That was all I needed it seems… a nap. I feel so revitalized, having little to none of my specters running around the Deadlands. Lionheart… I should be thankful for what she’s done, but I fail to remember my obsession over her. I guess it doesn’t matter at this point, my memories will flow freely given enough time. This is it… after so many years, I’m at the final stages of this struggle. I can’t say I made it easy on myself, but that was to be expected after such a drastic measure.
For once I can barely control myself, this anxious feeling crawling inside my chest almost makes me laugh. Three gladean knights left, three possible threats to my life at the moment… as if. Let’s see what this new champion has to offer first, then I can move on to the next stage… Lionheart.
Center of the Deadlands, Ruined Castle: 936, December 31st, Monday, 3:30 AM.
Bouncing off the sturdy walls of the black castle, was the thundering sounds of steel crashing against each other, making the ground shake by the sheer force behind them. The two individuals responsible for such a turmoil sprinted across a dark and narrow hall, swinging their blades at each other with superhuman speed.
The azure blades of the order’s champion illuminated the obscured walls of the broken fortress, and danced around the crimson light of Specter’s own weapon—a broken sword with the face of a lion at the guard. Despite its state however, Sovereign’s own power served to feed the shattered weapon and extend its reach with a crimson blade of energy.
“Holding back against me?” Loki taunted with a smirk, clasping the grip of his sword before performing a wide horizontal slash against his opponent.
Specter deflected the azure sword of the knight with his own, flinging his adversary’s arm away. “Still arrogant after our last battle?” he growled while gathering a large amount of crimson energy in his spectral left hand, thrusting it forward towards Loki’s chest.
Reacting quickly to his attack, the knight scoffed with a wide smirk as his body simply vanished out of harm’s way—leaving tiny particles of azure light behind. Sovereign’s attack erupted in the air with a powerful ignition, dispersing into thin air mere seconds after. With a clear opening before him, Loki quickly reappeared in front of his opponent to grab his face with one hand, proceeding to slam his skull against one of the spectral walls of the hallway.
“Gr!” Specter grunted in pain as his head collided with the sharp and sturdy material of the castle.
“Let’s see which one of us is actually in over his head,” the knight said while dragging the face of his foe across the wall—breaking its near indestructible structure in the process.
The black rubble of the castle crumbled on the broken floor, as the enormous gash left by the champion’s attack ripped it open with relative ease. However, with a strong push of his palms against the same wall he was forced against, Sovereign managed to break free from the knight’s clutches, and slam himself against the other side of the hall.
“Oomph!” the young man bounced off its spectral structure and flopped back down on his face, quickly lifting himself back on both feet to face the order’s champion. “You…”
What his eyes found however, was the empty shadows of the abandoned hallway—failing to spot the proud gladean knight nearby. His brows scrunched down into an arrow and his nose crinkled, baring his teeth with an intimidating growl while pressing his fingers into tight fists. The man took not a single second to rest before storming his way further into the castle, skipping every other room until eventually reaching his target destination—a place he’d been resting for months ever since his abandonment of Cerberus.
Inside, at the very center of the broken throne room, Loki already waited for his arrival with an eager smile—two azure swords in hand, and a pair of feisty eyes that glowed with the same intensity as his blades. Sovereign met the champion’s eagerness with a cautious approach, keeping his mouth in a straight line as he slowly stepped inside the room.
“Not here either, huh?” Loki said, prompting Specter to move his eyes towards the empty pedestal next to the broken throne.
“Your hunt is hopeless, knight.” He calmly replied. “If it were that easy to kill me…” the young man gathered more crimson energy from the air itself, transforming it into the exact same broken sword he always carried with himself. “You wouldn’t even exist.”
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“But I do,” Loki pointed one of his swords towards his adversary. “And my face… will be the last thing you’ll ever see.”
Pressing both feet on the ground, Loki propelled himself forward against the god while crossing his blades at the front, performing a crossed slash that sliced the air into an x shape with a swoosh. Specter jumped to the side and successfully avoided the knight’s attack, retaliating with a strike of his own by reeling his sword arm back over his shoulder, and swinging directly at the knight’s torso with a horizontal attack.
Prepared for the god’s counterattack however, the order’s champion bent his body by the waist while keeping his back straight, leaving his lower and upper half perpendicular to each other in a perfect angle—barely avoiding Specter’s attack. Out of harm’s way, he rapidly dispersed the swords in his hands and responded with a strong attack himself.
“React to this!” Loki roared, throwing his body down against the floor to catch himself with both hands, utilizing his palms to spin his body towards Specter and strike with the bridge of his foot at the demon’s ankles—bringing him down with a successful strike.
“Grah!” Sovereign’s back hit the floor, causing his head to bounce off it with a violent crash.
Following up with his assault, Loki raised one arm above his head while materializing one of his swords in an instant, bringing it down against his fallen foe without hesitation. He threw his hand downwards with every intention of ending the god’s life by piercing his chest, but the fast-reacting demon would not lie down and wait for his own demise.
Specter’s sharp senses caught the approaching azure sword of Loki immediately after his fall, finding no alternative other than catching the blade in his hand. He quickly launched his hand upwards, and successfully took a hold of the knight’s weapon with his spectral hand—causing a violent reaction from both parties at contact. Loki’s sword, fueled by the champion’s own divine pathway, battled for control as the god’s crimson energy flowed into its body—crawling from the fissures of the man’s glowing veins into its perfect steel.
“Heh…” Loki chuckled, prompting the god to narrow his eyes with an angry stare.
It was clear that the knight planned on abusing his own powers to get the upper hand, as the ability to teleport around the battlefield made him a fearsome foe. It was merely a fraction of a second before he blinked out of Sovereign’s view, taking just as much to remerge next to the fallen god with his second blade in hand.
“Gh!” the young man’s eyes widened as he tried to force the first azure sword away.
The champion’s weapon refused to be tossed aside by the demon however, continuing to push against his chest despite having lost contact with its wielder. With such a golden opportunity to strike, Loki once again brought his blade down against Specter in an attempt to break through his armored spectral chest.
In a quick response to the knight’s strategy, Specter contracted both knees close his chest before thrusting his legs upwards with a powerful kick. Though almost impaling himself in the azure swords of his opponent, both of his feet found their way into Loki’s chin just in time to send the champion flying away into the air—his staggered state causing both weapons to vanish into thin air, allowing Sovereign room to breathe.
“Grah!” the knight cried in pain, propelled upwards like a rocket before gravity forced him back down, and slammed him mercilessly against the black floor of the castle.
With his adversary stunned for the moment, Sovereign crawled away quickly while picking himself up from the ground. Huffing air through his lips with a drenched face, and a torn black suit. He lowered his gaze for just a moment to check on his left hand, noticing the crimson light within him grow at a steady pace. A frustrated groan escaped the young man’s lips as he turned his attention towards his right hand instead, displaying an older deteriorated state compared to the other.
“Dammit…”
“Hahah…” a quick chuckle echoed within the castle walls, bringing Sovereign’s attention back to the gladean knight, who casually cracked the joints of his neck after having pulled himself off the floor. “You are holding back on me, Specter.”
“It’s what you deserve…” growled the god.
Loki met his claims with a confident smirk, not letting the words of his opponent affect him in the slightest. Despite the lack of fear in the knight’s exterior however, many concerns brew within him as Specter refused to show his true strength. The thought of a most likely slumbering blonde princess suddenly flashed in his mind as well, prompting him to shake his head rapidly to let go of her distracting face.
“He isn’t trying yet…” the champion thought. “I guess he’s very fond of that human form of his, but if I take him down like this, he’ll just come back in a few hours at most.” He clicked his tongue, crinkling his nose in frustration. “I can’t afford to retreat again… I need to force his hand even further. I’ll force you to use all of that energy within you, Specter.” The usual smirk returned to the knight’s expression, and both swords materialized into his hands through a stream of azure energy flowing within his veins. “Then I’ll just have to follow it to the source…”
“Regretting coming here already?” Specter taunted, not a hint of humor in his voice or expression.
“As if,” replied Loki with a smirk. “Get ready for round two.”
END OF CHAPTER