In the dark of the tunnel with no way to warm themselves, Pharos squad huddled in close to one another with Jake and Wyicks both staring down the pair of Maedra sentries from their safe distance. While Wyicks could not see them, Jake certainly could. Wyicks could see in the dark for a short distance due to his Daemon eyes but the lack of light severely limited that ability. Thus, Jake oriented his comrade towards where he should look and the pair began alternating their own sentry work. There was no way for either to tell time so they simply rested on and off for what felt like a comfortable window. The others offered to rotate in, however, none of them could see beyond their own extended hands. At least Wyicks could give some warning.
Jake forced himself to spend most of the time acting as a sentry. As the only individual who could clearly see the Maedra, he made the personal choice to keep them in sight as much as possible. While he originally had the idea of creating Alert spells, the Maedra would likely be able to detect the shift in mana. There was also the chance of the Knight wandering into the tunnel and spotting the runes on the walls. Jake didn’t feel like the risk was worth it so he restricted himself to visuals only. With the Warriors coming to replace them shortly, Jake forced himself to remain docile. For now, at least.
Breath by breath, the squad remained silent in the dark. Waiting for the eventual sounds of footsteps and clinking armor. When Jake confirmed what he had heard, he knew that their foes would hear it as well. The horde of approaching Warriors caused the Maedra ahead of them to stir. The two shifted in place and gurgled at one another, their large mouths bubbling with chatter as they listened to the approaching sounds. Picking up on their movement, Jake eased out of his rucksack straps and rolled onto his feet. Much like the first sentry, Jake crept up to the pair. His knives slid free and his fingers clutched their hilts firmly.
The sentries were in place for this exact purpose; to pick up on the sounds of the approaching Warriors and call the nest to action. However, if there was no call, there would be no mobilization. Wanting to maximize their level of surprise, Jake moved swiftly to dispatch the pair.
He toed across the short gap, closing the distance before finally lunging out at the first sentry on his right. The Beast let out a sharp gasp, surprised by the strike to its chest. The second turned in anger and let out a snarl before raising its arm to strike Jake. Yet before the boy could react and execute his second foe, the Maedra’s side was pierced and its torso torn open by a quartet of blades. Wyicks had moved forward with Jake, shadowing the boy and attacking as soon as the opening was made. The only alarm for the nest, now forever silent, was both sentries collapsing in a pair of dull thuds.
Jake nodded to Wyicks and then the pair returned to Pharos. The others had stirred and made their own preparations to move. The initial plan called for the Scouts and Warriors to trade places but Pharos had other plans. They were capable fighters and rather than just flee, they would add to the assault force. Its members were confident in their ability to be force multipliers and this wasn’t the time to hold any forces in reserve. The other Scout squads didn’t feel the same and were already moving to the rear but that was fine. It was their choice.
The Guard teams moved forward to replace the returning Scouts. Their fine armor and well-kept weapons contributed to the assault as well. They were planned, however, unlike Pharos.
The Warrior teams that approached totaled nearly twenty strong. With ten Warriors at a minimum per team, Jake calculated an estimated two-hundred Oryx had come to fight. Even with a two-to-one advantage, he doubted it would be enough. One Maedra was worth at least three Warriors. Even so, they would march and they would fight. Stopping now would only mean death for the village.
“Let’s go,” Nuro ordered from the rear, calling for the team to advance closer to the nest. As per the plan, once the Warrior teams were confirmed to be approaching, Pharos would move forward to survey the nest. This would enable them to get a quick overview of the area. With the sentries dealt with, Jake had the opportunity to slip forward undetected.
The team left their packs behind since they would only slow them down in combat. Once more following behind their mage, the team advanced the remaining distance to the nest itself. Jake controlled their approach to a crawl, forcing them to take steady and individual steps so as to minimize any chance of them being found out. At the entrance, Jake took a knee and held up a hand to stop the rest of his team. They all lined up behind him and waited as the boy lowered onto his stomach and crawled into the nest.
Jake kept as low as possible as he inched out of the tunnel and into an overwatch position. He moved to the very edge of the ledge he found himself on so he could look down at the area below. To his dismay, the numbers of Maedra were even higher than he originally thought. A mere hundred was far too low. There had to be almost twice that amount filling the area. Dozens of Guardians, at least fifteen Arachkin-types, platoon-size elements full of Maedra, and entire blocks of Maudraga. A force capable of not just overwhelming Ewana but any village within the Ravine if it moved all at once.
If Jake had any consolation, it was that he spotted the Black Knight. The armored black hound of Crux marched through the lines and around the area, scanning and checking on the Maedra. He gave out his orders to the Arachkin-types and then Jake watched as dozens of Maedra moved as the orders were echoed through the lines. Truly a well-organized fighting force. Disciplined and armed.
Indeed. Unlike the Maedra Jake had encountered before, some now wore armor and carried weapons. Weapons that had been stolen or looted from either caravans or Oryx patrol teams that had been killed in recent weeks. From how well-armed the force below was, Jake figured the Black Knight had been up to no good for a long time. The ambush yesterday wasn’t a fluke or some new tactic. It had been planned, practiced, and executed well.
These Maedra weren’t just instinctive beasts. They were an army worthy of the fear their name carried.
“Shit.” Jake cursed in his mind and slowly retreated from the ledge. Pulling back, he returned to the tunnel and sought out Nuro. He patted the Elf on the shoulder to get his attention and then leaned into his ear. “Too many. They have armor and weapons, and their numbers are much higher. We’ll lose this fight.” Jake issued his report and watched as Nuro’s expression twisted.
Yet, Nuro simply shook his head. “We fight now, or we die. What can you do?”
Jake clenched his jaw and felt his stomach churn but Nuro’s response came without surprise. Regardless of what Jake had seen and what his estimation was, the village was planning to attack with as powerful a force as it could muster. If they lost here, mounting an equally strong defense would fail anyways. Failure here at least meant that they would have time to evacuate to another village elsewhere. Which left Jake with one task; lessen the burden.
“What I do best,” the boy responded with a smirk. “Wait for the warrior teams and attack when they’re ready. I’ll thin the herd.” Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of papers, both with a familiar sigil on them.
Nuro’s face twisted and his eyes narrowed as he stared at Jake’s silhouette. The Elf reached out and gripped Jake’s shoulder firmly, squeezing it tightly. “Good luck.” He didn’t try to stop Jake, only encouraged him.
This would be a fool's errand.
“Thanks.” Jake pulled away and slipped forward towards the nest entrance. His teammates watched his outline and a few tried to move, but Nuro swiftly maneuvered to their front and kept them in place. As ordered, Pharos would remain stationary until reinforced.
Jake maneuvered to the entrance and once more moved outwards onto the ledge. He scanned the area and began to chunk out the zones of the nest. There were five areas that he could point out; the breeding grounds, resting area, armory and refit zone, training area, and staging area. The breeding grounds were full of Maedra youth and had multiple Guardian-types loitering close by to provide extra protection. The training area was the least populated, as the few Maedra there were simply sparring or fiddling with their equipment. The staging area contained most of those already armed as they were preparing to leave. In the armory and refit zone, the Maedra worked to either remove their gear or grab some for their upcoming missions. The resting area seemed to be full of those who had just returned and were recovering from whatever they had done. The remaining Maedra were dispersed throughout the nest.
With a lot of ground to cover, Jake began to prepare two sigils for the Cleansing Spell. One for close by, the other for the far side of the nest. He wouldn’t be able to hit the entire space but with two, he hoped to cover the majority. Quickly, the boy fed mana into the papers and waited until they were glowing brightly before he held them out in front of himself. Using wind magic, Jake threw one into the air and shot it across the room.
Several Maedra snapped to life, their eyes widening to witness the paper spin by. Likely attracted to the sudden stench of refined mana in the air. They watched as the paper spiraled overhead. The Black Knight stopped what he was doing as well and looked up just as the paper reached its destination. Jake then threw out the second and triggered them together. Both flared brightly, the sigils lifting off the paper and expanding outwards to cover their areas of effect.
The Black Knight immediately looked in Jake’s direction, the boy now fully illuminated by the glowing magic lines in the air. Jake returned the stare, eyeing the Knight harshly as the blue lines of mana flashed green. The mana in the air suddenly shifted, its properties changing as the purification spell took effect. The raw mana began to glow and the several pools in the breeding area changed from a dull blue to a soft green. The Maedra children within them howled in agony as the mana they absorbed began to melt their insides. The adults loitering beneath the two glowing green sigils also cried out, their mouths drying and their bodies burning as their food became poison.
“Apostle!” The Black Knight’s voice thundered into the air, the sound bringing the Maedra to life as they howled in unison. Dozens of Arachkin-types moved to the walls and oriented themselves towards Jake. Orders were shouted and screeched out and the forces below quickly rallied to attack the new threat.
Jake didn’t give them time to organize, however. Immediately after the effects of his Cleansing Sigils set in, the boy extended his hands and conjured dozens of Fire Spears. He loaded their spearheads with explosive runes and fired them into the horde, targeting the Maudraga, Guardians, and he made sure to pommel the armory. Equipment collected within was promptly destroyed, damaged, buried, or scattered. Those within were massacred as Jake saturated the zone. Groups of Maudraga were obliterated in an attempt to neuter the force’s magic strength. A few scattered and smaller elements remained, however. Jake targeted the ones he could point out in quick succession but by then he had lost his momentary surprise advantage.
The Maedra were rushing towards him, with and without equipment. Those caught in his cleansing spells were still dying. However, those who could escape the effect zones were able to recover somewhat, reducing the overall number of those killed by the initial strike. Even so, Jake stepped off the ledge and plunged into the fray. Moving away from the entrance would give the others the most amount of time to prepare. He just hoped they would come quickly.
As Jake hit the floor, he began his slaughter. The boy pulled free his Spell Blade and an Elven sword, channeling mana into both to ignite the sigils within them. Simultaneously, Jake cast an array of Stone Breaker and Fire Spear spells, layering them three deep in an arc over his head. As the Maedra turned to collapse on his position, Jake filled the air with his spells.
He tore through the first line using Stone Breakers, shattering flesh and scattering meat in the air as he made space. Then, he filled in the gap with Fire Spears. The Maedra exploded into flames, the air thundering from the impacts and explosions. The ground cratered and shook. The Maedra howls mixed with the sound of stones cracking into pebbles. The smell of burning flesh mixed with the smell of rotting flesh in the air.
Standing tall at the base of the wall he’d jumped off, Jake peppered the Maedra lines. He crippled the initial wave, broke its spine into pieces, and then immediately began to lob attacks toward enemies at the rear. He didn’t give the Arachkin-types the opportunity to hide as he had done in his first nest. He targeted them immediately, throwing Stone Breaker spells in their direction to knock them out of the fight as soon as possible. He killed at least eight before the remaining few moved off the walls to conceal themselves. Once they were thrown off, Jake pummeled the Maudraga some more and reduced their numbers further.
It wasn't easy dealing with the Guardians, but they could be managed with teamwork. The Maedra were just fodder that needed trimming. The other two would cause problems for the Oryx warriors, so Jake did his best to prioritize them.
Yet, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stand in place forever. Thus, rather than wait for that moment to come, Jake utilized his momentary advantage while also preparing himself for the impending melee. Knowing his target, Jake oriented himself and cast several Physical Enhancement sigils on his body using mana before lunging into the fray. The Maedra forces in front of him were peppered with a mix of Stone Breakers, Wind Balls, and Water Spears. It caused a mixture of damage and cut a line through their numbers. When there was no distance left to cast spells into, Jake’s hands set to work.
Slicing and cutting in time with the dancing of his feet, Jake carved into the horde. Maedra all around him snarled, gurgled, and screeched. Their heavy arms swung like clubs in an attempt to smash his body. Those armed with sharp arms or weapons thrust and swung to try and cut him. Guardian-types relied on their massive bodies and solid shields to try and block him. All efforts were futile, as Jake nimbly moved through their ranks and left a trail of corpses in his wake. His Spell Blade burned orange with heat as fire-tuned mana leaked from its edge. His Elven blade glowed a bright blue, the edge almost screaming with excitement as it performed its duty. Fire spears rained down around him, skewering the Maedra from above. From below, Jake created spikes from the floor that split the Maedra in half at their waists.
The Guardian-types Jake ran into were immediately hammered by Stone Breakers, their shields mangled and broken by the overwhelming firepower of the spells. When their weaker bodies were exposed, Jake jumped into them to cut off their heads or split their torsos into chunks. An unrelenting show of force and the embodiment of violence. Jake breathed like a beast through clenched teeth, regulating his oxygen intake and keeping his heart rate steady as his muscles burned. Fatigue built only to be whisked away by Light magic the boy weaved into his arsenal.
Following the rhythm of wearing himself down and then utilizing recovery magic to fix himself, Jake slowly advanced through the Maedra horde. Finally, he reached his goal. Towards the center of the room, just off to the side, the Black Knight watched from a small bump in the floor. Large enough of an incline to give him a way to observe the boy, but not high enough to truly be called a hill. It made him stand out and gave Jake plenty of motivation to keep digging through the meat grinder.
Killing one final Guardian-type in his way, Jake used the corpse as a springboard and jumped over the remaining Maedra in his path. The Knight finally acknowledged that he was in danger and drew his blade. A sword twice as long as anything Jake carried with a menacing black edge. The blade curved gently to encourage it to be used for slashing, and had a length that required two hands on the hilt for it to be wielded properly.
“Foolish choice!” The Knight shouted as Jake arced toward him. Raising his blade, the Knight swung at Jake as the boy fell from the air. The two clashed almost instantly, the Knight stepping back to cushion the weight of Jake’s descent.
With momentum lost, Jake’s weight pulled him to the ground below. The Knight stepped forward and pushed. Jake, unable to maintain his footing, dropped to a knee to keep from being tackled. His twin swords locked with the long blade in the Knight's hand as he crossed them. The Knight tilted forward and pushed, pinning Jake in place.
“This is where you belong, Apostle.” The Knight eked out a cackle as he glared down at the boy. “Kneeling before the power of my Lord.”
Jake scoffed and summoned a pair of Stone Breakers overhead. The Knight picked up on the sudden shift in mana and pushed off the swords. He moved backward, avoiding one Breaker while cutting the second in half. His sword, wrapped in black mana, easily carved through the spell and dispersed the wind contained within it. Freed from the weight, Jake regained his feet and took his Sword Singer stance. As if recognizing it, the Knight let out an annoyed grunt.
Squeezing the handles of his weapons, Jake sucked in a deep breath. His mana flow pulsed and his four mana tails splayed out from behind him. At their tips, he created rings of fire balls. Within each orange ball, the boy placed pairs of explosive runes. Fire spears would take too long and have too much impact. He didn’t want to be caught in the effects of his own spells. Thus, the smaller balls better fit his needs.
“Your weak spells will never work!” The Knight spat before rushing forward. He raised his sword over to his left and dashed toward Jake.
Snarling, Jake unleashed a reactive barrage of heat. The fire balls whipped through the air and pelted the Knight. Those that were off target shattered the stone floor or splattered Maedra that had inched too close. The thick metal of the Knight seemed to absorb the impacts, however. A layer of mana glistened and ebbed with each hit. Upon contact with the Knight’s armor, the fireballs would spark and explode as intended but it seemed that much of the spells’ strength was being sapped away. Trusting in his armor, the Knight charged through the wave of spells without fear.
With his spells ineffective, Jake swiftly moved forward to meet the Knight’s inertia and deflected a heavy swing. His Elven sword vibrated and rang. Sparks filled the dim space as the metal edges connected. Jake’s muscles quaked from the blow and his fingers trembled with a warning. Too many of those and his hands would turn numb.
“You’re weak, Apostle.” The Knight spoke flatly before swinging to block Jake’s counterattack- an upward swipe. The blades bounced off one another until Jake stepped back.
The brief gap was filled with fire balls. Four of them. Jake targeted the Knight’s upper body and helm. Yet the Knight didn’t move to block or deal with them. Even as the fire balls smashed into him and the runes within them tore apart in violent blasts, the Knight refused to flinch. After setting his feet, the Knight simply swung his blade again and continued his assault.
“It is useless!” He howled, advancing in time with his swings. With each strike, the Knight pushed Jake backward and hammered at the boy’s blades.
Strike after strike, Jake found himself unable to respond. He switched from Fire Balls to Wind Cones. Rather than blow through the armor, Jake used their sharp tips and high rotation speed to try and drill through. Yet once more, that black mana coating the Knight’s armor remained unbroken. The Knight’s swings only grew more intense and confident.
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“We’ll see,” Jake grunted, deflecting another swing before slamming his foot into the floor. A massive stone wall jutted upward between the two. The Knight laughed, his voice booming as he slammed a heavy fist into the erected stone. The wall cracked in the middle and shattered. Crumbled stones returned to the floor below.
Jake, however, was missing behind it. The Knight, as if not surprised by the move, calmly looked left and then right. Then, he looked up. When he scanned the air, he found his prey. Jake had jumped up into the air and was twirling to face him. Around the boy, eight Fire Spears sparked to life and all pointed down at the Knight. Jake arranged for them to impact slightly off one another in order to increase the area of impact before he launched them down at their target.
The Knight lowered his stance and brought his blade up to his left shoulder. The tip of the sword pointed straight up toward Jake with a ball of black coiling around its tip. A chill ran down Jake’s spine. Sensing danger, he immediately conjured a blast of wind at his feet to push his body out of the way. A moment later, the Knight twirled his arms and slashed powerfully at the sky. A wave of mana shot upwards, cutting through three of the Fire Spears and splitting the air where Jake had been. It continued to sail by, stopping only when it slammed into the ceiling. A deep cut was visible in the stone. A fresh scar.
The remaining fire spears hit their marks. As fire erupted around the Knight, the impact tore the floor apart. Unphased, he stood in the center of it all as if basking in the intense heat. Jake landed on his feet a few dozen paces off and immediately turned to cut down a pair of Maedra that had chosen to attack. The Knight faced the boy’s direction again and marched through the low flames, his heavy boots snuffing out the fires beneath them. Not a scratch on him.
“Is this everything, Apostle?” He grumbled. “Is this the extent of your ability?” The Knight held his heavy blade in his hand, the tip bouncing as he contemplated his next move. He seemed bored. “Your kind has always proven to be a disappointment. I am unsure why this time I thought it might be any different.”
Jake yanked his blade out of the chest of a Maedra, kicking the corpse to the side. Even he agreed with the Knight for a moment. His power was lacking against whatever the Knight was using for defense. It seemed to be a veil of mana of some kind. At a glance, Jake couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary but with his sensory magic, he could see something coating the Knight’s armor. A thin, vile layer of dark purple covered the Knight from head to toe. Front to back. Even his blade was coated in the stuff. If it was magic, Jake would need to find a way to overwhelm it.
The boy brought his mana to bear, pulling everything he could collect to the surface of his skin. The Knight paused in his advance and gripped his sword with both hands. As if sensing something was coming, the enemy tensed. A fitting choice. Jake clenched his teeth and synced his mana flow with the raw mana in the air. He mixed the two, expanded his available mana pool, and then surrounded the Knight with a mix of Stone Breakers, Fire Spears, and Fire Balls packed with explosive runes.
“Oh?” The Knight let out a faint sound as he looked around himself. “An impressive display…”
Jake huffed, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his face. “Let’s see how you come out of this.”
Releasing the tension in his neck, the array of spells collapsed all at once in a powerful wave. The Maedra in the area screeched as they fled from the impact point, running to get some distance from the fight. Jake slammed his blades into the floor and lowered to a knee. Using rock magic, he conjured a brace behind his left foot to support his weight. The moment his spells hit, he was thankful for the decision. Set, he extended his hands and took in a long breath. Steadying himself for the second phase, Jake’s mana began to leak out of his arms and his fingertips.
As the spells pounded the Knight, the entire room quaked and flashed as fire bellowed upwards in a spiraling torrent. A scorching gale whipped through the space, torching any Maedra it touched, forcing Jake to turn his face away. The heat reminded him of a summer day in the desert but it felt twice as hot. The intensity scalded his cheeks and threatened to burn his palms. His teeth ground together as he fought against the wind, his core tightening as he struggled to remain in place. The shaking ground didn’t help.
After several moments, with the heat’s intensity reaching its peak, Jake solidified his bond with the mana he’d sent out into the air. He created a box and stabilized the four sides surrounding both the Knight and the now-raging inferno. Compression Magic. Once the box was made, Jake pushed the mana inwards and steadily reduced the available space. The smaller and smaller the box became, the hotter the flames raged beneath the intense pressure. Jake’s arms shook and his flow trembled from the strain as he squeezed the blaze into as small a space as he could make.
The boy had reduced the box to nearly a third of its original size. The flames within were burning a bright blue, the heat drying the sweat on Jake’s skin. He dared to push further but he had hit resistance. No matter how hard he pushed, pressed, gripped, and squeezed, the box failed to shrink any further. The flames continued to bellow and howl but he had reached the peak of how small he could get. Adjusting his hands, Jake stayed firm and kept the walls locked in place.
In time, the fires began to dissipate and Jake was finally able to look forward again. The ground was red, the stones glowing with heat as the air steamed. To his disbelief, in the center of the impact point, a tall figure stood resolutely. Surrounded by the flame and unaffected by the pressure of the box, the Knight stared outwards towards Jake. Unphased.
Or so Jake thought. Closer inspection revealed that much of the mana layer was missing. It was recovering but the Knight hadn’t made it out without a cost. Good, Jake would take it.
“Pathetic, human! You are truly pathetic!” The Knight laughed and stepped forward, his boot crunching a glowing red stone as he moved toward the boy. A heavy swing cut through the mana box Jake had made. The tension in Jake’s hands and mana flow snapped as the box dispersed. The flames contained within coughed outwards, scattering through the nest as they lost their strength. Jake used a protective wind wall to shield himself from the heat as it swept by.
Having just swung to break the box, the Knight didn’t have his blade up when Jake suddenly crossed the gap in a blink. Using a blast of wind at his feet, Jake accelerated like a bullet. His right hand was cocked, then he fired another wind blast at his elbow. His fist smashed into the side of the Knight’s helm. A loud hammering noise thundered as the Knight’s head recoiled. Twisting his body, Jake loaded his left fist and delivered a haymaker. The Knight stumbled. Jake landed and then twisted his hips, driving his knee into the Knight’s side.
The successive blows knocked the Knight off his feet. As he fell, Jake slammed the Knight with another Stone Breaker, driving his enemy to the ground. The brittle floor easily fractured from the impact.
The armor was dented by the blows. The heavy strikes had done their work.
“You little-!” The Knight began to sit up and tried to get out of the hole only for Jake to slam him back into it with a violent ground-pounding punch. The boy had sheathed his blades. Wielding only his fists, he began to pummel the Knight’s armor. The floor quaked and the air rang. Like a blacksmith mending metal, Jake pounded his hands against the black armor. Using mana to protect his hands and wind magic to strengthen his strikes, Jake pummeled the Knight into the dirt. The Knight’s helm bounced off the rock with each hit. His chest plate cracked and crinkled. His pauldrons were torn, the layers ripped off by the boy’s aggressive tearing.
Eventually, the hammering stopped and Jake pulled away from the crater. His arms were sore. Even with the protection of mana over his hands, his knuckles were bleeding and his hands had gone numb. Along with the physical fatigue, his mana flow was weakening from the intense use so he needed to give it a moment to recover. The Knight’s armor was heavily deformed and the Knight himself was no longer moving.
Jake knew the fight wasn’t over, though. He steadied his breathing and quickly checked his surroundings. The Maedra lingered just at the edge of a wide, invisible circle. As if reluctant to get involved, they gave the two a wide berth. However, Jake knew that once the fight was over that circle would be meaningless. The Maedra would collapse after the victor was decided. Since they hadn’t yet, Jake knew there was more coming.
He quickly got a grip on his mana flow and worked to repair the damage to his body. His muscles were treated first, followed by his injured hands. Next, he repaired the minor damage to his bones, as the incessant hammering had caused slight cracks to appear within the bones in his fingers and hands. Once his body was fixed and he could breathe steadily, he let his mana flow fix itself and replenish what had been lost.
“....You…” The Knight’s voice rumbled from the hole as an armored hand reached outwards. He gripped the lip of the hole and pulled his upper body out of the rock. “...insufferable…” He snarled, dragging the rest of his armored body to his feet. “...pestilence!” The Knight reached down to grip the hilt of his sword and then ripped it free from the debris it was lodged beneath. “I’m going to relish ripping your limbs from your corpse!”
The armor of the Knight creaked loudly. Black mana flowed beneath the layer of steel, repairing the damage slowly. While the mana worked to fix his armor, the Knight stepped out of the hole and glared at Jake.
A glare that was met with a smile. “Sorry, that’s not happening.” Jake clenched his fists tight and assumed a low stance. Mana coiled around his body, burning the air. Fire kindled at his fingertips. Flow of Chi, Fire Style. Intently focused on pure offensive ability, Jake put everything he had into the objective of overpowering the Knight. So long as he could keep that Black Mana suppressed, he would have a chance.
The Knight’s red eyes narrowed before he stomped forward. “HA-!” He hollered, swinging his sword with a strike loaded with hatred. The black edge of the sword flared before ejecting a wave full of mana toward Jake. The boy jumped over the wave, dodging it easily. The wave cut through dozens of Maedra that had crowded in the distance behind him.
Another slice, another wave. Over and over, the Knight cut at the air and sent mana-laden attacks in Jake’s direction. The boy nimbly moved around them, using his own magic to propel himself around the space like a rabbit evading a fox. Dashing left and right. Jumping and launching up into the air before pushing himself back to the ground. All the while, little by little, he closed the gap until an opening appeared.
Following another swing by the Knight, Jake hopped upwards and then kicked off the ceiling. He launched himself into the Knight’s face and slammed his fist down. The Knight raised his right arm, blocking the blow with his gauntlet. The armor cratered. Jake landed and swiftly followed with a punch to the Knight’s stomach, denting the core armor.
The Knight finally dropped his sword and resorted to trading swings, but Jake was faster. Weaving through the thrown hands, Jake delivered hit after hit, further cracking the armor of the Knight. The Knight failed to keep his feet and Jake easily swept them out, dropping the Knight on his back. Immediately after the Knight’s spine hit stone, a Stone Breaker slammed into his chest. Once more, he was driven into the ground, causing another crater to form as he was buried beneath the rubble.
“All that talk.” Jake slammed his fists together and spit at the ground. “I’m just as disappointed as you.”
The ground trembled beneath Jake’s feet. The hairs on his neck jostled. Out of instinct, Jake jumped away from the crater as it exploded outwards. Rock blasted out of it and black mana spit out in every direction. The Knight returned to his feet again, his armor this time fully repaired as mana oozed out of every crack and every hole. The Knight smoothly picked up his sword and stepped out of the crater.
“I grow tired of these games, Apostle.” The Knight spoke calmly as he looked toward Jake. “A shame. There was so much potential in those fists of yours.”
Unease bubbled in Jake’s mind and almost without thinking, he drew his Spell Blade and an Elven sword. Gripping them tightly, he took his Sword Singer stance and coiled mana around himself. The Black Knight advanced and then surged forward. The swings came faster. Harder. Stronger. With each blow, Jake felt his wrists tingle and his fingers threatened to give way. Jake dug into the ground and reacted with swings of his own, only for them to be knocked away by the Knight’s greaves. The Knight released his left hand from the hilt of his blade and began to swing it with just his right. Despite losing some of their speed, the blows retained their heavy weight.
“Resist, Apostle!” The Knight balked. "Show me your mettle!" The Knight slammed his sword down hard, splitting the air and forcing Jake to pick it up with both hands.
Unable to split his attention, Jake was left exposed to the heavy punch that came underneath. Jake’s sternum was struck by the Knight’s closed metal fist and the boy felt his bones crack from the impact. The wind in his lungs escaped. His vision blacked out for a moment. He felt the strength in his legs slip. His very heart trembled under the shock.
The Knight withdrew his sword as Jake stumbled. Then, he smashed his fist into Jake's face. The boy’s entire body twisted as he crumbled to the floor. His jaw was cracked and a molar was dislodged. His brain rattled, leaving him in a haze. Jake lay on his back, unable to do anything but wheeze and cough as blood leaked into the back of his throat. His body reeled from the strikes. The Knight reached down and grabbed the boy by his shirt. With effort, he yanked Jake up and off the floor. The boy dangled in his grip, barely holding on to his two swords.
The Knight scowled up at the boy. “Strong in mana. Feeble at everything else. Truly a shame, Apostle. My fears were misplaced.” The Knight lowered Jake to his feet only to smash a fist into the center of his face. Jake’s head snapped backward and his entire body folded. His consciousness slipped further and his ears rang. “My rage has been overcome with pity for you.” The Knight kicked at Jake until the boy was on his back. Then, he planted his boot firmly in the center of the boy’s chest.
A chorus of noise echoed into the nest and the Knight turned to look. “Ah, it seems your friends have finally arrived. Sadly, it is far too late.” The Knight chuckled and looked back down at Jake. “Both for you and that village of yours.”
Keying in on the mention of the village, Jake felt his grip on reality stabilize. He forced his eyes open and spit out the mouthful of blood choking him. With it, the broken tooth shot upwards and pinged off the Knight’s armor. “W-What…” Jake snarled, his voice cracking. “...did you just say?” He tested his hands for life, wiggling his fingers. He’d lost his blades at some point it seemed. Still, he would struggle. He reached up and grabbed the Knight’s ankle.
The Knight huffed and then stabbed Jake’s shoulder. The boy’s jaw locked, the bones creaking with stress as pain flooded his system. Adrenaline dumped reactively into his bloodstream and Jake began trying to repair the damage with Light magic. There was a lot of work to do. But not enough time.
“You are too late, Apostle.” The Knight twisted the sword, exacerbating the wound. Jake only gripped tighter. “My forces have already left to attack your village. It is only a matter of time before they reach it.” A low chortle escaped from the black helm. The Knight peered towards the Oryx Warriors now flooding into the tunnel. “And from how many you’ve brought with you, I can only imagine how few will be there to meet my forces. Truly a pity.”
Jake squeezed onto the Knight’s ankle as his mana boiled. He had lost Chul. He had lost Darius. He had lost Tul.
He wasn’t about to lose Yae.
The pain in his sternum was replaced by a scalding heat. It washed over him and numbed the pain of his shattered bones. Just like when Jake snapped when he’d witnessed Darius die, he felt that power pour out into his mana flow. An overwhelming force that asked for nothing more than carnage. A rage far greater than his own that desired the death of everything in sight. A power that was made for the sole purpose of massacring the enemy.
Jake growled and his fingers dug into the metal of the Knight’s boot. His muscles strained and he began to push, lifting the boot off his chest. The Knight’s eyes opened as mana seeped out of Jake's skin. The boy followed the steps he had practiced recently in the Library and slowly worked through the activation of his Aura spell. He drenched himself in the fresh mana leaking from his chest and his own. He bonded it to his flesh and then reinforced the layer until it hardened. The Knight yanked his sword out of Jake’s shoulder to keep it from becoming tangled and then knocked his boot loose from the boy’s grip. Slowly, Jake rolled onto his hands and knees and then up onto one knee.
His injuries were swiftly repaired and the boy calmed the raging fire in his mind. The Daemon Mana flooded every fiber of his being, screaming for war.
“I hope this hurts.” Jake grabbed the remaining blade on his hip and yanked the Elven sword out of its sheath. He rose to his feet and glared at the Knight. “I really hope this hurts.”
The Knight gripped his sword and glared at him. “Dragonkin magic and Daemon blood. It seems you are more than just an Apostle.” Taking an offensive stance, the Knight raised his blade over his head. “I wanted to kill you at first simply out of desire. Now, I must do it out of necessity.”
Jake didn’t respond and simply stomped forward. The ground beneath his foot cracked and split as he reached out with his mana. He didn’t conjure a spell. No, he just destroyed the floor. He shattered the rocks, broke the stone loose, and tore apart any possible footing that the Knight might have. The Knight stumbled and moved quickly to avoid falling, only to see Jake now in his face. Once more, Jake planned to smother the Knight.
The two crossed swords, the blades bouncing off one another as the two edges met. Jake extended his hand and punched the Knight’s helmet. The Knight recoiled but not as severely this round. Their swords crossed again, and again, and again. The Knight worked to keep Jake at a distance while Jake slowly crept closer, forcing his way through the Knight’s guard. Whenever the Knight earned himself a gap, Jake filled it with explosive spells or crumbled the floor again. The stones beneath them became mangled and impossible to stand on. Yet while the Knight struggled, Jake thrived. The boy used rock magic to create small platforms each time his feet landed and used wind magic to propel himself around the fight to keep the Knight under pressure.
Off one of Jake’s swings, the Knight was able to create additional space and then filled it with a slash of black mana. Forced to pull back in order to dodge the strike, Jake retreated for a moment. At that moment, Jake watched the Knight finally stabilize his feet. Just in time for Jake to literally pull the floor out from under him. Having softened enough rock, Jake used his magic to create a pitfall and collapsed the ground. The Knight fell waist-deep in the stone and began clawing at the rock to get out of it. Jake smirked and cast two spells in succession. The first caused the ground to turn into spikes, piercing the Knight’s armor and locking him in place. The second caused the ground to solidify, sealing the Knight in place with no way out.
The Knight’s mana immediately reacted and he stabbed his sword into the ground. The ground exploded, freeing the Knight from the stone's grip. “It’ll take more than a few rocks to-”
Before the Knight could finish, Jake grabbed the Knight’s helmet and slammed him straight to the ground. He dropped to a knee, pinning the Knight to the floor, and then shoved his sword into the Knight’s right shoulder. With the vulnerability created, Jake yanked his sword free and then filled the fresh wound with fire and explosive runes. He packed his magic in before diving aside. The runes ignited, blowing apart the limb and severing it. The Knight grunted on the ground and his mana began to bubble in the shoulder socket, already working to repair the damage.
As the Knight lifted himself off the ground to his knees, his own sword suddenly came down on him. Jake stabbed the long blade down through the thin gap between the chest plate armor and the Knight’s helmet. He stabbed it down into the ground and then used rock magic to seal the blade in place, trapping the knight on his knees.
With his target stuck, Jake grabbed the Knight’s helmet and tore it off. Underneath, only a black figure coated in black mana remained. They had human features but there was no skin color. There was only the black abyss of mana. Despite the surprise visual, Jake didn't flinch. His arm moved and his blue-silver blade dropped. The head of the Knight fell from the rest of his body.
The head rolled away, eventually coming to a stop with the eyes staring up at Jake. “Your brutality is admirable, Apostle. A commendable fighting style that even I respect.” It seemed even without a body, the Knight could still talk. Jake wasn’t surprised. The Knight didn’t bleed, feel pain, or grow tired. Whoever it was, or whatever it was, likely functioned entirely on mana. Much like the Maedra, but more advanced and deadly.
“Even with my death, victory is assured. You're too late, Apostle. Your village will crumble beneath our po-”
Jake jammed his sword down the exposed neck of the Knight’s body, piercing the mana crystal lodged within it. The instant the crystal shattered, the Knight’s voice ceased to blabber and only the howling of Maedra and Oryx Warriors echoed in the nest. Task complete, Jake dumped the corpse and sheathed his blade. He walked across the destroyed duel space to retrieve his other weapons. A brief check ensured that they were still usable.
Jake, feeling good, cracked his neck.
The Knight was dead but the rage within him still burned. The Dragon Skin clinging to his body squeezed his muscles and the powerful mana fueling it begged for more. A dark cloud lingered over his eyes, and a voice whispered in his ear, calling for violence.
Exhaling, Jake released the tension in his shoulders and closed his eyes. He expelled his fears, the unnecessary emotions of unease and nervousness. He calmed the thoughts he had let drift and forced himself to let go of his worries about Ewana.
Inhaling, Jake’s body tightened, coiled like a spring and his eyes glowed to life. He filled them with mana, expanded his Sensory magic, and remained still as the Maedra began to rush to where he stood. The edges of his swords began to shimmer with power as Jake fed mana into them, activating their enchantments.
There was still work to do.