The leap carries my frame across molten depths. The Duke's elite guard shifts and intercepts. They bar my way, blade-arms ready to meet my landing. Their twisted forms, once human warriors remade by demon craft, show no fear as fifteen feet of bone and ancient steel hurtles toward them.

They face duty that outlasts death.

Aeternus leads. The blade cleaves through the first guard before skeletal feet touch stone. Black blood sprays as corrupted armor splits. The platform trembles under my weight.

The remaining guards attack as one, moving with unnatural coordination. Multiple blades aimed where my skull was moments before. I drop low, dragon-reinforced bones allowing flexibility.

My free hand grabs the nearest guard by his helm, fingers crushing metal and skull together. Bone meets bone as my grip tightens, crumpling inward. The guard's struggles cease, limbs going slack.

I pivot, using the deadweight as a weapon. The corpse crashes into two more guards, their formations breaking. Steel scrapes against stone as they stumble backward. Their perfect coordination shatters.

The body tumbles over the edge, disappearing into the lava below. Orange light reflects off twisted armor, casting long shadows across the throne room floor.

The remaining guards recover quickly, but that moment of disorder is enough. Dragon-reinforced bones creak as I advance, each step leaving cracks in the stonework.

The duke does not wait. The Duke's spear flashes. Dark energy crackles along its length. The weapon's tip finds a gap in my chest plates, sending cracks through ancient bone. No matter. These chosen bones care nothing for pain. The duke has weakened much since last we fought.

Corrupted flesh has withered, patches of bone showing through torn skin.

The demon's might has waned while mine has grown.

I move, bringing Aeternus around in a horizontal arc. Two more guards fall, their torsos separated from legs. The platform's edge crumbles where they land. Chunks of stone plummet into churning lava.

"Die properly this time!" the Duke roars.

He does not recognize these bones.

His spear becomes a blur, each thrust seeking vital joints. The weapon's corrupt touch spreads cracks through my armor. Black energy eats at dragon bone.

My blade meets his next strike. Sparks shower the platform. The impact sends tremors through both our frames.

Above, Marnac circles on borrowed wings. "The Duke weakens! Press the attack!"

His few surviving demons try to reach our battle. Most fall short, plummeting into the molten rock below. Those that make it scatter as the Duke's spear sweeps a wide arc, trailing dark lightning.

I use the moment to strike. Aeternus finds the Duke's blind side. The blade cut into his corrupted armor. Black ichor sprays stone. He howls, staggering back.

His remaining guards surge forward with cutting edges. My armor takes dozens of hits, pieces falling away. No matter. These bones remember worse wounds.

My free hand catches a guard's strike between finger bones. I twist, shattering his blade-arm at the elbow. Before he can scream, plated knee drives up into his chest. Ribs explode outward as dragon bone meets lesser metal.

The Duke recovers. His spear clips my shoulder, sending bone fragments scattering. The wound spreads corruption through nearby plates. I respond by striking forward.

He stumbles. I press forward. Aeternus seeks his throat, but remaining guards intercept. Their bodies form a wall of steel and flesh between us.

Aeternus knows its purpose. Like these borrowed bones, it serves a higher calling. Where it strikes, corruption retreats.

Dark magic withers. Demon flesh parts.

I bring the blade up in a diagonal sweep. Two more guards fall, forms cleaved through cursed armor. The cuts are clean, Aeternus leaves no ragged edges.

The platform shudders. More stone breaks away at the edges. The Duke uses the unstable footing to his advantage, each strike aimed to disrupt balance rather than destroy.

His fighting shows centuries of experience.

I plant my feet wider, compensating for the shifting ground. A guard tries to flank. I catch his blade-arm, using his momentum to throw him into his companions. They tumble together, their own weapons impaling each other.

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The Duke's spear takes my leg at the knee. I fall, but turn it into a roll that carries me past his follow-up strike.

My hand finds a fallen guard's helm. I hurl it at the Duke's face, forcing him to block.

That moment is enough. I surge upward, Aeternus leading. The blade catches his spear below the head. With a twist of bones, I wrench the weapon from his grip. It spins through air, vanishing into lava below.

He responds, arm erupting from blackened stub and draws twin swords from his back.

Our weapons meet in a fury of strikes. Each impact sends shockwaves through the chamber. Stone cracks beneath our feet. My sword arm moves with speed upon speed, but he matches every strike.

A sword finds my ribs, corruption eating through bone. I grab his wrist before he can withdraw, crushing armor and flesh together. He head-butts my skull, helm leaving cracks in ancient bone.

We grapple at the platform's edge. His remaining sword seeks gaps while my free hand tries to break his remaining arm.

Armor crumples under titan strength. His blade cracks ribs.

Marnac's voice follows, "The fortress trembles! Finish him!"

The Duke's helm turns slightly at the words. I seize the moment, driving my knee into his wounded side. He staggers back. Aeternus follows, the blade's runes igniting as it meets his guard.

The impact shatters his sword. Fragments of corrupted steel rain across stone. He throws the useless hilt at my skull, but these bones care nothing for such desperation.

My blade continues its arc, finding his shoulder. Black ichor fountains as the sword bites deep. He roars, corruption magic exploding outward. The blast sends cracks through my chest plates, but these these borrowed bones hold.

The platform lurches. Great chunks of stone break away, plummeting into lava. The Duke stumbles, his wounded leg finding no purchase on crumbling rock. His sword sweeps wild arcs, trying to keep me back.

I advance through his guard. My free hand catches his blade between palm bones. With a flex of ancient strength, I snap the weapon in two. His helm meets my skull again, but this time I grab his throat before he can withdraw.

Skeletal fingers dig into armor joints. He claws at my arm, corruption magic eating through bone. No matter. These chosen bones know their purpose. Even as fragments fall away, my grip remains absolute.

"Impossible," he chokes out.

Aeternus rises. The blade's runes pulse with new found power. His struggles intensify, but risen strength proves greater than demon might.

I attack.

Steel parts corrupt flesh. His head rolls across cracking stone. The body stands a moment longer, then topples backward into churning lava. Black blood hisses against molten rock.

The platform gives one final shudder. What remains of stone begins to fall away. I turn, calculating distance to stable ground. Marnac's laughter echoes as his demons finally reach our position.

Time to finish this. These bones know there can be no survivors.

The platform continues to crumble beneath. Marnac's remaining demons land around me, their claws seeking purchase on unstable stone. Through gaps in my armor, corruption from the Duke's final strikes spreads like black frost across bone.

No matter. These chosen bones know worse pain.

A scaled horror lunges, its needle-teeth seeking joints between plates. I catch it mid-leap, skeletal fingers punching through its chest. The creature's spine snaps as I use its body to batter aside two more attackers. All three tumble into the lava below.

Marnac descends, dark magic crackling around his horned form. "The Duke falls! Now his power flows to a new master!"

His words mean nothing. These bones serve no demon's ambition.

A winged terror dives from above. Its talons find my shoulder, tearing loose plates of dragon bone. I grab its leg before it can retreat, yanking it earthward.

More demons press their attack. Blade-limbs scrape against ancient armor. Poison-fangs seek gaps between plates. I respond with my remaining arm, each blow sending broken bodies into the churning lava.

The platform continues to disintegrate. Chunks of stone break away with each step. Marnac's forces grow desperate, their attacks becoming wild and uncoordinated. My borrowed bones move with mechanical precision, every motion ending another threat.

A demon captain, its helm crowned with hooked horns, swings a massive chain-flail. The weapon wraps around my sword arm, barbed links biting deep into bone. It pulls, trying to drag me off balance.

Instead, I step into the tension, my free hand grabbing the chain. One sharp yank brings the captain within reach. My forehead meets its helm with a sound like thunder. Metal caves inward, crushing the skull beneath.

"Enough!" Marnac roars. Dark lightning arcs from his claws, sending cracks through my chest plates. "You are just another dead thing!"

His remaining minions fall back as he lands before me. Corruption pulses around his form, feeding on the Duke's lingering power. Each step leaves smoldering footprints in stone.

I meet his charge head-on. My fist crashes into his jaw, sending teeth scattering. His claws rake my ribs, tearing loose fragments of bone. We grapple at the platform's edge, strength against strength, monster against monster.

His wings beat furiously, trying to lift us both. My weight proves too great. Instead, he headbutts my skull, horns leaving deep grooves in ancient bone. My free hand finds his throat, fingers digging into corrupt flesh.

The last section of platform begins to give way. Lava churns hungrily below, casting everything in hellish light. Marnac's remaining forces scatter, abandoning their master to save themselves.

He tears at my chest plates, ripping away layers of armor. Corruption spreads through exposed bone. No matter. These chosen bones know their purpose.

My grip tightens. His struggles grow desperate. Black blood runs between skeletal fingers as claws find gaps in my defense. The damage means nothing. Only the kill matters.

With the last of my strength, I lift him from his feet. His wings beat uselessly against my frame. Recognition fills his eyes as I step toward the lava's edge.

"You cannot," he starts.

I plunge him over the side, never releasing my grip.

Heat beyond measure engulfs my arm as we break the molten surface. Marnac thrashes, his screams turning to gurgles as liquid rock fills his throat. My bones begin to crack and splinter, yet still I push him deeper.

Corruption-touched flesh melts away. His struggles weaken. Still I hold him under, watching through hollow sockets as lava consumes his form. Only when the last bubble of air escapes his lips do I release a grip now short of many fingers.

My arm is nearly destroyed, bone turned black and brittle by the lava's touch. I drag myself back onto what remains of stable ground. Soon, the magic will once more draw new fragments from fallen foes to replace what burned away.