Chapter 256 - Magic Without A Staff
As Amukelo saw the spell Vakorr used he muttered to himself with a distant gaze, "A warrior using magic without a staff..."
Eliss grinned slightly. "Yeah, haven't you seen me doing it as well?" She conjured a small sphere of water in her palm, spinning it like a delicate glass ornament. With a flick of her wrist, the sphere froze solid. Then, in one fluid motion, she ignited it, and steam hissed and rose into the air.
Amukelo nodded but seemed distant. "Yeah, I know how it works..." His words trailed off as a faint memory surfaced. He could see Pao's warm smile, hear her patient voice as she once explained how magic worked, and how ut could be used without a staff. The memory was bittersweet, a fleeting glimpse of a happier time, but it left a hollow ache in his chest.
Eliss noticed his change in demeanor and tilted her head. "Hey, what's with the face? Did I mess up your grandstanding with my magic tricks?"
Amukelo forced a chuckle, shaking off the memory. "It's nothing. Just thoight about something. Nothing that has to do anything with you."
Eliss arched an eyebrow but decided not to press further, turning her attention back to the fight.
In the arena, Naguk darted to the side, narrowly avoiding Vakorr's hammer as it smashed into the ground. The force sent a wave of dust and grit swirling into the air, obscuring Vakorr's hulking figure. Naguk began breathing more heavily. Sweat dripped down his brow as he circled his opponent, looking for an opening.
Vakorr stood tall with a smile as he said. "You're faster than I expected, little runt," he taunted. "But it's not going to help you. Look at yourself—you're already tired."
Naguk wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Now I know your tricks, Vakorr. You won't catch me off guard again."
Vakorr laughed, raising a hand. "Oh, you think you've seen all my tricks? Let me show you what happens when I stop holding back."
The ground beneath Vakorr rumbled as he summoned another massive block of earth. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it hurtling toward Naguk. The crowd roared as Naguk sprang to the side, the block smashing into the arena floor where he had been standing just moments ago. Dust and debris flew in all directions, forcing Naguk to shield his eyes as he kept moving.
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Vakorr, realizing the blocks weren't fast enough, shifted tactics. "Let's see you dance through this!" he bellowed, slamming his hammer into the ground. Jagged spikes of earth erupted from the arena floor, racing toward Naguk with alarming speed.
Naguk leapt, twisted, and ducked, narrowly avoiding the deadly barrage. Each spike he dodged seemed faster than the last, and the crowd cheered at his remarkable agility. But Vakorr's relentless onslaught left little room for error. One of the spikes grazed Naguk's arm, drawing blood, and he winced. Forced to defend himself, Naguk swung one of his axes, shattering an oncoming spike. The collision sent shards of rock scattering around him.
As the dust settled, Naguk spotted another block hurtling toward him. Gritting his teeth, he planted his feet and raised his axes. With a powerful slash, he cleaved the block in two, but the impact drove him backward. He skidded across the sand, trying to regain his footing, but before he could recover, Vakorr was already upon him.
Vakorr roared, swinging his hammer in a devastating arc. Naguk crossed his axes in a desperate attempt to block, but the impact sent Naguk flying across the arena, and he slammed into the protective barrier surrounding the stage. The blue shield shimmered as it absorbed the impact, but the force still knocked the wind out of Naguk.
The crowd gasped as Naguk fell to his knees, coughing up blood. Vakorr sauntered toward him. His grin widened as he saw Naguk struggling to rise. "Stay down, runt," he sneered. "You're already beaten. Don't embarrass yourself any further."
Naguk planted one axe in the ground and used it to push himself to his feet. His leg, still weakened from his earlier injury, gave out momentarily, and he stumbled, barely managing to catch himself. Pain shot through him like lightning, and he gritted his teeth against it.
The crowd was roaring, half cheering for Vakorr, half chanting for Naguk. The noise was deafening, but Naguk's focus was elsewhere. In his mind, a face appeared—a young orc, full of hope and determination.
"I can't lose," Naguk muttered under his breath. He gripped his axes tighter. "Not now. Not for him..."
The young orc's face grew clearer in his memory. It was a reminder of why he had come this far, why he had endured so much. Naguk straightened, despite the searing pain in his leg, and locked eyes with Vakorr. His opponent's confident grin faltered for a brief moment as he saw the fire in Naguk's gaze.
Naguk roared as he charged at Vakorr. Vakorr stood his ground, readying his massive hammer. He swung it in a wide arc as Naguk closed in, but Naguk sidestepped with precision, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
Vakorr's massive arm rose again, this time summoning an earth spike from the ground, but Naguk anticipated it, ducking low and slipping under the jagged stone just as it erupted. Now within striking range, Naguk slashed his axe across Vakorr's leg, leaving a deep but non-critical gash.
Vakorr growled, swinging his hammer back toward Naguk, but Naguk was already in motion, and he waved around it. He darted behind Vakorr, and before the larger orc could turn fully, Naguk leapt into the air raising both of his axes. With all his strength, he brought it down on Vakorr's left shoulder, aiming for the critical spot between the neck and collarbone.
The axes struck true, embedding itself into Vakorr's thick trap muscle. Vakorr bellowed in pain. But the wound wasn't as deep as Naguk had hoped—the sheer density of Vakorr's muscle prevented it from cutting critically. Naguk braced himself, using his legs to push and try to dislodge the axe, but Vakorr snarled and grabbed him by the torso.
With a grunt of effort, Vakorr hurled Naguk forward, slamming him into the ground like a ragdoll, and Naguk coughed up blood. Vakorr didn't waste a second. He raised his hammer high, and brought it crashing down toward Naguk.
Naguk rolled to the side just in time, the hammer smashing into the sand where he had just been. Vakorr's stomp followed immediately, and Naguk barely managed to roll again, the ground quaking beneath him with each missed strike. Sand and debris flew everywhere as Vakorr unleashed a relentless barrage of heavy stomps, trying to crush Naguk like an insect.
Finally, Naguk pushed himself to his feet, but his bad leg betrayed him. As he landed, pain shot up from his injured limb, nearly causing him to collapse again. He gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face. "Not yet!" he growled, forcing himself to stand tall.
Vakorr smirked, amused by Naguk's determination. Raising his hand again, he summoned another massive block of earth and hurled it toward his opponent. Naguk, still recovering from his awkward landing, didn't have enough time to dodge. He braced himself, preparing for the worst, but the block slammed into the ground a few steps away, sending a shockwave of sand and dirt into the air.
As the dust settled, Naguk looked up to see Vakorr slowly walking toward him, rolling his left shoulder. "That's an annoying injury," Vakorr admitted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's hard to aim properly while you're squirming around like that."
Vakorr stopped a few paces away, his wide grin returning. "But don't think that's all I've got," he said, extending his hand. The ground beneath Naguk's feet began to tremble violently.
Naguk's eyes widened. "What now?" he muttered, raising his axes instinctively.
Without warning, a massive pillar of earth erupted from the ground directly beneath him, slamming into his body with unrelenting force. Naguk managed to put one axe in front of himself, mitigating some of the impact, but the sheer power of the attack drove him backward. He skidded across the arena floor and was pinned against the protective barrier at the edge.
The crowd roared as Naguk struggled to move, his breath ragged and his body trembling from the repeated blows. The blue energy of the protective wall shimmered faintly behind him.
Naguk's hand tightened around his axe, and despite the pain radiating through his body. He gritted his teeth, refusing to let his opponent see any sign of weakness.