15
The Warden's Crypt (5)
SERAPHIS VERLICE
Once more, my blade ignited with flames as I dashed forward, considering the situation on a distant branch of thought as I approached.
Ignis was locked into his rapid back-and-forth with the Dark Knight, each exchange so tight, it left no room to butt in on.
Then, I'll make room…!
My sword arm snapped forward, and spheres of swirling flames tore through the air.
The Dark Knight's attention was locked onto Ignis until the very last second.
He brought his sword up to block during the lull of an exchange, letting them crash against his blade, sizzling out.
Consequently, two slashes burned freshly across his torso, quickly filled by the shadows at his heel. That instance of attention shifting was more than enough for his immediate opponent to punish.
The Knight twisted its body, preparing to retaliate, but before it could, I was at his side, already intending to plunge steel deep into its side. He suddenly flashed away, appearing just a step behind.
I turned my head, barely managing to block in time.
The vibrations from our clash numbed my arms and rang in my ears, sending me a half step back, and for the briefest second, vulnerable.
Ignis' longsword carved through the air before The Knight could follow up, however, meeting it with flying sparks.
…Shit, going back and forth with him is risky.
Recovering, I conjured a gust of wind aimed at its hough, hoping to disrupt it, but to no avail. We then took turns striking at the shadow creature, drawing on our months worth of experience fighting together—honing our skills and teamwork.
First, him. Then me. Then him, and him again, and then me. This process went on for about two minutes straight.
Ignis was a far better swordsman than I was, and so his attacks took precedence over mine.
That was something I learned early into our partnership, as well as had to accept.
Other than natural talent, I believed his stronger physique helped to reinforce that, which helped tremendously in this particular instance, against such a fearsome opponent.
I couldn't spend prolonged periods blocking its attacks in the scenario that it retaliated, unlike he could. Therefore, my role was to, instead, act as the supporting bridge between his deadliest strikes, working to ensure that he wasn't interrupted during the wind up.
However, it wasn't as if that was all I was good for.
"Use your flames—he's weaker to them!"
On my orders, his sword erupted into a crimson-red blaze, wreathing the air in a distorted haze.
This seemed to rekindle his will, as his attacks from then on were powered by a wellspring of sudden strength.
I had gotten brief glimpses into our foe's susceptibility to fire during my first exchange with it, when I split open its back.
The embers still lingered deep within the wound, taking an extra few seconds to fizzle out.
And using this form… I can almost hear the shadows shrink in the presence of light.
This led to prolonged back-and-firth between the three of us, and fortunately, we seemed to have gotten the upperhand. The Dark Knight was finally backpedaling as he deflected each of our attacks.
But, even with our efforts—and the occasional bullet of silvermeld—we hadn't yet managed to get another hit in, or even fundamentally change the unspoken demerits to our situation: our exhausting reserves of mana. After all, this dungeon excursion had lasted a few hours, at least three. I still had about a quarter left, due to my innately higher mana pool—but the others… I wasn't sure.
Now, it was just a race against time… Whether or not we'd collapse from exhaustion, defeat the Knight, or even die by its hand before then would be decided by fate.
That's probably why Ignis hesitated to use his magic before I told him to.
We had finally gotten a foot in, yet still, there was so much against us…
Damn it…!
Is it even possible to defeat this thing?
The Dark Knight's sword dipped low—drawing my attention—before flashing upwards in the next second, feinting.
I had already positioned my sword for a counter of its first attack by then.
The next moment, our blades crashed against one another, the force of the collision rang through my skull like a bell, traveling up my arms.
My knees buckled ever so slightly, and the breath I held in anticipation was forced out in a short, ugly gasp.
The Knight pressed forward, seeing this, trying to crush me under the weight of its strength. I had to dig my heels into the stone just to stay up upright.
"Ignis!"
Before I could finish calling his name, he was already moving, having recovered from a previous exchange that left him rolling a few paces away.
His longsword carved across a flat piece in the rear end of The Knight's armor, forcing it to twist away. It staggered back just a step—I stepped forward in order to capitalize—but as it did, simultaneously it swung its blade at us in a horizontal motion.
I felt the wind of it skim my cheek, drawing a bloody line, and silently relished in the fact that I had been fortunate enough to sense it coming before over-committing.
I would've died if not for my beast stigma being active…
As it settled back into its position, adjacent to us both, I briefly hesitated before moving in again, feeling fear grip at me.
Such a thing didn't stop the one at my side, however, as he went back to instantly applying pressure.
Swear dripped down my brow, barely missing my eye, as my muscles ached in protest of another movement. My lungs felt like they were on fire, and I didn't want to move another inch.
And for a second, I considered just… sitting. Resting.
Was there really a need for me to move in this instance? Ignis seemed just fine with handling this guy, so… Couldn't I just rest? Wasn't it okay to?
We'd been doing nothing except fighting these past few hours. And I didn't want to die, I had too much to lose…!
…I'd done enough, right?
"—White!"
Electricity immediately surged from my body, sending my hair billowing.
And without even having the time to think, the next thing I knew, I was arriving at The Dark Knight's left flank, sword already in motion.
Time came to a slight crawl, just enough for me to watch my silver blade carve a horizontal flash through the air… only to find no purchase.
My sword bounced futilely off of The Dark Knight's armor, sending sparks flying.
…What? Everything but fire is no good?
Before I could swallow my surprise, it rotated its body, coming at me with a snappy counter seemingly meant to split my shoulder from my body.
Instead of blocking, I threw myself sideways, feeling a sensation in the depths of my mind, like that of a sweaty palm losing its grip on a rope.
The edge of its blade tore past my ribs, close enough to disrupt the cloth of my overcoat, and penetrated past the thin layer of plating I wore underneath.
A fresh, searing line of pain lingered where it met my skin, hitching my breath.
As I rolled a few paces away, I briefly dropped to my knees, feeling my connection to Voltstance snap—the electricity and enhancements it provided leaving my body in that same instance.
I was consumed by a fit of coughs, and a deep aching in the depths of my core that warned me against activating it again, especially in tandem with my beast stigma.
A slow, groggy sensation beset my senses, and I fought the urge to vomit from it.
Everything… Seems so slow now…
If I'd left it on even a second longer, I might've experienced a worse backlash than the last time.
…Damn incomplete spell…!
It only took me roughly ten seconds of recovery, but in that time, Ignis had accumulated a surprising amount of injuries. Cuts littered his body, tearing up his armor, and a deep, yet interestingly bright crimson-red poured from his wounds, in a way that resisted familiarity.
It looked like blood, had all of the qualities of it, but something… something was off about it. I couldn't put my finger on what, but if I had to say… It looked more like he was bleeding liquid fire.
—I need to get up!
Shaking my head, I cast those thoughts away, figuring my hazy state was messing with me.
As The Knight reared its sword for a heavy attack, I made my presence known, preemptively charging more flaming spheres, letting the air shape around them… but never releasing them.
The brief effect of them merely forming was enough to draw its wary gaze for just that split second—but unlike earlier, it seemed to catch on this time, managing to sidestep Ignis' next two strikes.
I have to start conserving mana at this point, at least until we find a win condition.
But even then… Is there a way to actually kill this thing? If there is, are we strong enough to?
At most, the entire battle thus far could be classified as us simply surviving, while Caelora observed from a distance, trying to ascertain its weaknesses, as usual.
She must've figured out that anything else is useless long before I did.
Ignis shifted his footing immediately as I arrived, the length of his blade suddenly blaring much brighter as he forced his flames into a cleaner, much tighter fit. His next swing came in a blazing overhead that cut through the air with a shrill hiss,
The Dark Knight turned to meet the immediate threat, and that second of attention was enough for me. I settled in on its right flank this time, noticing that his sword hand—his dominant one—was on this exact side, meaning that his left hand, the one he'd pull with, would be weaker, making it harder for him to stop Ignis after me.
An accumulation of such slivers of insight like that would prove a massive help as the fight dragged on, despite the glaring issues of a drawn out fight.
I arrived just in time before he made a move against Ignis, unleashing a swift slash that cut deep into its side, embers fighting back the shadows.
"Wrrgh!"
Ignis let out a roar as he unleashed his overhead strike.
Sensing a fleeting opportunity, I managed to shape the earth into a thick, rising stone just behind the Knight's left foot in time, interrupting its balance, and sending it falling backwards.
…Or at least, that's what I expected.
Instead, he merely slipped out of our way, moving to his right, wasting no movements. Ignis struck the ground, having put the brunt of his weight behind the attack, leaving him vulnerable.
My heart fell into the pits of my stomach as I imagined what would come next: The Knight's blade plunging into my companion's side, crimson blood pouring as it tore through his flesh and pierced through other end—his corpse hitting the ground unceremoniously.
I saw it all with unerring clarity… before the image was shattered.
A viscous liquid flew in from our right, wrapping around The Knight's sword, throwing its weight off course.
The blade sank into the ground with a loud crunch, sending stone upwards, as he turned his attention towards it.
More Silvermeld came in, linking and chaining together with the already hefty original piece, wrapping around the entirety of the steel… or rather, shadows, until his weapon was fully concealed; not budging an inch.
The Knight seemed to noticeably struggle as they clumped together, eventually forming a mound of dense, hardened silver.
Silver that was living and compressing its tremendous force downwards in an attempt to seemingly shatter the blade.
Not missing a chance, we stepped forward; flashed to both his left and right.
…This is it!
Grunts of hefty exertion came straight from our chests as we both swung our weapons, steel lining up with its lengthy neck, until—
A deafening pressure suddenly rolled over us, stripping the air from my lungs, and the strength from my legs. Dense black mana manifested from The Knight, distorting the air into dark streaks that trembled at the edge of my vision.
It was as if the world itself had wanted us to kneel before its crowned heir.
…His Intent…!
Every inch of movement felt like I was fighting against gravity itself.
As I buckled under the weight of my own limbs—struggling against the feeling that the chamber itself was falling—a realization came over me, brooding and despairful.
That what we had seen of The Dark Knight thus far had only been a mere fraction of its true power.
…No, perhaps even less than that. As he stood and reached his full height, towering over us, his shadows moved, slowly materializing thin arms from its base.
Those arms reached toward its sword, stripping away the already flaking and peeling Silvermeld. Without a continuous source of mana from their owner, they were nothing more than snakeskin waiting to be shed.
Once it finished the process—which couldn't've taken more than twenty seconds, but felt like minutes under the oppressive force of its Intent—the pressure relented, dissipating into the air.
The Knight brandished its sword once again, eyeing it for a few seconds before sinking the tip into the ground, greaved palm resting on its hilt. His head turned ever so slightly as he seemed to regard us with… a twisted approval?
And a strange sense of patience. As if there were methods to his madness; some odd sense of honor and a predator's respect for its prey nestled behind its unsettling intelligence.
"The… sword!"
Caelora choked in between heavy breaths some distance away. "You guys… need to… attack the blade. It's… the source of its power! But… don't …" Her body went limp mid sentence, hitting the ground as the last remnants of her consciousness fled.
Despite my grievingly sore body, her words struck something deep in my core, revitalizing my soul and giving me the strength to push on, just one last time… There was hope.
The source of its power… That meant there was a chance at winning. We just needed to break its sword!
As for the rest of what she was going to say, it doesn't matter.
Sweat dripped down my brows, an ache roared from every muscle, and my arms and legs felt full of sand.
I saw Ignis stand. He wiped his lips before muttering something under his heavy breath.
"One minute… That's all I can do. This is the last of my magic…" As his voice trailed, his eyes met mine.
There was no need for words after that.
Refusing to stand would then be a disservice to his—and everybody else's—will; not to mention my own lineage.
So, I mustered what strength and energy that I could. And I stood.
On shaking legs, but on my own, nonetheless.
Tired of looking pathetic and sorry for myself, I raised my sword.
Fueled by a torrent of emotions, something inside of me clicked, and I made a promise to myself right here and now.
This lowly knight… I won't ever kneel before you—or anyone else for that matter—again. I'd rather die…!
The creature in question seemed to recognize our readiness to continue the fight, as he twisted his hilt and smoothly flipped the sword back into his hand, settling into position.
For the longest while, no one made a move. We all stood still, not bothering to move even an inch.
The length of our standoff… I wasn't sure. However, such things didn't matter to me.
Not at the time. All that was on my mind right now was destroying that sword.
So, I was the first to move, initiating the final phase of our fight.