Chapter 133: Paying Back The Tyrant [Bonus chapter]
The deafening blast of Aether resonated through the place, hurtling toward the Maligorth with unstoppable force.
The air crackled with energy as the attack collided with the Maligorth, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion that sent shockwaves reverberating through the clearing.
In the aftermath of the blast, the Maligorth's body lay in tatters.
Half of its form had been mercilessly severed, and the intense Aetheric energy from Emir's attack prevented it from regenerating.
The creature writhed and roared in pain, its human-like form emerging from the remnants of its monstrous exterior.
Emir wasted no time watching that.
He knew he couldn't give it the chance to regenerate any further and swiftly closed the distance, his daggers glinting in the dark as he chanted:
"Aetheric Blades."
He ran through dust and the echoes of the explosion that resounded around him, and then stood amidst the wreckage, eyeing the monster before him.
The Maligorth's roars of pain that constantly pierced through the field, finally quieted down, as it was already back to its top shape, no longer in its true form.
'Good, now I have the advantage for a while, it won't be able to transform back until it has enough Aether, I can kill it in that time...'
The now fully healed Maligorth spat out words of anger and contempt, its voice strained and filled with malice:
"You think yourself a true warrior? A celestial?" It hissed.
"You have no honor, no respect for the duel. This fight was meant to be fair, a test of strength, but you have shown yourself to be nothing more than a coward."
Emir couldn't help but laugh out loud at the Maligorth's words, struggling to keep himself from rolling on the ground.
Coughing, he finally managed to control his bursting emotions, as he let out a long sigh, saying:
"You claim to be fair, but then you try to kill someone that would have no chance of winning against you... In what world is that fair?"
"You claim me not to be a warrior, but I never said that I was... We both know how the world is... It's kill or be killed, nothing is unfair, nothing is unjust, and the winner takes all..."
"But that doesn't matter, let's stop talking now, shall we? I believe I gave you more than enough time to regenerate."
Just as those words crossed his lips, Emir sprang forward, not requiring Flash Step to immediately appear next to his enemy.
Bringing down his daggers, they collided with the Maligorth's blade-like appendages as the monster tried to parry them away, but he made sure to lock it down with a battle of strength. Snickering, Emir simply said, "Sword."
That incantation caused Aether to congregate on top of his enemy, creating a sword construct with no hilt, made solely of Aether.
Then, with a single thought from Emir, the sword dove down with blinding speed.
The Maligorth, noticing the sword too late, failed to dodge in time, as it lay embedded into its flesh, the mask on its face contorting as purple blood splashed everywhere.
Emir stepped back, and said, "Sword," once again.
Another sword construct formed behind the Maligorth, but this time the monster was ready.
Quickly dodging out of the way, the sword zipped past its shoulders.
Appearing to have figured out Emir's trick, the Maligorth grew ecstatic, as it thought that there was one thing that he needed to do to activate his new ability.
The Maligorth thought that he needed to chant out loud what construct he would create, but that was all a ploy for this moment, as another 'Sword' silently began to form under the ground, a small distance away from the Maligorth.
Knowing that the injury on its shoulder was already healed, Emir went back in, baiting the monster into his clutches.
And as his second step touched the ground, he was already beside the monster, swinging his daggers sideways, aiming to cut its head off.
It rasped out words, its voice laced with pain and defiance.
"Damn you... Eternal's fallen...."
Not caring for its words one bit, Emir raised his right leg and squashed the monster's head.
Crunch!
A sickening sound resounded, indicating the end of the duel.
But Emir, not wanting to give the Maligorth any chance to regenerate, kicked its head with all
his strength over and over again.
Its head had no blood, as it was drained after the body imploded due to the force behind Emir's attack, so he didn't worry about the poison and kicked away.
He inwardly knew that the monster was no more, but his paranoia got the best of him.
Only moments later he realized that what he was kicking was the ground, as the head had already turned into mush.
Letting out a relieved sigh, he cleaned off the grime of his augmented suit by activating its self-cleaning function.
Laying on a clean section of ground, he took a deep breath, knowing that all the planning that he did beforehand led to his victory today.
Otherwise, if he went in with a fair fight, the chances of him losing would've been way higher,
or impossible even.
Although to Emir, the fight felt like it lasted forever, it didn't even take more than fifteen
seconds for it to conclude.
He never allowed the monster to attack even once, barraging it with everything he had,
making sure to never give the Maligorth a chance to use its poison.
Looking up, he asked, "How was it? I know you are watching me."
With a small chuckle, Silent's voice resounded in Emir's mind:
[I'm no fighter, even when I was above your rank, I never thought of using my abilities in the
way you did, I didn't try either, I was and will always be an inventor, not a warrior, a creator,
not a destroyer.]
Snickering, Emir quipped back:
"Pass me with your lectures and knowledge, my friend, you were weak, and what was the result? Your death... And I don't have the luxury of choice anyways, I was born to be a killer,
not a warrior, a destroyer? ...No, I do destroy yes... But I can also create."
[...]
Seeing that Silent was silent, Emir asked with a chuckle:
"Hey, why are you turning silent on me now?" [No... I'm sorry, it's just unexpected, although I knew that you would understand more about
yourself and your celestial essence, I never expected you to relate it to your aspect, I guess I
should've expected that.]
"Hah, glad to always surprise you, now let's get back, Magnus is making his move," Emir said as he stood up, walking towards the portal Silent led him to last time.