by Neven Iliev
“Is that a Demonbane!?” asked Xera through the telepathic link.
“Yeah! The bitch got himself a Demonbane weapon!” confirmed Kora. “Nnnnngh, a really powerful one, too! Boss, this is bad!”
‘Bad’ was putting it mildly. Demonbane weapons were, as their name suggested, implements created for the sole purpose of slaying demonic entities. Not only did they inflict considerable harm to a demon’s physical form, but some of them even had the power to permanently damage or destroy the malicious entity that dwelled within. Needless to say, Boxxy couldn’t allow this to happen. Any Warlock who failed to safeguard their soulbound familiar’s immortal soul would have their life instantly severed as per the summoning contract. Some extremely horrible things would then happen to the mortal’s soul that were arguably worse than oblivion. It was not a fate that Boxxy wanted to tempt, so it instantly removed that possibility from the field.
[Your familiar has been dismissed.]
The spark of life in Kora’s eyes disappeared abruptly. Her large body keeled over and fell to the ground like a bag of eggplants, though not before she flipped Bernard off with her remaining two hands.
“Tch, she ran away,” the Hero clicked his tongue in disappointment. “No matter, I’ll make them all pay eventually.”
“Loose!”
The next salvo of ranged attacks bombarded the human, but he evaded the worst of it by circling them around to his left. Kaleera managed to nail him with her Ebonfire Spell, but the black flames that enveloped his body were sucked away by his weapon before they could do serious harm. Xera’s pet Molten Guardian ran out to challenge him, but the fiery warhound was swatted away in a single blow as if it were a harmless pup.
It would appear that any magic that was even of vaguely demonic origin was useless against the Hero, which included both the female Warlock’s prided Ruin Spells as well as the succubus’s blazing minion. The former was a school of magic said to have originated in the Beyond while the latter was created through a demon’s power, so neither of them could be used against the Demonbane wielder.
“The Pyromancer, huh?”
Feeling the response from his own weapon after taking out the Molten Guardian, Bernard immediately set his sights on the succubus-in-disguise. Sensing that the jig was up, Xera undid her disguise, unfurled her wings, and took to the air, eliminating the chance of being struck by that damnable weapon. She wasn’t sturdy like Kora, so there was a good chance a solid hit might wipe her out completely.
However, the Hero would not let her escape so easily.
“Judgment From Above!”
Bernard unleashed the Skill given to him by virtue of being Teresa’s chosen, causing a column of blinding white light to fall on top of the succubus. The Skill relied heavily on the user’s perceptions and preconceptions since it would only display its full power against who the Hero of the Hammer judged to be evil. The youth’s hatred for demonkind was quite intense, but not too far from the norm. A hundred out of a hundred people would agree that every creature that hailed from the Beyond was inherently twisted and irredeemably wicked. In other words, the succubus would have been instantly wiped out regardless of the Hero’s circumstances, and this was precisely what happened. Her immortal soul was spared, but her physical form had evaporated without a trace.
The young lad’s twisted worldview came into play in regard to the troops that caught up in the divine blast by being directly underneath the primary target. In some ways, Bernard thought of the elves and the Republic as even worse than the demons themselves. The latter may have been born evil, but the former willingly employed those corrupting influences as weapons of mass destruction that wiped out entire cities in the blink of an eye. It was a crime not only against humanity, but against the world at large. And Bernard would be judge, jury, and executioner to their entire nation. He would do whatever was necessary if it meant that nobody would ever have to suffer as he had.
Thus, when the dust settled, the elven troop were horrified to see that four of their numbers had turned into statues made of salt.
“H-Holt?” muttered Mikey in disbelief. “Holt?! Hooolt!”
He cried out in despair, but the elven Priest that had saved his life several times earlier that day was already dead. His only reply to the ‘two-timing short-ears’ was to fall over and crumble into a man-shaped pile of salt.
“You monster!” bellowed the distraught Rogue. “You’ll pay for that!”
“Mikey, don’t!”
Disregarding Keira’s words, the hot-blooded adventurer rushed forward to challenge the Hero in close quarters. Bernard stared him down, instantly condemned him as a traitorous piece of garbage, and prepared to smash him into a pulp. Before Mikey’s rash actions got him killed, however, Keira put an arrow through his foot and pinned him to the ground with excessive force. As the hapless Rogue howled in pain, anger, and sorrow, the catgirl tossed a trio of purple beads at the human. Wary of those odd projectiles, Bernard made a few steps back. The alchemically made smoke bombs cracked open on the ground in front of him, releasing a puff of thick, purple gas that he assumed had poisonous properties.
Using the miasma as cover, one of the Warriors in the group pulled the human’s foot out of the ground and roughly carried him away from the threat. However, the Hero dashed through the smoke and swung his weapon towards the elf’s unprotected back. The sudden attack nailed the Warrior in the shoulder, sending both him and the Rogue tumbling to the side like a pair of ragdolls.
“Quake Strike!”
In the next instant, the Hero slammed his black hammer into the ground, causing a small wave of dust to travel towards the elven ranks. The group’s Druid stabbed his staff into the ground and used a Strengthen Soil Spell in an attempt counter and defuse the incoming Martial Art. Unfortunately, the tortured environment refused to respond to his natural magic, and the Quake Strike reached his feet unabated.
What followed was a violent explosion of dust, ash, and what little dirt was left underneath all that devastation as the ground itself split open. It didn’t do much in the way of damage, but it nevertheless scattered the Republic unit and obstructed their eyesight. The Druid fell over on his knees and coughed violently before looking up to see Bernard bursting through the cloud of dust. The human swung his warhammer down on top of the elf. The Druid closed his eyes, unable to stare his impending doom in the face.
However, death would not claim him right that instant, as a white streak of gleaming mithril appeared between him and his assailant at the last possible moment.
*DONNNNNNNNNNNNnnn*
The impact of a cursed Artifact-grade weapon colliding with a cursed Artifact-grade shield rang out with a gong-like sound. The violent winds kicked up by the force of the blocked blow scattered all the ash and dust lingering in the air, revealing Fizzy had successfully stopped the Hero in his tracks.
“You’re gonna have to try better than that, meatbag!”
The golem put more strength behind her shield arm and forced the human backwards with a bashing motion.
“Marcus get off your ass and get Mikey and Yulian patched up!”
Hearing Keira’s voice injected life into the shaken-up Druid.
“Y-yes, ma’am!” he stuttered and rose to his feet.
“Poe and Tulus, cover Fizzy! Box him in with your magic and don’t let him run wild! The rest of you get your heads out of your asses and ready a secondary defensive line!”
Fizzy and Bernard continued exchanging blows. Being Paladins, both fighters invoked their respective Divine Wrath Skills, which greatly increased their damage output for a short time. The golem also activated Parallel One, which brought Plus into the mix. The entity did her best to disrupt the human through targeted applications of the Magnetize Skill, coupled by repeated uses of the offensive Judgment Spell. The charge pack strapped to the golem’s back hummed along, zapping the Hero with arcs of electricity every time he and Fizzy made contact. His armor protected him from the worst of it, but it still
steadily sapped his HP regardless of whether he hit or was being hit. Even a block or parry resulted in more accumulated damage while two Wizards and the beastkin Ranger relentlessly targeted him with Spells and arrows, severely limiting his ability to move around.
Yet the Hero did not fall, nor did he slow down. For even though Judgment From Above could not be used more than once a day, the other Skill granted by the Goddess Teresa was something he could whip out as many times as he pleased.
“Vengeance!”
His whole body briefly enveloped by a bright glow, Bernard suddenly unleashed a massive golf-like swing. A Berserker-like technique, Vengeance rose in power directly proportional to the amount of damage he had taken over the last ten seconds. And since that accursed golem’s interference led to the Hero losing about half of his HP in that short time frame, the power behind the Skill-enhanced strike was several times stronger and faster than any of his previous attacks. Fizzy managed to catch it on her shield, but it still proved too much for her.
*SKACRUNCH*
While the cursed armament remained unscathed, the arm it was attached to crumpled under the ridiculous strain put on it. The golem was knocked through the air and crashed into the ash-covered ground with a heavy thud, kicking up a small cloud of debris. The remnants of the Republic unit watched in abject horror as their guardian angel’s mangled left arm fell several meters away from her. Fizzy herself was still functioning, but her torso and legs were bent to the point where she struggled to stand up.
In the next instant, there was a loud clang of metal scraping against metal, followed immediately by a certain message that was received by everyone within several kilometers of the scene.
[Clash of Fate has been invoked!]
[The Hero of the Hammer will now face the Hero of Chaos on the field of battle!]
[None may interfere in this righteous contest!]
[May destiny smile upon the victor!]
Swerving their heads around, the Republic troops could do little but stare with mouths agape as Keira stood before the Hero. She had discarded her shortbow and was pointing her mithril rapier squarely at Bernard’s throat.
[HP and MP have fully recovered.]
[Skill, Spell, and magic item cooldowns have been refreshed.]
Having miraculously regained his strength, the human Hero rapidly rose to his feet with a truly bewildered look on his face, but assumed a fighting stance out of habit. His enemy was clearly no elf, nor did she seem particularly evil, but he would give her no quarter if she stood against him.
“You favor your left when you dodge,” she said in a cold deadpan.
Before anyone had a chance to grasp the sudden development, Keira slashed at the man’s head. He dodged it going down and towards his left exactly as she said, only to have the thin blade swerve at the last moment and slash him across the face. It almost looked like he cut himself on purpose.
“Guh!” he grunted, his eyes once again filling with anger. He then swung his prided hammer at the beastkin’s center of mass.
“Your attacks are strong and fast, but way too direct.”
She said this while effortlessly sidestepping his retaliatory strike. She ducked under the follow-up backhanded swing and then leaped over his shoulder-charge with a somersault, landing squarely on top of his shoulders.
“You’re also pretty terrible at point blank range.”
She leapt off with a backflip, slashing him across the face yet again as she spun around.
“Why you little-!”
His anger steadily rising, he kept swinging at her with all his might despite being unable to land a single hit. Like a blade of grass swaying against the wind, the catgirl’s body evaded his strikes before he even made them.
“Also, you clearly don’t know how to fight in that heavy armor. Not only is it messing up your swings, but you keep leaving your knees, armpits, and elbows exposed. You think you look cool or something? You’re a joke!”
Her blade unerringly ripped through his right arm’s elbow as if to prove her point. The human yelled out in pain, stumbling back as blood gushed out of the wound.
“You’re no soldier. I’d call you a mindless brute, but that would be insulting to trolls everywhere.”
She kicked some dust into his eyes and then tripped him up with a swift kick to the back of his knee, causing him to buckle over. She then stabbed him through the shoulder from above and behind. Having put her entire weight into the blow allowed her to pierce clean through metal and flesh alike in a single, magnificent thrust.
“AAAAARRGHH!” he screamed in pain. “V-Vengeance!”
Activating the same Skill as before caused him to lash out with the same ferocity that sent Fizzy flying. It kicked up an impressive volume of dust but ultimately hit only air since the catgirl had let go of her weapon and leapt over his head.
“Blindly relying on Status and Skills to get you through your battles… It’s a miracle you lasted this long! You’d never make it as an adventurer with that attitude!”
With yet another scolding remark, Keira grabbed onto the handle of her blade and violently pulled it out of Bernard’s shoulder by kicking off his back.
“Gaaaah!”
He swung blindly as he turned around, only to have his opponent find a weak spot in his armor, puncturing through it and jabbing him in the thigh. Several quick exchanges later, the human was left kneeling on the ground, bleeding heavily from multiple wounds without being able to so much as bump into his opponent. It was clear by then that the redhead had used the knowledge gained from his fight with Fizzy to thoroughly analyze and then pick apart his amateurish fighting style. Though he may have been stronger than her, the difference in combat experience was staggering. Furthermore, she wasn’t just beating him in a duel – she was humiliating him. She even somehow managed to goad him into using and missing his trump card, the deadly Judgment From Above Skill. Nobody knew exactly how she had achieved this feat since they were momentarily blinded by the flashy magic, but nobody could deny the fact that she still stood after taking what seemed like a direct hit.
At that point, all Bernard could do was glare defiantly at the catgirl, who was currently walking circles just outside his range and continuing her verbal onslaught.
“I repeat, you’re neither a soldier nor an adventurer. You barely even qualify as an adult. It really would be for the best if you apologized to all the Warriors and Paladins of the world for your shameful performance and became a farmer instead. That way the only thing in danger of suffering your incompetence would be your cabbages! But you won’t do that. Because underneath that thin veneer of a Hero lies nothing more than a crying toddler throwing a tantrum over things he can’t change.”
“Shut up! The fuck do you know?!”
“Oh, but I know everything,” she said in a low voice. “I know you died at Monotal.”
The man’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Underwood had given Keira all of the intelligence they had on the enemy VIPs, so it was only natural she knew about that, even if members of her squad didn’t.
“I know Edward told you the Republic was responsible for that Calamity, but guess what? He lied. And you fell for it! That’s so pathetic I can’t even laugh at you!”
“N-no! That’s not true! Allen’s the one who gave me purpose! He’s- He showed me! Proved to me that-”
“He knows exactly who killed your friends and family, you know.”
“He… What?”
“Ah, but he hasn’t told you, has he? Of course, he didn’t. He knew you wouldn’t have become such a convenient tool for him to use if you had a clear target in mind. That’s why he pinned the blame on the Republic as a whole! Face it, blondie. To him you’re just another weapon to aim at his enemies. Just a tool to be used and discarded.”
“No… No! You’re a lying, conniving t-t-twig-lover! You’re just saying those things to mess with me!”
“Am I? If you truly think my words are false, then why do you waver so? Go
on then – deny them! Look me in the eye and tell me you actually believe in your own cause, you selfish prat!”
“I- You don’t- The Goddess- She, she has-”
“The Gods have nothing to do with this!” countered the clearly irate catgirl. “Their asses aren’t on the line down here! They don’t have to resort to eating rats and leaves just to survive another day! It’s not by their hand that this pointless war started! Fuck, if they wanted to they could’ve easily put an end to all of this in an instant, but they’d much rather sit back and watch us die for their amusement! Like we’re nothing more than brainless puppets dancing to their tune! None of those worthless pieces of shit have any place on the battlefield, and you fucking know it!”
The catgirl reined in her blasphemous tirade. It wasn’t intentional, but Boxxy’s true feelings regarding the whole Hero business had slipped out. Well, neither the monster nor its alter ego could hardly be blamed for losing their cool, all things considered. Indeed, this whole performance was nothing more than an excuse for the shapeshifter to vent its frustrations. Even psychotic murder-boxes needed to blow off some steam every now and then. Besides, this was the best way it could think of to stick it to that bitch Teresa for meddling in its life. Though, even without all that, this pathetic punk already committed an offense worthy of a dozen painful deaths in Boxxy’s eyes.
“Ultimately, your lack of conviction is none of my concern,” it continued as Keira. “I don’t care what brought you here. I don’t give a crap what possessed you to attack me and my unit. If you had just turned away instead of charging at us like the retarded piece of shit that you are, then it wouldn’t have come to this. But now? Now it’s too late. Your sins are too heavy.”