He slept there for the better part of a day, and Rax kept him company. Nobody came to disturb him, which was just as well, as his dreams were brutal, and filled with violence and pain. If somebody had woken him up, he might have hurt them.
As it was, he recovered a good portion of his strength by the time that he woke, and he stretched luxuriously, yawning as he did so. Sam got out of his bed, feeling better than he had in a while. He cracked his joints, and walked out into the city, wanting to find out what exactly had happened during the end of the battle. He had been unconscious for most of the aftermath of the battle and his only contribution had been killing Hugo Mar.
He was in a state of undress, without his armor on, but he didn't care. As he walked through the city, people stopped and stared at him, not used to seeing him without his armor. He was dressed in a simple shirt and pants combo, with sensible shoes underneath it. He had to wear something under his armor after all. He was ashamed to say that they weren't exactly in the best of condition, but he would look into clothing options later. He could be excused for constantly wearing the same clothes, as the faction had been in a state of war.
Sam could have headed straight for the city hall, but he wanted to survey the city first. The shield had been put back up, and the radiation poisoning that had been caused by the drifting particles of radioactive ash was gone, as the radiation was filtered out by the shield. However, the city was in a state of disrepair. Errant bolts of energy and projectiles had done a number on many of the houses and buildings, and the streets were battered. Some of the people walked around as if in a daze, as if they could not overcome the horrors of what they had just experienced. It had been quite a trying experience, even for those who hadn't been fighting, as the battle had spread across most of the entire city by the end, and the effects certainly would have been felt even in the safest areas.
Sam could only imagine what it would be like for a civilian to be trapped in the middle of a besieged city, surrounded by millions of basically demonic beings. It would have been utterly terrifying. Still, the people were at least coping with it in some way or another, and Sam was happy with the resilience of his city.
As he completed a small loop of the city, his mood started to darken when he saw the stacks of bodies piled up on the side of the streets, some of them having died from the radiation, and others from the battle itself. It was a sobering sight, and Sam respected it for what it was.
As he headed back for the city hall, he tried to console himself with the thought of how the Legion were now no more. They had eradicated every last member of that accursed faction, and now their only concerns were the aliens and the Seven Seals. All of that could wait for now however, and there were more pressing things to do.
Sam made his way back towards the headquarters in silence, and walked in the door of the city hall, his face grim. Walking up the stairs, he quickly reached the meeting room, where he found a few of the captains conversing in low tones with Talnor. It seemed that the Manthrox sect as a whole was quite apprehensive about joining with Sam’s faction, as they saw them as inferior to their own. Talnor himself was perfectly happy to serve under Sam, but apparently his men needed a reason to join up. Sam cleared his throat as he entered, and the other looked up.
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“Ah, Sam. Just the man I was looking for. You see, there have been some sticky moments with the assimilation of our faction,” Talnor said, with a look of slight embarrassment on his face. “I apologize for this, but it seems that they doubt your strength and capacity to lead.”
“Is there any way to assuage their doubts?” Sam asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
“Yes, there is. They want me to fight you in single combat. If I win, then we will not serve under you. If you win however, they will join without hesitation. Such is the way of the Multiverse.”
A few of the captains started to raise their voices, but Sam cut them off with a curt wave of his hand, nodding at Talnor.
“Very well. When should we do this then?” Sam responded.
Rather than answer, Talnor started out the door, pausing at the entrance so that Sam could follow. The captains followed in his footsteps, and Talnor led them towards one of the nearby arenas, which seemed to be already filled, judging by the noises coming out of it. As Talnor and Sam entered, the noises rose to a fever pitch.
The audience was split into two halves, one from Sam’s faction, and another from Talnor’s. Both sides seemed to be in a state of tension, and there was a noticeable line dividing them from each other. As Sam entered, the human side cheered, drowning out the others. Talnor raised his hand for silence, and Sam did the same, quieting their respective factions.
“We have come here to settle our differences like men!” Talnor shouted. “As my faction demanded, we shall have a duel to determine the fate of our factions.” The crowds roared at his declaration, and the two men walked towards the center of the arena, getting ready to fight.
Sam had picked up his weapon and armor on the way here, and he was ready for battle. Talnor still wore his loose fitting robes, but he held his katana loosely in one hand, the weapon absently crackling with electricity. They faced off against one another in the center of the arena sands, both of their faces blank.
Sam attacked first, surging forward with his hammer raised high. He managed to bait out a tentative strike from Talnor towards the exposed area of his midriff. Sam dodged and then sent his hammer twirling through the air at Talnor’s now open left side. The other man flipped over in the air, narrowly avoiding the attack with incredible elegance. Sam hissed in annoyance, and went on the offensive again, trying to hit his opponent with a series of blindingly fast strikes.
Talnor skipped around it, his robe billowing in the wind of his movement. The man seemed almost unconcerned by Sam’s attacks, as if they were of no consequence to him. Some of the people on the Manthrox side of the arena began to jeer at Sam, but he paid them no heed. Instead, he started to ramp up his attacks, empowering himself with his Girdings of the Arbiter skill. His movements began to speed up noticeably, and he started to land glancing blows on his opponent.
Talnor’s eyes widened, and the man began to use his sword to defend against Sam’s suddenly unavoidable blows. As the man fought, Sam stepped up his game once more, adding in his Fiery Justice skill. As the ethereal flame wreathed his form, Sam flashed forwards, and slammed his hammer into Talnor’s abdomen.
The man hurtled backwards, his light body skipping over the ground. Sam raced after it, but the other man was already on his feet, looking a bit perturbed. He seized his sword with both hands, and lightning began to dance around his form, coating his arms and legs in lines of crackling electricity. With a flash of light, he teleported forwards, a bolt of flickering lightning slamming down on his form. Sam raised his hammer to block, and was crushed into the ground by the force contained behind Talnor’s blow. Neither man spoke, too engrossed with the fight to do anything.