe after the ceremony?”
“After the ceremony. Gotta be at our best if we’re gonna survive, right?”
“Right.”