Effortless Dragonslayer

The general swung his immense sword. I leapt back, barely avoiding it. If my sword wasn’t going to cut it, then…

I switched places with my opponent ten times in a second. The tall, sturdy man clutched his head. I took the opportunity to make a beautiful arc with my sword. I had intended to slit the general’s throat, but he brought his sword up just in time.

My sword whacked into his sword’s hilt. The blade got stuck. I yanked it out and went for a stab to the neck.

The general managed to step back in time. He proceeded to do the last thing I expected. He opened his mouth and breathed fire.

That’s why he doesn’t wear a helmet!

I dodged and jumped back several steps. I scanned the crowd. Every eyeball was fixed right on me. This was going to be easy.

I swapped places with a woman behind the general. I brought my sword down on his back. Despite our height difference, I was stronger. The general stumbled forward.

Switch!

*Smash!*

Another whack.

Switch! Switch! Switch! Switch! Switch!

I bombarded him from every side. Unable to keep up, he flailed frantically and roared out his fire. By now, everyone had understood how much danger they were in. They had begun running away. Furthermore, the general was burning everyone around me to a crisp. I was running out of people to switch with.

Alright, I’ll end this now!

I threw myself to the floor, landing on my back. The general looked confused. I stared into those confused eyes. They widened with realisation. But it was too late. We switched. I stabbed down, aiming straight at his face.

I stopped. The tip of my sword hovered just above his mouth. “You are one breath away from death. Understand?”

The general mumbled something.

“Where is Allister Twain?” I asked.

“Top floor of the tallest tower,” the general begrudgingly scowled back.

I brought my sword down. The general instantly perished.

That was easy, I thought, with a satisfied nod.

At this point, it seemed that nobody even contemplated attacking me anymore. So, I simply waltzed up to the castle and began climbing the side.

I climbed and I climbed. I was only concerned about the dragons crawling around.

*Swoosh!*

As well I should have been. One of them was barrelling straight towards me. It raised its legs, seemingly intent on picking me up. One swipe of my sword and a quick upwards dodge took care of that. The dragon plummeted all the way down, landing on loitering bystanders with a horrible crunch.

Man, this thing is amazing! I thought, holding up my sword in awe.

I promptly continued my ascent, grabbing onto any hold I could.

The top window was right there…

I smashed it and hopped through.

I found myself in a large, circular room. There was a pile of hay in one corner and an old, wooden bucket in another. Up ahead, the door. It was barred. I walked up to open it. It didn’t budge.

Is this a prison cell? That damn general. I’m glad I killed him.

A sudden wave of heat. I sprang back with raised forearms. Fire tore through the bars. It vanished as fast as it had appeared. However, something else had appeared in its stead. A giant man in dark purple armour, wielding a gargantuan sword. He looked a lot like the general, the only difference being a truly oppressive, tyrannical aura. It whirled around him, like a murderous inferno. He wore a thick helmet in the shape of a demon skull. I could only see his black, predator-like eyes, yet I knew who he was.

Allister…

“Phocles Yates. We meet again,” he said.

“This is a first time for me,” I replied, intentionally ruining his moment.

I didn’t have to see his face to know that he was momentarily annoyed by my interruption.

Allister raised his sword. He swung it like a baseball. It cut clean through the dense, iron bars of the cell. He swung it again.

*Scrrraaappee*

It was the sound of one final cut. The sliced bars fell to the floor, leaving a large, triangular hole in their place.

We stared each other down through the hole. Sure, that had been an impressive display of strength, but we both realised that whoever took the time to crawl through the gap, would leave themselves vulnerable.

I eyed Allister’s sword. It bore an unsettling resemblance to mine. I decided to lower my visor, just in case. Then, I raised my own sword. “Step in,” I said.

“You think I’m going to kill my eternal rival inside a disgusting prison? Have you lost your mind?” he retorted. “I have been waiting two lifetimes for this moment. I will not let you ruin this. Now, step out, before I make you regret it!”

I took another step back. “What are you doing over there? The fights over here,” I taunted, before leaping out of the window.

Now in freefall, I managed to twist my body, so that I was facing the ground, with my feet parallel to the wall. I then did something I could only imagine defied the laws of physics. I ran down the wall. Indeed, I ran faster than gravity could take me.

Hold on…

I slowed to a stop, still on the side of the wall. Sure enough, I didn’t fall.

Oh.

So, the magical armour had magical properties. I silently cursed my own stupidity. I turned around, just in time to see a tall man in purple armour falling straight at me at an alarming speed. I only had so much time to raise my sword and brace for impact.

*SMASH!*

*BANG!*

Allister hit me hard and in turn, we both hit the floor even harder. A large cloud of smoke and dust rose up.

I was rattled, but oddly unharmed. Is this armour invincible? I wondered, as I lay spread-eagle, staring up at the sky.

“Rise, Phocles, so I may knock you back down again!” Alliser’s gleeful voice echoed from nearby.

I sighed and stood up.

Allister twirled his sword around so fast, I felt a light breeze pass by. Could have been a coincidence.

I stared at Allister.

Allister stared at me.

We braced ourselves… and then ran towards each other at superhuman speeds.

Every clash of our swords sounded like sonic booms. Every deflection sent shockwaves that blew back bystanders. We dodged blows that came at us faster than bullets.

I had never been so focused on anything in my entire life.

*Fwoosh!*

I sidestepped the swipe. I never moved more than necessary, in an effort to conserve my energy.

As I hacked and slashed, I couldn’t help but wonder when I’d learned to fight like this. It had to be the spirit of Phocles possessing me; the same one that made me apathetic to the any bystander’s safety.

I dodged a stab to the visor. An innocent bystander took it straight in the forehead. Sure enough, Allister’s sword had the same effect. The unfortunate casualty bloodlessly collapsed, as if a switch had been turned off in his brain.

*Chink!*

Huh?

No way…

A ferocious swing of my sword had left a visible chink in Allister’s armour. These things weren’t invincible!

Allister stumbled back. He side-eyed the dent. “My turn,” he said. He dashed towards me and swung his sword. However, instead of slashing at me, his leg snapped up without warning. He kicked me square in the visor. Allister followed it up with a brutal sword swipe, that sent me hurtling back into a crowd of onlookers.

It took a second, but I managed to bounce back up. I turned to look at those I had just crushed. “Can’t you see we’re fighting here? Everyone, piss off!” I angrily bellowed. I barely had time to finish my sentence, that I felt a presence shooting straight at me. I spun around, swinging my sword with me.

*BANG!*

I could suddenly see more clearly.

*Clatter…*

I glanced down at my helmet. It rolled on the floor.

Allister kicked it like a football. The helmet soared into the sky and vanished into the distance.

Things had just gotten seriously dangerous.

*Swwwiiipee*

*Clang!*

I instinctively parried Allister’s death blow. Then, I turned tail and ran.