Chapter 16
Lux and the imperial assassin had been somewhat evenly matched in their martial arts abilities up to this point. Lux deflected a blow with his left arm, then he saw his opening. He kicked high, he expected to knock the Imperial from his feet. Instead he hit nothing which threw him a little off balance.
The bald assassin had disappeared from view. Then, Lux felt a powerful knee shoot into his lower back. It was painful, but he rolled forward to regain his defensive position. When he looked up, his opponent was once again not in sight. Lux lowered his arms and closed his eyes.
A low-kick came in from the left. At the last second, Lux sidestepped the attack and quickly threw a punch into the assassin's gut. The blow pushed him back a bit. He looked up with a mildly impressed look on his face.
"I see now, I wondered how you could escape my lightning prison," Lux said. "It is a rare gift, but you possess the ability to transport your body through higher dimensions. It allows you to cover great distances quickly and avoid being detected. An assassin indeed."
The Imperial smiled for the first time. "I'm actually very impressed. Here I was starting to think everyone had lied about you. You at least figured out that much so you must not be completely hopeless. Yes, my ability is teleportation, but it doesn't work exactly like that. It doesn't matter, I'm more interested in how you saw my attack. It doesn't bode very well for my trade if I'm predictable."
"I was aware that I could not possibly see your attack in time to defend," Lux said. "Instead, I relied on my sense of smell. Not to worry, your trade is in no danger as most people do not possess my people's senses."
"Well, that's nasty. I guess I need to stop going easy on you since you've proven yourself slightly more than useless."
The assassin thrust his hands forward. The space around them began to warp and took on a dark color. He lowered his hands. They were encircled by a vicious energy. Lux could feel distorted energy coming from them.
Finished with preparations, the Imperial charged at Lux with clearly enhanced power. Knowing it was in his best interest to not make contact with the distorted energy, Lux dodged the incoming attacks. He was decidedly faster in terms of movement so it was not too difficult to maintain a safe distance. However, he pressed his advantage once again. The assassin disappeared from view. Just because Lux knew about the teleportation didn't mean he could easily dodge it. Also, the man knew of his ability to locate through smell, so he would certainly do everything in his power to avoid that method of detection.
Lux tried to remain focused, he knew an attack would come, but he couldn't locate his opponent. He didn't know where the assassin would present himself next. He had to keep his defenses up. Immediately, a barrage of attacks rained down on him. Shot after shot, the man appeared and disappeared. Lux was hit, first in the back, then under the jaw, but after that he lost track. The distorted energy did incalculable damage each time it struck.
The white-haired leader dropped to his knee and fell forward but caught himself with one hand. For all his abilities of intellect and detection, he had failed to read his opponent's attacks. The bald Imperial ceased the attacks and stood in front of Lux to admire his work.
"I knew that was going to be a good move, but I didn't think it would take you down so easily. I guess that's what I get for overestimating you. In the end you were just hiding behind a bluff, hoping no one would call it."
Lux coughed and held his stomach, "Perhaps I was given too much credit. It certainly is possible. I am far from the most powerful being in existence. However, I am disappointed that I failed in a battle of martial skill so easily." He laughed lightheartedly at his failure.
The assassin squinted his eyes at the strange sight in front of him. "Do you find your death amusing? I do know you have a woman by the way. What if I accidentally caused her death. Would that be funny?"
Lux' face became stone, his eyes were completely emotionless which was uncharacteristic of him. He looked directly into the eyes of his opponent, "It would be extraordinarily unwise for you to continue this course of reasoning."
The man's eyes suddenly lit up as he smirked slightly, "I guess there is something that'll get you into the mood to fight. Well, you should have just said something. You just wait there, I'll be right back."
He flashed away from their battlefield. In his first jump, he was able to teleport beyond the hills which blocked his vision. He was even impressed with his own ability for such a long-distance jump.
"I think even I'm more motivated than I was before."
He initiated his second jump, and as his body was entering the other plane he felt a sharp, fiery pain in the back of his neck. He collapsed on his face as he briefly lost all control of his muscles. He jumped up immediately, though, being very alarmed by the sudden phenomenon. He looked around very quickly and found the culprit. An extremely stoic Lux was standing a small distance behind him. He gradually remembered feeling his elbow connect with his neck, but it also felt like a lightning bolt struck him in that very spot.
Regaining his composure, he quipped, "I see you caught up to me, and you even managed to land a hit." However, Lux remained silent which was a little unsettling for the seasoned assassin.
Not wasting time, Lux suddenly glowed with his blue aura which shot sparks off him violently. His hands and eyes were covered in what appeared to be thousands of miniature lightning bolts. The bald assassin quickly repeated his earlier technique which wrapped his hands in violent, distorted energy.
The man was able to get prepared just in time to counter Lux' first attack. As Lux threw a jab at his midsection, he matched it. As their fists collided, an electrical pulse emanated in a sizable radius. As he made his second attack, the assassin was able to read and counter it as well. The next attack was faster and more powerful. And, the next was even more so. The man quickly realized the nature of Lux' attack.
Nevertheless, he figured it out all too late. The attacks were nearly unstoppable and imperceptible at this point. Then, he felt an absurd amount of pain. He could no longer defend, and in the blink of an eye Lux landed countless punches. The man's body became useless. He could no longer lift his hands. When his opponent stopped attacking, he fell over.
"You will survive this. You simply require time for the electricity to discharge from your system," Lux said, as he relaxed his stance and his energy faded.
Soon, the ability to move his limbs came back to him, then the assassin climbed up onto his feet. He was still processing things in his mind, he was still a little unsure of what had actually happened.
"How many times did you hit me? I'm still trying to figure it out. I guess the stories I heard about you weren't completely exaggerated. You must have some skill, but I'm sure that an ability like that takes a lot of energy. I doubt you could replicate it. That was your last chance to end it. I'm just getting warmed up."
He shot forward at top speed to attack Lux. He wanted to demonstrate the ferocity of his power so he went straight for the head. Lux evaded. He struck the man with both hands. His palms hit like lightning. The bald man was thrown backwards, but he climbed to his feet.
"This battle has reached its conclusion. I require your surrender. It is not my desire to risk your well-being by destroying your crystal."
"You've gotten awful cocky after a few lucky hits. I will kill you. It's what I do, and I've never failed." The assassin declared.
"Very well, I cannot make your choices for you."
The ground began shaking and dark clouds formed above. Random and violent, Lightning strikes rained down on the area around Lux. A giant image formed over their heads. The look of it almost struck fear into the heart of the Imperial. A massive wolf formed only of lightning loomed over Lux' head. It was several times taller than they were. The legs alone dwarfed them by comparison.
"The wolf is a sacred symbol to our people. If this creature makes contact with you, your body will be disintegrated."
Lux' warnings fell on deaf ears. The man had no intention of surrendering. He initiated an attack he always referred to as "mass teleport". His body vanished from one spot to appear in another, he emerged randomly in various places. He continued his jumps in order to avoid this disastrous attack his adversary had prepared. Finally, he jumped behind Lux with the intention of fully annihilating his target. He was stopped in his tracks.
Lux had dispersed his lightning wolf into thousands of bolts, shooting one into every location the assassin had appeared. One penetrated the crystal in his chest which shattered it completely. He dropped to his knees with the realization that he had failed for the first time.
Lux was left with a fully unconscious imperial. He was disappointed that he had failed as well. He failed to acquire any information, and he had failed to negotiate peacefully. Soon after the battle had ended, Lux lifted the man's unconscious body to his shoulder. Then, he began his trip to rejoin his team.