For a moment, Arawn stayed still, waiting for the man to change his mind. Yet the person kept on watching him with a predatory grin. It seemed like he already thought of himself as the victor of the upcoming battle.
Arawn shook his head at such foolishness and stepped forward. He lightly jumped over the ditch and landed on the hard ground. A couple meters to his left was the mud because of which the first contestant had lost his head. On the other side the of the circle, there was the wall over which Corwal had vaulted to finish off his opponent.
"Already shaking in fear?" the man asked while showing his crooked teeth. "Don't worry, I'll show you what true fear is." He made tearing gestures with his hands. "It's been a while since I ate fresh meat."
"Ate?" Arawn asked with his hands still held by his sides.
He didn't have any weapon to draw, and ether was always within his reach, so he didn't bother to call upon it in advance. Not before such a foolish person anyway.
The man licked his lips again. "Yes, ate. Tender young boys like you are the best. Certainly the best."
"How long are you going to entertain him?" Corwal asked from behind. "I was already done with my duel by this time."
Arawn glanced back, frowning. Were they in some sort of personal competition? If he'd known that, he wouldn't have wasted time speaking. It was exceptionally bad manners to not tell him about such a thing.
A growl came from the other side, and Arawn looked back to see the man rushing at him. Wind blades lashed out from the enemy's hands, aiming straight for his throat. "You're dead, boy," the man hollered while cackling maniacally.
"Is that so?" Arawn asked while tilting his head.
He called upon the ether and sent a single blade forward. It passed through the wind blades like they weren't even there. The man fell face first to the ground to avoid it, and his companions at the end of the circle scattered like sheep. No one wanted to face pure ether head on.
"What the hell was that!" the man screamed.
He pushed himself up with his hands and looked at Arawn wearily. His crazy persona went away with the wind, leaving behind a cold and calculating man. It was too late though.
Without answering him, Arawn sent another blade of ether, and another. The man raised a wall of wind, but it could do nothing against the ether. It was the same as fighting an iron sword with one made of butter.
"I give up! I give up!" the man screamed right when the ether blades were about to reach him, startling Arawn.
He stretched his hand to the ether, but it was already out of his control. His connection to it had been severed the moment he let go of it. The thought to raise a wall to protect the man flashed in his mind, but he knew it was already too late.
There was a snap of fingers from behind, and the two ether blades vanished. Arawn whirled around and saw Corwal with ether in his hand. The man held onto it for a moment, then closed his eyes and released it back into the world after dematerializing it.
"You really need to teach me that," Arawn muttered under his breath.
Corwal seemed to have heard it, for he smiled, then motioned for him to turn back to his opponent. The current duel might have been over, but he would have to fight until he lost or defeated three people.
Yet the crazy-acting man wasn't in a hurry to leave the circle. He pushed himself to his feet and watched Arawn with an unrecognizable emotion in his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked after a while.
"Arawn."
The man looked at him for a moment more, then nodded and turned to leave. "I'm Kavi. I hope we get to fight when you master your powers."
Arawn narrowed his eyes. What was that about? When he mastered his powers? Didn't he just defeat the man in a few seconds with only three ether blades?
He shook his head and looked over at the crowd before him that was as silent as a grave. Not one person in the enemy camp dared to speak. Even the leader looked gloom on his stocky steed.
Rain's people were just as silent, but soon, they seemed to realize that they had just won two battles in a row, equaling the score. Their spirits lifted, and excitement appeared on their faces. A few went to pat Corwal on the shoulder while most just stared at Arawn with feverish gazes. They cheered, calling to him that he had to destroy those Garshta's mongrels.
After good five minutes of that, another man from the enemy camp stepped forward. "You don't seem capable of deciding who you want to fight, so I come myself. Do you dare fight me?"
"Go ahead," Arawn called back.
There was no one in the world who he truly feared. A few people like Corwal might be able to get through his defences and injure him, but once the monster within him woke up, they'd only die a more miserable death.
Without a word, the man jumped over the ditch and dropped his cloak. He was a lean fellow, all skin and bones. Even his face was narrow and angular, giving him a bird-like appearance.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he dashed forward. Arawn sent two ether blades his way, but the man was fast. He rolled to the side, avoiding them, and sent ether into the ground. Surprised, Arawn tried to dodge, but he'd never faced earth users before.
His movements were too slow, and his feet sank into mud. He thought of sending the ether to disperse the enemy's power, but the man did it himself. The earth returned to being solid, encasing Arawn's feet. This made it impossible for him to reverse the effects.
He stood with his feet in the ground, frowning at it. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't tend to move about when he fought, but still... The feeling of being unable to move his legs was uncomfortable.
While he was considering this problem, the thin man dashed toward him again. Arawn sent a few ether blades his way, and the man retreated. He could dodge attacks easily enough at the distance of fifty meters, but it wasn't the same when he got closer.
Ether was fast, and there would be less space to dodge once the man approached Arawn. If he tried to come close willy-nilly, he would find himself cut up into fine strips soon enough.
His face darkened, and ether rushed into the ground again. Arawn prepared to fight it back this time, but instead of going for him, the ether raised a wall in front of him. It was quite similar to the one Chanced had used.
Yet Arawn wasn't Corwal. Instead of looking for a way of how to use it against his opponent, he sent two ether blades its way and smashed it to bits. The man who'd been hiding behind the wall fell back with horror on his face.
A curse left his mouth, and he rushed to the side while raising another wall. It didn't pose any problem for Arawn, but he soon realized that something was wrong. How come the next wall was always a bit closer than the previous one?
The shower of sparks when ether met his opponent's creations might be harmless, but it blinded him. For a fraction of a second, he would lose sight of his enemy. In that time, the thin man would take a couple steps to the side and forward before raising another wall to keep himself out of harm's way.
Arawn sent ether blade after ether blade, not saving his energy, but not one of them landed. The man was like an illusion, flashing in and out of sight without hiding in the same place twice. He zig-zagged all over the field. At times, he even fell back to throw Arawn off.
Still, he was getting closer with every passing second.
'If ether blades don't work, what else can I do?' There was halting the ether, but it wouldn't do anything for Arawn. There was also materializing it at a distance from him… This sounded great, but there was no motion to the ether created in the distance. It would be nothing more than a paper-thin glass wall that flickered with light.
He grabbed onto that last thought. If ether could blind him, it meant it would do the same to the thin man as well. This gave him a chance.
Instead of sending more ether blades, Arawn held them back and watched the thin man. His opponent instantly noticed the change, and his movements became even more cautious. He hesitated, for a second, then threw himself toward Arawn. They were only fifteen meters away from each other, making the distance negligible.
Arawn prepared to blind his opponent and blast him away, but a movement to the side caught his attention. Jagged rocks rose from the ground and flew at him from all directions. On instinct, Arawn shielded his head with his hands.
The rocks weren't aimed precisely, and they cut his arms and legs, tearing his clothes. Arawn materialized an ether shield around himself, but the rocks came from before him and behind him as well as above. They broke through the thin barrier and stabbed into his shoulders and back. Other fragments sliced at his chest and legs, drawing blood.
A few even scratched his head. They might have killed him outright if he hadn't raised his arms to defend it from the damage.
By the time the onslaught ended, Arawn was a mess. A trickle of blood went down his forehead, blinding him in the right eye. With his left though, he saw a shadow a mere hand's reach away from him. There was a dagger in its hand.
With a snarl, Arawn brought all the ether at his disposal and slammed it against the man who was already upon him. He didn't have time to shape it into an ether blade, so he just used pure force.
The thin man screamed. His body distorted in the air as it was sent flying back and crashed into the crowd fifty meters away. Four people tumbled to the ground along with him, cushioning his fall. Yet the man kept on screaming. He twisted like his body was made of rubber and clawed at his eyes as if he wanted to tear them out.
Three men rushed to his side and ordered a few others to hold him down. They sent ether into his body, ordering it to find problems and repair them. There were a few cracked bones, but the main injury was in the head, or the eyes to be specific.
They were bleeding and rolling under the closed eyelids. The man kept on trying to reach for them, not allowing the doctors to get a good look. This resulted in a few other mercenaries rushing over to hold him down so he could be healed.
Two doctors exhausted all their power before they returned his eyes to normal. The man calmed down, but he still didn't open his eyes. He was shivering like an aspen leaf, arms wrapped around his body. From time to time, he would raise one to tentatively touch his face near the eyes.
"What did you do?" Corwal asked softly after a moment. There was weariness in his voice.
Arawn looked back. Guilt reared its head in his chest and struck him like a venomous snake. The other man had tried to kill him, yet he still felt bad about his actions. It wasn't okay to torture others.
"I don't know," he whispered back while turning away. "I guess it was too much ether. Its brightness when condensed…"
"Maybe. Anyway, that man was really good. I don't think they'll have anyone else of his abilities, so just finish fast and retreat. We don't want rumors of you reaching Ayersbert."
Nodding, Arawn glanced down at his feet. Was he going to remain stuck throughout the next round as well? With a frown, he formed a miniature ether blade on his finger. Crouching down, he used it to cut a circle around himself. After a couple tries, he freed himself and jumped in place a few times to regain the feeling in his feet.
Low voices from the other camp reached him at that moment. His hearing had always been good, so he had no trouble understanding the words they said.
"Inhuman," someone whispered.
"Demonic creature," another added. "That slut must have given herself to a beast to summon a monster like this."
"If the temple knew…"
"They'd exorcise him straight away. Bastards, colluding with demons to win."
"We should cut all their throats once leader wins. Black art practitioners like them should all just go and die!"
Rain's camp wasn't talking, but the cheery voices had went quiet. Everyone was staring at Arawn, seemingly unable to decide if they should be happy he was on their side, or just run because their leader seemed to have called upon a demon. Few were cold-hearted enough to not care about it.
"You're a monster, an abomination," Arawn whispered to himself as a mocking smile came onto his face.
It was always like that. Up to a certain amount of power, one was revered as a hero, but the moment they stepped over the threshold, they turned into a monster, a demon. His power was beyond common people's ability to understand, and so he was deemed as something that could not possibly exist in their world without demonic influence.
Arawn raised his head at the mid-afternoon sun and basked in its warmth. At least nature didn't judge him for his mistake of being born.
Blood still trickled down his back, arms, and legs, but he didn't bother with it. Looking like a monster only fit with everyone's expectations.
He lowered his head and focused on the enemy camp with a cold gaze. "There's still one more round. Or do you forfeit?"
The men bristled at being called out, but no one moved. Their eyes were down, avoiding their leader's searching gaze. After a moment, Garshta cursed and pointed to a person that was inspecting his satchel.
"You! I didn't hire you to stay in the back. Go and kill that creep."