Liquid fire sloshed within the arena and against the shield walls. Harutane lifted from the square on wings of flame. Shields trembled, and two broke. A handful of knights and scores of Dunaguardians evaporated.

Masahide gripped the Heart of the Earth. Of the twelve facets, Harumoto had shown him a single use of the stone. It turned him into a statue, like a troll in the dawn light. If only it had transformed his heart into stone. Watching all the people killed so senselessly made him feel sick.

The whole world turned orange and yellow, but all physical sensations fled. Only Masahide’s solidified eyes witnessed the annihilation wax and wane. The square had strips of rock heated to the point of melting. He released the mystical item and returned to flesh and blood.

Harutane gasped. “How?”

The burned corpses collapsed to pieces of bone and dust. Despite part of the crowd having been cremated, they buzzed with excitement.

When the conduit opened behind Masahide, he felt the lash of a connection to a champion of old. The other brushed his mind, and four-hundred-year-old memories flooded him. He rushed down a slope to meet the invaders from across the sea. His name was Ulf, and his weapon was an axe. All he knew was the war that ravaged the North and left a trail of death along the Divide. No, it didn’t make sense. The loremasters said the kingdoms of that era willingly joined the Asahian Empire. Ulf showed him battlefield after battlefield strewn with corpses. The sun sank on the march to the West, and a silhouette of arrow-peppered villagers made him swear never to stop fighting until the enemy was driven from the continent.

Masahide reached up and caught a double-bladed axe out of the portal. His grip on the handle was a vise. His hands were Ulf’s.

Harutane’s wings beat the air. “Something’s changed in you. It’s like I’m looking at a different person.”

Ulf’s axe twirled in Masahide’s hand. He had no use for talk. The other’s anger pulsed through his muscles. He jumped with a two-handed grip with the intent to split the enemy from head to crotch.

However, Harutane came from a family renowned for blade masters who trained in ancient forms lost to the knights. He was at least as good as Yoshiie and most likely better. He parried the axe. “I watched you fight. It’s like you’ve mastered opposing techniques. I’m impressed, but I won’t be outclassed.”

Masahide loosed arrows from the portal. They ricochetted from the stone at the heels of Harutane. He felt frustration with the swordsman running from his axe. “Come here and face me.”

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Arcs of fire answered. Harutane used the display to hide himself. When he reappeared, he was striking.

Masahide battered the sword away and swung lustily as if he meant to cut down a forest with the two crescents of steel.

The speed at which Harutane moved belied his size. How could all that mass move so gracefully? His great sword stuck like a snake when he went back on the attack. The blade’s reach far exceeded the axe.

The axe's width blocked everything the blade master threw at it. But the sword snuck around when the steel clashed near the guard. The edge tore into Masahides' shoulder. The wound reminded him that a lot depended on him. Ema was still trapped in the tower, and that duty mixed with Ulf’s anger. He began a frenzied attack, trying to get close enough to end the fight.

Harutane danced back and used his reach advantage to direct Masahide’s charge. He didn’t even try to get another cut.

Masahide slowed. Kichi had tired out a much stronger opponent by staying alive and letting the other use up all their energy. In fact, Akira had lost the ability to stand. He may be in the same danger. He’s kept the conduit open the whole time he’s pushed the attack. How long before it drained him?

If his initial attack didn't work, Harutane's brilliant tactic was to draw the fight out as long as possible. Opponents who survived guessed his size would wear him out first, even if the fire attack didn’t, but that didn’t seem to be the case. His breathing was still slow, and he was still on the balls of his feet.

But Masahide was a mountain champion. No one could match his stamina at this altitude. He pressed the fight. When he got nowhere, he doubled his effort. The axe never stopped. It darted side to side and made huge arcs from overhead. His intention wasn’t to land a hit but to test the man’s endurance. He was calling the bluff.

Harutane’s sword arm finally sagged. His chest heaved as he sucked breath, and his face reddened. “You’re an archknight whether you can summon Shining Armor or not, Masahide. But I have more tricks than a jester.” He pulled a crown from his coat and placed it on his head. “The Emporer’s Crown.”

Masahide reached out with his mind through the portal and to Mount Templar. He needed a weapon to end this. Some subconscious warning screeched at the sight of the man with a crown.

“Lay down your axe.”

Masahide did as instructed.

Masahide

Level: 30

Focus: Conjuring (conduit)

Secondary focus: Quake

Weapons: pure sword - 35% pure

Items: Heart of the Earth