Chapter 923 Chapter 922: 4 versus 2
With another tap of his blades, Ka'Vis gave us a wide, dangerous grin before flickering forwards, appearing in front of me with both blades arcing straight down towards my chest; even as that happened in mere fractions of a second, the Fiend's voice was still clear and comprehensive despite it not being possible for him to say what he wanted before I would inevitably be cut into pieces.
"My dear, I do apologize, but Ka'Min was correct in targeting you first~! You are far too disruptive to this play of ours to be allowed to grace the stage for any longer!"
Two golden arcs glittered with specks of crimson as Ka'Vis slashed his twin blades down at me, and as the blood that continuously flowed throughout his golden swords landed on my skin, it began to sizzle and burn with an intense heat, though that was the least of my worries at this very moment.
I was anticipating being the target of one of the 'two Fiends' that we were now tasked with facing, so unlike last time, I was more prepared for this sudden attack, and as such I was able to leap back to avoid the cross chop that would have separated me into fourths, though the splash of blood that rained down onto me anyways was enough of an attack that Ka'Vis didn't seem too disappointed.
Each droplet of that pretty red liquid betrayed me as it splashed across my armor and began to sizzle and crackle, steam wafting off of it as it burnt itself up on my armor or skin - and if it landed on my skin, it sapped some mana from that area and disrupted the flow alongside burning me.
Meanwhile, Ka'Min rushed forwards and used its long limbs and sharp claws to force the remaining three into fighting it head on instead, though considering Ka'Vis' placement between me and the other three, that meant they weren't fighting with as much assuredness as before, since this red skinned, golden haired man could decide to turn and attack them instead.
"Nice footwork~! Elegant yet simple, refined and graceful! My dear, you surprise me..."
Flourishing his blades, he spun them in each hand and chuckled softly at how I raised a barrier of water in front of me with a flourish of my wand in retaliation, not allowing that blood to land on me once more.
"Intellect and physique paired beautifully together! High mana, hidden power... and dare I say an appealing visage to~? My dear, you have it all! A shame though..."
Spinning the blades once more, he raised one and pointed it at me, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched the blood begin to gush out of the edge, like an artery had been cut inside the metal and was bleeding freely, which allowed the man to simply shoot the heated blood straight at the barrier in the form of a drill.
Instantly the water began to boil and bubble, while the blood diffused a little into the barrier and began to dissolve it at a rapid pace, which allowed Ka'Vis to lunge forwards and attempt to burst straight through the barrier, wanting to catch me by surprise or simply blitz me instead, only to be met with extreme prejudice as my wand danced through the air and left behind a beautiful pinkish glow.
A sphere of pink ice rotating immensely fast suddenly shot forwards to meet Ka'Vis, about the size of my fist and packed to the brim with energy that would not do wonders to the red skinned man's devilishly handsome face, something that made him flinch as he tried to tilt his head to the side, only to have it sail straight past his face... but still carving out a sizable portion of his right cheek.
Another chunk of ice formed at the tip of my wand, ready to be shot straight into the Fiend's skull at almost point blank range, but upon feeling my mana swelling inside the metal focusing rod, Ka'Vis sneered and pulled back, taking a step before leaping back over the three others to join Ka'Min, who was still swinging their arms around and throwing wild, yet dangerous punches around at the three warriors it was tasked with fighting.
Cutting his blades outwards, Ka'Vis sent a wave of blood splashing over all three of them before leaping back again, with Ka'Min mirroring him as they returned to the lakes surface and disengaged with the fight.
Ka'Vis let out an angry growl as he released one of his blades - which began to hover where he left it - and reached up to caress his cut cheek, gently tapping the split flesh and staring at his hand when he pulled it away, watching as his own blood dripped down from his fingers and into the water below.
It was... mesmerizing, in it's own way, watching this handsome man go from confident and jovial to serious, seeing how he slowly got angrier yet kept control of his temper as he swirled his blood around his pointer finger and ran it along the cut, healing the wound.
"I... almost forgot I could bleed. Congratulations on reminding me, my dear... at just how much I despise this lingering feeling of mortality that such an action brings about. Though-"
Twisting his body to the side, he reached up and caught the spear that Anput hurled at him again, the Jackalkin repeating her earlier attack to draw him back into a fight instead of allowing him to continue speaking, though this time, instead of letting it fly past him and do nothing, he grabbed it mid air and spun it around before hurling it back.
"I thought I told you that was rude, Miss Jackal... It's not apart of the script whatsoever."
As fast as Anput had thrown it, Ka'Vis threw it even faster, and the metal spear slammed into the earth where we had been standing and shattered, sending up a shower of gravel and metal fragments.
"As I was saying, whilst the feeling is rather... unpleasant, I have to admit that it is refreshing. That swift reminder of mortality is far too familiar too me, especially since I was once like you. A power hungry mortal who craved nothing more than a good fight and the thrills that came from it. The rush of adrenaline, the high of bloodlust whenever I killed... the cacophony of screams of a battlefield, the shrieking of metal on metal. All of it... oh, all of it... I miss it so dearly sometimes."
Clasping the hilt of the floating blade, Ka'Vis glanced at Ka'Min and asked "Do you miss it too, my friend? That final battle where we took the plunge together, from mere mortal warriors into Fiends?"
Ka'Min just grunted, the lion headed Fiend rolling its shoulders out and allowing its wounds to heal as it stared out over the lake, observing us closely and making sure Anput wasn't preparing another spear.
"Wait... you were once mortals? I wasn't aware you could... 'ascend' or 'descend' into being a Fiend; I thought you all were born from your respective domains like lust or bloodshed?"
Jahi's words made Ka'Vis chuckle as he shook his head, his golden hair bouncing around as he looked back at us with an arrogant smile, the two red gold orbs glowing with amusement as he said "Most are, yes, but not all. Some rise up and walk onto that stage willingly, taking the role they want and becoming a part of the grand play that is the world around us. Most are simply created for that play by the play itself. Min and I willingly took to that stage because the promise of power was too tempting. Too seductive to be ignored. So... we cast aside the shackles of being a member of the audience and instead took on our roles in this grand play, even if that role is a small one."
The twin golden blades tapped against the surface of the lake as Ka'Vis continued to speak, the man still smiling as he took this moment to recuperate, as well as brag about becoming a Fiend; and Jahi and I were more than willing to give him this moment, our curiosity piqued as we were reminded about our own intimate connection to Fiends.
We were both bound to an Arch Fiend, and while Jahi might need to wait to eventually truly be bound with hers, I was entirely paired with my own, and hearing about this was... interesting; it was knowledge that was being given to us freely, after all, and it might eventually become useful in some way in the future.
"Min and I decided to grasp the power offered to us, to take what we wanted so desperately from the world itself and make it our own. Blood called to me, fighting called to Min, so we began to seek them out together once more, this time though we were changed... no longer man and beast working alongside one another, but a pair of warriors made into a Fiend that grew stronger together. We ascended onto that stage together and claimed a spot for ourselves, and now... well, the script says we need to kill you to continue on~! So please... kindly die for us~?"
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