Sam closed his eyes, and started to condense down his mana, layering it with his Dao energy. A bright ball of energy formed on his left palm, and Sam banished the shield to make room for it. The light grew brighter and brighter, causing his gauntlet to glow a bright cherry red from the heat. Sam’s hand was rapidly blistering, but his superior durability would tide him through this part. It was the actual launching motion that was going to do all the damage.
Sam lifted his hand, feeling it shake as he struggled to keep the coruscating energies contained within, and fired. As Sam did so, he focused all of his mind on imagining the bolt of mana and Dao energy as being something separate to him. As he felt his skin peel off his flesh, he had an epiphany. This was just like Dao imbuement, except he was imbuing something that he was not in contact with. As he realized this, the tearing feeling stopped, and the bolt surged off towards Johannes.
Sam was only lightly injured from his attack, with a small trickle of blood running down his hand. He was getting close to perfecting his skill. The bolt streaked towards Johannes like a crystalline spear of light, and as it neared, the man spotted it. He raised his sword to block, but the Sage brought his staff crashing down on the weapon, knocking it into the dirt. As that happened, the bolt hit. There was a noise like a thunderclap as the attack detonated, sending its deadly cargo of Dao energy into Johannes’ body. Lines of burning flesh spiderwebbed across the man’s skin, and large chunks flaked off. Johannes fell to one knee, gasping as his body was ripped apart from the inside. He clenched his fist, and a wave of gray light spread out from his core, reversing the damage.
He got to his feet slowly, parrying a blow from the Sage. Leaping over the monkey, the Legion commander raced towards Sam, the new target of his ire. Sam held his ground, resummoning his shield.
As Johannes came in, Sam held it high, bracing for impact. The sword came down like a runaway freight train, snapping his shield with ease and slamming him into the dirt with such force that it was like solid rock. Sam gasped as his left arm shattered, and rolled over to the side, sending fresh waves of pain down his body, as Johannes raised his sword again.
Sam scrambled to his feet, snapping his bone back into place with his skill, almost biting off his tongue as he did so. Sam ducked as the sword whistled overhead, and sent his hammer crashing down onto Johannes’ foot. The gray appendage split apart like a rotting fruit, sending specks of gray all across the ground. Johannes roared in pain and anger, stumbling as he lost his balance.
The man clenched his fist once more, but Sam whipped his hammer around, sending it into Johannes’ kneecap. The bone popped out with a dull snap, and Johannes fell to his knees. He was still attempting to heal himself, and when Sam raised his mace for another strike, Johannes sliced at him with his blade. Sam began to weave around it, but his body suddenly failed him and he stumbled forward into the path of the weapon. It caught him on the left shoulder, sending him spinning. He had avoided the brunt of the attack, but not the full thing. Johannes laughed as he saw this.
“You’re starting to flag now, aren’t you? It won’t be long until I kill you now. I have practically unlimited stamina, and as soon as I heal, you shall be nothing more than another bloodstain on my blade.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Sam was too busy snapping his displaced shoulder back into his joint to respond. As Johannes began to rise, the Sage came flying in from behind, expanding his staff to its fullest. He whipped it down onto Johannes’ head, and the man staggered. Johannes snatched at the staff with his free hand, but missed as it shrunk down to its former size. He twisted around and punched the Sage in the chest, sending the monkey flying backwards. He spat out blood as he flew, landing on his feet.
Sam ran forwards, trying to reach Johannes before he could get at the monkey. Sam jumped up, cocking back his mace to attack Johannes. The man whirled around, and blocked with his sword, causing Sam's hammer to glance off. Perhaps he could have broken through the man’s guard if he was at full power, but he did not have enough energy to do so. Instead, he was sent flying backwards, to land unsteadily on his feet.
Johannes marched inexorably forwards towards the Sage, limping heavily on his damaged leg. He had healed the superficial damage, but there were still lingering sequelae. Sam winced as he pushed off the ground, preparing for a second assault. If the Sage died now, then he would be on his own, facing off against Johannes.
Sam roared to bolster his fighting spirit, and charged once again. As Johannes turned, Sam pulsed his energy through his body, speeding himself up enough to dodge. He jumped up, landing on Johannes’ shoulder, before slamming his hammer down onto the man’s head. Johannes screamed as his skull fractured, and gray blood leaked out. Sam swung again, cracking through fully.
Johannes fell forwards, catching himself on one hand. The black gem shone brightly and it sent a wave of energy through his body. His bones started to click and his flesh melted, turning into a whirling mass of black matter. It condensed down a moment later, revealing a slight man, made completely out of dark energy.
“We meet for the first time, Sam Atlas. I would introduce myself, but I am sure that you already know who I am?” The black shadow had a deep and faintly cultured voice, sounding more like a teacher than a malevolent entity. Sam swallowed once. He knew exactly who this was.
“Hugo Mar. The leader of the Legion.”
“Correct. It was most impressive seeing you deal with Johannes like that. He was always too impulsive for his own good. However, I cannot simply allow such an insult to slide. For the next minute, you will be dealing with me. Try to survive, will you?”
The black shadow flashed forwards faster than Sam could see, and planted its fist in his stomach. Sam’s armor caved inward as he was propelled backwards, and as he fell, he saw the black figure running along the ground at the same pace as his flight.
As he fell, Sam watched the specter leap up, planting a shadowy foot in the middle of his chest. Sam flew upwards hundreds of feet, spinning wildly. A moment later, the figure of Hugo was floating next to him, snapping his fingers. A shadowy explosion of energy exploded in front of Sam, rocketing him down into the ground. Sam crashed down like a meteor, his head snapping back as he landed with a dull thump. He vomited up blood, and groaned as the black specter touched down gently next to him. It pulled back its leg and kicked Sam, the movement almost gentle. Its effects were anything but, however.
Sam skipped along the ground like a stone, his armor tearing bits off his skin as he flew. Every inch of his body felt as if he had been pounded for hours by a house sized meat tenderizer. Sam bit down hard on his tongue, trying to catalyze his Dao within him. The fiery energy of Righteous Anger surged through him, blanking out the pain for a moment. Sam scrambled to the side as a bolt of dark energy lanced through the air next to his head, narrowly avoiding the attack. The second one took him square in the chest however, boring a small hole through his armor. If he made it out of this alive, Sam was going to need some new armor.