Stand up be strong

Søren

My face no longer hurts; I don’t even feel the blood flowing anymore. Slowly, I draw my one-handed sword and my dagger. «Sorry for the delay,» I say with a calm smile. «Stoyan.» Between his horns, a black halo of thorns emerges, just like the first time we met.

«At last!» he exclaims, driving his sword into the ground. I dodge aside, and from the spot where I stood his blade bursts upward. I lunge forward; he rips the sword free from the earth and parries my strike, the ground trembling beneath us. He points a finger at me—I block the beam with my dagger but I’m hurled against a rock.

I climb out of the crater, still smiling. I glance at the dagger; it’s wet and seems to glitter with tiny sparkles. “Was that… a waterjet?”

He charges again, his sword glowing crimson, warping the very air. I slip beneath his legs to avoid the blow. When his blade strikes the rock, the ground splits wide open. The fissure fills with fire that moves with the density of water.

Turning with my body’s momentum, I swing low, aiming to sweep his legs with my sword, but he leaps aside—the slash continues, shearing down the forest trees.

He lands behind me, laughing. «Last time, that strike caught me off guard and severed my legs. Yet even then, it was weaker than this one.»

«So it’s true—you fought Kenji.»

«Yes. Even though he was beyond my reach, I enjoyed myself immensely with him. I mourn his death, but he fought valiantly against my disciple, in a battlefield where he had to be careful not to destroy his own army.»

«So you weren’t even serious in our last fight.» I answer, covering my smile behind the dagger.

He slams his fist into the ground. «Shut up!» An earthquake tears the land apart, splitting it into patches of earth encircled by rivers of fire. He leaps at me—I spring onto another isle. He fires again while I’m mid-air. I block with my sword, twisting in the air to parry a strike from behind. He slams me down, plunging after me. I roll aside—the sword misses by an inch—I counter with a downward slash, followed by a reverse cut.

He splits into four pieces, scattering around me. I sigh, tension vanishing. «It was a fine battle, Sto—» The blade bursts through the right side of my torso, shattering my armor.

«Never lower your guard. Didn’t Kenji teach you that?» From the four fragments, a black slime seeps out and rejoins into his body.

A roar shakes the air, followed by a shockwave that tears me free from the sword. In a blink, I’m on the ground, gasping. Blood fills my throat as I vomit it up, struggling just to kneel.

«What a pity it ends here, boy. I was enjoying myself,» he says, approaching with slow, heavy steps.

The pain, the cries, the despair of my comrades echo inside my skull. They hurt worse than any wound I’ve taken—agonizing, unbearable.

I grip my blades tightly. My legs tremble, stiff and weak, but I rise. «What’s this? Do you want to die standing like a warrior? I admire that, boy. I’ll kill you without making you suffer.» He charges his sword. It burns, vibrating so violently that a loud hum fills the air, the waterjet coating the blade’s edge. He dashes forward—the ground itself vanishes beneath his steps—coming straight at me with a thrust…

I stop the sword’s point with three fingers, the dagger held in reverse grip with the other two. «Forgive me, Stoyan.» I meet his eyes with a sorrowful smile. «It seems I’m not allowed to stay here any longer.» I snap his greatsword in two, and with my own blade, I cleave through him. He falls slowly, bleeding like a man.

«How long it’s been… since I last felt the warmth of blood…» he rasps. «Søren… save them, as I could not.»

«Obdormis sine dolore…» With a single, clean thrust, I pierce his chest, smiling at him as if bidding farewell to an old friend. Amber flames embrace his body, leaving only the armor intact.

°°°

Goran

I emerge from the rubble, clutching the shell in my hand. I look around, every fiber of me trembling. «My castle… my army…» I mutter through clenched teeth. «You will pay.» My fingers crush the shell into shards. My gaze, steeped in death, falls upon them.

The malylebky strikes at me with her sword. I backhand her, stripping away all her equipment in an instant. «You dare use my own creations against me, slave?» Chains burst from the ground, binding her. I level my blade at her stomach, but roots intercept the thrust.

The boy draws a sword from his satchel. He charges with a cry—I seize his weapon, along with his arms. He collapses to his knees in agony. «DAKARAI!» the witch screams.

A flaming sovatygr slams into me, knocking me back several meters. I land on my feet, brushing dust from my armor. I look up to see the boy’s arms restored, the witch’s wounds healed. «Napaka, stop siding with these villains and return to me,» I command, stretching out a hand. She stares at me with those same stupid wide eyes, her flared nostrils twitching. «Did you not hear me? Come here—I order you!»

«No!» she snaps, brow furrowed, fists clenched.

«You dare defy me?! I GAVE YOU LIFE!» I roar, lunging at her—but the four of them are flung clear by the sweep of my sword. I look up to see a girl with the Haab-shu. I extend my hand and close my fist, crushing the transparent cube.

The Haab-shu dissolves the spell, soaring away with the girl in its arms. I forge black ice spears and hurl them skyward, but the sovatygr shields them with its own body, melting them away.

Arrows strike me harmlessly. I point at the woman, raising a finger—the earth erupts with lances that impale her from every angle.

Napaka and the boy rush to her. I descend upon them, but rubble pelts me, an entire tree grows around me. The boy shatters the lances, the child heals her. I burn through the tree, tear off its upper trunk and hurl it at the Haab-shu, then charge at the witch. I forge a two-pronged fork and impale her, hoisting her aloft, then hurl her down to skewer the boy as well, pinning them to the ground.

I seize Napaka by the throat, gripping hard. She thrashes in vain. «Let her go!» a bearded man shouts, summoning chains that bind my neck and arms. A heartbeat later, blood gushes from every orifice in his face and he collapses. «Fool. How could you believe you could endure even a shred of my divine power?»

My hand opens on its own, and Napaka is drawn back to the Haab-shu. I leap. «NOW!» cries the girl, and cannons fire upon me. I absorb their blasts and hurl them back, tearing apart the fleet. I seize Napaka, thrust myself to the Haab-shu, and grab her face. I impale the girl, casting her aside. I crush Napaka’s head in my grip, draining the user’s power.

She breaks the connection—we plummet. Below, Napaka rides the sovatygr with the girl. I accelerate my fall, striking them. At the last instant, the Haab-shu slows the descent. I kick the girl aside and seize Napaka once more.

«Help… Papa…» she croaks.

«Don’t worry, I’ll help you. After I kill you, I’ll make you an undead, and then you, your mother, and I will finally live our perfect life together.»

Suddenly, I’m slammed to the ground. «What—what happened?» I snarl through my teeth.

«Hey. Bastard.»

«Who dares address me so?!»

«Me.» I turn toward the voice. A boy stands there, a massive scar glowing amber across his chest and face. In his arms, he cradles the Haab-shu and Napaka. «She wasn’t calling for you… she was calling for me.»