Tycondrius held his sword horizontally, low and in front of him.
It was a similar stance that made Ferrutius charge at him like a fool, but Justus remained hesitant.
He stood 10 fulms away, illuminated by the hole in the ceiling, an allegory representing the good and just Tyrion forces and the farcically villainous, non-humans shrouded in the darkness.
There were a half-dozen ways that Tycon could have ended the fight effortlessly.
He could have used his ⌈Vexing Gaze⌋ skill while Justus was off-guard. He'd get a sharp headache, but it would be tolerable.
He could have rushed forward and pierced the Decanus through with ⌈Legionbreaker⌋.
Stars and stones... He could have just asked Isidor to deal with him.
He didn't. It was a foolish decision, a peculiar whim. He felt that... somehow, the young Decanus, the ally-turned-enemy, deserved this fight-- a chance to defeat the deceiver and live on.
"You are... a very poliiiite swordsman, Brother-Tycon," Isidor hissed.
"Thank you. I try."
It was nice that someone noticed.
Justus nodded slowly... "It... this all feels like a nightmare..."
"I'm far stronger than you could imagine," Tycon replied.
"Do we... really have to fight?" Justus asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Tycon scoffed, "Tss... Really? Think about that for a moment. I'd very much not like a bounty placed on my head-- I have a very unique appearance."
And such a bounty would be on top of whatever bounties Tycon didn't know he had.
"And you, Decanus..." Tycon gestured with his offhand, "--could you rest easy, knowing that I was integral to the Rhodoks' final failed mission?"
Justus grimaced, taking a step back like he'd taken a physical blow... "I... I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right," Tycon smirked. "Never question me again."
The young man stared at the cavern floor, "What... what about Gianna?"
Tycon frowned.
"...She has to die, as well."
"But she hasn't done anything!!"
Hm. That line of logic wasn't good enough.
"If any Rhodoks escape and report the mission failure," Tycon explained, "another guild will be sent to hunt Isidor-- the Church may intervene, as well. No, the Rhodoks need to be eliminated in its entirety to grant Isidor time to relocate."
"I... have to whaaaat?" Isidor raised his head in surprise.
"Oh, shut up." Tycon glared at the bigger, heavier snake. "Did you really not work that out? The humans know you live in your stupid mountain, so they'll keep sending forces until you're dead or gone. Of course, you'd have to move."
"I thought... Bah... I'll go get my things..." Isidor slithered back into one of the large caverns, quickly disappearing from sight despite his size.
Isidor had possessions? Tycon furrowed his brows, trying to think what that fellow would value... And how would he carry them? In his mouth?
Justus shut his eyes, "Then I have to fight... in order to protect Gianna..."
Tycon nodded, "You've finally steeled your resolve then."
Justus opened his eyes-- and they shone with a thick, golden mana that had been suspiciously absent throughout the battle with Isidor, "Yeah... I have."
He stepped forward, the cave lit up by his aura, his hair flourishing upwards even in the absence of wind, "Duplicarius Zehr-- no, Tycon... You have betrayed your oath to protect your brothers and sister Rhodoks, actively murdering the defenseless."
Tycon had sworn no such oath. It was a huge oversight that would have strongly affected his plan.
"I trusted you," Justus said. "We all did... And you've stabbed us in the back."
That was an amusing choice of words. He'd shot Fortuna in the throat, poisoned Cyrac with magic, and shoved two swords into Sixtus' neck and chest. He hadn't literally stabbed anyone in the back.
"And thus, I pray... Eternal Flame, grant me strength to punish the Rhodok traitor... This is my ⌈Avenger's Oath⌋..."
Ah.
Empty night. Tycon felt a pang of regret. Was it too late to just kill Justus outright?
The Decanus charged forward, slicing his glowing sword through the air, "⌈Sunblade HEAVEN SLASH!!⌋"
Oh, that sounded familiar.
Tycon ducked a crescent of golden energy, then twisted his body and spun to the side to dodge the second. An Avenger's attacks were naturally twice as difficult to avoid.
"If your opponent does not make mistakes," Justus growled, rearing his sword back for another swing. "--force them to."
...Seven bleeding hells. That wasn't good to hear from the opposite side.
Tycon lifted his sword in a reverse grip, bracing it against his forearm. The heavy strike threw him off balance and stumbling aside.
Justus switched directions and swung overhead.
Oh, that one wasn't so bad. Tycon steadied himself, raising his sword to parry--
Oh... Aw... He expected a full strike and used too much force to strike it away.
Justus grabbed Tycon's collar, "My entire body is a weapon."
A forehead smash to the nose. A vision of white.
Tycon brought his sword down, sparking against Justus' cuirass.
Justus let go, quickly deflecting a following stab.
Good reflexes.
Tycon redirected the stab's momentum by spinning his left leg back.
A light line of red dripped from Justus' cheek.
He winced.
And he winced once more when Tycon planted a solid foot to his midsection, pushing him back.
"If you're being pressured, create space," Tycon sighed.
He touched his hand to his nose. He was bleeding, as well.
"Kicks and shoves are superior to retreating," Justus nodded, knocking his knuckles against the muscled metal cuirass covering his stomach.
Tycon took a deep breath...
"The offer's still open, Justus. You can grow far stronger under my tutelage."
Justus shook his head, "You know I can't."
Tycon dodged Justus' overhead slash. He stepped left, deep into Justus' circle of movement. He sliced against the young man's side, but his sword, once again, glanced off the Tyrion steel.
Justus counter-attacked-- too close. Tycon braced his sword to block.
"⌈LEGIONNN-BREAKKERRR!!!!⌋" The Decanus yelled.
Bah. A misjudgment.
Tycon channeled mana into his sword, bracing the flat with his offhand palm. It was a slash, not a stab, so he was confident in not dying.
Justus' sword clanged against his, the blades sparking and a brilliant burst of mana exploding outward.
The secondary wave of mana flowed past the sword, cutting deeply into Tycon's chest and sending him hurtling backward.
As he rolled and tumbled against the rocky terrain, he was internally thankful that Isidor wasn't present to witness his struggle.
He got to his feet. His head hurt. He considered removing his visored helmet as Justus did-- but that would be stupid. Blood ran down the gash on his armor, down its front.
"Surrender!!" Justus ordered, "You can't continue with that level of injury, Zehr!!"
Tycon twisted his lips into a smirk, "And what? We'll go see the healers together? Behind that large rock over there, Fortuna lies dead with my crossbow bolt in her neck."
Justus paused... closing his eyes and finally allowing the situation to set into his brain.
"T-to the death, then?" Justus asked, his lips quivering slightly.
Tycondrius readied his sword and nodded, "Either yours or mine."