Askyros stood there in silence. Was he willing to accept the challenge from Coredant?
"You're a rat, aren't you?" [Askyros]
"...Excuse me?" [Coredant]
"Your challenge, I accept." [Askyros]
Coredant's face lit up with excitement, and Adam was filled with worry.
("Are you serious?!") [Adam]
Askyros was wounded and fatigued from the previous battle with Kafma, which Adam could feel from a first person perspective.
"Well then…! Let's perform the ceremony." [Coredant]
("Wait, how did this work again?") [Adam]
The two stood before each other in silence. After a moment or two, Coredant cut his thumb with a dagger while Askyros simply melted the ice on his back to spill his own blood.
("Agh!! That hurts! Askyros, stop doing that!") [Adam]
The blood hit the ground, and the two soldiers began their chant.
"With the sky as our witness, may our souls be guided in this dance of death." [Askyros] [Coredant]
The blood on the ground vanished as soon as they finished speaking, and the wounds that offered their blood closed.
("Oh, my back isn't hurting anymore.") [Adam]
Just now realizing, Adam noticed that the injury on Askyros' back was gone.
"...If you wanted to heal that injury, weren't there other means to heal it?" [Coredant]
"There are few things that can heal me." [Askyros]
He recalled back to his days in the training camp, where there was an attempt to heal his wounds using magic, but they simply didn't work.
"Is that so?" [Coredant]
Without further action, Coredant vanished into thin air.
"...It wouldn't be very entertaining to use such tricks." [Askyros]
He scanned the field, searching for any signs of movement. After watching for a while, Askyros raised a foot and slammed it onto the ground.
("...") [Askyros]
There it was. Dust billowed around him, revealing a certain figure within.
"What?!" [Coredant]
Realizing his position was compromised, Coredant tried to escape from the dust.
"Too slow." [Askyros]
He lunged through the dust, grabbing Coredant before he could run.
"Urgh…!" [Coredant]
The invisibility wore off, and Coredant was revealed to be held by the collar by Askyros.
"You're finished." [Askyros]
He raised a fist, cracking it's knuckles as his fingers closed on his palm.
"Prokiste me, Barrier!" [Coredant]
"Hm?" [Askyros]
A thin layer of something similar to glass formed around Coredant, but it didn't take Askyros' hand off him.
"What is this?" [Askyros]
"Well, it's-" [Coredant]
As soon as he opened his mouth, Askyros slammed his fist onto the clear layer. Unfortunately, it simply didn't budge.
"Whoa!" [Coredant]
"...It's hard." [Askyros]
The layer rippled from where Askyros' fist rested, which caused Coredant to sweat a bit.
"O-of course it is. It's a barrier to protect me." [Coredant]
"...I see. That means you're trapped like a rat." [Askyros]
"Excuse me?" [Coredant]
He raised his fist once more, proceeding to repeatedly bash the barrier with it.
"You fool, that won't break it-" [Coredant]
Suddenly, the barrier cracked.
"Oh, dear me." [Coredant]
Askyros tore through the barrier, beating Coredant ruthlessly.
("I guess it's game over.") [Adam]
Just as Coredant seemed to be losing, he turned to smoke.
("What?!") [Adam]
The smoke flowed out of Askyros' fingers, it returned to physical form a few feet away.
"Ooh, that smarts…" [Coredant]
Rubbing his chin, Coredant stood there with a pained expression.
"You really don't hold back do you?" [Coredant]
"..." [Askyros]
He remained silent. There wasn't much to say, a monomachia is a duel to the death.
"Alright. Mind telling me what house you're from? You're from a higher part of nobility right?" [Coredant]
Askyros frowned from those words.
"...I'm a commoner." [Askyros]
"...What?" [Coredant]
Coredant didn't seem very pleased. His sly smile and his mocking tone of voice vanished, it wasn't something that he was happy about.
"You're telling me, a commoner beat Kafma?" [Coredant]
"It is the truth." [Askyros]
Coredant sighed deeply, closing his eyes to calm himself.
"Alright. I see. I'm not playing games anymore." [Coredant]
Smoke rose from his feet, engulfing his clothing as it climbed his body.
"From now on, you're not going to be able to touch me." [Coredant]