The Achievement Junkie - 546 Halmut Unscathed?

“I don’t care bout Kartonia, Skaryn. I’m destined to rule more planets than I can count, far beyond the scope of what Kartonia has to offer me,” reasoned Halmut, not letting up at all. “If it meant my entrance to the rest of the universe, then I’d erase all of Kartonia in heartbeat. And though I don’t need to be so forceful with the rest of the world, it’s the best choice when dealing with you.”

“Why seek your own death!” Skaryn shouted, retrieving matching greatswords. The metal used to cast them was pitch-black but four different colored crystals were embedded within the handguard, designed similarly to brass knuckles.

“Oh, so we’re finally getting serious, are we?” Halmut chuckled louder and louder. “You’ll only be more disappointed the more you struggle!”

Black sword waves were launched in every which way to counter the falling light pillars. Skaryn made sure to use both swords so that one was for defending the distant island and the other was for keeping Halmut at bay. Also, Skaryn made use of his draconic tale to occasionally add pressure to Halmut, utilizing the long, thin point at the end as a life-threatening needle capable of piercing any armor.

Of all Skaryn’s attacks, Halmut only avoided the needle-like tail. He allowed the sword attack to clash against his body’s natural defenses and claws. Sometimes, his tail would parry the greatsword and leave an opening for Halmut to claw into Skaryn’s torso.

So far, the island had yet to be hit or damaged further but the same couldn’t be said for Skaryn.

Just as Halmut had stated earlier, Skaryn found that his draining miasma attacks were somehow ineffective against Halmut. Normally, even if his attacks were blocked, a fraction of the dispersing dark energy would drain some health away from the defendant, a technique that Skaryn developed after facing Duorda. But nothing happened. Each time Halmut tanked the blows or countered them, no health was drained whatsoever.

“What have you–”

“I told you, the more you attack me the more you’ll realize your own futility,” stated Halmut, keeping up with Skaryn without issues thanks to the disabling of the draining miasma. Some cuts and wounds would appear on his body as well, but Halmut’s healing ability mixed with the natural regeneration of Sun Dragons made those a simple fix. Like Skaryn, Halmut had also furthered his healing abilities to mimic Duorda’s holy energy use as closely as possible.

“This fight is mine, admit it, Skaryn! Just submit and join me. We’ll be able to–”

“Oh… So you still refuse to give up?” teased Halmmut, letting the false Skaryn in front of the dragon fade away. “You’ll die, Skaryn. If you can’t surrender your pride and choose correctly, then you’ll perish along with–”

“No more, Halmut! I’m tired of your games!” shouted Skaryn. “If you want to fight to the death, then stop playing around! Don’t get others involved or you won’t last long enough to say goodbye.”

Taking a deep breath, Halmut clicked his tongue. “Very well… But you’ve chosen the path of no return!”

Holy energy and dark energy rained from the heavens, warring to control the air around the two combatants.

“So long, Skaryn. I’ll say it now while I have the chance…” Halmut sighed, letting more energy erupt from his being.

Skaryn was silent, not letting his emotions show during a time of life and death.

Both men rocketed into each other with unprecedented speed. A shockwave of dueling holy and dark energy washed away the stagnant energy in the air. This repeated over and over again, letting the distant spectators feel their souls shake.

While both sides boasted similar levels of strength and their own varieties of energy types, one combatant began to stick out as the potential winner. Still, Skaryn was unable to drain any energy and heal himself while Halmut undid all wounds of battle. Such a difference made the outcome more obvious by the second.

“How?”

“‘How’, what?”

“How are you immune!” Skaryn questioned, furious.

Sighing, Halmut answered casually, “Oh… that? Simple. My friends in Gem have proven their superiority yet again.”

Understanding the underlying meaning of such a statement, Skaryn asked, “So, they gave you false hope?”

“No, it’s not false by any means,” replied Halmut. “There’s no point in revealing how, but I’ve become immune to dark type energy, your greatest strength. And without it, you’re completely helpless in front of me.

“What’s wrong?” Halmut asked, enjoying the raging glare Skaryn showed. “I told you before, fighting back was useless. Now, it’s too late. They wanted me to kill you long ago but I convinced them to let me convince you. Only, you turned me down for the last time…

“Today was the last day you’ll live… And yet you’re still caught up on saving that island?!”

Regardless of his circumstances and his disadvantages, Skaryn was still defending against the occasional light pillar that Halmut would sneak out of their fight.

“So, that’s how you can attack me and Kustram at the same time…” reasoned Skaryn, showing no signs of forfeit within his eyes.

“Face the truth, Skaryn! If you surrender now, there’s still a chance I can–”

“Shut up and kill me.”

“… What?”

Skaryn repeated himself, laughing, “Shut up and kill me. If you’re so confident, then why are you hesitating? You made fun of me for not being decisive, yet I’ve been using killing blows this whole time. If you weren’t cheating me, then I’d have already killed you. But you keep offering peace while mocking me. If you’re going to kill me, just do it already!”