That was the last word that Johannes got out before the monkey had reached him. The creature let out a ululating yell, and started to whip his staff around. As he did so, it grew and grew, turning into a 25 foot long rod of solid metal. The air around the staff started to churn like a whirlpool, and a small tornado touched down.
Johannes rooted his feet in the ground, and brought his sword up with both hands to block. The two weapons crashed into each other with a sound like some planet sized foundry, and stopped in midair. The monkey roared and the staff grew even larger, until it was almost double its previous size. By this point, Johannes was actually struggling to hold his weapon up, and his black armor was surging up towards his upper body, attempting to support his failing muscles. As it peeled away, Sam was able to see what was underneath it. A skeletal frame of withered gray flesh was all that was there, quite a different sight than the imposing armor. The only thing special about it was its size. Sam guessed that the man was also faceless underneath his helm.
Johannes snarled, and found the strength to move his sword. With a groan, the man started to push his weapon upwards, turning it almost horizontal. He then pushed off the ground, and slid the staff off of his own weapon, causing it to slam into the ground. Like a flash of black lightning, the man cut through the air, appearing in front of the monkey. The staff retracted in the block of an eye, causing a loud boom as the air rushed back into its space. It got it up just in time to block, and Johannes’ sword narrowly missed striking flesh.
Sam was only twenty feet away at this point, and he started to charge his power up to the max. Eyes of Judgement revealed that Johannes was a sinner of the highest order, cloaked in a haze of stygian darkness. The monkey was barely affected at all, not having done much in the line of sin. Next came Fiery Justice, layering another level of power onto the first. Sam took a deep breath, and went the final step with Girdings of the Arbiter, enveloping his body fully with the skill. Everything around him slowed down, and Sam smiled. The power rushing through him was incredible, and it was time to show Johannes his true strength. With a grunt, he pushed off the ground, and flew like an arrow towards the warring fighters. As he closed the distance in the blink of an eye, he let the final piece of his fighting style click into place.
“JUSTICE IS BEST SERVED COLD!” Sam screamed, his hammer blazing into a corona of light. Both of his enemies looked up from their battle, but it was too late.
Mjolnir crashed into Johannes’ ribs like a thunderbolt, discharging a storm of energy. Sam pivoted in mid air, and caught the man under the chin, tossing him into the air. Landing briefly, Sam pushed off and rocketed upwards, twisting his weapon for maximum force. It struck his enemy in the stomach, blasting off a layer of armor, and explaining the gray flesh beneath. As Johannes started to gain control again, and twist in midair, Sam finished the attack. His arms carried Mjolnir up and over his head, bringing it back as far as he could manage. It burned like a falling star as he brought it down, straight onto Johannes’ head.
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There was a cracking noise, and Sam realized that his strike had broken the sound barrier. Johannes was sent hurtling down so quickly that Sam only caught a glimpse of it. A moment later, there was a 20 foot deep crater in the ground. Sam landed heavily next to the crater, looking down into its depths. Johannes was sprawled out at the bottom, his armor almost completely gone.
The man jerked up with a roar of anger, and jumped up and out of the hole. He was still alive, but greatly weakened by Sam’s surprise attack. Before he could do anything, the monkey blindsided him with its staff which had expanded outwards to its full length. The creature looked at Sam with its golden eyes, and smiled.
“You are not like the others. Your heart is pure, Sam Atlas. You seek this weapon for the benefit of another, and not your own. What a refreshing change. Still, I wouldn't be much of a king if I let you have it without a fight.”
The monkey snapped its fingers, and two clones appeared next to it. They were not illusions either, and Sam could sense that they all possessed real power. One of the monkeys charged him, while the other two raced off towards Johannes. Sam was being underestimated. Well, he could work with that.
As the monkey came in, Sam got a better read of its aura. It was not a third as strong as the monkey had been, as would have made sense, but more than half. It seemed that the cloning ability had a bit of enhancement layered into it.
Sam met its first blow with his hammer, overpowering it almost instantly. The creature was much weaker physically than Sam. However, it had other abilities as well. The monkey suddenly changed shape, turning into a tiny ant. Sam was able to track the ant with his eyes, and he attempted to squash it with his hammer, but it retained all of the speed of its true form. The ant raced up his leg, and then turned back into a monkey, which dragged Sam down.
Sam yelped in surprise as the monkey dragged him down, and he twisted as he fell, trying to absorb the impact. As it turned out, monkeys made sub par shock absorbers. They were far too bony to cushion any sort of fall, and its innate durability made it like landing on the bare ground. Not that it actually hurt Sam, it was just disorienting. He gripped the monkey by the scruff of the neck, and pulled it off him, wheezing as it struck its staff into his abdomen. This entire thing felt disturbingly like fighting a toddler. A very wiry and hairy one.