Okay, terribly timed system notifications aside, this pissed pussycat is still poised to pounce so for now my priority is–
“Yow! That was close!”
He didn’t wait for my inner monologue to finish, he probably didn’t even know it was happening, and wasted no time taking another stab at me–one that I thankfully avoided, not that that stopped him from launching more.
“Coward! Craven! First you have the gall to lay your filthy hands on my sister and now you won’t even dare to face me like a man!”
I bent at the waist to avoid the next swing, then turned my head to evade the one that followed, before using the end of Witness to quickly sweep his legs and buy myself some distance; something that the gathered crowd also decided was a wise decision, which allowed the assembled guards fill the void they left, creating a circle of bodies that would serve as our arena.
“Ah! Cur! How dare you resort to such petty tactics?!” He hopped back to his feet fast enough, and even stopped to dust off his clothes, but never did he take his fearsome feline eyes off of me.
How much do you wanna bet my variable appearance is working against me here? And what the heck? Why’re they all taking this so seriously? And why hasn’t anyone stopped this yet?! I glanced over to Ysdra and saw her and Calden arguing with the older brother, but since it didn’t appear like he was willing to listen, or that any of my other traveling companions could or would intervene, I resolved myself to fight this furious feline.
I sighed. At least they’re trying.
“And now you dare to take your eyes off me in the middle of a fight? Fool!”
Obviously, my expanded senses made me all too aware of just about every aspect of his being, so his blatant, albeit impressively quick, charge came as no surprise to me.
Animus armor. Strength release.
I thought both spells but limited the first to just my hand as I reached up and snatched the end of his saber before it could reach me. I could feel the Way of the One ability start firing up as I slowly turned my head to stare into his shocked lightning blue eyes. “Oh, I’m paying attention. I just don’t see any reason to continue this, do you?”
He snarled, and wrenched his sword from my grip. It didn’t hurt thanks to the layer of chitin that wrapped my hand, but he did stumble a little as my grip was apparently a good bit stronger than he’d expected.
Paralyze.
I invoked the spell in my head and felt the magic flow towards him but there was no response. He glanced around as if he’d just noticed something brush over him, ever careful to keep me in his periphery, then returned his focus to me with yet another charge.
Ugg. Aren’t people supposed to give up when you catch their attack like that? And why didn’t my spell work? Tase!
With my moment of triumph muddied by unexpected failure, I again felt the spell activate and this time sparks and tendrils of electricity rolled off him as he swiped his blade past where my head used to be.
He hissed. “Was that paltry magic you? Ha! Parlor tricks! Basic spells, especially those cast through magic devices have no chance of affecting a black torathan!”
I squinted at him. “Uhh, okay. Thanks for the info, but did no one teach you not to reveal the secrets to your defenses during a fight?”
“Pfft. As if I’d ever need to worry when I’m fast enough to disrupt any incantation for higher leveled magic!”
Okay, fair enough, but what’s this crap about using magic devices? Is that how he’s rationalizing my silent spellcasting?> I grinned. Oblivious to his impending defeat he continued to press the attack, which I continued to avoid. If all I need to do is turn up the heat to stop him, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Scorching press. Personally, I hadn’t tried the spell before, but if memory serves, Larissa used it against me during our battle outside Kormath. It didn’t do much to me, but I got the sense that it was a restraining spell that dealt a bit of damage too, and that’s more or less what I need. Since, ya’know, pain brings clarity and if you can’t keep fighting, then you’ll have to give up. With a rush of hot air, and a warm orangish hue, an amorphous mass of heat bore down on my ornery opponent, and this time he fell flat to the grassy ground with an almost cute yelp. “W-what?! How are you doing this without speaking?! Do you possess an artifact? Rrrgh. Aggh!” He writhed against the fiery force with all his might. I noticed his mana churning as he activated some ability or other, but none served to free him. I cringed as the scent of cooking cat fur reached my nose and that’s when I noticed that the grass in the area around him was starting to blacken and curl. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Oh, dear. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “Hey, do you give up yet? I really would prefer it if we could wrap this up without any serious injury.” He glowered up at me with an almost fanatical look in his eyes. “Nnn–never! I will never–!” In my expanded awareness I could see Ysdra lower her head and cover her eyes, while the elder brother had a hand on his sword and stood poised to jump in, or command the guards advance, at a moment’s notice. Clearly this behavior is normal for him. But I really don’t want to hurt him or anyone else any more than I already have, and since I’m still a bit miffed with all the stupid stubbornness I’ve encountered today, I guess I’ll just take the opportunity to scare them a little. Scintillating barrier, feral form, cruel claws, and immolate. My tirade of spells began with a cylindrical barrier made of glinting dodecahedrons that extended up into the sky partitioning the two of us off from the startled guards and stunned onlookers. Next, I sprouted a grand pair of eagle wings and extended my fingernails into razor edges about an inch long as I cloaked myself in a thin wreath of fire. And now that I don’t have to worry about interference or casualties. I soared several feet up into the air on my new pinions and leveled a clawed finger at my target as I suffused my voice with mana and growled. “Just remember. I gave you every opportunity to relent.” I heard Ysdra and Calden gasp, but since all I intended to do was to make a scene I didn’t stop. Hurricane, earth spines, shimmering shackles, and frozen lance. At my command, the heretofore gentle winds howled in rage and churned the interior of the barrier, hurling dust, dirt, and burnt grass skyward while leaving my flight undisturbed. Between the powerful gale and the fiery force holding him down the wind won and my freaked out feline foe started to float into the air. Stone spikes followed him up making a brutal bed for him to lie back down on as blue bindings formed to stop his ascent, lock his limbs, and teather him above the terror below. As a warrior who relied on his body and physical attacks he was now securely defeated, but to really drive it home a veritable dome of subzero skewers materialized around him, awaiting my will to turn him into a pincushion. All eyes were on me as I silently raised a solitary finger into the air, and everyone instinctively knew that his life hung on whether or not that finger fell. An old lady murmured. “Gods have mercy.” A mercenary type grumbled. “That’s… That’s just unfair.” Some guy clutched his family close, and whispered. “What are we seeing?” And his little girl gawked and pointed. “Wow! I wanna do that!” I stared long and hard at the cat man securely in my clutches, boring a hole into him until he shut his eyes in resignation, and mouthed. “I underestimated you. If my life is penance enough for that insult, then it is yours to take.” No you idiot! You’re supposed to relent! Surrender the fight, not your life! I moved my hand back a smidge, as if I was about to let it drop, which cued Ysdra to scream. “Anon! No! Please! No!” Finally! Someone with some sense! Initially I had hoped that Calden would step in to mediate the dispute after I turned on the lightshow, but counter to my expectations all he did was drop to his knees, clasp his hands, and start praying! Worst of all was that I could hear every word! ~Glory! Glory to God in the highest! Let the image of this unfettered majesty never leave my mind! Let even a fraction of your angel’s radiance come and dwell in me so that I may cleanse the blight from this world too!~ He continued to thank me, and sing about more nonsense, so I tuned him out, grateful that he still hadn’t realized that I was the one he mistook for God, and that I’m not in fact God. Because let’s be honest, the latter would just break his little heart and the former...Well, that’d make him even crazier about me. I let the ice spears melt, and the stone ones recede with the raging winds as I spoke. “Your utter disregard for decency and self control are forgiven on your sister’s account. I trust you have learned your lesson and will grow from this experience, even if it’s only for her sake.” With nothing left to support him, the black tiger fell back into the desolate dirt beneath him. I released the chains, the barrier, and my claws, but didn’t land and instead flew off toward the city and the grand lake beyond it. “Anon! Anon, wait!” I heard Ysdra call after me, but didn’t slow down. Once I was well out of their sight I let my immolation fade, and sighed. “I should give them some space to recuperate. I just did a lot of crazy things in a really short period of time, even if it was only to see if I could, they’ll need space, and it’s not like I don’t know where they are or how to find them. So what should I do to cool my own head, since I probably need time too? Should I explore the city? Poke around the surrounding forests and fields? Or take a dive into the lake?” # Benedict Andrun paced in the cellar of a safehouse seated just outside the lands of Count Kalsynth. Sectors ten and eleven had just finished their collection of required materials two days before, so with everything he needed in hand he took his sector and moved to the region that he deduced to be the meddling terrestrial deity’s next stop. It normally would’ve taken them days, if not weeks, to cross the empire’s vast territories, but as the elites of the faith, they combined their many movement based abilities with wind essence magic to span the distance in mere hours. Though it did force them to rest for just as long lest they collapse at a pivotal moment. Then he ordered his subordinates to spread out into the surrounding area so that they could get in contact with the scouting sectors as quickly as possible. Timing is important, so I must be ever ready. Obviously, if they’re protecting the tiger cub then they’ll try to get in contact with the count. His prowess for battle warrants caution, so if the terrestrial deity is ever isolated then that will be our chance to strike. He tightened his grip on the black crystal that sectors eight and nine had produced with the Ascendant’s aid, and muttered. “Soon. Soon. The messenger from the first seven sectors will come, and–” The cellar door slammed open, and one of his white clad subordinates thundered down the stairs and knelt before Benedict. “Sir, sector five reports that the tiger cub’s party has been located outside the territory capital, just as you suspected. The terrestrial deity apparently revealed its presence all on its own, and is currently airborne above the city. Given the amount of mana it released it should be winded, and looking for a place to rest. Shall we depart?” A toothy grin split his gaunt face. “What direction is it headed?” “It headed for the… .”