As Sam ran, he sent his aura out around him in a billowing cloud of reddish energy. Upon seeing this, the team of aliens loading the cannon redoubled their efforts, but they would not be able to finish in time. Sam flashed by like a lightning bolt, his hammer ringing out a staccato beat on alien skulls. Behind him, a rain of gore splattered the side of the cannon as a dozen aliens died within the span of a second.
As Sam wheeled around to take out more, he felt a sudden sense of danger from the left. Sam ducked as a massive beam of power sizzled through the air above him, whipping around to face the new threat. A lithe four armed alien stood before him, its hands glowing with energy. Between the top two hands, it wielded a crystalline staff.
“Sam Atlas. I have heard much about you from my subordinates. I have to say, you are even more impressive than I expected,” the alien said, revealing a deep voice at odds with its figure.
“Yeah? Who the hell are you?”
“Crass as well, I see. I am Santari the Devastator, grand commander of this army.”
“What kind of idiot gives themselves a title? The Devastator? The only things that you are devastating are the futures of the prostitutes that have the misfortune of sleeping with you,” Sam responded.
“You miserable pinkfleshed scum! That is my System given title, of the Legendary rarity! You would do well to give me some respect.”
Sam roared in laughter, causing Santari to pause.
“What the hell is so funny to you?”
“The fact that you are bragging about a Legendary title. You must really know little about me if you think that I would find that impressive. Enough dick measuring. Let’s fight.”
Sam pushed off the ground with his left foot, sending himself hurtling towards Santari. The man slammed his staff into the ground, creating a shield of crystal in front of himself. Sam pulled back his mace, and slammed it into the shield, causing it to crack slightly. It held together however, and Sam was rebuffed. A smile rose unbidden to his face. It seemed that this fight would be a worthwhile one.
“Why are you here? It seems quite random that one of your caliber would just happen to arrive outside my gates,” Sam said.
“It was going to happen eventually. It took me some time to pinpoint the location of your headquarters, but I shall be richly rewarded for taking your head.”
Santari thrust his staff forward, and the shield dissipated, forming into a spear of crystalline energy. It sped through the air at Sam, and he blocked it with his hammer. The attack drove him back a few steps, and he had to fight to keep his ground. The alien soldiers were in the process of forming a circle around him and Santari, and a few others continued to load the cannon. Sam hated to admit it, but he needed some support for this one.
He thrust his left hand upwards, and sent a bolt of energy into the air. His palm burst open, but it was worth it. In the distance, the gate opened, and a platoon of soldiers came marching out, led by Eduardo. Sam smiled, and began to enhance himself to his fullest potential. He would save the effect of his armor for a final trump card if it was needed. His body began to glow with power, and Santari took a step backwards.
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The man growled, and thumped his bottom two hands into his chest, sending a pulse of light into himself. His muscles and body began to bulk up, and the ground beneath him sagged. Santari roared in bestial fury, and sent his staff whizzing through the air at Sam. A ten foot blade of crystal erupted out of the end as he swung it, catching Sam off guard. He twisted out of the way as it approached, but he was not fast enough to dodge it fully. The attack caught his left arm a glancing blow, sending him spinning away. Santari was far stronger than he had been mere moments ago, but that was fine. Sam was far stronger too.
Sam ducked under the return swing and raced across the ground towards Santari. Once he was inside the range of the staff, Santari was forced to withdraw the blade on the tip. That wasted valuable time however, and Sam landed a hit on the man. Santari flew backwards, turning a few aliens behind him into paste. The man collided with the cannon with a ringing noise. Sam advanced, batting away a few tentative assaults from the aliens with his hammer. Each strike broke bones and pulped flesh, making the rest of the aliens back away. The difference between Sam and the average fighters was becoming immense.
Santari got to his feet, spitting out purple blood, and grasped his staff with all four arms. The thing began to glow and it shifted into a crackling bolt of electricity, tinted a bright purple color. Sam could smell burning flesh from the man, and assumed that this was some sort of weapon skill. Sam picked up the pace, trying to get within Santari’s range before the man could launch the attack.
Santari threw the lightning lance towards Sam, and it accelerated in the air, drawing in power from Santari himself. A tether of blue and red energy connected the attack to its origin point, and Santari stumbled. Sam roared and brought his mace around himself in a tight arc, striking the tip of the lightning bolt with it. A shock ran through his body, crisping his flesh and causing him to shatter his teeth. Sam fought through it, and forced his will upon his weapon, locking the attack within it. Mjolnir shimmered as the lightning entered it fully, and it started to hum in Sam’s hands. Santari’s eyes widened, but it was too late.
Sam threw his weapon end over end towards his opponent, creating a crackling trail of energy behind it. Santari barely had time to blink before he was hurtling backwards, the hammer planted in his chest. Sam rused forwards toward the man, trying to catch up with him before he could escape the momentum of the hammer. Santari groaned as he pushed his hand into the space between himself and the hammer, creating a solid block of crystal there. The hammer was pushed away slightly, and Santari twisted in the air to dislodge it from himself. The hammer shot off towards the cannon, and Santari dropped to the ground, with a massive wound on his chest. The man pulled out a green crystal from his pocket and crushed it, restoring a good portion of the damage. Sam snarled as he saw this. Of course the other man had healing crystals. Maybe he could find some on his corpse after the fight.
Sam launched himself forwards, bringing his hands together. In his armor, each of his fists were a hammer in and of themselves, and Santari would rue the day that he underestimated their power. Each of his fists started to glow with Dao energy, and as the reddish hue fully encased them, Sam brought them down with all of his strength. Santari raised his hands, and created a transparent shield that hovered in midair between them, a sneer on his face.
Sam ignored the other man, and struck the shield as hard as he could. Both of his hands discharged their load of energy into the shield, letting off a titanic cracking noise as he disrupted its structural stability. Santari’s eyes widened, but before the man could move, Sam sent a surge of power into his fists, breaking through the shield. He lashed out with his right hand as he fell, grabbing onto Santari’s throat. Crystal spikes grew out of the man, piercing through his armor, but Sam ignored the pain, beginning to squeeze.