“Might I know who I’m speaking to?” Francois was guarded at the suspicious figures approaching him, especially so with one of them reeking of death and finality. It is faint, most likely due to the female figure’s aura, filtering it to make it bearable. Without her presence, he would certainly suffer some terrible effects just by being near him. In contrast, the female figure radiated an aura of benevolence, her very magic aura pulsing with life. Though, without her counterpart, he’d find himself in a stupor that he’ll never awake from.
And then there’s the man in between them. He could tell that the two figures’ strength pales in comparison to the stoic figure clad in gold and white, whose magic power radiates divinity and righteousness. He’s also suspicious of them because of how they addressed him. ‘Child of the ley lines’? What are they talking about? Have they met before? Francois certainly has not met the man, nor does he recall any information regarding him.
The man noticed his guarded stance and tried to ease his suspicions.
“Ah, forgive me. We should have been forthright with our identities. I am Amadeus, a paladin oathsworn under the light of Arcanos.”“Arienne. Woodshaper.”“Vegaloth. Deathsinger.”“We are wardens to the cycle of life and death. I sense the presence of a soul defying death.”“A certain someone should have been dead but we’re not here for him...”The rune knight had a puzzled look, even more confused than before. He definitely does not know them and his suspicions of them grew stronger. Could they be here for him? Did he do something to them? What could they want from him? He maintained his distance and kept his guard up, intending to pry more information out of them.
“What do you want?”
“A contract.” The paladin said,
“Compared to these two, I am devoid of purpose. I roamed the lands in search of purpose, for I am but a humble servant who wishes to serve a worthy master. It was by chance that I happened to catch a glint of your potential. You use your power for righteousness and justice, sparing no resources to see through victory. However… we will have to continue our conversation at a later time.”As the paladin said that, Francois immediately detected a spell hurling towards them through his magic sensory. As if with pure instinct, all of them leapt away from the blast radius, scorching black flame exploding into dark hellfire as it landed on the ground and singing the nearby flora, spreading at a much faster rate. It would appear that Amadeus had to cut the conversation short due to the assailant’s interjection. He turned his head to the direction from where the flame was fired from, and his eyes widened his shock as he was greeted with a ghostly visage of a general long lost, an unconscious girl and a cat visible underneath the apparition’s projection.
“I shan’t have you get in the way of my conquest. You will pay for your insolence.” The general said as he swung his arm up, his hand imbued with dark magic. The rune knight would then find himself trapped with the general, as the spell casted by him contained both of them in a dome of pitch black darkness, forcing a duel between the two of them undisturbed by outside forces.
While their strength is greater, the enchantments he casted on himself should level the playing field. Yet the presence had his confidence waver a little, the gap in strength greater than he expected, and it was enough to instill a bit of fear into him. Furthermore, his reservoirs of magic are almost depleted, and he realized he can’t drag this fight for too long. From the looks of it, the general has plenty of magic power to spare, and with that fact, Francois had already lost the war of attrition. Despite this, he remained undeterred. He must complete the mission, no matter what.
“If it’s a duel you want, then a duel you shall receive.” He said, disappearing in a flash of light as he moved across the circle in a fast pace as he looked for an opening while preventing any harm from coming to the child. As he found an opportunity to do so, he lunged in an attempt to land a sneak attack. As he closed the gap, the general turned to his direction, firing a bolt of dark flame against him. Despite his speed, he barely dodged the attack, the spell piercing through his defenses and grazing his body. He winced in pain while keeping a safe distance between the two, finding more opportunities to attack.
He attacked once more, stopping midway of the lunge as the general cast his gaze on him, after which Francois stepped aside as the general hurled another ball of flame at him. Only this time, it missed completely, and it left the general a small window of vulnerability. He closed the gap with another lunge, and as the tip touched the projection, his enemy quickly turned and landed a punch to his gut. The force was strong enough to send him flying to the edge of the arena, the rune knight finding himself on the ground as he fell from the arena wall.
In an exercise of futility, Francois picked up Chevalier de Fleur and lunged towards the general once more. Feinting, then attacking, then getting hit once more, the same song and dance the duelists danced to, with some variations between getting hit by a ball of flame and getting hit from the general's sword, the latter of which was even more powerful that not even his defenses could stop it. He was helpless. He had no allies with him, nor could he call upon his comrades as doing so would only be a waste to his resources.
Francois laid on the ground heaving, terribly injured from the attacks he suffered. Chevalier de Fleur was out of reach and only darkness surrounded him. He mustered all his strength to stand up and walk towards him. He was never one to give up, despite the overwhelming odds, even when at the precipice of defeat. Of death. It was a futile effort, and he could tell that the general was only treating him like a toy to be thrashed around. Deep down, he was hoping for a miracle.
However, in this arena of darkness, there was only despair.
It was time to end this farce. He grabbed him by the neck, the general looking down at the rune knight in disgust. But sure, let’s make the rune knight suffer a little while longer before he dies, a sadistic grin written on his face.
“Any last words, worm?”“I… must… not… fall…” Francois thought to himself as he tried to pull away from the general’s clutches. He could feel himself losing consciousness.
“Child of the ley lines… you must not fall.” A whisper echoed within him.
In this arena of darkness, a glimmer of hope revealed itself to him. A surge of power coursing through him.
“I… must… not… FALL!” He yelled out as he brought for this surge of power, his eyes flashing a bright white light, revealing a pair of iridescent irises overflowing with pure magic and his aura pulsing with arcane might. This aura coalesced to form two halves of a crown - one of glowing silver studded with sapphires and the other a gilded crown studded with rubies.
This surge of magic pushed the general away, the dark arena now overflowing with light. He could only turn away from the blinding brilliance exerted by him. Francois, however, was in a trance, a surge of information flowing through him as magic long lost was now at his fingertips.
“Zeta Magia Ultima - Librarium Megazarae.” His voice echoed, after which multiple grimoires started to take form around him, coalescing from motes of light that formed around him. These grimoires look old, and despite this, its contents were well preserved as the pages were opened, the magic within them giving Francois more power.
“Zeta Magia Ultima - Librarium Mezosanctra.” A scroll appeared before him, unfurling to its full length as it moved around him. As the tips touched, a veil of light surrounded him, an aura of protection granting him an inexhaustible supply of defense.
The general turned as the flash of light subsided, greeting him with a visage of authority and resplendence. He was angry. How could he hide this tremendous power? He thought to himself. But most importantly, his strength now paled in comparison to his, the ebb of the fight shifting in favor to the rune knight. He lashed out, balls of flame hurled towards him as they all exploded in a burst of hellfire. This spell was undeniably destructive, and yet, he suffered no injury.
“Supreme Ice Make - Seal of Cocytus.” An eerie voice escaped his mouth as he chanted the spell, as if multiple people chanted the same spell at once. The pages of a grimoire shifted and a surge of power coalesced atop the general, a cyan hued magic circle being traced in the air and then manifesting a huge sword of ice that immediately fell to the ground. He dodged it, but the spell left a lingering chill in the air as the sword left a debris of ice.
The general retaliated, gathering his strength into a ball of fire and hurled it towards him. It exploded right in his face as the spell made contact with him, and despite this strength, it was not enough to pierce through his defenses. It was enough to crack, and even then, the fracture corrected itself immediately. Francois responded in kind, the grimoires shifting once more.
“Arc of Depravity - Dissonant Wheel.” He chanted, a fast moving circular saw attacking the general as it was ejected from a dark violet magic circle that appeared before him. The general couldn’t dodge it in time and, thanks to his dark aura that protected him from harm, the attack didn’t go through. But who is to say he cannot withstand another?
“Roar of the Stardust Dragon.” He chanted, a blue hued magic circle appearing before him that released a burst of starlight against the general, not leaving him a chance to fight back. He could not help but take the full brunt of the attack, sustaining a crack in his defenses.
“Cavalcade of War - Steel Downpour.” Francois held his hand up in the air as he pooled magic power above his enemy, immediately dropping his hand down as soon as the gray hued magic circle was formed, a flurry of spears dropping down on him like rain. The cracks multiplied, and the general immediately left the spell’s radius to prevent it from spreading further. Once he was safe, he retaliated once more, only this time he rushed towards the rune knight with his katana. As the blade clashed with this protective film, a visible crack formed, much larger than before. He didn’t look at him. He only traced a script in the air.
“Ageless Script - Force.” A powerful force emerged from the script, knocking the general away from him.
“Archive Magic - Information Overload.” He casted another spell immediately, as a bolt of light was released from a gold hued magic circle that homed in on his enemy, causing a significant overload in information that prevented the general from moving.
“Inversion of Law - Reversal - Gravity.” He said as he traced a sigil in the air, a pitch black ball appeared after it was formed from a black magic circle. For a brief moment, the existence of gravity on the general’s area was null, until the black sphere turned white and immediately magnified the area’s gravity greatly. This was enough to shatter the general’s defenses. Furthermore, he lost his concentration on the spell that forced them in an arena, the darkness that engulfed the surroundings now shattered into nothingness.
Despite the numerous attacks and the shattered defenses, it was not enough for the ghostly projection to go away. All it needs is one more hit before the cat is vulnerable, which at that point can be removed from the girl. And that’s what he intended to do, until…
“Crusader’s Cross - Purge Heres-” A pang of pain hit Francois, followed by the weakening of his body and the worsening of his vision. A wave of lethargy swept up immediately, putting the rune knight in an extreme state of exhaustion. His eyes returned to normal, and the enchantments casted upon him dissipated into mist. It didn’t take him long to realize that his magic power had completely exhausted, and this was the first time in his life that he managed to completely deplete his magic power. But he had no choice. He had to use up the rest of his resources to put him down now.
But knowing that the general was left weakened is enough. An opportunity to finish the job is presented to his comrades. In his tired state, he almost fell to the ground. His magic could not sustain his comrade’s existence in this space anymore and could thus not rely on anyone to catch his fall… save for Amadeus, who immediately came to his rescue as soon as the fight ended.
“You did well, child of the ley lines. I shall let your comrades do the rest.”
Francois has run out of magic, dispelling the enchantments placed upon him, as well as the enchantments on Rotwang and Lily. Furthermore, his summons are dismissed due to the lack of magic power to sustain their presence in this location.
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Thread Word Count: 29,887 / 14,000
@RF007 @Lily Ambrosia