Chapter 924 Chapter 923: Stage Exit (1)
Ka'Vis darted forwards once more, but this time he remained engaged with the other three as they moved to stand in front of me, their weapons raised and prepared to retaliate against the theater obsessed Fiend that was attacking us.
His twin blades were enchanted with powerful and unique magics, and I was admittedly curious on what exactly those enchantments were - just like I could tell that Anput was just as curious as I was about what they were made from - but the two of us were keeping that curiosity reined in as we observed his charge and swift opener.
Each stride he took was accompanied by a flourish of his blades as he kept them moving, allowing the blood that flowed through the metal to become miniature projectiles that he aimed at Anput and Satanya, angling his swords in a way that showered them in the special blood and creating an opening for Ka'Min to come forwards and take their attention, all while he targeted Jahi.
Those golden swords crashed down against Jahi's own golden blade as the two became locked in a bout of strength, one that 'surprisingly' was being won by Ka'Vis as the man applied pressure to the Demoness; visually it looked impossible, but considering the turbid breath that escaped his lips, it would seem both him and Ka'Min shared a similar self buffing technique that was entirely internalized.
And with him being so close to Jahi, trying to angle myself in a way that would make it possible to hit only Ka'Vis was impossible, especially considering how much bulkier the Demoness was in comparison; there just wasn't enough of an opening for me to comfortably take, even with my level of control.
Considering how Ka'Vis was twisting and contorting his body to manipulate the power being exerted on his weapons already, I was becoming increasingly certain that he could move Jahi around enough to get them both hit with a spell, and for now that wasn't acceptable.
Any injury that she took would create an opening for Ka'Vis to pounce onto in order to worsen that injury and possibly kill her, so I unwillingly turned my attention instead to the other, larger target, deciding that getting the lion headed Ka'Min taken care of would be of a better use of my time and efforts at the moment.
Ka'Min was trying very hard to contain and counter the two quick fighters in front of it, with one constantly shifting her weapon around and attacking it from new angles and distances whilst the other peppered it with various flaming attacks, leaving behind terrible burns that required immediate healing lest it have its range of movement jeopardized and allow the two speedsters to begin piling on even more damage.
It was being very conscious of its placement on the battlefield, remaining with its back to Ka'Vis and close enough to its partner that Anput and Satanya couldn't make a move behind it lest they invite its attack onto Jahi as well, so it was able to focus on a relatively manageable portion of the battlefield by itself as it swung its muscled arms around like hammers, whilst its golden claws shrieked through the air and threatened to cut whomever they came across into meaty ribbons.
Now that I was returning to the fight after a single moment of appraisal though, Ka'Min was placed into a not so favorable position as it was forced into using one of those arms to block the flurry of icicles that I shot towards its face, each one grown around a core of Lust infused Ice Mana that would deal significant damage if they were allowed to pierce its defenses.
With one arm now being taken up by my projectiles, Ka'Min was steadily losing its advantage as it was subjected to an endless barrage of ice as well as two separate attackers that were beginning to make use of the singular arm being used to defend against the two of them; and as soon as I infused the spell hovering at the end of my wand with more mana, I darted forwards and joined them in close quarters combat, my Khopesh beginning to draw blood once more.
A guttural growl reverberated from Ka'Min's throat as the lion glared at us all, trying to step away from the projectiles only to have its left knee completely shattered and decimated as Anput slammed a gigantic hammer into it, dropping the Fiend to the ground.
Following that, Satanya and I began to hack away at its 'free' arm, cutting away chunks of flesh and revealing the golden bone within that started to chip and break as our blades rose and fell rhythmically on the muscular limb, ensuring that it wouldn't make a swift return.
Even as the flesh continued to pulse and spasm with mana, trying to regenerate itself and reconnect overtop the bone and continue protecting the Fiend's internal structure from failing it, only to fail on itself as the amount of damage outweighed what it could heal, something that was becoming more apparent to the Fiend as it tried to smack and bludgeon us away, only to have its head snapped to the side as Anput slammed a spear into its jaw, breaking it and sending a few fangs scattering across the water before drifting down onto the lakebed.
With its hand dangling uselessly from its arm, Ka'Min tried to bludgeon us with its arm like a flail, swinging it around and continuing to attack blindly even as Anput scored another clean hit against its head, this time cracking its temple and making the Fiend groan as its bright blood splashed across the wet ground.
It was outnumbered and overpowered, its other arm continuing to absorb the damage of the icicles in all the wrong ways as frost spread across the limb, halting its regeneration and making the limb easier to damage, blasting away more and more of its flesh and leaving the bone to dangle there before it cracked and shattered too, freeing up its head for a barrage of icicles.
That growl returned as the lion unhinged its jaw and unleashed a wave of mana filled air, a cloud of red pouring out of its maw and spilling onto the ground below, filled with blood and mana that began to consolidate and condense into droplets.
Those droplets shot towards us at high speeds, and I grunted as I felt one pierce my armor and puncture the flesh on my side, the blood trying to attack my own as it spread into my veins, only to be pushed away by my Ice Mana - though Ka'Min got the effect it desired as I relented for a moment, surprised by the sudden pain in my side and diversion of my attention, which was just enough for it to drag in a deep breath and let out an ear piercing roar, another cloud of red mist billowing out of its mouth and enveloping Satanya and I.
It felt almost solid despite being similar to a mist, and it pushed Satanya and I back a few steps before it too condensed into dozens of small droplets, which shot towards us at high speeds and tried to pierce our armor and burrow into our bodies, giving the Fiend enough time to shift its body to the side and allow Anput to puncture its shoulder with her spear.
As soon as the weapon was buried into its flesh, the Fiend stood up and swung both its damaged arms towards the Jackalkin, forcing her to release the spear and leap back to avoid the two golden clubs that were the Fiend's bones, which would almost certainly have shattered her own bones.
Snarling, Ka'Min's eyes shone a brilliant red as it stood back up, its body healing almost instantly back to its natural state as it funneled mana throughout its veins, repairing itself and allowing it to return to the fight at a high level.
With its claws back, the lion headed Fiend pounced forwards and rushed towards me, trying to take me out of the fight first once again as it categorized me as the largest threat to itself and to Ka'Vis, but as soon as I finished defending against the dozens of blood bullets, I spun my Khopesh around and stabbed the hooked tip into the earth, before slashing it forwards - outer crescent first - towards the Fiend, sending an eruption of icicles straight into its regenerated body.
The momentum it had shattered the icicles, but the overall effect I wanted was achieved - I slowed down the Fiend and allowed myself to jump away from it, just in time as a wave of flames washed over its pierced body and began to burn it, followed immediately afterwards by a giant metal Torii Gate slamming down onto its back, pinning it to the ground.
Sending another wave of icicles bursting up into it, I bunched up my legs and shot forwards, coating my Khopesh in Lust Mana and swinging the blade straight into the Fiend's skull, splitting it in two and stopping it from roaring again, before pulling my blade back and stabbing it straight into the center of the Fiend's back and pulsing my mana inside its torso, damaging its insides with as much mana as I could reasonably afford to make use of.
With the first Fiend down for a few moments, we all looked up to see Jahi and Ka'Vis crossing blades violently, the air around them thrumming with mana as harsh gold light and brilliant red blood clashed, the various supporting spells accompanying their casters as they swung their swords in vastly different manners.
Jahi's powerful, slower style didn't care at all for appealing to the eye, while Ka'Vis' constantly flourished his blades and utilized complex patterns and footwork to attack; they were different, and yet that was what was making this such an interesting fight as they strived to outdo the other.
On this stage of Ka'Vis' own design, there could only ever be one winner, and with two strong, determined actors fighting desperately to claim that stage as their own, it was only a matter of time before one of them came out victorious and stronger from this elaborate play.
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