"We're just going to leave, Mr Mane, as you can see, we…" Ermos turned around, about to persuade Mane not to put a bounty on their heads, but, where he had once been, the ground was completely empty. The massive warrior had vanished entirely and his ridiculous sword had gone with him.
Ermos cast his eyes skyward, and there he was. The huge boulder of a man had launched himself high into the air, so high that he even flew above their hound. He gripped his sword with two thick hands and had it raised high above his head, about to bring it straight down on the dog with a fury.
"Oh, this might be bad," Ermos realized, sensing the power in his movements. His jump had left a ripple in the air and it hit Ermos in the cheek, warm and powerful. "He might be as strong as you say, young Pash."
The dog noticed the threat a moment later. It growled angrily and opened its jaws, trying to snap at Mane, but it was far too late for that. Mane was poised to open its skull, and there was nought it could do about it.
Ermos grasped his own sword and he tensed his muscles, and then he shot to the hound's defence.
He saw a flicker of surprise in Mane's eyes when Ermos suddenly materialized atop the dog's massive head with his sword raised in defence, but that surprise was soon replaced by aggression, as Mane bellowed loudly and infused his sword with even more strength.
Ermos met that ridiculous sword head-on. His chevalar blade looked like a toy in comparison.
"KNEEL!" Mane roared, bringing it crashing down on him, entirely full of confidence and completely overwhelmed by rage.
Ermos had to smile. It seemed like, for the first time in a while, he had truly found a worthy match. He began to grow excited. His fingers twitched and his senses heightened. His heart began to beat faster, as his body alerted him to a possible mortal danger.
Their blades met mid-air and both of them used all their strength. A terrible boom resounded across the sky, enough to make even a monstrous boulder hound cower.
And then Ermos' blade shattered. It could not deal with the force. It was like using a shard of glass to stop a rolling boulder – he didn't stand a chance. The sword broke in his hand, and he was left with but the handle as shards of steel flew outwards and cut at his cheeks.
Mane didn't seem the least bit surprised that Ermos' weapon had buckled. He didn't falter for even a second. It was likely a common occurrence for him. Something he expected to happen. He used that inhuman strength and tensed his back and biceps, intending to end both man and dog in but a single cleaving swing.
"Oh dear," Ermos said, looking at the useless scrap of metal that had been left in his hand. It was rare that Ermos could not win a battle with mere effortless strength. He found himself having to use his brain to come up with a solution, but after going so long without use, the brain did not have much to offer.
The sword neared him, dwarfing him entirely, the razor-sharp edge but a finger's length away from opening his head.
"I need to get me one of those," Ermos said to himself as he looked upon it. It had looked rather ridiculous at first, but when one had overwhelming strength, it was likely the quickest way to victory.
And then he dealt with the threat in front of him.
He rid himself of his broken sword, allowing it for fall to the floor, freeing up his hands. He spun off to the side, dodging the blade by a hair's breadth, but doing nothing to halt its path.
And then with the flat of his palm, he struck out against the flat of the sword, saving his dog with barely milliseconds to spare.
In the next instance, Mane impressed Ermos more than anyone had in a while. Before that strike landed, his muscles tensed just enough to betray a reaction. To have merely seen through the speed of his strike, Ermos had to dip his head in respect. But, alas, the brawny warrior could do nothing to defend against it.
The heavy downward slash was completely ruined. With the force that Ermos had put into the sword, Mane was sent spinning like a helicopter. He went round in a full circle and still he had yet to get it under control.
Ermos waited until he had spun around again completely to face him and then he hit him with a second palm strike, hard in the chest.
There was a satisfying boom of power, a sound that Ermos had become rather familiar with. And then, Mane went flying.
From the great height that the warrior had leapt up, he was sent straight back to the ground like a comet. He landed hard, leaving a crater, but the momentum had still not completely left him, and he continued to skid through the ground, chewing up the earth, not able to do anything to slow himself. He even sent some of his own men flying.
It was near the castle gates that he finally began to slow down, right under the critical gazes of the crowd. He came to a halt, completely unconscious, trapped under the weight of his sword.
Ermos dusted his hands clean, noting the few little scratches he had from where his blade had shattered. "That was a close call for you boy," he said to the dog, "I'm not sure you would have recovered from that."