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*CLAAANG! CLAASH! KSHAAANG*
Both weapons smashed against each other repeatedly under the building rain, taking the abuse for their masters without complaint. Gia, realizing that Hunt favoured swift, devastating attacks had to maintain a defensive frame. Despite being double-ended, the Hingaerd will only do damage at a certain end, and so long as his own sword stopped that end from coming close, Gia could hold off until he could figure out a weakness.
Who was he kidding? There was no weakness! The fact that his strength was this limited told him that either he was being toyed with or he was to be under the false impression he had a chance. He did seem to like a good fight, after all. Why else were they spared for unleashing the full extent of their power on him once before simply to see him shake it off and applaud them for it?
However, for such a fantastic warrior, he sure was noisy. Though the Hingaerd was loud, Hunt's high-pitched, insane war-screams were even louder. Although it was annoying, Gia knew that this was to disable his sense of hearing so he wouldn't have that advantage of detection. He would have to rely on his eyes the majority of the fight, and that would slow down his reaction time.
Gia sunk low and, despite his size against Hunt's, tried to strike his lower sections. Because Hunt's attacks would have to be at a higher angle to effectively combat Gia, that left for an exposed lower section. Unfortunately, for each good swing, Hunt found the sense and ability to simply jump the blade and maintain distance. Attack was impossible, so he had to maintain a defensive tactic until he could overwhelm Hunt's and, hopefully, do enough damage to him to make him think it wasn't worth it.
He picked up the pace. Hunt lashed at him again and again, using the double-ended weapon to his full advantage. Should he block one end, Hunt would flip it and swing the other way with the added force of Gia's block to speed his attack up. Holding his sword diagonally, he flipped it upwards and knocked the Hingaerd into the air, but Hunt backflipped with it, throwing in a double-kick to stop Gia from rushing.
Acting fast, Gia drove his sword down to the other end of the Hingaerd just below Hunt's legs and slammed it into the blade, disorienting Hunt's flip and making him instead flip in mid-air over his weapon. Partially exposed, Gia let loose with a blast of lightning dragonbreath at Hunt while he was still airborne, but only managed about a second of contact before he landed and leapt a good distance to his left before diving at him again with his robes still in flames.
Gia whipped the sword to his right and knocked the Hingaerd sideways with a sweeping block. Flipping his grip, he heaved it around and just barely stopped the other end of the Hingaerd with the hilt of his sword, just barely feeling the multiple bladed tips poke his claw. He yanked it back towards him and thrust his weapon forward, hope that Hunt would attempt to tear another chunk off him in exchange for an open blow, but he knew better than that. Stretching his own grip, he stepped forward and heaved his weapon sideways and up to knock Gia's weapon upwards. He then wasted no time in twisting his body and spinning with his weapon horizontally towards Gia's exposed torso.
Anticipating the spinning attack, Gia leapt back while spinning his sword around vertically to get it realigned. He swung his blade directly at Hunt, smashing it head-on into the axe-like weapon as he spun. Suddenly, instead of the expected jarring, he whipped it around the other way for a lower strike and Gia felt the blades imbed into his leg. Reacting naturally, he grabbed the weapon with one claw before Hunt had a chance to pull and held it there. While Hunt attempted the yank, but was overpowered by Gia's muscle, he heaved his sword downwards with one hand and slammed it onto his shoulder-blade.
*WHAAM! RRIIP!*
Tit for tat. Hunt didn't let go for the blow, and the force Gia applied against him was enough to make his grip fail and a good chunk of his leg was torn out. Both warriors cringed, but there was only a second's delay before they were at it again. Fortunately for Gia, the blade didn't completely get through his hide, and this wound didn't bleed anymore then it hurt. Hunt's shoulder-blade buckled downwards, and his robe was burnt to cinders, so upon getting the distance, he tore what was left of it off to expose the golden armor underneath.
The symbol on the chest, exposed with white gold, matched the one on Gia's forearm perfectly. Gia didn't recognize it at all from anywhere.
Hunt whipped his weapon forward in a stabbing motion, making Gia back up and twirl his blade vertically to block the attacks. Then Hunt purposely shot his Hingeard too far on one side, hooked it on the back of Gia's blade, and yanked the sword forward. Gia momentarily lost his balance and Hunt suddenly bounded upwards and flipped in a rapid vertical spinning frenzy. His weapon tore through the air so hard that sparks ignited around it. Such a powerful attack, and he had no ability to dodge it! Gia held his sword up and braced himself, tensing as hard as possible to intercept the attack. That much he could do.
*BOOM!*
A move that surprised them both. He had seen this barrier once before against the Grand Demon. It was a shame he couldn't control it, but it did come out at the most convenient of times. The impenetrable flash of color launched Hunt flailing backwards, and once the barrier vanished (rather quickly this time), Gia ran forward to strike before he could hit the ground. But Hunt was quick to recover, and he yanked his body around to uppercut the Hingaerd and knock Gia's sword up and away. Gia backed off, and Hunt landed in a battle stance.
"Hah! You're using my own power against me?" he shouted, "This is just too fun!"
Hunt had obviously chosen that weapon to tear through Gia's tough hide and expose weak points, since there were few creatures with the strength to directly impale it.
*THOCK!*
"Aargh!" Gia shouted, gripping his shoulder. An arrow shot by an opportunist Zamorakian pierced the wound, and sensing danger, he tore it out quickly. Just as he thought, under his blood, the arrowtip glistened with poison. The shaft was snapped under aggravated claws.
Hunt saw this happen, and by any observer's standards, apparently lost his marbles at that instant. He immediately abandoned the fight and leapt into the crowd of Zamorakians behind him bellowing a high-pitched scream. He tore several Zamorakian soldiers apart in a spinning, bloody frenzy before getting close enough to envelop one ranger's head in his anti-matter spell.
"I SAID THIS IS MY PREY!" he roared, dashing the remaining body into shreds with a lower strike, spraying the body parts and blood over his comrades with a roundhouse kick, and jumping back to the battlefield.
Gia felt the poison begin to consume his arm. It grew agonizingly painful and hard to move, and what's more, Hunt was jumping at him. With his one good arm, he held up his sword defensively, but Hunt whacked it away with ease.
Then, to his surprise, Hunt tossed away the Hingaerd and, after yanking Gia down to his height by pulling his arm down, rapidly thrust his palm onto Gia's shoulder in several locations, and a spurt of blood was blasted out of the wound with each strike. The pain lingered, but Gia immediately felt the results.
"I do not like my victims ruined." he hissed while slowly backing away to retrieve his weapon, "Consider this simply as an act of honour and respect."
He lost quite a bit of blood, but it was clear enough that all the poison was gone. Able to move his arm properly again (or close enough to it), he held up his weapon and prepared for another joust. Despite being a seemingly psychotic, intense creature without any concerns for life, it at least boasted a sense of honour about it.
Despite circling for a full minute, none of them said anything to each other. The drizzling of rain turned into a torrent, and the thick dark clouds overhead cast an intense shadow over the battlefield. Lightning was now frequent, and the fear of being struck by it crossed the minds of the surrounding soldiers. Gia mused that Hunt was probably going to get it first, because of his long, shafted weapon, but he also had his doubts. For all he knew, it was Hunt who was controlling this storm in the first place.
Gia decided it was his turn to strike, and he leapt at Hunt with his sword swung diagonally downwards. Hunt retaliated with a whipping slap of his wean against his own, and the other end immediately shot towards his head. Gia ducked the blade, missing it by inches, and whipped his sword in front to block the second spinning strike by the shaft. He yanked his sword back, catching the blade in the hook-like shape of the Hingaerd's head, and slammed his sword down to the ground with Hunt's hand caught underneath. Pinning it down by stamping it with his foot, he grabbed Hunt by the scruff of the neck and decked him in the chest.
Hunt's hand finally came free and he tumbled backwards, recovering quickly and holding both hands out to the side. Gia kicked up the Hingaerd with his foot and, to repay Hunt's act of honour, tossed him back the wicked weapon. Hunt wasted no time in leaping at Gia, catching the weapon in mid-air, and clashing it against his.
Several rounds of back-and-forth strikes and blocks were illuminated by the great flashes of lightning and the frenzy of sparks blasted around with each blow. The ground was slowly reverting to a slippery mud, and Gia was struggling to dig his foot-claws into the ground for a good grip. Even Hunt was sliding offset slightly and muttering something about battlefield inconveniences as he thrust his weapon in for a stab only to result in Gia easily sidestepping to dodge. He whipped his sword down and landed another blow on Hunt's injured shoulder, managing a mere graze this time but nevertheless trying to make it count.
Hunt yelled a battlecry and dove at Gia. Curving his body downwards, curling up, and holding his staff tightly between his legs, he wheeled through the air and sawed at Gia, whose blade was knocked away by the intense force. He was barely able to tighten his grip and save losing his weapon with one claw as a result, and that left him open. Twisting out of the spinning frenzy, Hunt whipped his blade out and tore at Gia's vest with several clean sweeps.
*SLAASH SLAASH SLAASH!*
This one didn't hurt, but any closer, and he would've probably lost an organ. The front of his vest was ripped to shreds and mere strands held it together on his back, exposing his underbelly. Finally regaining his sword, he swung it at Hunt, who whipped his Hingaerd down and knocked it away a second time. Still screaming, he landed, jumped back slightly, and hurled himself at Gia again.
Not wanting to get hit by that attack a second time, Gia let his body follow the blade and was only in time to grab and swing it when Hunt slammed it downwards and onto the ground. However, for a moment his weapon too was down, and acting fast, Gia spun himself around and slammed his tail into Hunt's mask.
*WHAM!*
Hunt tumbled backwards, and Gia got the needed time to regain his sword and shake himself off. Hunt whipped his blade at the ground, using the blade as an anchor to catch himself in mid-air and quickly recover. Yanking the dirt up, he swung it into Gia's eyes. Gia successfully avoided the attack, but Hunt followed up with a leaping slam attack. Gia whipped his sword out and drove it right into the Hingaerd as hard as he could.
*CLAAANG!*
Both weapons were grinding each other. Hunt and Gia were both putting their full force in for a test of strength, and Gia took surprise not only to the fact that Hunt was an equal, but that Hunt wasn't greater by a very large margin. There had to be a reason for this, though. The spiked Hingaerd blade array inched closer and closer to Gia's eye as his muscles gradually began to fail him. Having a torn shoulder didn't help matters either.
He pushed in an extra burst of strength, but it only succeeded in slowing Hunt down. The Hingaerd was getting dangerously close to his head, and he feared it was going to hook and tear at him if this kept up.
Only one chance. He would be dead regardless if he didn't try it. Tensing up his interior muscles and switching lungs, Gia sucked in a huge, deep breath. For a moment, he held it, trying to force his legs into a possibly more stable foundation, and without any time left, unleashed an incredibly bright, powerful blast at Hunt's weapon blade. Their Rithlyte weapons flashed from the intense heat and power, and the entire battlefield lit up from the incredible display of power. Upon ending the barrage, the entire head of Hunt's weapon was bathed in a dense, blue light, but Hunt remained otherwise resolute and unhindered.
Gia's muscles finally gave in, and Hunt yanked his weapon down to the ground. He spun his Hingaerd around and whipped the other end it right at his exposed head.
*SNAP!*
The blow never hit. The head snapped clean off the weapon's shaft and rocketed down the Zamorakian front. At such an intense speed, it was no doubt going to impale somebody, but that didn't matter. What did matter, to Gia, anyways, was that Hunt's weapon had lost its balance and tilted upwards, disorienting the owner. He ducked quickly, and the remaining bladed end shaved away the top of his head. It felt like it could've been lethal, but Gia forced it off his mind. Without the other end to attack with, Gia immediately made his move.
Hunt had only just realized what happened to his weapon when Gia heaved his sword down at him. The handle of the broken weapon was held up in place, and the sword struck and slid down the shaft onto Hunt's gauntlets. The Hingaerd was pressed into the muddy ground and the metal fingers were sliced clean off. The masked being yelled in pain and lost grip of its tool, which was whipped away with a twist twisting motion.
Gia didn't stop for anything. Roaring, he whipped his sword in a spin and smashed it downwards into Hunt's unguarded back. He staggered and managed to drop to his knees before being yanked off the ground by his opponent's blood-covered claw, who broke into a full-body charge with his sword in one claw and Hunt's masked head in the other. Still running, he slammed Hunt head-first into the ground and ground him along the muddy ground at the highest speeds he could manage. He whipped his claw upward and winged Hunt into the air like a shot-put, but then grasped his sword with both and swung it with all the force he could muster.
The sword smashed Hunt in the chest and launched him dozens of feet into the air and down the battlefield. Gia's claws moving almost on their own, they instinctively twisted the handle of his blade and the spring-loaded mechanism within the hollowed section gave way to his tube-like secret weapon. Good thing it worked properly this time. The orb inside was already loaded and charged with as much electrical power Gia could stuff in it while back at the tower, and with his good arm outstretched to aim the contraption, Gia blew into the hilt and the orb sailed straight at the airborne Hunt.
Direct hit. It was almost too obvious. A great explosion of electricity consumed the viscous warrior and a loud scream was heard from within. A trained eye could see the crackling highlight of the golden armoured humanoid shaking violently within the intense energy before one final blast of discharged energy blew him back downwards.
His sword still opened, Gia chased. His strong legs propelled him as hard as they could into the air. He sailed through the sizzling remnants of the large blast of lightning that lit the sky, flying almost in slow motion towards his fallen opponent. He pulled his sword in front of his head, quickly engulfed it in lightning breath, and heaved his partially glowing, energized sword over his head for a final, full-weighted smash. As he twirled his sword against one claw to close the blade in mid-air, he watched his opponent move closer and closer to sure defeat.
Time slowed to a crawl. His subconscious mind suddenly thought back to the Tome of Seven Worlds. The Eastern Project. The two of his greatest battles he fought in. He thought about how they were won, and how it all happened. Neither of them were his, though. He wasn't the one that destroyed the creature within the Tome with the Armadyl Godstaff. He wasn't the one that impaled the metallic beast with Third Eye. Neither of them were really his victories.
And why not? Because he didn't like fighting. Why was that, he had thought to himself several times. He was trained to be a soldier as early in his lifetime as possible. His Lord had preached to them that it was the only way to force any hopes of peace on their enemy. He obeyed his Lord as a slave would, and he had found peace for a while, but then he was thrust into this new world with different creatures, opposing deities, and artifacts.
Alex was the one who helped guide him through the world, but he too was a born warrior. It was perhaps that reason why they became such close friends, because now that he thought of it, their off-time after the Eastern Project had been filled with arguments and anxieties. Alex was always jumpy and constantly training himself in combat rather than the more useful-seeming art that another good friend taught him. And now that he thought of it, why did he take pleasure in smithing and crafting so much? Crafting … chiselling statues … that was more destroying the rock's natural form than creating art. It was the hitting of metal in smithing! Hitting metal armor! Just like in combat!
Just like he was about to do now.
From up there, he got a momentary glimpse of the battle around him. Zamoraks' forces looked like they had the upper edge with nearly three black knights taking on the star. Momsrascal and Darkrascal twirled their blades against each other around the centre field with their own large patch of battlefield to themselves. A flash of fiery light gave away Timrak's position as a nearby battalion of enemy troops were engulfed in the spinning flames. Skyrate was removing the heads of two demons at once with both katanas. Everybody was endorsing their victories.
This one will be his. His hardest fight to date, and he was prepared to end it right then and there. Hunt, still shaking uncontrollably, was lying in the mud under him. The jump was perfectly coordinated and timed. One final blow, straight down the head, and it just might be decided. It just might finally happen.
His win. His victory.
His legacy.
And the rest of the world as he knew it.
*SLAAAAAAAAAM!*
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A great wave of mud erupted from the smash and spread across the battlefield and the rain momentarily parted before starting up again.
Gia stood there, unmoving. He didn't miss. His sword's blade, sticking diagonally out of the mud, had buckled Hunt's mask into his head and almost split it in half. He had crushed Hunt's legs with his body weight alone. The armor was a mess; bent, split, and even twisted in some locations.
He was a mess too. His injured shoulder was seizing up and he felt heavy with fatigue and blood loss. Hunt had succeeded in tearing away large patches all around him, including his tail, his leg, and even the top of his head. He was almost afraid to inspect the damage up there, but fear gave way to urgent curiosity in a moment. Slowly, carefully, he loosened his right claw off the hilt of his sword and gingerly felt the top of his forehead. There was blood there, all right, and just barely enough hide left to prevent him from directly feeling bone. An inch deeper, and it would've been fatal.
He looked down and stared at his opponent. The sword was far enough in its head that it would've smashed the brain. He was done. God or not, he was done.
It was over.
*VOOM!*
And suddenly, all Gia knew was pain. His eyes were forced open, his body tensed up, and nothing made sense anymore. Some isolated part of his mind peered through the pain-ridden eyes and saw the outstretched palm of Hunt's pointing at his chest. It felt like a blast of sheering, white-hot flames erupted from within his chest and the scorching heat transferred through his blood vessels around the rest of his body, intensifying with every struggling heartbeat.
Then, came a blunt, painless force. Hunt kicked Gia off by palming Gia upwards, sliding his legs out from underneath, and driving them both into his unguarded chest. The White Dragon flew through the air for only half a second before crashing down and rolling several times before stopping on his chest.
He felt his heart beat heavily, as though struggling. His insides were feeling uncomfortably heavy and he lost almost all feeling in his arms and legs in a short amount of time. Through the intense pain, he fought to retain consciousness. All around him, the world seemed to blur. Raindrops stretched to ten times their height, and whizzing arrows overhead became glowing lines that almost glided gently through the air.
The golden figure of Hunt, illuminated by a flash of lightning that seemed to last whole seconds, slowly rose to his feet. He staggered, he wobbled, and he groaned. Then he limped over to Gia.
"Don't … even try … to resist." Hunt warned. Even his voice was wavering and partially distorted. His hand was outstretched and the palm pointed towards him.
He couldn't move. His opponent, though weaponless, was coming towards him. He stumbled, slipped on the mud, and fell to his knees. Hunt forced himself to pull his body over in a hasted crawl until he was close enough to grip Gia's forearm, which he couldn't feel anymore.
"That was a good fight." Hunt complimented, "It's a real shame your skills and training have to go to waste like this. You had potential."
Even though he sliced Hunt's fingers off, a series of flowing, bony masses of blue light protruded from the holes in the gauntlet and wrapped themselves around Gia's wrist. The symbol on it began to glow, and his arm felt heavy.
"Now, I shall take what I came here for." he said, holding Gia's forearm in front of his face. Gia could do nothing but watch as the burnt markings of the symbol flowed down his scales like a liquid and poured into the glowing blue fingers produced from the shattered gauntlet.
It didn't take long at all. Hunt began to tense. He then flipped Gia's wrist around in a hastened motion.
"… where is it?" he asked. His voice was now filled with surprise, and Gia's face was now filled with mask.
"WHERE IS IT? IT'S NOT THERE!" he screamed, crushing Gia's wrist under his gauntlet. Because he was already in so much pain, he didn't even feel it.
Underneath the echoing of the loud shout, he barely heard Hunt's mutters. He was not only back on his feet, but pacing as though his legs were not crushed at all. At the rapid pace he mumbled, Gia thought that he had suddenly gone hysterical.
"Impossible! Should be there … last one … survived all this time … couldn't have passed it …"
He then stopped.
"It must have dissipated." he concluded, speaking at a hysterically rapid pace to himself, "Yes. Second law. A transfer of many different generations. Gradually it became smaller over time. Explains it all. Well, explains it enough."
He had left Gia's field of vision. With some persuasion, His mind begun to forget he even was in pain. He desperately tried to turn his head, but even that proved to be impossible. Fortunately, Hunt returned so he could see him again. Hunt was holding Gia's sword.
"Yes, I do think an explanation is in order." he said, squatting down to look Gia in the eyes. He peered around the battlefield, ensuring he had the time (and perhaps privacy) to talk, and then continued.
"Long ago, one of your ancestors assisted me in helping me regain my power," he said, then chuckled, "… yes, it was a group of White Dragons that made me what I am today. Feel proud of yourself."
Gia didn't. The monster that was kneeling down, breathing its cold, uncomfortable breath in his eyes … the White Dragons helped him?
"Oh, don't worry." he said assuringly, "They didn't know what they were doing at the time. I daresay, with their suspicions against me, they would've had me beheaded in my moment of weakness. But I succeeded in fooling them into helping me.
It came at a price, however. Your ancestor, in a last-ditch attempt to stop me from gaining power, attempted to remove the source itself and escape with it. Big mistake for him; the distraction cost the others their focus and I finished the fight with ease.
Or, at least, that's what I thought it was. I thought it was rejection of the blade that paralyzed him. By far the opposite. A large chunk of my potential power was transferred over to him! And I wanted my power back so much that I never took the time to consider the possibility! My mistake entirely. How could I have forgotten the first law in that time, of all things?"
His hand shot forward and gripped him by the horn. He felt his head being pushed back and upwards, and was now staring up into the weeping sky.
"You shouldn't even be alive now." he said, "It was my power that kept you alive all this time. Not your Lord's. Without me-"
He abruptedly stopped. Gia felt the hand let go and his field of vision dropped back down to see Hunt staring off into space. It seemed like some strange realization across him.
"Without …" he muttered, looking up slightly. The ground shook from a fallen catapult boulder nearby. For all Gia knew, it could've landed on his tail and he wouldn't have known. Hunt was talking to himself now, and Gia was trying to make his ears hear the words he said.
"… of course … THAT'S where you've been hiding all this time! It was not a mere robbery! I understand it now! It HAS to be!"
Gia's heart gave a sudden jump and refreshed pain tensed his body again. Hunt gazed into his eyes and regained a tense, serious composure.
"I'm done with you. I've got bigger prey to hunt now."
Hunt got up and gripped Gia's sword. He could barely clasp his gauntlet around the hilt, but he managed it regardless.
*SHIIING!*
The sword was whipped up and around, missing Gia's eyes by millimetres, before returning upwards in a partial battle-stance.
"To the victor goes the spoils." he announced, rising and holding the heavy sword up with relative ease, "I do hope you believe it's fair enough. After all, you technically won the fight, so I think you should at least have a corpse to brag about."
Gia tensed and forced a breath in.
"Don't worry." Hunt replied, "I only removed your liver. You've got a few minutes to live. … mine, not yours. I dare say if you're lucky, you'll die peacefully … "
With his left hand, he gripped the bottom of his mask and slowly pulled out the string sewing it to his relatively intact, though incredibly messed up hood. After an arms-length of strands, he peeled off and held the mask up to expose the underside.
"… along with your planet."
*THOCKA-THOCKA-THOCKA-THOCKA*
Gia was just barely able to see the shining golden chest-plate suddenly become impounded by arrows shot from behind him. He bellowed a high-pitched scream that blurred his vision severely, whipped the sword around against his own, newly exposed neck, and suddenly was enveloped in a great flash of light. When it dissipated, he saw the blurred, headless body of Konwen Hunt slowly and lifelessly fall backwards and splash into the mud.
Figures entered the scene. Somebody was yelling "retreat, retreat!". The battlefield was becoming covered in a great blanket of white conjured up from his mind. A vast wave of dark shapes crept towards where he lay. The world began to move around him. The world began to vanish.
And then,
Everything ...
Just seemed to stop.
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