A Duel of Fates

Renji took the initiative. Balam’s sword had far more reach than his, so if he left Balam to his devices, he would never be able to get into his ideal range, so if there was any time for him to close that gap it would be right at the start. Swinging high for Renji’s neck, Renji’s blade intercepted Balam’s as he parried to the right before aiming a swift cut to Balam’s own neck. The Dark Lord stepped back the absolute minimal amount to avoid taking damage before bringing up his greatsword again to strike Renji’s right flank with the false edge of the blade, but Renji wasn’t thinking about self-preservation. Taking the moment to thrust his blade forward as hard as he could, he aimed his blade between Balam’s eyes, hoping to take him out even if it meant Renji would go with him.

Balam threw his body back as hard as he could, abandoning his attack and rolling briefly on the ground to get back up to his feet. “Well, looks like your defense could use some work—” Renji had no interest in letting Balam talk. Moving his left hand in a circle as he shouted the magic words, a sphere of water conjured swiftly around The Dark Lord, lifting him off of the ground and suspending him in the air. “Not enough!” Renji growled, conjuring darts of earth around the bubble. He knew that he could not drown Balam with something as simple as this, but if he could keep him incapacitated for long enough with it, he might find a vital spot with his earth darts. Before they could be shot at Balam, however, a bright light erupted from the bubble.

A searing laser of pure, prismatic light evaporated the sphere of water around Balam, scorching the cut stone floor as Renji narrowly avoided being completely erased by the beam. This told Renji, however, that things were far worse than he feared. Nobody should have been able to conjure magic from within the water like that. Sure, Renji was able to release something akin to a spell underwater, but that was an uncontrolled aether eruption. Whatever Balam just did was a spell, refined, conjured, and woven masterfully. What few plans Renji had began to crumble as an awful truth became painfully clear; The Dark Lord did not need verbal components to cast his spells.

Before he could fully recover from evading the laser, Balam had begun his attack. Gone was the arrogant smile. Renji was no longer just a kid playing at being a knight in his eyes, but a threat that had to be dealt with promptly. Renji blocked the first strike, but such a strong attack from a big weapon blocked directly caused his rapier to quake, throwing him off balance long enough for Balam to grab him by his neck. Lifting Renji up as though he were but a child, Balam lifted him over his head and slammed him back down onto the ground hard, knocking the wind out of the Outworlder’s lungs. “Not bad, boy. It’s over.”

Lifting Renji off the ground once more, Balam’s grip on his neck tightening further, Renji couldn’t get a single intake of air as he saw Balam raise his blade. He couldn’t hold back any longer, he had to give his everything to this, come what may.

To The Dark Lord’s absolute shock, Renji’s head began to morph. His neck became thick and scaled as his head became draconic in appearance. Unable to process just what he was witnessing, Renji’s jaws snapped down on Balam’s shoulder, having aimed for the neck, but Balam’s instinctive attempt to dodge saved him from a lethal bite. His armor didn’t save him, and Renji thrashed his head to do as much damage as he could. All the while, he thrust his rapier forward as hard as he could, though it bounced harmlessly off of Balam’s armor, he kept trying, hoping to find a gap in the armor. Balam let go of Renji’s neck to put both hands on his sword. When he did, Renji could tell Balam was going to try and behead him just by how his body moved. Returning his head to normal in the nick of time, Renji thrust his rapier again to Balam’s head.

Catching Renji’s rapier with his left hand, Balam again tried to strike Renji’s flank with his blade, his left this time. Renji’s left hand transformed to that of the great islandback, however, and stopped the blade in its tracks. While both of them were locked in place, Renji manifested the manticore’s tail, reaching over his shoulder to strike at Balam’s neck. Finding his mark, the scorpion stinger sank into Balam’s neck, but his anger only seemed to rise. Roaring with effort, Renji’s feet left the ground as Balam’s sword began to push and push. With a single pirouette, Balam threw Renji as hard as he could to the nearest wall, but Renji was able to slow his momentum by manifesting the wyvern’s black wings. Both feet landed firmly on the wall as Renji’s eyes locked onto Balam’s.

“To think that the foul beast-mother would give you this much favor! What did you promise her!?” Balam shouted before Renji flapped his wings hard. Leaping from the wall, he attempted another thrust, but was parried by Balam. Renji’s relentless assault was predictable, but it was his abilities that surprised The Dark Lord. He hadn’t expected an Outworlder such as this to show him neither conviction nor power like this. Keeping Renji in his preferred distance, neither combatant made progress in the next few moments. Renji’s selective transformations with the great islandback gave him a wall that Balam’s blade alone would not crack, but Renji’s martial prowess was nowhere near that of Balam’s. What surprise factor he had with his transformations was now lost, and Balam would be ready for him when he tried to strike with them again.

Balam, however, had enough of playing around. The wound Renji had dealt to his neck had already regenerated, but it still hurt. Pushing Renji back firmly, Balam conjured spheres of light and shadow in his hand, then another, and another. Six spheres, three of light, one of darkness in total now whirled around Balam’s head like a crown. “I do not know what pact you made with Tiamat, but it is not enough. You cannot hope to kill me, even if you destroy my heart, even if you pierce my skull. I have let you have your moment of play, but it is time for you to drop your weapon. If you do not, then a fate far worse than death awaits you. You may not give your knowledge to me willingly, but I happen to know something that would be very happy to feast upon your mind and indulge every little secret you keep up there.”

Renji didn’t answer Balam, not wanting to give any acknowledgment to the threats levied at him. Instead of wasting his thoughts on words, he instead tried to figure out any way to beat the opponent in front of him. The sphere of water would have worked perfectly if only Balam were unable to cast magic without requiring verbal components. There was just one more thing that he could think of doing, but it was risky: The Primordial Cloak. Renji had made a point of evading the most powerful magic spells that he could find for a few reasons. The first being for his own safety; unsure if the cloak would protect him from flames that would reach his face or feet before touching the cloak. The other was that he was unsure if it’d negate the power of a strike. The laser he evaded prior might have still thrown him off of his feet, leaving him more vulnerable than if he had just evaded, and the third had to do with his own blessing; he was worried that if he absorbed too much power at once, he would “pop.”

However, as twin spheres of light and dark merged in front of Balam’s blade in perfect balance, it was clear that Renji was out of options. Balam was, of course, aware of Renji’s cloak, having been there when it was given to him, but he too was unsure of Renji’s limits. All he knew was that the advantage was still his, and Renji’s aether absorption was dangerous to himself. Balam would know just by how Renji conducted himself in reaction to Balam’s magic just how unsure he would be of his own ability to absorb aether. Thus, he wasn’t afraid to let him absorb the aether, hoping that their shared theory on what may happen if he absorbed too much aether would prove true.

Renji braced himself with his cloak, and Balam met the challenge head on. The sound that erupted next was deafening. Renji’s feet weren’t taken off the ground as he feared, as it would appear the cloak negated the impact of the spell, but the amount of aether he had begun to absorb was overwhelming him quickly. He could hear Tiamat’s voice calling to him, but he couldn’t register what she was saying, even as she screamed his name. Balam’s beam finished, and Renji could hardly contain all the energy trapped within him. He screamed, having absorbed every last ounce of aether from the beam, the pain was completely overwhelming. Color faded away, and all Renji could see was the faint visage of Balam, as though he were drawn with a pencil outline. He could see how smoothly Balam moved, preparing the next beam. Renji’s body could not handle another round of absorption.

“Pity, I was hoping to see you explode. Try and take this one, maybe we’ll still see it.” Balam taunted, the next beam already charged and ready. Collapsing to his knees from the overwhelming pain of trying to contain all the energy within him, Renji had originally tried to keep the aether contained within him, trying to see if he could somehow enhance his physical capabilities, but it wasn’t happening, no matter how hard he tried to will it to happen. The pain was so blinding that he felt like he was about to collapse in on himself, and for a moment, Renji just about let it happen.

However, Renji felt a gentle hand upon him at that moment. Tiamat. She heard him whisper his name. He felt her embrace behind him, telling him that he wasn’t alone. They might not have been exact words he needed to hear, but hearing her voice was enough. Standing back up, he faced Balam. The aether seemed to calm down. His eyes still glowed from the overwhelming power flowing through his body, but his body frayed less, his veins ceased to bulge like they might pop, and in that moment he seemed to be in perfect control. Taking a deep breath, he put both hands in front of him like before, taking his stance.

“Tiamat. Doesn’t she know you’re not supposed to meddle when another god is involved? Whatever. A pitiful, lesser goddess should know her place. May her final hopes die with you, Renji Naoki!” Then, Renji felt it. A powerful beam, exactly like the one he just absorbed, erupted and came straight at him. Renji didn’t care how Balam knew Tiamat was with him. Perhaps she actually stood behind him, or perhaps he merely sensed her, but regardless of what might be true, Renji focused the aether into his hands, and unlike before where he simply let the aether erupt, he focused it, imitating what he saw with Balam to make his own true beam of power.

“Vitamicare!!!”