The Palace Duel

The mere presence of the two men standing in front of us was suffocating. Instinctively, I reached for the hilt of my rapier, breaking into a cold sweat. My eyes darted around, looking at Malti and Kassim, hoping they had an answer for this.

I could die…

"I need you two to distract them." Kassim grabbed our shoulders.

"We know. That’s why you brought us," Malti responded.

I gulped nervously. I knew it would come to this, but seeing them in front of me? I couldn’t help but be scared. Bloodlust oozed from each of them. My breathing became erratic, my hands were shaking, and my legs… my legs tried running away, to get anywhere but here.

Malti grabbed my arm, looking directly at me. "Sern, now's not the time for cold feet… We are almost there, just a little further."

I looked back at Malti. She was right. I've been training years for this. To run now… to betray my hard work, my dedication, my friends. No, I need to face this obstacle head-on. I need to do this… I have to do this.

"So which one do we each fight?" I looked across the hall at the two of them.

Yuddh, the Monstrous, was stretching his neck; the sound of his armor shifting echoed throughout the hall. From his repulsive helmet, I could hear a muffled laugh. I guess he found this whole thing amusing.

Ruhm, the Spear-Tip, remained motionless, leaning against his spear. With my Ular Eye, I could see movement behind the silver facemask he wore. He was studying us, watching to see which of us would be a greater threat. I watched as his eyes shifted towards Malti and narrowed.

"Yuddh is a hard matchup for me… Let me take Ruhm," Malti said.

"… yeah, got it."

Malti was looking out for me. She knows that facing a spearman like Ruhm would be almost impossible for me. The combination of his range and speed is a complete counter to me. I would never be able to close the distance. However, someone like Yuddh, who is bigger and slower, makes an easier target for me. I just need to find a gap in his armor to exploit. Also, I can't get hit by that monstrous hammer he uses.

I took a deep breath, then gave Malti a nod.

"Alright, let's do this!" Malti sprinted at Ruhm.

Ruhm got into his stance, his spear pointing out front.

I followed her lead and charged at Yuddh. He let out a grunt and brought his war hammer up over his head. With immense speed and power, he brought it down, hitting the ground, smashing it in one devastating strike. At the last second, I dodge out of the way, rolling to the side. When I looked at where he hit the ground, a crater was in its place. My hands were trembling.

There's no time for this… concentrate… concentrate…

I got back up to my feet and dusted myself off. Yuddh made another sweeping swing at me, forcing me to back off and adjust my distance. He was far more agile and swift than he looked. If he is going to just keep me away with that hammer, I'll blast him with some magic.
Let the mana converge and flow through the conduit to become Hell Flare!

A deep red ball of fire emerged from the tip of my rapier and launched at Yuddh like a catapult. The hell flare hit him square in the chest and engulfed his body. Kassim and the others took this opportunity to run past Yuddh and Ruhm towards the door to the throne room. Although it was a direct hit, I knew better than to get my hopes up.

Seconds later, Yuddh emerged from the flames like a phoenix, the fire dissipating around him. I clicked my tongue in frustration. His anti-magic armor was of the highest quality, meaning my magic was really only good as a distraction. Yuddh spotted Kassim's group slipping past him. He raised up his still-burning war hammer and swung it at the group.

"Damn it!" I rushed to put my hand on the ground.

Forcing mana into my binding stone, giant trees sprang up, barely blocking Yuddh's attack. I dashed forward, but as I did, Yuddh used his inhuman strength and swung through the trees I created, launching burning chunks of wood at me. I blocked and parried the piece flying at me. I heaved a sigh of relief as his attention was fully back on me. I could see behind Yuddh, Kassim slipping through the doors into the throne room. I could hear Malti and Ruhm going at it, but I had no time to be distracted.

"Hahaha! I haven't had a fight this fun in years!" Yuddh's guttural voice rang out.

"Yeah? Shouldn't you be worried about your prince?"

"Him? Who cares? I don't. If he dies, I'll just find new employment. There's always work for people like me." I could almost see him smiling behind his helmet.

"You really are a monster." I lunged at him, my rapier out front.

"Hahaha! Thank you!" Yuddh charged forward, his war hammer dragging behind him.

As we got in range of each other, Yuddh made a sweeping attack with his hammer. I slipped underneath it, inches from the ground, and got behind him. Using my Ular Eye, I looked for a gap in his armor, a crack, anything, but I couldn't find a weak point. I tried slipping my rapier into the gap at the back of his knee, but all I heard in response was a metal clink.

Yuddh kicked his leg back, sending me flying back. I was getting exhausted. Again, I used my Ular Eye to search for a weak spot, somewhere I could slip my rapier into. As Yuddh started to approach me, I saw something.

There is a gap... his eye slits in his helmet. But it's dangerous... extremely dangerous. He is around nine feet tall... I would have to get up high and be in the air, where I can't dodge away. If I mess this up, it could be the last thing I do. I'm also worried about Kassim. I can hear fighting behind the door, people screaming. I don't have much time left. I need to finish this.

Alright, it's all or nothing...