Rise of the Devourer - Book 3: Chapter 10 — Sparring Match Pt. 2

Erwest stepped up to the glass pane, preparing for his own turn. Valeria walked closer after him, putting her hand on the glass pane.

“Just send a pulse of mana, and it will activate,” Kaelan instructed.

Erwest followed the instructions, seeing a message pop up in front of him. As he selected ‘yes’, he felt his feet leave the ground for a moment, a sensation eerily similar to being teleported, and the wall changed around him when he reappeared. Clouds flew nearby, the sun beaming down upon him as he stood on the floating piece of rock, flying through the skies.

Two bridges of golden light connected the island to others, some smaller, some larger, all flying through the skies. He walked to the corner of the island, looked down, and saw endless clouds flowing underneath as far as the eye could see.

“A pale imitation of the celestial realms,” Valeria said, standing across from him at the other end of the floating arena.

Erwest turned back around to face her, nodding at her words. She stood in golden and red armor, covering only parts of her body, looking more like a barbarian than a warrior of the church. He did not need to inspect his own attire; he could feel his familiar white and golden armor donned upon him.

“I have not had the chance to fight a Paladin of Hellion before. We are on the same side in most things, after all. So, I hope this will be an interesting battle, at the very least,” Valeria said.

Erwest drew his blade in response to her words, and she smiled in response, raising her war axe.

Before either of them moved, the battle already started as their auras expanded rapidly, clashing against each other, trying to fight for dominance. Valeria roared as she charged forward. Swinging her axe, she struck it at the ground, sending a pulse of energy through it, cracking the surface beneath Erwest, offsetting his footing. Valeria leapt into the air, bringing her axe down in an overhead swing.

A shield manifested on Erwest’s left arm, as he blocked the strike from Valeria, parrying the attack as he swung his sword at her, slicing through her chest. Red blood sprayed onto the ground, coating Erwest’s sword. He used the momentum, swinging his shield around at the woman, striking her jaw with it, sending her sliding back with the strike.

Valeria grinned, spitting blood, rotated her shoulder, and stretched her neck. Steam rose from her body as her wounds visibly closed, her blood evaporating away. Erwest remained on guard, simply watching the woman as he maintained his stance.

“You’ve got good technique,” Valeria said. “But you’re too passive, too reliant on your sturdiness.”

Valeria twisted her heavy war axe, spinning it as if it weighed nothing, then thumped it on the ground. The ground shook, cracking where she struck it, as a red aura began to rise from her body. Wordlessly, the woman rushed in closer. Erwest struck back, keeping his composure as he used his shield to block the strike once more. The impact pushed his feet backward, his arm shaking under the weight.

Letting his technique guide him, he twisted his back foot, shifting his weight as he struck with his blade. Golden light swirled around him, covering his sword as he slashed at the woman.

She swung her own war axe, blocking his blade with her attack. Their exchange continued, like a graceful dance of blood and magic. Golden light flashed, sparks flew with the strike of weapons, and red blood dripped onto the ground, painting it. But it was not Erwest who bled.

With each strike and counter, more and more injuries began to appear on Valeria’s body. Her strikes were intense, each attack sending Erwest a few inches backward, almost breaking his guard, but the paladin held strong, leveraging his blade and shield to absorb all impacts as he struck back with precision.

***

Noah watched the battle, crossing his arms.

“She’s going to lose if this continues,” Aurelia said, looking at the screen. “I’m not sure why she is just going at him straightforwardly when clearly her attacks are not working. Circle around him, strike from behind, but she doesn’t seem to be interested.”

“She’s just playing with him. She will turn it around instantly. No way she loses here,” Seraphina said, leaning forward in her seat. “Right, Kaelan? She’s not losing, is she?”

Kaelan glanced at Aurelia, before his eyes went to Noah. “What do you think? Is Valeria going to lose?”

Noah frowned, silently looking at the battle. “She’s definitely more injured. And Erwest has taken no strikes directly. Though she’s clearly stronger, he’s using his technique to utilize her strength against her,” Noah replied.

“You didn’t say yes or no,” Kaelan said, raising a scaly eyebrow.

Noah hummed, his frown growing. “No. She’s not losing.”

“What do you mean? She’s lost a lot of blood. Even if she has high regenerative powers, it’s not going to be endless,” Aurelia said.

“Well… yeah. She has lost a lot of blood. But she hasn’t taken a single hit on anything vital. All the blood has come from her limbs and the strikes have healed rapidly. Not to mention, her attacks are growing stronger and stronger with each strike. Erwest can barely keep up with her, and he is almost falling off the arena from the pushback.”

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Aurelia turned back around to look at the fight. At Noah’s words, she noticed that Valeria’s body was a lot less injured than the blood dripping from her would indicate. And Erwest was nearly at the edge of the island, being pushed back.

Kaelan grinned. “She does that. She loves to do that. I call it Valvalanche. It’s slow and weak and feeble at first, but the more she fights, the stronger it grows, and at the end, it’s an overwhelming tide of raw power that can crush anything in its path. The only times I have beaten Valeria is when I made sure to do it quickly and as thoroughly as I could. If you let her grow into the fight, then you have lost it before you even realize.”

***

When the first strike hit Erwest’s shoulder, barely stopped by his armor, was when he finally realized his mistake. Instead of slowing down and wearing out as the battle continued, Valeria’s strikes instead continued to grow in intensity. Her swings became faster, each one carrying more power than before. He barely had the time or energy to strike back anymore, it took his all to hold her back with his shield, but the impact still pushed him backward. Erwest glanced behind him, seeing the edge of the island approaching. He needed to change his strategy, and quickly.

His shield collapsed into a pulse of golden light, shooting forward in a dazzling strike that pierced through Valeria’s chest, giving him a moment of time. He jumped, dashing across the island’s edge as he rushed towards the bridge, crossing to a different area. Not daring to turn back to see if she was chasing him or not, he could hear her feet as she rushed in closer, faster than him. He knew he could not run forever, but the time he needed, he had gotten.

Bending down, pretending he tripped on something, Erwest grabbed a fistful of soil in his hands as Valeria closed in. He turned, throwing it at her. The woman swung her axe undeterred by some dirt, but the dirt had been a distraction. A flash of golden light pulsed forward, glowing with the intensity of the sun as it blinded everyone momentarily. He rushed in closer, unable to see but he knew where she was, he could smell the dirt he had just thrown, and that was enough.

His blade struck, glancing off her war axe, before plunging into her gut. Erwest closed in, using his shoulder to tackle her to the ground, as the two fell together. He pulled his blade out, blocking the strike from her war axe barely, as the weapon’s edges cut into his shoulder and back. Valeria screamed, striking Erwest with her fist as he flew across the arena, tumbling onto the ground.

Coughing up blood, he clutched his stomach, feeling the impact burst his organs. Golden light lit up around his hand, healing the injury, but not completely. Using his blade to push himself back onto his feet, he saw the woman standing upright, the hole he had made in her stomach with his sword already gone. But it had left its mark.

Valeria coughed, wiping blood from around her mouth, her eyes swirls of red, her own blood coating her body red as she laughed out loud. “I never took you for the type to use cheap tricks. Is that how the paladins of Hellion fight?” Valeria said.

The taunt was an obvious one, and Erwest knew that replying would not help him in any way. And yet… he could not help himself but say something. “No,” Erwest said, raising his sword as a golden light flashed around him. “It’s how adventurers fight.”

Valeria smiled, raising her war axe. “I like it. It’s better than what you had before. It has soul, and passion. Show me more, Erwest. Show me how you fight against this.”

A torrent of golden light burst from Valeria, rising in a torrent around her as it swallowed the arena. Rapid gusts of wind flew across the island before the woman rushed in closer. Valeria tackled Erwest, grabbing him as she took him to the skies. Erwest swung his sword around, trying to fight her off, but the woman’s grip remained. She twisted and turned in the skies, rotating rapidly, her golden wings shining against the light of the sun, as the world stopped for a moment. Then they fell. Valeria descended rapidly, spinning faster and faster before she crashed into the ground with a powerful slam. A surge of dust and dirt flew into the air at the impact, and Erwest felt his bones crack. His golden shield faded from beneath him, his armor dented and falling off his body, as he slowly picked himself back up.

Valeria swung in, her axe flying through the cloud of dust, nearly cutting his head off from his body then and there as he ducked under the strike. Her wings slashed like blades of light, cutting through his shoulder, nearly taking the limb off as she rushed in closer and grabbing his neck and slammed him onto the ground. Her fingers curled around his throat, crushing his windpipe as Erwest kicked her in the chest, pushing her back. He could feel his body aching; he did not have long.

But depths damn him if he was going to give up before his body.

Rushing in close, bleeding with a broken shoulder, Erwest tackled Valeria. The Valkyrie swung her axe, digging into his body, but the paladin did not take note, simply continuing to push as he took the strikes and leapt from the island. A shield of light manifested around both of them, trapping them in a golden sphere as the two began to fall. Grabbing Valeria’s shoulder, Erwest swung his fists till they were red and raw as he struck at her face. Valeria’s wings cut into his body, slicing him into pieces, but he continued. A hoarse, broken scream tore itself out of his crushed throat as he grabbed the Valkyrie’s wings, pulling at them as hard as he could. Valeria screamed, as one of her wings tore off; she grabbed Erwest’s face, clutching his throat, and with a powerful squeeze, caved his skull in.

***

The world shivered around Erwest as he stood back in the training hall. It took him a moment to settle himself and remind himself that the battle had not been real.

“You should sit down. Experiencing death, even if a false one, can take a toll,” Kaelan said.

“Tell me about it. I am still not used to the feeling,” Noah said.

Erwest looked up at the Drakonian, giving a nod as he took a seat, his mind still dazed and distant. As he did, his eyes caught the Valkyrie as she walked closer. For a moment, his mind immediately jumped to prepare for a battle as he saw her, but the woman simply put her hand on his shoulder. “Good fight. You’ve got good technique, but you need to put more of yourself in your fights. When you continued to fight after I crushed your throat – you terrified me for a second. It was the eyes of someone ready to fight till their last breath,” Valeria said.

“That’s the good part about this place. You can go through that, without actually dying. Once you know what it is like to lose it all and to give everything. You can fight and begin each battle like it was going to be your last one,” Kaelan said.

Erwest looked at the Drakonian, meeting his eyes, and gave a nod. He needed to be better.

At the thought, he saw words appear in front of his eyes, the golden light of Hellion filling his spirit.

Hellion’s Paladin has reached level 177.

Stalwart Warrior has reached level 179.

Blade of Justice has reached level 176.

Hellion’s light graces your path.

Even he could feel the powerful sensation of empowerment. Perhaps traveling with this group wasn’t so bad after all.