Metal clashed against metal. Sword struck hammer. The resulting shockwave pushed both men apart. Bevan lost balance. Raiden simply leaned backwards, as though he had just tripped but had recovered quickly.
A horse appeared between him, raising its hoofs and bringing it down his shield. Arcs of electricity exploded outwards at the point of contact and the horse dissipated into mist. Bevan took that opportunity. He leaped forward and swiped up. Then he reached his hands towards the other man.
For a second, Maitho guessed that the Celtic Guardian was going to land another punch. He even saw Raiden raise the hammer in defense.
Instead, Bevan grabbed the hammer, lifted the other man over his head and attempted to slam him on the ground. That didn't happen. A burst of lightning was released, paralyzing Bevan. Taking this as an opportunity, Raiden kicked off of Bevan and landed away.
"There it is. Your true skill," exclaimed Raiden, jubilation painted across his face as though he had just accomplished something grand.
"I don't enjoy this," responded Bevan. "But I need to do what I must."
"That's because you have never fought for what you want. You fight when someone tells you to. You take someone else's purpose and make it your own. You don't have an aim. But you are content aiming for others."
"That's not true."
"It is and you know it."
Three horses appeared around Raiden, but he disposed of them quickly. Bullets peppered his shield. Bevan was instantly on him, and the two exchanged strikes.
"Maitho. Brigid. I need you here." Quinn's voice broke through.
The two moved closer to the truck. "I know you have a plan and I want to hear it," said Maitho.
"I do indeed," said Quinn. The truck then revealed the plan. Once done, he drove off away from the fight, his engines roaring.
Looking back, Maitho spotted the two fighters still engaged in their clash. Neither side seemed to be taking the upper hand. Yet there was something different about Bevan's attacks this time. They hit harder. More than a few times, Raiden was pushed backwards. It was a subtle change, but it showed how serious Bevan was getting the other man to surrender.
Maitho heard the roaring of Quinn's engines from a distance, but the vehicle was nowhere within visual proximmity. The engine shut down all of a sudden and he could not hear the vehicle anymore.
That was the cue. Maitho called out to Epona. "Listen, you're going to see Quinn make his move. When you get the opportunity, attack Raiden with everything you have."
The woman nodded and resumed sending her horses on attack. Through all of that, Maitho noticed that she could not bring back the animals instantly. They would appear in twos, and once they were eliminated, they couldn't reappear for a moment. He must learn their patterns. He had no idea if that information would ever be useful, but details should never be overlooked because they seem trivial in the short run.
He spotted movement on one side of the warehouse. He spotted Quinn disappear behind the warehouse. But oddly, he could not hear the sounds of engine running. Perhaps the vehicle was far away and he wasn't really focused on listening.
"Be ready," said Maitho. He had meant that for Epona. Somehow, he knew that she had heard him.
The fight seemed to have come to a stalemate. Both men faced-off against each other. Bevan's breathing was a little more labored than his opponent's, but the man was holding on. It truly impressed Maitho just how resilient the Celtic Guardian could be when he wanted.
"You should yield now," said Raiden. It seemed as though he was enjoying himself.
"I will yield when you are on your knees," came the response from Bevan.
Raiden smiled, as though pleased with something. "I enjoyed your answer."
That was when Quinn decided to make his entrance. No one heard him. There were no sounds of engines turning on or a vehicle's motor running. Instead, his truck form simply broke through the warehouse walls. Bricks blasted outwards, turning into deadly projectiles. Raiden simply allowed his shield to defend him. Bevan got down on a crouch, allowing the flying blocks to hit him. He seemed unfazed.
Quinn switched on his headlights, shining it directly at Raiden. The man turned his head away, but his shield was still able to stop the vehicle.
The result was that it seemed as though Quinn had crashed into a wall. He slammed into the shield, causing it to discharge dozens of arcs at the point of contact. His back tires lifted into the air before coming back down.
Two horses appeared, one besides Raiden and the other behind him. Still under the effects of the light, the man squinted and managed to attack the horse beside him. This gave enough time for the remaining animal to bring down its hoofs and land a hard blow against the man's back.
Raiden was thrown forwards, slamming into the hood of the truck. Quinn accelerated, his back tires spinning in the dirt before launching forwards like an arrow. Arcs of electricity began swirling around the Norse Guardian's hands, who was still face down on the hood.
At that moment, Maitho pushed…
...and watched Quinn apply brakes, preventing Raiden from unleashing his lightning powers directly into the body of the vehicle. The sudden stop threw the Norse Guardian off the hood, but it wasn't enough to keep him down. Raiden recovered quickly, flipping backwards and landing on his feet. His hands were pointed directly at Quinn, who was now accelerating again. The vehicle won't be able to reach the Guardian in time…
...and with his mind returning to the present, Maitho began running forward.
He watched Quinn apply his brakes. He saw how Raiden was tossed backwards and how the Guardian recovered. He saw hands raised and pointed at the truck, just seconds away from releasing their destructive energy. Before they could, Maitho was there with his handgun pointed straight at Raiden's head. He fired a bullet and watched sparks of energy explode as it struck the shield.
Raiden looked at Maitho. "You can't surprise me that easily," he said.
"That wasn't for me," said Maitho.
Brigid had snuck up to Raiden. She brought the butt of the handgun down on his head. In the brief moment of disorientation that Raiden displayed, Maitho struck fast by bringing his fist to the man's throat. Quinn launched forward. It wasn't fast enough, as Raiden had brought back his shield, but it was quick enough to send him off-balance.
Every opportunity, however small, is still an opportunity. That was what this was. Raiden had no time to recover. A horse appeared behind him, bringing down the power of its hoofs down on his head. If he were an ordinary human, then it was safe to assume that he would have either lost his head or ended up with a huge hole in his skull. But perhaps because he was a Guardian, he might have increased physical resistance. Maitho had to discover more about that later.
Raiden was left clutching his head. The man didn't have time to recover. Quinn fired up his headlight beams, blinding the Guardian again. This gave enough time for Bevan to appear, who sliced with his sword. He pulled back his fist and launched it towards Raiden's gut, throwing the man several meters into the air. The attack didn't stop there.
Bevan launched himself up. He spun in the air, raising his leg. The kick connected. Raiden shot towards the ground. The crash came soon after, sending a burst of dirt and rocks into the air.
When the air cleared, Raiden had created a pit where he had landed.
Maitho regrouped with the others, looking at each one of them. There was a look of victory on their faces. Sure, he couldn't exactly see what Quinn was expressing. But he had a strong idea of what the vehicle was feeling.
They had managed to break through Raiden's seemingly impenetrable defenses. It wasn't exactly a victory. But he imagined that they could use all the small wins that they could get.
"My, my." said Quinn. "I believe I can confidently call this a case of ass kicking."
Bevan was the first to break out in a smile. He grinned like a happy schoolboy who was told that he had scored top marks in a test. He spun his sword in his hand, first backwards and then forwards, before making a striking pose with an intense expression. He was clearly showing off, but it had the desired effect.
Everyone else couldn't help but react to him. Even Brigid gave a half smile, shaking her head.
"Right, I think we can all share a glass of whiskey from dear Brigid's private collection that she thinks we don't know about," said Quinn, roaring his engines to grab their attention. "But let's not forget that we haven't won yet."
His words changed the mood. They weren't meant to attack their joy. Rather, they were intended to prevent complacency. While it was great to celebrate the results, it was not prudent to cause it to distract them.
"By the way, how did you go silent when you attacked Raiden? I didn't hear you at all."
"Maitho dear. You forget that I AM the vehicle. I can roar my engines or I can go absolutely silent."
"That's pretty useful."
"Indeed. I can't reveal all my cards in one go."
The sound of dirt crunching under feet reached Maitho's ears. He turned his head to see Raiden climbing out of the pit, Mjollnir balanced on his shoulder. For the first time, he was placing one hand on his hip and breathing faster, although he still didn't look exhausted. Regardless, Maitho knew that even though the group's efforts were minimal, they had managed to deal some form of damage to the Guardian.
Maitho felt that they could win this. Yet he was worried that they had exhausted all their surprises. Raiden was a smart fighter. He might be prepared for anything they could throw at him this time.
"Now that's what I call a fight," said Raiden. "It'll at least be entertaining before I win."
"Last words of a dyin man?" shouted Epona.
"Yours must be the words of someone who thinks they have won."
"We have won," said Brigid. "I think it's time you held your word."
Raiden shook his head. "Not yet, my friends."
Saying that, he threw Mjollnir towards them. The hammer shot forwards at a breathtaking speed, all the while spinning constantly. Bevan was quick to react, leaping in the hammer's way to intercept it.
Yet what happened next was something no one could predict.
Mjollnir exploded in a shockwave. Before Maitho could react, the wave hit him. He found himself lifted off his feet. From his angle, he noticed everyone else thrown backwards as well. The ground raced beneath him, as though it was a giant conveyor belt. When he landed, he slid for a few feet on the dirt ground before friction was kind enough to stop his movement. He could feel the dirt enter his clothing.
He picked himself up immediately, not knowing what Raiden would do next.
But Raiden hadn't moved. Instead, the Guardian held out his hand. In a flash of lightning, Mjollnir appeared in his hands. "What? You thought this was just a fancy hammer?"
Maitho felt the hairs on his hand stand up, perhaps as a response to the electric discharge. As he looked around, he noticed the other Guardians getting to their feet. The only one left unaffected by the blast was Quinn, who wasn't in the shockwave's radius. The vehicle roared twice.
"You alone Quinn?" Raiden said, smirking.
"Not alone," came a voice.
Turning around, Maitho saw Charon walking towards them. The man was in no hurry, his gait relaxed and confident. His eyes were honed in on Raiden. His usual look of impassivity dominated his face. His appearance posed many questions in Maitho's mind, but he decided to hold back on pondering about them. At that moment, they had a common enemy to deal with.
"You're just a bully at the end of the day," said Charon, straightening his tie.
"That's coming from someone who lied to people just to give them a death sentence."
"A life sentence."
"A life sentence for whom?" said Raiden. His voice hardened. It was obvious even though the change was minor. "For the Guardians or for the Gods and Goddesses who want their influence and power intact?"
"I don't have to explain anything to a child."
Raiden shook his head. "You think of everyone as children. No wonder these fools believe you."
It took a moment for Charon to answer. "Let's talk."
Raiden smiled. "Sure. Let's." He held Mjollnir as though he was going to swing it.
Wisps of black smoke began to emanate from Charon. No one moved. Even Quinn quietened down. Raiden, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed. His eyes however, narrowed in focus.
Without warning, Charon exploded into black smoke. Maitho blocked his face with his hand instinctively, even though none of the smoke reached him. When he moved his hand away, he saw a sight that defied his understanding of the world.
Charon had transformed. Gone was the man with the impassive look on his face and the neatly combed hair. Gone was the suit and well polished shoes.
In its place was what Maitho could only describe as a being.
The being was nearly eight feet tall. It was covered from head to toe in a single black cloak, with a hood covering the face. There was a dark emptiness inside the hood, as though it was a doorway to darkness. A thick rope encircled the being's body. It started from the bottom, where it began as a complex knot, before going around the body. Its other end also hung down from the lower part of the cloak in a knot. The rope however, did not reach his head. Maitho couldn't follow the pattern the rope made, but he did notice that it formed an X across his chest. From the center of the X hung an old lantern whose glass was covered in a thin layer of dust. There was an amber glow inside the lantern, but the light flickered. In the being's hand was a long wooden pole that was taller by a few inches. Upon closer inspection, Maitho noticed that the hands were pale and bony, and the fingers were eerily long.
"Where do we start?" The being, Charon, asked.