by Andur
Nidhog appears in front of me and sets his feet onto the snowy peak of the mountain I am standing on. “You like running.” He sneers. One of his arms is charred and smoke rises from it. But it doesn't seem like he is hindered by it in any way.
Then he moves, much faster this time. My barrier shatters as his spear impacts and tears right through it. The spear is stopped long enough to move my leg out of the way to avoid it getting impaled.
Instead of retreating I step forward and grab his spear, pulling myself closer in while summoning my sword from my extra dimensional storage space. The weapon slashes down, but Nidhog twists the metal shaft of his spear to divert my blow.
Sparks fly left and right as our weapons connect and I feel the shock of the weapon contact numbing my arm. Another shockwave clears the peak of the mountain from snow and loose rocks.
Nidhog retreats with a single large jump while eyeing my weapon with confusion. His eyes twitch to the large scratch in the metallic shaft of his spear. “This weapon was made by a master weapon smith and enchanter.”
Again I reach for the extra-dimensional storage space and summon my new armour directly onto my body. “Then I congratulate him on creating something which can trade a few blows with my creation.”
I kept it in the colours of black and gold. It's not a full plate version, but a lighter one. What's important are the enchantments after all. With our powers a weapon wouldn't last a single blow, be it steel or something else.
This time I charge Nidhog and start trading blows with him while the mountain is torn to pieces under our feet. I find out the hard way that it's quite annoying to have the ground under your feet coming apart as you fight.
Nidhog has without a doubt the superior skill with his weapon. He is still pushed into a corner because he is trying to avoid full contact with my weapon. Each of my blows cuts sizeable chinks into his weapon and his expression grows more concerned with each exchange.
But a single short opening is enough for him. He closes my line of attack with his spear and his foot connects perfectly with my chest. The air is pressed out of my lungs while I am flung away. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.
Ah... what am I trying to prove by fighting him on his terms. I am no close combat fighter.
I impact the ground far away from the mountain and scramble to my feet, concentrating at Warden and the ones whom I stored within it. I construct my next spell, creating a huge magical circle under my feet.
My sword is still a valuable asset. So I stab it into the ground in front of me and let go, kneeling down in front of it.
“You had me worried. But in the end a weapon is only as good as its wielder.” Nidhog followed me, this time sure of his victory.
My pose probably looks like I am about to give up. “I just thought that if the weapon is useless on me, then I might give it to someone who is proficient at it!”
Finally a worthy soul answers my call and I pour my mana into the spell. A figure, formed from shadows, rises from the magic circle under my feet and grabs the sword. It weighs the blade in its hand and nods.
Nidhog charges at me, but the shadow steps in and blocks his path. Sword and spear connect, but the shadow isn't forced back. Fed by my own mana, it has more than enough power to trade blows with Nidhog.
The difference is that the soul who is controlling the shadow is a top grade assassin and a sword master.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
A laugh escapes my lips as other souls answer my call and more shadows start to rise while I feel my mana being drained away.
“I'll add you to my collection!”
“Hear me!”
“Whoever kills him.”
“I'll set that one free!”
The army of shadows starts to move as one while some of them howl in anticipation and hope for freedom. Some attack by using magic, some use weapons which were created from shadows. Everyone is using the skills at which they were proficient in life. Whenever Nidhog gets cut or stabbed he heals himself immediately.
Nidhog is still pushed back as the shadows swarm him, eager for the kill and with a mind of their own. Slowly some attacks are getting through because a few shadows fight without care for their own existence. The wounds start to add up and Nidhog's healing magic can't keep up with the damage.
“Damn you! Bastard! Fight fair!” Nidhog screams and a sphere of light erupts from him, dispelling the shadows all at once. But I feel that his mana reserves reached their limit. The hex curse finally did its job of sealing his access to mana.
With his last reserves of power he charges at me with his spear, the tip glowing with another magic spell. My own mana reserves are dwindling too. But it was necessary to weaken him. Otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to get his soul!
He stabs at me, but I do the unthinkable and jump right into his spear while activating healing magic to keep myself going. The weapon impales me while I grab his head with both hands.
My thumbs dig into his eye-sockets as he screams. I reach out and rip and pull while using my raw emotions as a leverage.
Something snaps.
Probably his spine.
Suddenly the world around us comes apart and we both fall into nothingness.
***
I am back in the arena? Blinking, I look around. Everything is back to normal. Nidhog is standing in front of me? How strange. Didn't I just gauge out his eyeballs?
“Whoohoo! What a gruesome fight! Too bad that it looks like it became a tie. An impaled heart on one side and a snapped spinal cord on the other! Though I think that the spells shown by Ascathon should give him a lead in points. It's up to the judges to...”
*THUMP*
“What happened? Nidhog fell forward like a sack of potatoes! Did some of the damage transfer over to his reality? He's lying on his belly and doesn't move. Let's see what the judge who is checking on him has to say.”
“WAIT A MOMENT! What's that between Ascathon's hands? That orange sphere... that looks like a soul sphere! Did Ascathon pull out Nidhog's soul during the final moments of the fight!? If that's true then the win should definitely go to him! The judge is taking him to task now!”
“He shakes his head! Looks like he doesn't want to give the soul back! Wha! He pushed the judge away! Now he is running while the other judges close in on him! Whoa! That guy can be fast if he wants to! Dodging to the left! Wow! He teleported a short distance! I thought we had an inhibition field against that! To the right! He tackled a judge! Ow, that looks painful! He is lucky that there are no rules against attacking judges! But then again, I don't remember when one of the participants had his soul stolen!”
“He is almost at the exit! NOOOO! One of the judges is clinging to his foot! Now another one is on him! He went down! Three! Five judges on top of him! Damn! The judges are piling up! Too bad. Looks like he'll have to give the soul back. The judges have a reputation to maintain after all. If someone died during the tournament, it would fall back on them. At least that was something new. I hope we'll see more good fights from these newcomers...”
96 - Vis major.
Sphere of Sous
Celestial
We are all back together in Lidith's lounge. The tournament is progressing and the fights become fiercer with each round.
“How long does he intend to sulk? Hey, Ascathon? Stop staring like a dead person. It was just one soul.” Lidith waves her hand in front of Ascathon's face. No reaction.
“I had a god's soul.” He whispers.
“Leave him be. He'll recover.” I avert my gaze from the tournament and take a look at Lidith. “Who is the next one by the way? Our opponents seem to know who'll fight whom.”
Lidith pulls a sheet of paper out of the frilly dress she is wearing today. “Let's see. Next is Jazira against the stupid fox. You'll have to fight the barbarian and I'll butcher the goat guy.”
She said that she'll butcher him. She is too certain of her victory!
“You really can't remember their na
mes? Why do they even have a grudge against you?” Jazira asks while she watches the tournament.
I take a seat on Ascathon's lap and look at Lidith's paper. There are four seats beside each other in the lounge and Ascathon was sitting between us. “Heee, it looks like Jazira's match is about to start.”
As I say that, Jazira is enveloped in a bubble of light and disappears. It's the same as when Ascathon's match started.
I look down into the arena and find Jazira down there. “They could at least ask before they teleport you. What happens if you are indisposed at the moment when they get you?”
Lidith tilts her head. “Well. There were cases when someone got called to the arena with his trousers down. But it can't be helped. The tournament has a tight schedule.”
Haah? What kind of idiots are managing this tournament? “If they call me while I am under the shower, I'll destroy the arena and beat up the judges!”
Lidith forces a smile onto her face. “D... Don't do that. I want to win the tournament this time.”
I smirk at her. “You sure have high hopes in us.” I look down into the arena where Jazira is waiting in her white dress. “Ascathon said something about a commentator?”
“Ah, yes. That idiot. Do you want to listen to him? I am not interested in random rambling while watching a fight, so I blocked his voice.” Lidith presses a button on the armrest of her chair.
“... AAAnnd finally! That's what we all were waiting for! On the left we have Kumiho of the Full Moon! She is specialising in magic, but hand to hand combat also belongs to her fields of expertise!... ”
“... Then we have the beautiful Jazira the Eternal! Whow, the names of the newcomers are really something else. Seems like their evaluator was in a good mood. Unfortunately we don't know much about Jazira's fighting style. Her registration sheet only says that she is a magical maniac...”
I turn and take a look at Lidith who simply smiles at me. Then she shrugs her shoulders. “I honestly had no idea how else I should describe her.”
“... Then there is no other option than to start the fight and see for ourselves! ...”
Jazira disappears in the well known white bubble and the arena under us is replaced by a screen which shows the fight. Both fighters appeared on a seemingly endless plain of dark sand and stones. It looks like some kind of volcanic conglomerate.
Kumiho immediately waves her hand towards Jazira, who is still taking a dumbfounded look around the battlefield.
“... And there it starts! Kumiho opens the battle with her trademark spell! The rumoured moonshower! It's a wide range attack spell which calls down magical projectiles in a huge area around you. There is almost no chance to escape such an attack. If fueled by enough power you can devastate continents with it. The only option is to rely on your defence! ...”
A storm of white spheres rains down on Jazira. Our comrade disappears in a cacophony of explosions and dust.
I wince. “That looks like it'll hurt.” Lidith says nothing and simply nods.
“... The fight has just started and it looks like one of the fighters is already in a pinch! Kumiho continues with her moonshower while levitating over the battlefield and raining destruction down at her opponent! But the judges didn't stop the match! So her opponent must be still alive! ...”
Lidith sighs. “This match is already over.”
I nod.
Kumiho continues her rampage for another ten seconds. Then she stops to assess the damage.
“... Finally! Looks like Kumiho went out of steam. But she surely laid waste to the battlefield! To destroy to such a large area at once is a feat! Though we all know that she has probably wasted a lot of energy. The smoke and dust is finally clearing! And I see her! The beautiful Jazira is still standing! She stumbles a bit, but otherwise she seems to be fine! Just a little dust and dirt on her clothes...”
“... Now she is inspecting herself. To be more concerned about her appearance than her opponent. This girl is surely something. Maybe she should have joined the beauty contest instead of the tournament! Seems like she is mumbling something. Let's listen in! ...”
“She made me dirty. What's wrong with her. My dress. I just bought that one!”
Jazira pulls at her dress. Then she inspects the fingers of her left hand closely.
“She broke it... she broke it, she broke it, she broke it...”
An outburst of power blasts everything around Jazira away. A visible shockwave travels outwards and clears dust and debris! Even the ground under Jazira's feet is blown away or simply dissolves into nothingness. A huge sphere around her is emptied of any physical matter!
“...Whoa! What happened! Is that her battle aura!? It's huge. I never saw one that big. It has at least a radius of a hundred metres. Even Kumiho seems to have problem withstanding it! Several judges who were on break jumped up from their seats to assist the space time spell to uphold the battlefield. What horrific power does this girl wield? ...”
Then Jazira raises her hand and points at Kumiho.
“YOU BROKE MY NAIL!”
The death ray, which is her trademark spell, is larger than any I have seem from her before. Kumiho raises her hands to erect a barrier. The death ray shears at Kumiho's barrier for several moments.
Then the barrier flickers and winks out. Kumiho disappears with a scream of pain while her body dissolves and the screen under us goes dark.
“... What horrific power! Kumiho got completely obliterated by a single spell! ...”
The normal battlefield returns under us. Kumiho falls trembling to her knees while Jazira inspects her body. Then tears of joy start to form in her eyes.
“~It's clean again! And the nail isn't broken any more! Thank the gods! I thought I would have to shorten them all.~”
97 - No Fight but...
Sphere of Sous
Celestial
“... Aaaand here we are! To the left is the beautiful Celestial the Wilful! I suppose our two new goddesses this year will have some trouble with turning away all the advances which will be made on them. If I wasn't in a relationship myself, I would go down there and make a proposal right now.”
“Celestial's preferred fighting method is … a good old slap to the face and potions? I am sorry guys, but that's what the information about her says. I guess we should choose the guys who manage the registration a little more wisely. He could have given us her three sizes at least.”
“On the other side is Druug the Strong! But don't be fooled by his name, his fighting style is quite interesting. He is relying on all kinds of body enhancement spells and passive assist magic. A supporter who has unbelievable fighting power! But there is no more time. I should probably start the match. So let's jump right into the action.”
“You look bored little woman. Are you sure that it's fine to be without your servant?” Druug smirks and shoulders his huge battle axe. He is a monster who towers at least three heads above me.
I sigh. “To be honest, I wish my husband would take care of this. He is much better than me when it comes to violence.”
Druug snorts and nods. “I am not fond of beating women. But I'll save our team's reputation. Are you sure that you'll fight without a weapon?”
I look at the huge thing in his hands, which is supposed to be a battle axe. “No... I prefer daggers. But I forgot them at home. I didn't expect to be forced into this tournament.”
Finally the judges activate the space-time spell and we are enveloped in a white sphere.
Druug smiles. “So Lidith tricked you into participating. That sounds like her. I can make it fast at least.”
I nod. Being tricked is probably the right term for it. “You seem like a reasonable fellow. If you give up right away, I won't hurt you.”
His eyes widen. “Did you not listen to me?”
The negotiations failed. “~Then pain it is.~”
Druug readies his weapon and takes a stance while holding it in front of him. “Don't take this too easy and activate your ba
ttle aura. I won't go down as easy as Kumiho. She isn't a duellist.” Several overlapping magical circles appear under his feet and around him. It looks like a light show in a disco.
I ponder over what I have just heard. “Then why is she participating in a tournament like this? And I have my battle aura already active since I entered the arena. Don't worry.”
Druug's left eyebrow twitches. “There are group battles too. Who says it isn't beneficial to drag along someone who specializes in area attacks.”
Then the white sphere around us shatters. I tilt my head and smile. “I suppose that's true.”
A look to all sides confirms that we arrived on the battlefield. There is a smouldering volcano to our right. We appeared on a burned lava field. In all other directions is a dense forest.
Suddenly Druug vanishes and I feel something impacting my chest. I am being flung away while tumbling through the air. This guy is faster than I anticipated.
I right myself by activating the levitation magic inside one of the rings Ascathon made for me and check my attire. Haaah. It didn't rip this time. Ascathon found a way to spin his mana crystals into small molecular sized chains, therefore creating a super strong fibre.
He had trouble with the creation of bigger mana crystals, so he went for another solution and made them as small as possible. Then I wove these fibres into my dress. It's nothing special. It goes down to my knees while being open at the sides to allow me free movement.
It's a red one with a simple pattern woven into it. Luckily I brought some trousers with me. It would be bad if someone took panty-shots of me during the tournament.
“What's with this defence!?” Druug appears before me and brings his axe down at my shoulder, which sends me shooting towards the ground.
Probably I should stop getting hit, but I wanted to test out if I had to be careful of my new clothes.
I right myself and land on both feet. A slight air pressure to my left warns me that someone is about to teleport there. Ascathon likes to use the pathways for attacking or escaping, so I had to find a way to deal with it.
My fist swings into the general direction and Druug appears exactly where I anticipated it. But he reacts fast and blocks with the flat head of his battle axe.